Wild West shows
The show featured Buntline, Cody, Texas Jack Omohundro, and the Italian-born ballerina Giuseppina Morlacchi and toured the American theater circuit for two years.
That same year at the Fair, Frederick Turner, a young Wisconsin scholar, gave a speech that pronounced the first stage of American history over.
[15] Buffalo Bill's Wild West returned to Europe in December 1902 with a fourteen-week run in London, capped by a visit from King Edward VII and the future King George V. The Wild West traveled throughout Great Britain in a tour in 1902 and 1903 and a tour in 1904, performing in nearly every city large enough to support it.
[16] The 1905 tour began in April with a two-month run in Paris, after which the show traveled around France, performing mostly one-night stands, concluding in December.
The show then traveled east, performing in Austria, the Balkans, Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine, before returning west to tour in Poland, Bohemia (later Czech Republic), Germany, and Belgium.
Soon after, and in an attempt of recovery of monetary balance, Buffalo Bill signed a contract in which he was tricked by Bonfil and Temmen into selling them the show and demoting himself to a mere employee and attraction of the Sells-Floto Circus.
[18] The shows consisted of reenactments of history combined with displays of showmanship, sharpshooting, hunts, racing, or rodeo style events.
The parade was a major ordeal, an affair that involved huge public crowds and many performers, including the Congress of Rough Riders.
Events included acts known as Bison Hunt, Train Robbery, Indian War Battle Reenactment, and the usual grand finale of the show, Attack on the Burning Cabin, in which Indians attacked a settler's cabin and were repulsed by Buffalo Bill, cowboys, and Mexicans.
Other wild animals they would attempt to ride or deal with were mules, buffalo, Texas steers, elk, deer, bears, and moose.
[23] Wild West shows contained as many as 1,200 performers at one time (cowboys, scouts, Indians, military, Mexicans, and men from other heritages) and many animals, including buffalo and Texas Longhorns.
One such performer was Annie Oakley, who first gained recognition as a sharpshooter when she defeated Frank Butler, a pro marksman at age 15, in a shooting exhibition.
[26] Other notable females in the business were Tillie Baldwin, May Lillie, Lucille Mulhall, Lillian Smith, Bessie and Della Ferrel, Luella-Forepaugh Fish,[27] the Kemp Sisters, and Texas Rose as an announcer.
[1] The shows "generally presented Native people as exotic savages, prone to bizarre rites and cruel violence.
"[1] The Native women were dressed in "exploitative", non-traditional clothing such as men's headdresses and breastplates, combined with immodest attire like leather shorts, none of which would have ever been worn in reality.
[29] Chief Sitting Bull joined Cody's Wild West show for a short time and was a star attraction alongside Annie Oakley.
During his time at the show, Sitting Bull was introduced to President Grover Cleveland, which he thought proved his importance as chief.
During this time, he honed his skills in steer roping, lariat tricks, and the art of maintaining a firm grip on "anything that had four legs."
Over the span of several years, Red Eagle became an integral member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, captivating audiences throughout his journey.
[31][32][33] Other familiar Native Americans names who performed in the show were Red Cloud,[34] Chief Joseph,[35] Geronimo[citation needed], and the Modoc War scout Donald McKay.
Contemporary rodeos continue to be held, employing the same events and skills as cowboys did in Wild West shows.
In 2000, the Cumberland County 250th Anniversary Committee worked with Native Americans from numerous tribes and non-natives to organize a pow-wow on Memorial Day to commemorate the Carlisle Indian School, the students and their stories.
