The Sarsaparilla Times #7: Pecos Bill is Calling

They used to have a fixins bar. Alas, it too has become a legend like the famed proprietor.

Chances are if you have visited the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, you have either walked through, ate at, or at least used the washroom at the Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café restaurant. Most likely, you have done it more than once.

We know who Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie are. Everyone knows who Anna and Elsa are, and everyone should know the loveable bear who can’t stop eating honey is. However, do you know who Pecos Bill is?

Was he real? Did he achieve feats of skill like the illustrious Davy Crockett?

Pecos Bill is said to have grown out of the imagination of the southwestern cowboys during America’s national growth in the westward expansion of the nation. This man named Bill was the personification of the many virtues a hero of the frontier would have, courage, strength, and lots of humor.

Supposedly, Bill was born in the 1830s and was the youngest son of eighteen children. When he was young, he fell out of his parent’s wagon when they crossed the Pecos River, was swept away in the current and was later adopted by a pack of coyotes.

Years later when Bill was found by his brother and brought back to the human world rather than running with a pack of coyotes, Bill would be credited with unbelievable feats of strength. He is well matched with being one of the few to ride a cyclone, roping an entire herd of cattle at one time, using a rattlesnake for a lasso (which he named Shake), and harnessing the Rio Grande River to water his ranch.

In some tales, Pecos Bill is even credited with the California Gold Rush of 1849. Apparently, a gang of rustlers were trying to steal his cattle, so Bill knocked out the gang’s gold fillings, which were spread all over the landscape.

Pecos Bill even had a sweetheart named Slue-Foot Sue. Their courtship was rocky. Bill’s horse Widow-Maker didn’t like her because she distracted Bill from their adventures. Various accounts have Bill and Sue either ending their courtship because Sue could not recover from the excessive bouncing she suffered after riding Widow-Maker, or they lived happily ever after. It depends on who you ask, or what story you read.

Reportedly, Pecos Bill died late in life when he saw a Yankee down in New Mexico. The cause of death was excessive laughter after witnessing the Yankee parading around in an alligator suit. The sight was too much, and poor Pecos Bill laughed himself to death in a fit of giggles.

These stories of the legendary frontier giant were first published by Edward O’Reilly in 1917 for ‘The Century Magazine’. The mini tales that O’Reilly wrote were collected and reprinted in the 1923 book ‘Saga of Pecos Bill’. The author claimed that these tales of the legendary Bill were based on cowboy stories that were told around the campfire in the southwest as the drive to fill in and claim land in the expanding nation took place.

From the cinders of the campfire, the folklore hero has been challenged by folklorist Richard M. Dorson. He claims that O’Reilly invented Pecos Bill from his own mind, and is not based on any genuine folklore character that was passed down from frontier campfires.

One does not need to believe the truth of the character to like the story. Pecos Bill is real, if you want him to be.

Now that you know the story behind the name, the next time you are in the Magic Kingdom, even if you are not hungry, take a moment to walk through the restaurant. There is always ample seating in this air-conditioned siesta. You don’t need to eat from the restaurant, but you should take a moment to take in the story of Pecos Bill. Find the artifacts that hang from the wall and enjoy a moment of peace in this place of folklore. If you are lucky, you may find a seat in the indoor courtyard alone, amidst the glory of the western saga.

Pecos Bill Fun Facts: