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William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody , 1846 – 1917, American soldier, bison hunter, and showman
by Paula Johnson
Most people of fame never knew how famous they were to become. In the TV show about Bat Masterson, the introduction to the show says that he became “a legend in his own time.” Another person of the Wild West who led a late in life blur of fame and reality was Buffalo Bill Cody.
William Frederick Cody began his humble beginning in the small river town of LeClaire, Iowa in 1846. His father moved the family shortly afterward to Kansas where he set up a trading post near the Kickapoo Indian Agency. Kansas was not an easy place to live in the 1850s. The inhabitants of the state were so fiercely divided over the slavery issue that the area and time became known as Bleeding Kansas.
Bill Cody worked a couple of stints as a Pony Express rider before becoming a Union soldier in the Civil War. Following the war, he worked as a civilian for the U.S. military as a scout and dispatcher. During this time, he was responsible for providing meat for the soldiers out West and earned the name Buffalo Bill because of his prowess at killing buffalo.
It is generally believed that Cody’s decision to form his “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” and take it around the United States and into Europe came after a Fourth of July celebration. The event was called “The Old Glory Blowout” held in North Platte, Nebraska in 1882. It was such a huge success that Cody built an iconic piece of American history from it.
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Throughout this time, his fame grew, and his legend became stories of dime novelists. He even was enlisted to star in some theatrical events. His manner and flamboyancy attracted people from far and wide to come see him.
One of the young men who went to his performances was our Grandpa John. Grandpa was born, had a business, and raised a family in Davenport, Iowa – just about 10 miles southwest of LeClaire. Though Buffalo Bill left LeClaire as a small boy, the town has claimed his native fame for nearly 150 years.
In a letter I have that Grandpa John wrote in 1952, he recounts the times he saw Buffalo Bill Cody.
Now about Buffalo Bill Cody. He was born in LeClaire Iowa 10 miles northeast of Davenport. It was an old river town where the boat pilots came and went after they took or brought the boats over the river rapids between Davenport and the Arsenal Island…. Bill grew up. He had a fair education with a lot of will power. He was good looking with long curly black hair. Tall and well built, a good rider and pretty good shot. He started out with a few Indians and actors, I think. Wild Bill Hickock was with him when he gave a performance at the R—- Opera House all went very well. So in time he expanded with more Indians and actors and gave outdoor performances. And I attended one here in West Davenport which was very good. It was called the Wild West. The next time I saw him and the Wild West Show was in Chicago at the World’s Fair 1893. It was a grand success. (He was a show all by himself when he came in riding on his big white horse with his black long curls and mustache and great tie.) It was a lovely sight. He was a gifted performer. Like the Knights of Old.
In a time of slower-paced notoriety and daily news, Buffalo Bill became well known and recognized around the world. Like many men (and women) of fame, leaving the limelight can be difficult. In his last performances he even required help to mount his horse, but the show much go on. His final appearance was just two months before his death in January 1917.
How fortunate our family is to have these personal accounts for generations to come. Think about what you could leave to grandchildren and even great grandchildren you don’t know yet. I hope my nieces and nephews still have their binders of all this in a place they can remember.
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