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concerned his drinking, womanizing, carousing with old comrades, and lack of business skills. They did eventually have four children, two of whom died young. In the late 1860s, Cody tried his hand at running a boarding house. After failing dismally, he turned to shooting buffalo to supply meat for
the Kansas Pacific Railroad construction camps, earning the nickname “Buffalo Bill.” He alternated his buffalo hunting with scouting for the U.S. Cavalry from 1868 to 1872.
THE LEGEND BEGINS
In 1869, Cody met Edward Z. C. Judson, known as Ned Buntline, who was impressed by the young man. Buntline, a publisher of sensationalist books about American figures, was known to be none too scrupulous about facts. Shortly after meeting Cody, he set about creating an enhanced persona for him in the dime novel Buffalo Bill, the King of the Bordermen. Several more such books followed, all to popular acclaim.
While scouting for the 5th Cavalry, Cody proved himself an able scout and Indian fighter. This prowess brought him to the attention of General Phil Sheridan. When the U.S. government asked Sheridan to tour diplomatic guests through the Great American West—a trip that included buffalo hunts—the general chose Cody to be their guide. He guided such notables as the British Earl of Dunraven, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, and NewYork Herald editor James Gordon Bennett Jr.
Cody was a natural showman and awed his guests by appearing in a crimson shirt and white buckskin suit topped off by a white sombrero worn over his shoulder-length hair. The eastern “dudes” he hosted couldn’t get enough of their new discovery. Bennett invited Cody to New York and, for
six weeks, exhibited him at balls, operas, and banquets. Cody developed a taste for the better things in life and enjoyed basking in acclaim. So in December of 1872, he jumped
at Ned Buntline’s invitation to come to Chicago to portray himself in a melodrama Buntline had written entitled Scouts of the Prairie. It was, according to critics, absolutely atrocious, but it had “Indians,” gunfire, and lots of action, and audiences loved Buffalo Bill.
Two important developments emerged from Cody’s first theatrical foray: the fictionalized Buffalo Bill began to become inseparable from the real, and Cody became hooked on show business. He toured with Scouts of the Prairie for four years.
However, not all “westerners” took to the stage. Cody encouraged some of his
old pals,
such as famous Indian scout Texas Jack Omohundro and lawman James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok to come east and join the troupe. Inviting Wild Bill was a mistake for all concerned when after a series of brawls and drunken escapades, he stormed out, leaving Cody the message, “Tell that long-haired son-of-a-bitch I have no more use for him or his damned show business.”
Buffalo Bill returned west in spring 1876 after his six-year- old son Kit Carson Cody succumbed to yellow fever. This was the year of Custer’s defeat at Little Bighorn, and Cody was hired to scout for the 5th Cavalry. The army was assigned the task of forcing the Sioux back onto reservations. But by the fall of 1876, Buffalo Bill was back in the theater, and he continued to tour in western melodramas for the next six years.
UNDER OPEN SKIES
Cody thought that ordinary theater venues were too confining for the type of staged wild west action his audiences seemed
to crave. He began to envision an outdoor venue with real Indians, buffalo, cowboys, and horses. He could imagine how thrilled his audiences would be if they could experience a real slice of the wild west under open skies.
Cody, never an astute businessman, was fortunate to share
his idea with Nate Salsbury. Salsbury was a playwright and producer. More important, he was imaginative, a master at producing big theatrical ventures, and an astute manager. Cody and Salsbury formed a partnership that would last for many years.
Through trials and experiments merging Cody’s showmanship and knowledge of the real west together with Salsbury’s business acumen and flair for advertising, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West was born. Cody never referred to it as a “show,” nor did the word “show” appear in the title. To him, what
he brought audiences was the real wild west—condensed, homogenized, costumed, and choreographed—but still authentic Americana.
The basis of the program was always the cowboys and Indians. His cowboys were real, but in their spotless ten-gallon hats, furry chaps, and gleaming spurs they were an idealized version of the average sweaty cowhand. The array of rope tricks, bronco busting, gunfights, and other deeds of derring-do left easterners with a false impression of day-to-day cowboy life. Likewise, the Wild West Indians were also real Indians, but presented in the most flamboyantly stereotyped manner, with war paint and feather bonnets. The scenes that Cody staged, such as attacks on wagon trains or stagecoaches, always ended
happily (at least for the White men). Later, additional acts
and features were added in response to current events and changing public tastes.
Eastern audiences who had been reading Buffalo Bill dime novels and western potboilers were ready for their first taste of
the real thing, and Cody didn’t let them down.
Cody’s first experiment with this new, outdoor, live-action
venue occurred in 1883, when the city of North Platte, Nebraska, invited him to organize its Fourth of July “Old Glory Blowout.” Buffalo Bill’s Wild West can be traced to
the simulated buffalo hunt, sharpshooting exhibitions, and bronco busting that Cody put on that year. From these humble beginnings, the Wild West grew into the well-organized traveling show that visited Lynchburg. Each of the four visits— spanning sixteen years—offers an excellent opportunity to
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