Cowboys, Indians, Mexicans, Cossacks, Arabs, Japanese, there was a lot of fuss, please. Buffalo Bill's tour in Hungary and Transylvania was an amazing sensation. It even became a press scandal.
When one thinks of the really big domestic mass events of the early 20th century, not much comes to mind. The 1896 millennium celebrations were there, and then (turning to Transylvania at the time) there was the inauguration of the monument to King Matthias in Cluj in October 1902 (right, since then, they haven't inaugurated such a large group of public sculptures in our area). Then, of course, there were 1914, 1918 and 1920, but unfortunately these years, which otherwise "moved" huge crowds, cannot be linked to events, given that they were organized by harsh reality.
Well, there is something here that literally infuriated the Hungarian citizens of the time, the authorities, and the media. Moreover, it is not even a European campaign. At that time, people talked about America primarily in terms of the absorbing power of the young giant. And many (very many) also went for the modern Promised Land. The American dream probably contributed to the enthusiasm with which Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West show were received in Hungary (and in Transylvania).
Who the hell was this Buffalo Bill that they made such a fuss about him?
Mr. William Frederick Cody was born on February 26, 1846 in the state of Iowa, shortly before the European revolutions of 1848. He was everything in the fledgling United States of America: horse courier, gold digger, scout, slave liberator, professional bison hunter (which is why he is not very popular today, but then there were times when the railroad was built and many mouths had to be stuffed with food and the bison he was there, close to the tracks), he fought in the American Civil War, but he also took part in the Indian Wars.
It was then that the attention of the show business of the time was directed at him: a certain Mr. Ned Buntline started writing the Buffalo Bill stories, and they were caught like sugar. Then they took his adventures to the stage, and - how charming it is - in 1872, he was asked to play himself on the boards representing the world. Well, Mr. Buffalo didn't make it as a professional actor, but the people loved him. Because he gave himself. And from here, all it took was a little business and marketing spark to give birth to the soon-to-be-world-famous Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
The Wild West Circus Train started in 1882, and until 1913 (when the big business went bankrupt, among other reasons, due to the expansion of film and cinema) it raced through America and the world with unbroken success. The last European tour took place between 1902 and 1906. And as part of this, the Wild West invaded Hungary... and Transylvania.
The entire article HERE !
Featured image: Main Square
