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Buffalo Bill : The Legend Of William F. Cody

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The “wild west,” as many like to call it, had many heroes, come of which were turned into legends by the stories told about them and their extraordinary feats. William F. Cody is one of these legendary men, though most people have never heard of him by his true name. Better known as “Buffalo Bill,” William Cody was a man who the American people and his own exaggeration and stories turned from a normal, hard working man, into a legend. “Buffalo Bill” is known for his real life experiences on the western frontier, his army career, and his acting career based on the experiences that he had throughout his life. This paper will cover William F. Cody’s, or “Buffalo Bill’s” scalping of Yellow Hair, his 24 mile ride on one horse, and how he allegedly killed over 4,000 buffalo. In July of 1876, about three weeks after the death of George Armstrong Custer, William F. Cody was in a life or death struggle with an enemy easily capable of killing or maiming him. “...two enemies—one Indian, one white— face off in mortal combat. One fires and misses; the other’s bullet finds its mark, and one of the two falls dead. In less time than it takes to tell it, the survivor scalps his foe and holds the gory trophy aloft, screaming his triumph (historynet.com).” Unlike you may be thinking, it was not William Cody who was the one who had been killed and scalped. As the story goes, “Cody brandishes his bloody scalp, mistranslates his opponent’s name as “Yellow Hand,” and screams “First scalp for

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