Welcome To The Wild West
Few people embody the spirit of the Wild West better than showman and soldier, Buffalo Bill Cody. From humble beginnings and near destitution, Buffalo Bill seized the opportunities that presented themselves and built his fame. He embodied the American dream. He quite literally created his own story—which might just be the problem.
Behind the tall tales that Bill told of his life, a darker truth inevitably came to light. So, settle in and let us introduce you to the real Buffalo Bill.
1. He Had A Rootless Existence
In 1846, William Frederick Cody was born in Le Claire, which is part of Iowa today. However, in his youth, he had a rootless existence, as his family moved quite frequently. It wasn't until 1853 that they finally settled in Kansas. However, it was a decision they likely deeply regretted. In the 1850s, Kansas was no place to raise a young family—for the most horrifying reason.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
2. He Understood Conflict
America was slowly ripping itself apart in the mid-1800s, and few places felt the pressure as keenly as Kansas. This divided the country by one question: pro-slavery or anti-slavery, and Kansas fell in the middle. The Codys moved to Kansas in 1853. By the next year, Kansas was soaked in blood, so much so that it’s been referred to as “Bleeding Kansas”, and Isaac Cody put himself and his family right in the middle of it.
3. His Father Took A Stand
Perhaps Isaac Cody could have survived if he’d been more reserved, if he only spoke out in circles where he knew they’d accept his words. However, Isaac Cody was not that sort of man. He believed slavery to be wrong, and he would not silence himself. When a local trading post known for hosting pro-slavery meetings invited Isaac to speak out against it, Isaac took the opportunity. This decision ruptured the Cody family forever.
4. He Likely Feared For His Father
Buffalo Bill surely admired his father. However, he must’ve feared for him too, and with good reason. Even when staring down a violent crowd, willing to threaten his life for the words he spoke, Isaac refused to hold back. It proved too much for the men; they felt their anger too strongly—one charged the stage, sinking their blade into Isaac as he spoke.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
5. He Stayed Behind
Isaac survived—initially. However, his wounds never properly healed, nor did the animosity around him settle. It forced Isaac to flee, spending less and less time in Kansas with his family. However, even that wasn’t enough. His enemies learned of his intended return, and they lay in wait. Isaac Cody had one hope: his son.
Burke-Koretke Photo Chicago, Wikimedia Commons
6. His Father Needed Him
Learning of the locals' plan to jump Isaac upon his return, someone needed to rush ahead of the attackers and get to Isaac before they did. Bill was the only one who could do it. However, Bill was no more than 11 years old and was ill. What hope could an ill child have against angry grown men?
William Notman & Son, Wikimedia Commons
7. He Saved The Day
Nothing could stand between a boy and his father. What Buffalo Bill lacked in terms of experience and strength, he made up for with determination. He wanted save his father, and he did, riding the 30 miles to warn Isaac of the danger. After that, Bill became a hero.
However, it wasn’t enough to delay the inevitable. Isaac was already dying; they just didn’t know it yet.
Rosa Bonheur, Wikimedia Commons
8. He Stepped Up
Bill’s father did not live much longer than that. By the time Bill was 11, his father was gone, and the hopes of his family rested upon his shoulders. Desperation led Bill to take the first job that offered him. A grunt job for a freight carrier, riding between wagon trains. This dusty boy needed an opportunity for glory. Good thing it was around the next corner.
Elliott & Fry, Wikimedia Commons
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9. He Found An Opportunity
Despite being called the United States of America, they weren’t exactly on the same page. On top of the simmering political tensions, other factions within the states were kicking up their trouble too. Resentment from the Mormons in Utah prompted the American government to send men to deal with it—and Bill found himself among them… or so he claims.
Elliott & Fry, Wikimedia Commons
10. He Took Charge
There was a reason that the West was called wild. The rest of America feared the untamed land that stretched towards the Pacific Ocean. As such, the government required scouts to guide their men to Utah. Although no records exist today, Bill claims to have unofficially been a member of these men. This allowed Bill to gain one of his many titles: “Indian Fighter”.
