Surfing atop a wave of fame, kickass name choices, and questionable racism was Buffalo Bill's Wild West And Congress Of Rough Riders Of The World. Buffalo Bill, born as William Cody, was known for being a brave soldier and for contributing to the near extinction of a species. He used this notoriety to open up the first Wild West Show, which glamorized the American Old West.
According to these shows, you couldn't go outside without having to fend off a posse of bandits, and the noises you made during your initial gunfight would attract Native Americans who would savagely attack you until you murdered them all too. Then, you'd finally be able to sit down, have breakfast, and repeat the whole process. Gone was any notion that much of the "Wild West" was a bunch of people trying to fend off dehydration. It was a man's world, where you'd shoot first and then shoot the questions that came out of your own mouth later, because questions are for Europeans. And people ate it up.
William Notman
"For 5 cents extra, you can throw tomatoes at Sitting Bull!"
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