Globe June 18.
THE COWBOY RACE.
Buffalo Bill's Sturdy Struggle in Favor
of Humane Measures.
Hon. W. F. Cody, who is known to
fame as Buffalo Bill, has taken quite an
interest in the cowboy race from Chadron,
Neb., to the World's Fair.
In fact so great was his interest that
the boys asked permission to end their
race in the grounds of the Wild West
instead of the World's Columbian Exposition
as a general and direct compilment
to the great scout.
The permission was not so readily
granted as one might suppose. Buffalo
Bill is one of the most humane men in
the country, and at the outset said
plainly that he would have nothing to
do with the race if it was conducted
after the style of the German army
officers' race from Berlin to Vienna.
The ten hour stretch was accordingly
agreed upon and everything looked
lovely.
At this time certain papers made a
great amount of trouble about the inhumanity
of the entire affair. There
was but one reason for all this trouble
and that was ignorance. Had they
been posted they would have known
that a cowboy's best friend is his horse;
that for days and nights at a time the
horse is the rough rider's only companion.
In the west the cowboy thinks
more of his horse than of a human being.
They hang a man in the western
country for horse stealing where they
would not for murder.
It was ignorance, then, that prompted
these papers to antagonize the race. It
was the same ignorance that prompted
certain branches of the humane society
to offer a reward for the detention of
the riders. Eastern papers took up the
case and unkind remarks were made
about the entire affair and the backers
and originators of the idea.
Col. Cody came in for his share
simply because the race was to end in
his grounds. At his suggestion, officials
of the society were detailed to accompany
the racers, and when they arrived
on the scene, were among the
most enthusiastic of the throng that
cheered the plainsmen.
Buffalo Bill is a life member of the
Humane society and was among the
warmest friends of Dr. Burge. He was
the man who suggested clay pigeons as
a substitute for live birds, and thus put
a stop to the awful slaughter of the
feathered innocents.
When these facts become known-- the
plainsman's love for his steed and Hon.
W. F. Cody's steadfast belief in the
protection of dumb animals -- the last
vestige of opprobrium will be removed
from the feats of daring horsemen, and
those who have opposed the race will be
at the finish to join the multitude that
greats the victor at the end of the contest.
