CHAPTER XXIV.

A VISIT FROM QUEEN VICTORIA.

“By command of her majesty the queen.”--It must be understood that the queen never requests, desires, or invites even her own prime minister, to her own dinner-tables, but “commands” invariably. A special performance was given by the Wild West, the understanding being that her majesty and suite would take a private view of the performance. The queen, ever since the death of her husband nearly thirty years ago, has cherished an invincible objection to appearing before great assemblages of her subjects. She visits her parliament seldom, the theaters never. Her latest knowledge of her greatest actors and actresses has been gained from private performances at Windsor, whither they have been “commanded” to entertain her, and that at very infrequent intervals. But, as with Mahomet and the mountain, the Wild West was altogether too colossal to take to Windsor, and so the queen came to the Wild West--an honor which was unique and unexampled in its character. When this visit was announced the public would hardly believe it, and if bets had been made at the clubs, the odds on a rank outsider in the Derby would have been nothing to the amount that would have been bet that it was a Yankee hoax. The news that her majesty would arrive at 5 o’clock and would require to see everything in an hour was in the nature of an astounding surprise to the management of the Wild West; but they determined to do the very best in their power, and that settled it. A dais for her majesty was erected and a box specially constructed draped with crimson velvet and decorated with orchids, leaving plenty of accommodation for the attendant noblemen, and all was made as bright and cheerful as possible.

With royal punctuality the sovereign lady and her suite rolled up in their carriages, drove around the arena in state, and dismounted at the entrance to the box. The august company included, besides her majesty, their royal highnesses Prince and Princess of Battenburg, the Marquis of Lorne, the dowager Duchess of Athole, and the Hon. Ethel Cadogan, Sir Henry and Lady Ponsonby, Gen. Lynedoch Gardiner, Col. Sir Henry Ewart, Lord Ronald Gower, and a collection of uniformed celebrities and brilliantly attired fair ladies, who formed a veritable parterre of living flowers around the temporary throne.

During the introduction of the performers of the exhibition a remarkable incident occurred which is worthy of being specially recorded. As usual in the entertainment the American flag, carried by a graceful, well-mounted horseman, was introduced, with the statement that it was “an emblem of peace and friendship to all the world.” As the standard-bearer, who on this occasion was Col. William F. Cody himself, waved the proud emblem above his head, her majesty rose from her seat and bowed deeply and impressively toward the banner. The whole court party rose, the ladies bowed, the generals present saluted, and the English noblemen took off their hats. Then there arose from the company such a genuine, heart-stirring American yell as seemed to shake the sky. It was a great event. For the first time in history since the Declaration of Independence a sovereign of Great Britain had saluted the star-spangled banner--and that banner was carried by Buffalo Bill. It was an outward and visible sign of the extinction of that mutual prejudice, sometimes almost amounting to race hatred, that had severed the two nations from the times of Washington and George III. to the present day. The hatchet was buried at last, and the Wild West had been at the funeral.

The queen not only abandoned her original intention of remaining to see only the first acts, but saw the whole thing through, and wound up with a “command” that Buffalo Bill should be presented to her, and her compliments were deliberate and unmeasured. Mr. Nate Salsbury and Chief Red Shirt, the latter gorgeous in his war-paint and splendid feather trappings, were also presented. The chief’s proud bearing seemed to take with the royal party immensely, and when he quietly declared that “he had come a long way to see her majesty, and felt glad,” and strolled abruptly away, the queen smiled appreciatively, as one who would say, “I know a real duke when I see him.” After inspecting the papooses the queen’s visit came to an end, with a last “command,” expressed through Sir Henry Ponsonby, that a record of all she had seen should be sent on to Windsor.

While receiving generous attention from the most prominent English people, Colonel Cody was by no means neglected by his own countrymen, many of whom were frequent visitors to the Wild West Show, and added by their presence and influence much to the popularity of both the show and Colonel Cody himself. Hon. James G. Blaine, accompanied by his family, spent several hours in Colonel Cody’s tent, and was a frequent visitor to the show. So also were Hon. Joseph Pulitzer, Chauncey M. Depew, Lawrence Jerome, Murat Halstead, General Hawley, Simon Cameron, and many other distinguished Americans.

When the Hon. James G. Blaine visited the Wild West in London, accompanied by his wife and daughters, his carriage was driven through the royal gate to the grounds, and he was received by the English people as though he had been one of the royal highnesses.

The Wild West band played the “Star Spangled Banner,” the air so loved by all true Americans being received by the English audience rising, and standing while Mr. Blaine and party alighted from their carriage and were escorted to the box set aside for them.

When the distinguished party were seated the band played “Way Down in Maine” and “Yankee Doodle.” After the entertainment, when Mr. Blaine took his departure, he was given three rousing cheers by the English, a tribute which he gracefully acknowledged and appreciated fully.

So many prominent Americans, acquaintances of Colonel Cody, were in London at that time that it was determined to give them a novel entertainment that would serve the double purpose of regaling their appetites while affording an illustration of the wild habits of many Indian tribes. In accordance with this resolution Gen. Simon Cameron--as the guest of honor and about one hundred other Americans, including those named above, were invited to a rib-roast breakfast prepared by the Indians after the manner of their cooking when in their native homes.

