• *<• A*- .'j ^•" /\ •.^•° /% '^^W.' /\ •.^•- ^*'\ ■°-^P-' J-' v^ . C '^V^-. -^^^ c^* .-^e^-. %^^^^ y^^i^^, \_^j>* /jj^-, V .^°.-^^'>- y.-i-;7^-\ co*.i^-.>o ./\c;^.\ /.iij o > ■°^**-^-*aO' V'*^ .* J^' 'bV ^o. "^TT.^*- 6^ ^,* '?.^ ^^ %' o > I': %.*' .*^^"t \./ .''Jfe- ^-^..^^ .' ';^o^ 4 O '*'' '5' *>.Va:^ ■'^«. c'?^'^ *' -v *r °*^''aO' V--^-.***^ 'q..-^-?\o' "* *V' ,.„ "^ .♦^ .... ^^.*'-\<*" ... q.. *•< ,Sq^ \* v^ ^ ^iq. y .^.-.^-/^ ^o,-^-'*/ v-^\/ ■ '■o.-' ^°'*. . -f ' .*" .. •3, •'...' A -n^o^ .^*^"- ■^^ y^j^^ "-t. c^^ .*i«^>/°o .-J^^ ,/-\ '. ^'' >o^ 4 o ^°-^^. 0- . .•^'. "> .^'\ 'J (r 'o \ "-..^^ "^ 'oK ^^-^^^ •" •^ .^^ v<^' -* .^^ 1-^" i %'^'-y %.' :- -^ ^ ' ^^ V" • .^'. *> V ,0 ^*l 9^ .>}^ *^ *i o ^ <^. 'o^> ,G^^ \'*V.V "- ,^-^ .^\ :\ ^o-n*. o <^*io^ ,Hl6TOR,IOAL. §K,ETCHE5, e&PROGRAM^\eJ' er THE WORLD ^,<^i«r"»****^^ BUFFALO BILL'S WILD WEST CONGRESS OF ROUGH RIDERS OP THE WORLD COL. W. F. CODY. CHlOflOO, ILL. 1893. STAFF OF "BUFFALO BILL'S" WILD WEST COMPANY. 99y^y(: ''jL-^PPY ("Buffalo Bill"), President. NATE SALSBURY, Vice-President and Manager. - - General Manager Business Representative § L. J. Loring . - - . . . Orator - Advertising Agent § Lew Parker - ... Contracting Agen: JOHN M. BURKE Albert E. Sheible CARtER Couturier JuLt Keen Wild west scenery by Treasurer § William Langan '"A^g T*-! B'j*«Si7 Pf ■frre STxr&XT- Sx ^^\^'ar***i5'iSrTt BUFFALO BILL'S Wild West flND^H • NATE SALSBUftt, CONGRESS OF ROUGH RIDERS OF THE WORLD. Programme ® ^^(S^ OVERTURE, "Star Spangled Banner" - - Cowboy Band, Wm. Sweeny, Leader I— GRAND REVIEW introducing the Rough Riders of the World and Fully Equipped Regular Soldiers of the Armies of America, England, France, Germany,, and Russia. 2 -MISS ANNIE OAKLEY, Celebrated Shot, who will illustrate her dexterity in the use of Fire-arms. 3— HORSE RACE between a Cowboy, a Cossack, a Mexican, an Arab, and an Indian, on Spanish- Mexican, Broncho, Russian, Indian and Arabian Horses. 4— PONY EXPRESS. The Former Pony Post Rider will show how the Letters and Telegrams of the Republic were distributed across the immense Continent previous to the Railways and the Telegraph. ^ 5-ILLlJSTRATINQ A PRAIRIE EMIGRANT TRAIN CROSSING THE PLAINS. Attack by maraud- ing Indians repulsed by "Buffalo Bill,"' with Scouts and Cowboys. N. B. — Th • Wagons are the same a^ used 35 j-ears ago. 6— A GROUP OF SYRIAN AND ARABIAN HORSEMEN will illustrate their style of. Horseman- ship, with Native Sports and Pastimes. 7— COSSACKS, of the Caucasus of Russia, in Feats of Horsemanship, Native Dances, etc. 8-JOHNNY BAKER, Celebrated Young American Marksman. 9- A GROUP OF HEXICANS from Old Mexico, will illustrate the use of the Lasso, and perform various Feats of Horsemanship, lO-RACINQ BETWEEN PRAIRIE, SPANISH AND INDIAN GIRLS. II— COWBOY FUN. Picking Objects from the Ground, Lassoing Wild Horses, Riding the Bucker^. 12— niLITARY EVOLUTIONS by a Company of the Sixth Cavalry of the United States Army; a Com- pany of the First Guard Uhlan Regiment of His Majesty King William II, German Emperor, popularly known as the "Potsdamer Reds"; a Company of French Chasseurs (Chas.^eurs a Cheval de la Garde Republique Francaise); and a Company of the 12th Lancers (Prince of Wales' Regiment) of the British Army. -3J 13— CAPTURE OF THE DEAD\\'OOD MAIL COACH BY THE INDIANS, which will be rescued by "Buffalo Bill" and his attendant Cowboys. N. B — This is the identical old Deadwood Coach, called the Mail Coach, which is famous on account of having carried the great number of peop e who lost their hVes on the road b tween Deadwood and Cheyenne 18 \ ears ago. Now the most famed vehicle extant. 14-RACiNG BETWEEN INDIAN BOYS ON BAREBACK HORSES. 15 -LIFE CUSTOnS OF THE INDIANS. Indian Settlement on the Field and "Path." i6 COL. W. F. CODY, ("Buffalo Bill"), in his Unique Feats of Sharpshooting. 17— BUFFALO HUNT, as it is in the Far West of North America— "Buffalo Bill" and Indians. The last of the only known Native Herd. 18 -THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN, Showing with Historical Accuracy the scefle of CUSTER'S LAST CHARGE. il>-SALUTE. CONCLUSION. mm^ i. i iumaiiii ' iiijipwp^^ >.4i^ -A^^ M'4 }f ,.,:l--' SALUTATORY, There is probably no field in modern American history more fascinating in the intensity of its interest than that which is presented in our rapidly-extending frontier. The pressure of the white man, the movement of the emigrant train, and the extension of our railways, together with the military power of the General Government, have, in a measure, broken down the bar- riers behind which the Indian fought and defied the advance of civilization ; but the West, in many places, is still a scene of wildness, where the sternness of law is upheld at the pistol point, and the white savage and outlaw has become scarcely less dangerous than his red-skinned pre- tlecessor. {^TJiis last, while perfectly true when ivritten (1883), is at present inapplicable, so fast does law and order progress and pervade the Grand West. The story of our country, so far as it concerns life in the vast Rocky Mountain region and on the plains, has never been half told ; and romance itself falls far short of the reality when it attempts to depict the career of the little vanguard of pioneers, trappers, and scouts, who, mov- ing always in front, have paved the way — frequently with their own bodici — for the safe approach of the masses behind. The names of "Old Jim Bridger," "Kit Carson," "White Beaver," "Wild liiEL," "California Joe," "Buffalo White," "Texas Jack," "Buffalo Bin,," Major North, and scores of others, have already become identified with what seem to be strange legends and traditions, and yet the lives and labors of these men form apart of the development of the great West. Most of them have died fighting bravely, and all of them, in their way, have been men around whose exploits contemporaneous writers in and out of the army have thrown the halo of heroism. Our most distinguished officers have repeatedly borne tribute to their usefulness and valor, and to-day the adventures of the Army Scout constitute a theme of never- ending interest. Keen of eye, sturdy in build, inured to hardship, experienced in the knowledge of Indian habits and language, familiar with the hunt, and trustworthy in the hour of extremest danger, they belong to a class that is rapidly disappearing from our country. In the Eastern States, or even east of the Mississippi, the methods of these people are comparatively unknown, and it is for the purpose of introducing them to the public that this little pamphlet has been prepared. Hon. William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"), in conjunction with Mk. Nate Salsburv, the eminent American actor (a ranch owner), has organized a large combination that, in its several aspects, will illustrate life as it is witnessed on the plains; the Indian encaiiipment; the cowboys and vaqueros; the herds of buffalo and elk; the lassoing of animals; the manner of robbing mail coaches; feats of agility, horsemanship, marksmanship, archery, and the kindred scenes and events that are characteristic of the liorder. The most completely appointed delegation of frontiersmen and Indians that ever visited the East will take part in the entertainment, together with a large number of animals; and the performance, while in no wise partaking of the nature of a "circus," will be at once new, startling, and instructive. JOHN M. BURKE, NoRiH Pi. ATTE, Neb., May i, 1883. General Manager. The exhibitions given by "Buffalo Bill's" Wild West have nothing in common with the usual professional exhibitions. Their merits are dependent on training of a natural kind. Our aim is to make the public acquainted with the manners and customs of the daily life of the dwellers in the far West of the United States, through the means of actual and realistic scenes from life. At each performance marked skill and daring are presented. Not only from the standpoint of tlui spectator, but also from a critical point of view, we assure the auditor that each scene presents a faithful picture of the habits of these folk, down to the smallest detail. All the horses are descendants of those brought to America by the Spaniards, under Ferdinand Cortez. The whole material of harness, etc., is genuine, and has already been seasoned by many years' experienced use in their original wilds. We congratulate ourselves as being the first to successfully unite in an entertainment all their historic peculiarities. After having earned the applause of the public and the flattering opinion of the press of the world, New York, London, Paris, Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Milan, Vienna, Munich, Dresden, I.eipsic, Berlin, Liverpool, Cardif, Hamburg, Glasgow, Bremen, Brussels, etc., we have the honor to place ourselves oiice more at the service of the American public, presenting in conjunc- tion with the original Wild West features, a congress of the Rough Riders of the World. This assemblage of primitive horsemen meet for the first time in history — from far distant countries — differing in race, language, habits, customs, dress, as well as in skill, style and methods of horsemanship, forming the most unique congregation cf eqjuestrians since the creation. NATE SALSBURY, Vice-President and Manager. JIOS. Vv'\ F. CODY— ("Buffalo iiiLL'"'), Was born in Scott County, Iowa, from whence his father, Isaac Cody, emigrated a few years afterward to the distant frontier territory of Kansas, settling near Fort Leavenworth. While still a boy his father was killed in what is now known as the " Border War, passed amid all the excitements and turmoil incident to the strife and and his youth was discord of that unsettled community, where the embers of political contentions smoldered until they burst into the burning flame of civil war. This state of affairs among the white occupants of the territory, and the mgrained ferocity and hostility to encroachment from the native savage, created an atmosphere of adventure well calculated to educate one of his natural temperament to a familiarity with danger, and self-reliance in the protective means for its avoidance. From a child used to shooting and riding, he at ati early age became a celebrated poay- express rider, then the most dangerous occupation on the plains'. He was known as a boy to be most fearless and ready for any mission of danger, and respected by such men then engaged in the express service as Old Jule and the terrible Slade, whose correct finale is truthfully told in Mark Twain's "Roughing It." He accompanied General Albert Sidney Johnston on his Utah expedition, gu.ded^^trains overland, hunted for a living, and gained his sobriquet by wresting the men have been innum- laurels as a buffalo hunter from all claim- ants — notably Corn- stock, in a contest with whom he killed sixty- nine buffalo in one day to Comstock's forty-six — became scout and guide for the now cele- brated Fifth Cavalry (of which General E.A. Carr was Major), and is thoroughly identified with that regiment's Western history; v/as chosen by the Kansas Pacific Railroad to supply meat to the laborers while building the road, in one season killing 4,862 buffaloes, besides deer and ante- lope; and was chief of scouts in the depart- ment that protected the 'building of the Union Pacific. In these various duties his en- counters with the red erable, and are well authenticated by army officers in every sec- tion of the country. In fact, wherever you meet an army officer, there you meet an ad- mirer and indorser of Buffalo Bill. He is, in fact,the representative man of the frontiers- men of the past — that is, not the bar-room brawler or bully of the settlements, but a gen- uine specimen of West- ern manhood — a child of the plains, who was raised there, and fa- miliar with the country previous to railroads, and when it was known on our maps as the ''Great American Des- ert." By the accident of birth and early as- sociation, a man who became sensibly in- nured to the hardships and dangers of primitive existence, and possessed of those qualities that afterward enabled him to hold positions of trust, and, without his knowing or intending it, made him nationally famous. (ien. Richard Irving Dodge, Gen. Sherman's chief of staff, correctly states in his "Thirty ^ ears Among Our Wild Indians": "The success of every expedition against Indians depends, to a degree, on the skill, fidelity, and intelligence of the men employed as scouts, for not only is the command habitually dependent on them for good routes and comfortable camps, but the oflicer in command must rely on them almost entirely for their knowledge of the position and move- ments of the enemy." Therefore, besides mere personal bravery, a scout must possess the moral qualities associated with a good captain of a sliip — full of self-reliance in his own al)ility to meet and over- come any unlooked-for difficulties, be a thorough. student of nature, a self-taught weather-prophet, a geologist by experience, an astronomer by necessity, a iiatui\dist, and thoroughlv educated in the wartare, stratagems, trickery, ami ski txped!tif)ns or leading troops, .m Inin nl of his imolacable Indian foe. Because, in handl le dejiench correctness of destiiiatinn, avoidance 6 danger'; protection against sudden storms, the finding of game, grass, svood, and water, the lack of whick of course, is more fatjl than the deadly bullet. In fact, more lives have been lost on the plains from incompetent guides than ever the Sioux or Pawnees destroyed. Our best Indian-fighting officers are quick to recognize these traits in those claiming frontier lore, and to no one in the military history of the West has such deference been shown by them as to W F. Cody, as is witnessed by the continuous years of service he has passed, the different commands he' has served, the expeditions and campaigns he has been identified with, his repeated holding when he desired, the position of " Chief of Scouts of United States Army," and the intimate associations and contact resulting from it with Gen. W. T. Sherman (with whom he was at the making of the Comanche and Kiowa Treaty), Gen. Phil. Sheridan (who has olten given him special recognition and chosen him to organize expeditions, notably that of the Duke Alexis), did Gen. Harney, Gens. W. S. Hancock, Crook, Pope, Miles, Ord, Augur, Terry, McKenzic, Can-, Forsythe, Merritt, Brisbin, Emory, Gibbon, Royal, Hazen, Duncan, Palmer, Pembroke, and the late lamented Gen. Custer. His history, in fact, would be almost a history of the middle West, and, though younger, equaling in term of service and in personal adventure Kit Carson, old jim Bridger, California Joe, Wild Bill, and the rest of his dead-and-gone associates. As another evidence "of the confidence placed in his frontiersmanship, it may suffice to mention the celebrities whose money and position most naturally sought the best protection the Western market could afford, and who chose to place their lives in his keeping: Sir George Gore, Earl Dunraven, James Gordon Bennett, Duke Alexis, Gen. Custer, Lawrence Jerome, Remington, Professor Ward of Rochester, Professor Marsh of Yale College, Major J. G. Hecksher, Dr. Kings- ley (Canon Kingsley's brother), and others of equal rank and distinction. All books of the plains, his exploits with Carr, Miles, and Crook, published in the New York Herald and Times in the summer of 1876, when he killed Yellow Hand in front of the military command in an open- handed fight, are recorded references. The following letter of his old commander and celebrated Indian-fighter, Gen. E. A. Carr, written years ago relative to him, is a tribute as generous as any brave man has ever made to one of his position: "From his services with my command, steadily In the field, I am qualified to bear testi- mony as to his qualities and character. " He was very modest and unassuming. He is a natural gentleman in his manners as well as in character, and has none of the roughness of the typical frontiersman. He can take his own part when required, but I have never heard of his using a knife or a pistol, or engaging in a quarrel where it could be avoided. His personal strength and activity are very great, and his temper and disposition are so good that no one has reason to quarrel with him. "His eyesight is better than a good field-glass; he is the best tuailer I ever heard of, and also the best judge of the 'lay of country' — that is, he is able to tell what kind of country is ahead, so as to know how to act. He is a perfect judge of distance, and always ready to tell correctly how many miles it is to water, or to any place, or how many miles have been marched. "Mr. Cody seemed never to tire and was always ready to go, in the darkest night, or the worst weather, and usually volunteered, knowing what the emergency required. His trailing, when following Indians, or looking for stray animals or for game, is simply wonderful. He is a most extraordinary hunter. "In a fight Mr. Codv is never noisy, obstreperous or excited. In fact, I never hardly noticed him in a fight, unless I happened to