Cody

“ I never fought any man for notoriety, and am sorry that I’ve got the name I have. Since Ned65 Buntline made a hero out of such material as Bill Cody (Buffalo Bill,) I’ve thought it time to drop out of sight. I took Cody when he was left alone in the world, a young lad, and partially raised him. Well, I don’t want to say anything against the boy, but his pluck wouldn’t go at par. I’ve kept a little diary of all my exploits, and when I’m dead I’ll be glad if it falls into your hands, and from it you may be able to write something interesting. ”

“ I had met him for the first time at McPherson station in the Platte valley, in 1871, when he came to me with a horse, and the simple introduction that he was a friend of Cody's. Long afterwards we found how true and stanch a friend, for when Cody joined us at Cheyenne as chief scout he brought White with him as assistant, and Bill's recommendation secured his immediate employment.
On many a long day's march after that White rode by my side along the flanks of the column, and I got to know him well. A simpler-minded, gentler frontiersman never lived. ”

“ These are not the only names by which this interesting man was called in the course of his long and thrilling career among cowboys and Indians. First he was little Billy Cody, the western messenger; then Wild Bill, the pony express rider, and as a grown man he was known as Bill Cody, the wagon master. Finally, to the heart’s delight of boys and girls the world over, he became Buffalo Bill. For many years before his death in 1917, he was generally spoken of as Colonel William F. Cody; but to the Indians he will always be their beloved “Pa-has-ka,” or “Long Hair.” ”

“ hey!”—But that’s my relationship with Evelyn, we’re real pals and we can kid about anything even the first night I met her in Denver in 1947 when we danced and Cody watched anxiously, a kind of romantic pair in fact and I shudder sometimes to think of all that stellar mystery of how she IS going to get me in a future lifetime, wow—And I seriously do believe that will be my salvation, too. ”

“ Finally Cody unfastened them, filled their pouches with food, gave them back their weapons, and advised them to go back to their lodges.
“Let this medicine chief, Death Killer, come himself to learn our numbers and our intentions,” said the scout significantly. “Let him learn about us by his magic. If he is so great a medicine-man why does he not know these things by his magic power? Go, brothers; you have your lives at the hand of the Long Hair.” ”

“ Thus it will be seen that notwithstanding it will sometimes be thought his fame rests upon the pen of the romancer, had they never been attracted to him—and they were solely by his sterling worth—W. F. Cody would none the less have been a remarkable character in American history.
The history of such a man, attractive as it has already been to the most distinguished officers and fighters in the United States Army, must prove doubly so to men, women, and children who have heretofore found only in novels the hero of rare exploits, on which imagination so loves to dwell. ”

“ When Cody is not acting or riding or fighting Indians or ranching or asleep he is likely to be telling stories, and he has so many that it is hard for him to tell any story twice, unless by special request. One that has been frequently called for is of an Eastern man who was employed by Colonel Cody out West. ”

“ Owing to the wildness of the country and the hostility of the Indians, both the riders and the station-keepers led lives of great hardship and danger. The “Pony Express” was discontinued in 1861 upon the completion of the Pacific Telegraph company’s line, and young Cody became a scout and guide for the United States army. In 1863 he formally enlisted in the 7th regiment of Kansas cavalry, in which he served until the close of the Civil War. ”

“ One arm must be stronger than the other—one foot more skilful—one eye more true.
“This is a bad end for you, Boyd Bennett!” began Cody again.
He was scarcely panting himself; but the other was breathing hard, gnashing his teeth, rolling his eyes, like a veritable madman. He screamed with rage at this remark of the scout’s, and the froth flew from his lips. If ever a man was mad, Boyd Bennett was that person.
“And all for what?” quoth the scout. “What did you make by it? The girl would have nothing to do with you. Had you remained in Oak Heart’s camp you might have finished me. ”

