Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill (born William F. Cody) was born in LeClaire, Iowa in 1846. While he was still a child, his family moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. Cody left his home in Leavenworth, Kansas, at the young age of eleven. He herded cattle and worked as a driver on a wagon train, crossing the Great Plains several times. He went on to fur trapping and gold mining, then joined the Pony Express in 1860. After the Civil War, Cody scouted for the Army. He gained the nickname "Buffalo Bill" while working for the railroad as a hunter. In a contest, he shot and killed more bison than the previous holder of the name (also named Bill).

Buffalo Bill's Wild West

Buffalo Bill’s show business career began on December 17, 1872 in Chicago when he was age twenty-six. "The Scouts of the Prairie" was a drama created by dime novelist Ned Buntline, who appeared in it with Cody and another well-known scout, "Texas Jack" Omohundro. The show was a success, despite one critic’s characterization of Cody as "a good-looking fellow, tall and straight as an arrow, but ridiculous as an actor." Other critics noted Cody’s manner of charming the audience and the realism he brought to his performance.