David Francis Barry, Wikimedia Commons
11. He Trusted His Instincts
One of the biggest fears about the Western frontier was the threat of "Indians". During the Utah War, Bill and his fellow travelers spotted a Sioux warrior from afar. According to his account, Bill's instincts kicked in when he realized the warrior was armed and poised to attack. What he did next was unforgettable.
Royale Photographie, Vuillemenot Montabone 188 Via Nazionale – Roma (Italia), Wikimedia Commons
12. He Made A Second Decision
Sensing the immediate danger, Buffalo Bill didn't hesitate to aim at the Sioux Warrior and pull the trigger. It was a split-second decision that changed his life forever. The warrior dropped with a single shot, earning shouts of encouragement. Bill later reflected, “So began my career as an Indian fighter”. However, his words weren’t always the most trustworthy.
Karl Bodmer, Wikimedia Commons
13. He Sought Gold
Bill’s life story is amazing. So amazing, that sometimes it’s difficult to believe. By 1860, Bill was 14, and his time in Utah (if he was ever there) ended. Thankfully, a fever was spreading across America: “gold fever”. Bill made his way towards California, where the reports of gold came from, sure he’d build his fortune. However, he never made it that far.
unattributed, Wikimedia Commons
14. He Took A Chance
Another opportunity placed itself in front of Bill before he ever made it to California and the promise of gold. According to him, an agent of the famed Pony Express, a horse-riding mail service between Missouri and California, propositioned the then-14-year-old Bill.
So, he started another career and flourished at it—until trouble at home abruptly ended his time with the Pony Express.
Universal History Archive, Getty Images
15. He Wore A Lot Of Hats
Bill’s mother was ill. A family man through and through, Bill rushed home to care for his mother. However, it didn’t slow Bill down for long; there always seemed to be another job waiting around the corner. Bill’s resume included trapper, bullwhacker, and even a hotel manager, to name a few. It’s an impressive resume, but it leads to some troubling questions—could one man do so much in such a short time?
Rapid Photo Company, Wikimedia Commons
16. He Couldn’t Be Trusted
Sure, Buffalo Bill might have been desperate enough to take any job that was offered to him. However, that doesn’t account for the glaring fact that no one can prove he took any of these jobs, leading many to doubt the validity of his claims. However, America burned with conflict in the 1800s, and it made heroes of many men, including Bill.
Jose Maria Mora, Wikimedia Commons
17. He Wanted To Fight
By the time his mother recovered, the American Civil War was underway. However, Bill had a problem: He was too young. The Union rejected him. Needing to eat, Bill returned to what he knew best. He joined up with a freight caravan that operated in present-day Wyoming. However, he never gave up his dreams of doing something bigger. He knew something was around the corner if he could wait for it.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
18. He Got The Chance He Needed
Sometimes, patience is your friend. Bill got his opportunity for glory at 17 when he joined the 7th Kansas Cavalry as a Private. All his years of horse riding paid off. They hired him as a teamster, leading a team of livestock pulling a wagon for the Kansas Cavalry. This opportunity got Bill’s foot in the door. He was ready to do more.
Kansas Historical Society, Wikimedia Commons
19. He Made Connections
Bill’s next destination was Fort Ellsworth, where he enlisted as a scout, operating between Ellsworth and Fort Fletcher, eventually renamed to Fort Hays. During this time, Bill made many connections, including the famed Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. However, 1866 wasn’t all about business for Bill. Another person came into his life that year, a woman who, for better or worse, Bill never could get rid of.
Mathew Benjamin Brady, Wikimedia Commons
20. He Fell In Love… Maybe
Young love is a beautiful thing, though maybe not for Bill. Bill’s duties during this time carried him to many places, including St Louis, Missouri, where he met Louisa Frederici. Although Bill claimed “I now adored her above any other young lady I had ever seen” in his autobiography, the truth of their courtship seems slightly more complicated.
