A History Lesson: William F. Cody

   When I started working at Bill Cody Ranch, I didn't think its namesake was of much significance. I figured someone had come along and named is after himself and that was all there was to it. And like a moron, I didn't even question the fact that the town was named Cody. Little did I know there was a whole museum dedicated to William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. I would have never even heard of him if it weren't for my summer in Wyoming. As it turns out, Buffalo Bill was a really interesting worker, husband, father, and public figure, and I feel it's my duty to share what I've learned. My following "essay" was composed with information only from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

   William F. Cody was born on the far bank of the Mississippi River on the dividing line of the East and West in 1846, when the U.S. was at war with Mexico. During his lifetime he witnessed American expansion and settlement from the Atlantic to Pacific coast, the civil war and end of of slavery, industrialization, immigration, women's rights, and inventions like the telephone, electric light, and portable cameras. Through his work, family, and love for nature and performing, Cody made a name for himself - one that is still legendary today in movies, plays, and stories.
   Always a dedicated worker, Cody had a series of jobs before his public persona, "Buffalo Bill," was created. Left without a father at just eleven years old, he began tending cattle with a freighting company in 1857. He spent his school years mostly outdoors, learning from Indians, cowboys, hunters, and teamsters. At age 17, he enlisted as a teamster with the rank of Private in the 7th Kansas Calvary, and served until discharged in 1865. In 1867, he started scouting for the U.S. Army. Cody was a professional buffalo hunter, providing meat for the Army and the Kansas Pacific Railroad workers. He never participated in killing buffalo for their hides, believing it unnecessary. Brevet General Eugene A Carr said of Cody, "He is a most extraordinary hunter." Soon, his appearance became synonymous with a fresh supply of buffalo meat, providing the men he served with the nickname "Buffalo Bill." From 1869 onward, this alter ego and his adventures became the subject of short stories, novels, and plays. "Buffalo Bill" became the hero of more fictional stories than any other figure in American history.

   Though Cody loved hunting, another love soon entered his life. In 1865, he met Louisa Frederici in St. Louis, and they married the next year. Their marriage was strained from the beginning with Louisa wanting to settle down and Cody wanting freedom to roam. Louisa and Cody had four children together: Arta (Dec 1866), Kit Carson (Nov 1870), Orra Maude (Aug 1872), and Irma Louise (Feb 1883). Cody was absent for each birth, as he was from much of his family's lives. Further straining their marriage was the death of five-year-old Kit from scarlet fever in 1876. Eight years later, the illness also took eleven-year-old Orra. Arta had always been Cody's favorite child, and her love was torn between her absent father and estranged mother. In 1888, she married her way out of the struggle.

   By 1883, Cody felt his character couldn't convey the openness and romance of the West on the stage alone. He wanted to create outdoor entertainment with real cowboys and Indians and animals. Thus was born Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Cody combined techniques from stage plays, circus acts, rodeos, and pageants. His Wild West show created a new genre of entertainment, often referred to as an "exhibition," but instead of William F. Cody's name on the banners, it was his Buffalo Bill persona that took the credit. His shows transformed public opinion to believe cowboys were strong, courageous, and reliable, when they were once thought to be outcasts. By 1885, the Wild West also presented cowgirls, whose talents rivaled those of their male counterparts. In the late 1890's, the Wild West demonstrated great diversity, featuring performers from nearly every continent.
   It wasn't William F. Cody that was the world's most famous person, but his persona Buffalo Bill Cody. He was now an international super star, performing for presidents, princes, queens, and even meeting the Pope. He traveled roughly 250,000 miles on the road between 1883 and 1913. In a hotel register in 1892, Cody gave his residence as "The World." In the mid-1890's, Cody helped found Cody, Wyoming, but had to stay on the road. Along with his experience and travel, Cody's values changed over time. He once saw Indians as the enemy, but was now an advocate for Indian American citizenship. He had also always appreciated the independent nature of women and was convinced women could and should do anything men could do, including vote.

 In the States:

Each red dot represents a city in which Buffalo Bill performed his Wild West show.

 Internationally:

Each red dot represents a city in which Buffalo Bill performed his Wild West show.

   During his divorce trial in March 1905, the court sided with Louisa, and Cody's reputation was badly tarnished. In his final years, Cody's fortune was fickle, as it had always been, and his health worsened. His final attempts with plays and novels flopped. On January 10, 1917, William F. Cody died in Denver, Colorado, but Buffalo Bill lived on. A banner headline announced the news as "the end of an era." 25,000 people showed their respects as Cody lay in the Colorado statehouse. "Buffalo Bill" still lives today in stories, novels, plays, and movies, and remains one of the most influential people in the New West. The NFL team, the Buffalo Bills, also carry his namesake. Disneyland Paris even has a Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. And of course, a museum lies in his honor in Cody, Wyoming.
  
   I have thoroughly enjoyed my trips to the Center of the West. Along with their Bill Cody museum, they also have four more: the Draper Natural History Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, and the Plains Indian Museum. The Center also features a sculpture garden, raptor experience, photography gallery, and research library. If you ever find yourself in Cody, I highly recommend a trip to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West! You won't be disappointed.