want him, or he had something to report, when he v\-as always in the right place, and his information was always valuable and reliable. " During the winter of 1866 w^e encountered hardships and exposure in terrific snowstorms, sjeet, etc., etc. On one occasion that winter Mr. Cody showed his quality by quietly offering to go with some dispatches to Gen. Sheridan, across a dangerous region, where another principal scout was reluctant to risk himself. "Mr. Cody has since served with me as post guide ami scout at Fort McPhersoii, where he frequently distinguished himself. * * =^ " In the summer of 1876 Cody went with me to the Black Hills region, where he killed Yellow Hand, Afterward he was with the Big Horn and Yellowstone expedition. I consider that his services to the country and the army by trailing, finding and fighting Indians, and thus protecting the frontier settlers, and by guiding commands over the best and most practicable routes, have been invaluable." Thus it will be seen that, notwithstanding it may sometimes be thought his fame rests upon the pen of the romancer and novelist, had they never been attracted to h!m (and they were solely by his sterling worth), W. F. Cody would none the less have been a character in American history. Having assisted in founding substantial peace in Nebraska, where he was honored by being elected to the legislature (while away on a hunt), he has settled at North Platte, to enjoy the fruits and minister to the wants and advancements of the domestic circle with which he is blessed. On the return to civil life of his old prairie friend, Major North, in rehearsing the old time years agone on the Platte, the Republican, and the Medicine, they concluded to reproduce some of the interesting scenes on the plains and in the Wild West. The history of such a man, attractive as it already has been to the most distinguished officers and fighters in the United States Army, must prove doubly so to the men, women, and children who have heretofore found only in the novel the hero of rare exploits, on which imagi- nation so loves to dwell. Young, sturdy, a remarkable specimen of manly beauty, with the brain to conceive and the nerve to execute, Buffalo Bill par excellence is the exemplar of the strong and unique traits that characterize a true American frojitiersman. ACROSS THE CONTINENT WITH THE FIFTH CAVALRY. Captain George F. Price's history of this famous regiment recounts its experience from the time it was known as the Second Dragoons to the present, giving the historical record of- its officers, among whom are numbered many of the most distinguished military leaders known in our national annals', such as Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston, Gen. George H. Thomas, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. John Sedgwick, Gens. Hardee, Emory, Van Dorn, Merritt, Carr, Royall, Custer, and others of equal note. Besides alluding in many of its pages to incidents, adventures, and conduct of the favorite guide and scout of the regiment, W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"), Captain Price completes a narrative of brave men and daring deeds by "flood and field" with the following biographical sketch (page 583) of W. F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill." W. F. CODY— ("Buffalo Bill."). "William F. Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa. He removed at an early age to Kansas, and was employed as a herder, wagonmaster, and pony express rider. He went to Pike's Peak during the excitement which followed the discovery of gold in Colorado, but failing of success, returned to Kansas and became a trapper on the Republican River, In the fall of 186 1 he was a Government scout and guide at Fort Earned, Kan., and in 1862 served as a scout and guide for the Ninth Kansas Cavalry, being chiefly employed in Arkansas and Southwestern Missouri. In 1863 he enlisted in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, and served in Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas, and participated in several battles. He was made a non-commissioned officer, and served as a scout for his regiment after the battle of Tupelo. He was honorably discharged at the end of the war, and engaged in various business pursuits until the spring of 1867, when he made a contract, for a monthly compensation of five hundred dollars, to deliver all the buffalo meat that would be needed for food purposes for a number of laborers on the Kansas Pacific Railway in Western Kansas, and during this engagement — a period of less than eighteen months — he killed four thousand two hundred and eighty buffaloes. This remarkable success gained for him the name of * Buffalo Bill.' When hunting buft'alo, Cody would ride his horse, when- ever possible, to the right front of a herd, shoot down the leaders, and crowd their followers to the left until they began to run in a circle, when he would soon kill all that he required, Cody again entered the Government service in 1868 as a scout and guide, and, after a series of dangerous rides as bearer of important dispatches through a country which was infested with hostile Indians, was appointed by General Sheridan chief scout and guide for the Fifth Cavalry, which had been recently ordered from reconstruction duty in the Southern States for a campaign against the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes. He joined a detachment of the regiment at Fort Hays, Kansas, and was engaged, auring the fall of 1868, in the combats on Beaver and Shuter Creeks and north branch of Solomon P-iver. He then served with the Canadian River expedition during the winter of 1868-69, and became deservedly conspicuous for cheerful service under dispiriting circumstances, and the suc- cessful discharge of important duties. He marched with a battalion of the regiment across the couriU'/ from Fort Lyon, Colo., to Fort McPherson, Neb., during May, 1869, and was engaged en route in the combat at Beaver 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 latter, where, when the advance guard under Lieutenant Babcock was surrounded by a large force of the enemy, he was distinguished for coolness and bravery. '"Cod)' was ap- • Hiintccl cliicf scout and guide for ihe Ivepublican River expedition of 1^69, ;ind was conspi<-ii- ous during ti.e pursuit of the Dog Soldiers, under tlie celebrated Chevenne chief, Tall Bull, to Summit Springs, Colo. He also guided the Fifth Cavalry to a position whence the Regi- ment was enabled to charge upon the enemy, and win a brilliant victory. He afterward partici- p-ned in the Nio- b ^..d pursuit, and Liter narrowly es- caped 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 '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 "At the beginning of the Sioux Wat in 1876, he hastened to Cheyenne, Wyo., joined the Fifth Cavalry, which has recently returned frbr)i 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, Mont., 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 frontiersman. His present lucrative business has made him widely known throughout the country. He has valuable property interests at North Platte, Neb., and is owner of an extensive cattle ranch on Dismal River, 65 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 ihat ever rode at the head of a column ot '^a^alry on the prairies of the Far West. His army friends, from general to private, 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, ' Lucretia,' across the porrmel of his saddle." FROM COL. dodge's "THIRTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS."— /'rt.if^? 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, e\en thousands of men have been so employed bv the Ciovenuneii': since the war, the number uf really remarkable men among them can I'.ILT, CODY — " HUFFALO BILL, THE SCOUT. served at that station (was a Justice of the Peace in 1871) until the Fifth Cavalry was transferred to Arizona. He served during this period with several expedi- tions, and was con- spicuous for gallant conduct in the Indian combat at Red Willow and Bird wood Creeks, and also for success- ful 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 d u t y with the Third Cav- alry, and served with that regiment until the fall of 1872, when he was elected a member of the Ne- braska Legislature, and thus acquir- ed the title of be counted on the fingers. The services which these men are caiied on to perform are so impurtani and valuable t\at the officer v/ho 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. Alerritt. and CaPl* made William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) a plains celebrity 'UNTIL TIME SHALL BE NO MORE.'*' A Legislator. — The late Phocian Howard /)urnalistically ret-.ords the f ct; — "We were present in the Nebraska Legislature when Mr. Cody's resignation was read, and knowing his practical qualities, his thorough knowledge of imporrant 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 disappoh:tment m his refusing to continue in political life, choosing to be, what he really is, a true 'Knight of the Plams." On tiie 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 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 -ampaign under Crook, on the Big Horn, against the Sitting Bull Sioux, and we bear kind witne^i that Buffalo Bill is the idol of the army and frontiersmen, and the dread and terror of the war-bonneted Indian. At the last session of the Nebraska Lf^ofislPture he received a large complimentary vote for United Stales Senator." A Pen Picture — Curtis Gurc. proprietor and editor of the Conser /Htive Commercial Bulletin^ Boston, 'vrites — "Raised on tiie frontier, he has passed through every grade, and won fame in each lin-j, while to be proficient m 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 mustang, manipulating the revolver, etc., tackling c;":h specialist, and coming to the front with a generjus modesty admired by the defeated. "No lover of the human race, no man with an eye for the picturescjuc, Inu must have enjoyed the very sight of these pioneers of civilization. Never was a finer picti're of .Ain-rican 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, slraight as an arrow, noi an ounce of useless flesh upon his limbs, but every muscle firm and hard as the sinews of a siai;. with the frank, kindly eye of a devoted friend, and a natural courtly grace of manner \\li;c!; would become? marshal of France, Buffalo Bill is from spur to sombrero one of the finesi lypc^ ol manhood this continent has ever produced. Those who had expected to meet a different class ol men must have been pleasantly surprised in these genuine sons of the plain' =very one of whom wis stamped with the natural easy grace and courtesy of manner whiir.h mari.: the man who is born a gentleman." As AN Educator. — The nationally known Brick Poim rc)v thus writes: — ''One of the pro- nounced, positive, strong men of the West is Hon. Wm. F. Co^lv, cf Xe ia>ka, known quite generally the world over as 'Buft'alo Bill.' A sturdy, generous, positive eli.uactcr, who, as hunter, guide, scout, Government officer, member of the Legislature, and gentleman, rises to the equal oif 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. "The true Western man is free, fearless, generous and chivalrous. Of this class, Hon. Wm. F. Cody, 'Buffalo Bill,' is a bright representative. As a part of his rushing career he has brought together material for what he correctly terms a Wild West Exhibition. I should call it a Wild West Reality. The idea is not merely to take in money from those who witness a very lively exhibition, but to give people in the East a correct representation of life on the plains, and the incidental life of the hardy, brave, intelligent pioneers, who are the first to blaze the way to the future homes and greatness of America. He knows the worth and sturdiness of true Western character, and as a lover of his country, wishes to present as many facts as possible to the public, so that those who will, can see actual pictures of life in the West, brought to the East for the inspection and education of the public. " 'Buffalo Bill' has brought the Wild West to the doors of the East. There is more of real life, of genuine interest, of positive education in this startling exhibition) than I have ever before seen, and it is as true to nature and life as it really is with those who are smoothing the way for milliOJis to follow. Ail of this imaginary Romeo and Juliet business sinks to utter msignificance in comparisoTi to the drama of existence as is here so well enacted, and all the operas in the world appear like pretty playthings for emasculated children by the side of the settmg of reality, and the mu'^ic of the frontier as so faithfully and extensively presented, and so cleverly managed by this incomparable representative of Western pluck, coolness, bravery, independence, and generosity I w We wish every person east of the Missouri River could only see this true, graphic picture of wild estern life they would know more and think better of the genuine men of the West. I wish there were more progresssive educators like Wm. F. Cody in this world "He deserves well for his efforts to please and to instruct in matters important to America, and incidents that are passing away 7iever more to return" ("ould a man now 'iving have stood n\ the shore of the Red Sea, and wit- nessed the passage of the children of Israel and the struggle of Pha- raoh and his hosts, what a sight he would have seen, and how interested would be those to whom he related the story. .- Could the man who stood on the shore to see AVashin g t o n and his soldiers cross the Delaware have lived till now to tell the story, what crowds he would have to listen. How interesting would be the story of a man, if he were now living, that had wit- nessed the landing of Columbus on the shores of the New World; or the story of one of the hardy English Puritans who took passage on the Since the railroad gave its aid to pioneering other country in the world THE FORMER FOE — PRESENT FRIEND, THE AMERICAN. "Mayflower," and landed on the rock- bound coast of New England. So, too, of the angel who has seen the far West become tame and dotted under ad- vancing civiliza- tion, as the pioneers fought their way westward into desert and jungle. What a story he can relate as to the making of that history. And what a history America has, to be sure! From the mouth of the Hudson River to the shores of the Pacific, men, wo- men and children have con q u e r e d the wilderness by going to the front and staying there. Not by crowding into cities and liv- ing as do worms, by crawling through each other and devouring the leav- ings, g history faster than any America is maki Her pioneers are fast passing a-way. A few years more and the great struggle for possession will be ended, and generations will settle down to enjoy the homes their fathers located and fenced in for them. Then will come the picture maker. He who, with pen, pencil, and panel, can tell the story as he understands it. Then millions will read and look at what the pioneer did and what the historian related, wishing the while that they could have been there to have seen the original. These are of the thoughts to crowd in upon us as we view the great living picture that the Hon. Wm. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") gives at the Wild West Exhi- bition, which every man, woman and child the world over should see and study as a realistic fact. We see audiences of thousands each night — statesmen, artists, military men, teachers, workers, musicians, business men, politicians, artisans, mechanics, and others who desire to know as much as possible of the history of America. AVe see "Buffalo Bill," the last of the six greatest scouts this country has ever known, viz., Boone, Co.ockett, Carson, Bridcer, "Wild Bill," and "Buffalo Bill," and to our II mind the greatest and most remarkable of all — a man whom this country will never duplicate. A nonesuch to the credit of Nature, the world, and the mental and physical material of which he was formed, as one made to do'a certain great work. A man in the prime of life, who, from the age of ten years, has fought fate and all adverse circumstances, and never to a loss. A man who is a man; as a scout; as a pioneer; as a Government officer; as an Indian fighter; as a mighty hunter; as a man of honor, and of more than ordinary skill and courage, commanding admiration— deserving of recognition as a great character in American history. A natural man of the highest order. — Editorial, New York Democrat, June 5, 1886. OLD TIME CAM BUFFALO BILL AT HOME.