Title: Letter from William F. Cody to Clarence W. Rowley
Date: September 24, 1913
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
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Col. W. F. Cody, Proprietor F. H. Garlow, Manager
Buffalo Bill's Hotel In The Rockies
The Irma
Cody, Wyoming,
Sept. 24, 13.
Mr. C. W. Rowley,
Boston, Mass.
Dear Clarence;
Everything is going fine. The Prince of Monaco is enjoying himself hugely in the mountains. We have our permanent camp about 70 miles northwest of the Town of Cody in the very heart of the Rockies. [1]
We have taken quite a good many thousands of feet of reels since we arrived here. His Royal Highness took great pleasure in participating in our pictures, which will all strength and value to the same. [2]
I think I wrote you that the name of our picture company is the Col. W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") Historical Pictures Company. My partners are Bonfil and Tammen of the Denver Post and the Kansas City Post, also proprietors of the Sells-Floto Circus, and Mr. Spoor, president of the Essanay Company. [3] These gentlemen are all millionaires and pretty good fellows to have as partners, as they furnish all the money and I receive 1/3 of all the profits of the Company. I think I am in line here, at least all the moving picture people think so, to make a lot of money yet this winter.
Now, as to the mines. The Detroit and Toronto men are going out in October and if they approve of our mines we will make
the sale.
[4]
Now, Charlie, I am awfully busy and you can write me here at Cody up to October 5th. During the month of October my address will be Pine Ridge, South Dakota. [5]
God Bless You.
Col
Buffalo Bill's Hotel In The Rockies
The Irma
Col. W. Cody, Prop. F. H. Garlow, Mgr
Cody, Wyoming
Frannie & Cody R. P. O. T816 Sep 24 1913
[stamp]Postage stamp, redU. S. Postage 2 Cents 2
Mr. C. W. Rowley
Boston,
Mass.
638 Old South Building.
Note 1: In September 1913 Prince Albert I of Monaco (1848-1922; reigned 1889-1922) came to northwestern Wyoming at the invitation of wealthy artist/rancher Abraham Archibald Anderson (1847-1940) for a hunting trip. After hunting on Anderson's Palette Ranch, the prince and Anderson accepted an invitation from William F. Cody to hunt on the North Fork of the Shoshone River upstream from Cody's Pahaska Tepee hunting lodge and hotel. The party's campsite is still known locally as Camp Monaco. [back]
Note 2: As Cody explains in the next paragraph of this letter, he and several partners entered the motion picture business in the fall of 1913. Cody arranged for a band of Crow Indians led by Chief Plenty Coups to attend the Park County Fair in the town of Cody, Wyoming, in September 1913, apparently for motion picture purposes. After Cody learned of the impending visit of Prince Albert I of Monaco (see note 1 accompanying this letter), he arranged for the Crow band to meet the prince and had the event filmed. Perhaps he intended for this footage to be included in his motion picture project entitled The Indian Wars. [back]
Note 3: The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company (which was actually a motion picture studio) was based in Chicago for most of its existence from 1907 to 1918. The company's name stood for "S and A," the initials of its two founders, George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (1880-1971). Essanay's Western films starring Anderson did much to establish the genre as a staple of American cinema. [back]
Note 4: Cody refers to mining ventures near Tucson, Arizona, co-owned with Daniel Burns Dyer. In 1912 the partners realized that the earnings from their mines were unlikely to recoup their initial investments. Dyer died soon thereafter. While the "Detroit and Toronto men" mentioned here remain unidentified, Cody never found a buyer for the mines during his lifetime. [back]
Note 5: Cody knew that he would be on the Pine Ridge reservation for an extended time working on his motion picture project. [back]
Title: Letter from William F. Cody to Clarence W. Rowley
Source: McCracken Research Library (MRL), MS6.0288
Date: September 24, 1913
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
Topic: Buffalo Bill's Wyoming
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