Seth Bullock was born on July 23, 1849, in present-day Ontario, Canada, not far from the Detroit River. The exact year is not certain, but 1849 is the consensus. The Bullock family moved to Michigan when Seth was still a young child.
His father, George, had been a major in the British Army and was often described as a testy, hard-nosed disciplinarian. That may explain why Seth ran away from home on numerous occasions. He ran away again when the Civil War broke out, hoping to enlist in the Union Army, but he was rejected because of his young age and returned home to Michigan.
It was in Michigan that he met his future wife, Martha. Contrary to popular belief, Seth did not marry his brother's widow. As soon as Bullock turned 18, he said a temporary goodbye to Martha and headed west for Montana.
He found work in Helena with a wholesale grocer before branching out on his own as an auctioneer. He also took a strong interest in local politics. In 1867 he ran for the territorial legislature but did not get the nomination. He tried again in 1871 and was elected to the Montana Territorial Senate.
One of his notable achievements as senator was helping to establish Yellowstone National Park. There is a misconception that Bullock was instrumental in the park's formation, but that was not really the case. Seth merely put forth a motion that was later adopted by the legislative council, and it is not even certain he wrote the resolution himself. President Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law on March 1, 1872.
In addition to his senate duties, Seth volunteered at the Helena Fire Department and moonlighted as a deputy. When his term as senator expired in 1873, he ran for and was elected sheriff of Lewis and Clark County.
It is nearly impossible to mention Seth Bullock without bringing up the HBO drama Deadwood. In the show's first episode, Sheriff Bullock executes a prisoner in a very unorthodox manner, holding off a lynch mob with his pistol while strangling the prisoner on the jailhouse steps. It is a memorable scene, but not very realistic.
The real Bullock did hang at least two men in Montana, but there were no dramatic showdowns with vigilantes. The first execution was reported by a local paper as going off without a hitch, with around a thousand people in attendance and no mention of a lynch mob. A few months later Bullock executed a second prisoner, again with no mention of vigilantes.
That particular vigilante story came from Teddy Roosevelt's son, Kermit. Whether Kermit heard it from Seth or made it up is unknown. Bullock did supposedly have a very dry sense of humor, so he may have stretched the truth. He later confessed that these executions affected him deeply, and when his term as sheriff expired he declined to run for reelection.
By that point he had already set his eyes on the Black Hills in present-day South Dakota. Rumors that the area was rich in gold had persisted for years, but they were not verified until 1874, when Custer passed through with around a thousand troops. Officially Custer was ordered to find a new location for a fort, but unofficially he was also looking for gold. When he found it, the news spread like wildfire and the rush was on.
Before long, several mining camps popped up in what was known as Deadwood Gulch. The town itself was officially laid out in April 1876, and within months the population had exploded to around 25,000. The only catch was that the hills were technically owned by the Lakota under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. It was illegal for prospectors to pass through, much less pitch a tent and start paying for gold, and by extension the town of Deadwood was also illegal. Hence the lack of any real law enforcement.
Law or no law, Seth Bullock was determined to try his luck, just not by freezing in any of the nearby streams. He and his business partner, Sol Star, had something better in mind. Rather than prospecting, they would open a hardware store and provide miners with supplies and accoutrements.
Seth was already a married man by this point. He and Martha had tied the knot in Salt Lake City in 1874, and the following year they welcomed a daughter named Margaret. Rather than haul his family to a place as dangerous as Deadwood, Bullock sent them back east to stay with Martha's parents.
Sol Star was originally from Bavaria. His family migrated to the United States when he was a child, just like Seth, and Star lived all over Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri before heading west to Montana in 1865. It was there, a few years later, that he and Bullock first became acquainted.
Like Bullock, Star was very ambitious. He was appointed register of the US land office in Helena in 1872, and by 1874 he was working as territorial auditor. He was also invested in everything from politics to banking. By 1876 both men were ready to try their luck in Deadwood with their own hardware store.
According to Bullock biographer David A. Wolff, beyond opening a business, Bullock and Star undoubtedly left for the Black Hills with political ambitions. Both men had been involved in politics in Montana but found the going rough in the strongly Democratic territory. The Black Hills offered new opportunities, with counties and possibly a new territory to be established and new government jobs to follow.
Wolff notes that these positions provided steady income in an economically uncertain environment. As positions of leadership, they also provided the law and order necessary for a town to succeed and for merchants such as themselves to prosper. And finally, the two men enjoyed public service.
Bullock was a capitalist, and making money was his chief motivator, but he was also very civically minded. He knew that if his business had any hope of succeeding, he needed to create an environment where everyone, not just businessmen, could make money. The more money Bullock earned, the more he invested in the local economy, and the better the local economy did, the better his business would flourish.
