The year was 1846 when William Frederick Cody, our Buffalo Bill, made his grand entrance into the world and the Wild West would never be the same.  Born on a farm in Scott County, Iowa in “Napsinekee Hollow” just outside of LeClaire on that cold February day.  He was the fourth of eight children born to Isaac and Mary Ann Cody.  His family moved several times in part due to the Gold Rush and the Free Soil Struggle of the Kansas-Nebraska Territory.  It was  during this time in Kansas that life would for Bill Cody forever be changed.  In 1857, at the tender age of 10, William became the chief support of his mother and siblings when his father passed away.  Really just a child himself, William was forced to grow up quickly.  He seemed to possess a fortitude which enabled him to push the limits in a grown man’s world.  While in his teens, Cody joined the western messenger service of Majors and Russell and later rode for the famous Pony Express, completing the third longest emergency ride in the history of the company.   Cody served as a scout for the U.S. Army and received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for his service. On March 6, 1865, he married Louisa Frederici of St. Louis and they ran a hotel for a short while before he took up scouting again.  William landed a job as buffalo hunter, providing food for the employees of the Union Pacific Railway construction gang.  

Read the complete article in the Bevil Newsletter,

which accompanies the cover when collected.