Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
by Rahsaan A.
Buffalo’s Bill’s Wild West Show was a theatrical performance showcasing the origins of the original West. Led by William Frederick Cody (1846-1917), more commonly known as “Buffalo Bill” for his marksmanship, the performance was a re-enactment of various Indian-American battles. Founded In 1883, the four- hour show featured real Native Americans and Cowboys such as Sitting Bull, William ‘Wild Bill’ Hickock, and ‘Calamity Jane’ [respectively]. Furthermore, those who participated in the play were able to draw on real life experiences in their roles. As Cody stated, “the men… with us are those who have actually taken part in the scenes they represent”(42) Originating in Omaha, Nebraska, the show achieved great success and enjoyed a thirty-year term touring the majority of the United States and parts of England, including Chicago’s World Fair and London’s Jubilee event.
Buffalo Bill’s tour carried an astonishing cast of 1200 performers. The sequence of the show commonly “began with a parade on horseback, with participants from horse-culture groups that included US and other military, American Indians, and performers from all over the world in their best attire”. Following the parade, the characters, groups, and bands, were all introduced before the race of the Indian, Cowboy, and Mexican, into the Pony Express. While the performance mainly consisted of Cowboys and Native Americans, ethnic groups such as the Mongols, Cossacks, Arabs, Turks, and Gauchos were represented as well. According to the original program [in 1883], the show continues from the Pony Express with Indians attacking wagon trains, and the several stagecoach robberies. The final scene is a family’s homecoming to a rural place visited early in the show before a series of battles that occurred in the midst of the Indian-American wars. “This, the show seemed to be saying, was where (and how) the Pony Express trail and the Deadwood stage line and, indeed, the history of the West should—would—end”(253)
What made Cody’s show incredibly unique were the elite measures he took to give the performance a realistic appeal. The show was exceptional in incorporating various elements of the West including real live cattle [mules, horses, elk, sheep, deer], on stage Indian villages, and virtually every ethnic group involved represented in the play. Cody even went as far as to hire acts from various foreign countries to maintain the show’s credibility and novelty. Attendants of the play not only included the general public, but also a substantial amount of real-life frontiersmen, generals, and writers. Of the many writers in attendance, Mark Twain, a rather prominent icon in literature, had the following to say about “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show”:
It’s been said that “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” was inspired by the recent invasion of the industrial revolution in the American West. As immigrants from China, blacks from the South, and Whites from the East, engaged the West in search of greater opportunity, and a better standard of living, the culture of the original West soon faded. “Buffalo herds, which had once numbered in the millions, were now threatened with extinction. Railroads crossed the plains, barbed wire and other types of fences now divided the land….” With the brink of big business, and the surge of gold mining, the West began to undergo an economic and cultural makeover at the expense of the West’s native culture. Indians were confined to reservations while Mexicans continued to witness their land being saturated with foreigners despite signed government treaties in efforts to ‘protect’ their native-born land. It was then that William Frederick Cody decided to bring back the true origins of the west in his play. “Cody’s show brought for the Western and American Indian cultures”.
While “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” has been dormant for almost a century, the name itself, “Buffalo Bill” has stood the test of time through various media outlets. In the 90’s popular film, “Silence of the Lambs” the character of Thomas Harris takes on this alias of Buffalo Bill. The name was also parodied in David Spade’s “Joe Dirt” under the title, “Buffalo Bob”. From here, the name would go on to be represented in forty-three other films ranging from the late 1800’s till just last year in “Frank Conniff as ‘Buffalo Bill!’”. With a sense of humor, the name continued to re-invent itself from its original origins by landing its own NFL football team, “The Buffalo Bills”, and finally becoming the official title of a barbershop-quartet [The Buffalo Bills], mainly performing in Broadway musicals such as “The Music Man” (1957). It’s safe to say the man may have passed, but his imprint on American culture remains.
