Poker News

Buffalo Bill Cody

Buffalo Bill Cody defined and depicted the Wild West in America for his generation and generations thereafter. He, more than any other individual, contributed to the image and culture of the American Frontier Hero.

Billy was bornin Iowa in 1846 and grew-up on the prairie. By the time he was nine he was an accomplished horseman and hunter learning many skills and techniques from friendly neighboring Indians.

His father was stabbed to death in 1857 for expressing his anti-slavery views. Cody wrote in his autobiography, “I was eleven years old, and the only man of the family. I made up my mind to be a bread winner.”

Young Billy, his mother and three sisters moved to Kansas. Strong and tall for his age, he got a job as a messenger and hunter for a freight wagon company.

On one trip, Cody lagged behind the group. As Cody approached, he saw an Indian hiding in the brush and taking aim with a rifle at those in camp. The 11- year old quickly hoisted his gun and fired killing his target with one shot.

A seasoned plainsman by 14, Billy learned the Pony Express was advertising for “expert riders willing to face death daily”. He signed up and carried the mail on the third-longest leg, riding 321 miles in less than 22 hours.

During the Civil War, Cody served as a Union scout in campaigns against Comanche and Sioux. For feats of courage and bravery beyond the call of duty, Bill Cody was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After the war, he was hired by the railroads to hunt buffalo to supply meat for the thousands of laborers laying track across the plains. No one did it better. He reported killing 4,280 buffalo in 17 months.

His reputation grew as the frontier’s foremost scout and buffalo hunter. He was sometimes called “Buffalo Bill”. One day he met another well known hunter also called “Buffalo Bill”. Both men, as well as the public, wanted the issue settled; there could be only one real champion, only one Buffalo Bill. Soon, a buffalo shooting showdown was organized.

The winner would receive $500 and the title of “Champion Buffalo Hunter of the Plains”. It was advertised as far away as St. Louis. A train carried more than a hundred spectators out to the prairie to witness the spectacle. Wagering on both contestants was heavy.

The competition began at 8am and lasted until late afternoon. Each hunter was to kill as many buffalo as possible. A scorekeeper was assigned to ride with each man. When the day ended, Bill Comstock tallied 46, but Bill Cody’s count was 69. Hence forth, he became known as “Buffalo Bill Cody”.

Bill Cody’s most valued possession was his .50- caliber Springfield rifle which he called “Lucretia Borgia” for its deadliness. Its namesake, an illegitimate daughter of the Pope during the Renaissance, was notorious for the many men she murdered.

One of Buffalo Bill’s closest friends was Wild Bill Hickock. A story is told of a desperado in a saloon who hated Cody and challenged him to heads-up poker. “I’ll play you a game of cards if I can name the stakes”, the frontiersman responded.

The challenger agreed and asked what will be the stakes? “Life and death”, Buffalo Bill answered, “If you win the game, I’ll stand ten paces away and give you a shot at me; if I win, you stand ten paces away and give me a shot at you.”

Unable to backdown, the two men took their seats at the table and the cards were dealt. When Cody won his opponent grabbed for his pistol. But just as quickly, he felt a cold gun muzzle against the back of his head. “I guess I’ll save Buffalo Bill from killing you,” Sheriff Hickock told the loser, “by hanging you from the nearest tree”, which he proceeded to do, much to everyone’s delight.

In 1883, hunters gathered for the last big buffalo kill. In less than a decade,millions had been killed destroying a national treasure and way of life for Native Americans.

That same year, “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” show opened in Omaha. Cody hired a couple of hundred real cowboys and real Indians, some who’d fought against General Custer, and choreographed an outdoor entertainment extravaganza which celebrated and glamorized the disappearing West.

The Wild West show included a buffalo hunt using dozens of real animals, an Indian attack on the Deadwood Stage, a Pony Express ride, and the climax — a reenactment of Custer’s Last Stand. Later, Cody added sharpshooter Annie Oakley.

The Wild West Show toured America and Europe for 30 years. It was an international sensation. Buffalo Bill became the most famous man in the world. A command performance before England’s Queen Victoria was attended by kings of four countries and the aristocracy of Europe.

Cody’s show exported American myth and culture. It introduced the world to cowboys, Indians and the American West.

One show program described “The bullet” as a “pioneer of civilization” without which, “America would not be a great, free, united, and powerful country.”

In 1917, at age 70, Cody had been sick for sometime when he was told he had only hours to live. Upon hearing that, Buffalo Bill Cody called everyone present together — for one last poker game!

That night an American legend folded his hand and left the game.

Filed under: Poker News