That was a REALLY wild show

It is almost impossible to imagine from the gulf of the 21st Century the sheer awe and wonderment such exotic scenes must have evoked among the people of gritty, industrial Swindon during the days when radio, let alone television, was still at least two decades into the future.

Truly, it was as if the pages of an adventure picture book had magically opened-up and hundreds of outrageous characters from an almost mythical world came galloping out, not across the Great Plains of Dakota but along Wootton Bassett Road.

And there, in the midst of it all, calling the shots and indeed firing off a few as well, was the very personification of the American West, a man described at the time as “the most recognisable celebrity on Earth,” and “arguably the most famous American of the 19th Century,” William Frederick Cody….Buffalo Bill.

Monday, June 29, 1903 was a unique day in the history of Swindon because that was the day Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World extravaganza rolled very noisily, very colourfully, very “roll-up folks, it’s a once in a lifetime chance,” into town.

A glossy travel brochure that recently arrived uninvited through the letterbox informed me that Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show is a Mickey Mouse production currently residing at Disneyland Paris. And very good I’m sure it is, too.

But back then, when Cody pranced into Swindon, you could actually see the charismatic buckskin-clad US icon in the flesh – a living legend of the dusty, fast fading Wild West who, with some bravura, had reinvented himself as one of the era’s greatest showmen.

When it comes to folk hero status of the Old West, William F Cody (1846-1917) ticked a lot of boxes: Pony Express rider, Union soldier in the Civil War, Army scout in the Indian wars honoured for “gallantry in action,” wagon-master, stage-coach driver, trapper, bullwhacker (ox driver) and of course, the scourge of the shaggy bison – which as everyone knows is how he acquired his moniker.

Slaying 4,282 buffalo with Lucretia Borgia – his 1863 model Springfield rifle - seems a tad distasteful in these more ecology conscious times, but that’s what he did.

Having played his part in eliminating a once copious species virtually to the point of extinction, while also watching the American Frontier irrevocably slip into the realms of mythology, what could Bill do next?

Go into showbiz, of course. Those soft folks back east, he reasoned, would lap-up his tales of heroic deeds in the Wild West which, naturally, he would over-egg just a smidgeon. He was right. They were mad for it.

After rustling-up an impressive career in the theatre he then raised his game to create something so unique that it changed the world of entertainment.

Inspired by circus impresario PT Barnum's Greatest Show On Earth, Cody unveiled Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a ground-breaking, flamboyant and highly glamourised re-enactment of the cowboy and injun era as he felt it should be portrayed.

Among its initial stars were bona-fide figures of the West including Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, Geronimo and Sitting Bull.

Even Rains In The Face, the Native American who reportedly killed Custer, made another killing as a member of the Cody’s evocative, trail blazing entourage.

Buffalo Bill’s show captivated audiences for 30 years, from 1883 and 1913, making several tours of Europe, and included a two performances in Swindon during a marathon UK stint from 1902-04.

The excitement in our smoky railway town must have been immense as Cody’s gargantuan cortege arrived in town (appropriately via the Great Western Railway) on – almost certainly - Sunday, June 28 after some gigs in Reading.

Packed into four long trains, the retinue included around 600 horses and 800 people, among them 100 Native Americans from tribes including Sioux, Lakota and Pawnee.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West was originally set for a site off Marlborough Road but when his scouts reported that it wasn’t big enough the location was switched to a field on Wootton Bassett Road, roughly near today’s Mannington retail park.

We can only wonder whether Bill, who by then had acquire the title Colonel, or any of his cowboy cohorts moseyed into the nearest saloon, The Running Horse, for a shot of Red Eye.

The show’s encampment, with its tents and tepees, would have been a sight to behold in itself. One visitor told the Adver how he saw “the bucks lounging about in their picturesque garments and the squaws engaged in different household occupations.”

An arena of 382,500 square feet was erected, enclosed in canvas walls with a spectator’s canopy.

Up to 20,000 people are said to have attended the back-to-back two-hour shows, equating to almost half the town’s 45,000 population….which surely makes it the biggest paid for event, in relative terms, ever staged here.

Beneath a customary Stetson, Colonel Cody – still “a fine, handsome man” by all accounts - entered the arena Gandalf style on a white stallion. At 57 he had reportedly lost none of dextrous horsemanship or sharp shooting ability.

Glass balls were propelled into the air which Cody duly shot to shards. That’s right, they used live ammo, at least in some displays: no elf’n’safety back then to spoil the fun.

It was non-stop, high octane, action-packed stuff as the Pony Express rattled around the arena inches from spectators, while tomahawk wielding braves surrounded a wagon train and also attacked a settler’s cabin, demonstrating outstanding skills with bow and arrow.

An account of a presumably identical show held in Swansea two weeks later went: “The Deadwood Stage tore full pelt into the arena pursued all the way to Cheyenne by whooping, hollering and shooting bad men.

“The shotgun guard perched precariously on top of the stage coach firing back, joined enthusiastically by the passengers.”

With the opening of Swindon cinemas still several years away, it was the first western ever witnessed in town!

• CODY’S travelling show, a mixture of authenticity and showbiz, created an exciting, adventurous image of the Wild West that we see and know today.
  Having opened on May 19, 1883 in Omaha, Nebraska – 132 years ago yesterday – he first brought it to Britain in 1887 during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
  Thousands lined the street as the vibrant, showy entourage promenaded to Earl’s Court. Queen Vic attended a command performance and was said to be both impressed and amused.
  Some 18 buffalo were among a production that thrilled hundreds of thousands of British and European spectators. 
  By 1903 – when Buffalo Bill performed Swindon – many of the original stars had gone but were replaced by the likes of Johnny Baker “The Cowboy Kid.”
  An outstanding marksman, Buffalo Bill’s adopted son could hit targets from any position, including between his legs and standing on his head. 
•  AS a one-time frontier scout Buffalo Bill respected and supported the rights of Native Americans, describing them as “former foe, present friend.” 
  Cody acquired special permission for his Native American contingent to leave their repressive reservations where they were forbidden to bear arms, wear tribal dress and dance. 
  While braves are seen during his shows attacking farmsteads and fighting soldiers, Cody was also keen for them to demonstrate to the public all three of the above, highlighting their culture as well as their warrior skills.

   

• THE show’s grand finale in 1903 was a re-enactment of a still fresh chapter in American history, The Battle of San Juan Hill. It was the decisive and bloodiest battle of the Spanish-American War which raged in Cuba in the late 19th Century. The fight for the heights above Cuba’s second city Santiago in July, 1898 was won by the Rough Riders, the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, whose heroic commander was the future US President Theodore Roosevelt.

• By the time of the Swindon show, Cody’s extravaganza had been enhanced with wondrous acts of horsemanship from around the globe that included Cossacks, Turks, English Lancers, South American Gauchos and Desert Arabs.