# Youthful Experiences explained — The Life of Buffalo Bill

> Chapter companion for The Life of Buffalo Bill by William F. Cody.

## What happens

In this chapter, a young Bill Cody recounts his early adventures, including his first Indian fight at Plum Creek, where he kills an Indian at age eleven and gains notoriety as 'the youngest Indian slayer on the plains.' He also describes a schoolyard rivalry with Stephen Gobel over a girl, which ends with Cody stabbing Gobel with a small dagger and fleeing to join a freight train heading west.

## Themes in this chapter

### Violence and Survival

Cody's first Indian fight and his stabbing of a school rival highlight the role of violence in survival and status on the frontier.

### Self-Invention and Celebrity

Cody's first newspaper interview and his pride in being called 'the youngest Indian slayer on the plains' mark the beginning of his self-mythologizing.

### Frontier Expansion and Manifest Destiny

The movement of troops and freight trains westward, as well as the conflict with Native Americans, illustrates the expansionist drive of the era.

## Character check-ins

### Buffalo Bill

Narrator and protagonist; recounts his first Indian kill and schoolyard fight.

### Stephen Gobel

School bully and rival for Mary Hyatt's affections; stabbed by Cody in a fight.

### Mr. McCarthy

Frank McCarthy, wagon-master who leads the party during the Indian attack at Plum Creek.

### John Hutchinson

Newspaper reporter who interviews Cody after the Plum Creek incident, giving him his first publicity.

### Mr. William Russell

Partner in Russell, Majors & Waddell, the freight company that employs Cody.

### Waddell

Partner in Russell, Majors & Waddell.

## Key lines

> I instantly aimed my gun at the head and fired. The report rang out sharp and loud on the night air, and was immediately followed by an Indian whoop, and the next moment about six feet of dead Indian came tumbling into the river.

Cody shot and killed an Indian who was peeking over the riverbank, causing the body to fall into the water.

_This is Cody's first Indian kill, occurring during the Plum Creek attack._

> I am candid enough to admit that I felt very much elated over this notoriety. Again and again I read with eager interest the long and sensational account of our adventure.

Cody admits he was thrilled by the newspaper story about his exploit and read it repeatedly.

_Cody's reaction to his first taste of fame._

> Exasperated beyond measure at Steve’s persistence in destroying my playhouses, and smarting under his blows, I forgot myself for the moment, grasped the dagger and unthinkingly thrust it into Steve’s thigh.

In a fit of anger during a schoolyard fight, Cody stabbed his rival Steve Gobel in the thigh with a small dagger.

_This incident leads Cody to run away and join a freight train._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/iv-youthful-experiences
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters