| 81869, and was engaged en route in the combat at Bearer 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 of 1869, and was conspicuous, daring
the pursuit of the Dog Soldiers, under the celebrated Cheyenne chief, Tall Bull, to Summit Springs, Col. He also guided the
Fifth Cavalry to a position whence the regiment was enabled to charge upon the enemy and win a brilliant victory. He
afterwards participated in the Niobrara pursuit, and later narrowly escaped 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 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 member 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.
He continued in the theatrical business until the beginning of the Sioux war in 1876, when he discharged his company,
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, Mon., 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 reputation
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 frontierman. His present lucrative business
has made him widely known throughout the country. He has valuable property interests at North Platte, Neb., and
is part owner of an extensive cattle ranch on Dismal River, sixty-five 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.
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 private, hope that he may live long and prosper abundantly.
Should this 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 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 plain's celebrity 'UNTIL TIME
SHALL BE NO MORE.' "
A Legislator.
Phocian Howard journalistically recalls 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 savage's 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,
standing as he has, a leader among the manly pioneer barrier 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 frontiersman, 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, 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
spurs 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. Born and reared in the
| 81869, and was engaged en route in the combat at Bearer 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 of 1869, and was conspicuous, daring
the pursuit of the Dog Soldiers, under the celebrated Cheyenne chief, Tall Bull, to Summit Springs, Col. He also guided the
Fifth Cavalry to a position whence the regiment was enabled to charge upon the enemy and win a brilliant victory. He
afterwards participated in the Niobrara pursuit, and later narrowly escaped 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 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 member 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.
He continued in the theatrical business until the beginning of the Sioux war in 1876, when he discharged his company,
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, Mon., 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 reputation
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 frontierman. His present lucrative business
has made him widely known throughout the country. He has valuable property interests at North Platte, Neb., and
is part owner of an extensive cattle ranch on Dismal River, sixty-five 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.
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 private, hope that he may live long and prosper abundantly.
Should this 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 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 plain's celebrity 'UNTIL TIME
SHALL BE NO MORE.' "
A Legislator.
Phocian Howard journalistically recalls 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 savage's 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,
standing as he has, a leader among the manly pioneer barrier 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 frontiersman, 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, 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
spurs 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. Born and reared in the
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