| Show 0 r 4 4 i DERTH Yr L L G Gt Gar t ar t c T r 1 AY a nest along the Smoky moh Hill river Cody proved cd himself a hunter and filled his Ills job joh so well Hell ell that one of the t thet 3 workers mode made a jingle about him which c went 5 went ent as folio follows s 1 12 2 Buffalo Bill Buffalo Bill Bills s- s s f wills ah 1 jf Never missed and ne never ne er will r f AI Always Atwal wa s Rims alms and shoots to kill killA 04 M f 1 A And the company pays his buffalo bilL bilLI I r Ills tame fame as a buffalo hunter Has nas C COW LI BILL ILl r rBy By ELMO SCOTT WATSON SK the average American who was the original But t L falo talo Bill mn and the chan chanes chances es are tint that he be will answer r without hesitation 1 tion Why Why William F T t Cody of ot course And SF j do therein he will he wrong for tor or there were ere at least h two 0 other men who earned that title and aDd Were l known noun D by It before Imam V Frederick Cody made It throughout the civilised n world This does not Dot mean that Cody did not de de- de e en the title for tor he won It away from one of ot the others fairly and sQuarely In one of ot the most spectacular mar lar contests ever staged on tills this continent con contInent continent But It does not detract any ony from his fame fome to pay tribute to the pro prowess ess of these other t two tso 0 and to set forth their claims to having been b en the original Buffalo Bill mil e even een en thou though h Cody was the greatest Buffalo Bill Bm with all that that title Implies The man from whom Cody Cod won his title by right right of ot conquest was W 11 lIam Comstock a celebrated guide llIe bunter and one of the favorite scouts ot of General Genral Phil Sheridan during luring the Indian war on the southern plains in ID ro Is on one of the 01 S tery men of ot the frontier In that but little Is known n of ot his Ills early career Pub Puo lIe He Interest In him has o been en re 1 ed recently bv by the Wisconsin State Ills HIs I society as shown shoran n bv by the foe fol following following lowing story sent out by the er of ot Wisconsin news service Some Wisconsin town 1 I entitled to considerable tame fame as the birthplace ot of Comstock a pony express rider and Indian scout n who ho ho was w a comrade ot of Buffalo Bill Dill during his romantic Jre re circus da days s Comstock Is known to have hate hL e been born In Wisconsin and to have hove left early to co go west and be- be become become be become come a 8 daring scout The state historical society accord accord- according ins ing to Charles Charle E E Brown Drown and Alfred Altred o 0 Barton Darton Madison Is anxious to learn leun where he was born who oho ho his relatives were and from what part of ot Wiscon Wiscon- Wisconsin sin in aln he went west Colonel Homer Domer Wheeler formerly or of the Fifth cavalry who ho knew hoew Corn Com stock when heD he was as chief scout and interpreter r at rort Fort Wallace Kan Ilan de de- de- de devotes Totes votes part of ot a 8 chapter of his book Buffalo Days published by Dobbs Merrill to Comstock lie fie Is the authority au authority for tor or the statement tint that Corn Com Comstock stock was born horn in Wisconsin of hood bOOd parentage and left lett home borne at an early age oge and was one of the original Inal pony express riders at the time Cody and Wild lid ild Bill Bm were similarly employed ed lIe liev was ns as the first owner 0 ner of ot the Rose Creek ranch situated on that stream about eight miles from the po post 1 During his hia service at Fort rort Wallace Comstock had gained such renown renon reno n nia as ase e a buffalo hunter that for some time he had bad been known n among the officers there as aa Buffalo Bill Comstock Inthe In Inthe Inthe the meantime William F Cody who ho had done some come scouting for the troops ot at Fort Ellsworth 01 tb and Fort rort Pletcher hud had been offered a ti job as hunter bythe by bythe bythe the Goddard Brothers who had hod con COD contracted to feed teed the laborers laborer who were building the Kansas Pacific railroad spread by the officers at Fort Hays lla s and came to the attention of the officers at Fort rort Willace who believed that their Buffalo mil Dill Comstock Comstoch had more rl right ht to that title than the rort Fort Hays officers Buffalo Bill Dm Cody So they raised their share of a purse of ot S to be gh ghen en to tile the winner of a n buffalo killing contest bet between een Cody and Corn Com Comstoch stock Soon pos porters be begin to appear In the stations along the new railroad which read as follows EXCURSION to rOUT PORT T DUI r LO r G MATCH for OO A t SIDE SIDD and the be cnA OF Oi TilE THE HII LY COSTO I K The famous coat and W v F rr COU COUl Hill Dill Famous li Killer for tor the he Kansas rd c Railroad Since the K Kansas Pacific was as arranging the e excursion curlon It was perhaps natural that It should give gise gh the title Buffalo Bill to its Ite hunter But their confidence In him was soon just justi fled The match was as held 20 O miles eat east of ort where buffalo were plentiful and the prairie was le level leel el I enough for the great crowd of ot spec spectators spectators Including Mrs Cody who ho had come corne on an on excursion train which had h been run from St SL St Lou Louis LouLs to see sec the chase Cody was os mounted on his famous hunting hot hOI hoise se e Brigham Brighum and armed n with pith Ith his C equally lually f i needle needle- needle gun gun Lucretia Borgia Comstock used a Henry rifle rille which shot faster but did not hit so BO hariL Having Rasing located a herd of ot buffalo the h two tso 0 men rode Into It foil followed 0 ed by referees The herd herll split with Com Coin stock one bunch ant Cod Cody Codi the theother theother other Cods Cod soon had his Ills bunch run running running ning In a circle and he lie dropped 38 lS of them nil all within a small