Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck, April 13, 1896 Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917 Johnston, Jeremy Christianson, Frank Seefeldt, 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. 2013 William F. Cody Archive University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
319 Love Library University of Nebraska–Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-4100 cdrh@unlnotes.unl.edu
Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-4100
wfc.css00474

WFC reference to the "80% of Capital" can be interpreted as the investors in the Big Horn Basin. "S. V. Nagle, an associate of the firm of F. A. Nagle, Commission Merchants, of Chicago" was the agent for German settlers coming to the Big Horn Basin for the promise of cheap land [Bonner, pp69-75]. Charles Hayden was a surveyor and assistant manager with the Shoshone Irrigation Company [Bonner, pp53-55]. In May of 1896 both George T. Beck and surveyor Charles Hayden would stake out the town site of Cody. Dennis Cunningham was one of the shareholders of the company organized on March 20, 1895, which later would be named the Shoshone Land and Irrigation Company [Bonner, pp13, 31, 70, 72]. WFC's use of 'bared' on Page 2 may have been a misspelling of 'barred.' George Holdrege, the general manager of the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad Company, was interested in development along the proposed rail lines including the irrigation project that Cody had undertaken. Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917 Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck April 13, 1896 3 pages University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Buffalo Bill Letters to George T. Beck (Acc. #9972) ah031331-33

3 hand-written pages

 3 pages

Media: black ink

Texts Correspondence Buffalo Bill's Wyoming Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Beck, George Washington Thornton, 1856-1943 Nagle, F. A. Nagle, S. V. Hayden, Charles E., 1866-1938 Cunningham, Dennis, 1843- Holdrege, George Ward, 1847-1926 Shoshone Irrigation District (Wyo.) Weakly, Laura K. Added annotation Weakly, Laura K. Initial encoding Houze, Lynn Proofing Johnston, Jeremy Proofing Clark, Linda Proofing Boyce, Gary Transcription Adams, Deb Transcription The ContinentalL. U. MaltbyPhiladelphia Apr 13 18961 My Dear George—

I hope the 80% of Capital2 will find out that they have laid out a good route.

I guess you found out that Nagles3 outfit was allright. George— I do know that Hayden cannot do all the engineering and superintend the construction. I do know that the 80% wants to know how long its going to take to finish up the first 25000 acres— and the probable cost of same and if the construction is going to be managed The ContinentalL. U. MaltbyPhiladelphia __________ 189__ on business principles &c— Cunningham writes me he has a good colony ready to go— and men with money. And if I dontdon't see why they are bared George. I dont want to quarrel and especially with you— You know I have been your friend But I cantcan't see how you can figureingfiguring it that you are doing right or working for the good of our enterprise. By being away sfrom the work all the time— And leaving it run loose— and will give no one a report The ContinentalL. U. MaltbyPhiladelphia __________ 189__ of whatswhat's been doing or how long its going to take to finish the 25000 & the cost. You know that the land for the first colony4 will have to be surveyed &c—

I dont see the necessatynecessity of your staying East when there is so much to do— If Holdrege5 does think so—

Your friend Cody Note 1: Buffalo Bill's Wild West began preparations for the 1896 season in Philadelphia, Pa., on Monday, April 6, 1896, opening on Saturday, April 18th. The day's entry in the 1896 Route Diary: "Monday, April 13. Col. W. F. Cody, Mexicans and Cowboys arrived." Note 2: "The 80% of Capital" likely refers to the investors in the Cody Canal. Note 3: "Nagles" is S. V. Nagle, an associate of the firm of F. A. Nagle Commission Merchants of Chicago, who attempted to recruit settlers to the lands in the Big Horn Basin that were to be irrigated by the Cody Canal. Note 4: "Colony" refers to the fifty or so German migrant families that were planning to settle in the Big Horn Basin. Note 5: "Holdrege" is George Holdrege (1847-1926) who was the general manager of the Burlington rail lines west of the Mississippi. He was interested in all development along the proposed rail lines including the irrigation project Cody had undertaken.