Evening star., 1936-12-20
BUFFALO BILL DUEL
STILL IS DEBATED
Some Say Story of Fight
With Chief Yellow Hand
Is Press Agentry.
By the Associated Press.


wild West show?
William F. Cody died in Denver
January 10, 1917. Today. nearly 20
years after, the historic arguments on
the Yellow Hand question continue as
heatedly as they did 20 years before
Buffalo Bill died.
DR.. Addison e. Sheldon, secretary
Of the Nebraska Historical Society, re-
Gently sought to learn more about the
famed duel. A widely published Asso-
ciated Press story brought him history,
curses. rambling Renaissance and q
few facts.
The duel, the most frequently quoted
stories say, occurred on July II, 1857.
Cody was with a United States Army
party sent out to avenge the massacre
of the Little Big Horn in which Gen.
George Custer and his entire force
were slain by Indians June Is, 1867.
In the Hat Greek country in Wyo-
ming Cody's forces encountered an
Indian party. Then, SO the story runs.
an Indian, brilliantly accoutered, rode
out in front of his tribe and shouted
Hair, the colonel
Cody Accepted Tales.
The old tales say Cody accepted.
He rode out on his horse. Both Cody
and Indian raised their rifles and fired.
Codys shot dropped Yellow Hands
horse and Cody's animal stumbled in
q gopher hole and went down. Both
arose Cody fired again, striking Yel-
low Hand in the breast. Buffalo Bill
then rushed up, some histories say,
and finished the Indian with his knife,
scalping him.
Many historians cast doubt on the
story. Sheldon wondered about It,.
His wonder was published and the
answers started rolling in.
Robert Jenkinson Hicks Of Roches-
ter, N. Y, wrote Sheldon that Mrs.
Cody years ago showed him a box
which contained all the items that
Yellow Hand wore, plus his scalp.
pipe and implements of war She told
me, clearly remember, Mr.. Cody
killed Yellow Hand"
On the other hand, is letter from
Robert r. Peale Of Denver, which
said:
Mrs. Cody told Mrs. Peale and me
that the colonel did not kill Yellow
Hand. that it was a good story and
will let it continue"
Peale said scalp, purported to be
that Of Yellow Hand, was on exhi-
bition at the Cody Museum on Look
out Mountain near Denver.
Says She Saw the Fight.
Forbes Parkhill of Denver said he
was told by Mrs Otto Book. who saw
the fight" that after the chiefs
death his squaw came to beg for the
return of Yellow Hands scalp and
Cody refused to give 1t to her.
Otis z. Mann, Leavenworth, Kans.,
attorney. told Sheldon he once asked
Cody If he ever killed an Indian.
II hope never killed any," Cody
replied
Years after the affair, Gen. e. A.
Carr. a close friend of Buffalo Bill.
wrote letter to friend in which he
described the duel and said Cody
waved Yellow Hands scalp on high,
shouting:
THE first scalp for Custer"
W. W. Garland of Los Angeles
wrote a letter to Sheldon, explaining
he was with Gen. George Crooks
forces at the time of the Custer mas
sacre. He said Cody was with Crook
in June and was still with" Crook on
August 10.
For several days I rode and talked
10 him at various times. believe If
Cody killed Yellow Hand June II or
thereafter, I would have heard Of it
then"
Cody's autobiography says he did
kill yellow Hand. Milton Mobiles, an
actor, said Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill
Hickok once met in Omaha in his
presence. Hickok accused Cody of
being ''romancer."
Cody laughed it off," Mobiles said.
But the near pay-off for Sheldon
came when he received letter from
writer who said he was carrying on
some work in the Cheyenne tribe
years ago. He came upon an Indian
named Willis who told him the Chey-
ennes never heard of chief named
Yellow Hand The writer said VIII
lis told him there was chief Yellow
Hair many years ago.
Then, however, Sheldon received
from James Frew of Harrison, Ark.
excerpts from a diary Frew kept as
a soldier with the Army which fought
In the Hat Creek country. His entry
for July II, 1867, reads:
Indians reported by the pickets.
The command ordered to secrete in
the ravines. But two couriers arriv-
ing from agency being in danger, Cody
fred on them, killing Yellow Hand.
The rest tried to rescue him, but we
charged on them, killing six Fol-
lowed them into the agency, 40 miles"
Frew's entry for August shows
his forces joined Crook on August 3,
which might explain Carlands story.
Called Press Agent Story.
Frew's son, j. Bentley Frew, wrote
Sheldon: "As for the hand-to-hand
duel, dad always considered it press
agent story for the Buffalo Bill show.
He also said that he was positive that
Buffalo Bill did not scalp Yellow
Hand"
Sheldon said he was inclined to
agree with the Frew version.
Cody probably just fired with his
rife and killed Yellow Hand" Shell
don said. THE later embellishments
of the knives. the scalping and the
shouting probably just grew out Of
fertile fiction writer's minds"
Cody was II years old when he died,
and the celebrated Yellow Hand affair
occurred, If it did, when Bill was 81.
He fought In the Civil War as youth,
and a controversy still exists as to
whether he was spy for Northern
forces.
He rode for the pony express and in
1857 he won the sobriquet of Buffalo
Bill by killing thousands of buffalo to
feed railroad workers. His home was
at North Platte, Nebr.
I~s- -a,.~k