Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 12 (6/7) 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.

The men folk remained separate from what they saw as a domestic chore. I tried to look busy without getting in anyone's way. Fortunately, it took only a few minutes to erect a whole camp and I was able to blend in with the family group. We watched the men of the tribe take centre stage again and demonstrate a fierce war dance to the accompaniment of a tom-tom and strange chanting from fellow warriors.

My jaw dropped and I stared in disbelief at what happened next. A yelling cowboy prisoner was dragged into the middle of the encampment for one of the warriors to demonstrate a scalping. Women in the audience screamed in fright. Would my gawping expression attract the attention of someone in the crowd? 'Only pretend!' My sister whispered in my ear. The 'scalped' victim was in reality bald and it was only a toupee the 'bloodthirsty savage' was waving at the disbelieving populace. Even faster than it was erected the camp was dismantled and the whole tribe disappeared behind the scenes to give way once more to Buffalo Bill astride Old Charley ready to give his solo performance of sharp shooting on horseback.

It wasn't until I was safely out of public view I realised I'd been so engrossed with what was happening under the lights I'd forgotten to look for familiar faces in the audience. Sal was there with the others from the orphanage. Did she notice the latest addition to the tribe? Would she even know to look for me? Where was George? But Jolly Rodgers hadn't leapt out of the audience and grabbed me. I could breathe freely again.

Laughing Waters and I weren't able to return to our previous vantage point until after Buffalo Bill's display of marksmanship finished. This was far from the end of his involvement in the show. Buffalo Bill was the show.

Even before the applause for his act subsided the crowd were gasping in amazement again. Right in front of them was a herd of wild bison running loose. The sight of a domesticated cow was a novelty for many of these town dwellers. Seconds later Bill returned with a group of braves. They galloped after the bison, firing blank cartridges as part of a simulated buffalo hunt.

One animal was singled out by the hunters and steered away from the herd. Frank Richmond announced to the audience that this was the point in the hunt where the animal would be shot dead. The great herds had almost disappeared from the North American prairies leaving only a handful of groups still in inexistence. These bison would live to see another day. The steaming animals were herded out of the arena and back to the safety of their corrals.

The final act of the show was yet another confrontation between the old and new inhabitants of the West. An attack on a lone scout by a marauding band of Indians was broken up by the intervention of a group of stalwart rescuers led, of course, by Buffalo Bill Cody. After the successful completion of the rescue the cowboy band struck up once again and all the 'dead Indians' came back to life and ran away from the scene, ready to fight again in future performances.

'Grand finale, Sammy!' Laughing Waters tugged my sleeve again. 'What?' I didn't have a clue as to what a finale was - grand or otherwise. 'It is the end. We all go to take a bow. The crowd applauds us.' Her voice was insistent. The rest of the cast were lining up ready to go back out for one last time to receive their deserved adulation but I felt I didn't deserve anything. I was just as much a spectator as anyone in the audience. I wanted to be out there cheering and clapping along with the rest of the locals. I froze. Fear made me resist joining the Sioux. Had George returned to the orphanage and told them where I was? It couldn't have happened, I told myself. There wasn't enough time but what if he met the party from the orphanage on its way to the show? He wouldn't have told on me, I knew he wouldn't but ... 'Come! You are one of us now!' I swear she could read my thoughts.

Continued... Next Page (7/7)

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