# Mr. McCarthy — The Life of Buffalo Bill character guide

> Mr. McCarthy in The Life of Buffalo Bill by William F. Cody.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** McCarthy

**First appearance:** 0011-ix-fast-driving

## Snapshot

A veteran stagecoach driver whose reins and rough frontier humor help steer young Cody toward the plainsman's life he was born to lead.

## Who they are

McCarthy belongs to the fraternity of teamsters, stock-tenders, and overland men who populate Cody's boyhood on the Kansas plains, the working world that shaped him long before he ever scouted for the army. He is the kind of older hand who trades stories and practical wisdom with a boy already earning his keep in the saddle, and his friendship gives Cody a foothold in a trade that demands nerve and judgment. In the book's early stretch, men like McCarthy matter because they show how Cody learned the frontier from the ground up rather than arriving as a finished hero.

## In the story

### [Youthful Experiences](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/iv-youthful-experiences)

Frank McCarthy, wagon-master who leads the party during the Indian attack at Plum Creek.

### [Hunting Expedition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/xxiv-hunting-expedition)

The target of Cody's joke; becomes frightened by the simulated Indian attack and flees to camp.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/mr_mccarthy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters