This day in Oklahoma history: February 14
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PAWNEE, Okla. (KFOR) – A world-renowned Wild West showman was born on February 14, 1860.
According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on Feb. 14, 1860.
Lillie’s father was a flour miller, and after their mill burned, the family moved to Wellington, Kansas, to continue their business. While living in Kansas in 1875, Lillie established a life-long relationship with the Pawnee people who were wintering there after their removal to the area of Pawnee, Oklahoma.
Officials say Lillie traveled to Indian Territory while working as a trapper with “Trapper Tom” McClain, waiting tables and working as a cowboy. He also worked as a teacher at the Pawnee agency and was appointed as interpreter and secretary to Maj. Edward Bowman, U.S. Indian agent. It was during this time Lillie became “Pawnee Bill”.
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He was recruited in 1883 to help with the efforts of the Pawnee troupe in the first Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show. While traveling for the show, Pawnee Bill met a young Quaker girl named May Manning in Philadelphia. He courted her for two years and they married on August 31, 1886.
Manning’s family encouraged Pawnee Bill to create his own Wild West show, which he did in 1888 when he began touring the country as “Pawnee Bill’s Wild West. The show later failed financially.
Later that year, Pawnee Bill became the leader of the Boomer Movement following the death of David Payne. The Boomer Movement was a group committed to the opening of Oklahoma’s Unassigned Lands to white settlement.
On April 22, 1889, Pawnee Bill led a group of four thousand people in the Land Run to the middle of present day Kingfisher County. This put him in the national spotlight where he reestablished his Wild West show “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West, Indian Museum and Encampment”. This show was successful.
He began traveling the United States and Europe with May, who starred in his show as a Champion Horseback Shot of the West. In 1908, Pawnee Bill teamed up with Buffalo Bill Cody to create “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East”, a Wild West show that had no competition.
The show later led to a motion picture company and other successes in oil, real estate, and banking. Pawnee Bill was dedicated to preserving the traditions of the West, but he also looked forward to the future of cars and highways. He became president of the Highway 64 Association, and U.S. Highway 64 that travels through Oklahoma was originally called “The Pawnee Bill Route.”
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Pawnee Bill and his wife in front of their mansion, 1936. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
Pawnee Bill also committed his life to the American bison, the animal he felt characterized Oklahoma and the American West. He even had his own herd on his ranch near Pawnee and worked with Congress to pass legislation to protect them. This led to the opening of the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.
Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie died on February 3, 1942.
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