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not only is the command habitually dependent on them for good routes and comfortable camps, but the officer in command must rely on them almost entirely for their knowledge of the position and movements of the enemy."
Therefore, besides mere personal bravery, a scout must possess the moral qualities associated with a good captain of a ship-- full of self-reliance in his own ability to meet and overcome any unlooked-for difficulties, be a thorough student of nature, self-taught weather-prophet, a geologist by experience, an astronomer by necessity, a naturalist, and thoroughly educated in the warfare, stratagems, trickery and skill of his implacable Indian foe, because, in handling expeditions or leading troops, on him alone depends correctness of destination avoidance of dangers, protection against sudden storms, the finding of game, grass, wood and water, the lack of which, of course, is more fatal than the deadly bullet. In fact, more lives have been lost on the plains from incompetent guides that ever the Sioux or Pawnees destroyed.
Our best Indian-fighting officers are quick to recognize these traits in those claiming frontier lore, and to no one in the military history of the West has such deference been shown by them as to W. F. Cody, as is witnessed by the continuous years of service he has passed, the different commands he has served, the expeditions and campaigns he has been identified with, his repeated holding, when he desired, the position of "Cheif of Scouts of United States Army," and the intimate associations and contact resulting from it with Gen. W. T. Sherman (with whom he was at the making of the Comanche and Kiowa Treaty), Gen. Phil. Sheridan (who has often given him special recognition and chosen him to organize expeditions, notably that of the Duke Alexis), old Gen. Harney, Gens. W. S. Hancock, Crook, Pope, Miles, Ord, Augur, Terry, McKenzie, Carr, Forsythe, Merritt, Brisbin, Emory, Gibbon, Royall, Hazen, Duncan, Palmer, Pembroke, and the late lamented Gen. Custer. His history, in fact, would be almost a history of the middle West, and though younger, equaling in term of service and in personal adventure Kit Carson, old Jim Bridger, California Joe, Wild Bill, and the rest of his dead-and-gone associates.
As another evidence of the confidence placed in his frontiersmanship, it may suffice to mention the celebrities whose money and position most naturally sought the best protection the Western market could afford, and who chose to place their lives in his keeping: Sir George Gore, Earl Dunraven, James Gordon Bennett, Duke Alexis, Gen. Custer, Lawrence Jerome, Remington, Professor Ward of Rochester, Professor Marsh of Yale College, Major J. G. Hecksher, Dr. Kingsley (Canon Kingsley's brother), and others of equal rank and distinction. All books of the plains, his exploits with Carr, Miles and Crook, published in the New York Herald and Times in the summer of 1876, when he killed Yellow Hand in front of the military command in an open-handed fight, are recorded references.
The following letter of his old commander and celebrated Indian-fighter, Gen E. A. Carr, written years ago relative to him, is a tribute as generous as any brave man has ever made to one of his position:
"From his services with my command, steadily in the field, I am qualified to bear testimony as to his qualities and character.
"He was very modest and unassuming. He is a natural gentleman in his manners as well as in character, and has none of the roughness of the typical frontiersman. He can take his own part when required, but I have never heard of his using a knife or a pistol or engaging in a quarrel where it could be avoided. His personal strength and activity are very great, and his temper and disposition are so good that no one has reason to quarrel with him.
"His eyesight is better than a good field-glass; he is the best trailer I ever heard of, and also the best judge of the 'lay of country'- that is, he is able to tell what kind of country is ahead, so as to know how to act. He is a perfect judge of distance, and always ready to tell correctly how many miles it is to water, or to any place, or how many miles have been marched.
"MR. CODY seemed never to tire and was always ready to go, in the darkest night, or the worst weather, and usually volunteered, knowing what the emergency required. His trailing, when following Indians, or looking for stray animals or for game, is simply wonderful. He is a most extraordinary hunter.
"In a fight MR. CODY is never noisy, obstreperous or excited. In fact, I never hardly noticed him in a fight, unless I happened to want him, or he had something to report, when he was always in the right place, and his information was always valuable and reliable.
"During the winter of 1866 we encountered hardships and exposure in terrific snowstorms, sleet, etc., etc. On one occasion that winter MR. CODY showed his quality by quietly offering to go with some dispatches to Gen. Sheridan, across a dangerous region, where another principal scout was reluctant to risk himself.
