On Monday 5 September 1905 quite an amazing one-day-only event took place on Perth’s South Inch. Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn was faithfully re-enacted at the much-anticipated spectacular event of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Performances were at 2pm and again that same night at 8pm. Over 1,300 men and horses were brought to Perth to enthral and entertain as part of the World’s Greatest Educational Exhibition. Amongst the sights to see were Native American Red Indians, American Cowboys, Russian Cossacks, and Imperial Japanese Troops.
The day before between the hours of 7am and 10am, the show arrived from Dundee by three special railway trains in the Fair City. Hundreds of Perth folk thronged the streets to watch the cavalcade of splendid horses, Indians and others proceeding to the South Inch where a large canvas city had been constructed.
Many thousands local citizens watched the operations during that Sunday and Monday, visiting the encampment to have a peep at the representatives of the different nationalities. The Red Indians with their picturesque costumes and ornamented headpieces came in for the most attention from the curious spectators. The Wild West show it was said brought an exotic foreign world to life for its audiences, allowing a last glimpse at the fading American frontier life.
At the afternoon performance on the Monday, the “House” was comfortably filled which meant thousands had paid the necessary admission fee of 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s or for box seats at 7s 6d. Tickets were also available from Methven Simpson Ltd, Piano Warehouse, 29 County Place, Perth. A newspaper report stated that: “several items on the programme were intensely watched and that judging by the vociferous cheering, the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the performances.”
Special excursion carriages on railway trains were put on for those attending from all over Perthshire. For example, one advert advertised that special excursion third-class tickets were available at the reduced cost of between 1s and 1s 6d. from Struan, Blair Atholl, Killiecrankie, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, Grandtully, Ballinluig, Guay, Dalguise, Dunkeld and Murthly.
The event was advertised in all the local newspapers including the No. 9704 Perthshire Advertiser and Strathmore Journal on 29 August 1905:
‘Now paying a parting salute to Great Britain
Will positively never be seen here again
See it NOW or Never
The Great Programme augmented by a colossal crowning spectacle of combat and carnage in savage warfare, introducing Eight Hundred Indians, Scouts, Soldiers and Horses, faithfully depicting the BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN, whose Apotheosis is the Illustrious Tableau of Custer’s Last Stand and Heroic Fall.
Always and Everywhere – presented in uncurtailed perfection.
The vast arena illuminated at night by Special Electric Light Plants.’
An issue in Perth was that in preparation for the show they damaged an electric cable, blacking out everyone in the town for about two and a half hours. At a meeting of the Electricity Committee of Perth Town Council that day, the Engineer, Mr Lambert reported that damage had been done to one of the electric light cables installed for Buffalo Bill’s show on the South Inch. A spike used to fix the guy ropes of the tents had accidently been driven through the cable. It was temporarily repaired in time for the show that night and the occupiers of the Inch were warned by the City Chamberlain to further avoid interfering with the cables.
The Wild West Show had just come from Dundee where they appeared for three days at the Esplanade Extension and were next to appear in Stirling. They had also just exhibited at Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. In Dundee firefighters were called out for a blaze in a goods yard. It was thought the fire was caused by Buffalo Bill Cody’s trains passing through. Earlier in Fraserburgh the price of fish rocketed due to a shortage. Fishermen in the area had abandoned their trawlers for a few days so that they could all travel to the show.
William Frederick Cody, known as “Buffalo Bill”, said that he began his career as an “Indian Fighter”, fighting against the Native American Red Indians. He had many jobs, including Pony Express Rider, Wagon master and a Private in the 7th Kansas Cavalry. His earned his nickname through his personal killing of nearly 5,000 Buffalo for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. It is estimated that between 50 and 60 million Buffalo once roamed the Great Plains. During the height of the Plains Indians resistance to the white settlers, Cody’s regiment intercepted a band of Cheyenne warriors who had taken part three weeks (17 July 1876) earlier in the defeat of General George Custer and the Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Cody later boasted of his barbarous personal killing of a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair.
Cody was awarded the US Medal of Honour in 1872 for documented gallantry beyond the call of duty as a civilian scout to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Loupe Forke, Platte River, Nebraska. The award was revoked in 1917 when their War Department changed the award criteria, this was just days before he died. This decision was eventually rescinded by the US Congress in 1989.
Cody took his show to Britain for the first time in 1887 to perform in celebration of the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria. There was a bit of a ruckus in Glasgow during the first trip to Scotland in 1892. One of the native American Indians, named Charging Thunder was detained and thrown in Barlinnie Jail for assaulting another member of the show with a club. On the night in question, Charging Thunder had obtained whisky in a public house, reportedly he stated in mistake for lemonade.
Annie Oakley the famous sharpshooter of the time was a member of the Wild West show in the early days. It is said she learned to ride a bicycle whilst in Glasgow. Thomas Edison the inventor of the first commercially viable incandescent light bulb built the world’s largest electrical power plant for the Wild West Show.
Perth had also just been graced at the weekend by the “motorcade” tour visit of General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. He addressed a crowd of several hundred from the balcony of the Municipal Building.
One last other little known connected aviation fact, George Armstrong Custer was one of the very first balloonists, ascending to the skies up to five times in a balloon for supposed military observation purposes during the American Civil War. He ascended to direct artillery fire along with the balloonist Thaddeus Lowe, Chief Aeronaut to President Abraham Lincoln. His first flight was at the Siege of Yorktown in April 1862 where he reportedly crouched in the basket for most of the trip.
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Extra note: The word papoose in the advert is still widely used today, its meaning being a term of endearment for a Native American child. It was originally a type of child carrier used by only the Narragansett people, an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. It is considered offensive by many Native Americans tribes who do not use the word and think of it as pejorative, much like the word pickaninny which was used in a report of the children seen at the show ground. There are many different terms for a child carrier that are used by the 573 Native American federally recognised tribes, nations, and communities.
