Welcome to You Ask Andy

Karl Siegbohn, age 9, of Lake Charles, La., for his question:

WAS THERE EVER A PECOS BILL?

Pecos Bill is an American folklore character. He is a mythical super cowboy who was the legendary inventor of roping and other cowboy skills. Actually, there never was a real life Pecos Bill.

According to the tall tales, Pecos Bill was born in eastern Texas and took his name from the Pecos River after falling into it from the family wagon on the way west. There were so many children that

Bill was not missed for several days, and then it was too late to turn back. He was raised by coyotes and he actually thought he was one of them until he discovered he had no tail.

Once, the story goes, Bill roped and saddled a mountain lion and, whipping it with a rattlesnake, rode into a camp of bad men. They were so scared that they made him boss of their outfit, the toughest in the world.

During a dry spell once, Bill dug the Rio Grande River to get water from the Gulf of Mexico. And some say he finally died of indigestion caused by the rusting of fishhooks that he always added to his drinks.

 

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