The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-01-24
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

~ SIX the average American who
>.AN>, was the original "Buf-
.MAM falo Bill" and the
WE AM chances are that he will
On ~ M answer without hesita-
~ ton "Why, William F.
~ Cody, of course" And
" ~ = therein he will be
wrong, for there were at least two
other men. who earned that title and
were known by it. before William
Frederick Cody made 1t famous
throughout the civilized world. This
does not mean that Cody did not de-
serve the title. for he won it away
from one of the others, fairly and
sQuarely, in one Of the most spectacu-
lar contests ever staged on this con-
tinent. But it does not detract any
from his fame to pay tribute to the
prowess of these other two and to set
forth their claims to having been the
Original Buffalo Bill" even though
Cody was the greatest Buffalo Bill"
with all that that title implies.
The man from whom Cody won his
title by fright of conquest" was Will
liam Comstock, a celebrated guide,
hunter and one of the favorite scouts
of General Phil Sheridan during the
Indian war on the southern plains in
1S67-69. Comstock is one of the "mys-
terry men" of the frontier, in that but
little is known of his early career. Pub
lie interest in him has been revived
recently by the Wisconsin State His
torical society, as shown by the fol-
lowing story sent out by the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin news service:
Some Wisconsin town is entitled to
considerable fame as the birthplace of
William Comstock, a pony express rider
and Indian scout who was comrade
of Buffalo Bill during his romantic
pre-circus days. Comstock is known
to have been born in Wisconsin and
to have left early to go west and be-
come a daring scout
The state historical society, accord
ing to Charles E. Brown and Alfred
o. Barton, Madison, is anxious to learn
where he was born, who his relatives
were, and from what part Of Wiscon-
sin he went west.
Comstock, like William Cody, was
employed by the pony express about
1860, to rush mail and messages from
the railways end to the Pacific coast.
He Joined the army later, and became
quite friendly with the Cheyenne In
dams.
Colonel Homer Wheeler, formerly
of the Fifth cavalry, who. knew Com
stock when he was chief scout and
interpreter at Fort Wallace, Kan, de-
votes part of chapter of his book
Buffalo Days." published by Bobbs-
Merrill, to Comstock. He is the au-
thority for the statement that Com
stock was "born in Wisconsin of good
parentage and left home at an early
age and was one of the original pony
express riders at the time Cody and
Wild Bill were similarly employed. He
was the first owner of the Rose Creek
ranch. situated on that stream, about
eight miles from the post"
Comstock first appears in history as
q scout for General Custer in the ex-
petition which left Fort Hays. Kan,
on June 1. 1867. for Fort Mcpherson
on the Platte river. In his my Life on
the Palms." Custer says sour guide
was a young white man known on the
plains as Will Comstock. No Indian
knew the country more thoroughly
than did Comstock. He was perfect
ly familiar with every divide. water
course. and strip of timber for hun
dreds of miles in either direction. he
knew the dress and peculiarities of
every Indian tribe, and spoke the
languages of many of them. Perfect
In horsemanship. fearless in manner q
splendid hunter and gentleman by
instinct as modest and unassuming
as he was brave. he was an interesting
as well as valuable companion on