">
NOTES ON THE LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL:
William Federick Cody was born to parents Isaac and Mary Cody in 1846 in Leclaire, Iowa.
He worked as a boy extra for a freight shipping company.
He joined the pony express in 1860.
County commissioners appointed him Justice of the Peace near Ft. McPherson, Nebraska.
The name "Buffalo Bill" was given to him either as an Army scout or as a buffalo hunter for the railroad. Historical records differ on this point.
Bill Cody was a soldier for the Union Army in Kansas and was part of the Nebraska legislature and National Guard. Here he won the title of Colonel which he preferred over the "Honorable" as a previous legislator.
Cody married Louisa(Lulu) in 1866.
Bill became famous and starred in "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" shows. The show's main subject was of cowboys and Indians and the Old West. Annie Oakley was part of the show at times. The show gained international fame and was very popular in Europe.
He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1872 for gallantry in action, Platte River, Nebraska, 3rd Cavalry. U.S. Army.
ORACLE, ARIZONA CONNECTION:
The Codys wintered in Oracle starting around 1909 to around the middle of the next decade and stayed at the Mountain View Hotel which is now the First Baptist Church. Mr Cody invested heavily in the Oracle area and reportedly lost half a million dollars in 7 years on 100 claims. Some of the claims are in the general vicinity of this cache site--Campo Bonito, Hijinks and the Old Maudina Mine.
Buffalo Bill played Santa Claus for the miners' children in Oracle in 1912.
William Cody returned to his shows in 1914 and never returned to Arizona. He died in Denver, Colorado in 1917.
REF: "Buffalo Bill Last of the Great Scouts" by Helen Cody Wetmore. Museum curator, Cody, Wyoming "Real West" Spring 1983 "True West" April 1990 "Pinal Ways" Autumn 1996