The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-06-05

statue of the famous frontiersman
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 Granny of the western plains and
mountains, and had hunted over al
most every mile.
They called him Buffalo Bill be-
cause 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 n 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 arenai How small
boys adored his splendid riding and
his handsome figurei
It 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
Valk vi LhO plO6Aolll VI liz IVY
stampede, an exhibition of horseman-
ship and the prowess of the cowboys
given yearly by the people of the
n~eighboring 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
Ioxv1 1vscs4are oan o1paOcf haIinvn n Of !
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
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 l
and again before she found what she I
believed would convey best the spirit G
Of Colonel Cody's personality. At I
last visualizing him as refining in his I
horse to listen for any sound that :
be brought on the wind, she e
the desired pose. I
Because Of the size of the statue a
Mrs. Whitney had to have scaffolds c
md a revolving platform constructed a
80 that she could move around her l
with ease as she worked. 7
When the question of placing the .
statue with a suitable background '
arose, it was deemed necessary to n
1uild a special granite platform, Il
which was no small piece of engin- :
Albert R. Ross is the archi- go
ect. Mrs. Whitney made a trip to
Cody so that she could see the exact i
of the work when it should h
,e completed. The magnificent gran
tie terraces with their horse and
'ider form the center Of a scene
which has on one side Rattlesnake
Mountain, on the other Cedar Noun Il
ain, both peaks snow-capped through
most of the year. A stream of water
las been directed into a channel at
he base of the terrace as a reminder d
If Cody's interest in irrigation.
The Buffalo Bill American asso- &
which has General John J.
'ershing for it's chairman, is finan- B
ing the plan. This association
sponsors outdoor sport and individ-
and aims to infuse the pres q
mt generation with the pioneer
Mrs. Whitney's model for the
has lately been on exhibition
4 Paris.
Helena-Seth Orrin Danner must
az for the lives of Florence and