My mother's sympathies were strongly with the Union. She knew that war was bound to come, but so confident was she in the strength of the Federal Government that she devoutly believed that the struggle could not last longer than six months at the utmost.Collection: Strength
But the love of adventure was in father's blood.Collection: Dad
My restless, roaming spirit would not allow me to remain at home very long.Collection: Home
My brother was a great favorite with everybody, and his death cast a gloom upon the whole neighborhood.Collection: Death
Every Indian outbreak that I have ever known has resulted from broken promises and broken treaties by the government.Collection: Government
The first trip of the Pony Express was made in ten days - an average of two hundred miles a day. But we soon began stretching our riders and making better time.
My great forte in killing buffaloes was to get them circling by riding my horse at the head of the herd and shooting their leaders. Thus the brutes behind were crowded to the left, so that they were soon going round and round.
The Confederates had suspected Wild Bill of being a spy for two or three days, and had watched him closely.
It was because of my great interest in the West, and my belief that its development would be assisted by the interest I could awaken in others, that I decided to bring the West to the East through the medium of the Wild West Show.
So for twelve miles I rode with Sherman, and we became fast friends. He asked me all manner of questions on the way, and I found that he knew my father well, and remembered his tragic death in Salt Creek Valley.
Wild Bill was a strange character. In person he was about six feet and one inch in height. He was a Plains-man in every sense of the word.
The audience, upon learning that the real Buffalo Bill was present, gave several cheers between the acts.
The greatest of all the Sioux in my time, or in any time for that matter, was that wonderful old fighting man, Sitting Bull, whose life will some day be written by a historian who can really give him his due.
Some days I would go without any fire at all, and eat raw frozen meat and melt snow in my mouth for water.
You who live your lives in cities or among peaceful ways cannot always tell whether your friends are the kind who would go through fire for you. But on the Plains one's friends have an opportunity to prove their mettle.
But the West of the old times, with its strong characters, its stern battles and its tremendous stretches of loneliness, can never be blotted from my mind.
After crossing the Smoky Hill River, I felt comparatively safe as this was the last stream I had to cross.
As a good horse is not very apt to jump over a bank, if left to guide himself, I let mine pick his own way.
I felt only as a man can feel who is roaming over the prairies of the far West, well armed, and mounted on a fleet and gallant steed.
Major North and myself went out in advance of the command several miles and killed a number of buffaloes.
Major North has had for years complete power over these Indians and can do more with them than any man living.
The Indians kept increasing in numbers until it was estimated that we were fighting from 800 to 1,000 of them.
The Indians were well mounted and felt proud and elated because they had been made United States soldiers.
We had avoided discovery by the Sioux scouts, and we were confident of giving them a complete surprise.
Wild Bill was anything but a quarrelsome man yet I have personal knowledge of at least half a dozen men whom he had at various times killed.
Having secured my Indian actors, I started for Baltimore, where I organized my combination, and which was the largest troupe I had yet had on the road.
On reaching the place where the Indians had surprised us, we found the bodies of the three men whom they had killed and scalped, and literally cut into pieces.
We got more provisions for our whiskey than the same money, which we paid for the liquor, would have bought; so after all it proved a very profitable investment.
I thought I was benefiting the Indians as well as the government, by taking them all over the United States, and giving them a correct idea of the customs, life, etc., of the pale faces, so that when they returned to their people they could make known all they had seen.