— His Great Success Abroad. " North Platte should be congratulated on the possession of a citizen whose prominence or position is not bounded by his township, his country, or his State, but whose name is a household word, whose pictures are familiar, and whose character is kno\yn, not only throughout the nation, but has adorned pages, and interested the readers of foreign works and publications. We allude to our fellow citizen, Hon. W. F. Cody, whose sobriquet of * Buffalo Bill ' represents a popularity only bounded by the area of American territory, and to which we, who live by his own fireside, may testify his worthy possession and to the modesty of its wearing. His late return from a successful presentation to the East of some of the animated daily scenes and incidents that go to form the passing history of 'The Wild West' should be noted, as are events of importance, as it marks a new era in the history of amusements: that for originality, adherence to truth in ' holding the mirror up to Nature,' and a fidelity to fact that is the ' true aim of art.' The reception accorded to his 'show that is not a show, but an illustration,' in the cultured cities of the East, notably Boston, Chicago, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Cleveland, must be gratifying to all in North Platte, in fact in Nebraska, where, in the incipiency of the scheme, over a year ago, he demonstrated by courage, pluck and perseverance, its feasibility by its introduction in the festivities of our national birthday celebration, and on the following natal day presented it on the shores of the Atlantic, to the plaudits of over 25,000 delighted Bostonians. The magnitude of the undertaking, the minutiae necessary to organizing, the bringing together from all points the best marksmen in the world, securing admirable and fitting representatives of the cattle trade, getting wild buffalo, elk, steers, mules, ponies, specimens of the red terrors of the prairie, and other features of interest known only to the pampas of the West, necessitating special trains of cars for transportation, and driving the strange cavalcade through confined Washington Street, Boston, in six weeks after leaving the Platte, was an accomplishment that stamps Cody as a wonder in energy, and gained for him the admiration and encomiums from the entire press of the East, recognition from the elite of American society, encouragement from representatives of education, and the indorsement of his methods by the S; P, C. A. and its noted president. Professor Henry Berg." — Narih Fiatte T^Ugns^h, xZ&^. ' K? CODY'S CORRAL: or, the SCOUTS AND THE SIOUX. Buckskin Sam.' A mounUinclosed valley, close sprinkled with fair tioweis, As if a shattered rainbow had fallen there in showers; Bright-plumaged birjls were warbling their songs among the trees. Or fluttering their tiny wings in the cooling western breeze. The cottonwoods, by mountain's base, on every side high tower, And the dreamy haze in silence marks the sleepy noontide hour. East, south and north, to meet the clouds the lofty mounts arise. Guarding this little valley — a wild Western Paradise. Pure and untrampled as it looks, this lovely flower-strewn sod — One scarce would think, that e'er, by man, had such a sward been trod; But yonder, see those wild mustangs by lariat held in check, Tearing up the fairest flora, which fairies might bedeck; And, near a camp-fire's smoke, we see men standing all around — » Tis strange, for from them has not come a single word or sound. Standing by Cottonwood, with arms close-folded on his breast. Gazing with his eagle eyes up to the mountain's crest, Tall and commanding is his form, and graceful is his mien; As fair in face, as noble, has seldom here been seen. A score or more of frontiersmen recline upon the ground, But starting soon upon their feet, by sudften snort and bound! A horse has sure been frightened by strange scenton the breeze. And glances now by all are cast beneath the towering trees. A quiet sign their leader gives, and mustangs now are brought; And, by swift-circling lasso, a loose one fast is caught. Then thundering round the mountain's dark adamantine side, A hundred hideous, painted, and fierce Siou.x warriors ride; While, from their throats, the, well-known and horrible death-kiiell The wild blood-curdling war-whoop, and the fierce and fiendish yell, Strikes the ears of all, now ready to fight, and e'en to die, In that mount-inclosed valley, beneath that blood-red sky J Now rings throughout the open, on ali sides clear and shrill. The dreaded battle-cry of him whom men call Buffalo Bill ! On, like a whirlwind, then they dash — the brave scouts of the plains, Their rifle-barrels soft-carest by mustang's flying manes ! On, like an avalanche, they sweep through the tall prairie grass; Down, fast upon them, swooping, the dread and savage mass ! Wild yells of fierce bravado come, and taunts of deep despair; While, through the battle-smoke there flaunts each feathered tuft of hair. And loudly rings the war-i ry of fearless Buffalo Bill; And loudly rings the savage yells, which make the blood run chill ! The gurgling death cry mingles with the mustang's shrillest scream. And sound of dull and sodden falls and bowie's brightest gleam. At length there slowly rises the smoke from heaps of slain, Whose wild war-cries will never more ring on the air again. Then, panting and bespattered from the showers of foam and blond, The scouts have once more halted 'neath the .shady cottonwood. In haste they are re-loading, and preparing for a sally, While the scattered foe, now desperate, are yelling in the valley. Again are heard revolvers, with their rattling, sharp report; Again the scouts are seen to charge down en that wild cohort. Sioux fall around, like dead reeds, when fiercest northers blow, And rapid sink in death before their hated pale-face foe ! Sad, smothered now is music from the mountain's rippling rill. But wild hurrahs instead are heard from our brave Buffalo Bill, Who, through the thickest carnage charged ever in the van, And'cheered faint hearts around him, since first the fight began Deeply demoralized, the Siou.x fly fast with bated breath, And glances cast of terror along that vale of death; While the victors quick dismounted, and looking all around. On their dead and mangled enemies, whose corses strewed the ground, "I had sworn I would avenge them"— were the words of Buffalo Hill— '•The mothers and their infants they slew at Medicine Hill. Our work is done — done nobly —I looked for that from you; i^oys, when a cause is iust, you need but stand firm and true !" —Beadle-'s lTV''/-/i'. A stirring life picture of a battle between the whites and Indians, showing tlie tactics and mode of warfare of each, will be given by the skilled members of both races in " Buffalo Bill's" representation of scenes in the Wild West, THE PAWNEES ASTONISHED. W, F, Cody, althougli having established his right to the title of " Buffa, o Bill " for years before, had not had opportunity to convince the Pawnees of the' justice of the claim previous to the time of the following incident. A short while previously a band of marauding red-skin renegades from that nation, while on a stealing excursion near Ellsworth, had occasion to regret their temerity, and cause to remember him to the extent of three killed, which fact for a time resulted in an enmity tliut needed something out of the usual run fo establish him in their favor. While on a military expedition, under Gen. E. A. Carr, upon the Republican, he met Major North and the Pawnee scouts. One day a herd of buffalo were descried, and Cody desired to join in the hunt. The Indians objected, telling the Major, "The white talker would only scare them away." Seventy-three Indians attacked the herd and killed twenty-three. Later in the day another herd' was discovered, and Major North insisted that the white chief have a chance to prove his skill. After much grumbling, they acquiesced grudgingly, and with ill-con- cealed smiles of derision consented to be spectators. Judge of their surprise when Cody charged the herd, and single-handed and alone fairly amazed them by killing forty-eight buffalo in fifty minutes, thus forever gaining their admiration and a firm friendship that has since often accrued to his benefit. COLONEL ROYALL'S WAGONS. Once upon the South Fork of the Solomon, Col. Royall ordered Cody to kill some buffalo that were in sight to feed his men, but declined to send Ws wagons until assured of the game. Bill rounded the herd, and, getting them in a line for camp, drove them in and killed seven near headquarters; or, as the Colonel afterward laughingly remarked, " furnishing grub and his own transportation." THE BOW AND ARROW. The bow' is the natural weapon of the wild tribes or the West. Pre- vious to the introduction of fire-arms, it was the weapon supreme of every savkge's outfit — in fact, his principal dependence, backed by personal skill in its use, for sustenance for himself and his pappooses. It still retains its favor, as it is not always safe to rely on the white man's mechanism, as in case of lack of ammunition or deranged lock or trigger, time and location pre- vent its being " mended." As a weapon of economy, it is also to be commended, as the hunting arrow is made so that the rear shoulders of the long, taper- ing blade slope backward, thus facili- tating its withdrawal from the wounded game. On the other hand, in the war arrow, the rear shoulders slope forward, forming barbs, as it is intended to remain and eventually kill. The possession, therefore, of firearms has not affected the Indian's love of this reliable weapon of the chase, which, being his first childish plaything, is still, no matter how well armed or how rich he may be, an indispensable possession. At short distances it is a terribly effective arm, and the Indian expert can seize five to ten arrows in his left hand, and dispatch them with such rapidity that the last one will be on its flight before the first one touches the ground. In close quarters they prefer to rely on it to depending on the rifle, as it can be of d^.adly force at from thirty to forty yards, and creating a bad wound at much greater distance. In buffalo hunting, where the horseman can approach near, it is invaluable and economic, and is often buried to the feathers. "Two Lance," an Indian chief, during the Grand Duke's hunt, sent an arrow clear through a bison, Alexis retaining the light-winged messenger of death as a souvenir of his hunt on the American Plains. THE BUFFALO. The buffalo is the true bison of the ancients. It is distinguished by an elevated stature, measuring six to seven feet at the shoulders, and ten to twelve feet from nose to tail. Many are under the impression that the buffalo was never an inhabitant of any country save ours. Their bones have been discovered in the superficial strata of temperate Europe; they were common in Germany in the eighth century. Primitive man in America found this animal his principal means of subsistence, while to pioneers, hunters, emigrants, settlers, and railroad builders this fast disappearing monarch ot the plains was invaluable. Messrs. Cody & Co. have a herd of healthy specimens of this hardy bovme m connection with their instructive exhibition, "The Wild West," rendered interesting as the last of their kind. A PRACTICAL "ALT--ROUND SHOT." In contradistinction to the many so-called " fancy shots " that have for years been before the public, "Buffalo Bili," is what may be termed a "practical marksman," and where that expression's full meaning is understood, he is looked on as a marvelous "all-round shot." That is, a man of deadly aim in any emergency, with any weapon — a small Derringer, a Colt's, a shot- gun, a carbine, a blunderbus, or a rifle — at any foe, red or white; at any game — chicken, jack- rabbit, antelope, deer, buffalo, bear, or elk; at the swiftest bird or soaring eagle; on foot, in any position; on horseback, at any speed. To be such a marksman is only the result of years of necessity for exercising *the faculties of instantaneous measurement of distance, acuteness of vision — in fact, an eagle eye and iron nerves — to think quick, to resolve, to fire, to kill. As a hunter these gifts have rendered him famous and gained him plaudits from admiring officers, noblemen, sportsmen, and competitors in the chase, and compelled the respect and fear of his implacable Indian foes. That he exists to-day is the result of the training that enables a man in the most startling exigency to command himself, and to meet the circumstances face to face, whatever they may be, and achieve, by cool precision, deserved victory in the field, and embellish history with deeds of heroism. Mr. Cody will give an exhibition of his ability by shooting objects thrown in the air while galloping at full speed, executing difficulties that would receive commendation if accomplished on foot, and which can only be fully appreciated by those who have attempted the feat while experiencing a rapid pace when occupying "a seat in the saddle." CODY SAVES "WILD BILL." After a very long march, full of hardships and suffering. Gen. Penrose's camp was found on the Palodora in a most distracted condition. Gen. Carr's arrival was none too soon, as the famished men were sustaining life on the last carcasses of their draught animals. In a few weeks Black Kettle's depredations necessitated a pursuit. . . . The consolidated command discovered the Indians on the Cimarron, and a terrific battle ensued. ... In this fight " Buffalo 15111 " and " Wild Bill " did almost the work of a regiment; braver men never went into an action, both figluing as though they were invulnerable. In the fury and rout which followed the first charge, "Wild Bill" gave chase to Black Kettle, head chief of the Cheyennes, overtook and engaged the fleeing red warrior, stabbing him to death. But the accomplishment of this heroic action would have cost him his own life, had not " Buffalo Bill" ridden with impetuous daring into the very midst of fully fifty Indians, who had surrounded "Wild Bill," intent on either his capture or death. The two daring and intrepid scouts plunged furiously int® IS the mjd^t of the Indians, each with a revolver in either hand, and literally carved their way through the surging mass of redskins, leaving a furrow of dead Indians in their wake. Such fighting, such riding, and such marvelous intrepidity combined, were doubtless never equaled, and if but this act alone were credited to the valor of *• Wild Bill" and "Buffalo Bill," their names would deserve inscription on Fame's enduring monument. — BueWs History. LETTERS OF COMMENDATION FROM PROMINENT MILITARY MEN. from an old commander', [copy] 5th Avenue Hotel, New York, June 29th, 18S7. Hon. WiM. F. CoDV, London, England. Dear Cody: — In common with all your countrymen, I want to let you know that I am not only gratified, but proud of your management and general be- .lavior ; so far as I can make out you have been modest, graceful, and dignified in all you have done to illustrate the his- tory of civilization on this Continent dur- ing the past century. I am especially pleased with the grace- ful and pretty compliment paid you by the Princess of Wales, who rode in the Deadwood Coach while it was attacked by the Indians and rescued by the Cow- boys. Such things did occur in our days, and may never again. As' near as I can estimate there were in 1 865 about nine and a half of millions of buffaloes on the plains between the Mis- souri River and the Rocky Mountains; all are now gone — killed for their meat, their skins and bones. This seems like desecration, cruelty, and murder, yet they have been replaced by twice as many neat cattle. At that date there were about 165,000 Pawnees, Sioux, Cheyennes, Kiowa s. and Arapahoes, who " depended pn these buffaloes for their yearly food. They, too, are gone, and have been replaced by twice or thrice as many white men and women, who have made the earth to blossom as the rose, and who can be counted, taxed, and governed by the laws of nature and civilization. This change has been salutary, and will go on to the end. You have caught one epoch of the world's history ; have illustrated it in the very heart of the modern world — London, and I want you to feel that on this side the water we appreciate it. This drama must end ; days, years, and centuries follow fast, even the drama of civilization must have an end. All I aim to accomplish on this sheet of paper is to assure you that I fully recognize your work and that the presence of the Queen, the beautiful Princess of Wales, the Prince, and British public, are marks of favor which reflect back on America sparks of light which illuminate many a house and cabin in the land where once you guided me honestly and faithfully in 1865 -'6 from Fort Riley to Kearney in Kansas and Nebraska. Sincerely your friend, ^V. T. SHERMAN. A\'ar Dki'art.mf.nt, Adjutant-General's Office, To whom it may concern: Washington, August 10, 1886. Mr. William F. Codv was employed as Chief of Scouts under Generals Sheridan, Custer, Crook, Miles, Carr, and others, in their campaigns against hostile Indians on our frontier, and as such rendered very valuable and distinguished service. S. W. DRUM, Adjutant-General. 