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Welcome to The William "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson Tribute Page! This page was created to give some much due respect to a Kansas Pioneer and Scout named William E. Mathewson. Known by many Kansans of his day as "Buffalo Bill," William E. Mathewson lived the life that many of us have read about, but will never experience. He was born New Years day in 1830 in the small town of Triangle, New York, the seventh of eight children. William Mathewson died in 1916 and is buried here in Wichita at Highland Cemetery. At the age of 19 he went to work as a trapper and trader for the Northwestern Fur Company, which was based in what is now Montana. In 1853 he set up his own outpost at the "great bend" on the Arkansas River, and other posts soon were built on the Little Arkansas River and Cow Creek.Mathewson earned the nickname "Buffalo Bill," given by the numerous settlers he saved from starvation during the winter of 1860-1861. The drought of 1860 had ruined the crops that the settlers had planted leaving them without a reserve food source for the winter. Hundreds of settlers came to Mathewson from September to March asking the expert hunter to provide them with food. He complied by supplying them with buffalo meat, which he hunted without concern for his own safety or welfare, and for which he refused payment. He killed as many as 80 buffalo in a single day for the settlers. An accurate count of the number of animals he killed was not kept.Through his 26 years as a trader and trapper he also earned the respect and trust of most of the Native Americans he encountered. His Indian name was "Sinpah Zilbah" which translates to (Long-Bearded Dangerous White man). The name was given to him by the Kiowa chieftain, Satanta, after the warrior had received a severe beating from the trader at the Cow Creek post in 1861. Mathewson used the trust he had cultivated with the Indians to gather delegations of them in 1865 to negotiate the Little Arkansas Treaty and in 1867 for the Medicine Lodge Council meeting. The latter resulted in South Central Kansas being opened up for settlement and Kansas railroad expansion.In his later years Mathewson settled in Wichita and enjoyed a profitable career as a civic leader and banker. He built one of the first homes in that area in 1868 and established the Wichita Savings Bank.Although a man of great accomplishments, news of his exploits rarely were printed in the newspapers or the dime novels published on the East Coast. Mathewson was a modest man who refused to talk to newsmen or sell the story of his life to a publishing house. This modesty is why when someone usually talks about "Buffalo Bill" they are referring to William F. Cody, instead of William E. Mathewson. To the people of Kansas. William Mathewson is the Original Buffalo Bill!!!!!!!! Check the blogs for more detailed William "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson history. This page does not take credit for any of the articles on the blog. They were all found on the internet by simply searching for William Mathewson. Thanks! Enjoy the site!