“ Cody had just reached the age of twenty-two when a series of wars broke out with the Indian tribes, and he was attached to the troops as a scout. A number of Pawnee Indians who thought nothing of this white man, were also serving. They were better trackers, better interpreters and thought themselves better hunters. One day a party of twenty had been118 running buffalo, and made a bag of thirty-two head when Cody got leave to attack a herd by himself. Mounted on his famous pony Buckskin Joe he made a bag of thirty-six head on a half-mile run, and his name was Buffalo Bill from that time onward. ”

“ The fellow’s rage and excitement made him overlook this cunning.
[290]
“A chance; just a foothold on the bank—for God’s sake!” cried Cody.
“Not much; I won’t! You die where you are—or drown!”
Boyd Bennett stooped, and holding his own bowie with grim clutch, made a pass at the scout. The latter dodged—and made another foot.
“Give me a show!” cried the man in the water, apparently at his last gasp.
“No, no! I’ll have your life—and now!”
Again the bandit made a thrust. At the moment Cody flung his body forward, and his left hand clutched a tree-branch which overhung the river. ”

“ We laid over one day at Fort Wallace, to get supplies, and while there I had occasion to pass General Bankhead's headquarters. His orderly called to me, and said the General wished to see me. As I entered the General's office he extended his hand and said: "I hope you have no hard feelings toward me, Cody, for having you arrested when you were here. I have just had a talk with General Carr and Quartermaster Hays, and they informed me that you had their permission to ride the horse and mule, and if you had stated this fact to me there would have been no trouble about the matter whatever." ”

“ Douglas shrank back lest he might be observed. A feeling of compunction smote his heart, and he was tempted to slip away among the bushes. What would Nell think if she knew that he was spying upon her? he asked himself. Would it not be more manly for him to go forward and speak to her?
As he was thinking of these things, a man suddenly appeared from the thick bushes and advanced toward the waiting woman. That it was Ben, Douglas had not the least doubt, and his heart beat fast as he watched the two standing together. ”

“ At this time, as well as for years past, I had been chief United States detective for the army as well as scout and guide. I felt that with the offices of justice and constable added to these titles I had all the power necessary to take one horse.
The herd boss evidently thought so, too. After asking if my name were Cody, and being told that it was, he said:
"Well, there is no need of having a fuss over one horse."
"No," said I, "a horse doesn't mean much to you, but it amounts to a good deal to this poor immigrant."
"Well," said the herd boss, "how do you propose to settle it?" ”

“ Dan thoroughly enjoyed the drive as he nestled by the parson's side. It was very strange to be speeding along in such a luxurious manner, with a horse travelling like the wind, and a big jolly man holding the reins. He said nothing, but kept his eye fixed upon Midnight, his admiration steadily increasing. He would like to own a horse like that, and down in his heart he determined to have one some day--his very own. "What do you think of Midnight, lad?" asked the parson, noticing Dan's admiring gaze. ”

“ Cody doesnt like to just sit around and lightly chat away, he’s the kind of guy if he’s going to talk he has to do all the talking himself for hours till everything is exhaustedly explained, sans that he just wants to bend over a chessboard and say “He he heh, old Scrooge is saving up a pawn hey? ”

“ It was the Cody machine which won the first prizes which were open to the world at the military trials in 1912. Of all the earlier practical fliers in this country no one perhaps did so much to popularise flight as Cody. His pluck109 and perseverance, despite the constant disasters that were his lot, gained British appreciation, and all recognised that if he was not a man of letters he was one of intuition. His well-known man-lifting kite, unequalled indeed for the purpose for which it was designed, was an example of the illuminating flashes that were wont to cross his brain. ”

“ Cody seemed never to tire and was always ready to go, in the darkest night or the worst weather, and usually volunteered, knowing what the emergency required. His trailing, when following Indians or looking for stray animals or game, is simply wonderful. He is a most extraordinary hunter. I could not believe that a man could be certain to shoot antelope running till I had seen him do it so often. ”

“ The history of all Colonel Cody's encounters with the savages during the time he was in the service of the Pony Express would require many pages to recite, and as there is naturally a repetition in the manner of all attacks and escapes in his struggles with the Indians of the Great Plains and mountains, it would perhaps be but supererogation to tell them all without taxing the reader's interest. ”

