Produced by David Starner, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. A NEW FIELD! WITHOUT A RIVAL! JUST THE THING! TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beadle's BOY'S LIBRARY of Sport, Story and Adventure -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entered at the Post Office at New York, N.Y., as Second Class Mail Matter. $2.50 a year. Copyrighted in 1881 by BEADLE AND ADAMS. December 14, 1881. ========================================================================== Vol. I. Single PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS, Price, No. 1. Number. No. 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. Five Cents. ========================================================================== Adventures of BUFFALO BILL FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD. Deeds of Daring and Romantic Incidents in the Life of Wm. F. Cody, the Monarch of Bordermen. * * * * * BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM. [Illustration: MADDENED WITH FRIGHT, THE BULL BOUNDED INTO THE AIR, SNORTED WILDLY, GORED THOSE IN ADVANCE, AND SOON LED THE HERD.] Adventures of Buffalo Bill From Boyhood to Manhood. Deeds of Daring, Scenes of Thrilling Peril, and Romantic Incidents in the Early Life of W.F. Cody, the Monarch of Bordermen. BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM. CHAPTER I. PROLOGUE. That Truth is, by far, stranger than Fiction, the lessons of our daily lives teach us who dwell in the marts of civilization, and therefore we cannot wonder that those who live in scenes where the rifle, revolver and knife are in constant use, to protect and take life, can strange tales tell of thrilling perils met and subdued, and romantic incidents occurring that are far removed from the stern realities of existence. The land of America is full of romance, and tales that stir the blood can be told over and over again of bold Privateers and reckless Buccaneers who have swept along the coasts; of fierce naval battles, sea chases, daring smugglers; and on shore of brave deeds in the saddle and afoot; of red trails followed to the bitter end and savage encounters in forest wilds. And it is beyond the pale of civilization I find the hero of these pages which tell of thrilling adventures, fierce combats, deadly feuds and wild rides, that, one and all, are true to the letter, as hundreds now living can testify. Who has not heard the name of Buffalo Bill--a magic name, seemingly, to every boy's heart? And yet in the uttermost parts of the earth it is known among men.