Wild Bill Sullivan: King of the Hollow

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Summary: Wild Bill Sullivan: King of the Hollow
Review: Wild Bill Sullivan is probably the most colorful character that South Mississippi has ever produced. Born in mid-18th century, he was the King of Sullivan's Hollow and was accused of 50 killings. He was also the center of numerous pranks and jokes. Because she was a college history professor, the author skillfully weaves the sometimes far-fetched tales into an account of an atypical frontier culture. The narrative also includes pictures and a description of one of the oldest homes in South Mississippi, the Sullivan Home, now on the National Register of Homes. At the beginning of this small but fascinating book, Ms. Hammons, the great-granddaughter of Wild Bill, traces the Sullivans' Irish Roots back to the 1750's. Thomas Sullivan, founder of the Mississippi branch of the clan, had 22 children, 11 by his white legal wife and 11 by his common-law Indian wife. A genealogy of the family is located in the appendix of the book. The latter section of the book centers around the years 1900-1980 and concentrates on other Smith County stories. The book is well-researched with footnotes and bibliograhpy. Here's an example of one of the humorous tales in the book: Outsiders in the late 1800's feared stopping over in the Hollow because of Wild Bill's reputed antipathy towards strangers. One traveler got caught at dark and stopped at the edge of the Hollow. He was cordially greeted, fed, given a bed by the fire, and served a plentiful country breakfast. His host refused any pay for these services. The traveler thanked his host and expressed his relief that he had met such a nice family and had avoided Wild Bill. In reality, Wild Bill had been his host, but he sent the man on his way without revealing his identity. The book also includes a graphic account, in Wild Bill's own words (in 1929 to his grandson-in-law) of the Battle of Shiloh Church, a battle in which several of the Sullivans were killed. After a later incident, Wild Bill and his son Neece had to hide out in the woods for 2 years. However, Bill was only indicted for one killing--of his own brother Wilson!