# Ned Buntline — The Life of Buffalo Bill character guide

> Ned Buntline in The Life of Buffalo Bill by William F. Cody.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Buntline

**First appearance:** 0029-xxvii-honors

## Snapshot

A dime novelist whose fictionalized Buffalo Bill tales helped turn a working scout into a national legend, blurring the line between the man and the myth.

## Who they are

Buntline represents the literary machinery that transforms frontier labor into popular romance, the very force Cody's preface both invokes and distances himself from. The tension is built into the book's framing: Cody insists his narrative reads like romance yet is truthful, a claim made in the shadow of writers who invented rather than recorded. He matters to the arc because he embodies the question the memoir keeps answering — whether a real scout's life can survive being made into a story.

## Relationships

### [Nixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/nixon)

_professional_

Ned Buntline, a writer and publicist, collaborated with Nixon, possibly in theatrical or publishing ventures.

### [Buffalo Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/buffalo_bill)

_professional_

Ned Buntline collaborated with Buffalo Bill to create sensationalized dime novels and stage shows that made Cody famous.

### [Nixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/nixon)

_professional_

Ned Buntline, a writer and publicist, collaborated with Nixon, possibly in theatrical or publishing ventures.

### [Buffalo Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/buffalo_bill)

_professional_

Ned Buntline collaborated with Buffalo Bill to create sensationalized dime novels and stage shows that made Cody famous.

### [Nixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/nixon)

_professional_

Ned Buntline, a writer and publicist, collaborated with Nixon, possibly in theatrical or publishing ventures.

## In the story

### [The Life of Buffalo Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/the-life-of-buffalo-bill)

The writer who helped popularize Cody's exploits and contributed to his stage career.

### [A Desperate Fight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/xxii-a-desperate-fight)

Accompanies a scout as a guest, rides with Cody, and later writes stories featuring Cody's pony Powder Face.

### [Sightseeing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/xxvi-sightseeing)

Accompanies Cody to Philadelphia and Westchester; dramatizes a story about Cody for the stage.

### [An Actor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/chapters/xxviii-an-actor)

Urges Cody to join the stage, writes the play in four hours, and organizes the company.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_life_of_buffalo_bill_se/characters/ned_buntline
- 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