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Post by Historian on Apr 4, 2009 8:39:01 GMT -5
Members of Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show - 1890  Members of Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show - 1890  Gordon Lille (Pawnee Bill) with wife May Manning Lillie - 1886  Gordon W. Lille (Pawnee Bill) - cira 1890  Gordon W. Lille (Pawnee Bill), William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) - circa 1900  |
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Post by jinlian on Apr 4, 2009 9:14:25 GMT -5
Hi HinTamaheca,
this is actually the cast of the 1886-86 Buffalo Bill's Wild West. The photograph was taken in Staten Island, NY.
The man on the left leaning on the tree is the Oglala chief American Horse; on his right, in the background wearing a headdress is the Oglala Rocky Bear and the man in the middle, wearing a single feather and two medals is the Pawnee Young Chief. I'm sure other members might help identifying other of the people featured in the image.
Best,
Jin
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Post by Historian on Apr 4, 2009 10:45:05 GMT -5
Guess it must've been mis-identified. Thanks. Newpaper Ad from the New York Clipper - 1903  Taken from: www.legendsofamerica.com/we-pawneebilll.htmlOne of the many who exemplified the “Wild West” was Gordon W. “Pawnee Bill” Lillie. Gordon was the oldest of four children born to Susan and Newton Lillie in Bloomington, Illinois on February 14, 1860. His father owned and operated a flour mill and was considered one of the prosperous citizens of Bloomington. When he grew old enough, Gordon worked for his father, but fascinated with the Old West, spent his free time reading dime novels about the Old West and Buffalo Bill Cody.
When the flour mill burned down in the 1870s, the family moved to Wellington, Kansas where they had relatives. The family began to farm and soon set up another flour mill. Gordon was still fascinated with the Wild West and when the Pawnee Indians were being moved from their homeland in Nebraska to Indian Territory, they made a winter camp near Wellington. The boy soon was spending many hours with them, learning their skills and language. While there, he also made a long-time friend, tribal elder, Blue Hawk.
When he was just 15 years-old, Gordon joined a cattle drive in Wichita, Kansas. He then moved on south to Indian Territory to visit his friend, Blue Hawk. There, lived near the Pawnee reservation and got a job in a rock quarry, but spent his free time with the Pawnee, who allowed him to participate in their annual buffalo hunt. For a short time he joined Trapper Tom McCain’s fur trading company, then returned to the Pawnee. In 1879, he became a teacher for the Pawnee and worked as an interpreter and secretary to Major Bowman, the Indian agent. It was during this time that Gordon became known as Pawnee Bill – a name the Pawnee Indians gave to him.
In 1883, Gordon was very pleased when the Pawnee Agency received a letter from Buffalo Bill asking for several Indians to travel with his newly organized Wild West Show. Six of the Pawnee, Along with Gordon Lillie, quickly volunteered. Gordon would work as both an interpreter and a performer. They soon set off traveling the nation and while Pawnee Bill was in Philadelphia he met May Manning, a 15-year-old Quaker girl who was watching the parade. For the next two years, he pair maintained a long distance courtship before marrying in 1886. May’s family soon started to talk Gordon into starting his own show and liking the idea, he recruited backers and organized the “Pawnee Bill Wild West Show” in 1888. Practicing with him, his wife, May, performed as “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West. Unfortunately, the production went broke after only one season.
Undaunted, Pawnee Bill, re-organized as “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show” and this time it was successful, so much so that he took his show to Europe. However, it was a mistake – the show went bankrupt while there.
Regrouping once again, the show then toured Holland and France, entertaining royalty. They then returned to the United States, where they were once again successful.
In 1902 Pawnee Bill established the Buffalo Ranch on land he purchased from Blue Hawk. Later, he traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote a congressional bill to develop a wildlife refuge.
He also expanded his show and became serious competition for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. In 1907 Gordon hired performers from a variety of backgrounds, including Mexican cowboys, Pawnee and Sioux scouts, Chinese and Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers, and renamed the production “Pawnee Bill’s Wild West and Great Far East Show.”
