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 the daring."

The public knows my brother as boy Indian-slayer, a champion
buffalo-hunter, a brave soldier, a daring scout, an intrepid
frontiersman, and a famous exhibitor. It is only fair to him that a
glimpse be given of the parts he played behind the scenes--devotion to
a widowed mother, that pushed the boy so early upon a stage of ceaseless
action, continued care and tenderness displayed in later years, and the