Grand Duke Alexis

[Diane Merkel]

Here's an excerpt from an article about the infamous buffalo hunt:

The Duke made his obligatory Eastern stops during the next two months, while Sheridan made preparations for the Duke's hunt in Nebraska in mid-January. He chose the colorful General Custer (age 32) to be the Grand Marshall of the hunt and William F. Cody (25) to be the hunt's guide. Custer had attracted much favorable attention during the Civil War, and four years later would attract lasting attention with his famous "Last Stand."

Cody had distinguished himself as a great buffalo hunter, and was already well known as "Buffalo Bill." Sheridan's instructions were to "Put on a real show for the Grand Duke!," which probably launched Cody's real calling -- the Wild West Show.

Cody located "friendly Indians" -- Chief Spotted Tail's Brule Sioux, camped along the Frenchman River in Southwest Nebraska. After spending the night in Spotted Tail's lodge (offering flour, sugar, and coffee and 1000 pounds of tobacco) he arranged for 100 (or more) braves to leave their winter quarters and perform for the Duke at a Camp, north of the present Hayes Center on the Red Willow Creek.

Article: www.mccookgazette.com/story/1300873.html

[grahamew]

Re: Less well known photos
« Reply #2 on Yesterday at 1:26pm »

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Here's an interesting page I came across while following a link provided by buffaloman. The photos featuring Grand Duke Alexis are interesting. Is that Spotted Tail standing with his men? Is Custer lurking somewhere? You can blow them up to a reasonable size before the definition goes.

The photo taken at Spotted Tail is also worth a look.
digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?keyword=indians+of+nebraska&submit.x=5&submit.y=7

[Diane Merkel]

Here's a short photo-essay about the Grand Duke's bison hunt with photos courtesy of the 1881 Courthouse Museum in Custer, South Dakota:

www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/a-russian-grand-duke-gen-custer-and-buffalo-bill-cody/.

[tubman13]

Thank you, Your Ladyship, I enjoyed. Hope all is well with you!

Regards,
Tom

[dave]

My how the times have changed. Imagine sending an officer and troops to take off hunting with nobility. My how the politicians would howl today if that were to happen.
Regards
Dave

[tubman13]

Dave,
I am sure things have changed since you hosted TR down in Mississippi.

Regards,
tom

[dave]

Tom
Surprisingly the Black Bear has made a comeback here in Mississippi. Today we have over 100 bears in all parts of the state. At one time it was feared they had all but disappeared completely so a program began in 2002 to bring the bears back today they have doubled the population.

Now I have an abundance of armadillos, coons, fire ants, skunks and other assorted creatures that I wish other states had. I think armadillos would add greatly to the wildlife population of Iowa and Virginia.
Regards
Dave

[Beth]

I suspect any armadillo worth its salt would reach the Iowa border and say "Heck no, it gets too cold there!"

[dave]

Well they could go to Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska or Southern Illinois. Any where but here.
Regards
Dave