in constant use, to protect and take life, can strange
tales tell of thrilling perils met and subdued, and romantic incidents
occurring that are far removed from the stern realities of existence.

The land of America is full of romance, and tales that stir the blood
can be told over and over again of bold Privateers and reckless
Buccaneers who have swept along the coasts; of fierce naval battles, sea
chases, daring smugglers; and on shore of brave deeds in the saddle and
afoot; of red trails followed to the bitter end and savage encounters in
forest wilds.

And it is beyond the pale of civilization I find the hero of these pages
which tell of thrilling adventures, fierce combats, deadly feuds and
wild rides, that, one and all, are true to the letter, as hundreds now
living can testify.

Who has not heard the name of Buffalo Bill--a magic name, seemingly, to
every boy's heart?

And yet in the uttermost parts of the earth it is known among men.

A child of the prairie, as it were, Buffalo Bill will go down to history
as one of America's strange heroes who has loved the trackless wilds,
rolling plains and mountain solitudes of our land, far more than the
bustle and turmoil, the busy life and joys of our cities, and who has
stood as a barrier between civilization and savagery, risking his own
life to save the lives of others.

Glancing back over the past, we recall a few names that have stood out
in the boldest relief in frontier history, and they are Daniel Boone,
Davy Crockett, Kit Carson and W.F. Cody--the last named being Buffalo
Bill, the King of Bordermen.

Knowing the man well, having seen him amid the greatest dangers, shared
with him his blanket and his camp-fire's warmth, I feel entitled to
write of him as a hero of heroes, and in the following pages sketch his
remarkable career from boyhood to manhood.

Born in the State of Iowa in 1843, his father being one of the bold
pioneers to that part of the West, Buffalo Bill, or Will Cody, was
inured to scenes of hardship and danger ere he reached his tenth year,
and being a precocious youth, his adventurous spirit led him into all
sorts of deeds of mischief and daring, which well served to lay the
foundation for the later acts of his life.

CHAPTER II.

A CAPTURE OF OUTLAWS.

When Will was but nine years of age his first thrilling adventure
occurred, and it gave the boy a name for pluck and nerve that went with
him to Kansas, where his father remov