Buffalo Bill printre români
Buffalo Bill among romanians

Summary/Abstract: During his 1906 European tour, Colonel William Frederick Cody, the worldwide famous Buffalo Bill (1846-1917), reached the eastern parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which were inhabited mainly by Romanians. His performance was hailed as the greatest event of that summer. Indeed, the public had never attended such an interesting show as Buffalo Bill's Wild West. As its founder and owner always stressed, this performance was't only a circus, but also an exhibition meant to educate and entertain. It was a re-enactment of the American West and its history as Buffalo Bill knew it. Actually, Colonel Cody staged only those aspects of western life and those events he himself witnessed or in which he claimed to have taken part such as: the Pony Express, a buffalo hunt, an Indian attack on Deadwood stagecoach, the burning of a pioneer settlement, the battle of Summit Springs, Custer's Last Stand at Little Big Horn and Cody's hand-to-hand fight with Yellow Hand (also known as Yellow Hair), a Cheyenne Indian chieftain. These main dramatic acts were intersperesed with entertainment such as: horsemanship, target shooting, roping steers and bucking mustangs. The Congress of Rough Riders of the World was another attraction. Buffalo Bill's Wild West stopped a day or two in most important cities of Transylvania and Bukovina: Timişoara (Temesvâr in Hungarian, July 9), Arad (July 10-11), Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvâr in Hungarian, July 12), Sibiu (Hermannstadt in German, Nagyszeben in Hungarian, July 13), Braşov (Kronstadt in German, Brâsso in Hungarian July 14-15), Sighişoara (Schàssburg or Segesvâr, July 16), Târgu Mureş (Maros Vâsârhely, July 17), Cluj (Clausenburg or Kolozsvâr, July 18-19), Oradea (Grosswardein or Nagyvârad, July 20), Satu Mare (Szatmârnéméti, July 21) Sighetul Marmaţiei (Maramér Szigét, July 22) and Cernăuţi (Czemowitz, July 24-25). All the local newspapers advertised this event giving full details about the acts and the stars, about the huge tent and the animals. Major John M. Burke, the company press agent, preceeded the show by a few days in order to take care of the preliminary arrangements, the advertising and posters, the travel and show schedules, the plans for feeding people and animals. He also chose, with the help of the local officials, the place where the large tent and show's camp would be set. The journalists were eager to interview Major Burke. Their press releases were always full of interesting details about the show, its acts and its stars. But sometimes the press coverage was erroneous, due to inaccurate translation. Lacking any knowledge of American history, the editors mistook General Custer's name with one of a fortress. Consequently, they translated "Custer's Last Stand" with "the last siege of Custer", Custer being for them something similar to Plevna or Cars. The advertisments were always illustrated with Colonel Cody's portrait and sometimes with a revealing composition of Indians attacking the stagecoach, cowboys breaking broncs. Arabs or Cossacks on horseback. Transylvanians were most interested by the hugeness of the team. The three trains in which the show travelled and their arrivals on schedule were also matters of amazement. The cars were painted yellow and the company's name was inscribed on each of them: Buffalo Bill Wild West. Of the fifty cars thirteen were sleeping cars equipped with all the conveniences for stars and extras as well. All the cars belonged to the company and were specially equipped to mach the European railways. For eight hundred people and five hundred animals great quantities of food were necessary. Breakfast alone, served almost immediately after the team's arrival, required three hundred eggs. This meal was ample and in accordance with every taste. Besides eggs there were additional dishes such as soup, steak with potatoes, bread and butter, milk, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Six hundred and sixty two pounds of meat per day were just enough to feed the showmen. For elk, buffalo, deer, cattle and horses there were provided six carloads of hay and an appropriate quantity of oats. The huge tent was set up rapidly. Everybody knew his job and worked hard to complete his task.

• Details
• Contents