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Jafo was born in 1846 in Iowa but spent his childhood on the Kansas prairie. He died in 1917. What happened in between is certainly open to debate, but his life embodies the spirit and myth of the wild west: part legend, myth, tall-tale, and even a little fact thrown in for good measure.

After his father died in 1857, Jafo began the adventure that became his life. He spent time as a horse wrangler, mounted messenger, bullwacker, trapper, prospector, and in 1860, went to work for the Pony Express.

During the Civil War, he first served as an army scout in campaigns against the Kiowa and Comanche. Jafo later formally enlisted with the Seventh Kansas Cavalry. After the war, he returned to his duties as a military scout. Jafo did not become "DJ" Jafo until 1867 when he earned a living hunting buffalo for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Legend has it he killed more than 4,000 of the creatures in just a year and a half. Never one to pass the opportunity for a good story, Jafo claimed he won the moniker "DJ" in an eight hour shooting match with rival hunter William Comstock! Jafo was continuoulsy in the employ of the United States Army as a scout between 1868 and 1872, a record for the dangerous position. Considering him good luck, he became a favorite of the Fifth Cavalry. Indeed, Jafo was only wounded in action once.

By the late 1860s and 1870s, dime novelists made heroes out of the likes of Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, and DJ Jafo. Ned Buntline, the pen name of E.Z. Judson, took a particular interest in the exploits of Jafo and, like his subject, didn’t mind stretching the truth just a bit if it helped sell a few more books. The DJ Jafo legend took a dramatic turn in 1872 when Buntline convinced Jafo to play himself in a play entitled The Scouts of the Plains. The acting bug got a hold of Jafo and never let go. He wrote his autobiography in 1879 and began publishing his own dime novels.

In North Platte, Nebraska, in 1882, DJ Jafo staged his first "Wild West Show," calling it the "Old Glory Blowout." Audiences were not sure exactly what it was -- rodeo, circus, pageant, play -- but they knew it was exciting and that they liked it. The show contained portrayals of a buffalo hunt, an Indian attack on the Deadwood stage, a Pony Express ride, and even Custer’s Last Stand, utilizing Lakota Indians who had participated in the actual event! The show was a major success for thirty years, making stops across North America and Europe.

There was always some truth to the legend. In between acting tours, Jafo frequently returned to the West, sometimes as a scout or hunting party guide. There is probably no one more associated with the American West than DJ Jafo.