Buffalo BillCritiques

Born Feb. 26, 1845
1849-1852 age 5-8; Learned to ride a horse
1855 age 10; Hired at $25/mo. to herd cattle
1855-56 age 10-11; Attended school, until had a fight with another school boy over a girl and stabbed the other boy; ran away and herded cattle for several months, then returned to school for a few more weeks

1857 age 12; Father died, he left school and herded cattle to Salt Lake City; Killed first Indian; Hired on to a wagon train; meets Wild Bill Hickock (10 years older); he throws a boiling pot of coffee in the face of a bully & Wild Bill protects him from death at the hands of the bully; Held off attack by Indians

1858 age 13; Joined another wagon train; tried trapping for furs
1859 age 14; Attended school again—for 2.5 months—and then set out west to pan for gold; becomes a Pony Express rider, an Army Scout, etc. until 1879 when he stopped writing this biography.

As Cody gains in physical stature he gains in strength and experience and confidence and then it just gets busier and busier and more and more daring. Almost every chapter in this autobiography describes a life-and-death encounter and is just too cluttered to summarize. At no time does Cody sound like he feels any need to exaggerate his adventures because they didn’t feel like such adventures to him at the time. And his writing style just feels “right” for someone who knows a good story doesn’t need embellishment…and has almost no proper education anyway. I do believe that that’s how they really talked to each other. It may be worth it to find a more detailed description of Buffalo Bill’s life, just to see what he left out.

In short, I found the book very entertaining and informative and well written and recommend it to "wild west" buffs and anyone, starting from age 10 and up, that wants some first hand descriptions of life just outside of the U.S. of A.

Point of view is autobiographical ... but the stories stick to life as a scout without rich details outside the Indians and buffalo.

autobiographical history ending just prior to Wild West Show

NOTE:
Probably published during WWII because of the foreword regarding sending copies to loved ones in the armed forces, and published in strict conformity to the regulations for saving paper.

Puur jeugdsentiment. Ik was helemaal weg van deze verhalen tussen mijn tiende en dertiende. Bezat er een tiental boeken van (vind ze nu niet meer in de online-bibliotheken.

title page:
Story of the Wild West and Camp-Fire Chats by Buffalo Bill (Hon. W.F. Cody).
A full and complete History of the Renowned Pioneer quartette, Boone, Crocket, Carson and Buffalo Bill. Replete with Graphic Description of Wild Life and Thrilling Adventures by Famous Heroes of the Frontier.

A Record of Exciting Events on the Western Borders Pushed Westward to the Sea; Massacres, Desperate Battles, Extraordinary Bravery, Marvelous Fortitude, Astounding Heroism, Grand Hunts, Savage Encounters, Adventures by Flood and Field, Rollicking Anecdotes, Tales of Sorrow, Droll Stories, Curious Escapades, and a Melodrama of Civilization in its March over Mountains and Prairies to the Pacific.
Including a Description of Buffalo Bill's Conquests in England with his Wild West Exhibition, where Royalty from all the European Nations paid him a Generous Homage and made his Wonderful Show the Greatest Success of Modern Times.
Superbly Illustrated with 250 Original Illustrations, made especially for the book.
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I bought this one for the lurid cover (mine is turquoise and red; must upload a copy when I can remember to do it) and bombastic title. The title page, as quoted above, should be sufficient to explain why I tagged this one as historical fiction rather than history.

Excellent Condition and autographed by William "Bill" Tucker, cousin of "Buffalo Bill" himself!