Bullock and Star secured their first load of supplies in Bismarck and then traveled a grueling three weeks before arriving in Deadwood on August 3, 1876, literally the day after Wild Bill Hickok's assassination. Contrary to HBO, Seth Bullock and Hickok were never actually friends. They never even met.
Bullock and Star also did not sell their wares outside a tent. They lucked out and were able to purchase a partially completed two-story building on the corner of Main and Wall Street, right in the middle of Deadwood's business district. That is where they sold everything from picks to Dutch ovens to frying pans to chamber pots, pretty much everything a prospector could need. Later they expanded into comfort items like whiskey and tea.
Not long after arriving in camp, Bullock wrote a letter to a friend in Montana describing the rampant violence. According to Seth, "We have no law and no order and no prospect of either. Several murders have been committed and nothing done."
Violence notwithstanding, Bullock was not the type to rest on his laurels. Deadwood was dangerous, but rather than shy away from potential threats, he set about organizing the camp, trying to turn it into a place where he would feel comfortable bringing his wife and daughter.
There may not have been any official law in Deadwood, but there were miners' courts. Prospectors held meetings to vote on various regulations, like in August 1876 when they voted to establish a board of health. The board's job was to keep an eye on potential fire hazards, remove obstructions from the thoroughfare, and isolate smallpox victims. Seth Bullock was one of the men selected to run this committee, even though he had only been in camp a little over a week.
When the Reverend Smith was found murdered on the road to Crook City a few days later, it was Seth Bullock who investigated the scene of the crime. He also personally wrote to the minister's next of kin.
Two days after that, a bartender named Harry Young shot and killed Bummer Dan at the same joint where Hickok was killed just a couple weeks prior. Despite the shooting being a case of mistaken identity, Young turned himself in to Bullock and the board of health. Bullock even sat on the jury for Young's trial.
Bullock had barely arrived in camp and was already investigating murders and organizing trials, all before becoming sheriff. It showed the level of respect he commanded, though not everybody was a fan. His popularity would take a significant nose dive just a year later.
Eventually the camp voted to elect a more formal city council, but by that point Seth was back in Michigan fetching his wife and daughter. He was gone for a total of five months, long enough to make baby number two, another daughter they named Florence.
He also began petitioning the territorial governor to remove the Black Hills from the Great Sioux reservation. It was a controversial move, but it was also inevitable. There was no way the government was going to let the natives keep all that gold, especially with Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn still fresh on everyone's mind.
The so-called Land Agreement Act of 1877 resulted in the indigenous losing around 7 million acres, including the Black Hills. It also saw the formation of Lawrence County with Deadwood as the county seat. The governor appointed Seth Bullock as sheriff.
Not everyone was a fan of Bullock's appointment. He had only lived in Deadwood for a couple of months, then was gone for nearly half a year before showing back up with paperwork from the governor naming him sheriff. Many considered Seth an outsider, and others did not appreciate him being appointed rather than elected.
In Bullock's absence, a man named Con Stapleton had been made town marshal. This caused confusion over who was actually in charge, but according to biographer David Wolff, it did not take long for Seth to assert his position and take control of law enforcement.
The sheriff's office was initially located inside the Star and Bullock Hardware store, with one of the store rooms serving as a makeshift jail. Seth eventually hired around eight deputies in addition to organizing a night watch to look out for potential fire hazards. Fire was always a danger in these old mining camps.
His duties were otherwise fairly normal. Bullock investigated robberies, chased horse thieves, broke up street fights, and occasionally helped mediate land disputes. When one such dispute turned deadly in April 1877, it was Bullock who arrested the killers.
On another occasion he broke up an entire gang of cutthroats who had been targeting miners. He once tracked a killer all the way to Ohio just to make an arrest. And all of this without once being forced to pull his gun and take a life. He may have pulled his gun, but he never had to kill anyone while serving as sheriff in Lawrence County.
It was said that often the mere presence of Sheriff Bullock was enough to dissuade violence. Even so, his popularity plummeted following a strike at the Keets mine in 1877.
The miners felt they were not being fairly compensated, so they stopped working and barricaded themselves inside the mine. When they refused to budge, Sheriff Bullock was called in. At first he tried yelling down threats, but when that did not work he tried starving them out. That also failed because people on the outside sneaked them food.
Finally he called for the governor to send in troops. Soldiers arrived about ten days later, at which point Bullock smoked out the miners with burning sulfur. It was this incident, coupled with a negligent discharge while he was in pursuit of an outlaw, that ultimately cost him the job as sheriff.
