Charles H. "Colorado Charlie" Utter (14 Mar 1838 â€" 3 July 1915) was
a figure of the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and
companion of Wild Bill Hickok. He was also friends with Calamity
Jane.Utter was born in 1842 near Niagara Falls, New York, and grew up
in Illinois, then traveled west in search of his fortune, becoming a
trapper, guide, and prospector in Colorado in the 1860s. He met and
married 15 year old Matilda "Tily" Nash on September 30, 1866, in her
parents’ home in Empire, Clear Creek, Colorado Territory. Their
marriage record lists Empire as his place of residence at the time of
their marriage and by the 1870 Federal Census shows they had settled
in nearby Georgetown, Colorado Territory. In early 1876, Utter and his
brother Steve took a 30-wagon train of prospectors, gamblers,
prostitutes, and assorted hopefuls from Georgetown, Colorado, to the
burgeoning town of Deadwood in the Black Hills of the Dakota
Territory, where the recent discovery of gold had sparked a gold rush.
Like many wagon trains, the wagons were Schuttler wagons, which were
notable for "gaudy paint jobs." In Cheyenne, Wyoming, famed gunman
"Wild Bill" Hickok became partners with Utter in the train; Calamity
Jane joined in Fort Laramie. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in
July 1876, and Utter began a lucrative pony express delivery service
to Cheyenne, charging 25 cents to deliver a letter and often carrying
as many as 2,000 letters per 48-hour trip.[citation needed]Utter had
been a close friend of Hickok's for some time previously, constantly
watching to ensure that Hickok's weaknesses of alcohol and gambling
would not bring Hickok to a bad end. Unfortunately, Utter was not
present on August 2, 1876, when Jack McCall fatally shot Hickok in the
back of the head as Hickok played poker in a Deadwood saloon. Utter
later claimed the body and placed a notice in the local newspaper, the
Black Hills Pioneer, which read: Charlie Utter Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter