Pawnee Bill

Pawnee Bill (1860–1942) was born Gordon William Lillie, he became famous as a Wild West showman and performer. {see Pawnee Bill Ranch for historic site information} Born February 14, 1860 in Bloomington, Illinois, Pawnee Bill and his show made several false starts during the latter part of the nineteenth century. In one of his original shows, Pawnee Bill listed C. W. Lillie as the exclusive manager of the Pawnee Bill Historic Wild West Show Extravaganza. During that period, Pawnee Bill used Chester, Pennsylvania as his winter headquarters. At the time there was easy access to the rail ways there (now abandoned) through Delaware County, Pennsylvania. That rail way line had been running for over twenty years by the time Pawnee Bill took advantage of its location and low rates to connect him and his ever-changing cast to larger railroads and larger cities. No doubt, Pawnee Bill had observed that circus people had been riding the rails since the late 1860s. He was a quick-witted man who generally chose not to reinvent the wheel, but rather to pursue success along tried and true pathways. The US Transcontinental railroad had been a military necessity during the US Civil War. During the Victorian Era in the United States, those same railways were used to transport Wild West Shows, buffalo and other wild animal displays, trick riders, and spectacular reenactments of military might from around the globe. Eventually, Pawnee Bill was invited to collaborate with Buffalo Bill, whose reputation and shows had expanded not only across the North American continent but also to other countries via the railroads.

Gordon and May Lillie.

Lillie married young and petite May Manning in 1886. In 1888 the Lillies launched their own Wild West show: "Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West". May starred in the show as the “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West.” Their first season was a financial disaster. They re-organized as a smaller operation called “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show.” The show was popular but not lucrative. Gordon Lillie added Jose Barrera to the cast; he was widely popular performing as "Mexican Joe". In 1907 Lillie hired performers from a variety of backgrounds. The show included Mexican cowboys, Pawnee, Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers. The ensemble debuted as “Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East Show.” In 1908 Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill joined forces and created the "Two Bills' show. That show was foreclosed on when it was playing in Denver, Colorado.

Pawnee Bill and May Lille applied for and recived US Federal government funds to build a Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Pawnee, Oklahoma in order to treat American Indians (as of 2010 that building is privately owned). May began an affair with the sanatorium doctor and Pawnee Bill filed for divorce. Apparently, he had second thoughts because he dropped the petition for divorce. Pawnee Bill and his wife, May, went on to live at the Pawnee Bill Ranch full-time for the rest of their lives.

Poster for Pawnee Bill's Historic Wild West.

Somehow the Lillies acquired land in Pawnee and called their acreage the Pawnee Bill Ranch. Pawnee Bill claimed to have bought the land from a Pawnee tribe member however, Pawnee tribal narratives claim he stole the land. Land grabs from various American Indian tribes and the territorial government were common in Oklahoma before and after the historic Oklahoma Land Runs. What is documented is that the Lillies, once established, wrote to Congress several times with proposals that Buffalo Hunting as sport be outlawed. Ironically, Gordon and May Lillie hosted Buffalo Hunting parties at their ranch in Pawnee, Oklahoma. While Gordon Lillie had been on tour, May supervised the buffalo ranch. The Lillies completed work on their Arts-and-Crafts style home on Blue Hawk Peak in 1910. Pawnee Bill invested in banking, real estate, and oil. He operated various business interests and dabbled in film making at his ranch. In 1930 May and Pawnee Bill opened Pawnee Bill’s Old Town near the ranch. They sold Indian and Mexican crafts, and featured annual rodeos. That enterprise burned to the ground in the 1930s and was never rebuilt.

In 1936 the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Taos, New Mexico. In September of that year they attended a local celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While driving back to their ranch that night, Pawnee Bill lost control of their vehicle. May died as a result of her injuries and Pawnee Bill never fully recovered. He died in his sleep in 1942.

References

• Enss, Chris. “Buffalo Gals: Women of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show” (2005).
• Farnum, Allen L. "Pawnee Bill's Historic Wild West" (1992).
• Hyde, George E. Hyde and Savoie Lottinville. The Pawnee Indians: Civilization of the American Indian Series, ( 2007) .
• Koblas, John J. “The Great Cole Younger and Frank James Historical Wild West Show” (2002).
• National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Region Records Management, Laguna Niguel, CA.
• Tintle, Rhonda. "Pawnee Bill Lives!" University of Oklahoma, 2007.
• Tintle, Rhonda. "The Great Far East in the Historic Wild West" University of Arkansas, 2010.
• Warren, Louis S. "Buffalo Bill's America" New York Vintage, 2005.
• West, Elliott. "Growing Up with the Country" (1989).
• West, Elliott. "The Contested Plains" (1998).
• Weltfish, Gene. “The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture” ( 1990).
• White, Richard. “The Roots of Dependency: Subsistence, Environment, and Social Change among the Choctaws, Pawnees, and Navajos” (1988).

External links

• Autry Museum of American West [1]
• Circus History Society [2]
• Circus World Museum [3]
• McCracken Research Library [4]
• National Cowboy & Western Heritage [5]
• Pawnee Bill Federal Court Records NARA [6]
• Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum [7]
• Pawneebill.org [8]
• Westerners Legends of America [9]
• Wild West Show, Cowtown Coliseum's Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show [10]
• Wild West Show History [11]