When they got around to holding an actual election, the people overwhelmingly chose the incumbent John Manning, who also happened to own the Senate Saloon. Interestingly, Manning and a few other newly elected officials insisted on taking office immediately despite Bullock's term lasting until January. Neither side would budge, so for the next couple of months there were two separate governments in Deadwood, and two sheriffs working simultaneously and mostly ignoring one another.
According to biographer David Wolff, Bullock's role in early Deadwood should not be underestimated. As the first sheriff, he laid the foundation for law and order and demonstrated there would be consequences for bad behavior. His stint as sheriff also brought him fame, and while not all liked him, he gained the respect and friendship of the property and elite.
Bullock was only sheriff for a little over nine months. While he may not have won the election, he did receive a commission as a deputy US marshal, so he continued enforcing the law for about the next decade. He even assisted Sheriff Manning on occasion.
Bullock was also instrumental in forming Deadwood's first fire department, which included a fancy new fire engine. The only problem was that Bullock quickly lost interest. When it came to his various endeavors, Seth was mostly an idea guy. He would get the ball rolling, help organize, and even accept positions of leadership, but he expected others to eventually step up and take the helm. If new leadership did not materialize, these undertakings would invariably fail.
As far as the fire department went, his duties as deputy marshal often took him out of town for long periods. The volunteer firefighters were left rudderless, and it was not long before they too lost interest. It was partly this failure to sustain momentum that led to the Great Fire of 1879.
In the meantime, Seth was mostly focused on building his capital. He and Star invested in a good deal of property, well over a thousand acres before it was all said and done. They started a ranch and a milk farm, bred horses, and grew crops like corn, wheat, and alfalfa. They even franchised the hardware store, opening new locations in Rapid City and Spearfish, and later as far away as Montana and Wyoming.
Things were going well until the Great Fire of 1879. It started on the morning of September 26 when a coal lamp fell over at the Empire Bakery. The fire spread to a nearby store and ignited several kegs of blasting powder. The ensuing inferno practically decimated the town. Estimates vary, but it is thought that 100 businesses and at least 75 residential dwellings were lost, including a good deal of assets owned by Bullock and Star. Ironically, the fancy new fire engine remained both unused and unscathed.
Luckily for Bullock, the farm and ranch were still secure. He and Star had been smart enough to carry insurance, which provided a bit of a windfall. When the residents of Deadwood created a citizens committee to help rebuild, they once again called on Bullock's leadership.
For the next few years, Bullock continued focusing on his various businesses. At one point he became heavily involved in Deadwood's Merchant Bank and was even named president, but the bank went belly up. He then became president of the Iron Hill Mining Company, but this too proved to be a financial disaster. Things eventually got so bad that Bullock started transferring property into his wife's name just to stop it from being foreclosed on.
Still, Bullock refused to quit. Rather than leave town like so many others, he chose to stick it out. It was this dogged determination that ultimately led to his financial success. Not only was Bullock instrumental in getting the Elkhorn Railroad to connect to the Black Hills, but he also founded the town of Belle Fourche.
When the hardware store burned down again in 1894, he had a luxury hotel constructed in its place. That hotel still stands to this day and is apparently haunted by Bullock's ghost.
These were all nice accomplishments, but it was Bullock's friendship with Teddy Roosevelt that he really considered his crowning achievement. Stories vary as to how they initially met, but it was most likely in the early 1890s when Roosevelt was serving as a federal commissioner in North Dakota.
When the drums of war began banging in 1897, both he and Bullock heeded the call. Roosevelt's Rough Riders get the bulk of the glory, but there were two additional volunteer cavalry units, one of which was known as Grigsby's Cowboys. That was the unit Bullock enlisted in, and he was given a commission as a captain.
By June 1898 he and the other cowboys were transferred to Chickamauga, Georgia, to await orders. They were never deployed. They returned to the Black Hills about three months later, disgusted at not having had the chance to prove themselves in Cuba.
As disappointing as that was, Bullock accounted well for himself in Georgia. One of his men later recalled that Captain Bullock was "easily the most popular man in the camp and is much sought after by everyone, and with his own troop, there is no one who can equal him."
There was even an instance where he noticed some men harassing a lady outside a department store. Bullock fetched a few of his soldiers and they dealt out a little frontier justice before escorting the lady back to her train. When his own soldiers got rowdy and started fighting one another, Bullock personally stepped in. At one point he even took control of the Chickamauga Police Department. Apparently things were getting too wild in town and Bullock had to step in and save the day.
According to biographer David Wolff, one correspondent reported that Bullock risked life and limb as he arrested troublemakers, but in less than five hours he had the city quiet and peaceful. Still, they were never deployed.