At about the same time Buffalo Bill’s show was starting to suffer financially and in 1908, Pawnee Bill purchased one-third interest in the production. Soon, Gordon bought the remaining interest in the show, but retained Buffalo Bill as a partner.
The two traveled together as the “Two Bill’s Show” until 1913, when the venture again went bankrupt. It was billed as one of the entertainment triumphs of the ages and traveled all over the world entertaining audiences with both realistic and fantasy views of the Old West. The show closed in Denver, Colorado, in 1913 after touring for five seasons.
Gordon and May built their dream home on Blue Hawk Peak and moved into the dwelling in 1910. May became manager of the Buffalo Ranch while Gordon traveled with Buffalo Bill. In 1916 they adopted a child and named him Billy. During this time, Gordon also began to diversify his investments, opening an oil refinery in Yale, Oklahoma, raising cattle, and started a movie production company on his ranch. Tragically, their adopted son, Billy, died in an accident when he was eight years old.
In 1930 Pawnee Bill built and operated “Pawnee Bill’s Old Town,” two miles west of his ranch, a tourist attraction featuring log cabins, tepees, saloons, gunfights, and other attractions from the Old West. Six years later May died in an automobile accident. Gordon died in 1942. He was 81.
Unfortunately Old Town burned to the ground in 1944, along with some of the finest objects of Indian art and artifacts of the Old West.
Today, Pawnee Bill’s arts and crafts style home, filled with his original furnishings and collections, has become Pawnee Bill’s Ranch and Museum in Pawnee, Oklahoma. The museum also features the first log cabin that housed Bill and May when they first purchased the ranch and the three story stone barn that Bill built in 1926 to house his animals, an observation tower Bill utilized to lookout over his ranch lands, and other outbuildings.
The ranch also maintains one of the finest herds of bison in the world, as well as a herd of long-horn cattle. Pawnee, Oklahoma is about 55 miles west of Tulsa on U.S. 64. The Ranch is at the top of the hill just west of the town.******* Taken from: www.showhistory.com/PawneeBill.htmlGordon William Lillie (Pawnee Bill) was born February 14, 1860 -- idolizing Buffalo Bill as he grew up.
In the 1870’s the young Lillie spent scores of hours at a nearby Pawnee Indian camp, learning their skills and language. Later they gave him the name Pawnee Bill.
In 1883 Buffalo Bill wrote to the Pawnee Agency asking for several Indians to travel with his newly organized Wild West Show. Pawnee Bill and six Pawnees joined Buffalo Bill’s show.
After five years on Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Lillie recruited backers, organizing his own Pawnee Bill Wild West Show in 1888. The show went broke after the first season. Re-organized the following year as Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show, the show was successful, but on taking the show to Europe, Lillie went bankrupt again. Regrouping yet again, Lillie successfully toured Holland and the rest of Europe.
In 1907 he re-named his show Pawnee Bill’s Wild West and Great Far East Show about the same time Buffalo Bill’s show was having financial difficulty.
In 1908 Pawnee Bill purchased Buffalo Bill's show and offered him a partnership. They traveled together as the Two Bill’s Show until 1913, when the venture again went bankrupt once again.******* Taken from: www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/ok/west_1Pawnee Bill was born Gordon Lillie in 1860 and raised in Illinois. When Gordon was 15, he moved to Pawnee, Oklahoma. He became a teacher to the Pawnee Indians who lived there and they gave him the nickname "Pawnee Bill." Because he loved the history of the Old West so much, in 1883, Pawnee Bill left teaching to join the new Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which featured exciting acts such as a bison hunt.
While Pawnee Bill was performing in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, he met a woman named May Manning. Soon after they met, May married Pawnee Bill and became May Manning Lillie. Then the couple started their own Wild West show, with May as one of its star performers. Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show was so popular that today it is still re-created at Pawnee Bill's Buffalo Ranch in the town of Pawnee, Oklahoma, for thousands of people to enjoy. |
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