The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-06-05

Within a few months those who
travel the old Wyoming trail to the
Yellowstone park through the town
of Cody, will come upon a bronze
statue Of the famous f-rontiersman
for whom the town was named
an equestrian statue, mounted on
a granite terrace and silhouetted
against the sky, the rider gazing
westward to the Rockies.
A remarkable figure was Colonel
William f. Cody, better known as
Buffalo Bill; a man whose life was
filled with adventure. He was, at
various times, a rider of the Pony
Express when that was the only con-
nection between the ranches and the
rest of the world; a stage driver, a
cowboy, a hunter, a guide, and an
army scout. He engaged in fights
with the Indians, in buffalo hunts,
and in thrilling o~ld-fashioned round
ups. He always wore "shootin' irons
and seldom missed a target, even
when it was in swift motion. He was
thoroughly familiar with every nook
and cram of the western plains and
mountains, and had hunted over al
most every mile.
They called him Buffalo Bill be-
of his record in shooting those
great beasts, the American bison. He
killed more than 1000 in a year and
a half. In fact, the slaughter was
so great that it caused a protest. The
meat was not wasted, however, for
at that time the Kansas Pacific rail
road was in the course of construc-
ton and the buffalo meat was dis
tributed to the workmen for food.
Wild riding and big game shooting
pail a bit as one grows older, so Col.
Cody capitalized his experiences by
organizing a wild west show. In his
later days he did his %cowboying more
or less by proxy. But, ah, the thrill
when the great Buffalo Bill himself
rode out into the arena! How small
boys adored his splendid riding and
his handsome figure!
1t was the travelling show that
made Buffalo Bill popular in eastern
America and in Europe. That show
was an education in the thrills and
hardships of frontier life; it gave
vivid pictures of the difficulties of
the early pathfinders of the nation
and illustrated the courage of pion-
GERS and scouts.
The Fourth of July this year is the
day chosen for the unwilling of the
new statue. The ceremony will be a
part of the program of the Cody
stampede, an exhibition of horseman-
ship and the prowess of the cowboys
given yearly by the people of the
neighboring ranches. For three days
Main street is a mass of life and
color, cowboys in chaps and colored
shirts, cowgirls in broad-brimmed
hats and picturesque riding clothes,
Indians in gay blankets. For three
days visitors can almost believe that
the spirit of the old west has taken
possession of Wyoming again, be-
cause all the features of the '70s are
present.
Mrs. Whitney's Statue
Colonel Cody's granddaughter,
Miss Jane Cody Carlow, will unveil
the bronze horseman, which is the
work of Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney.
Standing fifteen feet high and mount
ed at a commanding altitude above
the surrounding country, Buffalo
Bill guards the trail. The statue is
considered one of Mrs. Whitney's
best. No pains were spared to
achieve perfection in every detail; a
horse was sent from the old Cody
ranch in order that the proper type
of model should be available-just
such a horse as the cowboy used to
ride. Smoky, the model for the
statue, was shipped east, and Mrs.
Whitney chose the type of rider she
wanted and then had the two go
through their PAGES in Central park,
while she studied each gesture and
pose, selecting and rejecting time
and again before she found what she
believed would convey best the spirit
of Colonel Cody's personality. At
last visualizing him as refining in his
horse to listen for n sound that
might be brought on the wind, she
the desired pose.
Because of the size of the statue
Mrs. whitney had to have scaffolds
and a revolving platform constructed
80 that she could move around her
with ease as she worked.
When the question of placing the
with a suitable background
arose, it was deemed necessary to
build a special granite platform,
which was no small piece of engin-
Albert R. Ross is the archf-
.ect. Mrs. Whitney made a trip to
Cody so that she could see the exact
setting of the work when it should
,e completed. The magnificent gran
tie terraces with their horse and
ider form the center of a scene
which has on one side Rattlesnake
fountain, on the other Cedar Noun
ain, both peaks snow-capped through
most of the year. A stream OF water
las been directed into a channel at
base of the terrace as a reminder
Cody's interest in irrigation.
The Buffalo Bill American asso-
iation, which has General John }.
'ershing for it's chairman, is finan-
ing the plan. This association
sponsors outdoor sport and individ-
alism, and aims to infuse the pres
generation with the pioneer