He was there when he was needed
IT'S A FINE THING for all of us that Buffalo Bill Cody happened to come along when he did.
We were a young country then, just itching to grow, and the way we had to grow was westward. But the West was a scary wilderness, with vast spaces to get lost in, with wild buffalo herds ready to trample you, with Indians waiting to pounce on you if rattlesnakes didn't get you first. Who'd want to leave the quiet ways of home for a life like that?
"I do," said Buffalo Bill Cody.
So when scouts were needed to lead settlers through the unmapped frontier, there was Bill with his keen eye and a map of the West in his head.
And when fighting men were needed to protect the settlers in their new homes, there was Bill with his stout heart and his ready rifle.
He was there driving oxen when the clattering wagon trains set out with supplies for the frontier. He was there hunting buffaloes when the railroad builders needed meat to strengthen them for the day's work. He was there riding like the night wind when bold horsemen were needed to carry mail to the lonely settlements.
Yes, it's lucky that men like Buffalo Bill were there when we needed them. But how does it happen that they always are?
There must be something about freedom that makes most men ready to do what is needed. . . for their families, their country, their homes. For in this land of ours, where no man drives another, few men need to be driven to face their duty. We do what we should because a voice inside tells us to. So does the way of freedom lift most of us up to the best.
John Hancock
MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
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