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| The skit is performed beside the
Irma Hotel and for just $2, you can reserve a seat. Of course, the
performance including blowing up the safe in the bank! |
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| But the good guys came on the
scene and Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok saved the day. |
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| This sign, in one of Cody's
restaurant windows, says it all! |
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| One of the highlights of Cody is
a visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum complex.
Affiliated with the Smithsonian, it is comprised of five museums including
the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Plains
Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Museum of Natural
History. It is a gem! |
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| Will Cody became a Pony Express
rider at the age of 14. He later became a renowned scout for the
United States Army. Part of the time he scouted for Indians; at
other times, he hunted and killed bison to supply the Army and the Kansas
Pacific Railroad with meat. Few know that he was awarded a
Congressional Medal of Honor in 1872 for his bravery after Sioux Indians
ambushed the Third Cavalry he was guiding. He was also a scout
for many famous people who came to America to hunt buffalo, including
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia. The
resulting publicity of that hunt helped launch Cody’s acting career when
later that year he and Texas Jack Omohundro opened in Chicago in “Scouts
of the Prairie” written by dime-novelist Ned Buntline. |
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| In 1865, before his acting
career, Will Cody met Louisa Frederici in St. Louis. She was refined
and attractive; he was charismatic and charming. They married a year
later. They moved west to Kansas but their marriage soon began to
fall apart. She wanted a settled life. He wanted
freedom. He later recalled, "I was on the plains; my home was
on the saddle." They had four children, whom they adored.
Increasingly, however, Cody's career - and his restless spirit - began to
take him away. Separation bred loneliness, anger, and
mistrust. The tragic deaths of their only son and two daughters
brought heartache and despair. However, they remained married for 39
years before divorcing in 1905. He accused her of trying to poison
him. She charged him with adultery and claimed that by his filing
for divorce in 1904, he had killed their heartbroken daughter Arta.
After 3 days of sensational testimony, the court sided with Louisa.
Cody's reputation was badly tarnished. However, five years later,
Louisa and Will reconciled and remained loyal to one another to the end. |
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| Supplying 4,280 buffalo to feed
railway construction workers during eight months in 1867 – 1868 earned
him his nickname, “Buffalo Bill.” In
1869, a New York newspaper published the first story about him.
Hundreds of newspapers republished it. Over the next 4 decades, some
700 Buffalo Bill stories and novels appeared. Cody became the hero
of more fictional stories than any other figure in American history. |