Works Cited
Warren, Louis S. William Cody and the Wild West Show. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005
Sorg, Eric. Buffalo Bill: Myth & Reality. Sante Fe, New Mexico: Ancient City Press, 1998
“Buffalo Bill”. Wikipedia.12th April, 2006.Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed April 18th, 2006. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill%27s_Wild_West_Show]
“Chief Sitting Bull- Tatanka Iyotaka”. Chief Sitting Bull. 2000. Evisum Inc. Accessed April 18th, 2006. [http://www.sittingbull.org/]
Buffalo’s Bill’s Wild West Show was a theatrical performance showcasing the origins of the original West. Led by William Frederick Cody (1846-1917), more commonly known as “Buffalo Bill” for his marksmanship, the performance was a re-enactment of various Indian-American battles. Founded In 1883, the four- hour show featured real Native Americans and Cowboys such as Sitting Bull, William ‘Wild Bill’ Hickock, and ‘Calamity Jane’ [respectively]. Furthermore, those who participated in the play were able to draw on real life experiences in their roles. As Cody stated, “the men… with us are those who have actually taken part in the scenes they represent”(42) Originating in Omaha, Nebraska, the show achieved great success and enjoyed a thirty-year term touring the majority of the United States and parts of England, including Chicago’s World Fair and London’s Jubilee event.
Buffalo Bill’s tour carried an astonishing cast of 1200 performers. The sequence of the show commonly “began with a parade on horseback, with participants from horse-culture groups that included US and other military, American Indians, and performers from all over the world in their best attire”. Following the parade, the characters, groups, and bands, were all introduced before the race of the Indian, Cowboy, and Mexican, into the Pony Express. While the performance mainly consisted of Cowboys and Native Americans, ethnic groups such as the Mongols, Cossacks, Arabs, Turks, and Gauchos were represented as well. According to the original program [in 1883], the show continues from the Pony Express with Indians attacking wagon trains, and the several stagecoach robberies. The final scene is a family’s homecoming to a rural place visited early in the show before a series of battles that occurred in the midst of the Indian-American wars. “This, the show seemed to be saying, was where (and how) the Pony Express trail and the Deadwood stage line and, indeed, the history of the West should—would—end”(253)
What made Cody’s show incredibly unique were the elite measures he took to give the performance a realistic appeal. The show was exceptional in incorporating various elements of the West including real live cattle [mules, horses, elk, sheep, deer], on stage Indian villages, and virtually every ethnic group involved represented in the play. Cody even went as far as to hire acts from various foreign countries to maintain the show’s credibility and novelty. Attendants of the play not only included the general public, but also a substantial amount of real-life frontiersmen, generals, and writers. Of the many writers in attendance, Mark Twain, a rather prominent icon in literature, had the following to say about “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show”:
Down to its smallest details, the show is genuine—cowboys, vaqueros, Indians, stage coach, costumes and all; it is wholly free from sham and insincerity and the effects it produced upon me by its spectacles were identical with those wrought upon me a long time ago by the same spectacles on the frontier. Your pony expressman was as tremendous an interest to me as he was twenty-three years ago when he used to come whizzing by from over the desert with his war news; your bucking horses were even painfully real to me as I rode one of those outrages for nearly a quarter of a minute. It is often said on the other side of the water that none of the exhibitions which we send to England are purely and distinctly American. If you will take the Wild West Show over there you can remove that reproach
It’s been said that “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” was inspired by the recent invasion of the industrial revolution in the American West. As immigrants from China, blacks from the South, and Whites from the East, engaged the West in search of greater opportunity, and a better standard of living, the culture of the original West soon faded. “Buffalo herds, which had once numbered in the millions, were now threatened with extinction. Railroads crossed the plains, barbed wire and other types of fences now divided the land….” With the brink of big business, and the surge of gold mining, the West began to undergo an economic and cultural makeover at the expense of the West’s native culture. Indians were confined to reservations while Mexicans continued to witness their land being saturated with foreigners despite signed government treaties in efforts to ‘protect’ their native-born land. It was then that William Frederick Cody decided to bring back the true origins of the west in his play. “Cody’s show brought for the Western and American Indian cultures”.
While “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” has been dormant for almost a century, the name itself, “Buffalo Bill” has stood the test of time through various media outlets. In the 90’s popular film, “Silence of the Lambs” the character of Thomas Harris takes on this alias of Buffalo Bill. The name was also parodied in David Spade’s “Joe Dirt” under the title, “Buffalo Bob”. From here, the name would go on to be represented in forty-three other films ranging from the late 1800’s till just last year in “Frank Conniff as ‘Buffalo Bill!’”. With a sense of humor, the name continued to re-invent itself from its original origins by landing its own NFL football team, “The Buffalo Bills”, and finally becoming the official title of a barbershop-quartet [The Buffalo Bills], mainly performing in Broadway musicals such as “The Music Man” (1957). It’s safe to say the man may have passed, but his imprint on American culture remains.
