There's an interesting article in today's (2/17) Ft. Smith Times Record about Wiley Cox, aka "Deadshot Cox." Now, I had thought the expression that someone died of lead poisoning was just a colorful way of saying he was killed by gunfire. But it seems that occasionally--as in this case--a man could recover from the gunshot wounds then later die from the poisons left behind.

From the article (which is too long to quote in full): "An investigator with the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office recently discovered the agency has a fallen officer and he's now trying to track the man's descendants. Capt. William Hollenbeck identified Wiley Cox as a deputy sheriff who died in the line of duty following an ambush in downtown Fort Smith in October 1890. Cox ... died of lead blood poisoning in April 1891 as a result of being shot six months earlier. . . .

The suspect in the shooting (later found not guilty) was a James McNally.

"Cox rode in a posse led by Special Deputy Marshal Columbus Ayers in October 1883 and accompanied by Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves and numerous others. The posse searched the Cherokee Nation to locate Johnson Jacks who was wanted for the murder of Deputy Marshal Addison Beck."

"Hollenbeck hopes to find relatives or people who know more about Cox so that he can let them know that area law enforcement will honor the fallen deputy at future memorials. Anyone with information about Cox is asked to call Hollenbeck at the Sheriff's Office at 783-1051."

--meursault