William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Wild West Show Advertising Poster. Courier Litho. Co., (1900)
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody earned his name as a hunter for the railroad, gained fame as an Army scout, and became legendary as a showman. A man of vision, Cody also advocated equal rights for women and for his former Indian foes. He introduced new show business techniques and founded communities. He supported preservation of the buffalo and originated the modern rodeo. He was a product, a promoter and a shaper of the American West.
Cody got his nickname after the American Civil War when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody is purported to have killed 4,280 American bison (commonly known as buffalo) in eighteen months, (1867–1868). Cody and William Comstock competed in a buffalo-shooting match over the exclusive right to use the name, which Cody won by killing 68 bison to Comstock's 48.
Cody had documented service as a soldier during the Civil War and as Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry during the Plains Wars, for which he received the Medal of Honor in 1872. He claimed to have had many jobs, including as a trapper, bullwhacker, "Fifty-Niner" in Colorado, a Pony Express rider in 1860, wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, and a hotel manager, but historians have had difficulty documenting them, and he may have fabricated some for publicity.
He became world famous for his Wild West shows, which toured in Great Britain and Europe as well as the United States. Audiences were enthusiastic about seeing a piece of the American West. The adventure story writer Emilio Salgari met Buffalo Bill in Italy, saw his show, and later featured him as a hero in some of his novels. [Based on Information in Wikipedia]
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Wild West Show Advertising Poster. Courier Litho. Co., (1900)
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody earned his name as a hunter for the railroad, gained fame as an Army scout, and became legendary as a showman. A man of vision, Cody also advocated equal rights for women and for his former Indian foes. He introduced new show business techniques and founded communities. He supported preservation of the buffalo and originated the modern rodeo. He was a product, a promoter and a shaper of the American West.
Cody got his nickname after the American Civil War when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody is purported to have killed 4,280 American bison (commonly known as buffalo) in eighteen months, (1867–1868). Cody and William Comstock competed in a buffalo-shooting match over the exclusive right to use the name, which Cody won by killing 68 bison to Comstock's 48.
Cody had documented service as a soldier during the Civil War and as Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry during the Plains Wars, for which he received the Medal of Honor in 1872. He claimed to have had many jobs, including as a trapper, bullwhacker, "Fifty-Niner" in Colorado, a Pony Express rider in 1860, wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, and a hotel manager, but historians have had difficulty documenting them, and he may have fabricated some for publicity.
He became world famous for his Wild West shows, which toured in Great Britain and Europe as well as the United States. Audiences were enthusiastic about seeing a piece of the American West. The adventure story writer Emilio Salgari met Buffalo Bill in Italy, saw his show, and later featured him as a hero in some of his novels. [Based on Information in Wikipedia]