Gravesite legend survives century since western icon's death

A headstone-free, non-descript plot of land atop 7,890-foot Cedar Mountain may be the peaceful, mostly ignored resting place fulfilling the wishes of the honorable William F. Cody. Or it may be the focal point of one of the Old West's greatest myths. Larger than life Master showman, Congressional Medal of Honor winner, scout, Indian fighter, founder of the City of Cody, and full-time legend, Buffalo Bill Cody was a man of many roles, hats, beards and white horses. No one disputes he died 100 years ago at his sister's home in Denver, reported the Cody Enterprise. The story instantly flashed by telegraph - the social media of the time - around the world. Word spread so quickly this newspaper, then-called the Park County Enterprise, announced Cody's death in a story that ran under a headline reading, "Death Summons Col. W.F. Cody." It was on the front page, just beneath the phrase reminding readers Buffalo Bill actually founded the newspaper in 1899, three years after lending his name to the community. The first line of the story included the comment, "better known perhaps than any other man in private life."There was no perhaps about it. Cody was the most famous and most photographed man in the world during his lifetime, from 1846 to 1917. He hobnobbed with presidents and royalty, yet still related to everyday citizens, especially children, who called him Old Scout. Burial mystery Still, the question of where beloved Buffalo Bill, the most iconic figure of the American frontier, has been since his passing, lingers. It's a question that has fascinated generations, intrigued many, and even angered some with a stake in the mystery. He is either buried in Golden, Colo., at a specially constructed gravesite, lying under 20 tons of concrete to protect against body snatching, or he really is on Cedar Mountain after a group of Cody residents secretly absconded with the body and buried him here. Oh yes, as in all capers of such nature, there is more than one will. There is the 1906 version, and there is a second...more