2t STATE OF NEBRASKA- To all whom these presents shall come. Greeting: KnoNv Ye that I, John M. Thayer, Governor of the State of Nebraska, reposing special trust and confidence in the nitegrity, patriotism and ability of the Hon. William F Cctov on behalf and m the name of the State, do hereby appoint and commission him as Aide-de-Campof my Staff, with the rank of Colonel, and do authorize and empower him to discharge the duties <»t said umce according to law. ' / Jn tc-stiniony whereof I have lu-reunlo subscribed my name and caused to be affixed the C;reat P Seal of the State. / : i.RTNDSEAir'oK'THE''-' ^""^ ^^ Lincoln this 8th day of March, A. U., 1867. ; STATE OF NEBRASKA i JOHN M. THAYER. : March ist, 1867. : - ^y ^he Governor, G. L. Laur, Secretary ot State. .• .Jl'n following letter received with a photograph of the hero of the "March to the Sea " Gen. \V. 1 Sherman: ' ,,, ,, ,„ „ New York, December 25, 1886, 10 LOL. VVm. F. Codv:— Uith the best compliments of one who, in 1866, was guided bv f ' •Imn up the Republican, then occupied by the Cheyennes and Araoahoes as their ancestral hunt- mg-grounds, now transformed into farms and cattle-ranches, in better harmony wath modern civilization, and with his best wishes that he succeed in his honorable efforts to represent the scenes ot that day to a generation then unborn. W. T. SHERMAN General. rnr \y., ^ r ^ c T, n- , New YoRK, December 28, 1886. X HMt yr ' Pu'\?^A^ Sir -Recalling the many facts that came to me while I was Adjutant-General of the Division of the Missouri, under General Sheridan, bearing upon youK cfticiency, fidelity, and daring as a guide and scout over the country west of the Missouri River F-istTlu> Pnr vliJ^'^nf ^th ?r?"''' ^ v^^ V\^■^^^^^^^ in observing your success in depicting in the Last the early life of the West. ^ Very truly yours, JAMES B. FRY Assistant Adjutant-General, Brevet Major-Geiieral, U. S. A Headquarters Army of the United States r- , IV T7 ^ . Washington, D. C., January 7, 1887. GoL. AVm F. Cody was a scout, and served in my command on the Western frontier for c haracter I take pleasure ,n commending him for the many services h^ has rendered to the Army, whose respect he enjoys for his manly qualities. p. H. SHERIDAN, . Lieutenant-General. Co,, Wm F Conv: D..k S,K,-Havi„g visited "t^^T^lS^rS^ll' ^ a^d ^^:^^;}^1 ^^^^^^ /°" °" the successor your enterprise. I .^ much ■ .;. . 1 • .1 r ,.; — "b'"-"'"'-^- .yv." wii Liic sLn.i.cbs ui your enterprise. I was muc nterested in he various life-like representations of Western scenery, as well as the fine exhib - t.on ot skilled markmanship and magnificent horsemanship. You not onlv represent the nanv interesting features of frontier life, but also the difficulties and dangers that l?ave been encoZ^ ered by the adventurous and fearless pioneers of civilization. The wild Indian life as it was a few years ago will soon be a thing of the past, but you appear to have se ected a good class of Indians to represent that race of people, and I regard yiur Exhibition as not only very inter W ith best M ishes tor your success, believe me very truly yours, NELSON A. MILES, Brigadier-General, U. S. A. "HE IS KING OF THEM ALL." He.^dquarters Mounted Recruiting Service, nhn f ,^^.^J«^ Jo«N M Burke: Dear Sir,-I take pleasure^'in^'L^'ving^t'l^at^^^^^^^^^^^ exptdence of about thirty years on the plains and in the mountains, I have seen a great manv .ufe scouts trailers, and hunters, and Buffalo Bill (W. F. Codv) is Kino- nf them -,11 Hp l. -"1 ' ?, ' in seven Indian fights, and his servicesS.ave beeiri/n'luable. Very rel^i^ctfuHy'^ou^:" "''' "' EUGENE A. GARR, Brevet Major-General, U.'s. A. 17 United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., January ii, 1887. * * * I have known W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill; for many years. He is a Western man of the best type, combining those qualities of enterprise, daring, good sense, artd physical endur- ance which made him the superior of any scout I ever knew. He was cool and capable when surrounded by dangers, and his reports were always free from exaggeration. He is a gentleman in that better sense of the word which implies character, and he may be depended on under all circumstances. I wish him success. W. MERRITT, Brevet Major-General, U. S. A., Late Major-General Volunteers. f% ^A^M.^. . M ¥ alP ^ ^~i~->k''" ^^ r -^ ' .- .-:. -"^ r'^^ BUFFALO BILL GUIDING GENERAL SHERIDAN's RELIEF TRAIN IN WINTER, 1868. Omaha, Neb., January 7, 1887, Hon, Wm, F, Cody: Dear Sir, — I take great pleasure in testifying to the very efficient service rendered by you "as a scOut," in the campaign against the Sioux Indians, during the year 1876. Also, that I have witnessed your Wild West Exhibition, I consider it the most realistic performance of the kind I have ever seen. Very sincerely, your obedient servant, GEORGE CROOK, Brigadier-General U. S, A. Washington, D. C, February 8, 1S87. Mr. Cody was chief guide and hunter to my command, when I commanded the District of North Platte, and he performed all his duties with marked excellence. W, H. EMORY, Major-General U. S. A. Headquarters 7th Cavalry, Fort Mead, Dakota Territory^ ;\ February 14, 1887. My Dear Sir, — Your army career on the frontier, and your present enterprise of 'depicting scenes in the Far West, are so enthusiastically approved and commended by the American people and the most prominent men of the U. S. Army, that there is nothing left for me to say. I feel sure your new departure will be a success. With best wishes, I remain, yours truly, JAMES W. FORSYTH, Colonel 7th Cavalry. i8 Jersey City, 405 Bergen Ave., February 7, 1887. Hon. Wm. F. Cody: My Dear Sir, — I fully and with pleasure indorse you as th eritable " Buffalo Bill," U. S. Scout, serving with the troops operating against hostile Indians in 1868, on the plains. I speak from personal knowledge, and from reports of officers and others, with whom you secured renown by your services as a scout and successful hunter. Your sojourn on the frontier at a time when it was a wild and sparsely settled section of the Continent, fullv enables you to portray that in which I have personally participated — the Pioneer, Indian Fighter, and Frontiersman. Wishing you every success, I remain, very respectfully yours, H. C. BANKHEAD, Brigadier-General, U. S. A. Hotel Richmond, Washington, D. C, January 9, 1887. W, F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was with me in the early days, when I commanded a Battalion of the 5th Cavalry, operating against the hostile Sioux. He filled every position, and met every emergency with so much bravery, competence and intelligence as to command the general admiration and respect of the officers, and become chief of Scouts of the Department. All his successes have been conducted on the most honorable principles. W. B. ROYALL, Colonel 4th Cavalry, U. S. A. Headquarters ist Cavalry, Fort Custer, M. T. I often recall your valuable services to the Government, as well as to myself, in years long gone by, specially during the Sioux difficulties, when you were attached to my command as Chief of Scouts. Your indomitable perseverance, incomprehensible instinct in discovering the trails of the Indians, particularly at night, no matter how dark or stormy, your physical powers of endurance in following the enemy until overtaken, and your unflinching courage, as exhibited on all occasions, won not only my own esteem and admiration, but that of the whole command. With my best wishes for your success, I remain your old friend, N. A. M. DUDLEY, Colonel ist Cavalry, Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. A Tallahassee, Fla., January 12, 1887. Hon. William F. Cody: — I take great pleasure in recommending you to the public, as a man who has a high reputation in the army as a Scout. No one has ever shown more bravery on the Western plains than yourself. I wish you success in your proposed visit to Great Britain. Your obedient servant, JNO. H. KING, Brevet Major-General U. S. A. ** SPRING THAWS REVEAL BAD GUIDING." — DodgC. LASSOING WILD HORSES ON THE PLATTE IN OLD DAYS. LINES INSPIRED ON WITNESSING THE PRAIRIE CHIEF CARESSING HIS BABY DAUGHTER, - LITTLE IRMA CODY Only a baby's fingers patting a brawny cheek, As it cleft the heart of the Yellow Hand, Only a laughing dimple in the chin so soft and sleek. In revenge of Custer's fate. Only a cooing babble, only a frightened tear. Has the tender touch of a woman, But it makes a man both brave and kind As, rifle and knife iaid by, To have them ever near. He coos and tosses the baby, The hand that seemed harsh and cruel. Darling "apple of his eye.'* Nerved by a righteous hate —Richmond,, "buffalo bill's" home and horse RANCH ON THE OLD FIGHTING GROUND OF THE PAWNEE ANP SIOUX. MR. NATE SALSBURY, DIRECTOR. Born 1846, February 28th, in Freeport, 111., the family being descendants of the early Vermont settlers, went out with the first Illinois troops ; served through the entire Rebellion ; was the youngest enlisted soldier in the Army of the Cumberland ; wounded three times ; is a member of Post 11, G. A. R., Department of Massachusetts; went on the stage in 1868; has acted before every English-speaking public in the world. The Amusement Department will be under the personal supervision of this eminent actor, whose successful career is now a matter of American Stage History. Years of continued success as a caterer to the amusement loving public of this country, Australia, India and Europe, both as actor and manager, is a guarantee that the "Wild West" will be presented in a manner and style commensurate with his well-known managerial ability, and artistic judgment, Mr. Salsburv long ago invested heavily in the cattle business in Montana, and is now part owner of one of the largest and most valuable ranches in the Northwest. During his repeated visits to the same he became impressed with the scenes and episodes witnessed, and thought of the feasibility of presenting them as far as practicable to the citizens of the East. An interchange of opinions with Col. Cody disclosed a similar intention, so that to the fertile brains of Messrs. Cody and Salsbury we are indebted for the first conjuring up of this novel project. They spoke of it years ago, and Salsbury went to Europe to see if it would be advisable to take such a show on the Continent. Meanwhile, with Mr. Salsbury's knowledge, "Buffalo Bill " started the enterprise to see if it could be made successful in this country. Last year's experiences were proof that it could, and now all hands will join in getting up a "Wild West" show that will be remarkable in all respects. \^' "THE COW-BOY KID"— THE BOY MARKSMAN. Johnnie Baker was born at O'Fallon's Bluffs, on the banks of the South Platte River, in Western Nebraska, in the year 1870. His father is the well-known "Old Lew Baker, the ranchman," and was the owner of Lew Baker's O'Fallon's Bluff Ranch, in its day an important landmark. This place was one of the most noted on the great overland trail — the scenes, incidents, Indian attacks, etc, belonging to exhaustive pages in the early history of that, in old times, exposed and dangerous section. Here Johnnie's babyhood was passed in unconscious proximity to dangers seldom courted by the most sturdy, and his first "bug-a-boo " was not of the maternal imagining, but an existing fact, con- tinually threatening, in the shape of the heartless savage Sioux. Cradled amid such pioneer surroundings, and dandled on the knees of all the most celebrated frontiersmen, the genuine old buckskin trappers— the first frontier invaders —his childhood witnessed the declining glories of the buffalo-hunters' paradise (it being the heart of their domain), and the advent of his superior, "the long horn of Texas" and his necessary companion, "The Cow-Boy." ' The appearance of these brave, generous, free-hearted, self-sacrificing rough riders of the plains, literally living in the saddle, enduring exposure, hunger, risk of health and life as a duty to the employer, gave him his first communion with society beyond the sod cabin threshold, and impressed his mind, as well as directed his aspirations, to an emulation of the manly qualities necessary to be ranked a true American Cowboy. When the Pony Express, the Stage Coach, and the wagon-trains were supplanted by the steam-horse. Baker's station became useless, and "Old Lew" removed bag and baggage to North Platte, a little town of magical railroad growth. Here he built a fine house, which became the headquarters of the "old timers," and many a tenderfoot can remember the thrilling incidents related of "life on the trail" — a life that now belongs alone to history and to romance — while Old Lew dispensed hospitality like a prince. But the ways of "city life," a too big heart, of which the "shiftless, genial affinities" and rounders took due advantage, caused his former prosperity to be a remembrance only, and Johnnie to work manfully, for one of his age, to lend a helping hand. Perfectly at home in the saddle, he was never content unless with some cowboy outfit, or at Mr. Cody's (whose homestead, extensive horse and cattle ranches, are near), where his active spirit found congenial associations, until he became recognized as "Buffalo Bill's boy." In the winter months he occasionally went to school, and being an apt scholar, has a fair education. Mr. Cody, on organizing his " distinctly American exhibi- tion, could not leave little Johnnie out. He can be seen every day with the Wild West, mounted on his fiery little mustang, riding, roping, shooting — .repeating on the mimic scene his own experience, and the boyhood life of his elder, more famed associates, and any boy of his own age who can excel him in shooting, riding, and lassoing can "break every man in the outfit," as there are none who will not risk their pile on "The Cow-boy Kid." ANNIE OAKLEY— (Little Sure Shot.) This celebrated Girl Shot was born at Woodland, Ohio. Ever since a toddling child she has had an inherent love for fire-arms and hunt- ing, and at the age of ten,she as often as ammunition was obtainable, would smuggle her brother's musket and steal into the woods where game at that time was plentiful. Naturally, she was a good shot, and came home well supplied with game. At the age of twelve she was presented with a light muzzle-loading shot gun, and also a breech- loading rifle. With the shot gun she improved 22 lapidly, and became such a fine shot that she rarely missed a quail or pheasant, and, at the age of fourteen she had paid off a mortgage on her mother's homestead with money earned from the game and skins shot and trapped by herself alone — while her aim with rifle was so true that she was debarred from entering in the turkey matches which were the popular holiday amusement in that part of the country. Then came a local reputation; and with improved fire-arms she attracted wider attention, and for the past several years she has been shooting before the public with great success, and, although she has many times beaten all records, like the modest little girl she is, she never uses the word Champion in connection with her name. "Sitting Bull," the great Indian Chief, after seeing her shoot in St. Paul, Minn., adopted her into the Sioux tribe, giving her the name of "Watanya Cicilla," or, "Little Sure Shot." The first two years before the public she devoted to Rifle and Pistol Shooting, and there is very little in that line she has not accomplished. At Tiffin, Ohio, she once shot a ten-cent piece held between the thumb and forefinger ot an attendant at a distance of 30 feet. In April, 1884, she attempted to beat the best record made at balls thrown in the air— the best record was 984 made by Dr. Ruth. Miss Oakley used a Stevens' 22 cal. rifle and broke 943. In February, 1885, she attempted the feat of shooting 5,000 balls in one day, loading the guns herself. In this feat she used three 16-gauge hammer guns; the balls were thrown from three traps 15 yards rise; out of the 5,000 shot at, she broke 4,772; on the second thousand she only missed 16, making //r^ /^\n "As the general trade on the range has often been described, I'll simply refer to a few incidents of a trip over the plains to the cattle markets of the North, through the wild and unsettled portions of the Territories, varying in distance from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles — time, three to six months — extending through the Indian Territory and Kansas to Nebraska, Colorado, Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and sometimes as far as California. Immense herds, as high as thirty thousand or more in number, are moved by single owners, but are driven in bands of from one to three thousand, which, when under way, are designated 'herds.' Each of these has from ten to fifteen men, with a wagon driver and cook, and the 'kingpin of the outfit,' the boss, with a supply of two or three ponies to a man, an ox team, and blankets; also jerked beef and corn meal— the staple food. They are also furnished with mavericks or 'doubtless-owned' yearlings for the fresh meat supply. After getting fully under way, and the cattle broke in, from ten to fifteen miles a day is the average, and everything is plain sailing in fair weather. As night comes on, the cattle are rounded up in a small compass, and held until they lie down, when two men are left on watch, riding