Muson pictured mounted by Buffalo Bill in 1907 was desert bred in 1899 and was Al Khamsa(which we have discussed in the past.). Muson was loaned to Buffalo Bill by one of the greatest foundation Arabian horse breeders of all time, Homer Davenport.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Buffalo Bills Grey(white) Horses
Muson pictured mounted by Buffalo Bill in 1907 was desert bred in 1899 and was Al Khamsa(which we have discussed in the past.). Muson was loaned to Buffalo Bill by one of the greatest foundation Arabian horse breeders of all time, Homer Davenport.
Buffalo Bill--Horse Whisperer
1899
1910
'Buffalo Bill had a number of personal horse's that he rode, supposedly 11. He is probably best known mounted on a grey Arabian horse named Muson, last picture. He also rode another bigger, plainer grey horse named McKinley and Tucker the horse, I think in the 4th picture. One of his horse's was named Charly. Does anyone know if "Charly" is the bay horse in the first three pictures? Charly died on a sea crossing, and was wrapped in an American flag and lowered into the ocean.
Before becoming a Wild West producer he had a horse named Tall Bull which he "stole" after the Battle of Summit Springs, Colorado Territory in 1889. Though a controversial exploit, the standard version is that Buffalo Bill spotted a fine horse that an Indian sub-chief named Tall Bull was riding, killed the Indian from ambush and took his mount. Cody named the steed Tall Bull, ran it in a number of private races, and won a considerable amount of prize money.
He also had a horse named Buffalo Bill(whom he took the name from), which he used for buffalo hunting. Bill loaned him to the Russian Grand Duke for hunting trips. He had a horse creatively named Ta- Ra- Ra-Ra- Boom-de-ay in the Wild West bucking stock string.'
070808 Buffalo Bill's Horses .mp3
Men When Men Were
Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull
Buffalo Bill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sitting Bull - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wild Bill Hickok left, Texas Jack Omohundro center, and Buffalo Bill Cody right.
Wild Bill Hickok - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Texas Jack Omohundro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pawnee Bill left, Buffalo Bill sitting, and Buffalo Jones right.
Pawnee Bill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles "Buffalo" Jones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
'Mankind may have advanced, but I think man himself has done a backwards slide.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West In Europe Late 1800's
What an amazing, amazing spectacle Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show must have been. What's been done in the last 100 years that even begins to come close?
Unknown
I don't know if the name on the bottom is the trainer or the photographer. Does anyone know who's liberty act this is, and who the trainer is?
Prof. Bristol
There are a number of bit's available on the market today known as "Dr. Bristol's." Is there any connection to "Prof. Bristol?" John Milton, Henry was worth way more then $20,000.00, wasn't he. :)
Hagenbeck-Wallace 1933
If you were going to see Clyde Beatty, would you not expect it to be "in person?" Who was Bombayo and what did he do?
Circus Wapiti
A few weeks ago I posted the picture above of wapiti(I agree RJR, it is more appropriate then elk) in a circus wagon on the Cole Show. It seemed like such an odd choice for a menagerie animal that I contacted King Turf, Richard Reynolds for his thoughts. RJR knows more then just about anyone, about menagerie animals and zoo history. If you want to feel real humbled get in a conversation with him about rhino's. RJR will own you.
RJR sent my inquiry and his thoughts on to other folks, notably historian Richard Flint, who can tell you any thing about the early, early, early day's of the circus and live performances. I you want to know what shade of blue the ring curb was in some amphitheater or hippodrome, Dick Flint has your answer. Add Dave Price and Japanese zoo professional Ken Kawata into that mix, and school in now in session.
RJR,
I hope all is well. Is it true that Sells Sterling had a family of gorilla's? How long did Cole have elk in their menagerie? Did any other show's exhibit elk? I know Ringling had the Fallow Deer, but did any other show's attempt to exhibit antlered deer and how successful were they?
I appreciate your insight greatly,
Regards,
Wade
Wade - -
I've never seen but one huge deer with large spreading antlers - - on a
circus that is. That was the young moose Pat White had on Carson & Barnes in
1988.
As for wapiti (I prefer that name - -it is technically the correct
common name. In Europe "elk" is the common name for moose).
I have never seen one in a circus. Your picture shows them in an
ordinary cage wagon - -
It is labeled Cole Bros and may be one of the cage wagons it obtained
from the Christy Bros show ca. 1925. The carved sky board has that Christy
look. There were several of them. He got all of them (I think)from RBBB where
they were just surplus - - - stored and unused. Fred Dahlinger has the
details, and may be able to look at the carved sky board and tell us which
one this is.
The photo appears to show wapiti - - large white rump patch with the
neck and head darker than the rest of the body. As you well know, large
male wapiti can have very wide spreading antlers which they grow each year
beginning in the spring until they shed them in winter. So, the antlers are
there when circuses hit the road. I have seen adult males that would be a very
tight fit for the typical circus cage wagon. A big rack of antlers
atop the raised head could be against the ceiling.
I think this may be a photo from when the wagon was on Christy. I have
looked more of less carefully at Joe Bradbury's very comprehensive data in
his monumental series on Cole in Bandwagon -- it began in 1965. I
found no elk mentioned in the several listings of cage contents.
Christy Bros. carried wapiti in the 1920s and used them in a hitch. See
attachment.
I will send this to others who may have an interest.
Richard
Richard:
I think this the
old Ringling "hay animal" cage that Cole got with the Christy purchase, the
date being early 1935, which is probably what you meant to say. Apparently
it didn't go out with the Cole show until 1937 as Cage # 10 carrying a gnu.
Regards
dp
Given the mixed use of the
terms moose and elk between Europe and North America and the propensity of showmen
to take advantage of such ambiguity, I can’t comment much on the following so
merely bring it to the attention of those interested. During Cooper & Bailey’s 1877-78 Australian
tour, and likely their South American as well, they carried an animal of that ilk.
During part of their Australian tour the animal was featured in the
masthead of their two and four page programs (see attachment below). Newspaper comments noted the animals
exhibited included (emphasis mine) “an elk, whose horns are of such dimensions that they have
had to be cut off, in order that the cage in which he is confined might not
assume abnormal proportions.” Another
paper went on to say that “The elk is of Scotch extraction, and … is a deer. He is in the habit of shedding his
horns. This one has done so, and they
are hung up on the wall as a proof of the fact.” Unfortunately, elk in the British Isles had already
been extinct for a thousand years when Cooper & Bailey were traveling. Only in this new century have a few been reintroduced
to the Highlands.
Finally, as a side note, I’ll add
that the redoubtable Dr. Bentley of Salem, Massachusetts, reported in his diary
on November 17, 1800, of “A moose exhibited as a natural curiosity for 9d
[pence]. Brought from the province of Maine.”
Dick Flint
The illustration from Dick shows a wapiti (elk in American term), not a moose. Feeding causes difficulty in keeping moose in captivity although 'difficult' is a relative term, and it's hard to imagine if a moose was maintained an extensive length of time on exhibit, particularly in a traveling situation. That reminds me of what R. Marlin Perkins said at a meeting. He saw a French Canadian who would take a moose to events, walking it right into an elevator. When Marlin asked how he could do it, the answer was something like it's hell of a lot easier than handling a French woman. Ken
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