Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill brought his Wild West Show to Dennistoun, Glasgow, in October 1891. The show opened on the 16/11/1891 and closed on the 27/02/1892.

The show played at the East End Exhibition Building off Duke Street, part of the great East End Industrial Exhibition which was set up to raise funds for the People's Palace.

The arrival of the Wild West Show in November 1891 caused a massive stir in Scotland, but is seldom mentioned. It's star attraction was Annie Oakley, and some of the Indians that took part in a re-enactment of Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn were former PoWs, having surrendered to the US Federal Government the previous year. Some, such as Kicking Bear (a first cousin of Crazy Horse), jad even fought in the last great battle, the Ghost Dance uprising. For four months between 1891 and 1892, they made the east end of Glasgow their home, and Buffalo Bill even visited Ibrox to watch Rangers play against Queen's Park.

One Indian, Charging Thunder, is said to have spent 30 days in Barlinnie Prison for attacking his interpreter, while another, Kicking Bear, was arrested on his return to the US, a week after making as speech on the last night of the show.

The show returned in 1904, when it toured 29 locations in Scotland.

Glasgow statue

The statue and accompanying plaque were commissioned by Regency Homes after discovering the site of its Dennistoun Village complex was also the location in the early 1890s of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

It lies in a small public garden on the corner of Whitehall Street and Finlay Drive, two blocks north of Duke Street, and was unveiled a day from the 115th anniversary of the show's debut in Glasgow.