Cody’s Buffalo Bill, Buffalo Bill’s Cody

Preeti Verma Lal

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Imagine a tiny town named after a tall, bearded, drop-dead handsome man. An American scout. A bison hunter. A trapper. A bull whacker. A showman. A man so famous that at the turn of the 20th century, historians dubbed him the ‘most recognisable celebrity on earth’. The town: Cody, in Wyoming, USA. The man: Buffalo Bill. In history and popular culture, he is known as Buffalo Bill; his real name: William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) — the surname lending the name to the town that he helped create.

Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, is Cody’s neighbour, but in the town there are more stories about Buffalo Bill, cowboys and rodeo than about the Old Faithful, the famous geyser. Bill killed 4,282 American bisons (commonly, buffalo) in 18 months. His Wild West show, a circus-like show about cowboys, horses and the American West, toured Europe, Great Britain and the US. Such was the popularity of Bill that even Queen Victoria attended the show in London. If you walk into Cody’s Irma Hotel, named after his daughter, there’s a redwood bar back that was gifted by Queen Victoria to the master showman. Kings, queens and royalty attended his performances across the world. Mark Twain wrote of him, “It is often said on the other side of the water that none of the exhibitions which we send to England are purely and distinctly American. If you will take the Wild West show over there, you can remove that reproach”.

The Buffalo Bill Centre of the West is everyone’s first stop in Cody. Tepees and a chuck wagon stand outside the Centre which houses five museums: Draper Natural History Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum and the Buffalo Bill Museum that chronicles the life of the man and the American West shows that took the world by storm.

In a town that is still cowboy-ish in its character, the Old Trail Town brings alive the days of the yore. The town is a restoration of more than 25 historic Western buildings, 100 horse-drawn carriages and artefacts. Desperadoes Kid Curry and Sundance Kid used a hideout (now in Trail Town) before they robbed a bank in Montana. Another 1,883 cabins hark back to a meeting of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.

During the summer months, Cody gets horsy. Literally. Calling itself the Rodeo Capital of the World, Cody gets crowded with cowboys, bulls, horses and loads of spectators who gather for the daily rodeo. The Cody Nite Rodeo is an amateur rodeo, but the annual Cody Stampede brings the best cowboys into town. Held between July 1 and 4 every year since 1919, the Stampede is called Cowboy Christmas where the best cowboys and cowgirls ride the best stock and win fat purses.

Millions recognised Buffalo Bill in his showman’s boots and Stetson hats. He had performed for kings, princes, presidents and queens. He even met the Pope. In a hotel register in 1892, he gave his address as ‘The World’. After 20 years as a showman, he retired. He is buried at the top of Lookout Mountain. But in Cody, Buffalo Bill will never die. He lives in every corner. In every crossroad. In Cody’s blue sky, there’s a hint of Buffalo Bill. Cody will never forget Buffalo Bill.