Buffalo Bill - bison hunter and fighter against the Indians

William Frederick Cody, famous under his nickname Buffalo Bill, was born on February 26, 1846 in the small town of La Claire, Iowa. He became known as the fearless postal rider of the Pony Express and as a scout and guide in the Unionist Army for the American Civil War.

The legend of him spread during the construction of the Pacific Railroad through Kansas, when he acted as a paid fighter against the Indians and a professional bison hunter, whose meat he supplied to railway workers. It was as a bison hunter that he earned his nickname (American buffalo = buffalo). According to legend, he killed 4282 bison in 18 months and is largely responsible for their nearly extinction as a species. And he got the exclusive right to the nickname by winning the competition of another famous hunter, William Comstock. Namely, the two of them shot at the animals furiously for eight hours, killing 68 of them and Comstock 48. William used a large-caliber Springfield M 1688 rifle, which he called Lucretia Borgia from miles away, to hunt bison.

He then served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars, which is why in 1872 he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

He gained world fame by organizing the spectacular circus troupe Wild West with which he toured America and Europe for 20 years. In the circus, which displayed cowboy skills, revolver duels and fights against the Indians, he performed as the main star. For some time, the famous Sioux chief Sitting Bull also performed in the Wild West. The circus, among other things, was a guest in London, where it was visited by Queen Victoria,.

Adventures, both real and fictional, Buffalo Bill appeared in sequels in the then American and European newspapers, and Cody himself wrote several books about his adventures. A large number of comics have been published about Buffalo Bill, and several films and series have been made. His character is largely credited with popularizing the romantic myth of the Wild West.

In early January 1917, the seriously ill Cody traveled to Glenwood Springs to gather and visit a doctor. There he was told he had less than two weeks to live. He traveled to Denver to be with his sister May. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody died on January 10, 1917, surrounded by his family. He was seventy years old.

Four years after the burial, Johnny Baker, a former participant in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, opened the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum near the grave. Baker first met Cody as a boy and had grown close to the family over the years. Both Buffalo Bill and Louisa referred to Baker as their foster son. He filled his museum with artifacts from Cody’s life and his Wild West show. After Baker’s death, the museum became part of the City of Denver, which owned Lookout Mountain Park.