Pecos bill Folk hero

1. Pecos bill Folk hero Jodi Campbell & Quinn Hill

2. The Early Years • Pecos Bill was thought of by Edward O’reilly in 1923 and was said to be a symbol of strength, courage and humor. This was a way that he could be an encouragement to young people who were aspiring to be cowboys. Ranch hands told stories on Pecos Bill at the end of long days.

3. Original Story • “Now everyone in the West knows that Pecos Bill could ride anything. No bronco could throw him, no sir! Fact is, I only heard of Bill getting' thrower once in his whole career as a cowboy. Yep, it was that time he was up Kansas way and decided to ride him a tornado. • Now Bill wasn't going to ride jest any tornado, no ma'am. He waited for the biggest gol-durned tornado you ever saw. It was turning the sky black and green, and roaring so loud it woke up the farmers away over in China. Well, Bill jest grabbed that there tornado, pushed it to the ground and jumped on its back. The tornado whipped and whirled and sidewinded and generally cussed its bad luck all the way down to Texas. Tied the rivers into knots, flattened all the forests so bad they had to rename one place the Staked Plains. But Bill jest rode along all calm-like, give it an occasional jab with his spurs. • Finally, that tornado decided it wasn't getting this cowboy off its back no-how. So it headed west to California and jest rained itself out. Made so much water it washed out the Grand Canyon. That tornado was down to practically nothing when Bill finally fell off. He hit the ground so hard it sank below sea level. Folks call the spot Death Valley. • Anyway, that's how rodeo got started. Though most cowboys stick to broncos these days”

4. Physical Attributes & Special Talents • Pecos was tough as a baby physically and because of this, as time went on, more tales of him arose depicting him as a railroad man, buffalo hunter, and an oilfield worker. This was because those occupations were associated with its emplo-yees being physically tough. • He was an excellent cowhand. • Invented the branding iron and the lasso. • He invented cowboy songs to sooth the cattle. • Pecos was able to ride cyclones and rope an entire herd of cattle all at once. • He made very good uses of rattle snakes as whips.

5. Larger Than Life • Pecos Bill is a folk tale just by his name. He has done something that has been done by no other, Pecos rode a tornado. The whole tradition of rodeo riding all began from this one folk tale. He was know for being very tough and not just riding a tornado or a horse, but riding a mountain lion.

6. Pecos in the U.S. • Pecos has help to open the eyes of many young children to teach them to reach for their dreams and that anything is possible. This has impacted many in the U.S. And also contributed to the many today. In our opinion Pecos Bill might not have been real, but he still did bring life to every child’s imagination.

7. Reference Page • "Comicartfans :: " Comic Art Fans :: The Original Comic Art Gallery for Collectors. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece>. • Scholesser, S. E. "Pecos Bill Rides a Tornado: From Pecos Bill at Americanfolklore.net." American Folklore: Famous American Folktales, Tall Tales, Myths and Legends, Ghost Stories, and More. S.E. Schlosser, 18 July 2011. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/pecos_bill_rides_a_tornado.html>. • Weiser, Kathy. "Pecos Bill - A Legend of the American West." Legends of America - A Travel Site for the Nostalgic and Historic Minded. Kathy Weiser, Mar. 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-pecosbill.html>.