Title: Letter from William F. Cody to John H. Tait
Date: July 2, 1916
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
More metadata
National Prtg. & Eng. Co., 7th & Elm Sts., St. Louis. Mo. The Military Pageant
Miller & Arlington Wild West Show Co., Inc., Present
[illustration]
Preparedness
"Buffalo Bill" (Himself) Combined With The 101 Ranch Shows
"Buffalo Bill" (Himself)
Roaring Batteries of Big Field Guns with Real U. S. Army Artillerists
Col. Wm. F. Cody "Buffalo Bill"
in The Saddle at Every Performance
"Charge!" A Stirring Scene in the "Buffalo Bill" 101 Ranch Spectacle Preparedness
New Bedford. Mass.
July. 2d —16
[1]
Dear. John.
Thanks. I will get that letter from Scott.
[2] For you but if I do. you must be on the square— No monkey business not that I beleive you would do it. But be careful— Better still. suppose Id get a big. Consession. Under my own name. Would McClusky and you go and manage it.
[3] I think a good deal of Mc By the way ask McClusky. To write me. About— how much a day The priveleges with that show runs a day.
[4] itemize the different things. Lemonade- candy pop corn- Balloon. Penants— &c &c— allso—what they get a week for Lunch Counter on lot
and at train. &c— I want to know for my self. I'll keep it confidential. and Mc— wont be giving any secrets away. I want to get a line on the privleges with this show. See? . About what the proffits are a day or week with that show. I get a third of the proffits of all priveleges with this show. Thats the reason I am asking. I feel sure Mc— wont object to this— Besides it will help to give me an idea of the proffits of what we could sell to the army. See. Now attend to this immediately
We are doing nicely— Although Barnum & Bailey either a head or behind us—
[5] But we are clear of them from now- on. Our recruit station with the show gets lots of applications. but only get accept about seven a day—
Regards to my friends
Governor-
Note 1: Cody performed with the 101 Ranch Shows in New Bedford, Massachusetts on July 3, 1916. July 2 was a Sunday, with no performance scheduled. [back]
Note 2: Cody may refer to Major General Hugh L. Scott (1853-1934), who was then Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Cody had written General Scott on February 26, 1916, to request that some soldiers be furloughed for the purpose of appearing in his "military pageant" on "preparedness" that was the central feature of Cody's final season in show business. [back]
Note 3: "McCluskey" might be W. H. McCloskey, who was listed in the "Confectionery Department" in the 1896 route book for Buffalo Bill's Wild West. [back]
Note 4: Cody's term "privileges" seems to encompass what would be called "concessions" today. "That show" may be the Sells-Floto Circus. John Tait was employed by Sells-Floto during the 1916 show season. [back]
Note 5: The Barnum & Bailey Circus was then owned by the Ringling brothers, who had purchased it following the 1906 death of James A. Bailey. The Ringlings operated it separately from their own Ringling Brothers Circus until 1919, when the two shows were combined. [back]
Title: Letter from William F. Cody to John H. Tait
Source: McCracken Research Library, John H. Tait Collection, MS231.1.16
Date: July 2, 1916
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
Topic: Buffalo Bill's Wyoming
Editorial Statement | Conditions of Use
TEI encoded XML: View wfc.css00384.xml
Back to top
