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"William F. Cody is one of the best scouts and guides that ever rode at the head of a
column of cavalry on the prairies of the Far West. His army friends, from general to pri-
vate, hope that he may live long and prosper abundantly.
"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, 'Lu-
cretia,' 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 the 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, know-
ing his practical qualities, his thorough knowledge of important questions then demanding
attention in border legislation, his acquantance 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 his name a household word, deservedly is the famous scout popular
throughout the land, standin, 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 frontiers-
men, and the dread and terror of the war-bonneted Indian. At the last session of the Ne-
braska Legislature he received a large complimentary vote for United States Senator."
A PEN PICTURE-- Curtis Guild, propietor 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 sufficent to gratify most am-
bitious. Thus it is he bolds 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, fame and contest, with each and all, and generally exvelling; 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 stage, 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 once of the finest types of
manhood this continent has ever produced. Those how 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 gentlman."
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 charcter, 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.
