Buck Elliott wrote:Buffalo Bill had arranged to have himself buried on Spirit (Cedar) Mountain, just West of his namesake town, in a spot that overlooks the growing city.
Unfortunately, for him, and for his town, he died in Denver, while visiting his sister, and arranging finances for his floundering Wild West Show. Denverites, seeing a chance to capitalize on the turn of events, pursuaded Bill's widow to let them have him, and to bury him there, thumbing their collective noses at Cody's town in the Rockies in the process. The introduction of $10,000 cash and an undisclosed amount of debt forgiveness sweetened the deal and Cody was planted on Lookout Mountain. So there he remains, to this day (some say...) but definitely AGAINST his wishes...
To ensure the permanence of Cody's residency in/on the hill, 1,000 yards of concrete was poured over his final resting place.
Interesting story ginned up by the good folks in Wyoming but not supported by the facts. Bill had an earlier will that mentioned his burial on Spirit Mountain but his friends, his wife, and doctor certified that his dying wish was to be buried on Lookout Mountain, CO.
As that is considered prima facie evidence of a change in his will, it is now a legally established fact even if Wyoming would like to believe differently. In addition, in the years that followed his death Louisa, Cody's sister, repeated in her book,
Memories, that he'd had a change of heart and wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain in Colorado.
As for the protection of the grave, after Cody's wife died in 1921 and she was buried next to Bill, a few yards of concrete and iron bits were placed over the vault to seal it (not 1,000 yds). That same year, after numerous claims were made by the citizens of Cody, WY that Buffalo Bill's body should be moved, the Colorado National Guard placed a tank at the grave site in response to threats of removing his remains.
The friendly competition remains to this day and as recently as 1948, the Cody branch of the American Legion offered a reward for the 'return' of Cody's body to Wyoming.