Buffalo Bill Cody History

Buffalo Bill’s show business career began  at the age of 26, on December 17, 1872 in Chicago. Ned Buntline (The man that immortalized Cody, Hickock, and scores of other Wild West personalities in his dime novels) had written a play called "The Scouts of the Prairie". Cody appeared in it, as did Buntline, and another well-known scout - Texas Jack Omohundro. Reviews of Cody's acting was mixed but he had a natural charm which the audience loved and actor or not, Buffalo Bill was a showman.

"Buffalo Bill’s Wild West" used real cow-boys and cow-girls, recruited from ranches in the West. When the show first started few people shared Cody's admiration of the cow-boys. The public regarded them as coarse cattle drivers and used the term "cow-boy" as an insult. Because of Buffalo Bill , by the end of the 19th century, the cow-boy became the much more popular "cowboy." The Wild West shows demonstrated bronco riding, roping, and other skills that later cowboy's would compete against each other at rodeos, for prize money.

The raw western frontier - the real wild west - with Cowboys, and Gamblers, Shootist's and Marshal's, Buffalo and Indians; barely lasted 50 years starting in 1866. Yet the legend continues to grow; Cowboy Hats and Boots are part of the World's wardrobe, and the western mystic is embraced by million's of enthusiasts around the globe. All of this could not have happened without Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, and the man who started Cody off on his career as an entertainer - Ned Buntline and his dime novels.

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