On November 16th 1891 Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show paid it's first visit to Scotland opening in the East End Exhibition Buildings at Duke Street, Glasgow.
The entourage had completed an engagement in Croydon, near London, on Saturday, 24th October, and proceeded to Glasgow by train immediately thereafter. The opening night finally took place on Monday, 16th November 1891, after a succession of delays had forced repeated postponements, whilst an army of workmen battled round the clock with the extensive preparations.
The show which caused such a sensation in the city that winter was entitled The Drama of Civilization. By means of a series of tableaux grouped into six dramatic episodes, it presented a highly culturally biased view of the manner in which ‘civility’ had supposedly triumphed over the primordial chaos of paganism and anarchy over the course of several centuries of American history.
It goes without saying that the native Americans were vilified as the villains of the piece, and that the near destruction of their culture was represented not merely as an unfortunate side-effect but as the crowning glory in the triumphant and inexorable outcome of the process of cultural evolution.
Exhibitions of marksmanship were given by Buffalo Bill himself, C.L. Daly the pistol and revolver expert, Johnny Baker, and best of all, the Wild West show’s ever-popular star attraction, Miss Annie Oakley, seen in the second pic in a tartan outfit specially made for the visit.
The native Americans in the show were genuine Lakota, and Oglala Sioux, amongst them was Kicking Bear, who was said to be the last of the tribe to surrender to the U.S troops after Wounded Knee only just over a year before. By the close of the same year, Kicking Bear had become a familiar figure on the streets of Glasgow.
One of the stories that gained notoriety during the time the show was in Glasgow concerns when one of the troupe who went by the name of Charging Thunder succumbed to the effects of "Fire water" who ended up falling foul of the local Sheriff, only this one wore a white wig not a Stetson, and sat in the City's Sheriff Court.
The Scotsman reported on Charging Thunder’s trial at Glasgow Summary Court: “
‘Charging Thunder’, one of Buffalo Bill’s hostages from the American Government, was taken before Sheriff Birnie, in the Glasgow Summary Court, on a charge of having, on the 31st December last [1891], in the Wild West Show at Glasgow, assaulted George Crager, Sioux interpreter, by striking him on the head and neck with an Indian club.
“‘Charging Thunder’ pled guilty, and it was stated on his behalf that he was only 23 years of age, and was usually one of the quietest members of the Wild West Show, but in common with other Indians, the slightest drop of drink infuriated him, and on the night in question he had obtained whisky in a public-house in mistake for lemonade, which he asked for. He entertained no malice towards the interpreter.
“The Sheriff said that the assault was of so serious a stature that had ‘Charging Thunder’ not been a stranger he would have sent him to prison for a long period, but under the circumstances he would limit the imprisonment to 30 days.
“He thought it a great shame that publicans should supply these Indians with whisky.”
Another tale about Cody himself was found in the Glasgow Evening News of 11 November 1891. A ‘correspondent’ told of encountering a ‘distinguished looking gentleman, with a somewhat outré appearance’, who bought a pile of newspapers from an old lady in George Square and noticed a shoeless young girl helping her to sell the papers.
The account continued: “Pointing to her shoeless feet, which evidently attracted his attention on the cold night, he asked the old woman what it would cost to get a pair of shoes for the child, and then handed her the amount she named. He paid for his papers, gave the old lady a sixpence for herself, handed a silver coin to another poor body in the neighbourhood, and then went off with a smile on his face, that showed he felt pleased at being able thus unostentatiously to do a kindly action. On inquiring who the gentleman was, the old woman replied - “Sure that’s Buffalo Bill, an’ he has bought his papers from me the last two nights. God bless him.”
Although the final performance was held on 27 February, the last performers didn’t leave Glasgow until nearly two months later.
Other notable moments from the tour included Cody attending the Court of Session in Edinburgh on a day off, causing a stir as he took a seat in the public gallery in full regalia, as well as a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
He is also reported to have climbed Calton Hill, and on seeing the view of Edinburgh from the summit, shouted: “Ain’t she a beaut!” Not the first or last to say that I bet!
The lengthy tour had taken in venues including Edinburgh, Arbroath, Fraserburgh, Inverness and Ayr.
Cody’s visit to the north east - Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh - actually had an adverse effect on the fishing industry, as workers abandoned their trawlers to attend the performances. The price of fish reportedly sky-rocketed on the days following Cody’s shows in the region.
The aforementioned jailed Charging Thunder changed his name to the rather less distinctive George Edward Williams settled into anonymity within north-west England.
The third pic is a wee gem of a reminder of Buffalo Bill's visit to Glasgow, a statue of Cody riding a bucking bronco is hidden in the Dennistoun area of the city.
