William F. Cody was born in the middle of the nineteenth century on the plains of Kansas Territory where his family had settled to trade with the friendly Kickapoo Tribe. These Natives were Bill's childhood playmates and at a tender age he traded his brand-new buckskin suit for a little wild Indian pony that he learned to ride like the wind. By the time he was twelve, he was doing the work of a grown man as a cattle driver, camping under the stars each night. When he was caught in a buffalo stampede his horsemanship saved his life. Then he met wilderness scout Kit Carson who taught him how to read the language of the plains. When daredevil riders were needed to carry the mail on the new Pony Express, Bill was one of the first to sign up. Then the Civil War began and Bill went East to fight for Kansas, since that state wanted nothing to do with slavery. The d'Aulaires have captured the allure of one of America's frontier icons in the drama of their lush lithographs and in a text that brings to life the story of the fearless, wild Buffalo Bill.

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