To cut this line of supply, Sheridan mobilized the U.S. Cavalry’s 5th Regiment. For more than a decade the ‘Dandy Fifth’ had held a proud record of Indian fighting, and its commander, Lt. Col. Eugene A. Carr, was an experienced veteran of many campaigns. Carr, described as a ‘bearded Cossack’ by the press, was ordered to place the 5th at ‘the crossing of the Main Powder River Trail leading from the vicinity of Red Cloud Agency westward to Powder and Yellowstone Rivers. Arriving at this point, you will follow the trail westward, proceeding such distances as your judgment and the amount of supplies which you carry will warrant.’

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While the 5th was mustering, momentous events were taking place on the other side of the continent. General Crook had been seeking a guide to lead his men across the badlands of Montana. Accordingly, one of his officers telegraphed for the services of the most famous scout in America–Buffalo Bill Cody, ex-Pony Express rider, famed buffalo hunter, hero of numerous dime novels and–most recently–theatrical performer. Cody had been portraying himself in Scouts of the Plains, a blood-and-thunder melodrama that played to theaters packed with delighted Easterners. But the life of the stage had recently soured for Cody, whose young son Kit had died that April, and Crook’s telegram was just the tonic he needed. The same night it arrived, he took his usual curtain call and then proudly announced that he was through with playacting for a while; his country had called, and Buffalo Bill was setting out on a real campaign with the U.S. Army to fight the ‘redskin savages.’ With the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears, Cody ran out the stage door and headed for the depot.

As his train passed through Chicago, Cody somehow learned that the 5th Cavalry was moving into the Powder River country. He promptly gave up any thought of joining Crook. The Dandy Fifth was the same regiment Cody had scouted for back in 1869, when a battle against Chief Tall Bull’s band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers at Summit Springs, Colo., first thrust the name Buffalo Bill into the headlines. In that battle, Carr’s cavalrymen successfully struck an Indian village, killing 52 Cheyenne, including Tall Bull. According to members of the 5th Cavalry, Cody was the one who killed Tall Bull, shooting the chief out of the saddle at 30 yards. Now, seven years later, Cody was determined to cast his lot with the 5th.

Cody officially signed the paybook as scout in Cheyenne, Wyo., on June 10, 1876. One trooper recalled, ‘All the old boys in the regiment upon seeing General Carr and Cody together, exchanged confidences, and expressed themselves…that with such a leader and scout they could get away with all the Sitting Bulls and Crazy Horses in the Sioux tribe.’ A soldier’s wife was similarly impressed with Buffalo Bill: ‘I remember his fine figure as he stood by the sutler store, straight and slender, with his scarlet shirt belted in and his long hair distinguishing him….’ Actually, Cody’s unique costume was cause for some snickering in the camp. Back in ‘69 he’d worn a frontiersman’s buckskins, yet now he sported a bright red fireman’s shirt; his black velvet pants were trimmed with scarlet, adorned with silver bells and fancy embroidery. This outfit was apparently some Eastern stage manager’s idea of what Mexican vaqueros wore, and it was adopted for Cody’s theatrical performances. When some unkind wags in Philadelphia joked that a real scout, whose job often entailed stealth, would scarcely roam the plains in a red shirt and bells, Buffalo Bill had been furious. He vowed to someday wear his stage duds on an actual campaign. Throughout the 5th’s long, weary ride, Cody stuck to his velvet pants, bells and all.

The command left Cheyenne for Fort Laramie, where they met a new scout, Baptise ‘Little Bat’ Garnier. Garnier, though he could not have known it, was soon to make his own peculiar contribution to the Cody legend. Also joining was an old pal of Cody’s, Jonathan White, who was seen trailing around behind Cody so often that the troopers soon dubbed him ‘Buffalo Chips.’

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