November 1891 


By the time the show was finally unveiled to the expectant Glasgow public, the entourage had already spent three weeks in the city, and Colonel Cody's cowboys and Indians were established as familiar figures on the streets of the East End.

Buffalo Bill himself took full advantage of the wealth of entertainment which the city had to offer, and even attended a football match between Rangers and Queen's Park at Ibrox Park. The occasion was a Glasgow Cup tie on Saturday the 7th of November, postponed from the previous Saturday, 31st October. Queen's Park won by three goals to nil. The arrival of Buffalo Bill and his party was greeted with warm applause, and at half time he was presented to both teams.

By an odd twist of fate, the show's opening night on Monday 16th November coincided with the official opening of Whitehill Public School, in those days situated immediately next door to the exhibition buildings. The two events commenced just half an hour apart. Not surprisingly, it was the Wild West show which laid claim to the lion's share of the press coverage.

The Evening Times newspaper ran a review of the opening night, which appeared the next day, Tuesday the 17th. This account of the evening's proceedings was accompanied by the following illustration, entitled Sketches from the Wild West. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

Next - December 1891

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Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Scotland