round and round them in opposite directions, singing or whistling all the time, for two hours, that being the length of each watch. The singing is absolutely necessary, as it seems to soothe the fears of the cattle, scares away the wolves or other varmints that may be prowling around, and prevents them from hearing any other acften staid to be instructed. The Wild West was irresistible. Colonel Cody suddenly found himself the hero of the London season. Notwithstanding his daily engagements and his punctual fulfillment of them, he found time to go everywhere, to see everything, and to be seen by all the world. All London contributed to his triumph, and now the close of his show is selected as the occasion for promoting a great international movement with Mr. Bright, Lord Granville, Lord Wolseley and Lord Lome for its sponsors. Civilization itself consents to march onward in the train of " Buffalo Bill" Colonel Cody can achieve no greater triumph than this, even if he some day realizes the design attributed to him of running the Wild West Show within the classic precincts of the Colosseum at Rome. This association of the cause of international arbitration with the fortunes of the American Wild West is not without its grotesque aspects. But it has a serious import, nevertheless. After all, the Americans and the English are one stock. Nothing that is American comes altogether amiss to an Englishman. We are apt to think that American life is not picturesque. We have been shown one of its most picturesque aspects. It is true that " Red Shirt " would be as unusual a phenomenon in Broadway as in Cheapside. But the Wild West for all that is racy of the American soil. We can easily imagine Wall Street for ourselves; we need to be shown the Cowboys of Colo- rado. Hence it is no paradox to say that Colonel Cody has done his oart in bringing America and England nearer together. "MAJOR" BURKE'S APPEAL for a Peaceful Solution of the Indian Trouble. [From "Washington Post."] Perhaps one of the most eloquent and effective pleas for a peaceful solution of the Indian trouble was that made by Major John M. Burke at the famous conference in the Ogalalla camp on the 17th of January, when negotiating for the Indians' surrender with Capt. Lee. The pro- ceedings, as reported for the Department, gives Major Burke's remarks as follows: " My friends, I came here on the invitation of many of my old Ogalalla friends who know me. I am happy to sit down among you to-day, because it is so much quieter than for some weeks. I do not come here in behalf of the Government or any society, but because I travel and 33 live with the Indians, and they are my friends for many years. When I first heard of this trouble, Gen. Cody ('Buffalo Bill') sent me to do what I could for you. I have been here eight or nine weeks — have listened, heard, and seen a great deal. From the first I saw no necessity for this trouble. A great deal of it came from a misunderstanding and the lack of confidence among the Indians as regards the intention of the Government. Our friend, Capt. Lee, does not carry arms, neither do I. While it looked like peace daily you were just like scared birds, ready to stampede at any time. I am going to Washington to see the great counsellors, and I want to be able to say that when 1 left all was peace, and that the Indians fully understood Gen. Miles' intention. I want you to place every confidence in him. When the earth loses something God sends some- thing else, and when God took your friend Gen. Crook he sent you Gen. Miles, who is now your benefactor. The foundation of all good in men is truth and honor. When a man has these foundations he has right, and can stand open-handed and talk for his rights. He needs no gun, which is dangerous and causes trouble. You have thousands of friends in the East. Gen. Miles and Capt. Lee can reach those friends. I have this confidence there will be no war on the part of Gen. Miles, if you give up your arms, because through military discipline he can control his men, as soldiers have no interest to shoot Indians. Tell your young men to be calm and have confidence in Gen. Miles who will see you through. But you must discipline and control your young men. Let every man who talks mean what he says, and not talk to evade the question. I, to show you what confidence I have in Gen. Miles that he will not fire upon you and your women and children when you are disarmed, I will promise to live in your camp until you have confi- dence that the white chief will see no harm come to you. I am glad to hear that some chiefs are going to Washington, and hope instead of ten, twenty or twenty-five will go. I will be there to see you, and may go with you. I will do all I can in my humble way for you. Let us all work for peace between the white men and the red — not for a moment, a day, a year, but for ever, for eternity." IMPROVED BY TRAVEL.— Chamberlain, S. D., December 13. The large number of Indians who have been abroad for the last few years with "Buffalo Bill's" Wild West show are doing some good work among the unruly Indians belonging to Rosebud and Pine Ridge agencies, and to their efforts as much as to any one thing can a preven- tion of an immediate outbreak among the red men be attri-buted. These Indians emphatically refused to listen to any proposition from the hostiles looking to their joining them, but have continued to act as peacemakers at all times since their return, and they are untiring in their efforts to bring about a peaceful settlement of the present difficulty. These Indians act in marked contrast to some of those educated, as many of the latter are among the hostiles. MAJOR BURKE. — He Talks on the Recent Troubles at Pine Ridge Agency. Major Burke, the widely and favorably known business manager of "Colonel Cody's" Wild West aggregation, spent Sunday in the city, having just returned from Pine Ridge agency. The Major spent from the first day until after the surrender at the seat of the Indian war and did more than any other civilian at the Agency in the interest of peace and a speedy settlement of the trouble. Indeed, he was the central figure at Pine Ridge among the civilians, and even among the officials was a much deferred-to character of acknowledged power with the troubled children of the hills and plains. "The Bees dispatches have so fully and accurately reported the situation," said the major, "and they keep up so nearly to the last hour each day that I really have nothing new to say. The army and Indians now have a perfect respect for each other, and I think this will continue, for a time at least. The whole matter should I think, be left to General Miles and the appro- priation committee of congress. I would not venture, as matters now stand, to predict how long we are to have this running peace. In fact, I scarcely think that any one feels like speaking for the future in the matter. As to the sending of chiefs to Washington, well that may and I hope will result advantageously. I have great faith in General Miles' judgment, and I think the presi- dent, the commissioner of Indian Affairs and congress will listen to them with much interest. We have had a very wild time at Pine Ridge, one of the most critical in all the history of Indian affairs, and with the whole country I fervently hope for a final settlement that will result in permanent peace." Major Burke left last night for North Platte. He will return here on Tuesday, and on Wednesday leave for Washington. He has great cause for congratulation on the manner in which those Indians whom he has taken over Europe have conducted themselves during the trying scenes just passed. At all times they were found earnest and patient advocates of peace and 34 obedience to law, as well as energetic scouts, police, peace commissioners and spies. — Cressy— War correspondent Omaha Bee. "BUFFALO BILL" VICTORIOUS.— The Sioux and Wild West Shows. Editorial from ^^New York Sun," Tuesday, March loth. The permission granted by the Interior Department to "Buffalo Bill" to engage loo Indians for his "Wild West Show" is a great victory for Bill. It is a more conspicuous success even than that which he achieved during the recent Pine Ridge campaign, when, as a brigadier general commanding the Nebraska State forces, he received a written acknowledgment of his services from Or..:. Miles. It has been accomplished, moreover, directly in the face of, for some unexplained reason, enormous obstacles which "Buffalo Bill" found in his path; and the skill and success with which he surmounted them are proportionately great. First he brought his braves from Europe to Washington to show the refining and ennobling influence which European travel had had upon them. Then when the Sioux troubles broke out, and threatened to wreck his plans, especially as it was charged that the complaints of some of his troop had aggravated the tribal discontent, he found in that very disaster his opportunity, and hastening to the scene, took care that none of his recent performers should be conspicuously hostile to the Government, but enlisted many on the side of the Government, doing splendid service. His next step was to procure recommendations from army ofificers, showing Secretary Noble the military wisdom of allowing some of the young restless Sioux braves to be taken away from the reservation, under his charge. The issue was then between "Buffalo Bill" and the Commissioner, and the former won. To the eminent patrons of the Wild West Show this great victory will be very welcome. And now the best thing for the Commissioner and the defeated objectors to do is to accept the first chance to scq. the show. They will probably enjoy the spectacle, and be proud of the professional progress of their wards. BUFFALO BILL'S INDIANS EXAMINED OFFICIALLY. -From Lincoln {Neb.) Journal. Pine Ridge Agency, S. D., (via Rushville, Neb.) Dec. 3. — [Special.] — Nothing farther has transpired to effect a change at Pine Ridge at this writing. All is quiet, but few reports of any kind arriving, and the general routine of camp life is the only variation, if it may be so called, of the monotony of life. Long trains of supplies and ammunition have been daily coming in from Rushville to this place. If anything is to be judged by the preparations being made one would suppose the army officers expected a long and severe campaign. Orders were received to-day by Agent Royer to examine "Buffalo Bill's" Indians, all of which are at this place, about fifty being on the police force and in the company of scouts sent to Lieutenant Taylor to Fort Robinson for duty there. All here were thoroughly examined by Agent Royer and Special Agent Cooper as to their pay, clothing, food and general welfare, and all spoke in the highest praise of Mr. Cody and his treatment of them while abroad. Not one had a complaint of any character to make. This is a pretty effectual denial of the various charges lodged against "Buffalo Bill" and his managers. — -W. F^ K. Macaulay's New Zealander. — The Last of the Mohicans. — The Last of the Buffalo. — From Manchester Courier, April, 1888. An addition which has just been made to the United States National Museum at Washington, affords important subsidiary evidence, if such were needed, of the unique interest attending the extraordinary exhibition at Manchester illustrative of the Wild West. Naturalists have not too soon become alive to the remarkable fact that those shaggy monarchs of the prairie, the ponderous buffalo tribe, are well nigh extinct. They have dwindled away before the exter- minating tread of the hunter and the march of the pioneer of civilization. The prairie no longer shakes beneath the impetuous advance of the mighty herd, and even individual specimens are becoming scarce. The representatives of the Smithsonian Museum in America therefore sent out an expedition into the West in search of what buffaloes there might be remaining, in order that the country might preserve some memento of the millions of those animals, which not many years ago roamed over the prairies. Twenty-five animals in all were captured, six of which have been arranged in a group for exhibition. One of the American papers describes this as the transference of a little bit of Montana — a small square patch from the wildest part of the Wild West — to the National Museum. The idea is one which is exactly applicable to Colonel W. F. Cody's collection, which is approaching its last days of residence among us. Those scenes rn which the primeval forest and the vast expanse of prairie are represented, with •\k and l»i0Oii 35 careering about, chased by the hunter and the scout, is a transference from the Wild West which, as we now learn, should be even more interesting to the naturalist than it is to either the artistic or the historical student. We leave out of view for the moment the ordinary spectator who goes only to be amused or entertained, independently of any instruction that may be afforded. These scenes, moreover, are all the more interesting to the ethnological student because of the association with them of the red men who have been indigenous to the prairies and their surroundings. The occupation of Uncas, like Othello's, is gone ; palatial buildings and busy streets have succeeded to the wigwam and the happy hunting grounds, and the successor of Fenimore Cooper may find his representative Indians, not where the hunting knife and tomahawk are needed, but in the arena of mimic battle and adventure. The Indian is going out with the buffalo ; mayhap we shall ere long see the last of his descendants, with the contem- plative gaze of Macaulay's New Zealander, sitting before the group in the Smithsonian Museum, looking upon the last representatives of the extinct buffalo, fixed in its prairie-like surroundings! These considerations of facts which force themselves upon the imagination, distinctly enhance the interest of those " pictures " from the Wild West, presented with such force and realism by the ruling genius, who, anent the purport of these reflections, is so appropriately named "Buffalo Bill." In the course of a very short time these pictures will permanently vanish from English soil, as they are to be produced in America soon, and it may be expected that those in arrears in information respecting them, and who appreciate as they deserve to be appreciated, their instructive features, will give to them a concentrated attention ere it is too late. EXPLICIT DENIAL of the VARIOUS CHARGES MADE AGAINST "BUFFALO BILL." [By the Commercial Cable to the Herald^ Herald Bureau, No. 49, Avenue de l'Opera, Paris, July 24, 1890. The Herald's European edition publishes to-day the following: Berlin, July 24, 1890. To THE Editor of the Herald: — The statements and general inference in the Herald about starvation and cruelty in the Wild West camp arc ridiculously untruthful, and unjust to Cody and Salsbury. I appeal to your sense of justice to fully deny the same. The Wild West is under the public eye daily, and in all the countries and cities visited, under rigid police and health inspection. Our cuisine is the same as in New York, Paris and London, and has challenged the admiration and astonishment of the citizens of every place visited for its quality and quantity. Our contracts and beef bills will bear witness as well as the United States Consrls and local officials, and thousands of others who have daily visited our camp. Our (...ide as well as our interest, lies in the good food and good health of our people. As regards the steerage passage, the steamships don't want to give cabin passage to Indians. Many a good white man has gone across the ocean in the steerage. Would that every white man in the world was as well fed, clothed and looked after as our red tourists of " Buffalo Bill's" Wild West. (Signed) JOHN M. BURKE. New York Herald. Berlin, July 24. We take great pleasure in stating that we visited the "Buffalo Bill" Wild West Show in Berlin, and have seen the Indians both in their tents and during the performance. They are certainly the best looking and apparently the best fed Indians we have ever seen. (Signed) W. H. EDWARDS. Consul General. (Signed) CHAS. H. JOHNSON, U. S. Consul at Hamburg. (Signed) C. COLEMAN, Sec. of Leg., Berlin. VALUE OF AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL DEMONSTRATED. Telegram to Paris Edition from N. Y. Herald, July 25. The friends of " Buffalo Bill " are delighted with the authoritative denial of the charge of cruelty to his Indians, cabled to the Herald this morning. It shows the value of an inter- national paper that stories wilder than the Wild West itself can be so promptly sat upon and refuted. His accusers have not yet produced that statement bearing out his charges, and it looks now as if their good nature and charity had been buncoed by the wily White Horse. Conshohocken, Pa., July 30, 1888. Messrs. Cody & Salsbury,— Dear Sirs: Having had every opportunity for five consecutive days and nights to inspect the discipline, and to study the effect of the general influence of your exhibition upon the Indians with you, I wish, by