Composition No 2050 - And the Band Played On.

Watched a documentary about Buffalo Bill last weekend. Brilliant stuff really. He took the American West to the people of Europe in the form of a "Wild West Show" in the late 1800's.
The titled heads of Europe including the then Albertless Victoria adored the performances and fawned over the several hundred extras including Bison, Cowboys, Indians, Bucking Horses and Elk.
I knew that the show had toured Scotland and been in Glasgow and Aberdeen but had not realised that he had also toured Madrid, Paris, Berlin and London.
As a celebration of the conquest of the plains, the Wild West Show may lack historical accuracy. But as a triumph of the power of marketing it really is amazing. Buffalo Bill made millions during the decades he toured the show and quickly lost the lot in bad investments, ending his life as an obscure circus horseback performer.
His legacy lived on in Hollywood Westerns though. Thankfully these are now in the bin of history (bad Indians, poor settlers, brave cowboys)
One of the oddest parts of the whole Buffalo Bill Cody show was the employment of Chief Sitting Bull as an extra in the show.
Sitting Bull stayed but a year or so.
After he left he commented that " the white man knows very well how to create wealth and resources, but has no idea how to distribute them".
Sitting Bull may have a point.