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BUFFALO BILL.
Will the Youths of St. Joseph be Benefitted by His Performance Here.
Buffalo Bill, the scout and his six trained Indians, with revolvers, bowie knives and rifles, will run the people out the opera house with their hideous yells and blood and thunder performance to-morrow night. The News doesn't object to such performances if the people doesn't, but we are under the impression that mothers will not care to take their sons to see such a sensational play. There are too many blood and thunder papers and dime novels lying upon the counters of the news stands throughout the country for the good of the rising generation. How many young men have become hard characters and led [?] and desperate lives by reading sensational papers of this character and dreaming of Indian treachery until they become satisfied in their own minds that they are equal to any bloody emergency. The best thing parents can do is to keep dime novels, sensational papers, etc., out of their children's reach and not allow them the privilege of attending plays that will leave a bad impression upon their minds. Mr. Cody himself, is an intelligent gentleman, but his six ignorant Indians are not the people to better the morals of this or any other community.
The people demand sensible and refined plays, and the opera house will never be well patronized until they procure more Charlotte Thompsons, Mary Andersons, Rochelles, Fredrick Wards, etc.
Negro minstrels and shows of such a character would do well to stay out of St. Joseph, for they will never meet with the patronage or success they expect. There is only one minstrel show that will ever meet with success in St. Joseph, and that is Haverley's mastodon minstrels, that performed here last season. The NEWS will always give them a hearty welcome for they are deserving of the patronage of the public.
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AMUSEMENTS. Buffalo Bill.
Mr. Henry Selles, advance agent for Buffalo Bill and company, called at the GAZETTE office last night and announced the coming of the celebrated actor-scout, [fixing?] the date at October 7, one night. In speaking of this attraction, the Syracuse Daily Standard says:
The audience at Weiting opera house on Saturday night was squeezed tight into the farthest corner of the theatre, but it hung over the edges like the froth on the top of a schooner of beer. In all respects it was a reproduction of the old assemblages which made the Mechanic's fair memorable. The occasion of this popular demonstration was the appearance of that hero of the plains, Buffalo Bill. A wild shout of approbation lifted itself from the throats of the great crowd, while the timid ladies trembled lest the roof be rent from its fastenings, when its idol, the stalwart Indian fighter, stalked out of the wings. Buffalo Bill is a great deal more of a curiosity than he is an actor, but he shows marked evidences of improvement in his art during his short theatrical career. He has an excellent company and a play that keeps the figure of the idolized scout in the eye a good part of the time, a requisite that meets with general approval. Buffalo Bill's author is not so prodigal of powder and ball as he was wont to be, the number of slain being comparatively small in the present play. Still the Indians are made to bite the dust with sufficient expedition to satisfy the gallery goers appetite for gore. People who have neither a wild desire to see the sturdy son of the forest, whose unerring aim and magnificent prowess are the theme of song and story, nor an insatiable longing to witness a thrilling depiction of civilization in the far West, where life is as cheap as dirt and grit is better than gold, should go to see Buffalo Bill's play to catch a glimpse of an audience of 1,000 people moved to ecstacy by the simplest word of the untrained eloquence of one man. No small part of the show is in front of the footlights.
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TOOTLE'S OPERA HOUSE.
FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 7TH,
The Famous Scout, Hon. Wm. F. Cody, Buffalo Bill,
And His Mammoth COMBINATION.
DR. F. POWELL (White Beaver), HE-NU-KAW, The Beautiful Indian Princess,
A Genuine Troupe of Sioux Indian Chiefs.
THE GREAT BORDER DRAMA, Prairie Waif.
Prices, 35, 50, and 75. Reserved seats now on sale at Opera House Drug Store. $1. W.F. CODY, Proprietor and Manager.
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Buffalo Bill.
On Friday night the only and original Buffalo Bill, prince of border men, ex chief of scouts under General Custer, ex member of the Nebraska legislature, actor and ranchero, appears at the opera house in the new drama written for him by Mr. John A. Stevens, formerly of St. Joseph, entitled "The Prairie Waif." The Utica Observer says
A large audience enjoyed the Prairie Waif with Buffalo Bill as the hero, at the opera house last evening. The gallery alone was occupied by over seven hundred people. The play, which was written by John A. Stevens and for Mr. Cody, is admirably adapted for the purposes of the well known scout. The scene is laid on the Western plains and the developments are such as to satisfy the most enthusiastic admirer of Indian fights, bowie knife encounters, feats of marksmanship, &c. It was easy to perceive that since his last visit here Buffalo Bill has made a marked improvement in his acting. This, added to the merits of the new drama as compared with his others, had the effect of leaving the audience well satisfied with his efforts last evening. His skillful shooting in the second act called out the wildest applause. Mr. Cody has realized largely from his performances during the season, and it is evident that he is always sure of a paying house in Utica. His support was the best he has ever brought to this city. Jule Keen, as the Dutchman, kept the gallery in manifest good humor. The dramatic honors of the evening were [?] off by R. C. White, Mark Stanley, who is well known in Utica and who is, we think one of the best stock actors in the country. The donkey of course, created more than his snare of merriment.
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BUFFALO BILL Who He Is, What He Is and What He Has Done- His First Appearance.
The little paper on Felix street is said to have drawn the identity of Buffalo Bill into question by a statement to the effect that people would be "fooled" if they expected to see the genuine Buffalo Bill on Friday evening. The party "fooled" is evidently the author of the paragraph creating the impression. Buffalo Bill who appears here on Friday evening, is the original William F. Cody, whose name has become a household word throughout the United States. He obtained his famous sobriquet at the time the Union Pacific railroad was run across the plains, when he contracted to keep the entire construction gang in buffalo meat. This he did, single-handed and alone, killing an unprecedented number of prairie bison and in consequence contracting the name of "Buffalo Bill." Having performed other duties for large corporations...