accounts suggest that Wellman himself was present for the confrontation. At some point, either by invitation or by force, McCanles entered the station cabin and argued with the occupants. He was then shot by Hickok, who was hiding behind a curtain. McCanles's son immediately rushed into the building. Woods and Gordon, like McCanles, were unarmed and attempted to flee, but Hickok stepped from the cabin and wounded both with his pistols. The two men were then killed by other members of the relay station, Gordon by station employee J. W. "Doc" Brink with a shotgun blast, and Woods by Horace Wellman (or Wellman's wife), who hacked him to death with a gardening hoe. Hickok was not reported as wounded. During the attack, McCanles's son Monroe was able to escape via a dry creekbed. This violent encounter was an early contributor to Hickok's reputation as a legendary gunman, as reported years later in Harper's Monthly, where the story was wildly sensationalized. According to the story, Hickok single-handedly killed the nine "desperadoes, horse-thieves, murderers, and regular cutthroats" known as the McCanles Gang "in the greatest one man gunfight in history." During the battle, Hickok (armed with a pistol, a rifle, and a Bowie knife), purportedly suffered 11 bullet wounds. Aftermath David McCanles's brother James immediately filed for an arrest warrant for "Duck Bill", Wellman, and "Dock" Brink, who were charged with the murders. When the case was brought to trial, Monroe McCanles, the only surviving witness on the State's side, who had been subpoenaed to testify, was not permitted by the judge to take the stand and the court heard only the account given by the station employees. The judge ruled that the defendants had acted in self-defense. From The DeWitt Times News, as told by the foreman of the company stations: After this tragedy, some of the McCanles family moved to Florence, Colorado, and changed the spelling of the name to McCandless. Hickok, making use of his new notoriety also changed his name after this incident. After growing a moustache to hide his protruding upper lip, he encouraged people to call him "Wild Bill" instead of "Duck Bill". Later witness accounts The first account was published around 1882 by S. C. Jenkins and S. J. Alexander, who had arrived at the ranch within two hours of the shootout taking place and before the bodies were removed. According to them, David McCanles'