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Buffalo Bill and his Wild West performers in Penzance | From the collections at Kresen Kernow (corn02575)
In May 1904, Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show visited Penzance by train.
Colonel William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. He and his Wild West show visited Penzance by train in 1904 on his third and final tour of Britain.
The main elements of the show were recreations of scenes from the American Wild West with cowboys and Native Americans, American cavalry, realistic battle scenes, camp life and ranch life. The show featured top horsemanship and marksmanship.
Indeed Annie Oakley (“Annie, get your gun!”) had previously been a member of the show as had “Calamity Jane”.
The show arrived in Penzance on Sunday 29 May and the Cornishman of 2 June reported that their arrival by train was watched by thousands of local people, some of whom had arrived as early as 5 30AM.
Colonel Cody was invited to take tea with Lady St Levan at St Michael’s Mount and crossed in the Mount barge.
There were two performances of the show the following day at the Recreation Ground in Penzance.
The Cornishman reported that “All Penzance and his wife” were there.
For the evening performance, the Cornishman added that: “A larger crowd gathered under cover in one place than was ever seen before in Penzance.”
People had evidently travelled from “all over West Cornwall, from Helston to the Land’s End, coming by rail, cycle and vehicles of every description.”
The Cornishman report ends with: “It was a most wonderful show, and gave complete satisfaction to the whole of the vast crowd that were attracted by the glamour and romance that ever surrounds the great chief of scouts and the phase of life in the far western states, that is now but a chapter of history.”
Read more about the life and adventures of Buffalo Bill and find out more about his tours of Britain.
Or listen to our podcast...
RAIL RADIO PODCAST
EPISODE 2 - BUFFALO BILL
Host Sally Crabtree speaks to Rebecca Catterall from the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership about getting local school children involved in the Buffalo Bill story.
RAILWAY TIME
The coming of the railway meant towns across Cornwall had to change their clocks to match London time.
Project funded by GWR's Customer and Community Improvement Fund and CrossCountry Trains' Community Engagement Fund
