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

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION.

Although the weather yesterday was so beautiful, there was just that element of doubt, with a particularly unpromising forecast, that made an exhibition so near London as the Earl's Court show a great rallying ground for holiday makers. Such a Bank Holiday as yesterday had not been known in the district. This was undoubtedly due to the desire to see Buffalo Bill's entertainment. It was a wonderful panorama of human heads, and how they did applaud! The show is much as we remember it in Jubilee year. Still "time cannot stale its infinite variety." Miss Annie Oakley, swift of foot and true of eye, is again a leading attraction. Yesterday afternoon she did not make a single miss, the more remarkable considering the weather, for even Buffalo Bill looked warm. He had discarded most of his everyday trappings, but looked massive and imposing in a shirt of ruby hue. Perhaps it was the weather, but anyway there seemed an unusual number of little contretemps; they were hardly accidents. In the International Hurdle Race the gentleman rider's horse floundered at a sharp bend, and the rider went rolling in the dirt, much to the detriment of his silk hat. He was, however, enabled to remount and get off, victory being left for the Indian. By his curious markings we can only conclude this same Indian was not the winner of a previous race with a cowboy and a Mexican. During the "Cowboy's fun" and the mounting of the buck-jumpers no accident occurred such as led to the death of "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" the other day, but more than once it seemed possible. The old Deadwood Coach, fortunately for its many admirers, did not collapse, dilapidated though it looked. Poor coach; so venerable, greasy, and cumbersome! Its seams are wider than ever, half the back has gone, all the paint—yet its glory is at its zenith. A ride in the coach—and the privilege is accorded to a few daring spirits—is a chapter of sensations. The vehicle has the jolts and jars of a bathing machine on the trot, the creakings and erratic progress of an Irish car, with the seating discomforts of a suburban railway carriage. The program says the coach is famous for the number of people who lost their lives in it on the road. This is easily understood. One might suffer from pins and needles untold but for the electrifying effect of the Indian screeches and the equally unaccountable yellings of the rescuing cowboys. Although the firing is only blank, there is such an air of earnestness about the performers, and so general a desire to fire at close quarters that it has its terrors. The final is a blaze of yellow flame and a strong smell of burnt powder. Buffalo Bill received quite an ovation yesterday for his share in the little escapade. For the matter of that there was no stint of applause throughout, and the appearance of the Russian Cossacks—an adjunct of a few days— was the signal for applause as wild as their own chantings. It is rather a pity these splendid horsemen should pose as singers. Their dirge is so depressing but their riding most exhilarating, particularly when two stand on their heads. The buffalo hunt and other trifles of the "Wild West" were also well favoured, and everybody seemed charmed with the magnificent voice of Mr. H. M. Clifford, the genial orator. Pressing out, one met another great crowd already waiting for the evening show. Round the tents of the cowboys and the strangely-marked canvas of the Indians it was barely possible to pass. A brisk trade was done in American popcorn, and the vacquero, and other curiosities of the show held informal receptions. The Horticultural Exhibition proper had quite a gathering of its own. There were hundreds who refused to be weaned from the melodies of the bands, and preferred the pretty gardens to all the gunpowder of America. Round the patch by the terrace, so artistically arranged by Messrs. Rosher and Co., there was a constant crowd of admirers. The switchbacks ran races against time all day, and the floral maze with its confusing mirrors made countless thousands laugh. The number of visitors was 43,646.