Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck

Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders.
of the World.

[photograph]

Col. W. F. Cody. (Buffalo Bill), President.

[photograph]

Nate Salsbury. Vice-President & Manager.

John M. Burke. General Manager.
Albert E. Sheible, Business Manager.
Jule Keen, Treasurer.

Carroll— Ia [1]
Oct 8 [2] Dear George,

Say. now be careful or you will have a hemorage at this news— Alger has written me. And I now know what I have to meet to save the credit of the Co— Whether I can do it or not is to be seen— I havent weakened a little bit. but its L [3] when all the rest have— I have asked Mead to go out and give us an estimate on north side proposition. If he comes rig him out with help and what he needs quick so as not to detain him— We want to make all the

Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders.
of the World.

[photograph]

Col. W. F. Cody. (Buffalo Bill), President.

[photograph]

Nate Salsbury. Vice-President & Manager.

John M. Burke. General Manager.
Albert E. Sheible, Business Manager.
Jule Keen, Treasurer.

bluff [4] we can this month Every thing goes in a county seat fight— So dont be afraid to Exagerate— Even to lieing Tell them Mead is coming Yes & I think your friend Geo B. Harris [5] of the Burlington [6] will be with me to— I understand the Northern Pacific [7] will soon commence work up Clarks fork [8] — I will have with me two men from this Town [9] to look over our lands for a Colony— also two from Dubuque [10] — one of them is the ex mayor of Dubuque— I will have a big party.

Cody

Note 1: Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed in Carroll, Iowa, on October 8, 1896. [back]

Note 2: The year is not inscribed by Cody but is 1896. [back]

Note 3: Cody substitutes a capital "L" for hell. [back]

Note 4: Cody urges Beck to "bluff" to leverage for Cody, Wyoming, to become the county seat. [back]

Note 5: George B. Harris (d. 1918) was second vice-president of CB&Q and became president of the company in 1901 until his resignation in 1910; Harris then became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until 1918. [back]

Note 6: Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. [back]

Note 7: In 1897 the Northern Pacific Railway connected the tracks to Fromberg, Montana, to reach the coal fields in the area. [back]

Note 8: "Clarks Fork" is presumed to be the tributary of the Yellowstone River but may imply the larger river valley. [back]

Note 9: It is not clear to what town Cody is referring. [back]

Note 10: The "ex mayor of Dubuque" was Charles J. W. Saunders (d. 1939, Mayor of Dubuque from 1891-1892), a friend of Cody, John B. "Texas Jack" Omohundro, and James B. "Wild Bill" Hickok. Saunders likely met Cody in Kansas toward the end of the Civil War. At Saunders' urging, Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed in Dubuque five times between 1896 and 1912. [back]