That the Prince was really pleased with the exhibition was shown by the fact that he made an immediate report of it to his mother.  Shortly thereafter I received a command from Queen Victoria to appear before her.

This troubled me a good deal—­not that I was not more than eager to obey this flattering command, but that I was totally at a loss how to take my show to any of the great residences occupied by Her Majesty.

Finally, after many cautious inquiries, I discovered that she would be willing to visit the show if a special box was prepared for her.  This we did to the best of our ability.  The box was placed upon a dais covered with crimson velvet and handsomely decorated.  When the Queen arrived I met her at the door of the box, with my sombrero in my hand and welcomed her to “the Wild West of America.”

One of the first acts in the performance was to carry the flag to the front.  This was done by a soldier.  Walking around the arena, he offered the Stars and Stripes as an emblem of the friendship of America to all the world.  On this occasion he carried the flag directly to the royal box, and dipped it three times before the Queen.

Absolute silence fell over the great throng.  Then the Queen rose and saluted the flag with a bow, her suite following her example.  There was a wild cheer from everyone in the show, Indians included, and soon all the audience was on its feet, cheering and waving flags and handkerchiefs.

This gave us a fine start and we never put on a better performance.  When it was all over Her Majesty sent for me, and paid me many compliments as well as to my country and the West.  I found her a most gracious and charming woman, with none of the haughtiness which I had supposed was inseparable from a person of such exalted rank.  My subsequent experiences with royalty convinced me that there is more real democracy among the rulers of the countries of Europe than you will find among the petty officials of a village.

It was interesting to watch old Red Shirt when he was presented to the Queen.  He clearly felt that this was a ceremony between one ruler and another, and the dignity with which he went through the introduction was wonderful to behold.  One would have thought to watch him that most of his life was spent in introductions to kings and queens, and that he was really a little bored with the effort required to go through with them.  A second command from the Queen resulted in an exhibition before a number of her royal guests, including the Kings of Saxony, Denmark, and Greece, the Queen of the Belgians, and the Crown Prince of Austria.

The Deadwood coach, one of the features of the show, was of particular interest to my royal guests.  This was a coach with a history.  It was built in Concord, N.H., and sent by water to San Francisco to run over a route infested with road-agents.  A number of times it was held up and robbed.  Finally, both driver and passengers were killed and the coach abandoned on the trail.  It remained for a long time a derelict, but was afterward brought into San Francisco by an old stage-driver and placed on the Overland trail.