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"MR. CODY has since served with me as post guide and scout at Fort McPherson, where he frequently distinguished himself. * * *
"In the summer of 1876 Cody went with me to the Black Hills region where he killed Yellow Hand. Afterward he was with the Big Horn and Yellowstone expeditions. I consider that his services to the country and the army by trailing, finding and fighting Indians, and thus protecting the frontier settlers, and by guiding command over the best and most practicable routes, have been invaluable."
Thus it will be seen that, notwithstanding it may sometimes be thought his fame rests upon the pen of the romancer and novelist, had they never been attracted to him (and they were solely by his sterling worth), W. F. CODY would none the less have been a character in American history, Having assisted in founding substantial peace in Nebraska, where he was honored by being elected to the legislature (while away on a haunt), he has settled at North Platte, to enjoy the fruits and minister to the wants and advancements of the domestic circle with which he is blessed. On the return to civil life of his old prairie friend, Major North, in rehearsing the old time years agone on the Platte, the Republican, and the Medicine, they concluded to reproduce some of the interesting scenes on the plains and in the Wild West.
The history of such a man attractive as it already has been to the most distinguished officers and fighters in the United States Army, must prove doubly so to the men, women and children who have heretofore found only in the novel the hero the hero of rare exploits, on which with the brain to conceive and the nerve to execute, Buffalo Bill par excellence is the exemplar of the strong and unique traits that characterize a true American frontiersman.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT WITH THE FIFTH CAVALRY.
Captain George F. Price's history of this famous regiment recounts its experience from the time it was known as the Second Dragoons to the present, giving the historical record of its officers, among whom are numbered many of the most distinguished military leaders known in our national annals, such as Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, Gen. George H. Thomas, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. John Sedgwick, Gens. Hardee, Emory, Van Dorn, Merrit, Carr, Royall, Custer and others of equal note. Besides alluding in many of its pages to incidents, adventures and conduct of the favorite guide and scout of the reiment, W. F. Cody ("BUFFALO BILL"), Captain Price completes a narrative of brave men and daring deeds by "flood and field" with the following biographical sketch (page 583) of W. F. Cody, "BUFFALO BILL."
"COLONEL W. F. CODY ('BUFFALO BILL')
went to Pike's Peak during the excitement which followed the discovery of gold in Colorado, but failing of success returned to Kansas and became a trapper on the Republican River. In the fall of 1861 he was a Government scout and guide at Fort Larned, Kan., and Arkansas and Southwestern Missouri. In 1863 he enlisted in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, and served in Tennesse, Missippi , Missouri and Kansas, and participated in several battles. He was made a non-comissioned officer, and served as a scout for his regiment after the battle of Tupelo. He was honorably discharged at the end of the war, and engaged in various business pursuits until the spring of 1867, when he made a contract, for a monthly compensation of five hundred dollars, to deliver all the buffalo meat that would be needed for food purposes for a number of laborers on the Kansa Pacific Railway in Western Kansas, and during this engagement-a period of less than eighteen months-he killed four thousand two hundred and eighty buffaloes. This remarkable success gained for him the name of 'Buffalo Bill.' When hunting buffalo, Cody would ride his horse whenever possible to the right front of a herd, shoot down the leaders, and crowd their followers to the left until they began to run in a circle, when he would soon kill all that he required. Cody again entered the Government service in 1868 as a scout and guide, and after a series of dangerous rides as bearer of important dispatches through a country which was infested with hostile Indians, was appointed by General Sheridan chief scout and guide for the Fifth Calvary, which had been recently ordered from reconstruction duty in the Southern States for a campaign against the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes. He joined a detachment of the regiment at Fort Hayes, Kansas, and was engaged during the fall of 1868, in the combats on Beaver and Shuter Creeks and north branch of Solomon River. He then served with the Canadian River expedition during the winter of 1868-69, and became deservedly conspicuous for cheerful service under dispiriting circumstances and the successful discharge of important duties. He marched
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with a battalion of th eregiment across the country from Fort Lyon, Colo., to Fort McPherson, Neb., during May, 1869, and was engaged en route in the combat at Beaver Creek, Kan., where he rendered an important and brilliant service by carrying dispatches from a detached party to the cavalry camp after a soldier courier had been driven back by the Indians; and again at Spring Creek, Neb., three days later, where, when the advance guard under Lieutenant Babcock was surrounded by a large force of the enemy, he was distinguished for coolness and bravery.
