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COATES' OPERA HOUSE
Buffalo Bill Combination
TWO NIGHTS ONLY!
Wednesday & Thursday, April 11 & 12.
First Appearance of
BUFFALO BILL (Hon. W. F. Cody) since his return from the late Indian War, supported by
CAPTAIN JACK (J. W. Crawford) the Poet-Scout of the Black Hills, and the Most Talented Dramatic Company ever in this city, will appear in the New Drama, entitled THE RED RIGHT HAND, Or, Buffalo Bill's First Scalp for Custer. (The scalping of the Indian Chief Yellow Hand, by Buffalo Bill, occurred at the battle of Indian Creek, July 17, 1876.
Prices 50 and 75 Cts. Reserved Seats $1.00 to be had at Shepard's Book Store and Brackett's Drug Store.
JOSH. E. OGDEN, General Agent.
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"THE POET SCOUT."
Leaves from the Record of a Runaway Drummer Boy.
One of Ned Buntline's Pets and Ideals and the Friend of Buffalo Bill.
Tomorrow night the Buffalo Bill combination will play in this city. The title of the play is "The Red Right Hand or Buffalo Bill's First Scalp for Custer." Such plays as these do not generally draw large houses in Kansas City, and were it not that one of the principal characters in the combination is well known to the writer, no special mention would have been made. But J. W. Crawforn, or, as he loves best to be called, "Captain Jack," is a genius very seldom met with. His childhood was that of Oliver Twist, his boyhood a favorite drummer boy in the army, and his early manhood a scout on the frontier. His father and brothers were sacrificed in the late war, and his mother, left a widow, was left dependant upon the little Scotch drummer boy, "Jack." Little Jack was shot and supposed to be mortally wounded at Gettysburg and carried in the arms of an old soldier a senseless and quivering boy soldier to the hospital. It was in the hospital where Jack, the runaway boy, first learned to read. The kind Sisters of Mercy sitting beside the wounded drummer boy's couch taught him his first lessons in A B C, and taught him to write his first letter. As soon as he was able to get out of hospital he met with a friend in the present Governor Hartranft of Pennsylvania, and by his influence was promoted to a suitable position in the army. His youth, however, and the close of the war prevented the drummer boy reaching any high mark of distinction, and at the end of the war he became a pupil of Ned Buntline, the novelist. It was under the patronage of this distinguished performance writer that Crawford the drummer boy, went West to study Western life and habits. He was one of the first of the white men to break through the military cordon surrounding the Black Hills and reach the gold mines. He was one of the original founders and incorporators of Custer City, and the leader of the company of scouts which protected the miners and cabin builders from Indian inroads and forays while they built up their stockade on French creek. It was here on French creek that the TIMES correspondent found the "poet scout" in the winter of 1876. He was discovered sitting a-tide of a log on the corner of his half built cabin sawing off a log. As he was the only newspaper correspondent then in the Black Hills the TIMES man soon made his acquaintance. In the winter campaign of 1876-7 the TIMES special correspondent had an opportunity of studying the long-haired scout, and saved a few of his hastily written rhymes. A few of these are herewith submitter. They have never been in print before and were written out in the woods in the Black Hills without study or preparation. One bright morning the Poet Scout called at the tent of the TIMES correspondent, who was busy writing a letter home, and offered to write a few verses. He has given a subject "Custer," and in a few moments handed in the following sweet poem:
CUSTER.
(For the Kansas City Times by "Captain Jack.")
A little [word?] in the park. Deep shaded by the trees. Ye, gods! it is a cozy noon.
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BUFFALO BILL. "The Red Right Hand" will be presented to-morrow night, at the Opera House. Besides the attraction of Hon. W. F. Cody, Buffalo Bill himself, who is known to fame as chief of scouts in Gen. Terry's command during the late Indian war, the character of Captain Jack will be supported by Captain Jack Crawford, poet scout in the Black Hills, under Gen. Crook. The play, written by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, expressly for this combination, is founded at the late Sioux war, in which General Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were massacred-- one of the principal incidents introduced being the slaughtering of Yellow Hand, one of the Cheyenne chiefs, by Buffalo Bill. who then had the honor of capturing the first scalp in revenge for Custer. The performance will conclude each evening with "Sketches in India."
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WHILE BUFFALO BILL is "making Rome howl" in the West, his old comrade. TEXAS JACK, is "splitting the ears of the groundlings" in the East. JACK'S troupe includes M'lle MORLACHI, to whom he is married, and DONALD MCKAY, "the chief of the Warm Spring Indians. Two mustangs appear on the stage during the play. M'lle appears in four characters, alternating the pale-face maiden with the blear-eyed squaw. It is difficult to say which of the rival scouts is the most effective actor. TEXAS JACK makes the most noise, but BUFFALO BILL gets the most scalps.
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OPERA HOUSE.
BUFFALO BILL COMBINATION.
TWO NIGHTS ONLY!
Friday and Saturday, April 13 & 14.
First Appearance of
BUFFALO BILL (Hon. W. F. Cody.)
Since his return from the late Indian War, Supported by
CAPTAIN JACK (J. W. Crawford.)
The Poet Scout of the Black Hills, and the most talented Dramatic Company, will appear in the New Drama, entitled The Red Right Hand, or Buffalo Bill's First Scalp for Custer.
The scalping of Yellow Hand, the Indian Chief, by Buffalo Bill, occured at the battle of Indian Creek, July 17th, 1876.
Prices as usual. Reserved seats can be had at Kennedy's Book Store, 4 days in advance.
april-d8t JOSH E. OGDEN, Gen. Agt.