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Krystal (Ngoc) Hoang at Jun 11, 2020 04:32 PM

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Frontier Hero Whose Name Will Live in History.

Colonel William F. Cody and His Valuable Services to His Country.

His Valor and Courage the Theme of the Great Writers of the War-Praised by Custer, Logan and Sheridan, and Indorsed by Buell, Emory, Merritt and Sherman-En- dured the Terrors of the West for the Protection of the People and Not for Cheap Notoriety.

In the mind of the rising generation there exists considerable doubt as to whether or not such a thing as a real live frontier scout ever existed. Yet along the borders of the Arkansas river and its numerous tributaries, on the sides of the black hills, are hundreds of little graves has the loving hand mark lies, while where no headstone a. scout a. set even spot where on the great prairies and in the river bottoms and valleys hundreds of little heaps of whitened bones show where faithful scouts, in twos and threes, have fallen beneath the shower of hostile arrows.

Greatest of Them All.

Among those who have survived the awful privations of this hazardous life, the most conspicuous of all the heroes of the plains is Cody, or, as he is better known, Buffalo Bill. During the past thirty years no name has been so often mentioned in the war office reports as that of Colonel Cody. In the writings of Generals Custer, Logan and Sheridan, as well as many other famous Indian fighters, Colonel Cody is a prominent figure and is held to the light as the ideal scout, a courageous soldier and a patriot of the stamp to which the west owes its present prosperity. No thoughtful person can hesitate to give such men as Wild Bill Hitchcock. California, Frank Gaurd, Gallant Jim White and Buffalo Bill the undying credit they deserve. Of these brave men who guided out little frontier regiments in and out of hostile countries, who role by night and day to fight and die beside the wagon train or adobe cabin of some unfortunate settler, Buffalo Bill alone remains. The history of his life is but part of his country.

Name Lives in History.

Thousands of letters from such men as Generals Sheridan, Custer, Logan, Buell, Emory, Merritt and Sherman show how high Colonel Cody was held in their estimation and how much confidence these warriors placed in his abilities and advice. In late years Colonel J. W. Forsyth and General Miles have shown the same confidence, which the records of the war department prove was never violated. Though in the service of his country a thousand desperate rides, and though he could justly claim the credit of so dozen battles, Colonel Cody has asked nothing from the government beyond the ordinary pay of a scout when on actual duty, and, while holding a colonel's commission, he has always preferred to assume the more dangerous duties of a scout.
It is as it should be, that the honor or conveying to the residents of foreign lands at least a faint idea of the hardships and privations that marked the onward march of the pioneers in bygone days, should devolve upon the man whose very mane was held in reverence by those of weaker sex who, by chance or fortune, had found their way into the far west; whose name has in war times brought something akin to fear to the stoic red man.
Buffalo Bill is proud of his title; he thinks more of the uncouth appellation than of the military handle "Colonel," which his army connection entitles him to use. Nor is this altogether to be wondered at. It is under this cognomen that he learned the cunning of the copper-skinned aboriginals and became an adept in fighting them with their own weapon - devilish stealth. Under this title W. F. Cody earned the reputation of being the "greatest scout on earth."

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