Dickinson Research Center at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Wikimedia Commons
21. He Thought Engagement Was Smart
Buffalo Bill did not seem excited by the prospect of marrying Louisa. Upon discussing his recent engagement, Bill remarked it was “very smart to be engaged”. The height of romance. He also did not appear overly excited, later stating Louisa pestered him into the marriage. Regardless of the circumstances, he and Louisa married shortly after meeting—but it was far from marital bliss.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
22. He Had To Leave
Thankfully for Bill, he had the perfect excuse to leave his new wife behind: he remained obligated to the United States Government and the commitments that he made. He returned to scouting in the Fort Hayes area, and it appears unlikely that Louisa followed him. Instead, Bill continued to work as a scout, looking for more opportunities to build up his name.
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Wikimedia Commons
23. He Wasn’t The Only Bill
Thanks to the railroad, an influx of workers appeared, requiring sustenance. Buffalo Bill provided them with that food. Taking a leave from the fort and scouting, Bill hunted buffalo, creating meat for the workers. Bill became so prolific at this that he earned himself a name, Buffalo Bill—except that for one small problem. Another Bill was already using that name.
Baker, Samuel White, Sir, 1821-1893, Wikimedia Commons
24. He Made A Name For Himself
In 18 months, Bill supposedly felled 4,282 buffalo. However, Bill Comstock excelled at hunting too, felling just as many. Who, then, should be “Buffalo Bill”? They decided the matter as any man would: they entered a competition to see who could hunt the most buffalo in a set time frame, settling the matter once and for all.
Edgar Samuel Paxson (1852–1919), Wikimedia Commons
25. He Became The One And Only
The rules were simple. For eight hours, both Bills would hunt buffalo. Whomever had felled the most in that period earned the right to the name “Buffalo Bill”. Comstock hit 48 buffalo. Bill took a different approach, hunting from the front. Bill Cody got 68. He’d earned his name once and for all. Now he needed someone to write the story, making him a legend.
unattributed, Wikimedia Commons
26. He Earned Recognition
Back at the fort, Bill’s fame only continued to grow. He wowed his fellow scouts by taking on the hardest tasks, journeying hours through enemy territory to get the job done. In the end, this attitude earned him recognition. The government awarded him the Medal of Honor in 1872 for “documented gallantry above and beyond the call of duty". He’d made the stories; now he needed an audience.
Glasier, F. W. (Frederick W.), 1866-1950, Wikimedia Commons
27. He Met A Writer
Enter Ned Buntline. A journalist, Buntline, intended to write about Bill’s friend, Wild Bill Hickock. However, when Hickok’s personality proved to be less than friendly, Buntline found himself meeting with Buffalo Bill instead. Buntline intended to still write about Hickok, gaining information from his companions.
However, when Buntline began writing a new serial published in the New York Weekly he had a new star: Buffalo Bill Cody.
Sarony, 680 Broadway, New York, Wikimedia Commons
28. He Was Beloved By All—Almost
The public couldn’t get enough of Buffalo Bill Cody. Buntline’s stories were primarily fiction, exaggerating Bill’s characteristics until his fictional counterpart amounted to little more than a walking cliché. However, far from sinking Buntline and Bill, this gave Bill an opportunity he didn’t know he needed.
Buffalo Bill Cody took the world by storm, launching the forgotten boy from Kansas into a superstar—or at least as much of a superstar as one can be in the 1800s.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
29. He Heard The Stage Calling
As a fictional character, Buffalo Bill could do no wrong. From the original serial, Buntline wrote a novel, which in turn inspired playwright Frank Meader to write a play. As a result of that, Buntline decided to write his own play. However, he needed something to make his rendition stand out—and what better way to do that than to convince the real Buffalo Bill Cody to make an appearance? Except, he had a problem.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
30. He Was No Actor
Buffalo Bill Cody wasn’t the myth that Buntline had turned him into. After all, he was a scout, not an actor. In December of 1872, Bill made his first appearance as himself in Buntline’s The Scouts of Prairies—and the critics hated him. They agreed: Bill Cody was no actor. If they had their say, they would boo Bill right off the stage and back to his scouting. However, it wasn’t up to them.