The large dining-tent was gorgeously festooned and decorated for the occasion, and all the invited guests responded to the summons and arrived by 9 o’clock in the morning. Before the tent a fire had been made, around which were grouped a number of Indian cooks. A hole had been dug in the ground and in this a great bed of coals was now made, over which was set a wooden tripod from which was suspended several ribs of beef. An Indian noted for his skill as a rib-roaster attended to the cooking by gently moving the meat over the hot coals for nearly half an hour, when it was removed to the quarters and there jointed ready to be served. The guests were much interested in the process of cooking and were equally anxious to sample the product of Indian culinary art. The whole of the Indian tribes in camp breakfasted with the visitors, squatting on straw at the end of the long dining-tent. Some dozen ribs were cooked and eaten in this primitive fashion, civilized and savage methods of eating confronting each other. The thoroughly typical breakfast over, excellent speeches, chiefly of a humorous nature, were made by the honored guest General Cameron, Colonel Cody, and others of the party. The breakfast was supplemented by an Indian dance, and thus ended the unique entertainment.

On the 20th of June a special morning exhibition of the Wild West was, by further “command” from her majesty, given to the kingly and princely guests of Queen Victoria upon the occasion of her jubilee. This was the third entertainment given to royalty in private, and surely never before in the history of the world had such a gathering honored a public entertainment. The gathering of personages consisted of the King of Denmark, the King of Saxony, the King and Queen of the Belgians and the King of Greece, the Crown Prince of Austria, the Prince and Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, the Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway, the Princess Victoria of Prussia, the Duke of Sparta, the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, Prince George of Greece, Prince Louis of Baden, and last, but not least, the Prince and Princess of Wales with their family, besides a great host of lords and ladies innumerable.

A peculiar circumstance of the visit of Queen Victoria to the Wild West exhibition may be mentioned here. It was at the time of the queen’s jubilee, and there had gathered in London the largest and grandest assemblage of royalty ever before known in the world’s history, to do honor to the queen’s reign of half a century.

It was the day before her majesty had appointed to meet all the royal personages that she came face to face with them, all gathered together to do honor to the American entertainment of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West; an honor indeed to the famous scout, and which was commented upon by the Prince of Wales, who referred to the great number of distinguished people present, and that it was made possible by the fact that peace reigned upon earth with all nations who were there represented.

On this occasion the good old Deadwood coach, “baptized in fire and blood” so repeatedly on the plains, had the honor of carrying on its time-honored timbers four kings and the Prince of Wales. This elicited from his royal highness the remark to Colonel Cody, “Colonel, you never held four kings like these before,” to which Colonel Cody promptly and aptly replied, “I’ve held four kings, but four kings and the Prince of Wales makes a royal flush, such as no man ever held before.” At this the prince laughed heartily.

After this interesting gathering Colonel Cody received from Marlborough House the following letter of thanks:

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, PALL MALL, S. W.

DEAR SIR: Lieut.-Gen. Sir Dighton Probyn, comptroller and treasurer of the Prince of Wales’ household, presents his compliments to Colonel Cody, and is directed by his royal highness to forward him the accompanying pin as a souvenir of the performance of the Wild West which Colonel Cody gave before the Prince and Princess of Wales, the kings of Denmark, Belgium, Greece, and Saxony, and other royal guests, on Monday last, to all of whom, the prince desires Sir Dighton Probyn to say, the entertainment gave great satisfaction.

LONDON, June 22, 1887.

This souvenir pin bore the crest and motto of the Prince of Wales, and readers will perhaps be familiar with the story of how this crest and motto (_Ich dien_, “I serve”) were wrested from the King of Bohemia at Cressy by the Black Prince, son of Edward III. of England.

Few men have had such honors bestowed upon them as has Buffalo Bill, for he can also point with pride to a superb diamond crest presented him by Queen Victoria, the elegant pin from the Prince of Wales, while from Prince George of Russia he received a magnificent gold tankard of mosaic pattern.

Other royal personages have also made him the recipient of many costly gifts, while persons in private life have shown their appreciation of the record he has won in many ways.

The prince and princess and their sons and daughters were frequent visitors to the Wild West during its stay in London. Upon one occasion his royal highness determined to try the novel sensation of a ride in the old stage, and notwithstanding some objection on the part of her royal husband, the princess also booked for inside passage and took it smilingly, seeming highly delighted with the experience. On one occasion the royal lady startled the managers of the show by an intimation that she would that evening attend the performance _incognito_. The manager whose duty it was to receive her declared himself in a “middling tight fix” as to where and how to seat her. Upon her arrival, in answer to the question if she desired any particular position, the lady replied, “Certainly, yes. Put me immediately among the people. I like the people.” The manager, with great thoughtfulness, ushered her into one of the press boxes, with Colonel Montague, Mrs. Clark, and her brother the Prince of Denmark. Later, to his surprise, several of the newspaper boys came into the adjoining box, and in order to avert the latter’s suspicion of who the lady occupant of the box was, the manager was compelled to address the royal lady and her escort as “Colonel and Mrs. Jones, friends of mine from Texas.” The princess took the joke with becoming gravity, and afterward confessed the evening was one of the pleasantest and funniest she had ever spent in her life.

And so, amid the innumerable social junketings, roastings, and courtly functions, added to hard work, the London experiences of the Wild West drew to a successful close.