Encounter: Buffalo Bill at Queen Victoria's Command

On May 9, 1887, Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opened in London. A short excerpt:

"The Wild West Show opened in London on May 9, 1887, before a crowd of 28,000 in a huge outdoor arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” ringmaster Frank Richmond bellowed, “the one and only, genuine and authentic, unique and original—Wild West!”

At that, nearly 200 performers—cowboys, Indians and Mexican vaqueros—galloped into the arena whooping and hooting, followed by Buffalo Bill riding Old Charlie, the horse he described as having “almost human intelligence, extraordinary speed, endurance and fidelity,” and silently waving his cowboy hat. Then the show began. Cowboys lassoed steers and rode bucking broncos. Indians attacked a wagon train until Cody and his cowboys rode to the rescue. Annie Oakley shot a cigar out of her husband’s mouth. A cowboy named Mustang Jack jumped over a full-grown horse and landed on his feet, then did it again holding two 10-pound dumbbells. Indians attacked the Deadwood stagecoach until Cody and his cowboys rode to the rescue again. The Indians chased buffalo, erected a village of tepees and performed a war dance. Galloping at full speed, Cody shot dozens of glass balls thrown into the air. Indians attacked a log cabin until Cody and his cowboys rode to the rescue once more.

The crowd cheered and the critics raved. “Buffalo Bill’s entertainment is assuredly the most remarkable ever seen in this country,” said the Illustrated London News, and Sporting Life agreed: "It is new, it is brilliant, it will ‘go.’”"