smail space Corn Com Comstoch stock who rode at the rear of hIs bunch shooting them do down don n I 1 pled 23 but they were acre BC scattered user over a route of three miles A After fter a short 1 test lest est ln an another other herd was as sighted and again aln a ln Cody Colly was the winner Inner by a score of 18 to 14 13 The third run of the diy day was as the thc occasion for a ir tr stunt hy by CodY He tie took the bridle und and off otT Brigham dashed Into his bunch ot of buffalos and shot down dOD 12 11 more then drove drone the last to 3rd the wagons from which his Ills wife site and some of the other spectators were viewing Ing the mitch match When the great beast was vas leas lebS than 50 SO yards from the n wagon u on he sent It tumbling to the earth as ns the grand finale of ot the hunt Ills His final score core core was u GO 69 to Comsto s 's 48 Cody continued to hunt for the Kansas Kusas Pacific until It reached Sheri Sheridan den dan and In the space of 17 months he killed hilled 4 SO of the animals an nn adds reason for his right to be known as the champion buffalo slaver sla of ot the plains A few months after this match Corn Com stocks stock's career came to a tragic close While out On Ou a scouting expedition on I Walnut creek with Ith Lieutenant Beecher later later killed at the battle of ot the Aric Arickaree Arickaree karee or Beechers Beecher s Island In east eastern II ern em Colorado Comstock Comstoch and an Grover were ordered to visit the camp of Chief Turkey Leg of the Che ennes who was n as a n special friend of ot both IlOth scouts on the headwaters of ot the Solo Solomon Solomon mon coon to learn leim it if an on of his people had taken part in a n murderous raid In the Saline viley nile Their reception was very velY cool one and finally Turkey I eg told them that they the had better Iran Ira leave Irae e since hIs young nun men were CI C greatly excited and he could not control them Accordingly they started ont out ac- ac accompanied accompanied ac accompanied companied by the chiefs chief's son and 81 sic other young oung warriors who professed the deepest friendship for the scouts But In the midst of a friendly com con conver conversation er- er some of the tine braves bra cs fell quickly to the rear and opened fire Comstock fell ll from flom his horse at the first fir fire killed Gro Grover Groer er badly wound wounded wounded ed also fell to the ground Then using the body of ot his dead comrade de to pro protect protest protect test himself he opened fire on the Indians and quickly drove droe dro e them out of range For the rest of the day he held them at bay Then under cover of darkness he managed to escape and I reached Fort rort Wallace two dais dava dl later half bait dead from the pain of his n sound and the exhaustion of his long jour Jour- journey journey ney Dey Nor was as Comstock the only one to have a claim to the title of Buffalo Bill Bile prior to Codys Cody's early thirty 3 ears later after the name had rocked ed edthe the arena In every e ery capital co In and America a rival claimant was brought fon forward ard as the original pos possessor possessor sessor of the title writes Richard J In The Making of or Hili published hed bv by Bobbs Hobos Merrill last year ear lie He continues He was William Matthewson ot of It was said that In 1860 1560 the year ear ot of the great drought when crass rass hoppers darkened the hansas Kansas skies sIdes and tell fell on the crops as thickly as a bliz- bliz blizzard blizzard bliz blizzard zard Matthewson had gono gone out to kill buffalo sending back VI ot of meat to feed teed the starving settlers And AndIn AndIn In iii their gratitude they dubbed him Buffalo lo Bill How did Id William Cody happen to call himself Buffalo Bill Dill an nn Inter Inter- Interviewer interviewer Interviewer viewer asked Well he replied you iou ou see Cody worked tor for me when he vas Has as a II young fellow tello 1 I reckon he had begun to read Indian stories and see how much to be made by that kind of a reputation reputation tion and he was always III ys w fond of talk and show 1 I ne never neer er was any hand to near ear my hair hall long and go swaggering around the country blowing about what hat I 1 had hd don done Cody kno knows knos s he had no real rell right to the tho name but if It he wants to show oft off as a dime novel hero I 1 have ha no objection The querulous outbreak shocked and the public of ot Reporters hurried to quiz Cody about Matthew Matthew- Matthewson Matthewson son He replied I never laid ey eyes s on him and of ot course ne never neer er for tor him But nut this Is the first Intimation intimation tion 1 I have ev r had that and an reputable reputable able person other than myself m self has ever the title of ot Buffalo Bill A Afew Afew few tew years ye ago there here were as many claimants for my name as there then were wild yellow lellow flowers that gave their name to the state stale It reminds me of ofa ofa n a portion of a sonnet finishing hut as 01 a fondly loves on to the close As the sunflower gives to his Gol Go l I as ashe ashe ashe he sets The same lame look he gave gate ga e as he rose The at of ot the quotation war wai not lot made clear by the Interviewer Considering that In the sixties the plains were ere black with fifteen million buffalo and that thousands of ot men were killing them It was wag not strange that many a nickname was wall based on the magic word There was as Buffalo Duffalo Jones there WAS Dufalo Chips and ther there were wen other Buffalo Bills But But Cody seems jeems to have won the title fairly says sa Walsh In conclusion and then tells tens of ot the famous contest I with Comstock after atter which the the ref referees rerI I declared Cody winner sinner Inner of ot the prize money and by the same decision II as he claimed finally confirmed his right to be known as aa Buffalo Bill |
