It was between 1867 and 1868, while employed to provide buffalo meat for workers on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, that his nickname was created out of a contest in Sheriden, Kansas. He out shot Bill Comstock, another buffalo hunter, shooting 69 buffalo to Comstock's 46 to earn the title. He quit and went east but soon returned to his beloved west at the request of Col. Mills to guide troops into the Indian Territory in Wyoming, after the Custer massacre at Little Big Horn. In 1876 while serving under Gen. Merritt, he engaged a Cheyenne war party during which time Cody allegedly killed Chief Yellow Hair. This act would be reported in story books around the world and help launch his name into the public eye. Ned Buntline, a well known writer of dime novels was the first author to write about Buffalo Bill. Later, Col. Prentiss Ingraham wrote over two hundred dime novels with Buffalo Bill as the chief character. For years stories of Buffalo Bill were popular . Many of the stories were not factual, which accounts for the many misconceptions which people have of him today.
Cody built "Scout's Rest" ranch in 1886 intending to retire there. It originally encompassed some 4000 acres for which 16 acres still remain. The ranch became a state historical park in 1965, which encompasses the house and barn. The barn displays many of the original saddles and leatherwork used in the Wild West show. During his heyday, Buffalo Bill met and made many friends. Among them was Iron Tail, a Sioux Indian Chief, who was one of the models for the buffalo nickel coined by the U.S.A. in 1913. He was with the Cody show for many seasons.
Another person to be brought up in the limelight of the Wild West show was the beautiful and talented sharpshooter, Annie Oakley who joined the show in 1885, and remained for many years until injured in a tragic train wreck near Charlotte, NC.
Even the famed Lakota Sioux Chief Sitting Bull, having escaped the wrath of the army after the Little Big Horn, joined the Wild West Show in 1885. He stayed for only one season. Buffalo Bill gave him a gray trick horse to which he had become attached, along with a white sombrero. He returned to the reservation where theft and dishonesty by white bureaucrats would steal much of the food. The Indians responded by performing a Ghost Dance which was misinterpreted as aggression. The army marched and Buffalo Bill was summoned to get to the chief before bloodshed occurred. However an Indian agent named James McLaughlin went over everybody's head, straight to President Harrison and had Cody recalled, a point denied by McLaughlin. On Dec 18, 1890, the Indian police shot and killed the chief while he was riding the very horse given to him by Cody, another point denied in the McLaughlin report.
After reviewing the treasures of the house, we wandered through the grounds and ended up in the great barn behind the house. Along the walls were the pictures and stories of the Wild West show. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon and definitely on our recommended list.

* * * THE END * * *