The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 174: Once Upon a Time in the Wild Wild West

Episode Date: October 20, 2020

Bill waited until the crowd had gathered on his property... and then he shot them all.

This is the way I heard it. The shooting occurred on the property of a man named Bill King, who made his home on the outskirts of a little village. Like the gunfight at the OK Corral, the King's shooting would do much to romanticize the West. And yet, we know very little about the men who were shot on that fateful day, including the Indian who entered Bill King's property, covered in war paint and looking like trouble.

Bill King could have shot the Indian right then and there. It was his right to do so, and no one in those days would have batted an eye. Along with the war paint and a fearsome countenance, the Indian also wore a headdress filled with eagle feathers, each one representing an act of bravery on the field of battle. But Bill King didn't shoot the Indian that entered his property. He simply watched him from a safe distance and waited to see what might happen next. Well, he didn't have to wait long. A man called Hodo arrived shortly after the Indian.

Hodo was a laborer who worked in the nearby village and a familiar face to Bill King. So too were the men who followed Hodo, a soldier called Briley and a man in black called Hughes. Bill King knew all about these men, and so he was not terribly surprised when Hodo, Briley and Hughes surrounded the Indian. He may have been surprised, however, when the Indian started dancing. Was it a war dance?

Bill King didn't know. He'd never seen a war dance before. But whatever you called it, the dancing was accompanied by lots of whooping and hollering, which, to Bill King's bemusement, inspired Hodo to follow suit. Briley was next, followed by Hughes.

And just like that, there were four men on Bill King's property jumping around and whooping it up to beat the band. This, of course, drew the attention of even more villagers, including that of a cowboy named Jones, who showed up with a pistol and a bullwhip. Jones approached the dancing men, cracking his whip with every other step. The men ignored him. Jones cracked his bullwhip again. this time right over the Indian's head. But the Indian kept right on dancing. And so, too, did Hodo, Briley, and Hughes. So, the cowboy called Jones, stopped cracking his bullwhip and joined them.

Bill King shook his head. Had this Indian cast some sort of spell over these men? It seemed so. They were all dancing and whooping and hollering like men possessed. Who knows? they might very well have danced themselves to death, had the officer not arrived when he did. Victor Willis didn't look like a traditional sheriff,

though he often dressed as one. Today, however, he was wearing his dress whites and looking very much like a man in charge. As Victor Willis approached the dancing Indian, the soldier called Briley raised his hands, while Hughes, the man in black, crouched down as if to pounce. Bill King readied himself.

This was the moment. The Indian whooped one final time as Hodo ripped open his shirt, at which point Victor Willis donned his admiral's cap and stepped in front of the men. That's when the cowboy, called Jones, drew his gun. That is when Bill King started shooting. And that is the moment things got as good as they would ever get. for the six men who met on that fateful day on the outskirts of a little village where a man called Bill King shot them all. I refer, of course, to the shooting of Randy Jones, Philippe Rose, David Hodo, Alex Briley, Glenn Hughes, and Victor Willis,

otherwise known as the cowboy, the Indian, the construction worker, the soldier, the leatherman, and the sheriff who sometimes dressed like an admiral. Six macho men who made a name for themselves promoting the virtues of a career in the Navy and the many benefits of a membership at the YMCA.

Six icons of the gay community preserved now for posterity in a photo that perfectly captures their unbridled exuberance at the pinnacle of their popularity. A timeless photo of six friends

dancing and whooping and celebrating their fame taken before anyone knew a plague was on its way to visit their little village. A little village in New York City where thousands of their most devoted fans would soon succumb to a deadly scourge unlike anything the country had ever seen. fans like Bill King, the fashion photographer who died of AIDS after he shot the village people for the cover of the Rolling Stone once upon a time in the wild, wild West Village. Anyway, that's the way I heard it. The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal kill forests. The ocean teaches us how our choices impact even the deepest places. The Ocean Connects us.

Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium.org slash connects. If you work in university maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip-off. And Granger is your trusted partner. Offering the products you need all in one place, from HVAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more, and all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock, so your team always gets the win.

Call 1-800-Grangeer, visit Granger. or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.