Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill, the well-known scout of the plains, will appear at Rouse's Hall this evening in his new play, "The Knight of the Plains." He has appeared here before, and is well known to the public, who have patronized him liberally here tofore. The New York Herald says of him:
The Hon. W F Cody, better known to fame under his earlier title of Buffalo Bill, has introduced four genuine Indians into the combination of which he is the head, and it is not improbable that they and their race may yet take a leading part in the great work of the elevation of the drama. There are various ways in which the standard of the stage may be raised, and it is not yet certain that the scalping knife and tomahawk are to be despised as reforming influecnes. Aside from these, however, the aboriginal has some dramatic qualifications that the profession in general lack. He is far fonder of acting than of talking, for one thing, and though he does not understand the influences of dress, and that corverse which is with poetic license denominated full dress, he seldom regards these as the full duty of a man. He has, in a marked degree, the faculty of repose, in which some artists, otherwise excellent, are lamentably deficiant. He is not averse to cosmetics, though when he paints he never attempts to make art take the place of nature. Shoudl he volunteer for a "benefit" performance of any sort,
he is not at all likely to play Romeo or Claude Melnott, so the theatre going public is likely to be saved from many an oft told tale. And lastly, his philosophical mind has not absorbed the mysteries of injunction; so when he is billed to appear in anything, theere is a reasonable chance that purchasers of tickets to new plays will not be disappointed by beholding old dramatic stand bys instead of novelties. Room for the Indian, even iof he should draw the scaling knife upon the histrionis battle field, it is not certain that he will hurt the public as much as his may benefit it.
"The Kinght of the Plains."
Never was a name more appropriate than is the above, given to Hon. W. F. Cody, Buffalo Bill, who is indeed a most chivalrous plainsman, and one who has done the government and country good services, as vouced for by General Sheridan, General E. A. Carr and others.
Drawn by accident, as it were, into the dramatice arena, Buffalo Bill has steadily won a reputation as an actor, until his talent is recognized by the elite in the orchestra and dress circle as wll as the "gods" inthe gallery, with the later he being especially the hero of heroes.
His new melo-drama, "Knight of the Plains," we are glad to see possesses great merit, being wholly free from the red fire, terrific, and flash of all other border plays, and well worthy the boards of a fashionable matropolitan theatre, for his support is really par excellence throughout, and the impersonations of the Jew money lender, Shyster Judge, Wild Nell, the border heroine, and other characters parts undeniably dramatic "hits."
The play is the work of the author and dramatist, Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, of Mississippi, and he deserves credit for having produced a piece of great merit, and wholly free from vulgarity.
