A TALL TALE FROM TEXAS: Western Superman, Pecos Bill 

I am of that generation who grew up gnawing on crib rails covered in lead-based paint, riding with bare feet dangling off the tailgates of bouncing pickups, and eating warm-for-hours potato salad. I somehow survived without benefit of helmets, seat belts, and childproof caps. 

Perhaps best of all, I watched a constant stream of cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals who smoked, drank, blew themselves up with dynamite and flattened their foes’ heads with anvils on a regular basis. That’s as close as I get to issuing a disclaimer for this blog.

With that out of the way, allow me to share a slightly unwholesome video clip of one of my favorite childhood heros–that towering Texan, the tallest tale of all tall tales–Pecos Bill. Watch him mulitmask like a master as he ropes and rides a cyclone, rolls a cigarette with his tongue (yes, folks, this is from Disney), fires off a few hundred hip shots with twin revolvers and YODELS. Even Widow Maker the horse joins in. Roy Rogers narrates and the Sons of the Pioneers provide background music for this 1948 classic.

I just loved Pecos Bill stories as a kid. That could explain my difficulties in elementary school. (You mean the Rio Grande wasn’t a trench dug by Pecos Bill?)

Pecos Bill, riding cyclones and swinging
his rattlesnake lariat
(scholastic.com image)

According to Legends of America...

“The mythical folk hero, first written about in 1917 by Edward O’Reilly, is said to have been based on tales told by range hands at the end of a long day of tending cattle, and is in the same spirit of other "Big" characters like Paul Bunyan or John Henry. O'Reilly would publish these writings in the 1923 book ‘Saga of Pecos Bill.’”

Slue-foot Sue
(Walt Disney Company image)

For a while, Pecos Bill had a lady friend named Slue-foot Sue who traveled via a giant catfish. Pecos shot out all the stars in the sky to impress her. Of course, he left one which became known as the Lone Star. The relationship was fated to end when Sue insisted on riding Bill’s unrideable horse, Widow Maker. Apparently, Slue-foot Sue is still bouncing off the moon to this day.

Patrick Swayze starred in the 1995 Disney remake “TALL TALE,” wherein Pecos gets to hang out with his super-buddies Paul Bunyan and John Henry. They save the day by appearing in a troubled boy’s dream. (Boy, does this clip make me miss Patrick Swayze.)

Patrick Swayze as Pecos Bill
(Walt Disney Company image)
Click here to view TALL TALE preview.

So maybe Pecos Bill could save the day once again. Could he be the rootin’ tootin’ superhero who gives modern youngsters a taste of the Wild West? If we tell our kids and grandkids the bigger-than-Texas tales of his adventures (complete with sound effects!), might it whet their appetites for more Western fiction?

Only one way to find out. Tonight at bedtime, Pecos Bill will shoot out some stars and Slue-foot Sue will bounce off the moon during story hour. And, just because I love them, the younguns in this family are all getting rattlesnake lariats for Christmas.

All the best,
Vonn
                                      



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Available on Amazon and Smashwords:

THE SONGBIRD OF SEVILLE
(2015 SPUR Award Finalist,
Best Short Fiction

THE GUNFIGHTER'S GIFT
(2015 PEACEMAKER Award Finalist,
Best Short Fiction)