Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck, October 27, 1895Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917Johnston, JeremyChristianson, FrankSeefeldt, Douglas, 1964-Supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.2013William F. Cody ArchiveUniversity of Nebraska-LincolnCenter for Digital Research in the Humanities319 Love LibraryUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnLincoln, NE 68588-4100cdrh@unlnotes.unl.eduLincoln, NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, NE 68588-4100wfc.css00460BBWW performed in Atlanta, Georgia, October 28-November 2, 1895. Horace C. Alger (1857-1906) was a banker from Sheridan, Wyoming, mayor of Sheridan in 1889, and a candidate for Governor of Wyoming in 1898. Cody, Beck, and Alger were responsible for developing the Shoshone Irrigation Company. The Carey Act, passed by Congress in 1894 and named after Wyoming's U.S. senator Joseph M. Carey (1845-1924), was meant to encourage the irrigation and settlement of arid western lands. The federal government would grant up to one million acres of public land to western states, which would then contract with private companies to build irrigation systems. Investors in a Carey Act project expected to profit from selling water rights to settlers in the newly-irrigated area, while state authorities were charged with certifying that the irrigation works were adequate and with overseeing the process by which settlers would eventually acquire title to their farms. Nathan "Nate" Salsbury (1846-1902) was an actor and head of the Troubadours, a traveling stock company which would eventually tour Europe and the United States. After Cody met Salsbury the "Wild West" show venture would begin and in 1884 Salsbury would become a partner as well as Vice-President and Manager of Buffalo Bill's Wild West until his death on December 24, 1902. E. van Dreveldt was a civil engineer that platted the town of Cody City along with Charles Hayden in October 1895. Theo Heckert was a railroad contractor who had a "grading outfit" used in construction of the canal [See Patrick, p19]. Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917Letter from William F. Cody to George T. BeckOctober 27, 18951 pageUniversity of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Buffalo Bill Letters to George T. Beck (Acc. #9972)ah031314
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TextsCorrespondenceBuffalo Bill's WyomingCarey Act of 1894Beck, George Washington Thornton, 1856-1943Alger, Horace Chapin, 1857-1906Carey, Joseph M., 1845-1924Salsbury, Nathan, 1846-1902Hayden, Charles E., 1866-1938Heckert, TheodoreShoshone Irrigation District (Wyo.)Weakly, Laura K. Added annotationWeakly, Laura K. Initial encodingClark, Linda ProofingBoyce, Gary TranscriptionAdams, Deb Transcription
Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), President.Nate Salsbury, Vice-Pres't and Manager.John M. Burke, . . . General Manager.Albert E. Scheible, . . . Business Manager.Jule Keen, . . . Treasurer.Atlanta1
Oct. 272Dear George
Algerthink writes me you have ordered winter groceries &c— If so countermand the order And let no more contracts for winter work. its all too high. 7c a yard for loose dirt is all out of reason. I will put a grader on in the Spring & moovemove all loose dirt for 4c & I think for 3c. George I haventhaven't the money to go on this winter & that Carey Act is so uncertain. Salsbury writes me no business man will now touch it. Now old Pard I will do all I can to keep you SollidSolid. But you must let me down just as easy & quietly as possible. You can tell them its to expensive to try to work in winter— that work will be resumed in the Spring. Van Dreveldt ought to be through— So he can be let off. Is Heckert going to stay there. I would certainly not pay him if he does not stay & work. If you think best We can keep my teams at work all winter— Heck said he could do that whole job with our own outfit in 60 days— Your last estimate dontdon't look like it. Now George. You know the situation and act quick. So as to save our credit—
I am blue all over—
Bill Note 1: BBWW performed in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 28 - November 2, 1895, during the run of the Cotton States and International Exposition, also known as the Atlanta Exposition.Note 2: The year was not inscribed by Cody but was 1895 as determined by the Routes List.