Local Buffalo Bill most famous man in the world

Friends,  foes, kings, queens and presidents salute showman

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

 William F. Cody acted globally, and operated locally with a worldly view. Colorado, especially Denver, Golden and Larimer County were regular haunts for the most famous and recognizable man in the world, at the time.

"Western history without Buffalo Bill would have astonished 20-Century Americans," notes Thomas J. Noel, (Dr. Colorado) in "Mile High City,  An Illustrated History of Denver."

Despite fame as an Indian fighter, "He later befriended many of his former foes," says Noel. "Ironically, the Indians he helped put on the reservations found some of their better-paying and more gratifying jobs with Cody, traveling the U.S. and Europe as performers with the Wild West Show."

 "Kings, queens and presidents attended Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and it is estimated that more than 25 million words were written about the famous scout during his lifetime, making his silver goatee, buckskin jacket and wide Stetson hat more recognizable and famous than anyone in the world at the time. When he died in 1917, while visiting his sister in Denver, his body was put on view in the state capitol," says the City of Golden's site. 

And here in Larimer County, at his boyhood friend A.H. 'Billy' Paterson's house in Fort Collins:

"Buffalo Bill Cody was in town in April where he was entertained by his boyhood friend, A. H. Patterson, Fort Collins pioneer implement dealer. Buffalo Bill and Patterson had come west together. Buffalo Bill was enroute to Boulder to Cheyenne. He had made quite a deal of money in these years by his novel show "The Wild West." In the winter, he played in a show known as the "Prairie Waif." As one person remarked, "Buffalo Bill is thriving and need not long for the good old days." Buffalo Bill at this time ordered a special buggy which was made in Fort Collins by E. C. Roth. Roth supplied the buggy with a patented Roth Spring and shipped it to Cody's Nebraska ranch (Scouts Rest). Millions of words and probably as much nonsense has been penned about Bill Cody. Probably the world's worst businessman, he was on the other hand generous to a fault, an excellent showman, handsome (with legions of feminine admirers), a good rifle shot and better than average rider. 

"The attractive house at 121 North Grant (Fort Collins), where Patterson entertained Buffalo Bill is now owned by the owners and publishers of this paper. I have one of the rifles Buffalo Bill used when he performed for the Queen of England. My father was a friend of Patterson's son. The son inherited the rifle upon his father's early death. He sold it to my father so he could continue his studies of law at the University of Wyoming. George W. Patterson became a well-known California attorney and died there a years later," Dick Baker, Triangle Review, in 1974. The article was part of a series by historian Dick Baker, a retired city official whose grandfather was mayor of Fort Collins. 

Patterson owned the Old Grout Livery Barn, which stood where the old Union Pacific Depot now stands on the east side of Jefferson Street in Fort Collins. "His lumbering and wagon business was one of the finest in the country," writes historian Wayne Sundberg. "He sold his business and he and his wife, the former Alice Waterous, left the city for a few years. Shortly after returning, the family purchased the home at 121 North Grant."

"Bill Cody and his family were visitors at the Paterson home on several occasions. Their early friendship lasted many years. "Buffalo Bill" asked some of the town's people why there was no marker on the grounds of the Agricultural College to honor his friend and other men who had donated land for the college. A short time later, such a monument was erected near Main Hall. The Codys and Pattersons spent many pleasant camping and fishing trips up Poudre Canyon. Shortly before he died in December of 1892, Patterson had his last visit from his old friend, who had just brought his Wild West Show back from a successful European tour."

"In spring of 1859 Buffalo Bill made his first trip to Colorado as part of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. He passed through the new town of Denver on his way to the gold fields near Black Hawk where he searched for gold for two months, meeting with little success. On his return to Kansas he stopped in Julesburg, Colorado, where he was recruited to ride in an early version of the Pony Express. Most of his time as a messenger was spent in Kansas, although occasionally he traveled across northeast Colorado. The Pony Express route did not go to Denver but cut north into Nebraska and Wyoming," according to information from the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum.

