![]() ![]() When he didn’t make it back after several weeks, the men from the line camp found him near a large rock, frozen to death after what seemed like an attempt to build a fire. Poker Jim’s real name has not been passed along in the retelling of the story, but his love for gambling and whiskey colors his character in the recounting of his untimely death in a blizzard on a 65-mile ride from the Hay Draw line camp along the north bank of the Little Missouri River to fetch supplies in Glendive, Montana, after provisions at the camp had run low. It’s the story of Poker Jim, a cowboy who worked for Pierre Wibaux’s large W-Bar outfit. Many North Dakotans who follow oral history or who are interested in the lore of the region may have heard it in one form or another - tales like these tend to linger.Īnd this one has been told and retold since 1894, when a dead cowboy fell from the rafters of an old blacksmithing shop and into the middle of a poker game, sending cards and unsuspecting cowboys flying. There’s a legendary story that has been passed around these Badlands for several generations. ![]()
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