So This is not the wild west but a show of the wild west reacted, you may have even seen Murdoch Mysteries taking place with the Buffalo Bill Show. I Recommend the show, it's good! And also that Episode mainly because how they ended the episode was pretty funny, I like chaptree's humor, BUT anyway off topic, this is Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, from the Entertainment Section in Story of America Cards.

(What Are Wild West Shows?)

Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870-1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of cowboys, Plains Indians, army scouts, outlaws, and wild animals that existed in the American West.

One of those famous shows was Buffalo Bills.

(The First American Western)

No entertainment impresario has ever romanticized and dramatized the American West---the land of the cowboys---more effectively than William Frederick Cody. Better known as "Buffalo Bill", this dashing figure in fringed buckskins and flowing, shoulder-length hair came to symbolize the American frontier for millions of people all over the world.

It began in 1883, when Cody opened his first outdoor exhibition---a combination of rodeo, circus sideshows, and traveling theater---and it continued on tour without interruption until 1913.

Before starting this venture, however, Cody had already gained fame as a United States army scout and buffalo hunter, due in large part to writer Ned Buntline (Real Name: E.Z.C Judson), who made Cody the hero in the first of his series of popular dime novels.

Buntline then persuaded Cody to appear in a dramatization of the book, and for the next decade Buffalo Bill capitalized on the popularity and reputation gained from Buntline's books.

Then in the late 1870s Cody conceived the idea of producing an original outdoor "Wild West" show. It took several years before he found a way to try out the idea; but in 1883 the citizens of North Platte, Nebraska, asked Cody to stage a Fourth of July program for them, and he was on his way.

He quickly organized a show that featured cowboys and Indians, horse race, wild buffalo, sharpshooting exhibitions and a stage play involving an old stage coach.

The North Platte Celebration was a big success, and Cody went on to produce his own traveling show, With two partners he assembled a troupe of stars: W.F. Carver, dentist and marksman known as "The Evil Spirit of the Plains", (Maybe he was called that because going to the dentist was a horrible and painful experience back in the day); and there was Captain A.H. Bogardus, a champion at clay-pigeon shooting; Johnny Baker, a young boy Coby had adopted, who performed as "Cowboy Kid".

A Group of daring young riders, including Buck Taylor, a steer-thrower known as "King of the Cowboys"; Jim Lawson, a lasso expert; Seth Hathaway, a former Pony Express rider; and, for one season, Chief Sitting Bull, the great Sioux warrior and medicine man. The mainstay of Cody's show however, was Annie Oakley, "Little Sure Shot", who became a smash hit on the show's European tour.

The show also featured dramatic acts that recreated scenes from the American past.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show achieved its greatest triumph in 1893 when it attracted thousands of fans at the Chicago World's Fair.

(The Legacy of Influence from Wild West Shows)

So Buffalo Bill's Show had ended in 1913, because of the harsh economy so no one could afford tickets and Bill was losing money too and making bad decisions and so what, which led to bankruptcy.

But Western shows generated interest for Western entertainment. This is still evidenced in western films, modern rodeos, and circuses. Western Films in the first half of the 20th century filled the gap left behind by Wild West shows. The first real western, The Great Train Robbery, was made in 1903, and thousands followed after. In the 1960s Spaghetti Westerns, a genre of movies about the American Old West made in Europe, were common.

Contemporary rodeos continue to be held, employing the same events and skills as cowboys did in Wild West shows. Wild Westerns still perform in movies, pow-wows, pageants and rodeos. There remains an interest in Native peoples throughout much of the United States and Europe, including an interest in the pow-wow culture of Native people. Some events are open to outside tourists who are able to observe traditional Native American skills: horse culture, ceremonial dancing, food, art, music and crafts, while other pow-wows are closed events for members of the Native community only.

(Ending)

And that was Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. It influenced a lot of what we know of Old Westerns Today. I hope you enjoyed learning about it with me and I'll see you next time.