Works Cited
Warren, Louis S. William Cody and the Wild West Show. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005
Sorg, Eric. Buffalo Bill: Myth & Reality. Sante Fe, New Mexico: Ancient City Press, 1998
“Buffalo Bill”. Wikipedia.12th April, 2006.Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed April 18th, 2006. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill%27s_Wild_West_Show]
“Chief Sitting Bull- Tatanka Iyotaka”. Chief Sitting Bull. 2000. Evisum Inc. Accessed April 18th, 2006. [http://www.sittingbull.org/]
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 8:47 AM
11 Comments:
It's really funny how all of these "authentic" frontiersman, cowboys, native americans, etc. left their "authentic" lives to basically live a reenactment. They boast of having lived this rugged life, but they clearly gave that life up... hmmm.
As purely American as Buffalo Bill was, on its fundamental level, the show exploits the lifestyle of the pioneers to sell entertainment to the public. If he was really as big a showman as Lecturer Linda said he was, then I am inclined to believe that perhaps american society is a business first and foremost like Boutmy said. The show more aligned with the material culture of a showboater rather than the ideals of a Western society built by rugged men honed by the tempers of the land.
I am inclined to agree with Michelle. Buffalo Bill is a clear cut example of just how truly commercial American society is and always has been.
Even if Coty really did experience some of the thrill of the Western experience, his actual life was really nothing near this trailblazin western "ideal" that his shows exemplified. He sold his imagery to the public.
Coty was able to use the American need for entertainment mixed with the nationalism of the time, and mix it with the bottom line (money) and in the process created this fictionalized west that we still hang on to today.
The American West that Buffalo Bill presented to the masses has defined the image that we all have of this region in this period of time. If it weren't for Bill what would we think of when we thought of the American West? Would this period of American Expansion be lost to history as did our time in The Phillipines?
I find it interesting that the Wild West show was extremely popular not only in the states, but overseas as well. The basis for the Wild West are through the representations of Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, etc... As Dr. Sanderson pointed out in lecture, these people are how we characterize the West.
Buffalo Bill's show not only blended reality with fiction, but perpetuated a false depiction of the events that occured in the West. As a result of the 1890s ideals of transcending yourself by experiencing nature and the necessity to recreat nature's experience, Buffalo Bill's Show became a success. This show perpetuated the myth of the west attracting immigrants and other Eastern coast people to believe a false depiction of history. In other words, the show became a celebration of a conquest where the conquerors became the victims and not the criminals. This in turn, dismissed any remorse whatsoever in the quest to conquer and cultural kill all of the Native Americans. The gross depiction of Western Battles were humiliating to Native Americans but forever changed our view of Native Americans as Rahsaan A. states.
Great post. This is an interesting article, especially Twains official seal of authenticity. Are there many quotes like Twains? I'm just wondering if there were other frontiersmen who thought the show represented mythical images of the west. You pointed out the fading of the original west. With that in mind, I wonder how authentic the show was to western reality rather than western mythology. Even today we continue to hype up the glory of the west with images like Daniel Boone, who in reality, was not very successful at surviving in the settles west he helped to create.
Interesting post! The facts are impressive at how far Buffalo Bill went to keep his show looking as authentic as possible with such a large crew of people and animals. I'm curious how he maintained such a large production, did the people in the show have to deal with the animals or did he have a special group of peoples whose sole responsibility was to be in charge of that stuff? Was there a difference in his American and European popularity, or was it prety much about the same...?
Interesting post. Cody's show smacked of spectacle masquerading as "authentic." Reminds me of the freak shows of the era (at its peak during the late 1800s and early 1900s). Perhaps this is why Cody's show was so popular -- it was an action packed 10in1.
I enjoy your post very much. As described, the show seemed like it was so theatrical of its time that it generated such interest to all in its most entertaining form. However, as misinterpreted as the show might be, it just goes to show the American entertainment industry since the 1890s... and even today, we have hypocritical movies and shows about the ideal frontier and Americanism.
If it weren't for this show I don't think that popular culture would have had the same conception of what the "wild west" was. This show seemed to create both the myth and the legend that is America's Wild West.
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