Johnny Baker founded the Buffalo Bill Museum in 1921 near William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s grave on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. It was the first museum dedicated to telling about the life and times of Buffalo Bill.
Baker filled the museum with artifacts, documents and photographs that he had accumulated over 35 years as Buffalo Bill’s foster son. Baker was the same age that Cody’s son, Kit, would have been had he not died of scarlet fever. Cody taught the boy to shoot and nicknamed him the “Cowboy Kid.”
Today the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave Site, one of True West’stop 10 Western museums of 2010, continues Baker’s purpose of educating visitors about the life and times of Buffalo Bill. It is also the repository of more than 1,600 photographs of Buffalo Bill and his life. Images from the museum have been used in everything from PBS documentaries to the lobby of the Wild West show at Disneyland Paris. The photos in this essay, excerpted from Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary, represent rarely seen images of Buffalo Bill and his Wild West in the museum’s collection.
Photo Gallery
On June 3, 1917, nearly six months after he died on January 10, Buffalo Bill was transported up Lookout Mountain to his final resting place. A boy scout and Denver policeman proudly guard his casket, while it was open for one final viewing.
Duke was presented to Buffalo Bill by Gen. Nelson Miles in the 1890s. Here, Cody rides Duke using his favorite Collins and Morrison saddle. When Duke died, one of his leg bones was carved into the image of a buffalo and given to Cody for use as an umbrella handle.
Cody first captured the West on film in 1912’s Life of Buffalo Bill. His second film, made in 1913, was a documentary about the Indian Wars, filmed at Wounded Knee and other battle sites (see right). It included a scene of Buffalo Bill taking the “first scalp for Custer.” Johnny Baker served as director. While the Life of Buffalo Bill is mostly intact, all that remains of The Indian Wars are a few film fragments and still photographs taken during the filming.
For many years, folks believed this tank was posted at the grave to protect Buffalo Bill’s body from Wyoming grave robbers. Recent research has shown it was at the grave in 1919 to promote a war bond drive.
This photograph of Buffalo Bill was taken in Paris during the Wild West’s 1890 tour of Europe. A high point, both literally and figuratively, of the Paris trip for the American Indians was a visit to the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day, a month after the tower’s grand opening.
Buffalo Bill is flanked by Pawnee (on his right) and Lakota (on his left) in this publicity photo taken while at Erastina. Because of tensions between the two tribes, Cody eventually decided to have only Lakota perform in the Wild West.
– All images courtesy Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary by Steve Friesen –
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West played Naples for almost a month in 1890. During this time, Vesuvius experienced some minor volcanic activity, which could be seen from the Wild West camp (shown here). Later, after a more severe eruption, in 1906, Cody made a contribution of $5,000 to relief efforts.
William F. Cody stands in the center of the back row, with Crow Eagle to his right and Adirondack, a naturalist, to his left. Those sitting, from left, are Sitting Bull’s interpreter William Halsey, the Hunkpapa Sioux Chief Sitting Bull, who toured with the Wild West show in 1885, and young Johnny Baker. This photo is a special treat for True West readers, as it is not published in Friesen’s impressive book. You can see more photos and artifacts in the Buffalo Bill Museum’s permanent exhibit, “The Buffalo Bill Story.”
Related Articles
Ages 3 to 10: This picture book was inspired by the real Mary Ann Goodnight,…
Even Don Russell, who explored Buffalo Bill Cody’s military life in great detail in his…
John P. Langellier explores the challenges and opportunities provided African-Americans following the Civil War Fighting…