Gurney & Son Studio New York, Wikimedia Commons
31. He Was A Schemer
The people loved Buffalo Bill Cody. Shows sold out. They couldn’t get enough, and it brought out the schemer in Bill; the little boy who had been hustling since the loss of his father saw an opportunity to change his fortunes.
All he had to do was tell a story that the people wanted to hear. He had to tell them the story of his life—whether it was real or not.
32. He Launched His Own Story
When Scouts of the Plains ended, Bill didn’t wait around for someone else to give him an opportunity. It was his name that everyone wanted to see, so he’d give it to them. Bill formed Buffalo Bill Combination in 1874, performing when scouting contracts were scarce.
With one show, Bill changed the world forever, creating a cult of the Wild West that we still believe in today. However, Buffalo Bill Combination wasn’t that show.
Blanche Reineke, Wikimedia Commons
33. He Created The Wild West
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West opened in Nebraska in 1883. Touring annually across America, Bill filled his show with stories of the true Wild West, feeding the people of America what they wanted: stories of chaos, bravery, and lawlessness all across that Western frontier that they feared and desired in equal measure from the safety of their stable homes.
Writers and journalists like Buntline had already whet the public’s appetite for scandalous Westerns; however, it wouldn’t persist today without Bill.
Courier Litho. Co., Buffalo, N.Y., Wikimedia Commons
34. He Turned Men Into Legends
Anyone who was anyone played a part in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and the variations that followed. Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, and Calamity Jane, just to name a few, all played a part in Bill’s show at one point or another. The show gained so much popularity that England invited them to perform for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, kicking off several European tours.
Unfortunately, Bill’s golden fictional persona hid a far darker truth in his personal life.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
35. He Had A Secret
The world saw Buffalo Bill Cody as a hero. They loved to feed off of his adventures, living vicariously through the stories that he told. However, that came at a cost. Since marrying, Bill had been absent from Louisa’s life. Bill had little to no time for his family—but he seemed to have plenty of time for the women who wanted to see the “real” Buffalo Bill.
Stacy, Brooklyn, Wikimedia Commons
36. He Was A Chick Magnet
Not only did Buffalo Bill spend more time with the show than he did with his own family, but the show also caused a big problem within his marriage: other women. Louisa remained at home raising their four children, two of whom tragically died young, while Bill pranced around on stage with a different woman each night. It’s no wonder Louisa took matters into her own hands.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
37. His Wife Had Enough
Was Buffalo Bill truly unfaithful to his wife? Who can say? As with most things of this nature, it’s turned into a he said, she said with little ability to get to the truth. According to Bill’s autobiography, the “throngs of beautiful ladies” surrounding him embarrassed him.
However, Louisa eventually tired of the rumors. She surprised Bill in Chicago—and ended up with a surprise of her own.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
38. He Got Caught With His Pants Down
Louisa was welcomed warmly at the hotel in Chicago—because the staff thought she was already there. The employees led her to “Mr and Mrs Cody’s suite”—a suite that Louisa had never asked for nor appeared in up until this moment. So, who, exactly, was Bill entertaining in “their” suite?
39. He Said That’s Enough
No modern person would blame Louise if she finally had enough of Bill and his ways. However, in the 1800s, people saw divorce as a scandalous failure. Louisa refused to be defeated. Bill, however, had a different idea. Bill delivered Louisa her biggest surprise in 1904—Bill filed for divorce.
40. He Needed To Protect His Name
By this point, Bill had become a household name. He also depended on his reputation in order to make money. A public divorce could ruin him. He intended to handle the matter quietly. Nearly 40 years of marriage hadn’t given Bill a good understanding of his wife.
