losing a caravan of goods to the Mormon leader Lot Smith and his followers, meeting and spending time with celebrated scouts and Indian hunters Kit Carson and Jim Bridger, as well as trapping beaver and mink along the waterways in the Rockies. While tending to his traps on Prairie Creek, he came face to face with a bear that had killed one of his oxen and a bull. William shot the bear, saving himself, his partner, and their livestock from further attack.
On one occasion William broke his leg during a hunting expedition in the wilderness and was forced to hole up in a cave for more than twenty days waiting for help to arrive. After a stint riding for the Pony Express, he took a job supplying meat for the Kansas Pacific Railroad as a buffalo hunter. In an eighteen-month period he killed 4,280 buffalo. He then joined a campaign with Wild Bill Hickok to track down warring bands of Indians and subdue them. At the conclusion of that venture, he offered his expertise to the government and became a guide for the Ninth Kansas Cavalry.
In 1864 William enlisted in the army. He was eighteen years old. 10
During Williamâs long absences working for the military under General Phil Sheridan in the Indian wars and eventually reenacting his life onstage across the country, Louisa maintained their home and cared for their children. Occasionally she would attend one of Buffalo Billâs shows. William appreciated Louisaâs presence at his performances. He made a point of locating her in the audience and calling out her name. âHe came forward, leaned over the gas footlights and waved his arms,â she recalled.
âOh, Mamma!â he shouted. âIâm a bad actor!â The house roared. Will threw her a kiss and then leaned forward again while the house stilled. âHonest, Mamma,â he shouted, âdoes this look as awful out there as it feels up here?â Once more the house chuckled and applauded. Someone called out the fact that Louisa was Mrs. Buffalo Bill.
Once the crowd realized that it was indeed Williamâs wife he was addressing, the audience cheered and tried to coax Louisa on stage. Embarrassed and nervous, she refused. It wasnât until William held his hand out to her that she relented. âCome on up. You canât be any worse scared than I am,â Louisa recalled William saying. 11
âSomeone placed a chair in the orchestra pit,â she added. âHands reached to help, and I was boosted onto the stage, and Arta after me. I was plainly frightened and it showed. âNow you can understand how hard your poor old husband [he was twenty-six years old] has to work to make a living!ââ William boomed. The audience again applauded, and William joined them. âAfter that,â Louisa reported, âwhenever I went to see my husbandâs show, I chose a seat in the farthest and darkest part of the house. But it did little good. For invariably Will would seek me out, and call âHello, Mamma. Oh, but Iâm a bad actor.ââ 12
Both Louisa and William remembered those moments with great fondness. As his theatrical career advanced, William concentrated less and less on wife and home. He was preoccupied with creating a bigger program that celebrated the history of the frontier and with becoming an international showman.
Louisa was loyal to William and, according to a close friend, âloved him more than most women loved their husbands.â She demonstrated her deep affection for him by spending hours making the elaborate costumes he liked to wear. She was an exceptional seamstress and made the patterns, selected materials, and stitched together the fringed jackets and gauntlets that became Williamâs trademark. She tried to make him understand how much she wanted him to spend more time with her. She felt that if he truly grasped her longing, he would be more inclined to turn down the advancements made by other women.
The tension between
On one occasion William broke his leg during a hunting expedition in the wilderness and was forced to hole up in a cave for more than twenty days waiting for help to arrive. After a stint riding for the Pony Express, he took a job supplying meat for the Kansas Pacific Railroad as a buffalo hunter. In an eighteen-month period he killed 4,280 buffalo. He then joined a campaign with Wild Bill Hickok to track down warring bands of Indians and subdue them. At the conclusion of that venture, he offered his expertise to the government and became a guide for the Ninth Kansas Cavalry.
In 1864 William enlisted in the army. He was eighteen years old. 10
During Williamâs long absences working for the military under General Phil Sheridan in the Indian wars and eventually reenacting his life onstage across the country, Louisa maintained their home and cared for their children. Occasionally she would attend one of Buffalo Billâs shows. William appreciated Louisaâs presence at his performances. He made a point of locating her in the audience and calling out her name. âHe came forward, leaned over the gas footlights and waved his arms,â she recalled.
âOh, Mamma!â he shouted. âIâm a bad actor!â The house roared. Will threw her a kiss and then leaned forward again while the house stilled. âHonest, Mamma,â he shouted, âdoes this look as awful out there as it feels up here?â Once more the house chuckled and applauded. Someone called out the fact that Louisa was Mrs. Buffalo Bill.
Once the crowd realized that it was indeed Williamâs wife he was addressing, the audience cheered and tried to coax Louisa on stage. Embarrassed and nervous, she refused. It wasnât until William held his hand out to her that she relented. âCome on up. You canât be any worse scared than I am,â Louisa recalled William saying. 11
âSomeone placed a chair in the orchestra pit,â she added. âHands reached to help, and I was boosted onto the stage, and Arta after me. I was plainly frightened and it showed. âNow you can understand how hard your poor old husband [he was twenty-six years old] has to work to make a living!ââ William boomed. The audience again applauded, and William joined them. âAfter that,â Louisa reported, âwhenever I went to see my husbandâs show, I chose a seat in the farthest and darkest part of the house. But it did little good. For invariably Will would seek me out, and call âHello, Mamma. Oh, but Iâm a bad actor.ââ 12
Both Louisa and William remembered those moments with great fondness. As his theatrical career advanced, William concentrated less and less on wife and home. He was preoccupied with creating a bigger program that celebrated the history of the frontier and with becoming an international showman.
Louisa was loyal to William and, according to a close friend, âloved him more than most women loved their husbands.â She demonstrated her deep affection for him by spending hours making the elaborate costumes he liked to wear. She was an exceptional seamstress and made the patterns, selected materials, and stitched together the fringed jackets and gauntlets that became Williamâs trademark. She tried to make him understand how much she wanted him to spend more time with her. She felt that if he truly grasped her longing, he would be more inclined to turn down the advancements made by other women.
The tension between