Buffalo Bill

December 18, 2002 11:46 AM

Renaissance Man... Prospector, Trapper, Pony Express Rider, Army Scout, Buffalo Hunter, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, National Folk Hero, Supreme Showman, at one time the most famous and recognizable man on the planet, he was also an anti-slavery fighter, a Peacemaker, advocate for the rights of Indians and women, and a conservationist. 1700 fictional dime novels were written about him, but his real-life adventures made him bigger than life. William F. Cody, aka Buffalo Bill.
posted by Mack Twain (7 comments total)

I wonder if there are going to be more people like Buffalo Bill, who through their adventures and exploits become more than famous, sort of mythical. Or is our modern world too jaded to be impressed by anyone these days? It seems like the only folks of legend since the frontier days are the anti-hero villians of WW2. Who am I forgetting?
posted by Mack Twain at 11:56 AM on December 18, 2002

Mack Twain: Chopper
posted by PenDevil at 12:06 PM on December 18, 2002

I've always been amused by the furor between Lookout Mountain, Colorado and Cody, Wyoming; both geographic regions believed
they had exclusive rights as the final resting place of Buffalo Bill.

After repeated attempts by the citizens of Cody to exhume the remains
of their namesake, both areas finally made amends during the 1950's.
Each location has their own separate museum and souvenir stand, and package tours provide transportation between the "proposed burial site" and "final resting place" of the larger-than-life character.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:54 PM on December 18, 2002

I was recently surprised by this bit of Hans Blix goodness over at Cockerham's site.

aside from the usual greedy amoral characteristics, doesn't it seem like most politico types are also dead plain boring as shite? the milque-toast "hobbies" you see on their c.v. which were obviously put there by marketing weasels...

I'd have to say Rollins is the true renaissance man of the modern US. I wish he'd run for president, I think he'd have half a chance.
posted by dorian at 1:49 PM on December 18, 2002

Good call on the history of the resting place SmartDalek, pretty much spot on, and not something alot of people realize.. Are you from the Lookout Mtn. area?
posted by djc at 3:16 PM on December 18, 2002

Captain James Cook of Agate Ranch He ran away from his home in Michigan at the tender age of 11 with his brother and went on to a career that included encounters with Geronimo and Red Cloud.

An exhibit of some of his memorabilia is housed at the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska--a couple of hours south of the Badlands or north from Scottsbluff, NE. His autobiography is as good as Cody's. His son went on to scholarly fame for his work on the discoveries which give Agate Fossil Beds its importance.
posted by newlydead at 3:26 PM on December 18, 2002

Whoops--Agate Fossils Beds are a couple of hours south of the Black Hills (SD)-- not the Badlands.
posted by newlydead at 3:31 PM on December 18, 2002