Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Thought paper based on Buffalo Bill Essay Example for Free
Thought paper based on Buffalo Bill Essay William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was born on the 26th of February 1846 in Iowa. In Don Russell’s authoritative biography, The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill, William Cody’s lineage was traced to Philippe Le Caude of the Isle of Jersey, who married Marthe Le Brocq of Guernsey in the parish of St. Brelades, Isle of Jersey, on September 15, 1692. â€Å"Russell’s research was thorough and exemplary; the notes for his book in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, are proof of that. †(Carter, Robert A. p. 11)             Just like the way history was followed in Russell’s book, the movie also follows the basic facts in history and the life of William Cody.             Also the characters in the movie mostly bear the names of the real people involved in this piece of history, and their actions resemble those of their historical counterparts.            The movie does indeed convey the atmosphere and settings of the era which it depicts quite accurately. This is because in the film, the story was simplified to depict the narrative as accurately as possible, and not just only to add drama to the events.              According to Russell’s book, â€Å"Buffalo Bill’s most remote ancestor who was definitely known was one Philip Legody. Philip Legody’s surname also appears in various surviving records in variations like Mocody, Lagody, McCody, Micody, Gody, Coady, Cody and even Codie. Although the family names are French, the Channel Islands have been British possessions since the middle Ages. No Irish or Spanish in sight; just good English stock. The Cody Family Association’s book The Descendants of Philip and Martha Cody carries the line down to the present day. Buffalo Bill was sixth in descent from Philip. Philip and Martha purchased a home in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1698, and occupied it for twenty-five years, farming six acres of adjacent land. In 1720 Philip bought land in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and he and his family moved there, probably in 1722 or 1723. When he died in 1743, his will was probated under the name of Coady. (Carter, Robert A.)            William Cody’s family moved Kansas about 11 years after he was born, and they settled in what is currently Kansas Territory. Cody’s father died in 1857, and he had to look employment in order to be able to help provide for the family. He started working as a messenger out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, â€Å"and later was one of the youngest riders for the Pony Express until they were replaced by the telegraph.†(William F. Buffalo Bill Cody.)            Cody was soon to get work as a messenger boy for a company store at Leavenworth, Kansas which was owned by Majors and Russell. For 3 years, he tried his hand at trapping, and during the Pikes Peak gold rush, he also tried prospecting. In the end, he was not very successful in any of these ventures.             In 1860, Cody was hired as a rider for the Pony Express when Russell, Majors, and Waddell, went into partnership and formed the Pony Express in order to advertise and obtain a contract for a central route for mail to the Pacific. Cody, already acquainted with the principals in this partnership, was hired as a rider. The Pony Express operated from April 3, 1860 to November 18, 1861. The venture operated at a loss and failed to bring the desired contract to Cody’s employers, whose partnership ended in bankruptcy. (Don Russell 1960)            William’s mother died on the 22nd of November 1863, and shortly after that, he enlisted in the 7th Kansas Cavalry at the age of 18, a decision that was apparently influenced by alcohol and his friends. During the Civil War Cody saw action in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Missouri. He served 19 months, including one year of active duty. He fought for two years against the Confederacy. In 1866 he married Louisa Frederici. After being discharged from the army he moved to Salt Creek Valley, Kansas where he soon started serving as a scout and guide. He also used his skills to provide meat for the crews working on the railroad. During this period he fought in as many as sixteen battles with Native Americans, and was hunting guide for the wealthy and famous visiting the West, including Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. (Shufelt, Catherine)            Cody wedded Louisa Frederici on the 6th of March 1866, after his army discharge, and he went to work as a scout at Fort Ellsworth for a short time. An old acquaintance of his, James Butler â€Å"Wild Bill†Hickok, was also an employee at Fort Ellsworth at the time. Cody was later to be hired by the management of the Kansas Pacific Railroad in a contract in which he was to kill buffalo to supply food for the company’s railroad track layers for eight months. This job is apparently where the nickname Buffalo Bill originated. A nickname that would later become known around the whole world.           As a scout for the United States Army, Cody distinguished himself, and was valued so highly in the army that General Phil Sheridan insisted on keeping Cody on the Army’s payroll, even after the campaign ended. This was something unheard of for scouts in the army at that time, and it made it possible for scouts to become acknowledged, and also paved the way for the scout to become an established position in the Army, during the years of the Indian wars. In October 1868, General Sheridan made William Cody chief scout of the 5th Cavalry.            As a national figure, Cody first began to attract attention when a serial story about â€Å"Buffalo Bill†was published in a New York newspaper in 1869. Then he got the assignment to be a guide for a hunting trip embarked upon by the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, in 1872. With the press following the Duke’s every move, Cody received a great deal more exposure. This experience was followed by his first trip to the eastern states. He attended a play about himself and was talked into taking part in the performance. Thus began a period of years when Cody alternated between scouting duties and theatrical tours. (Don Russell 1960)            Buffalo Bill realized his ambition of hosting a big outdoor exhibition that contained buffaloes, horses and wagon trains in Nebraska, in 1882. The show consisted partly of theater and rodeo. There were also some circus displays, and the show proved to be altogether a successful one. After that, Cody devoted his life to this show for 30 years, and traveled across Europe, Canada and the United States on the show. â€Å"He was received by European royalty, hailed as a hero, and given the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had diverse business interests, and founded the town of Cody, Wyoming as a tourist attraction.†(Catherine Shufelt)           During the war, William Cody was awarded a Medal of Honor for action against Indians at the South Fork of the Loup River in Nebraska, in 1872. He was later to play an important role in assisting General George Crook’s campaign against the Sioux in 1876. In 1916, however, his name was removed from the record of Medal of Honor recipients, because he we was a civilian, and thus, considered ineligible for the Medal of Honor award. Cody became interested in developing the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming in the 1890s. The Cody Canal was built in 1895, as part of the Shoshone Land and Irrigation Project. The company laid out a townsite, first calling it â€Å"Shoshone.†With the Shoshoni Indian agency in the region this was rejected to avoid confusion. Therefore, in August, 1896 the Cody post office was established, with Buffalo Bill’s nephew, Ed Goodman, as postmaster. The water project led to the building of the Shoshone Dam, which was completed in 1910. The dam was renamed â€Å"Buffalo Bill Dam†in 1946. Buffalo Bill was also instrumental in bringing a rail line to the town of Cody in 1901. (Don Russell 1960)             William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) died on the 10th of January 1917, in Denver, Colorado, and was buried on Lookout Mountain, which is west of Denver.  References Don Russell. The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill. University of Oklahoma Press,            1960. Shufelt, Catherine. WHO was BUFFALO BILL? Carter, Robert A. Buffalo Bill Cody: The Man behind the Legend. William F. Buffalo Bill Cody. (Retrieved from http://wyoarchives.state.wy.us/articles/buffalob.htm)
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