A Drive With Buffalo Bill & Texas Jack
- Matthew Kerns
- 3 days ago
- 11 min read
On August 11, 1873, the Daily Local News of West Chester, Pennsylvania published a glowing feature titled "A Drive with Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack." The article recounts an afternoon carriage ride through the borough with the two famous frontier scouts, portraying them as gallant heroes, thoughtful naturalists, charming conversationalists, and near-mythic men of the plains.
But while the article is rich with anecdote and admiration, it's also laced with a familiar formula: a carefully curated blend of fact and fiction, romance and reality. Long before the age of social media or influencer culture, Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack were shaping their own legends, offering just enough truth to ground their stories—then embellishing the rest to suit the public’s appetite.
In that sense, they were among America’s first “reality stars," performing versions of themselves that were larger than life but just believable enough to pass as fact. This 1873 article is an early example of how they blurred the line between who they were and who they wanted the world to believe they were.
What follows is the full original article, preserved for its historical and cultural value. Below that, you’ll find a breakdown of the most significant historical inaccuracies and narrative liberties, each with a brief explanation of what really happened—and how myth began to overtake memory.
From the West Chester, Pennsylvania, Daily Local News - Monday August 11, 1873
A Drive with Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack
A Brief Account of Their Lives—Prairie Life vs. The Stage.
Saturday afternoon last we had the pleasure of taking a drive with Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack behind two spanking steeds from Messrs. Mercer & James’ livery stable. Texas Jack is the guest of Buffalo Bill, to whom he is endeared by a life of exposure, hardship, and daring on the plains, and in whose company he for several years served as scout, hunter, and guide in the employ of the Government and for private parties. These noted scouts serve to add a zest to our everyday walks of life, proving as they do that the stories of frontier life are not magnified, but, to the contrary, fall short in depicting the scenes and excitement incidental thereto.
In the course of our drive through the rural suburbs of our borough we were somewhat surprised at both Bill and Jack taking such an interest in the flowers and trees which bedecked our course. They noticed everything in the way of flowers, and Jack’s conversation gave ample proof that he was gifted with a botanical turn of mind.
Jack is of medium height, and 28 years of age. His complexion is what we might appropriately term a “rosy” one. His features are moderately fine, while his eyes denote quickness in cunning, and his whole physiognomy a man of coolness and resolute foresight. He wears a slight moustache and imperial, while his hair, curly and very black, is rather long, but inclined to kinks. He is compactly built, with elastic step, and shows powers of great endurance.
He was born in Eastern Virginia, and commenced a Texas life when a mere boy. During the rebellion he was a scout in the rebel army under General Floyd, and was wounded in the left thigh by a musket ball. At the close of the war, on the very day of the fall of Richmond, he turned his horse towards Texas, and in a few days afterwards was again back in his old haunts pursuing the cattle trade as peaceably as though nothing more than a circus had occurred. In the course of his cattle trading movements, he met Buffalo Bill in Nebraska, in 1868, and recognizing in him the requisites for a good scout, induced him to quit the cattle business and join him in the scouting duty in the service of the United States. At this time Bill was chief of scouts in the department of the West, and consequently was happy in adding a thorough scout to his valuable accession as his Texas friend, Jack, and with him he roamed the desiccated and wild civilized West, both being endeared to one another with a mutual admiration supported by love and duty only. The Christian name of Texas Jack is John Omohundro, his present title having been given him while a “cow boy” in Texas. He is a ready talker, is quite intelligent, and delights in reading. His accent is yet tainted with that tongue peculiar to Virginians generally.
Buffalo Bill was born Iowa, in 1839. His father was an Indian trader, and lost his life in an encounter with the savages. The son, whose name is Wm. F. Cody, was ten years of age, his parents removed to the extreme frontier, since which time he has almost constantly been in the employ of the government. During the building of the Kansas and Pacific Railroad, he was employed to hunt buffaloes, with which to feed the fourteen hundred men engaged in the construction. During this engagement he shot forty-two hundred and eighty buffaloes, and it was thus for his exceeding skill, that he acquired the present name, which is known far and wide, and abounds in history as well as storied romance. All of these buffaloes were slain with one gun, which weapon is now on exhibition in New York city.
He has suffered a number of wounds from Indian arrows and bullets, besides some rough handling in contests with buffaloes. Over two years ago he had an exciting moment in a chase with a buffalo, when the chances of life and death were about evenly balanced, he narrowly escaped death. He had just shot a buffalo, which had passed him, when his horse slipped upon some ice, falling upon him, producing severe internal injuries, which will most probably serve to shorten his life, and for which he is constantly under medical treatment.
