Poster advertising Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, 1899, courtesy of the Library of Congress
Buffalo Bill pictured with Sitting Bull in 1897, courtesy of the Library of Congress
American audiences on the East Coast were exposed to a glamorized version of life on the western frontier through dime novels and advertisements. Many performers took advantage of the mysterious, lawless reputation of cowboys and American Indians by taking these figures out of the west and into travelling shows that toured the country.
In 1883, one of the most well-known and influential of these outdoor spectacles was formed when William Frederick Cody, known later as “Buffalo Bill,” and Nate Salsbury founded the travelling show Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. Their live-action shows featured performances from cowboys and Native Americans and later grew to include foreign performers and trick-riders. The performers were idealized and stereotyped versions of the real characters of the Western frontier and participated in staged versions of daily life. Cowboys performed “skill acts” like roping and sharpshooting. Native Americans attacked stagecoaches while clad in feathers and war-paint in an effort to present a stereotyped version of their tribes for white audiences.
The scale of the show was unprecedented in American popular culture. Skits, tableaux, and even entire “battle” scenes were reenacted for crowds, complete with narration by an orator and background music by a professional band. Audiences in the eastern United States were eager to see their dime novels and stories come to life, and they flocked to Buffalo Bill’s legendary travelling shows.
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West came to Lynchburg four times over 16 years. The first appearance was on October 13, 1897, when the Wild West Show visited town during the annual Lynchburg Fair, which featured agricultural and mechanical exhibitions. The official entertainment of the fair was not Buffalo Bill, but rather his competitor Pawnee Bill. While the fair and Pawnee Bill set up at the Fairgrounds (on the site of today’s Lynchburg City Stadium), Buffalo Bill’s show was located at the City Park (now Miller Park). The days were filled with fun activities like live shows and demonstrations, and large crowds flooded the Hill City. Both Buffalo Bill and the Fair Association brought in visitors from the whole region.
Buffalo Bill’s acts included the standard cowboys and American Indians, but also featured “Rough Riders.” These equestrian performers were from Europe and the Middle East and toured with Buffalo Bill for two years. Annie Oakley was another famous act with Bill at the time he first came to Lynchburg, but it is unclear whether or not she was present during the 1897 event. Other performers like Mexican Vaqueros, Bedouins, and Cossacks were advertised as attractions at the Lynchburg show.
Poster advertising Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, 1895, courtesy of the Library of Congress
The Wild West traveled in its own special train cars complete with dormitories and kitchens. The railroad transported the horses for the show, a herd of buffalo, and even tents and grandstands to accommodate 20,000 people. Some of the shows took place at night and were illuminated by generators owned by the show. This alone was an attraction as electric lights were still new and unavailable to the average Lynchburger.
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West performers on Church Street during one of their visits to Lynchburg, Lynchburg Museum System collection
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West sophisticated marketing and promotional efforts included an impressive parade whenever it arrived in a town, hoping to build excitement for the spectacle to come on the fairgrounds. The performances cost anywhere from 25 to 50 cents, but the parade was free. The Lynchburg parade route is not known, but it probably covered Church and Main Streets downtown.
The second time Buffalo Bill came to Lynchburg was the spring of 1899. Again, his show was held in the City Park. More than 8,000 people traveled by streetcar, around 4,000 people walked or arrived by private conveyances, and many more took the train to attend the Wild West show. The usual acts took place, including cowboys, American Indians, and Rough Riders, but this time there were new performers from Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Performances by Sioux warriors in costume and daredevil maneuvers by horse-drawn steel chariots were new attractions as well. Johnny Baker (“The Cowboy Kid”) and Annie Oakley were there as sharpshooters.
Poster advertising Pawnee Bill Shows, 1903, courtesy of the Library of Congress
The next time Buffalo Bill visited Lynchburg was with his rival Pawnee Bill, whose real name was Gordon Lillie, in a show titled Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East. Financial shortfalls and failed get-rich-quick-schemes forced Bill into partnership with his competitor. Nevertheless, his October 1911 show included the traditional displays of western sportsmanship. Pawnee Bill’s contributions were novelties of the Far East, including elephants, camels, dancers, and Japanese acrobats, which were probably added to compete with popular travelling circuses of the time. This visit, unlike the previous two, was held at the new Twelfth Street “showgrounds” (known also as the Old City Stadium) at the base of Diamond Hill.
The final time Buffalo Bill visited the Hill City was in 1913. Still partnered with Pawnee Bill, the show had grown to include 780 performers from 24 nations. Again, the entertainers provided a free parade for the town that included cowboys, American Indians, lions, tigers, camels, elephants, and performers from the exotic Far East. Tickets for the event were sold at the Orchard Drug Store located at 808 Main Street. Unfortunately for Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill, American audiences were growing weary of the same renditions of the romanticized American West and the novelty of exotic animals and people. What was once a performance of a living Western culture was now advertised as “historical” and “educational.” These shows were competing with the new novelties of moving pictures and the automobile.
After losing the Wild West show to an ill-fated loan, Buffalo Bill tried his hand in the new nickelodeons. When his films failed to earn enough money, Bill joined the Sells Floto Circus, then the Miller Brothers & Arlington 101 Ranch Wild West. After surviving a train wreck in Charlotte County, Virginia, in 1916 that killed his horse, many circus animals, show hands, and performers, Bill returned to his homeland in the west and died in Colorado in 1917.