|
“Always A Wonder” |
|
Niagara Falls New York |
|
Wild Bill |
Product Summary |
|
James Butler Hickok, known to history as “Wild Bill” Hickok, was born in Troy Grove, Illinois 5/27/1837. He left home in 1855 to become a wagon driver along the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. During the Civil War (1861-1865) he was a scout for the Union Army. The Indian Wars found him scouting for Custer’s famed 7th Cavalry. Known for courage and marksmanship, he gravitated to law enforcement after his military service. Paradoxically he was also a gambler and a gunfighter with a quick temper and an even quicker trigger-finger. In 1871, while serving as Marshal in Abilene, Kansas, Hickok was invited by Buffalo Bill Cody to share the stage in a play entitled “Scout of the Prairie.” Disillusioned with acting, he quit the play and went back west. Still wanting to capitalize on the public’s fascination with Western adventure, Hickok came up with the idea for a Wild West Show. Calling the event “The Daring Buffalo Chase”, he decided to stage it at Niagara Falls, Canada. He amassed $1000 in capital and hired 3 cowboys. Together they roped 6 Buffalo in Nebraska. He also hired 4 Commanche Indians who insisted on bringing along a bear and a pet monkey. Hickok contracted with Sidney Barnet, a Niagara Falls, Ontario museum curator, to stage the performance on Barnet’s property. Barnet also arranged for special excursion trains to transport the huge amount of people expected to attend. After a name change “The Great Buffalo Hunt” opened 8/28/1872 plagued with problems from the start. Expecting 50,000 people, only 3 to 5 thousand were in attendance. Bleachers hadn’t been provided and a short wire fence enclosing the area gave the crowd a free view. Hickok began the show by firing his pistol into the air, causing the Buffalo to charge around the enclosure. The four Commanche, a pack of stray dogs and a group of small boys followed them. Suddenly the Buffalo broke through the fence and rampaged through a residential neighborhood before being reined in. The Commanche’s pet bear broke loose, attacked an Italian sausage vendor’s cart and ate every last sausage before being recaptured. Once order was restored, a group of Mexican Cowboys gave a demonstration of cattle roping techniques. The highlight of the show was an impromptu lacrosse game played by local Tuscorora and Cayuga Indians. All told the performance had been a disaster. No admission had been charged and the crowd disappeared when the hat was passed. Only $126 was collected! Hickok sold the Buffalo to local butchers and the proceeds were just enough to pay the performers’ train fare back to Nebraska. Buffalo Bill Cody had watched from the sidelines, and despite the fiasco, had decided to form his own Wild West show. Cody’s version was very successful and a form of it exists to this day. He even convinced Hickok to appear with the show a year after the Niagara Falls debacle. After a while with Cody, “Wild Bill” became disillusioned with show business once again. He decided to seek his fortune in the Black Hills of South Dakota where gold had been discovered in 1876. Failing at prospecting gold, he took up gambling again. On 8/2/1876, Hickok died when he was shot in the back during a barroom poker game in Deadwood, South Dakota. |
|
THE DARING BUFFALO CHASE Caption describing picture or graphic. |
|
Contact Us Today |
|
NiagaraTimes.Com copyright 2002 Little Italy Niagara LLC copyright 2002 |
