Búfalo Bill, el conservacionista

Búfalo Bill (Buffalo Bill, en inglés) fue cazador, soldado y showman; y aunque sea difícil de creer apoyó a las mujeres en su derecho al voto, al pago de salarios igual que los hombres, y a su emancipación. También se interesó por el medio ambiente. Fíjate…

En vocabulario buscamos la palabra prate, que no nos sonaba. Más abajo ponemos una foto impresionante relacionada a la caza de los bisontes.

 

... que "todos los levantamientos indios que he conocido han sido el resultado de promesas y tratados incumplidos por parte del gobierno". 

Bill en 1875

Generalidades

Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman.

One of the most famous and well-known figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend when he was only 23, performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Europe.

He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in his father's hometown in modern-day Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, before the family returned to the Midwest and settled in the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill started working at the age of 11, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 15. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars. While he was initially awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872 for his actions in the Indian Wars, he was among 910 recipients to have the award rescinded in 1917.

Su filosofía

Como explorador Cody respetó a los nativos americanos y apoyó sus derechos civiles. Empleó a muchos nativos americanos, ya que pensaba que su programa les ofrecía una buena paga y la oportunidad de mejorar sus vidas. Una vez dijo, hablando de acontecimientos posteriores a las incursiones fronterizas originales, que "todos los levantamientos indios que he conocido han sido el resultado de promesas y tratados incumplidos por parte del gobierno".

Cody supported the rights of women. He said, "What we want to do is give women, even more, liberty than they have. Let them do any kind of work they see fit, and if they do it as well as men, give them the same pay." Women such as Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane had legendary roles in his show, and later in life Cody continued to hire and treat women fairly. Cody said in an interview in 1898, "Set that down in great big black type that Buffalo Bill favors woman suffrage… These fellows who prate about the women taking their places make me laugh… If a woman can do the same work that a man can do and do it just as well, she should have the same pay."

In his shows, the Indians were usually depicted attacking stagecoaches and wagon trains and were driven off by cowboys and soldiers. Many family members traveled with the men; Cody encouraged the wives and children of his Native American performers, as part of the show, to set up camp just as they would in their homelands. He wanted the paying public to see the human side of the "fierce warriors".

Cody was known as a conservationist who spoke out against hide-hunting and advocated the establishment of a hunting season.

Craneos de bisontes, 1892

Vocabulario

Prate: To prate means to talk on and on about something. While it may be interesting to hear about other people’s vacations, when they prate about them until the wee hours, it becomes intolerable.

Artículos relacionados

The Indians rowed with quick variable strokes. Nick lay back with his father's arm around… Indian Camp

… and she asked if they were in the Indian country now. But they were not; they were in Minnesota… Little House on the Prairie

… who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound… Rip Van Winkle

Buffalo Bill, Wikipedia

 

Y si Búfalo Bill quiere puede comprar esta casa en el centro de Salta, a un precio muy conveniente:

Casa en venta en Salta