Buffalo Bill

As modern residents of Arizona, people have a difficult time determining the truth from the fiction of the tales of the Wild West. When he came to Arizona in the early 1900’s, “…Buffalo Bill gave an exhibition of western life as it was many years ago and as it is still thought to be in far eastern states.” William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born near Davenport in Scott County, Iowa on February 26, 1846. In 1860, at age 14, he joined the Pony Express which advertised for “expert riders willing to risk death daily.” During the Civil War, Bill served as a scout and enlisted soldier. In 1867, Cody was hired by the Kansas Pacific Railroad as a buffalo hunter to feed construction crews. In 17 months, Cody claimed to have killed 4,280 buffalo and garnered his nick name in the process. In part, Buffalo Bill’s fame started when he was asked to guide a buffalo hunt for the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia in Nebraska in January of 1872. General Phil Sheridan arranged the hunt which also included General George Custer. Arriving at the hunt, Bill was described as being “…seated on a spanking charger, and with his long hair and spangled buckskin suit he appeared as the feared and loved by all for miles around.” In 1872, author Ned Buntline persuaded Buffalo Bill to star in a play “The Scouts of the Plains” which was based on the fictional “Buffalo Bill” in Buntline’s dime novels. Bill loved being a showman, so in 1883, he created “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.” Bill toured the world with his Wild West show which recreated events of the real west along with the fictional west that was the entertainment of the day. More than 1,500 dime novels were written which contained the adventures of Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill brought his show to Phoenix at least twice in the early 1900’s to entertain the people within the growing City. In 1900, Phoenix had a population of 5,544 people and by 1910 had grown to 11,134 according to the United States Census. Buffalo Bill traveled by train with more than 800 people and animals that were part of his show that ran about two hours, rain or shine. Cody used an “Immense Canvas Canopy” to cover the performers and patrons. Admission to the show which included bench seating was 50 cents. Grand Stand Chairs were $1.00. Children younger than 10 were admitted for half price. In the early years of the show, Bill would stage a parade through the town to drum up business. By the time the show arrived in Phoenix in 1908, “…Colonel Cody has found that he can give a far better performance when he does not hustle his people and stock out for a preliminary march around the town…” Reports indicated that Cody did ride through the major streets of Phoenix to “…convince the public that the old scout is still in the harness, ready to appear as he positively will at every performance.” The performers along with the animals walked from the train tracks up Fourth Street to the grounds of the performance which included a cowboy campsite and an Indian village with teepees. Shows were given at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. By 1908, the show included skills in cowboys riding horses and bucking broncos, a game of football between cowboys and Indians on horseback using a ball that was 6 feet 3 inches in diameter, an artillery drill with cannon firing, a train holdup where “…a real railroad train consisting of an engine, tender and combination baggage and passenger coach, puffed across the far end of the arena on a wobbly set of rails. In the attack on the train a safe is blown up at each performance with a huge charge of gunpowder.” Also, the show included the recreation of the Battle of Summit Springs from 1869. Newspaper articles indicated “not only is the battle scene reproduced and that of the duel, but also the mode of the Redman’s living at that period. All the Indians will be seen in their full war paint and feathers.” The show also contained a group of Indians attacking the Deadwood stage coach with the cowboys rescuing the stage in the nick of time. Another feature of the show was a recreation of a buffalo hunt with a small herd of buffalo. News reports indicated “there is plenty of gun-play in the stage holdup, train robbery, buffalo hunt and several other features. The buffaloes are very interesting to see, as they are of the hundred or so bison still surviving.” Buffalo Bill appeared six times during the course of the show. One of the spectators commented, “’Why isn’t he young looking’ said a middle aged woman…’I saw him when I was a little girl and he looked older than that then.’” Bill invested his earnings from the show in film-making, tourism, ranching, and mining in Arizona. However, these ventures did not return a profit for Cody and the Wild West show eventually failed in 1913. Cody’s debts forced him to continue touring through 1916 as an attraction in other shows. He died in Denver of kidney failure on January 10, 1917, at age 71.