The Spaniards who invaded Mexico brought to North America a well-developed equestrian tradition.
Buffalo Coat
Grade Range: K-12
Resource Type(s): Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/6/2010
According to legend, this coat was made from the skin of a buffalo killed by Buffalo Bill, and presented by him to Captain J. B. Irvine, Twenty-second U.S. Infantry. Irvine then presented it to Second Lieutenant Albert C. Dalton, Company A, U.S. Infantry.
In a life that was part legend and part fantasy, William F. Cody came to embody the spirit of the West. During the Civil War, Cody served first as a Union scout in campaigns against the Kiowa and Comanche; then in 1863 he enlisted with the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, which saw action in Missouri and Tennessee. In 1867, Cody took up the trade that gave him his nickname, hunting buffalo to feed the construction crews of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. According to Buffalo Bill, he killed 4,280 head of buffalo in seventeen months.
He is perhaps best known for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, a theatrical extravaganza. His show dramatized some of the most picturesque elements of frontier life. It contained a buffalo hunt with real buffalos, an Indian attack with real Indians, and a grand finale that reenacted Custer’s Last Stand, with some Lakota who actually fought in the battle playing a part. The show was enormously successful and traveled the world for three decades.
National Standards
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades K-4)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.