Buffalo Bill was not the originator of the Wild West Show or, indeed, the only person to stage one. Frontier extravaganzas had existed in one form or another from as early as 1843. Yet Buffalo Bill Cody is largely responsible for creating our romantic view of the Old West that continues largely unabated to this day. This is due to a combination of factors, not the least of which was Cody's own flair for dramatizing his own real life experiences as a scout, buffalo hunter, and Indian fighter.

William Cody

The legend of William F. Cody began in 1867 when, as a 21-year-old young man who had already lived a full life as a Pony Express rider, gold miner, and ox team driver, he contracted to supply buffalo meat for construction workers on the Union Pacific...