While many of the volunteers considered the entire ordeal a waste of time, Bullock used it to further bolster his reputation. Again per David Wolff, while the Spanish-American War increased Bullock's stature and gave him a new public persona, it also cemented his friendship with Teddy Roosevelt. When Roosevelt returned home and started celebrating the group's achievements, he occasionally invited men from other units, including Bullock, to join his Rough Riders. Bullock had to have been flattered, and when Roosevelt entered national politics, the captain became all the more awestruck by a man he considered a kindred spirit.
For pretty much the rest of his life, Bullock was Roosevelt's most ardent supporter. In return, Teddy accepted Seth as one of his closest friends. Roosevelt headed west in 1900 to campaign for William McKinley and invited Bullock to join him.
Bullock even served as Roosevelt's bodyguard when things got hairy. There was one incident in Butte, Montana, when Seth took a seat on the stage right behind Roosevelt with two pistols strapped to his hip in plain view of everyone. The crowd quickly calmed down and Roosevelt's speech went uninterrupted.
When their train arrived back in Deadwood, Seth had arranged for Teddy to be greeted by a throng of cheering admirers, including as many as 500 mounted cowboys. Roosevelt returned to Deadwood in 1903 after he was already president and once again invited Bullock to join him on a cross-country tour. This time they traveled together for something like two months.
When Roosevelt was reelected in 1904, it was Bullock who organized a company of cowboys to ride in the inaugural parade. He stayed at the White House on numerous occasions, and Roosevelt's children would often spend their vacations at Bullock's ranch.
Roosevelt even appointed Seth as the Black Hills forest supervisor, once again giving him a chance to shine as a conservationist. A few years later he made him the US Marshal for all of South Dakota, a position that was extended by President Taft in 1909.
The marshal's appointment was mostly an administrative job, with Seth having several deputies working under him. They stayed busy investigating everything from larceny to murder, and were also responsible for federal crimes committed on the nearby reservations. Busy or not, he made time to hang out with his old friend Teddy. They even took a trip to Europe together in 1910.
Bullock officially retired from his job as marshal in 1914 at the age of 67. Even then he refused to sit back and relax. He continued dabbling in various business endeavors, and he became a big proponent of women's suffrage.
He also still enjoyed a good fight every now and then. When World War I broke out, Bullock raised yet another regiment of frontier volunteers, sort of like the Rough Riders, comprised of around 1,200 cowboys, prospectors, and railroad workers. President Wilson did not approve, so the regiment was disbanded before they even got a chance to deploy.
Bullock was angry, but he still did his part in supporting the war effort at home. He said he would "show the Democrats that we are thoroughbreds and will do our bit even if we are compelled to remain at home." He added that it was his desire to ride a spotted cayuse into Berlin, but it did not look like he would get the chance.
By 1917 Bullock began suffering from stomach problems. It turned out to be intestinal cancer. He traveled to California for treatment and returned home the following year, seemingly reinvigorated. Unfortunately, that was about the same time his good friend Roosevelt passed away.
Per Teddy's son Kermit, "My father's death was a fearful blow to the old captain," referring to Seth Bullock. Sure enough, the cancer returned, and just a little over nine months after the death of Teddy Roosevelt, Bullock followed him to the other side.
To quote David Wolff once more, "Bullock's headstone carries a one-word epitaph, pioneer." To Bullock, a pioneer worked for progress, and through each stage of his life he did just that. From sheriff to forest supervisor to United States Marshal, no matter the task, this pioneer lawman tried to advance the region and the country.
Bullock never seemed to let failures keep him down. He never called it quits, and he was always ready for a new adventure. He enjoyed earning money, but much of what he did for a living also made life better for those around him, at least his fellow pioneers in Deadwood. The Lakota, not so much.
Bullock did a lot to build up Deadwood. He was a major player in economic development. He helped with parades, attracted businesses, and was a big promoter of the town in general. He made improvements to public infrastructure, and that is not even counting his conservation efforts or his time in law enforcement, much less his willingness to go to war in his late sixties.
At the time of his death, he was still working to get a park established in an area overlooking Deadwood known as White Rocks. It was there at White Rocks that he was ultimately laid to rest, overlooking the Mount Moriah Cemetery near other pioneers like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
As for whether Seth Bullock had any run-ins with Al Swearengen over at the Gem Saloon, there is not a lot of known interaction between the two of them. Nothing quite as dramatic as depicted on Deadwood, but they definitely knew one another. When the first gunfight took place at the Gem, it was Bullock who tracked down the guilty party and whisked him away to jail.
According to Deadwood historian Jerry Bryant, "In July, Sheriff Bullock closed down the Gem and held a referee court in the building in response to suits the several parties had brought against Swearengen, some seeking the repayment of debts." Swearengen was always being sued by somebody, and on at least one occasion it was Seth Bullock who was forced to adjudicate the case right there in the infamous Gem Saloon.