Bronco Charlie Miller
Julius Mortimer "Bronc(h)o Charlie" Miller (December 1850 – 15 January 1955) was an American horse tamer and
Miller was known as a teller of "tall tales", though many of them were true. He stated that he joined the Canadian Army and fought in the
Early life and Pony Express
Julius Mortimer Miller was born ("between two
At the age of 11 Miller claimed to have ridden part of the route of the
Miller's account has some doubtful elements. History writer Tim McNeese, in The Pony Express (2009), notes that any pony arriving at Sacramento and bound for Placerville can only have come from the west, either from
It was not uncommon for men to falsely claim to have been Pony Express riders. Though young men were preferred by the Express and other appointments included 14-year-olds Billy Tate and the future showman Buffalo Bill.[7][8]
Horse training and Wild West shows
For the 20 years following his involvement with the Pony Express Miller worked
Miller later became a showman, playing the role of cowboy, riding horses and demonstrating
By 1890 Miller had left Buffalo Bill's show and was touring independently or with
Miller became known as a teller of "tall tales", though many of them were true. He and cowboy Marve Beardsley rode in a six-day endurance race against two cyclists at the Agricultural Hall in Islington. Some of his tales were embroidered with fiction, including a claim that he took Red Shirt, one of Buffalo Bill's Native American performers, fox hunting in Leicestershire, England, and barely prevented him from roping the fox. Miller also claimed to have known Sitting Bull and to have been the "pet" of Oscar Wilde's cousin Alice Hayes.[3]
Later life
In 1917, during
In 1927 he constructed a cabin in
In 1942 Miller sold his World War I bonds, for $500,000.[2] Miller built a second cabin in Oakdale in 1946 but sold it two years later. This cabin became the "Bronco Charlie" restaurant, which Miller often patronised. It closed around 1994 and was demolished in 2009.[13][14] Miller claimed that he had 80 years in the saddle, in one form or another, during his career.[1] In his later years he became a painter and also made wood carvings. Some of his works are held in the collection of the Chapman Museum in Glens Falls.[2][3] He was still producing complex wood carvings of native Americans, stage coaches and covered wagons with his jackknife past the age of 100.[17][18] When the Korean War broke out in 1950 Miller again tried to enlist in the American armed forces but was turned down.[19]
Miller was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York City in December 1954, suffering from pneumonia. He remained a popular figure and received 20-50 items of fan mail per day whilst in hospital. He died in hospital on 15 January 1955. At the time of his death his son Harold Dewey Miller and daughter Mrs Maurice Spector were both living in Glens Falls. Miller was buried in Glens Falls Cemetery on 19 January.[18]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-27479-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glens Falls City Historian. ""Bronco" Charlie Miller". Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-307-42510-2.
- ISBN 978-0-313-06536-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-317-45791-6.
- ISBN 978-1-60413-028-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60413-028-7.
- ISBN 978-1-5026-3050-6.
- ISBN 978-0-307-77782-9.
- ^ Briggs, Harold E. (June 1935). "Broncho Charlie, A Saga of the Saddle: The Life Story of Broncho Charlie Miller, The Last of the Pony Express Riders. By Gladys Shaw Erskine. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1934. xiv + 316 pp. Maps and illustrations. $3.00.)". Journal of American History. 22 (1): 123.
- ISBN 978-0-399-56403-1.
- ISBN 978-0-374-70961-7.
- ^ a b "Broncho Charlie". Connetquot Public Library. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life. Cue Publishing Company. 1973. p. 13.
- ISBN 978-1-58544-419-9.
- ^ "' Bronco' Charlie Miller, Never Shorn, Tells Why". The New York Times. 6 August 1937. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Newgold, Bill (1960). Guide to Modern Hobbies, Arts, and Crafts. D. McKay Company. p. 281.
- ^ a b "Bronco Charlie Miller dies at 105". Post-Star. 17 January 1955.
- ISBN 978-1-58037-584-9.