Buffalo Bill is thirty-four years old. He has a tall, commanding appearance, which, with his quick, weird eyes and long, dark, flowing hair, strikes all with that admiration which is sort of instinctively treasured up for those who figure in the far West in the dangerous vocation of scout in saving and preserving our soldiers from the treachery and cunning of the Indians. In the year 1866 he was married to Miss Louisa Frederici, of St. Louis, a young lady of refinement and intelligence, and who accompanied her “noble lord” to the distant plains and there with him shared the excitement and dangers of frontier life until a few months ago, when they came to the States and finally located in West Chester.
The family of “Buffalo Bill” is now composed of himself and his wife, and three children—two girls and a boy. The boy, second in age, bears the name of Kit Carson Cody, and is a bright little fellow, already giving evidence at this early age of inheriting the daring of his father.
Mrs. Cody speaks of her life on the plains with much evident pleasure, and rather gives them preference to West Chester.
Both of our heroes above mentioned wear honored and costly mementoes from numerous friends of valor and esteem, and they relate with much enthusiasm the stories incidental to their histories.
In a few weeks J.B. Hickok, better and well known as Wild Bill, will also be the guest of Buffalo Bill. This noted scout is a native of Illinois, and is forty-two years old. He, as his name suggests, is full of daring spirit, and acts more from impulse than deliberation, and is considered a “terror” by the “redskins.” His recklessness and daring have more than once endangered his life unnecessarily, and his scarred face and furrowed scalp bear lasting evidence of a life of rough usage and remarkable fortitude. He is cunning, and we may on good authority add that he is tricky.
During the late war he filled the position of scout in both armies—that is, he made it so appear, from the fact that he secured the confidence of the Confederates when he was on his most important errands of trust for the Union army. It has been said, and we believe it to be true, that he received pay from both armies, but his devotion to the latter was never doubted, and to him is due many valuable results in the contest.
He is a larger man than either Bill or Jack, and has a face lighted up with good expression and considerable intelligence.
Many persons may regard these men as rough and uncouth in their manners, but in such thoughts we assure our readers they are in error. It is true they have necessarily inherited from their long wild Western associations some eccentricities of character, but these are to be admired rather than deprecated, coming from the men whom we have above briefly described. For instance, a few days ago Bill and Jack indulged in a game of tenpins, which exercise and pastime they now refer to as “horse billiards,” and Jack says he would rather “whack” cattle than be compelled to make that game an occupation.
He also tells a shoe-blacking story, the scene of which is laid in “Ole Virginny.” He says during the war negroes were so scarce at times that white men were compelled to black their own shoes. In lieu of Annear’s or Mason’s “shine” a polish was made from elderberries, and on one occasion he, Jack, saw a bottle containing some of the fluid, and applying it to his nasal organ, and finding it right in point of smell, he drank it thinking it was wine. Jack says nothing in the way of harm came from the dose only the draping of his "innards" in deep mourning for a period of thirty days. In this connection we will here add that Buffalo Bill is a teetotaler, drinking nothing but water. Jack does take “a little somethin’” but never to excess.
In throwing the lasso Jack is an expert. If he has any one particular weakness it is certainly for a rope, and no such article is left to lie still that meets his eye. He instinctively is led to take it in hand, and forming it into a lasso take prisoner anything that stands within reach of his unerring skill and the length of the rope.
During the celebrated hunt of last fall, gotten up for the benefit of Earl of Dunraven, England, these scouts led the sport and the result was a grand success. So delighted was the Earl with the enjoyments afforded him that at the close of the hunt he made Jack a present of a breech-loading shotgun valued at $650. It was Buffalo Bill who “got up” the noted buffalo hunt for the Grand Duke Alexis upon his late visit to America, and Bill is the happy possessor of many valuable tokens of appreciation from that noted personage. This week both of these scouts leave us for a brief stay in New York, during which time Buffalo Bill will fill a private dramatic engagement in taking his old character in the play known as “Buffalo Bill, the King of Border Men.”
About the middle of October the three scouts which we have named, will enter upon a dramatic tour, in company with some twenty characters, commencing in New York, the play of the “Scouts of the Plains, or Life in the Far West,” which is now being dramatized by Fred. G. Meader, of New York. This play contains a faithful delineation of incidents that have actually occurred on the plains. The intention of Buffalo Bill, who is the leading star, both in the dramatic and management sense, is to make a tour of the entire South, stopping for short engagements at the principal cities, and then going northward.
We are gratified in saying to our readers that about the middle of December, this troupe will visit West Chester, and give one entertainment in Horticultural Hall, which will afford our citizens a chance to see the three leading men of the wild, wild west, and who have contributed much towards developing the frontiers—namely Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill, and Texas Jack.
Historical Inaccuracies & Interpretive Notes
1. Buffalo Bill’s Age
Claim: Born in 1839 and aged 34 in 1873.