this note, to exjMress my gratification with it all I have seen tfee Indians learning promptness, regularity, 36 cleanliness in person and food, and also learning to do well the work for which they were employed , That anything in the shape of evil will not do, but must come up to a standard. I saw them learning to realize that they were not hired merely to receive their pay, or, if possible, to " boss " the job, and have their own way about it. Knowing that the brothers of many of these men have offered to take care of their families, stock and farms, while these go away to earn money to help all, I can but class your great exhibition as an industry which will benefit the Indians of Pine Ridge Reservation. Most respectfully yours, Jno. Robinson, Missionary Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota. COL. T. A. DODGE, U. S. A., re U. S. CAVALRY. Harper's Weekly, June, 1891. This able magazine has done effective work in the past years in faithfully illustrating the same subject that the Wild West is simplifying to the present generation by animated tableaux —thus aiding the permanent (character of the marvelously correct and imperishable illustrations of their artist, Fred Remington (and their contributors — notably Col. Dodge and Theo. Roosevelt), time enhancing the literary, artistic, and historical value of their work. Liberty has been taken to cull some information regarding the cavalry riders, with the addition by the compiler of last winter's remarkable Relief of Pine Ridge Ride, by Guy Henry's command, whose dark-skinned "Buffaloes" furnish a chapter to Western experience by having their feet " chilblained " and their thin faces sunburned (by old Sol's reflection from the snow) on the same day. Col. Dodge intelligently discourses on American riders, and relates the following cavalry trips : "Our Western cavalry is now the pattern of the cavalry of the future. Let us quote some isolated facts, quite apart from the civil war, to show that our cavalrymen on Indian service have stout hearts under their army blue as well as stout seats in the saddle, and earn credit for them both. Mention need not be made of the risk every scouting party or detachment runs of perishing in an Indian ambush, like Custer or Forsyth ; nor of frightful marches of many days with the thermometer at forty degrees below zero, like the command of Henry. Let us look at some good distance riding, for it is in this that our men excel. General Merritt, in 1879, rode with a battalion of the Fifth Cavalry to the relief of Payne, and covered one hundred and seventy miles from 11 a. m., October 2d, to 5:30 p. m., October 5th — two days and six hours — accompanied by a battalion of infantry in wagons, which much retarded the march. He arrived on the scene in good order, and ready for a fight. Single couriers had ridden in over the same distance from Thornburg's command during the previous two or three days in less than twenty-four hours. Captain F. S. Dodge marched his command on the same occasion eighty miles in sixteen hours. Lieutenant Wood, of the Fourth Cavalry, marched his troop seventy miles in twelve hours — 6 a. m. to 6 p. m. — and came in fresh ; and double that distance has been made from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. next day. In 1870 four men of Company H, First Cavalry, bore dispatches from Fort Harney to Fort Warner, one hundred and forty miles, over a bad road — twenty of it sand — with little and bad water, in twenty-two hours, eighteen and a half of which was actual marching time. The horses were in such good condition at the end of the ride, that after one day's rest the men started back, and made the home trip at the rate of sixty miles a day. In 1880, Lieutenant Robertson, First Cavalry, rode from Fort Lapwai to Fort Walla Walla, one hundred and two miles, over the snow, deep in places, in twenty-three and a half hours ; and starting next morning, rode back in two days. These are but a few out of scores of equal performances. The keen appreciation of pace and of the ability of the animals ridden in such feats is marked. Men who can do work like this and come in fresh, must be consummate horsemen. "Inconstant association with the cavalryman comes that most faithful servant — the only good Indian except a dead one — the Indian scout." To these can now be added the remarkable trip of Gen. Guy Henry's (Buffalo), Ninth Cavalry, last winter, to the relief of Pine Ridge after " Wounded Knee," over ninety-si?: ::uies in the night, a fight at daylight after arrival, a light breakfast— rush to the successful aid of the Seventh at " the Mission " afterward, and a return at night after two days almost continually in the saddle ; two severe fights, and not a sore back horse in the outfit. Such is the regular army of U. S., the nucleus of the Grand Army of Emergency, which is commanded by such experienced men as Generals Schofield, Howard, Gibbon, Brook, Wheaton, Henry, Ruger, Sumner, Forsyth, Carr, Merritt and the strategist of the late Indian war, General Nelson A. Miles. 37 A POSITION DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN.— A " Plains Celebrity."— A Title Imperishable. To gain great local and national fame as a "plains celebrity" in the days of old was not an easy task; rather one of the most competitive struggles that a young man could possibly engage in. The vast, comparatively unknown, even called Great American Desert of twenty-five and thirty years ago was peopled only by the descendants of the sturdy pioneers of the then Far West — Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, etc., born, raised, and used to hardships and danger, and attracted only the resolute, determined adventurers of the rest of the world, seeking an outlet for pent-up natures, imbued with love of daring "adventure. Hundreds of men achieved local, and great numbers national fame for the possession of every manly quality that goes to make up the romantic hero of that once dark and bloody ground. When it is brought to mind the work engaged in, the carving out of the advance paths for the more domestically inclined settler, of the dangers and excitements of hunting and trapping, of carrying dispatches, stage driving, freighting cargoes of immense value, guiding successfully the immense wagon trains, gold hunting, it is easy to conceive what a class of sturdy, adventurous young spirits entered the arena to struggle in a daily deadly dangerous game to win the "bubble reputation." When such an army of the best human material battled for supremacy, individual distinction gained by the unwritten law of unprejudiced popular promotion, possessed a value that made its acquirer a " plains celebrity," stamped indelibly with an honored title rarely possessed unless fairly, openly, and justly won — a prize so pure that its ownership, while envied, crowned the victor with the friendship, following and admiration of the contestants. Thus Boone, Crockett, Carson, Beal, Fremont, Cody, Bridger, Kinman, Hicock, Cosgrove, Com- stock, Frank North, and others, will live in the romance, the poetry, and history of their each distinctive work forever. The same spirit and circumstances have furnished journalists innumerable, who in the West imbibed the sterling qualities they afterward used to such effect. Notably Henry M. Stanley, who (in 1866) saw the rising sun of the young empire that stretches to the Rockies; General Greeley, of Arctic fame (now of signal service), and the equally scientific explorer, Lieut. Schwatka, passed their early career in the same school, and often fol- lowed "the trail" led by "Buffalo Bill"; Finerty (of the "Chicago Times"); " Modoc" Fox, and O'Kelly (of the " New York Herald"), 1876; while last year new blood among the scribblers was initiated to their baptism of fire by Harries (of "Washington Star"), McDonough ("New York World"), Bailey (of "Inter Ocean"), brave young Kelly (of the " Lincoln Journal "), Cressy (of the " Omaha Bee "), Seymour ("Chicago Herald"), and Allen (of the " New York Herp.ld "), present in the battle, who were honored by three cheers from " Old White Top" For- sythe, gallant 7th Cavalry, the day after the battle of "Wounded Knee," as they. went charging over Wolf Creek to what came near being a crimson day, to the fight "down at the Mission." That there are still "successors to every king" is assured by the manly scouts so prominent in last winter's rehearsal of past (hoped no more future) frontier dramas in such men as Frank Gruard, now the most celebrated of the present employed army scouts; of "Little Bat," true as steel, and active as the cougar; Philip Wells, Louis Shangrau, " Big Baptiste," and John Shangrau; while the friendly Indians furnish such grand material for any future necessity as "No Neck," Major "Sword," "Red Shirt," and " Yankton Charley." BILL CODY.— (By an Old Comrade.) You bet I know him, pardner, he 'aint no circus fraud, He's western bom and western bred, if he has been late abroad; I knew him in the days way back, beyond Missouri's flow, When the country round was nothing but a huge Wild Western Show. When the Injuns were as thick as fleas, and the man who ventured through The sand hills of Nebraska had to fight the hostile Sioux; These were hot times, I tell you; and we all remember still The days when Cody was a scout, and all the men knew Bill. I knew him first in Kansas, in the days of '68, When the Cheyennesand Arapahoes were wiping from the slate Old scores against the settlers, and when men who wore the blue, With shoulder straps and way up rank, were glad to be helped through By a bearer of dispatches, who knew each vale and hill From I akota down to Texas, and his other name was Bill. I mind me too of '76, the time when Cody took His scouts upon the Rosebud; along with General Crook; ^Vhen C uster's Seventh rode to their death for lack of some such aide To tell them that the sneaking Sioux knew how to ambuscade;^ J saw Bill's fight with "Yellow Hand,'' you bet it was a "mill,''_ lie downed him well at thirty yards, and all the mem cheered Bill. They tell me that the women folk now take his word as laws, In them days laws were mighty skerce, and hardly passed with squaws. But many a hardy settler's wife and daughter used to rest More quietly because they knew of Cody's dauntless breast; Because they felt from Laramie way down to Old Fort Sill, Bill Cody was a trusted scout, and all their men knew Bill. I haven't seen him much of late, how does he bear his years? They say he's making ducats now from shows and not from "steers," He used to be a judge of "horns," when poured in a tin cup, And left the wine to tenderfeet, and men who felt |'way up.'' Perhaps he cracks a bottle now, perhaps he's had his fill. Who cares. Bill Cody was a srout, and all the world knows Bill. To see him in his trimralns, he can't hardly look the same, With laundered shirt and diamonds, as if "he run a game." He didn't wear biled linen then, or flash up diamond rings, Tht .'oyalties he dreamed of then were only pasteboard kings. But those who sat behind the Queens were apt to get their fill, In the days when Cody was a scout, and all the men knew Bill. Gridiron Club. Washington, D. C, Feb. 28th, 1891. WM. E. ANNIN, Lincoln (Neb.) Journat, 38 GHOST-DANCES IN THE WEST. Origin and Development of the Messiah Craze and the Ghost-Dance. Pine Ridge Reservation. — There have often happened, in the history of the human race, incidents that were regarded at the time as most trivial, bMt have later developed into such im- portant and serious questions as to engage the minds of many learned men in their solution. That there is some special reason for the series of frenzied dances and incantations which have been continued from time to time in remote portions of the Sioux reservations, no one will deny. It is scarcely probable that a people who own horses and cattle would suddenly, without the slightest warning, re- turn almost to a man to the execution of a dance which is so weird and peculiar, so superstitious and spirit-like, as to rival the far-famed Sun Dance. This special reason is found in the simple truths of Christianity as taught by a missionary in Utah, but which were distorted to conform with Indian mythology. It was when the medicine men and politicians in the nation began to enlarge upon the wrongs suffered at the hands of the whites, the scar- city of food, the presence of the military, that its general aspect was changed from a sacred rite to a warlike demonstration. The Indians located in the Dakotas have been in the habit of visiting the Utes and Arapahoes every summer for the purpose of trading and hunting en route. While the Sioux are unable to converse with these tribes, means of communication is possible through the medium of the sign-language, which is well understood by all Indians throughout the West. Keeps the Battle (Ki- cizapi Tawa) told me a few days ago that it was during the visit of the Pine Ridge Sioux last July that he first heard of the coming of the new Messiah. He related the following story: " Scarcely had my people reached the Ute village when we heard of a white preacher whom the Utes held in the highest esteem, who told a beautiful dream or vision of the coming of a great and good red man. This strange person was to set aright the wrongs of my people ; he could restore to us our game and hunting-grounds, was so powerful that every wish or word he gave utterance to became fulfilled. " His teachings had a strange effect upon the Utes, and, in obedience to the com- mands of this man, they began a Messiah Dance. My people did not pay much atten- tion to this dance at first, and it was not until we took our departure that the matter began to weigh heavily upon the minds of a number in the party. As we left the Ute camp the minister stood with uplifted hands and invoked the blessing of the Great Spirit upon us. He told us to look for the coming of the Saviour; and assured us that he would soon and unexpectedly arrive H^ further cautioned us to be watching and ready to accompany him to r ' i ■%^^ 7 »f'. m ,.^^\ ii-S ^^MJA ^^^^HHKflK v>i>^^X .« % S^^^^^^B^I^ i w 'VbI >c-J ^^ -f^ BF ^^». -,. ogallalla chiefs. pine ridge — SIOUX campaign, li 39 the bright and Happy Hunting Grounds, to be sorry for our sins, to institute a Messiah Dance among our people at Pine Ridge, and to keep up this dance until the Lord himself shall appear." When the Ghost or Messiah D^ance was first given on Pine Ridge Reservation by the Sioux who had been in Utah on a visit to the Ute Indians, there were many on-lookers. These became interested as the dance proceeded, for such was its influence upon a beholder that he felt an irre- sistible desire to join the circle. The largest camp of the dancers prior to the departure for the North was located upon Wounded Knee Creek. Other camps of considerable extent existed upon White Clay Creek, four miles from the agency headquarters, upon Porcupine and Medicine Root streams. Nearly five hundred persons were leaping up and down, or rolling upon the earth, at one time, in an enormous circle. The earth is packed as firm as a cemented cellar bottom, so rendered by the ■thousands of feet that stamped furiously upon the surface, and for a space of three hundred and fifty feet in diameter there is not a vestige of grass, nor the indication of the smallest shrub. When the medicine men took the Ghost Dance under their charge one man was ap- pointed "High Priest," to have entire control of the ceremonies. His four assistants were likewise invested with power to start or stop the dance at will. They were given authority to punish any person who should refuse to obey their commands. While the priests are employed in their prayers, the squaws make a good-sized sweat- house. Poles are stuck.in the ground and the tops bent together and securely tied. These saplings are strong enough to bear the weight of several hundred pounds. Over the frame- work are heaped blankets and robes to such a thickness that no smoke or steam can pass from the interior. A fire is started in a hole in the ground several feet from the small entrance to the sweat-lodge, and twenty or thirty good-sized stones are placed therein to be heated. When these rocks have become sufiiciently hot, the young men who are to partake of the bath, strip with the exception of the breech clout, and crawl through the door. They seat themselves in a circle, with their feet toward the center and their backs against the sides of the lodge. The attendant shoves some of the hot stones inside, and the young men pour water from a hide bucket upon the little stone heap. Steam and vapor arise, completely filling the inclosure. The attendant has meanwhile covered the opening so that no air from the outside may penetrate. As the vapor condenses, the attendant thrusts more stones within, and thus the operation is continued as long as the youths can stand the confinement. The pipe is also smoked during the sweat. When the young men issue from their bath the perspiration is fairly streaming from every pore. If it is not cold weather they plunge into a pool in the creek near by, but if it be chilly they wrap blankets about their bodies. Several sweat-houses are erected in order to prepare the young men for the dance. When a good number of young men, say fifty or sixty, have thus prepared themselves, the high priest and his assistants come forward. The high priest wears eagle-feathers in his hair, and a short skirt reaches from his w^aist nearly to his knees. The assistants are dressed in a similar manner, but wear no ornaments other than the eagle feathers. The dancers wear no ornaments whatever and enter the circle without their blankets, many of them only wearing their ordinary clothes. That Indians should lay aside all ornaments and finery and dance without the trappings which they so dearly love, proves conclusively that some powerful religious influence is at work. "sitting bull. The celebrated Uncapapa Sioux Chief, killed in i8gi JOHN SHANGRAU. Government Scout, Guide apd Interprete in charge of the Military Hostages. 