Editing Pecos Bill (section)

==History==
The first known stories were published in 1917 by Edward O'Reilly for ''[[The Century Magazine]]'', and collected and reprinted in 1923 in the book ''Saga of Pecos Bill''. O'Reilly claimed they were part of an oral tradition of tales told by cowboys during the westward expansion and settlement of the southwest, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. But American folklorist [[Richard M. Dorson]] found that O'Reilly invented the stories as "folklore",<ref name="Dorson-1977-4">{{cite book | last = Dorson | first = Richard M. | title = American Folklore | url = https://archive.org/details/americanfolklore00dors | url-access = registration | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 1977 | location = Chicago | page = [https://archive.org/details/americanfolklore00dors/page/4 4] | isbn =  0-226-15859-4 }}</ref> and that later writers either borrowed tales from O'Reilly, or added further adventures of their own invention to the cycle.<ref>[http://www.drlamay.com/pecos_bill.htm "Pecos Bill" at DrLamay.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024031027/http://www.drlamay.com/pecos_bill.htm |date=2007-10-24 }}</ref>

Edward O'Reilly co-authored a cartoon strip with cartoonist Jack A. Warren, also known as Alonzo Vincent Warren, between 1929 and 1938. When O'Reilly died in 1946, Warren began a strip titled ''Pecos Pete''. This was a story about "Pecos Bill", who had received a "lump on the naggan" that caused him amnesia. The cartoons originally were published in ''The Sun'' and were later syndicated. He also has a wife, named Slue-Foot Sue.

Pecos Bill made the leap to film in the 1948 [[Walt Disney]] animated feature ''[[Melody Time]]''. He was portrayed by [[Steve Guttenberg]] in a 1985 episode of ''[[Tall Tales & Legends]]'' and by [[Patrick Swayze]] in Disney's 1995 film ''[[Tall Tale (film)|Tall Tale]]''.

"Pecos Bill" was also the nickname of Civil War general [[William Shafter]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xEQOAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22pecos+bill%22&pg=PA517 Arizona, prehistoric, aboriginal, pioneer, modern: the nation's ..., Volume 2] Google Books</ref> although this was before O'Reilly created the legend. Shafter was considered a hero in Texas, and even had some legendary poetry written about how tough he was.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AjILAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22pecos+bill%22&pg=PA104 War-time echoes: patriotic poems, heroic and pathetic, humorous and&nbsp;... ] Google Books</ref>

According to legend, Pecos Bill is responsible for creating many landmarks. One landmark he is said to have created is the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. Apparently, there was a drought in Texas that was so horrible, that Pecos rushed to [[California]] and lassoed up a storm cloud and brought it to Texas. It rained so much that the Gulf of Mexico was created. Another story is of him creating the [[Rio Grande River]]. He and his horse got stranded in the desert and needed water. So Pecos grabbed a stick and dug the Rio Grande River. One other landmark that he is responsible for is the [[Painted Desert (Arizona)|Painted Desert]]. He apparently started shooting at a tribe of [[Native Americans in the United States|Indigenous Americans]], and as they ran away, the ritual paint they had on them came off and painted the desert.