"Cody was appointed chief scout and guide for the Republican River expedition fo 1869, and was conspicuous during the pursuit of the Dog Soldiers, under the celebrated Cheyenne chief, Tall Bull, to Summit Springs, Colo. He also guided the Fifth Cavalry to a position whence the regiment was enabled to charge upon the enemy, and win a brilliant death at the hands of hostile Sioux on Prairie Dog Creek, Kan., September 26, 1869. He was assigned to Fort McPherson when the expedition was disbanded, and served at that station (was a Justice of Peace in 1871) until the Fifth Cavalry was transferred to Arizona. He
{Image captions} RED FOX. "WATCHING AND WAITING."
served during this period with several expeditions, and was conspicuous for gallant conduct in the Indian combat at Red Willow and Birdwood Creeks, and also for successful services as chief scout and guide of the buffalo hunt which was arranged by General Sheridan for the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia.
"Cody was then assigned to duty with the Third Cavalry, and served with that regiment until the fall of 1872, when he was elected a meber of the Nebraska Legislature, and thus acquired the title of 'Honorable.' But accepting the advice of Eastern friends, he resigned his seat in the Legislature and also his position of scout and guide at Fort McPherson, and proceeded to Chicago, where he made his first appearance as an actor in a drama entitled 'The Scouts of the Plains,' winning an instant success.
"At the beginning of the Sioux War in 1876, he hastened to Cheyenne, Wyo., joined the Fifth Cavalry, which had recently returned from Arizona, and was engaged in the affair at War Bonnet (Indian Creek), Wyo., where he killed in a hand-to-hand combat the Cheyenne Chief, Yellow Hand. He then accompanied the Fifth Cavalry to Goose Creek, Mont., and served with the Big Horn and Yellowstone expedition until September, when business engagements compelled him to return to the Eastern States. Cody abundantly proved during this campaign that he had lost none of his old-time skill and daring in Indian warfare. He enjoys a brilliant repuatation as a scout and guide, which has been fairly earned by faithful and conspicuous service.
"He is modest and unassuming, and free from the common faults of the typical frontiersman. His present lucrative business has made him widely known thoughout the country. He has valuable property interests at North Platte, Neb., and is owner of an extensive cattle ranch on Dismal River, 65 miles north of North Platte, having for a partner in the business Major Frank North, who is well known as the whilom commander of the celebrated Pawnee scouts.
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"Should the wild Sioux again go on the war-path, Cody, if living, will be found with the cavalry advance, riding another 'Buckskin Joe,' and carrying his Springfield rifle, 'Lucretia,' across the pommel of his saddle."
FROM COL. DODGE'S "THIRTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS."–Page 628.
"Of ten men employed as scouts nine will prove to be worthless ; of fifty so employed one may prove to be really valuable, but, though hundreds, even thousands, of men have been so employed by the Government since the war, the number of really remarkable men among them can be counted on fingers. The services which these men are called on to perform are so important and valuable that the officer who benefits by them is sure to give the fullest credit, and men honored in official reports come to be great men on the frontier. Fremont's reports made Kit Carson a renowned man. Custer immortalized California Joe. Custer, Merritt and Carr made William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) a plains celebrity 'UNTIL TIME SHALL BE NO MORE.'"
A LEGISLATOR.–The late Phocian Howard journalistically records the fact :–"We were present in the Nebraska Legislature when Mr. Cody's resignation was read, and, knowing his practical qualities, his thorough knowledge of important questions then demanding attention in border legislation, his acquaintance with the Indian problem–the savages, deadly foe in battle, their generous friend in peace–great was our disappointment in his refusing to continue in political life, choosing to be, what he really is, a true 'Knight of the Plains.' On the frontier, even there is name a household word, deservedly is the famous scout popular throughout the land, standing, as he has, a leader among the manly pioneer barriers between civilization and savagery, risking all that the 'Star of Empire' might force its 'westward way.' We know Bill Cody well, having been with him in three campaigns among the Indians, the last being the memorable Custer campaign under Crook, on the Big Horn, against the Sitting Bull Sioux, and we bear kind witness that Buffalo Bill is the idol of the army and frontiersmen, and the dread and terror of the war-bonneted Indian. At the last session of the Nebraska Legislature he received a large complimentary vote for United States Senator."
