Buffalo Bill Cody by William R. Sanford

Author:William R. Sanford [Sanford, William R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4645-0997-1
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

Image Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Buffalo Bill (center) poses for a photo with Ned Buntline (left) and John Omohundro. Buntline convinced Bill that he should try stage acting. Bill appeared in his first performance of Scouts of the Prairie on December 16, 1872.

In June 1876, trouble was brewing in the Dakota Territory. On June 17, the Sioux fought off General George Crook. Eight days later, General George Custer met Sitting Bull at the Little Bighorn River. In a crushing defeat, Custer’s troops died to the last man. Bill was called west to scout for the Fifth Cavalry.

A thousand Cheyenne were riding to join Sitting Bull. The Fifth moved to head them off near War Bonnet Creek. On July 17, Bill led a small force in a flanking attack. He and a subchief named Yellow Hair opened fire at the same moment. Bill’s shot smashed the Cheyenne’s leg and killed his pony. Yellow Hair’s slug missed. Bill’s horse stumbled and fell, but he rolled clear. Yellow Hair aimed, fired—and missed again. Bill’s return shot found its mark.

Bill saw that Yellow Hair had tied a blonde scalp to his war bonnet. In his fury, Bill scalped the fallen subchief. Holding the war bonnet over his head, he cried, “The first scalp for Custer!” That brief firefight ended the campaign. The outgunned Cheyenne went back to their homes.

Bill appeared in a new play that fall. He called it The Red Right Hand, or Bill’s First Scalp for Custer. On stage, the shoot-out with Yellow Hair turned into a hand-to-hand duel. The next year’s play was Boy Chief of the Plains. The public did not care that each play was much like the one before. Bill made enough money to buy a ranch near North Platte, Nebraska.

Bill knew his plays were rather silly. He dreamed of showing people the true West. His chance came in 1882. North Platte put him in charge of its Fourth of July show. Bill’s Old Glory Blow-Out featured bronco riding, a stagecoach holdup, and a buffalo hunt. The applause convinced him that this was his type of show.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.