Seth Bullock

A Captivating Guide to Deadwood’s First Sheriff Who Tamed This Wild West Town and Was Later Appointed US Marshal by Theodore Roosevelt

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Jason Zenobia

Do you want to get to know the man who tamed the wildest corner of the West? Then pay attention....

Deadwood, 1876: a notorious little mining town in modern-day South Dakota that was a hive of criminal activity. Thieves, drunkards, prostitutes, and murderers ran rampant among its booming streets. There were over 300 murders in this town during the first year of its existence.

When Wild Bill Hickok was brutally shot and killed at point-blank range in the back of the head, it was obvious that someone had to rise up and save the town of Deadwood from itself. Someone with nerves of steel and a keen sense of justice. Someone like Seth Bullock.

This Canadian-born legend has been immortalized in television and film as the steely-eyed sheriff who brought Deadwood to its knees without killing a single person in an era of bloody frontier justice, but there is far more to Bullock than just his short career in Deadwood. He was a businessman, sheriff, US marshal, soldier, husband, friend, and survivor. Seth Bullock is truly the stuff of legend, but his story is entirely true.

In this audiobook, you’ll learn more about Bullock’s escapades, including:

• Surviving a childhood filled with abuse
• Rebellious escapes from a cruel, corrupt father
• Becoming an integral part of founding Yellowstone National Park
• Serving as the sheriff of Lewis and Clark County, Montana
• Becoming close friends with none other than Theodore Roosevelt
• Business exploits, including a hotel, railway station, and ranch
• Founding the town of Belle Fourche
• Serving in a volunteer cavalry regiment akin to the Rough Riders
• And, of course, his illustrious stint as Deadwood’s first sheriff
• This audiobook also includes a brief history of Deadwood itself and all its fascinating, real-life characters

Scroll up and click the “buy” button to learn more about Seth Bullock!

©2021 Captivating History (P)2021 Captivating History

Concise, Well- Delivered Biography!

Entertaining biography of a largely forgotten figure from the American West. Recommended especially for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction after watching the outstanding HBO series Deadwood.

Captivating History delivers!

Wow, this title really WAS captivating. It was a fascinating look at the life of Seth Bullock. Though I love history and the Wild West, I had never heard of him before. Great storytelling, interesting facts about the time, and fascinating connections to other well-known figures of the West. The length was perfect, too. Very enjoyable.

So Interesting!

Love Captivating History books! My paternal grandmother’s family came from Montana….this audio book brought the old west to life…an easy listen!

My new hero!

When I saw the name Seth Bullock, I couldn't recall being familiar with him or his story. I've heard of the Deadwood show, but haven't watched it... now I think I might have to! My favorite things that I learned about him were:
1) he wasn't known for being cruel and
2) this is what makes him my new hero.... he started the National Park movement with Yellowstone!

Sheriff of Deadwood and so much more

Like most people, I was familiar with the title of Seth Bullock, Sheriff of Deadwood. Before listening to this audiobook however, I was unaware of the other aspects of his life in which he excelled. He was also a very astute businessman, successful rancher and a conservationist. Born in Canada (modern-day Ontario,) to a horrible father who abandoned his children, he moved to Montana as a teenager in the 1860s and fell in love with the American West at first sight. Under increasing threat from gold-hungry Americans, learn why if it wasn’t for Seth Bullock, we might not have a Yellowstone National Park today.

Bullock’s bravery became known when, as a County Sheriff, he arrested a dangerous horse thief named Clell Watson and saw that the law was upheld when an unruly crowd tried to rescue him from hanging. Seth first traveled to the booming mining town of Deadwood to develop his business along with his friend, Solomon “Sol” Star. Thousands of people in Deadwood were eventually going to need household items that Seth and Sol had been selling in Montana for years.

By 1876, Deadwood had become the most notorious camp in all the West. Some say that a murder was committed every single day during the first year of Deadwood’s existence. The audiobook reveals the schemes of Al Swearengen, who lured young women from the East to his business and entrapped them in prostitution. Some estimates were that 90% women in Deadwood were trapped as prostitutes and his profits ran as high as $10,000 a night - a huge sum by today’s standards, let alone in the 19th century!

Find out how the murder of James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok would lead to Seth’s illustrious career as a lawman. (The audiobook narrates a short, but very decent biography and history of Wild Bill, covering his youth, the events that led to him becoming a legend, the accident that changed the course of his life, and his later years when glaucoma had robbed him of much of his eyesight.) Somehow, Seth Bullock reformed Deadwood, despite a lack of brutality, in just nine months.

By 1881, Seth and Sol purchased an enormous ranch on the confluence of the Belle Fourche River and began raising cattle and thoroughbred horses. Find out how it led to Seth’s lifetime friendship with Theodore Roosevelt and the tragic events that caused Roosevelt to invest in a ranch in 1884.

In 1890 Seth and Sol offered the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad forty acres of land at no charge. The town of Belle Fourche sprung up almost overnight. In 1894, a blazing inferno swept through the town, and the Star and Bullock store burned to the ground. Since Deadwood was now a bustling city filled with commerce, instead of rebuilding their hardware store, they built the luxurious Bullock Hotel in 1896. Guests can still stay at the very same Bullock Hotel today, located on the corner of Main and Wall Street in the city of Deadwood.

Another topic is the USS Maine and the incident that led to the Spanish-American War. Theodore Roosevelt put together the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, better known as Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. (Bullock wasn’t part of the Rough Riders; he joined another volunteer cavalry regiment and earned the rank of captain.)

Roosevelt was eventually made vice president of the United States under President William McKinley. Two years later, when McKinley was assassinated in September 1901, Theodore became the president of the United States. He appointed Seth the Forest Supervisor over Part of South Dakota’s Black Hills and also made him a US marshal in South Dakota. When the First World War broke out, Roosevelt was no longer president but appointed Seth as an officer of a volunteer regiment to assist on the French front in 1917, even though Seth was sixty-five years old by this time. Learn of the monument Seth erected facing Mt. Roosevelt after Theodore passed away.

Seth Bullock stands out for traits that were undervalued in the Old West: his honesty, integrity, and using a difficult childhood, not as a fuel for a life of crime, but as a springboard to greater things. This was really one of the most enjoyable audiobooks that I’ve listened to thus far. There was so much more to learn about Bullock than just being Sheriff of Deadwood. Although it might appeal more to men than women, I’d recommend this audiobook to anyone.

Bigger than life

The fun and interesting fact about reading about people like this are that they are bigger than life. You would have to read something from Zane Grey or Louis L'Amour where "History" was created to pack so much life into one lifetime. This is a good example of a life well-lived.
The kind of person I would love to have a sit-down long conversation with.

history

I loved it. it was great. i highly recommend it. it was fascinating. excellant read.

Interesting Man

Heard of Seth from Deadwood Series, wanted to learn more. He was a person of history. GVe to others

Enjoyable

this narrative filled many gaps in Seth Bulocks life for me. An interesting story for sure.

Interesting

I loved the series Deadwood
Glad to hear the true story of Seth Bullocks life
Loving this series of captivating history