Charles Dawson was a banker and early settler in Fairbury, Nebraska. He wrote old timers recollections and related narratives. He was apparently one of the few early historians to write about Wild Bill Hickok's celebrated fight with David McCandles and two others in July, 1861. Dawson made an effort to report the truth but at the same time was very cautious in reporting episodes where participants were still living. For instance he names many people involved with David McCandles, in 1861, but in another section he lists these men as having settled in Jefferson County after the Civil War. To a person these named people served the Confederate cause. Its a good book and reads well .