Buffalo Bill Page #5

Yes, sir! It's a big...

Here. But the president...

- Where is my son?

- He's upstairs, sir.

No!

What killed my son?

Bill!

Diphtheria.

What's that?

It's a germ.

Where does it come from?

From water systems. From sewage.

It's a crowd disease.

A disease of civilization.

Civilization.

Bill!

The West wasn't

good enough for him.

If you'd left him there,

he'd be alive today.

Oh, Bill!

The president knows why

you didn't show up, Bill.

His deepest personal sympathy

goes with that medal.

That's what they give you

for killing Indians.

Indians that can live against nature...

...and feed and clothe themselves

with nothing but their bare hands.

Don't you think we ought to leave?

And who gives it to you?

They're pot-bellied, civilized citizens...

...who couldn't walk a mile

with an Indian. They give you medals.

Try to control yourself.

The people are listening.

Well, let them listen.

Anybody who can hold his own against

Indians doesn't have to shut up for them.

Any 10-year-old kid who was born

and raised like an Indian...

...could whip the daylights

out of them.

Any kid.

Any kid.

Come on, partner.

Civilization,

Mr. President, creates its own forces.

And if I had been one of them, I have

no apologies to offer and no regrets.

My ambition to see civilization move

westward on tracks of steel...

...has been severely criticized

by elements of the press...

...and even on the floor of Congress.

On the other hand, there are those

better-qualified to express an opinion.

Who believe, like General Sherman...

...that the only good Indian

is a dead Indian.

We have here a guest who knows

more about the frontier...

...than any man living, and who,

if we hold with General Sherman...

...has made more good Indians

than any other man in the West.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen,

Buffalo Bill.

Read it slowly. Don't get nervous.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen.

I was afraid I was gonna make a fool of

myself in front of you tonight.

But that would be all right...

...because a man can make himself a fool

when he's off his own stamping ground.

But when a man makes a fool of himself

on his own stamping ground...

...there's no excuse for him.

I don't hold with General Sherman

that a good Indian is a dead Indian.

From what I've seen,

the Indian is a freeborn American...

...who'll fight for his folks,

for his land and for his living...

...just like any other American.

Holy Jupiter, this is dynamite.

If you knew the Indians, if you could

see them for yourselves...

...how they live against nature

with nothing but their bare hands...

...you'd never force them to break

treaties to keep from starving.

But the trouble is, you Easterners

don't know what you're doing.

That's why we Westerners

and the Indians have had to suffer.

There's only one Indian you know,

or that you ever thought about.

And here he is, Mr. Vandervere.

The Indian on your pennies.

You realize what you're up against?

Do you think Vandervere is gonna let you

get away with a thing like this?

You're crazy. There's nothing

Vandervere won't do.

- What can he do to me?

- I don't know, but it'll be plenty.

- Uh-huh.

- Now, look, Bill, I like you.

I don't wanna see

him tear you down.

Oh, I'll take care of myself.

All right.

If you insist on being a martyr,

good luck to you, Bill.

I'm off to Mexico.

But I'm warning you...

...Vandervere will stop at nothing.

Buffalo Bill is all right, a good hunter,

a good Indian scout.

But to give him all the credit

for our victory at War Bonnet Gorge...

...well, that's going a little too far.

I tell you, Buffalo Bill's a fraud.

I was at War Bonnet Gorge myself.

He didn't have any more to do

with killing Yellow Hand than I did.

Have you met Galima?

Princess Galima from faraway Persia.

She escaped from the harem of

the sultan at the risk of her life.

Inside she dances...

Try your eye, mister,

a dime will get you a dollar.

What's the matter, ain't you

got no sporting blood in you?

Maybe. Haven't you?

Sure.

I haven't got a dime, but I'll gamble

this against your dollar.

What's that?

Judas.

Hey, Muldoon, come here.

Will you look what this bobo

wants to sell for a dime?

Holy St. Patrick!

The Congressional Medal!

- Where did the likes of you get this?

- War Bonnet Gorge.

War Bonnet Gorge.

Well, well, think of that now.

I'm taking you to a place

called the station house.

What? It's my medal,

I'm Buffalo Bill Cody.

And I'm Jenny Lind.

Walk with me or I'll sing you

a lullaby with me nightstick.

I am Buffalo Bill Cody.

If I was pretending to be someone,

I wouldn't be that faker.

- Set them up again.

- That's some shooting.

I wouldn't have missed it for a dollar.

Whoa! Wow.

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Cody.

Just the king of Siam, you are,

if you're saying so.

I guess the laugh's on me.

Here is your medal.

Well, thanks.

How about the dollar?

- I'd like to eat.

- On the level?

Yeah.

Say, maybe me and you

can do a little business.

Louisa...

...you can't go on torturing

yourself like this.

He's gone.

Make a new life for yourself.

Divorce him.

No.

I can't stand

seeing you suffer, my dear.

Why don't you go to him?

That's really what you'd like to do.

Forget your pride. He's worth it.

I wish I had the courage

to stand up to Vandervere...

...when I found I'd been deceived.

Do you know where he is now?

No.

How he's earning his living?

No.

He's posing at the Wonderland Museum

in New York.

On a wooden horse.

No!

Step up, ladies and gentlemen.

Step up for a moral...

...and educational exhibition of

marksmanship by the King of the Plains.

Killer of Cheyenne war chief,

that human tiger, Yellow Hand!

A hero.

The hero of War Bonnet Gorge!

Introducing Buffalo Bill!

Why, he never saw

an Indian in his life!

- Never on the plains.

- Just a minute! Please, please.

Management is aware of a difference

of opinion as to Mr. Cody's exploits.

Be that as it may,

ladies and gentlemen...

...in order to prove that he is well able

to do anything he claims to have done...

...the management makes this standing

offer at each and every exhibition:

It will give the sum of $ 1000 in gold...

...should Mr. Cody fail to shoot

a silver dollar...

...from between the fingers of any man,

woman or child...

- ... who will volunteer to hold the same.

- Why don't you hold it yourself, mister?

Because it is an unfortunate weakness

of human nature...

...to distrust a man of my profession.

Ladies and gentlemen,

you'd think it was a trick.

That is why the offer is made to you.

I furnish the dollar,

you furnish the fingers.

Now, are there any volunteers?

Step right up!

Anyone at all? Come on,

any volunteers in the crowd?

Anybody at all...?

I'll hold it.

The management assumes no liability.

Now, madam, if you'll step

back on that little platform.

And there's no reason

for you to be nervous.

Now, madam, hold out the dollar.

Wait, don't fire. She's holding a penny!

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