Last of the Great Scouts | Page 3

etext may be readily converted by the reader at no expense into
plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent form by the program that displays
the etext (as is the case, for instance, with most word processors); OR
[*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at no additional
cost, fee or expense, a copy of the etext in its original plain ASCII form
(or in EBCDIC or other equivalent proprietary form).
[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this "Small
Print!" statement.
[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits
you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate
your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due.
Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg
Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following
each date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual
(or equivalent periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
DON'T HAVE TO?
The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning
machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright
licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money
should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Carnegie-Mellon
University".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software

Last of the Great Scouts, by Helen Cody Wetmore The Life Story of
William F. Cody ["Buffalo Bill" Cody]

LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS

THE LIFE STORY OF COL. WILLIAM F. CODY "BUFFALO BILL"
AS TOLD BY HIS SISTER HELEN CODY WETMORE

TO THE MEMORY OF A MOTHER WHOSE CHRISTIAN
CHARACTER STILL LIVES A HALLOWED INFLUENCE

GENEALOGY OF BUFFALO BILL.
The following genealogical sketch was compiled in 1897. The crest is
copied from John Rooney's "Genealogical History of Irish Families."
It is not generally known that genuine royal blood courses in Colonel
Cody's veins. He is a lineal descendant of Milesius, king of Spain, that
famous monarch whose three sons, Heber, Heremon, and Ir, founded
the first dynasty in Ireland, about the beginning of the Christian era.
The Cody family comes through the line of Heremon. The original
name was Tireach, which signifies "The Rocks." Muiredach Tireach,
one of the first of this line, and son of Fiacha Straivetine, was crowned
king of Ireland, Anno Domini 320. Another of the line became king of
Connaught, Anno Domini 701. The possessions of the Sept were
located in the present counties of Clare, Galway, and Mayo. The names
Connaught-Gallway, after centuries, gradually contracted to
Connallway, Connellway, Connelly, Conly, Cory, Coddy, Coidy, and
Cody, and is clearly shown by ancient indentures still traceable among
existing records. On the maternal side, Colonel Cody can, without
difficulty, follow his lineage to the best blood of England. Several of
the Cody family emigrated to America in 1747, settling in Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The name is frequently mentioned in
Revolutionary history. Colonel Cody is a member of the Cody family
of Revolutionary fame. Like the other Spanish-Irish families, the Codys
have their proof of ancestry in the form of a crest, the one which
Colonel Cody is entitled to use being printed herewith. The lion
signifies Spanish origin. It is the same figure that forms a part of the
royal coat-of-arms of Spain to this day--Castile and Leon. The arm and
cross denote that the descent is through the line of Heremon, whose
posterity were among the first to follow the cross, as a symbol of their
adherence to the Christian faith.

PREFACE.
In presenting this volume to the public the writer has a twofold purpose.
For a number of years there has been an increasing demand for an
authentic biography of "Buffalo Bill," and in response, many books of
varying value have been submitted; yet no one of them has borne the
hall-mark of veracious history. Naturally, there were incidents in
Colonel Cody's life-- more especially in the earlier years--that could be
given only by those with whom he had grown up from childhood. For
many incidents of his later life I am indebted to his own and others'
accounts. I desire to acknowledge obligation to General P. H. Sheridan,
Colonel Inman, Colonel Ingraham, and my brother for valuable
assistance furnished by Sheridan's Memoirs, "The Santa Fe Trail," "The
Great Salt Lake Trail," "Buffalo Bill's Autobiography," and "Stories
from the Life of Buffalo Bill."
A second reason that prompted the writing of my brother's life-story is
purely personal. The sobriquet of "Buffalo Bill" has conveyed to many
people an impression of his personality that is far removed from the
facts. They have pictured in fancy a rough frontier character, without
tenderness and true nobility. But in very truth has the poet sung: "The
bravest are the tenderest-- The loving are