When Buffalo Bills Wild West shows thrilled thousands across Cornwall – Cornwall Live

Cornwall had never seen the like and arguably still hasnt over 100 years later.

William F Cody better known as Buffalo Bill after allegedly killing 4,280 buffalo in 18 months was one of the legends of Americas Wild West.

He founded the town of Cody in Wyoming and was one of the most colourful figures of the American Old West, becoming a rider for the Pony Express at just 15.

During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865 and was later a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.

But it was as a showman that Buffalo Bills legend grew and Cornwall didnt know what hit it when he brought his Wild West Show to four venues in May and June 1904.

The sensation of the late Victorian age, the shows featured real-life cowboys and Native Americans - or 'Red Indians' as they were known in politically incorrect times - re-enacting famous battles from Americas recent frontier history, many of which had featured the stars of the show themselves.

Sitting Bull appeared with a band of 20 of his braves while other famous performers included Calamity Jane and sharpshooter Annie Oakley.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World to give the extravaganza its full title had proved a huge smash across the United States, from 1883, and Europe, four years later.

The cavalcade of cowboys and Indians first arrived in Britain for that 1887 tour, as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria.

Audiences would sit open-mouthed in their crinoline dresses and finest suits as stagecoaches were attacked, buffalos hunted, indians attacked cowboys as rodeos and gun fights filled the air with smoke and noise.

The Wild West show opened in London on May 9, 1887, before a crowd of 28,000 in a huge outdoor arena.

The Queen wrote to Cody to request a private performance 'by royal command' at Windsor Palace later that same year.

Queen Victoria and an entourage of 25 comprised the audience, sitting in the royal box in grandstands that could hold 40,000.

Buffalo Bill and his exotic entourage returned to Britain several times, finally heading to our own Wild West in 1904.

The lavish shows took place on Monday, May 30, at the Recreation Grounds, Penzance, Tuesday, May 31, in Camborne, Wednesday, June 1, at St Pauls United Football Ground in Truro and Thursday, June 2, in Bodmin.

The show began with a parade on horseback, with participants from horse-riding groups which included US and other military, cowboys, Native Americans and performers from all over the world in their best attire.

Turks, gauchos, Arabs, Mongols and Georgians displayed their distinctive horses and colourful costumes. As well as the main events there were feats of skill, staged races and sideshows.

The show would always feature the Native Americans attacking a woman who the great hero Buffalo Bill would rescue.

The legends arrival in Cornwall was such big news that Herbert Thomas, the editor of our sister paper, The Cornishman, penned a greeting in verse.

From the far Wild West to the Western Wilds

You come like a freshening breeze;

Cowboys and Cossacks and Indian braves,

From the wide plains over the seas;

And towering above you, as towers a hill,

The King of Rough Riders Buffalo Bill.

Penwith Local History Group reports that the Wild West show arrived in Penzance on two trains on Sunday, May 29, with the performers' disembarkation proving a show in itself.

A parade of rough riders, Indians and Cossacks through Penzances Market Jew Street was a major attraction, with cowboys, Mexicans, Indians, Japanese and Cossacks all arriving at Long Rock at about 5.30am.

The afternoon saw a party of indians take a GWR motor ride to Land's End where they were photographed pointing to the west, in the direction of their home.

The big day was Monday, May 30, when all Penzance and his wife turned up to see the show in all its glory at the Recreation Ground.

Most popular was the evening performance when there was a larger crowd gathered together under cover in one place than was ever seen in Penzance before. The displays of marksmanship and horse riding skills put the achievements of the previous years pedestrian racers firmly in the shade.

However, it was Buffalo Bill theyd all come to see. This hero of a thousand tales, the man of iron nerve, dauntless courage, and unfaltering spirit, that son of the prairie, that marvellous scout and warrior.

A few extraordinary photographs survive of the visit. One shows Buffalo Bill himself with a young child on St Michaels Mount, while in another a young local man looks on as a family of Native Americans walk past a Cornish hedge.

There is also a picture of a group of Indian braves wearing their impressive headdress at Lands End.

In an interview the great man professed himself surprised to be making a living as a showman and described how, back home in Nebraska, he was building a new community in a valley of three million acres irrigated by mountain streams.

At heart I am a pioneer, he said, as he set off to take tea with Lady St Levan on St Michael's Mount.

Want more nostalgic features delivered directly to your inbox? Clickhereto sign up to our range of daily and weekly newsletters.

You can also get your favourite content via our dedicatedsmartphone apps.

Original post:
When Buffalo Bills Wild West shows thrilled thousands across Cornwall - Cornwall Live