The Life of Hon. William F. Cody, Known as Buffalo Bill

Acknowledgments

The legacy of William F. Cody is in good hands thanks to a cohort of committed professionals, many of whom lent their generous gifts to this project. Kurt Graham originated the idea for the The Papers of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody series and found in University of Nebraska Press a more than able partner to materialize the project. He also recruited me to join the editorial team and provided astute oversight at each stage, helping to guide this project through to successful completion. His visionary leadership made this volume and the series possible. This edition would not have been possible without the staff and resources of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the McCracken Research Library, and the Cody Institute for Western American Studies in Cody, Wyoming. The most valuable resource on the project was not an archive or a special collection; rather, it was Linda Clark, assistant editor of The Papers of William F. Cody. Her surefooted editorial skills sharpened every aspect of the manuscript and her formidable knowledge of the McCracken Research Library’s holdings brought to light many of the key documents in the appendixes. The managing editor, Jeremy Johnston, offered insightful analysis of significant elements of the manuscript. In its later stages the edition also benefited from the research and feedback of research assistants Gary acknowledgments xl acknowledgments Boyce and Deborah Adams. Lynn Houze, curatorial assistant at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, also lent her considerable expertise in reviewing annotations. The generous support of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center helped defray a portion of the production costs. Most of the images included in this volume were drawn from the archives of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center with the help of Mack Frost, the McCracken’s digital services technician. However, a number of key images came from other archives. I am grateful for the generous assistance of the staffs at these various institutions, including Mary-Jo Miller at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Jim Fisher at Yale’s Beinecke Library, and Coi Drummond-Gehrig at the Denver Public Library. Steve Freisen, director of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden, Colorado, was a great help in providing images of Cody’s young family. In 2009 I attended the Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents sponsored by the National Historical and Publication Records Commission and the Wisconsin Historical Society. The seminar, run by John Kaminski and his staff, offered valuable training in all aspects of the documentary editing process. My experience in Madison has informed each stage of this project. Heather Lundine, editor in chief at the University of Nebraska Press, caught the vision of the Cody Papers from the start and saw the role of Cody’s autobiographical writing within the series. With the help of Bridget Barry, associate acquisitions editor, she steered the project through to timely completion with consummate professionalism. Ann Baker oversaw the copyediting and production stages with care and insight, making this a more presentable volume in the process. The Brigham Young University College of Humanities under acknowledgments xli Dean John Rosenberg and the byu English Department under chair Ed Cutler provided travel support and research mentoring grants that enabled a number of bright and motivated students to work on the project. The time and efforts of Sarah Campbell , Dave Fife, Hayley Hucks, Kristin Lowe, Ben Miller, and Amy Takabori contributed significantly to the quality of the finished product. Students in my 2010 senior seminar on the frontier in American literature coupled patience and intellectual curiosity in equal parts as I led them through my reading and thinking on this project. In the process the world gained a few new Cody enthusiasts. Dr. Mark Jackson and his research assistant, Thalassa Jones, of the byu Geosciences and Technology Library, researched and designed the original maps. I am indebted to the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies for a research travel grant. As always, my wife, Stace, and daughters, Quinn, Teal, and Maggie, provided the most meaningful support, the kind that puts my work in its rightful place alongside the big stuff. ...