“ He said that he looked forward with great interest to his arrival in Weston, as he expected to meet an uncle, Elijah Cody. He had seen none of his people for many years.
"If Elijah Cody is your uncle, I am too," said my father. "You must be the long-lost Horace Billings."
Father had guessed right. Horace had wandered long ago from the Ohio home and none of his family knew of his whereabouts. He had been to South America and to California, joining a band of trappers on the Columbia River and coming with them back across the Plains. ”

“ The boy was slightly ahead, and when the chief saw that the white rider would have about thirty yards to spare he fitted an arrow, drawing for the shot. But Cody, swinging round in the saddle, lashed out his revolver, and the chief, clutching at the air, fell, rolling over like a ball as he struck the ground. At the chief’s death-cry a shower of arrows from the rear whizzed round the boy, one slightly wounding his pony who, spurred by the pain, galloped clear, leaving the Indians astern in a ten mile race to the next relay. ”

“ Cody was fifty years old then, a product of the Nevada silver fields, of the Yukon, of every rush for metal since seventy-five. The transactions in Montana copper that made him many times a millionaire found him physically robust but on the verge of soft-mindedness, and, suspecting this, an infinite number of women tried to separate him from his money. The none too savory ramifications by which Ella Kaye, the newspaper woman, played Madame de Maintenon to his weakness and sent him to sea in a yacht, were common knowledge to the turgid sub or suppressed journalism of 1902. ”

“ If I see a chance to run off the girl while you fellows are handling the outlaws, I must do so.”
“And leave us for a redskin?”
“That is it,” returned Cody seriously. “My duty is first to her at this time.”
“But that is nonsense, man! People of a blood should stick together. Let the red squaw go.”
“She’s got white blood in her better than either yours or mine, sir!” snapped the scout.
“Oh! she’s a half-breed?”
“She is. But I am not here to discuss White Antelope. Time is passing. I will advise you to the best of my ability in this fight ”

“ While no literary excellence is claimed for the narrative, it has the greater merit of being truthful, and is verified in such a manner that no one can doubt its veracity. The frequent reference to such military men as Generals Sheridan, Carr, Merritt, Crook, Terry, Colonel Royal, and other officers under whom Mr. Cody served as scout and guide at different times and in various sections of the frontier, during the numerous Indian campaigns of the last ten or twelve years, affords ample proof of his genuineness as a thoroughbred scout. ”

“ They do not know him.”
“His medicine is wonderful.”
“Yet he could not make new medicine for the Red Knife?” suggested Cody slyly.
“Ah! who could do that?” demanded the brave gloomily.
“I have heard of its being done,” said the scout, and then, before the red man could ask a question, he proceeded: “Death Killer has ringed the camp with his own braves. They lay in wait for Pa-e-has-ka. Is it not so?”
At this Red Knife showed that he was surprised.
“This is bad. This is not known to Oak Heart. Is it so, Long Hair?”
“The Sioux know that Long Hair is not two-tongued,” declared Cody. “This is so. ”

“ I confidently replied.
"Never fear, Captain, about Cody not finding the way; he is as good in the dark as he is in the daylight," said Curtis.
An orderly was sent for the horse, and the animal was soon brought up, although the sergeant "kicked" a little against letting him go. After eating a lunch and filling a canteen with brandy, I went to headquarters and put my own saddle and bridle on the horse I was to ride. I then got the dispatches, and by ten o'clock was on the road to Fort Hays, which was sixty-five miles distant across the country. ”

“ The soldiers were in camp, and Milligan thought that Captain Russell ought to be at once notified of the appearance of these Indians. Knowing that we could reach the camp in safety, for we were well mounted, I continued to have considerable amusement at Milligan's expense, who finally said:
"Cody, what's making my hat raise up so. I can hardly keep it on my head."
Sample, who was as cool as a cucumber, said to Milligan: "There must be something wrong with your hair. It must be trying to get on end." ”