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The Legendary Pecos Bill
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Pecos Bill, legendary cowboy folk hero, personified the frontier spirit of
the American Southwest around the turn of the century. According to legend, coyotes raised Pecos Bill after he fell from his parent's wagon. It was during his formative years with the coyotes, legend says, that Pecos Bill befriended wild animals. His relationships with those animals naturally carried into adult life. He chose riding a mountain lion instead of a horse. When he did change mounts, Bill naturally selected a horse no one else could ride and promptly dubbed this steed Widow Maker. When it came to weapons, he nearly always chose a whip - not made of braided rawhide, but a live rattlesnake. The only woman to catch Bill's fancy was Slue-Foot Sue, whom he met as she rode a catfish the size of a whale down the Rio Grande. This was; of course, prior to the time Pecos Bill drained the Rio Grande to water his ranch during and enduring drought. Actually, Pecos Bill fist appeared as the "Saga of Pecos Bill" written by Edward O'Reilly in the early 1920s. Subsequent to the original story, other writers have added new and even more amazing feats to the legend. The Pecos Bill legend, which has been recorded in numerous books, and countless other publications hit the silver screen for the second time in 1995 in a movie titled, "Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill." The film depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old boy who with the help of Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane, saves his family farm from evil villains.
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Play a game with Pecos Bill.
Color a picture of Pecos Bill. Click the link and use your browser's print button to print the page.
Read other versions of this tall tale.
Click on Matador Photos.
Listen to the song, Home, Home on the Range.
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