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Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time

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Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time is a 1937 children's novel by the author James Cloyd Bowman with illustrations by Laura Bannon.The book tells the story of the fictional American folk hero Pecos Bill. Raised by coyotes, the hero has various supernatural powers, including the ability to talk to animals. After discovering that he is a human being and not a coyote he goes on a number of adventures that leads him to become the greatest cowboy of all time. The novel was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1938.

Plot

 Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy Of All Time tells the story of a four years old human boy who rolls out of his family’s covered wagon near the Pecos river (that’s why he is remembered as Pecos Bill). His family is composed of eighteen children and the parents; they take a while to realize that the boy has gone missing. His family is unable to find him again when they come back looking for him. Young Bill is found by a wise good hearted Coyote (Grandy) who adopts him and passes down his wisdom to him as he raises him as one of his own; Bill is renamed “Cropear” by his new family of Coyotes.

After living his whole life thinking that he was a full blooded coyote, Pecos Bill develops an array of super natural abilities such as being able to talk to every living creature in its own language and super physical abilities such as extreme endurance, speed, and strength. One day, after grandy’s death, Pecos Bill wonders off to near a river where he sees a creature that he has never seen before, this creature turns out to be his long lost brother Chuck, he is very impressed by Pecos abilities. Chuck helps Pecos realize that he is a Human and not a coyote; Pecos dislikes the idea of being a Human because the coyotes taught him that out of all the living creatures, humans tend to be the most inhuman ones. Chuck eventually convinces Pecos of going back to live among humans in the state of Texas.

Pecos Bill soon proves to be very special and his abilities far surpass those of any other human. Naturally, given the time and place, Pecos becomes a cowboy and joins the outfit in which his brother Chuck is a member; he ends up becoming the leader of the group due to his superior abilities. As a cowboy Pecos Bill finds ways to improve cow punching and revolutionize the old ways. Some of the innovations that Pecos introduced to the cowboy’s traditions include the creation of the Perpetual Motion Ranch, the creation of chaps, the lassoing technique, and traditional cowboy games.

Other than improving and revolutionizing the traditions and methods of the cowboys by innovation, Pecos also goes on a number of adventures in which his super natural abilities give him the upper hand when dealing with foes. Pecos embarks in these adventures mostly for fun, but at the same time his actions end up solving some of the problems of other humans around him. Some of these adventures include the dealing with the Devil’s Cavalry (a band of bandits), defeating and befriending dangerous creatures, taming a Pegasus, and lassoing and busting a Cyclone, and creating many famous geographical landmarks such as the grand canyon.

Pecos Bill starts to feel overwhelmed by the rapidly growing expansion of the industrial civilization and the narrowing of free space. As private properties start to take the free green lands Pecos Bill decides that it is time for him and his Pegasus Widows maker to go. Before leaveing Texas and the I X L outfit, Pecos goes to a number of places to defeat and teach a lesson to bandits and bullies in an effort to make the world a better place. At one point before leaving he tells his friends that humans, contrary to what the coyotes believed, could in fact be the best of the best species, and that at the same time could be the worst of the worst, he admits that he had learned to love humanity. Pecos then leaves with his Widow Maker to unknown places looking for a space in which he can live to his fullest and no one is ever able to find him again. many stories, legends and tales are created regarding the whereabouts and fate of Pecos Bill and thus he is rendered as the fabled Demigod who cowboys always remember and admire.

Characters

Cropear/Pecos Bill: Human raised by Coyotes who acquires an array of super natural abilities and embarks on numerous adventures completing tasks that turn him into the greatest cowboy of all times. He is the main character of the book.

Grandy: Wise old coyote who adopts young Bill as one of his own and passes down his knowledge to him.

Chuck: Pecos Bill long lost brother, he finds Pecos and convinces him to go back to human society.

Henrietta: Bill’s little sister, Pecos mother was busy taking care of her when bill rolled out of the family’s covered wagon.

Sophrina: Bills older sister, she was supposed to be taking care of bill when he rolled out of the covered wagon.

Hoke: One of Bill’s brothers.

Drawled Legs: Chucks best pal.

Gun Smith: Former leader of the I X L outfit, he gives his place as the leader to Pecos Bill after realizing his superiority.

Fat Adams: Another member of the I X L outfit.

Rusty Peters: Another member of the I X L outfit.

Moon Hennessey: Another member of the I X L outfit.

Mushmouth: Another member of the I X L outfit.

Bean Hole: Another member of the I X L outfit.

Old Satan: A giant who stands at “five feet and nineteen inches”, he is the leader of the Devils Cavalry.

Gabriel: Member of the Devils Cavalry.

Sandy Biddle: Member of the Devils Cavalry.

Nevada Bunk: Member of the Devils Cavalry.

Shady: Member of the Devils Cavalry.

Ace High: Member of the Devils Cavalry.

Slue Foot Sue: A young English lady who becomes Pecos Bill's love and wife at one point in the story.

Pee Wee: A greenhorn that later becomes part of the I X L outfit but gets killed by a band of bandits.

Critical Reception

The book has been mostly described as an important piece of Wild West lore that tells the fun tall tales of the popular fictional American hero Pecos Bill. According to the Dallas Morning News this particular version of the book is the best collection of Bill’s tales. Many readers have also been discontent with some of the language used to refer to Native Americans in the book and the author’s writing style.

Awards

Newbery Honor Book

See also

Children's Literature

Tall tales

American Folklore

References

"Newbery Honor and Medal Books" ALSC. Association for Library Service to Children. 2014

The Newbery & Caldecott Awards: a Guide to the Medal and Honor Books by the Association for Library Service to Children, ALA Editions, 2009, page 7