40 In their other dances, the Omaha, the Old Woman, the Sun, and War Dances, feathers and bangles, weapons, herbs or painted and plaited grasses, porcupine quills, horses' tails and bits of furskins, necklaces, bells, silver disks, etc., are worn in great pro- fusion. The candidates for "conversion" do not fast, as has been stated by several writers who have not thoroughly investigated the subject. After they have come forth from the sweat-house they are ready to enter the sacred circle. The high priest runs quickly from the village to the open space of ground, five or six hundred yards distant, and station- ing himself near the sacred tree, begins his chant as follows: " Hear, hear you all persons! "Come, hurry up and dance, and when you have finished running in the circle, tell these people what you have seen in the spirit land. " I myself have been in the spirit land, and have seen many strange and beautiful things, all of which the great Wakantanka rules over, and which my eyes tell me are good and true." As the speaker proceeds the men and women leave their tepees and crowd to the dance-ground. They form two or three circles, according to the number of persons who wish to participate, and, grasping hands with fingers interlocked ("Indian grip"), the circles begin to move around toward the left. They rub their palms in dust or sand to prevent slippmg, for it is considered unlucky for one to break connections. The sacred tree needs a few words of explanation. It is a nearly straight sapling thirty or forty feet high, trimmed of branches to a height of several feet. To the topmost twigs is attached a small white flag or canvas strip., supposed to be an emblem of purity, together with some of colors. The baset of the tree is wrapped with rushes and flags to a thickness of about five feet. Between the reeds the dancers from time to time thrust little gifts or peace-offerings. These offerings are supposed to allay the anger of the Great Spirit, and are given in perfectly good faith by the poor natives. They consist of small pieces of calico, bags of tobacco, or pipes. During the heat of excitement, those worshipers most deeply affected cut small particles of flesh from their arms, and thrust these, also, between the rushes of the holy tree. Henry Hunter (The Weasel "Itonkasan") informs me that after the dance had been running some days, the rushes covering the base of the tree were literally besmeared with human blood! As the circle moves toward the left, the priest and his assist- ants cry out loudly for the dancers to stop a moment. As they pause he raises his hand toward the west, and, upon all the people acting similarly, begins the following remarkable prayer: "Great Spirit, look at us now. Grandfather and Grandmother have come. All these good people are going to see Wakantanka, but they will be brought safely back to earth. Everything that is good you will see there, and you can have these things by going there. All things that you hear there will be holy and true, and when you return you can tell your friends how spiritual it is." As he prays, the dancers cry aloud with all the fervor of religious fanatics. They moan and sob, many of them exclaiming: "Great Father, I want you to have pity upon me." One can scarcely imagine the terrible earnestness of these "thhimmv pttuu-tt ^to MT.r-i,' " 1 /-- 1- i> ,.1 n 2.\ TT •. 1 o^ ^ T-v . Ai- 11 JOHTmNY BURkE NO NECK. people. George E. Bartlett, the United States Deputy Marshal ^ ^ , t, , ^. , , . „, of thisdistric. and Mr. Sweeney, one of the Agency schooUeachers, ^""f^'H^^^HSL^:"''' the chief herder, Mr. John Darr, and others, have mformed me Big Foot's Band. 41 that during their exterided experience on the Agency, of many years' duration, they have witnessed many of these dances. They describe the scene of the dance, especially at night, as most weird and ghostlike. The fires are very large, and shed a bright reflection all around. The breasts of the worshipers heave with emotion; they groan and cry as if they were suffering great agony, and as the priest begs them to ask great Wakantanka to forgive their sins, such a cry of despair and anguish arises as to deeply affect even the whites present. Bartlett said that, in his opinion, men could not be more in dead earnest nor pray harder than did these poor children of the plains. After prayer and weeping, and offerings have been made to the sacred pole, the dance is started again. The dancers go rather slowly at first, and as the priests in the center begm to shout and leap about, the dancers partake of the enthusiasm. Instead of moving with a regular step, each person jumps backward and forward, up and down, as hard as he or she can without relin- quishing their hold upon their neighbor's hand, some staggering like drunken men, others wildly rushing here and there, almost bereft of reason. Many fall upon the earth to writhe about as if possessed of demons, while blinded women throw their clothes over their heads and run through brush or against trees. The priests are kept busy waving eagle-feathers in the faces of the most violent worshipers. The feather is con- sidered sacred, and its use, together with the mesmeric glance and motion of the priest, soon causes the victim to fall into a trance or deep sleep. Whether this sleep is real or feigned the writer does not pretend to say, but sufficiently deep is it that whites visiting the dance have been unable to rouse the sleepers by jest or blow. Unquestionably the priests exercise an in- fluence over the more susceptible of the dancers akin to hypnotism. One of the young men, who danced in the ghost circle twenty times, told me that the priest: " Looked very hard at us. Some of the young men and women could not withstand his snake-like gaze, and did whatever he told them." If this does not describe the manner in which a "professor" of mesmerism influences his pupils, nothing can. Regarding what is seen by the converts when in the spirit land there is much speculation. I have secured interviews with three prominent chiefs touching upon this matter, and before relating what they told me I wish to call especial attention to the strong resemblance of their visions to the teachings of the Saviour in the New Testament. "When I fell in the trance a great and grand One by one the dancers fall out of the ranks, CHIEF " NO NECK. Ogallalla Sioux. Famous Warrior. A Friendly. A Leading Government Scout in Last Campaign. eagle came and carried me over a great hill, where there was a village such as we used to have before the whites came into the country. The tepees were all of buffalo hides, and we made use of the bow and arrow, there being nothing of white man's manufacture in the beautiful land. Nor were any whites permitted to live there. The broad and fertile lands stretched in every direction, and were most pleasing to my eyes. "I was taken into the presence of the great Messiah, and he spoke to me these words: "My child, I am glad to see you. Do you want to see your children and relations who are dead?' "I replied: 'Yes, I would like to see my relations who have been dead a long time.' The God then called my friends to come up to where I was. They appeared riding the finest horses I ever saw, dressed in superb and most brilliant garments, and seeming very happy. As they approached, I recognized the playmates of my childhood, and I ran forward to embrace them while the tears of joy ran down my cheeks. 44 „,__ --.-•w-is*:!^ r^^ ^' "M F <^, « ^^^ 1^ .* ' t«« ^. 1 . 1 *»;•■-] !!•■• i HHE, .^^^ yg-^p I^hHI^ .' .- .-JBm ^"^ ^HKl.^'. ^^^^IHHiHMmMl^Hf! -^ i^^HMji^'f '■• I Indian Girl. "LITTLE EMMA. Daughter of the Ogallalla Chief, 'Lone Wolf. "We all went together to another village, where there were very large lodges of buffalo hide, and there held a long talk with the great \\'akant.anka. Then he had some squaws l)repare us a meal of many herbs, meat, and wild fruits and 'wasna' (pounded beef and choke-berries). After we had eaten, the Great Spirit prayed for our people upon the earth, and then we all took a smoke out of a fine pipe ornamented with the most beautiful feathers and porcupine quills. Then we left the city and looked into a great valley where there were thousands of buffalo, deer, and elk feeding. "After seeing the valley, we returned to the city, the Great Spirit speaking meanwhile. He told me that the earth was now ^d-^ and :,u7rn out ; that we needed a new dwelling- place where the rascally whites could not disturb us. He further instructed me to return to my people, the Sioux, and say to them that if they would be constant in the dance, and pay no attention to the whites, he would shortly come to their aid. If the high-priests would make for the dancers medicine-shirts and pray over them, no harm could come to the wearer; that the bullets of any whites that desired to stop the Messiah Dance would fall to the ground without doing any one harm, and the person firing such shot's would drop dead. He said that he had prepared a hole in the ground filled with hot water and fire for the reception of all white men and non-believers. With these parting words I was commanded to return to earth." The above story was related by Lone Wolf, as heard by him from a ghost dancer. It is a literal translation. Music of the Dance. — There are intermissions every hour in the progress of the dance, and during these pauses several pipes are passed around. Each smoker blows a cloud upward toward the supposed dwelling-place of the Messiah. He inhales deep draughts of the fragrant smoke of red willow-bark into his lungs, blows it out through his nose, and then passes the pipe to his neighbor. The songs are sung without accompaniment of a drum, as is customary in the other dances. All sing in unison, and the notes, although wild and peculiar, being in a minor key, do not lack melody. The Weasel (Itonkasan) has given me the following two songs as sung by his people during the dance. **: i f ^ f-r^-^A-ttVi p i^^33^ J J 1 1 j i M: ^ I=}EZ]S: ^l-L,^,^jg^_L| The words sung in Sioux are: Ina he kuye misunkala ceya omaniye-e. Ina he kuye. Ate he lo. As translated by Deputy U. S. Marshal Bartlett, this is: Ate he lo. 43 Come here my mother; my younger brother is walking and crying. Come here my mother; here is the father, here is the father. Here are the notes of another song: i &«! ^^ -=^— ST JT^^^ i -A S -^ -s^ ^ 3^^?^ Ate he ye lo. Ogallalla Craze, To this strain are used the words: Ate he ye lo, canupawan ci ci ca hu pi ca yani pi kta lo. Ate he ye lo. J Which in English are: gk This the father said, he brings the pipe* for you, and ML you will live. This the father said, this the father said. '97 I Just after the dancers "have been crying and moan- fy \ ing about their sins the priests strike up the first song, in - ' " which all join, singing with deafening loudness. Some man or woman may be at this moment at the tree, with his or her arms thrown about the rushes, sobbing as if the heart would break; or another may be walking and crying, wringing his hands, or going through some motion to indicate the deepest sorrow for his transgressions. So the singer cries aloud to his mother to be present and aid him. The appeal to the father refers, of course, to the Messiah, and its use in this connection is supposed to give emphasis to the demand for the mother's presence, and hasten her coming. The second song requires a longer explanation. It expresses in brief the goodness of the father. Some one of the dancers has come to life from the trance, and has just related his or her experience in the other world. The high- priest, enlarging upon the importance of tl^is fact, runs about the interior of the circle handing several pipes around, exclaiming that these pipes were received direct from the Great Spirit, and that all who smoke them will live. The people are worked up to such a pitch of religious frenzy that their minds are now willing to receive any utter- ance as truth indisputable, so they pass around the pipes, singing the song meanwhile. The repetition of the words, "This the father said," gives more weight to the song. The vision of Little Horse is still more remarkable. Through the Weasel he said: "Two holy eagles transported me to the Happy Hunting Grounds. They showed me the Great Messiah there, and as I looked upon his fair countenance I wept, for there were nail-prints in his hands and feet where the cruel whites had once fastened him to a laro;e cross There was a small wound in his side also, but as he kept himself covered with a beautiful mantle of feathers this wound only could be seen when he shifted his blanket] He insisted that we continue the dance and promised me that no whites should enter his city nor partake of the good things KICKING BEAR. Sioux, War Chief of the Messiah Fightingr Chief of Ghost Dancers. *The use of the pipe is ceremonial and holy. "Who, with lie had prepared for the Indians. The earth, he said, was now worn out and it should be re-peopled. "He had a long beard and long hair, and was the most handsome man I ever looked upon." Philanthropists, while meaning well, from a lack of knowledge of the nature of an Indian, treat him in such a sympathetic man- ner — often selecting the most worthless and lazy Indians to bestow their favors upon — that he becomes puffed up with his own im-^ portance. Egotism leads to insolence, and insolence gets him into serious trouble with the agency employes and Westerners in gen- eral. The churches are all doing a good work, and it is not my purpose to say much against them, but they should work in unison, not against each other. The Indian cannot understand how so many beliefs could spring from one good book, and, naturally suspicious, when he hears one missionary speak dispar- agingly of the salvation afforded by a rival church, concludes the whole set are humbugs. When the commission visited the agency in the summer of 1889, for the pur- pose of securing signatures to the treaty 'Scatter," and "Revenge," were leading B aves with whereby the Sioux relinquished claim to sev- " Short Bull" and "Kicking Bea ." eral million acres of their land, a number of promises were made by the commissioners which were never kept. Not so with the Indians them- selves. As they sat about their tepee fires and dis- cussed the affairs of their nation, they often won- dered why the increase in rations did not come, why the presents were so long delayed. An Indian never forgets a promise. Can it be wondered, then, that the Sioux lost what little remaining faith they had in the whites ? As they brooded over their wrongs, the scar- city of rations, and miserable treatment, imagine with what joy they hailed the coming of Him who was to save and rescue them. How they hoped and prayed, only to be deluded and again cast into the depths of despair! Even this last boon and comfort was refused by their conquerors; for no sooner had the news of the coming Saviour reached Washington when orders were issued to suppress the worship of any Indian who should dare to pray to his God after the dictates of his own con- science, or at least to stop the Ghost Dances. \The above is conderised from Illustrated Amer- ica, and is in many respects very accurate, but the conipiler gives it without comment, as the whole matter has yet to be im^estigated to get at bottom facts.—]. M. B. "SHO'.T BULL. Bru e Si ux — Leader of th Ghost Dancers, 'High Priest" of the "Messiah Craze." 45 THE ORIGIN OF THE NORTH-AMERICAN INDIAN. A Legend.