Fact: Cody was born February 26, 1846. He was 27 years old at the time of the article.
Why it matters: Aging himself up bolstered the illusion of greater experience and heroism.
2. Texas Jack’s Age
Claim: Jack is 28.
Fact: John B. Omohundro was born July 26, 1846, making him 27, just like Cody.
Why it matters: Small exaggeration, but again supports the image of seasoned frontier veterans.
3. Cody’s Father Killed by “Savages”
Claim: Isaac Cody died in an Indian attack.
Fact: He died from injuries sustained after giving an anti-slavery speech during “Bleeding Kansas.”
Why it matters: Shifts the family narrative from political martyrdom to romanticized frontier violence.
4. Texas Jack Served Under General Floyd as a Scout
Claim: Jack was a scout under Confederate Gen. Floyd.
Fact: Jack was a courier under Floyd, not a scout. His actual scouting work came later under J.E.B. Stuart.
Why it matters: Misrepresents early wartime experience to align Jack with more dramatic field duty.
5. Buffalo Bill Killed 4,280 Buffalo
Claim: Cody killed 4,280 buffalo during railroad work.
Fact: Number comes from Cody himself; no independent verification exists.
Why it matters: It’s likely an exaggeration, part of Cody’s deliberate self-mythologizing.
6. All Buffalo Kills with One Gun
Claim: All buffalo shot with a single rifle, now on display in New York.
Fact: While Cody’s Springfield rifle “Lucretia Borgia” was famous, this claim is likely promotional embellishment.
Why it matters: Adds legendary status and theatrical flair.
7. Life-Threatening Injury from Buffalo Hunt
Claim: Cody nearly died after a fall during a buffalo chase.
Fact: The fall and injury were likely real, but the life-or-death framing is dramatized.
Why it matters: Standard dime novel narrative device—hero faces death but triumphs.
8. Marital Bliss with Louisa Cody
Claim: Louisa joined Cody on the plains and happily settled in West Chester.
Fact: While Louisa did accompany Cody during parts of his early theatrical tours, their relationship was frequently strained. The two were often separated, and by the time they later moved to Nebraska together, it was after a period of estrangement. Their marriage would go on to be marked by multiple public separations, near-divorces, and mutual accusations—including infidelity and alleged poisoning. They reconciled intermittently, but the idea of enduring domestic bliss is more legend than reality.
Why it matters: This idealized image of a loyal, frontier-bound wife reinforced the myth of the rugged-yet-wholesome Western hero. In reality, the Codys’ marriage reflected the personal toll of fame, distance, and the performative demands of public life.
9. “Kit Carson Cody” Inheriting Daring
Claim: Young Kit shows signs of heroic promise.
Fact: A sentimental projection—he was still a child.
Why it matters: Classic Wild West trope—heroic legacy passed down through bloodline. Sadly, Kit Carson Cody died of scarlet fever as a child.
10. Buffalo Bill Is a Teetotaler (And Jack Only Drinks “a Little Somethin’”)
Claim: Buffalo Bill drinks “nothing but water,” while Texas Jack “does take a little somethin’ but never to excess.”
Fact: Both men were known to be heavy drinkers, especially by the standards of the Victorian era. Cody was famously candid about his alcohol use, once describing his habit as drinking “until my liver flopped.” Despite the newspaper’s suggestion of his virtuous abstinence, Cody’s public image as a temperate, morally upright frontiersman was often a product of his press agents and dime-novel writers—particularly Ned Buntline, who, despite being a notorious drunk himself, wrote temperance-themed fiction and painted Cody as a paragon of virtue.
Texas Jack, too, had a fondness for alcohol. The Earl of Dunraven, who hunted with Jack in 1872, quipped that Jack greeted the sun each morning with a “pannakin of whiskey.” Jack’s easy charm and humor may have lent themselves to downplaying his drinking in public, but behind closed doors and on the trail, both men clearly indulged more freely than this article admits.
Why it matters: Casting Cody as a teetotaler and Jack as a moderate tippler fits neatly into a moralizing narrative, palatable to Eastern audiences. This image was part of a broader strategy to sanitize the reality of frontier life and make these men more acceptable as respectable public figures, actors, and national icons. The truth—that both men drank heavily—didn’t suit the idealized personas they were actively building.
11. Wild Bill Hickok Paid by Both Armies
Claim: Hickok scouted for both Union and Confederate sides.
Fact: Hickok was a Union scout. There's no credible evidence of dual service or pay.
Why it matters: Adds dramatic intrigue and covert-ops flavor—totally unsubstantiated.
12. Wild Bill’s Age
Claim: Wild Bill was 42.
Fact: Born May 27, 1837, he was 36 at the time.
Why it matters: Age inflation again reinforces a sense of veteran status.
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