The First Stampede of Flores LaDue by Wendy Bryden

Author:Wendy Bryden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

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CHAPTER 10

Travels on the Continent

The world seemed to overflow with possibilities for Florence and Guy Weadick in 1908 as they made their way south to Medicine Hat for the Alberta provincial riding and roping championships. Guy was especially pleased to see a large contingent of Blood Indians pack the bleachers, including Crop Eared Wolf, who cut a curious figure wearing the leggings and moccasins of the Indian and a white man’s jacket with a button bearing Guy’s photo on the lapel.

Florence knew that in Alberta she had finally found her spot on earth, although it turned out that she was not going to settle there quite yet. Soon, she and Guy boarded a puffing steam train bound for Broadway, where they awed audiences in a vaudeville production entitled Billy the Kid. After this, they headed south to Jacksonville, Florida, where they enjoyed the warmth of the Florida winter and turned down their first offer to star in a series of Western moving pictures. It was an easy decision for them—the movie industry was in its infancy, and Florence and Guy Weadick loved nothing more than performing in front of a live audience.

If postcards could talk, the collection of them from Florence and Guy’s years on the road between 1908 and 1911 would tell some fascinating stories. The vintage stamps and dates on the cards show that they crossed the continent during those years, putting on shows in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Louisiana, New York, and Vermont. They also returned north to Canada, for the rodeo in Morris, Manitoba. Yet they never received another invitation to go back to Calgary, even though that city was going through one of its famous booms—the population had doubled to 50,000.

And so it was that, on February 23, 1911, Florence and Guy Weadick walked their horses up the gangplank of the SS Laurentic and set sail for Liverpool, England, as part of the Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch and Real Wild West Show. Accompanying them in the noise and confusion on the dock were Guy’s brother Tom, Bill Sellman (nicknamed Bridle Bill), five trick ponies, and a little Boston bull terrier named Bum. The stupendous tricks that Bum performed brought in half the money Florence and Guy would need to purchase their Stampede Ranch a decade later. When Bum died, the Weadicks had him stuffed and mounted in a place of honour near their fireplace, where the sight of him would later give many a guest a fright. But Florence was adamant about keeping him there: “It’s a fitting tribute to a loyal pal who helped pay for this ranch,” she would say. As they began their European tour, no thought of a ranch in Alberta or anywhere else entered their heads. Instead the question was: How long would it be before they could settle down anywhere?

They opened their European tour in Glasgow and booked in with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which was also touring Scotland. The appetite for all things from

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