Cody visited Denver in the 1870s to perform in a local opera house with the Buffalo Bill Combination. He continued to tour through Colorado, performing at the Central City Opera (still in operation) and at another opera house in Georgetown. After Buffalo Bill organized his Wild West show, he visited Denver and Colorado many times. Altogether, Buffalo Bill performed 35 times in Colorado between 1886 and 1916.

The record says that "In 1913 Buffalo Bill borrowed money from Denver businessman Harry Tammen, not realizing the loan would be used to force him to appear in Tammen’s Sells Floto Circus. Cody fell behind in payment of the loan and, when the Wild West stopped in Denver to do a show that July, Tammen had the show seized. The Wild West was sold off at auction in Denver’s Overland Park and Cody was forced to join the Sells Floto Circus. Eventually he got out of that contract but was never able to re-build his Wild West."

In 1917 Buffalo Bill died while visiting his sister’s home in Denver. According to his wife Louisa, it was his choice that he be buried on Lookout Mountain overlooking Denver and the plains. 

"Despite the claims of the citizens of Cody, Wyoming, that he really wanted to be buried near Cody, close friends like Goldie Griffith and Johnny Baker, as well as the priest who administered last rites, affirmed that Lookout Mountain was indeed his choice. On June 3, 1917, Buffalo Bill was buried on Lookout Mountain, a site with spectacular views of both the mountains and plains, places where he had spent the happiest times of his life," says the museum's site.

"Louisa, who married Cody before he became famous, was buried next to her husband in 1921, four years after his death. That same year Johnny Baker, a close friend and unofficial foster son to Cody, opened the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum. The museum collection moved into the current building next to Pahaska Tepee in 1977. Just as millions of people saw Buffalo Bill in his Wild West shows during his life, millions have visited his grave in the years since 1917. Today the museum and grave is one of the top visitor attractions in Denver and Colorado."

 

Top photo: William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody poses on his horse "Duke" in a camp for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, possibly at Ambrose Park in Brooklyn, New York. He wears a buckskin coat with tassles adorning it and also wears a hat, possibly a Stetson, and thigh boots. The bridle on Duke is adorned with shells.

Photo 2:  The attractive house at 121 N Grant (Fort Collins) where Patterson entertained Buffalo Bill.

Photo 3: Wild Bill Hickok... (seated left),  Texas Jack and  Buffalo Bill Cody (seated right).

Photo 4: Ten Native American chiefs who met with General Nelson Miles to stop the Indian War pose for a group portrait in front of a teepee. Among the chiefs are Standing Bull, Bear Who Looks Back Running, Has the Big White Horse, White Tail, Liver Bear, Little Thunder, Bull Dog, High Hawk, Lame and Eagle Pipe. The men have blankets wrapped around their shoulders. The man in the center of the front row wears a feather headdress. The man on the far left in the front row holds a war club across his lap.

 Photo 5: Cowgirls Della Ferrell and Georgia Duffy stand at the back of a covered wagon in a camp for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show near Earl's Court in England. Ferrell, a native of Colorado, joined the cast in 1887 as one of the show's "Western Girls." She wears a hat with tassles hanging from its rim. Similar tassles hang around the edges of her short coat. Duffy, a native of Wyoming who also joined the show in 1887, wears a ruffled shirt under her fitted coat. Her long skirt has beads and tassles near the hem. Each of the women holds a riding crop. A small, wood building is in the left background with the words "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" faintly printed on its side.

Photo 6: May Manning Lillie, a shooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, poses for a half-length portrait. She wears a wide-brimmed hat and has long hair that covers her shoulders. A necklace with three strands, possibly made from beads or shells, hangs around her neck. Two medals are pinned on her shirt. May Manning, originally of Philadelphia, married Gordon "Pawnee Bill" Lillie, also a performer in the wild west show, in 1886. He reportedly taught her to shoot and she became an outstanding performer in the show.

Photo 7: Violette Verity, a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, poses for a three-quarter length portrait while touring with the show. She wears a long dress with two large flowers on her waist. She also wears a large, floppy hat. She rests her right hand on a tall table in the left foreground. More flowers are on the table. She holds her left hand on her hip.