Colorado Charlie Utter arrived in Deadwood in June of 1876 with his close friend and "pard" Wild Bill Hickok. They came to earn their fortunes among the miners and madams of the Gulch.
Charlie was a unique man in Deadwood in those days. He had the peculiar habit of cleanliness. He slept in a tent between fine California blankets, which he guarded jealously, and he possessed a real mirror, combs, razor and wisp brooms. He bathed every morning and became a bit of a spectacle while doing so as the rest of the men had no such inclinations.
He dressed in beaded moccasins, fringed leggings and coat, handmade trousers and fine linens. He carried revolvers mounted in fine gold, silver and pearl and had a big silver belt buckle. Such finery gave him the reputation of a dandy and he stood out among the rough and dirty folk of Deadwood Gulch in 1876.
He ran the Pony Express from Deadwood to Cheyenne, Wyoming and employed his brother, Steve Utter, as a rider. The day Wild Bill was shot Charlie was busy organizing a race between his riders and a rival company, one run by a man named Clippinger. The object of the race was to see which company could deliver fifty copies of the Cheyenne Daily Leader the two hundred miles to Deadwood in three days.
Charlie considered Wild Bill to be his close personal friend and after he was killed Utter took care of all of the funeral arrangements, including the erection of a headboard which read: "'Wild Bill' J.B. Hickok. Killed by the assassin Jack McCall in Deadwood Black Hills August 2nd 1876. Pard we will meet again in the Happy Hunting ground to part no more. Good Bye ~ Colorado Charlie C.H. Utter."
