The King of the Cowboys

Buck Taylor became a heroic figure—courtesy of Buffalo Bill.

Buffalo Bill Cody decided to upgrade the image of the cowboy (the term was often used as an insult). And he did it through a wrangler named Buck Taylor. Cody’s story portrayed Buck as a “brave orphan boy from Texas” who grew up with great hardships. He was incorruptible and was always fighting on the side of good; a giant of a man, yet good to his mother, humble and he liked kids. Cody billed him as the “King of the Cowboys.” Taylor became a national hero and nobody was more surprised than Cody himself.