The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

 

Faithful Copies of the Cody Letters

Written by Buffalo Bill's

Parents from their Kansas

Home at Grass Hopper Falls

April 1855

Grass Hopper Falls,

April, 1855

Mr. L. Summers:-

Sir as I have spare time I would give you a short history of our election. The antislavers were run off of the track completely by the Pukes. They came for 200 miles from the interior, formed in Companies from 100 to 200 with their flags, their whiskey and their music and going there saw a famous work. Probably about one hundred and a sufficient number at every precinct in the territory to force their votes and if the judges refused they forced them off their seat and put such men as they pleased on the seat and men from the State of Missouri that were not citizens. The citizens of the territory did not vote, it was carried there by Missourians votes. The candidates and judges went to the governor and demanded their papers and many of them got theirs. They went with the determination to hang the governor or have them and I suppose the governor thought peace was best and gave some papers and refers the whole matter to the governor general for a decision. If I should give you a correct statement of the course pursued by these outrageous fellows you would doubt, therefore you may imagine how bad a set of wild drunken fanatics could be in such a case and even then I shall doubt whether you can make it as bad as it was. I have always despised the name of abolitionist but if yourself was here you would say Abolitionist or anything that would stop such outrageous acts.

Now I would say to our popular governor "Gentlemen if you do not do something to protect these unprotected territories I shall accuse them of disloyalty".

Yours respectfully,

(Signed) I. Cody

I am building a saw mill at Grasshopper Falls some 30 miles from here. I have not seen my family for 2 weeks but heard that they are all well at Salt Creek.

Give my respects to all enquiring friends and if you please read them this.

"This is a faithful copy of the substance of Isaac Cody's letter of 1855.

Ruth Irish Preston.

July 1st. 1927."

"Acknowledged before me, a Notary Public, at Davenport, Iowa,

July 1, 1927.

W.E. Whittlesey."

Banner image: Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming, U.S.A.; Original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection, P.69.118