10. A Changing World
When the Wild West Came to Salford
The Salford Quays site is known for entertainment on a grand scale. From the crowds that gathered at Salford racecourse to the fans that congregate at nearby Old Trafford and the culture lovers who visit the Lowry. The area has always been a place to entertain and back in 1887, the Wild West even came to town…
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show arrived in Salford in the late 1800s.
It was an almost unbelievable occurrence – a bizarre event at odds with an era of economic decline in the UK and conflict in the US.
But the show must go on, and the arrival of 97 Native American Oglala Sioux Indians, 180 Bronco horses and 18 buffalos in 1887 remains one of the more curious tales from what is today known as Salford Quays.
Poster promoting the opening of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West exhibition in Salford, on Saturday, December 17th, 1887, in the New Colossal Building at the Manchester Race Track - a location that 18 years later would go on to be developed into Dock No.9 at Salford Docks in 1905.
Of the Native Americans in the show, many were veterans of the Battle of the Little Bighorn on the run from the US Cavalry who decided to join and travel the world…
Buffalo Bill was a soldier, bison hunter and all-round showman.
The rodeo featured parades on horseback, feats of skill, staged races and sideshows. The show toured the US before arriving in the UK. The official statement at the time was that the show was so popular that they decided it was better to stay in Salford throughout the winter, performing night after night to packed crowds in what was, at the time, the biggest indoor arena in Western Europe.
Images: Woodburytype Cabinet Card portrait of Colonel W. F. Cody aka ‘Buffalo Bill’ and promotional poster of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show that toured in Salford.
The Salford Sioux
Today, Black Elk is one of the most famous American Indians of the 20th Century. But back in 1887, he was one of the Sioux Indians who came to Salford as part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. After a successful tour, his journey home hit a glitch when he missed the boat and had to find his own way back.
“When the show was going to leave very early next morning, three other young men and myself got lost in Manchester, and the fire-boat went away without us. We could not talk the Wasichu language and we did not know what to do, so we just roamed around.” - Black Elk
The Sioux visit to Salford lives on in the local street names: Buffalo Court, Cody Court, Sundance Court, Cassidy Court, Dakota Avenue, and Kansas Avenue.
Photograph: Black Elk touring with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, London, England, 1887.
