Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
by Bob Lawrence

Reprinted, with permission of the Editor, from On the Wire, Vol. 1, No. 1

What has Buffalo Bill Cody Got to do with WWI? What kind of farb stuff is this, you ask. Read on and see—RW. WWI

I heard a very interesting story on the radio concerning the history of Buffalo Bill Cody and his famous Wild West Show.

The year was 1891, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was on tour. The show had toured before, but this tour was different. As the roustabouts went about their work preparing for that evening's performance, they realized they were being spied upon! Forty people watched their every move, writing down, in detail, their every action as they completed their tasks. Their work was being constantly interrupted with questions and more questions; how are the animals transported, and they especially wanted to know about the kitchen. These people were amazed how Bill could feed all of his people so quickly. Every detail was written down, and every little note was taken very carefully. Needless to say, Buffalo Bill's people were getting very edgy, because from the time that they arrived, until a few minutes before show time, these people would not leave them alone—always asking questions and writing everything down.

That evening's performance was an important one, as there was a very special guest in the audience. For you see, this was a tour of Europe and tonight they were in Germany. The special guest was none other than Kaiser Wilhelm II himself!

Later, during the Great War of 1914-1918, the one thing that continually amazed the Allies, was the ability of the German Army to move great numbers of troops and animals, with lightning speed to wherever the were needed. The German field kitchens were the envy of all.

So just think, in 1891 "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show" was one of the teaching tools of the Great German Army. Those forty men asking questions and taking copious notes were the nucleus of the newly formed Logistics Officer Corps, and they learned their lesson well. They applied their knowledge to such an extent of expertise that even Buffalo Bill Cody himself would have been impressed!

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