A PEN PICTURE.–Curtis Guild, proprietor and editor of the conservative Commercial Bulletin, Boston, writes : "Raised on the frontier, he has passed through every grade, and won fame in each line, while to be proficient in one brings celebrity sufficient to gratify most ambitions. Thus it is he holds supremacy in fact, and receives from his associates an adoration surpassing even his public popularity. Visitors to the camp, early the other morning, found him joining in every frolic, game and contest, with each and all, and generally excelling; in shooting, in running, in jumping, in trials of strength, feats of agility, horsemanship, handling the ribbons behind four or six, riding the vicious mustang, manipulating the revolver, etc., tackling each specialist, and coming to the front with a generous modesty admired by the defeated.
"No lover of the human race, no man with an eye for the picturesque, but must have enjoyed the very sight of these pioneers of civilization. Never was a finer picture of American manhood presented than when Buffalo Bill stepped out to show the capabilities of the Western teamster's whip. Tall beyond the lot of ordinary mortals, straight as an arrow, not an ounce of useless flesh upon his limbs, but every muscle firm and hard as the sinews of a stag, with the frank, kindly eye of a devoted friend, and a natural courtly grace of manner which would become a marshal of France, Buffalo Bill is from spur to sombrero one of the finest types of manhood this continent has ever produced. Those who had expected to meet a different class of men must have been pleasantly surprised in these genuine sons of the plains, every one of whom was stamped with the natural easy grace and courtesy of manner which marks the man who is born a gentleman."
AS AN EDUCATOR.–The nationally known Brick Pomeroy thus writes : "One of the pronounced, positive, strong men of the West is Hon. Wm. F. Cody, of Nebraska, known quite generally the world over as 'Buffalo Bill.' A sturdy, generous, positive character, who as hunter, guide, scout, Government officer, member of the Legislature, and gentleman, rises to the equal of every emergency into which his way is opened or directed. Quick to think and to act, cool in all cases of pleasure or extreme danger ; versatile in his genius ; broad and liberal in his ideas ; progressive in his mentality, he can no more keep still or settle down into a routine work incidental to office or farm life than an eagle can thrive in a cage.
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"The true Western man is free, fearless, generous, and chivalrous. of this class Hon. Wm. F. Cody, 'Buffalo Bill,' is a bright representative. As a part of his rushing career he has brought together material for what he correctly terms a Wild West Exhibition. I should call it a Wild West Reality. The idea is not merely to take in money from those who witness a very lively exhibition, but to give the people in the East a correct representation of life on the plains, and the incidental life of the hardy, brave, intelligent pioneers, who are the first to blaze the way to the future homes and greatness of America. He knows the worth and sturdiness of true Western character, and, as a lover of his country, wishes to present as many facts as possible to the public, so that those who will can see actual pictures of life in the West, brought to the East for the inspection and education of the public.
" 'Buffalo Bill' has brought the Wild West to the doors of the East. There is more of real life, of genuine interest, of positive education in this startling exhibition than I have ever before seen, and it is as true to nature and life as it really is with those who are smoothing the way for millions to follow. All of this imaginary Romeo and Juliet business sinks to utter insignificance in comparison to the drama of existence that is here so well enacted, and all the operas in the world appear like pretty playthings for emasculated children by the side of the setting of reality and the music of the frontier so faithfully and extensively presented and so cleverly managed by this incomparable representative of Western pluck, coolness, bravery, independence and generosity. I wish every person east of the Missouri River could see this true, graphic picture of wild Western life ; they would know more and think better of the genuine men of the West.
"I wish there were more progressive educators like Wm. F. Cody in this world.
He deserves well for his efforts to please and to instruct in matters important to America and incidents that are passing away never more to return."
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Could a man now living have stood on the shore of the Red Sea, and witnessed the passage of the children of Israel and the struggle of Pharoah and his hosts, what a sight he would have seen, and how interested would be those to whom he related the story. Could the man who stood on the shore to see Washington and his soldiers cross the Delaware have lived till now to tell the story, what crowds he would have to listen. How interesting would be the story of a man, if he were now living, who had witnessed the landing of Columbus on the shores of the New World, or the story of one of the hardy English Puritans who took passage on the "Mayflower," and landed on the rock-bound coast of New England. So, too, of the angel who has seen the far West become tame and dotted under the advancing civilization as the pioneers fought their way westward into desert and jungle. What a story he can relate as to the making of that history. And what a history America has, to be sure ! From the mouth of the Hudson River to the shores of the Pacific, men, women and children have conquered the wilderness by going to the front and staying there–not by crowding into cities and living as do worms, by crawling through each other and devouring the leavings.
Since the railroad gave its aid to pioneering, America is making history faster than any