Pecos Bill

Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill by Laura Bannon, from Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time by James Cloyd Bowman (1937)
Characters Adapted from Other Works
First Appearance:	The Saga of Pecos Bill
Creator:	Edward O'Reilly
Nationality:	United States, formerly Republic of Texas, was probably born in Mexican territory but never identified as a Mexican
Date of Birth:	Early 1830s
Date of Death:	Late 19th century
Cause of Death:	Laughed himself to death
Spouse:	Slue-foot Sue
Occupation:	Cowboy, Inventor, Rancher, Adventurer
Affiliations:	Hell's Gate Gulch Ranch
Appearing in:

"Slue-Foot Sue and the Witch in the Woods" by Laura Frankos Fantasy Pastiche
Type of Appearance:	Direct

Pecos Bill is a fictional Texas cowboy, noted for his superhuman strength and endless inventiveness. Bill's stories are often tongue-in-cheek etiological myths that use Bill's actions to explain the origin of American geographical features and common cowboy tools and customs. Some experiences of Bill appear to be based on those of Hercules, Romulus, and other Greco-Roman heroes. Supporting characters in Bill stories include his wife Slue-foot Sue, his horse Widow Maker, and Rat the pet snake.

Journalist Edward O'Reilly created Pecos Bill to unify folkloric stories from unrelated sources. More recent stories often make Pecos Bill a teammate of the similar character Paul Bunyan.

Pecos Bill in "Slue-Foot Sue and the Witch in the Woods"

Pecos Bill was overjoyed when his new bride Slue-foot Sue returned to Hell's Gate Gulch Ranch from her unwilling world tour, but was angry that she had endangered her own life by ignoring his admonition not to mount Widow Maker. Sue assuaged his anger by having Bean Hole cook him an excellent chicken dinner (made from the legs of Baba Yaga's izbushka), and then achieving the long-delayed consummation of their marriage.