William ‘Billy’ Dixon
Pete Carr looks back at the life of one of the USA’s original trackers and buffalo hunters
Pete Carr
William ‘Billy’ Dixon - born in 1850 in West Virginia and orphaned at age 12 - rose to become one of the USA’s best known scouts and buffalo hunters, as well as a hero in battle who became one of only eight civilians ever to be awarded America’s highest military accolade, the Medal of Honor.
Of mixed European and Native American ancestry, Dixon set out on his own soon after losing his parents. Aged just 14, he began to pay his way as an ox driver and mule skinner - but it wasn’t long before he began to make his name a skilled marksman. By his 20th birthday he was already a regular scout for hunting parties and excursionists brought by the railroads. He expanded his range and scouted throughout Kansas, and then the area he would become most associated with, the Texas Panhandle.