Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Dog travois sketch & photo: FFA & TTC

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Here is a dog travois sketch I drew based on a display at the Plains Indian wing of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Wyoming.

Before the introduction of horses in North America, people relied on dogs to pull loads up to 75 pounds in weight. After the use of horses became commonplace, dogs continued to carry lighter loads.

This quick sketch was done for the Inktober challenge in 2024. The prompt for that day was “nomadic.”

dog travois sketch

This beautiful display at the Buffalo Bill Center shows a woman walking beside a dog travois. A man on horseback leads the way. Native people have relied on dogs as guardians, hunters, and companions for hundreds of years.

Plains Indian on the move

I’ve used saddlebags on my dogs in the past, but travois carry much heavier loads. Here’s a historical photo of dogs pulling travois in Alaska in 1897.

Two Klondikers with dogs packing supplies along the Chilkoot Trail near Dyea, Alaska, 1897. Frank La Roche, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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First Friday Art (FFA)

Three Things Challenge (TTC) – people

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Treasures of the Wild West: LAPC

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If you’d like to see an impressive collection of treasures of the Wild West, be sure to visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This world-class attraction is in Cody, Wyoming, an hour’s drive east of Yellowstone National Park.

Treasures of the Wild West in five museums

The Center contains five museums, including the Buffalo Bill Museum. There’s something for everyone at this museum.

Buffalo Bill Museum

During his lifetime, William F. Cody worked as a ranch hand, bison hunter, fur trapper, wagon train driver, Army scout, prospector, and Pony Express rider.

Cody is perhaps most well-known as a showman. He helped create a traveling show called Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. He took on the persona of Buffalo Bill.

Buffalo Bill Cody

Source: National Portrait Gallery. Smithsonian Institution.

Cody and his crew of performers put on outdoor western shows, highlighting (and romanticizing) the legacy of the West. The show began in 1883 and continued for 30 years.

Buffalo Bill's wardrobe

treasures of the wild west

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Victor Alexander saddle: Wordless Wednesday

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Victor Alexander saddle

Victor Alexander saddle at Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming

Wordless Wednesday

Sheepherder’s wagon Haiku: HPC

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sheepherder’s wagon
rolling across windswept plains
steady sentinel

Sheepherders wagon

Haiku Prompt Challenge – Rolling and Steady

Buffalo Bill sculpture in Cody: Saturday Sculpture

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This large Buffalo Bill sculpture is on a major street near the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.

History of the Buffalo Bill sculpture

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney created Buffalo Bill – The Scout to honor the town’s most famous resident. The dedication took place on July 4th in 1924.

Buffalo Bill Cody sculpture

Buffalo Bill Cody’s niece, Mary Jester Allen, was determined to honor his legacy after he died in 1917. She dreamed of opening a museum recognizing his accomplishments, despite the challenges. With her connections with the Eastern establishment, she convinced Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney to create a statue of Buffalo Bill.

Whitney agreed to create the sculpture, but didn’t like the proposed sites for its placement. She bought 40 adjoining acres. Whitney also ended up paying the entire $50,000 cost of the sculpture. The small town of Cody, evidently, could not raise enough to pay her.

Buffalo Bill Cody sculpture

A dream of a museum becomes a reality

In 1925, the International Cody Family Association formed. They proposed creating a Buffalo Bill Historical Museum. The town constructed a full-size replica of Buffalo Bill’s ranch home and opened it to the public in 1927. By 1949, the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association made plans to expand the facility. Western history and art, Native American culture, and natural history would be highlighted. A $250,000 donation in 1955 finally made expansion possible. Sonny Whitney, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s son, made that donation. In 1958, The Whitney Gallery of Western Art would become the first part of the world-class Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Buffalo Bill ca 1875. George Eastman House Collection.

Sometimes when you research one thing – a statue – you plunge down a rabbit hole and learn much more. I did not know the Vanderbilts, once considered to be the wealthiest family in America, had this connection with William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his legacy.

Mary Jester Allen would serve the museum in multiple roles from 1927 to 1960. Because of her actions and perseverance, the center now attracts millions of visitors from around over the world.

Saturday Sculpture

Deadwood Stagecoach: Wordless Wednesday

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Deadwood Stagecoach

Deadwood Stagecoach, 1867. Buffalo Bill Cody Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming

Wordless Wednesday

Plains Indian Museum, Wyoming: LAPC

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Today I’m sharing pictures taken at the Plains Indian Museum section of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This world-class museum has five sections focused on western history, culture, and the environment. It’s in Cody, Wyoming, a half an hour drive from the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

The theme this week for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is “low light.” Museums and galleries often have challenging lighting for taking photographs. I used my Samsung phone to take most of these photos since it does well in low light conditions. I’ll share some of my tips for taking and editing photos.

The first image shows a war lodge. Warriors made these temporary structures in wooded areas to hide their presence in enemy territory.

There was a reflection of a large blue screen on the right side of the image that I eliminated with my editing program, Corel PaintShop Pro 2021. I also used a vignette effect to direct viewers to the most interesting parts of this structure.

Stick tee pee in Cody museum
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Bison jump sculpture, painting, & poem: SS & LAPC

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Bison sculpture

Bison jump sculpture in Cody

I saw this impressive bison jump sculpture at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Free Fall, created by T.D. Kelsey in 2001, depicts a hunting method in use for hundreds of years. Hunters herded bison toward a steep cliff, where they fell to their death. As I’ve mentioned before, bison are dangerous and this is a safer alternative for harvesting them. At the base of this sculpture, piles of bones appear in a recreated archaeological dig.

Sculpture in Cody

T.D. Kelsey was born and raised on a ranch near Bozeman, Montana. T.D. Kelsey: Realist, Romantic, and Inspired Sculptor describes his background, including time spent as a rodeo cowboy, pre-med student, rancher, and airline pilot. With encouragement from his wife, Sidni, Kelsey eventually began working full time as an artist. His love for animals shows in this piece and other sculptures and paintings he created over the years.

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Trapper’s cabin re-creation: Monochrome Monday

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I saw this life-sized trapper’s cabin re-creation at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The details in the log walls, elk’s head, and snowshoes stand out in sepia tones. This is one of many amazing exhibits inside the museum.

trapper's cabin re-creation in Cody

Monochrome Monday