"Buffalo Bill" from Prairie to Palace

Book excerpt: John M. Burke (1842–1917) played an essential role in turning William Frederick Cody into the classic character of "Buffalo Bill." With this biography, published in 1893, Burke refined the legend that continues today. Burke attempted to present the story of William F. Cody from the wild Western scenes of Kansas and Nebraska. And from the prairies of the Platte to the parlors of the East and the palaces of Europe. Burke claimed to give a candid account of Buffalo Bill's life. Hostile Indians, gunfights, cattle stampedes; Cody's Wild West was full of danger at every turn. Burke's portrayal of Buffalo Bill as a pioneer and hero is an honor to the romance of the Wild West and a canonical volume in the American story which is a brilliant example of mythmaking. The book gives insight into how things were back then, and it also makes the reader familiar with the beginnings of American Nationhood.