63

OverviewTranscribeVersionsHelp

Facsimile

Transcription

55

in half dollars, and he got fifty of them. He tied them up in his little handkerchief, and
when he got home he untied the handkerchief and spread it all over the table." (Laughter.)

Colonel Cody--"I have been spreading it ever since."

Mr. Majors--"And he is still spreading it. Now, gentlemen, this is an occasion when
a man does not want to hold people long. I could say so much to you on any other occasion
when there are not tens of thousands of people waiting and anxious to see the wind-up of
this thing.

"This occasion can never happen on this globe again. The same number of people
and the same conditions and circumstances never will occur here on earth again. This is
the biggest thing I ever saw, and I was at the World's Fair, and I have been at the exposi-
tions in London in Edinburgh, Scotland and in New York. Bless your precious life
Colonel Cody." (Applause.)

SENATOR THURSTON'S ELOQUENT TRIBUTE.

The closing address of welcome was made by Senator Thurston, who said:

"Colonel Cody, My Fellow Citizens: I will only attempt to add another welcome
to our friend, Colonel Cody, and I will make it in language as simple as our welcome is
sincere. Colonel Cody, this is your day. (Applause.) this is your exposition. (Applause.)
This is your city (Applause.), and we all rejoice that Nebraska is your State. (Great
applause.) You have carried the fame of our country and of our State all over the
civilized world; you have been recieved and honored by Princess, by Emperors and by
Kings; and, Cody, the titled women of the courts of the nations of the world have been
captivated by your charm of manner and your splendid manhood. (Cries of "Good!"
"Good!) (Applause.) You are known wherever you go, abroad and in the United States
as Colonel Cody, the best representative of the great and progressive West. But here you
have a better title. It is one that has grown up in the hearts of yor fellow citizens, and
the title we give you is 'Our Bill.' (Prolonged applause.) You stand here to-day in the
midst of a wonderful assembly. Here are representatives of the heroic and daring characters
of most of the nations of the world; you are entitled to this honor, and especially entitled to
it here. This people know you as a man who has carried this demonstration of yours at
home and abroad; you have not been a showman in the common sense of the word; you
have been a grand national and international educator of men. (Applause.) You have
furnished a demonstration of the possibilities of your own
country that has advanced us in the opinion of the world.
But we who are here with you for a third, or more than a
third, of a century, we remember you more dearly and
tenderly than the others do, for we remember that when
this whole Western land was a wilderness, when these
representatives of the aborignies were attempting to hold
their own against the onward tide of civilization, the settler
and the hardy pioneer, the women and the children, always
felt safe whenever Cody rode along the frontier, and he
was their protector and defender. (Great applause.) Cody,
this is your home. you live in the hearts of the people
of our State. God Bless you, and keep you, and prosper
you in your spledid work."

COLONEL CODY'S RESPONSE

Another hurricane burst of cheers greeted Colonel
Cody as he advanced to the front of the platform to reply to
these felicitations, and he was so deeply moved that at first
his voice well-nigh failed him. As soon as he could regain
composure he said:

"You cannot expect me to make adequate response
for the honor which you have bestowed upon me to-day.
You have overwhelmed my speaking faculties, for I cannot
corral enough ideas to even attempt a coherent reply to
the honors which you have accorded me.

"JOHNNY BURKE NO NECK."
Found on the Battlefield of Wounded
Knee after the annihiliation of
Big Foot's Band.

Notes and Questions

Nobody has written a note for this page yet

Please sign in to write a note for this page