— Respectfully Dedicated to Lieut. F. H. HARDIE, jd Cavalry U. S. A. There is a legend 'mong the plumed race, Which strange though be, their origin does trace To days primeval, when the mighty plan, With touch most wonderful was crowned with man. With air oracular it has been told By Chieftains, nature-wise, so very old, Who, solemn sworn, as were their fathers too. This wonderful tradition seal as true. It was the season when the sighing breeze Bestrewed the ground with Autumn-painted leaves — When Nature robed herself in rich array, Her vesture interwovr; with sad and gay. The buffalo, the elk and fallow deer In quiet grazed, with naught to harm or fear, For yet unborn the stealthy hunter foe, Unwrought the murd'rous flint and arched bow. Sublimity and grandeur did pervade The sun-tipped mountain-top and forest shade, As silence, most profound, with thoughtful train. The Universe spell-bound with magic chain. Lo, the Great Spirit gazed the scene upon And saw perfection in all things but one; There were the hills and dales, and seas and land, And landscapes everywhere supremely grand, And fish and fowl, and beast on mount and plain. But who t' enjoy and over all to reign? So from the border of a brooklet's way, Lo, the Great Spirit took a piece of clay, And with a touch and look both sad and sweet, Did mould it into form most exquisite. Then breathed He on this thing symmetrical formed. When lo, it into life and being warmed, And in the presence of its Maker stood, A female beauty— type of womanhood. Night came: the constellations bright. Shed o'er the earth their distant, twinkling light And through their mellow coruscated sheen Cast pearly tears upon this beauty-queen. Who, tired, reposed in quiet on the ground. With senses wrapped in balmy sleep profound. How passing lovely, how enchanting she, Pure, spotless as her own virginity. Like ''lily of the vale" or budding rose Upon the parent— Earth, in sweet repose. In semblance of a star was one above. Who, gazing on this beauty, fell in love. For who, or which, or what such charms could see And not be filled with love's own ecstacy.' And, as the story goes, this brilliant star Which did outshine the other ones by far. Assuming manly form, rushed from above. And clasped the maiden in th' embrace of love. This flaming star, or sprite, or man, or what, With fullest unrestraint and passions hot. Imprinted fiery kiss, again, again. Before she could her liberty regain. man-like flame, ve modesty, not shame The maid so courted by Blushed deep, through i These blushes overspread the virgin Were brazen by the wooer's ardent glow, And thus became enstamped indelibly, A signet royal of her modesty. From her — To-ka-pa* — that her cherished name. The red man of the Western Prairies came. G. C. C. * To-ka-pa (pronounced as if spelled To-kal -pah) is a word in the Teton dialogue of the Dakota or Sioux language, signifying Jirst- born. LATE MILITARY REFERENCES. During the last year much has been said relative to Cody, the Wild West, Indians, etc., of an uncalled-for nature, and as " an open confession is good for the soul," we freely admit being annoyed. Who likes their motives misconstrued ? Who can possibly believe it incom- patible with honor to go the even tenor of your inclinations, when none but the hypercritical can possibly find a flaw ? If it is correct that " he who preaches the gospel must live by the gospel," most certainly must he who has never held an interest in a Golconda live by that line of enterprise he finds most compatible to embark in if it be within the bounds of law, order and morality. Therefore- it is that this compilation is rendered necessarily pointedly personal in eulogistic extracts as a cross-counter, when a more modest presentation of the Wild West's status would be justly considered as meeting the requirements. But many noted instances occur to the writer where the purpose would have been best served by the plain statement of facts. The aim of existence is to achieve happiness, and nine-tenths of mankind would be happy if the other tenth would attend to their own business, or seek information before exploding. To explain a mooted question ! General Cody holds his commission in the National Guard of the United States (State of Nebraska), an honorable position, and as high as he can possibly attain. His connection with the Regular United States Army has covered a continuous period of fifteen years, and desultory connection of thirty years, in the most troublous era of that superb corp's Western history, as Guide, Scout, and Chief of Scouts — a position unknown in any other service. and for the confidential nature of which see General Dodge's extract on page 8. This privileged position, and the nature of its services in the past, may be more fully appreciated when it is understood that it commanded, beside horses, subsistence, and quarters, $io per day ($3,650 per year), all expenses, and for special service, or " life and death " volunteer missions, special rewards of from $100 to $500 for carrying a single dispatch, and brought its holder the confidence of Commanding Generals, the fraternal friendship of the Commissioned Officers, the idolization of the ranks, and the universal respect and consideration of the hardy pioneers and settlers of the West. ••Bill** Cody's children can point with pride to recorded services under the following officers of world-wide and national fame : General Smith King « Van Vliet " Anson Mills " Reynolds " Harney " Greeley " Sheridan Terry " Emory " Custer " Ord " Hancock The extracts on the following pages speak for themselves, as authenticated references: General Sherman " Miles (( Crook '< Carr «' Augur « Bankhead u Fry a Crittenden «■ Merritt u Switzer (( Tony Forsyth <' Duncan <( Rucker General Royall* " Penrose « Brisbin " Sandy Forsyth « Palmer •' Dudley •* Gibbon « Canby " Blunt " Hayes " Guy Henry " Hazen And others, and will form interesting reading FROM GEN. "PHIL" SHERIDAN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. General Sheridan refers to his meeting "Buffalo Bill." " He undertakes a dangerous task," chapter xii, p. 281 — 289, in his autobiography, published in 1888. The world-renowned cavalry commander maintained continuous friendly relations with this old scout, even to social correspondence, friendly assistance, and recognition in his present enterprise up to the year of his death. After relating his conception of the first winter campaign against Indians on the then uninhabited and bleak plains, in the winter of 1868, he says, " The difficulties and hardships to be encountered had led several experienced officers of the army and some frontiersmen like old Jim Bridger, the famous scout and guide of earlier days, to discourage the project. Bridger even went so far as to come out from St. Louis to discourage the attempt. I decided to go in person, bent on showing the Indians that they were not secure from punishment because of inclement weather — an ally on which they had hitherto relied with much assurance. We started, and the very first night a blizzard struck us and carried away our tents. The gale was so violent that they could not be put up again ; the rain and snow drenched us to the skin. Shivering from wet and cold I took refuge under a wagon, and there spent such a miserable night that, when morning came, the gloomy predictions of old man Bndger and others rose up before me with greatly increased force. The difficulties were now fully realized, the blinding snow, mixed with sleet, the piercing wind, thermometer below zero — with green bushes only for fuel — occasioning intense suffering. Our numbers and companionship alone prevented us from being lost or perishing, a fate that stared in the face the frontiersmen, guides and scouts on their solitary missions. " An important matter had been to secure competent guides for the different columns of troops, for, as I have said, the section of country to be operated in 7ms comparatively unkfioivn. " In those days the railroad town of Hays City was filled with so-called * Indian Scouts,' whose common boast was of having slain scores of redskins, but the real scout — that is, a guide and trailer knowing the habits of the Indians— was very scarce, and it was hard to find anybody familiar with the country south of the Arkansas, where the campaign was to be made. Still, about the various military posts there was some good material to select from, and we managed to employ several men, who, from their experience on the plains in various capacities, or from natural instinct and aptitude, soon became excellent guides and and courageous and valuable scouts, some of them, indeed, gaining much distinction. Mr. William F. Cody (' Buffalo Bill '), whose renown has since become world-wide, was one of the men thus selected. He received his sobriquet from his marked success in killing buffaloes to supply fresh meat to the construction parties on the Kransas-Pacific Railway. He had lived from boyhood on the plains and passed every experience ; harder, hunter, pony express rider, stage driver, wagon master in the quartermaster's department, and scout of the army, and was first brought to my notice by distinguishing himself in bringing me an important dispatch from Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a distance of sixty-five miles, through a section infested with Indians. The dispatch informed me that the Indians near Larned were preparing to decamp, and this intelligence required that certain orders should be carried to Fort Dodge, ninety-five miles south of Hays. This too being a particularly dangerous route — several couriers having been killed on it — it was impossible to get one of the various " Petes," " Jacks," or '• Jims " hanging around Hays City to take my communication. Cody, learning of the strait I 4t was in, manfully came to the rescue, and proposed to make the trip to Dodge, though he had just finished his long and perilous ride from Larned. I gratefully accepted his offer, and after short rest, he mounted a fresh horse and hastened on his journey, halting but once to rest on the way, and then only for an hour, the stop being made' at Coon Creek; where he got another mount from a troop of cavalry. A.t Dodge he took some sleep, and then continued on his own post — Fort Larned — with more dispatches. After resting at Larned, he was again in the saddle with tidings for me at Fort Hays, General Hazen sending him, this time, with word that the villages had fled to the south of the Arkansas. Thus, in all, Cody rode about 350 miles in less than sixty hours, and such an exhibition of endurance and courage at that time of the year, and in such weather, was more than enough to convince me that his services would be extremely valuable in the campaign, so I retained him at Fort Hays till the battalion of the Fifth Cavalry arrived, and then made him Chief of Scouts." Read through the fascinating book, " Campaigning with Crook (Major General George Crook, U. S. A.), and Stories of Army Life," due to the graphic and soldierly pen of Captain Charles King, of the U. S. Army ; published only last year (1890), Incidentally the author refers in various pages to Col. Cody as Scout, etc ., and testifies to the general esteem and affection in which " Buffalo Bill " is held by the army. The subjoined extracts from the book will give our readers an excellent idea of the military scout's calling and its dangers : " By Jove ! General," says " Buffalo Bill," sliding backward down the hill, " now's our chance. Let our party mount here out of sight, and we'll cut those fellows off. Come down every other man of you." Glancing behind me, I see Cody, Tait and " Chips," with five cavalrymen, eagerly bending forward in their saddles, grasping carbine and rifle, every eye bent upon me, watching for the signal. Not a man but myself knows how near they are. That's right, close in, you beggars ! Ten seconds more and you are on them ! A hundred and twenty-five yards — a hundred — ninety — " Now, lads; in with you." There's a rush, a wild ringing cheer ; then bang, bang, bang ! and in a cloud of dust, Cody and his men tumble in among them, " Buffalo Bill " closing on a superbly accoutred warrior. It is the work of a minute ; the Indian has fired and missed. Cody's bullet tears through the rider's leg into the pony's heart, and' they tumble in a confused heap on the prairie. The Cheyenne struggles to his feet for another shot, but Cody's second bullet hits the mark. It is now close quarters, knife to knife. After a hand to hand struggle, Cody wins, and the young chief "Yellow Hand," drops lifeless in his tracks after a hot fight. Bafiied and astounded, for once in a lifetime beaten at their own game, their project of joining "Sitting Bull" nipped in the bud, they take hurried flight. But our chief is satisfied — " Buffalo Bill " is radiant ; his are the honors of the day — From Page 35. "BUFFALO BILL" AND "BUFFALO CYilY'S>r— From Page \\i. In all these years of campaigning, the Fifth Cavalry has had varied and interesting expe- rience with a class of men of whom much has been written, and whose names, to readers of the dime novel and the Neiv York Weekly style of literature, were familiar as household words; I mean the " Scouts of the Prairie," as they have been christened. Many thousands of our citi- zens have been to see "Buffalo Bill's" thrilling representations of the scenes of his life of adventure. To such he needs no introduction, and throughout our cavalry he is better known than any general except Miles or Crook. A motley set they are as a class — these scouts; hard riding, hard swearing, hard drinking ordinarily, and not all were of unimpeachable veracity. But there was never a word of doubt or question in the Fifth when " Buffalo Bill " came up for discussion. He was chief of scouts in Kansas and Nebraska in the campaign of 1868-69, when the hostiles were so completely used up by General Carr. He remained with us as chief scout until the regiment was ordered to Arizona to take its turn at the Apaches in 187 1. Five years the regiment was kept among the rocks and deserts of that marvelous land of cactus and centipede; but when we came homeward across the continent and were ordered up to Cheyenne to take a hand in the Sioux war of 1876, the "Sitting Bull" campaign, the first addition to our ranks was "Buffalo Bill" himself, who sprang from the Union Pacific train at Cheyenne, and was speedily exchanging greetings with an eager group of his old comrades, reinstated as chief scouts. Of his services during the campaign that followed, di dozen articles might be written. One of the most thrilling incidents of our fight on the 17th of July with the Cheyenne Indians, on the War Bonnet, was when he killed the warrior " Yellow Hand," in as plucky a single com- 48 bat on both sides as is ever witnessed. The Fifth had a genuine affection for Bill; he was a tried and true comrade — one who for cool daring and judgment had no superior. He was a beautiful horseman, an unrivaled shot, and as a scout unequaled. We had tried them all — Hual- pais antl Tontos in Arizona; half-breeds on the great plains. We had followed Custer's old guide, " California Joe," in Dakota, met handsome Bill Hickox ("Wild Bill") in the Black Hills; trailed for weeks after Crook's favorite, Frank Gruard^ with " Little Bat " and " Big Bap- TiSTE," three good ones, all over the Big Horn and Powder River country; hunted Nez Perces with CosGROVE and his Shoshones among the Yellowstone moun- tains, and listened to Crawford's yarns and rhymes in many a biv- ouac in the Northwest. They were all noted men in their way, but Bill Cody was the paragon. This time it is not my pur- pose to write of him, but for him, of another whom I have not yet named. James White was his name; a man little known east of the Missouri, but on the plains he was "Buffalo Bill's" shadow. I had met him for the first time at the McPherson station in the Platte Valley, 1871, when he came to me with a horse, and the simple introduction that he was a friend of Cody's. Long after- ward we found how true and staunch a friend, for when Cody joined us at Cheyenne as chief scout, he brought White with him as assistant, and Bill's recom- mendation secured his immediate employment. On many a long day's march after that White rode by my side along the flanks of the column, and I got to know him well. A simpler-minded, a gentler front- iersman never lived. He was modesty and courtesy itself, con- spicuous mainly because of two or tkree unusual traits for his class — ke never drank, I never heard him swear, and no man ever heard him lie. 1' or years he had been Cody's faithful follower, half servant, half "pardner." He was Bill's " Fidus Achates;" Bill was his adoration. They had been boys together, and the hero worship of extreme youth was simply intensified in the man. He copied Bill's dress, his gait, his carriage, his speech — everything he could copy; he let his long yellow hair fall low upon his shoulders in wistful imitation of Bill's glossy brown curls. He took more care of Bill's guns and horses than he did of his own. and so, when he finally claimed, one night at Laramie, the right to be known by some other title than simple Jim White — something descriptive, as it were, of his attachment for Cody, and lifelong devotion to his idol, "Buffalo Bill," a grim quarter- master (Morton of the Ninth Infantry) dubbed him "Buffalo Chips," and the name was a fix- ture. His story was a brief one after that episode. We launched out from Laramie on the 22d of June, and through all the vicissitudes of the campaign that followed, he was always near the Fifth. On the Yellowstone Cody was compelled to bid us a reluctant farewell to join General Terry.