If Bill wanted to take their marriage down, then Louisa was going to take Bill down with it.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
41. His Wife Had The Last Laugh
Livid with Bill, Louisa refused to sign the divorce papers, sending the matter to court, where things got ugly. Bill accused Louisa not just of being generally unpleasant, making their home “unbearable and intolerable” not just for Cody but his guests, but also of attempting to poison him. Eventually, the latter proved untrue, but Bill had already done the damage.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
42. He Ruined His Name
Suddenly, the public knew the truth about Buffalo Bill Cody. Arguing with his wife in public, Bill got the one thing he didn’t want: a very public reputation. However, life has a way of putting things into perspective, and it served the Codys another tragedy in the middle of their arguments.
Winch, Frank, 1880- [from old catalog], Wikimedia Commons
43. He Tried To Change Course
In the middle of their divorce proceedings, Bill and Louisa’s daughter, Arta, passed suddenly—the third of their four children to slip away. In his grief, Bill began to value Louisa as he hadn’t before. Unfortunately, Louisa wasn’t looking for forgiveness. Her daughter was gone, and Bill might’ve been the cause. She wanted revenge.
The "Van Der Weyde" Light / 182 Regent Street, London W., Wikimedia Commons
44. He Only Made It Worse
The Codys returned to divorce court. They aired all of their dirty laundry out for the public to see—and they did it all for nothing. In the end, the judge deemed that “incompatibility was not grounds for divorce”. What God had brought together, that judge would not put to sunder. The Codys were stuck together, for better or for worse (and there seemed to be a lot of worse).
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
45. His Dirty Laundry Became Public
To add insult to injury, by the end of the entire affair, the public sided with Louisa. Consensus was that Louisa’s behavior proved a perfectly reasonable reaction to Bill’s supposed affairs and the way his sisters involved themselves in their relationship.
As seemed to be his way, Bill ran from his problems, hiding in Paris where his show currently performed to avoid spending actual time with his wife. Life, however, wasn’t done kicking him when he was down.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
46. He Lost His Hero Status
No matter what anyone thought of Bill by this point, he had one last thing to rely upon: he was a hero. He had a Medal of Honor, and no one could take that away from him. Except, the government did. A change in laws revoked nearly 1,000 Medals of Honor—including Bill's. However, the world offered one small blessing: Bill never lived to realize that they took it.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
47. His Passing Created Conflict
Buffalo Bill Cody’s life ended in January 1917, before the government revoked the medals. Yet he couldn’t rest. Bill wanted to be laid to rest on Lookout Mountain in Colorado. His family knew this. However, the people of the town he founded, Cody, Wyoming, had a different idea. They wanted Bill to be put to rest there, where he belonged. So, they fought over Bill’s body.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
48. He Needed To Be Rescued
The Codys won the fight and buried Buffalo Bill on Lookout Mountain. However, resentment over the decision continued to fester in Cody until 1948, when the Cody chapter of the American Legion offered $10,000 (approximately $131,000 by modern standards) to the person who whisked Bill’s remains away from Lookout Mountain and instead brought them back to Cody. Now Colorado had problem too.
49. He Created A Feud
In response, the Denver Legion posted guards over Bill’s gravesite. Although all acknowledge Lookout Mountain as Bill’s final resting place, with a site for tourists to visit, there are rumors that someone succeeded in the grave heist. Those who believe in this say Bill rests on Cedar Mountain in Cody. Just chalk it up to another mystery in the unbelievable life of Buffalo Bill Cody.
50. He Became The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Who was Buffalo Bill Cody? He likely did some of the things he claimed and embellished others. At the end of the day, Bill was merely a man who did what he could with what life gave him—and thanks to a successful letter from Bill’s Grandson, Bill is a hero. The government reinstated his Medal of Honor in 1989.
Illinois State University, Wikimedia Commons
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