One was the nation’s best-known Indian fighter, another was one of the greatest heroes of America’s recent civil war, the third was one of the world’s most famous members of royalty, and the fourth was already building a career as an Old West Legend.
The 1872 meeting of Lt. Col. George Custer, Gen. Phil Sheridan, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia and “Buffalo Bill” Cody in Nebraska captured the attention of the world, yet few know today know of the activities of the four while in the young state. A little more than a 140 years later, Omaha author Jeff Barnes reacquaints patrons of the Kearney Public Library with state history in “Custer in Nebraska: The Royal Buffalo Hunt of 1872”.
Using newspaper accounts with photographs and images of the period, Barnes narrates the visit of Custer, Sheridan, and the Grand Duke in Omaha, followed by their Union Pacific railroad trip across the state, the meeting with Cody in North Platte, and their participation in perhaps the most-famous big game hunt ever.
The Nebraska visit is featured in Barnes’s book, “The Great Plains Guide to Custer”, the first comprehensive travel guide to Custer’s activity and related sites on the Great Plains. He used historic images wherever possible – some familiar to Custerphiles and some in print for the first time – along with contemporary photographs by the author.
A former newspaper reporter and editor, Barnes writes freelance and lives in Omaha. His first book, “Forts of the Northern Plains”, is now in its fourth printing with Stackpole Books and he is completing work on his third book, “The Great Plains Guide to Buffalo Bill”. This presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. Join us Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Kearney Public Library!