|
Post by Allen Wiener on Dec 14, 2011 22:02:37 GMT -5
I think Cody was similar to other high-profile figures of that period, including Earp, Masterson, Hickok, et al. There's a certain amount of truth to the stories about them and a certain amount of fiction or emellishment, created either by themselves, promoters like Buntiline, or some combination. There was some deliberate fabrication. For example, I know that Stuart N. Lake's notes have a lot more candid information on Wyatt Earp than he put in his book. I don't know his reasons, but maybe he and/or his publisher just figured a glorified portrait of Earp would make for better sales.
Then there's that guy Crockett, who helped to create his own mythical image and enjoyed playing that role up to a point. But he also lost control of it and the image grew from some fairly innocent campaign posturing and hyperbole into stuff like Nimrod Wildfire and the Crockett Almanacs.
|
|
|
Post by sloanrodgers on Dec 15, 2011 21:49:35 GMT -5
I think Cody was similar to other high-profile figures of that period, including Earp, Masterson, Hickok, et al. There's a certain amount of truth to the stories about them and a certain amount of fiction or emellishment, created either by themselves, promoters like Buntiline, or some combination. There was some deliberate fabrication. For example, I know that Stuart N. Lake's notes have a lot more candid information on Wyatt Earp than he put in his book. I don't know his reasons, but maybe he and/or his publisher just figured a glorified portrait of Earp would make for better sales. Then there's that guy Crockett, who helped to create his own mythical image and enjoyed playing that role up to a point. But he also lost control of it and the image grew from some fairly innocent campaign posturing and hyperbole into stuff like Nimrod Wildfire and the Crockett Almanacs. No argument here Allen. Authors are always tryng to improve real-life characters like Cody, Crockett and Hickock. Just look what Raymond Thorp, Bob Bunker and Robert Redford did to poor mountain man and Civil War veteran John "Liver-Eating" Johnston. They turned a tough, modest, occasional Indian fighter into a bloodthirsty, psychotic, cannibal, who was immortalized in a popular book/ major film for vengefully murdering and eating dozens of Crow warriors. I'm sure there are a lot of tall tales about Johnston, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence for the famous Crow-killing spree and he seems to have been on friendly terms with this tribe. I hope Thorp and Bunker are getting their just desserts in author heaven and that a winged John Johnston periodically has them eating crow for their literary abuse of his story. ;D
|
|