Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 12 (5/7) By Frank Beill 1886: Hull, Yorkshire

(1/7), (2/7), (3/7), (4/7), (5/7), (6/7), (7/7). Part 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Part 2 Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3.

Every event in my real father's novel was coming to life in a tableau of more spectacle and noise than I could ever have imagined. Again the arena was flooded with colour - mainly red and orange, this time - and the mounted horsemen of my new people took centre stage. Leading the warriors was Red Shirt in his headdress of eagle feathers.

The feathers shimmered in the bright arc lamps' artificial light and his war bonnet turned into a flowing stream of colour. Seconds later Buffalo Bill and his white stallion, Old Charley, returned and joined them to more rapturous applause. How excited George would have been to see the performers' magnificent mounts. The next part of the show would have especially delighted him: horse races, featuring these proud animals galloping up and down the arena. They snorted like dragons about to breathe fire. Nothing like the sagging workhorses plodding around the streets of Hull. The horses would have been the real stars of the show for him. Although parted for only a few hours I was missing him and Sal already. I wanted them to be with me, enjoying everything I was enjoying.

The horse races gave way to an exhibition of sharp shooting by a girl Laughing Waters called 'Young California' - and young she certainly looked. I guessed she couldn't be more than a couple of years older than myself. She ran into the arena, the leather trimmings on her buckskin jacket and skirt rippling in the bright lights. For her first trick glass balls were thrown into the air only to be disintegrated by her rapid rifle fire. She went on to perform many more extraordinary tricks with her gun. I discovered later Annie Oakley should have appeared too but there'd been a disagreement with Colonel Cody and she left the show's British tour.

'This is called Cowboy Fun,' said Laughing Waters as the scene changed. The arena was taken over by cowboys performing tricks at high speed and nearly all of them on horseback. Items were picked up from the ground by galloping horsemen. Wild horses were lassoed and to the amazement of the audience the cowboys mounted the untamed animals. Somehow the riders managed to stay on board these bucking broncos and the ecstatic crowd cheered and applauded wildly.

The spectacle was mesmerising and I lost all track of time, forgetting I was going to be part of the event too. Even the arrival of John Nelson at the reins of the Deadwood Stage couldn't bring me back to reality. A band of fierce warriors chased the stagecoach around the arena and just when all seemed lost a group of cowboys led by my hero came to the rescue. During this event I realised I was now unsure as to where my loyalties lay. Were they with the man I'd worshipped for so long in my imagination or were they now with the Native Americans?

This part of the performance concluded and I felt Laughing Waters tugging the frilly edge of my buckskin sleeve. Reality grabbed me. I was back in Hull again and somewhere out there in the audience was Jolly Rodgers. 'Us soon. Come!' She led me back to the squaws and children. After a display of bareback racing by some of the younger braves, the Orator announced there would be an exhibition entitled the 'Life Customs of the Indians.' It would be as much an education for me as anyone in the crowd and I was taking part in it. The whole tribe: men, women and children marched into the arena, carrying everything needed to erect an overnight camp on the prairie. To my continued amazement I discovered it was women's work to do this: erecting long poles, before covering them with canvas and skins in order to create tepees.

Continued... Next Page (6/7)

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