The thread on Blazing Saddles reminded me of the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. I still chuckle at the scene where Judge Roy shoots Bad Bob the Albino in the back with a Sharps and told the deputy "If he wanted a fair fight he should have gone elsewhere".

Looks at the law book. Rips out the page. Looks at his poker buddies and says "I never did like that law."

My favourite scene in that movie.

Paul Newman's favorite role, according to the man himself. Great movie, written by John Milius, the man behind most of Dirty Harry's best stuff...

I know the law. I have spent my entire life in its flagrant disregard...

"I just repealed that law."

Also, he blew daylight through Bad Bob. Funny as crackers.

I loved the beginning where he comes back with a crooked neck from when he was dragged and go into the bar the banditos hung out in. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He cleans house.

Having been through Pecos, TX, I can understand how ole Judge Bean felt.

Roy Bean "conducted court" in Langtry, Texas which is about a quarter mile from the Rio Grande river in Val Verde county Texas. The tie to Pecos came from the fact that he was about twenty miles west of where the Pecos runs into the Rio Grande.

Langtry, TX is ca. 158 air miles SSW of Pecos, TX, which is on the Pecos River.

"Law West of the Pecos" referred to the location of Langtry, ca. 6.5 miles west of the nearest bend of the Pecos River and ca. 13.7 miles west of the confluence of the Pecos and Rio Grande.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

one of my favs

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Cheers, Charles
SWCA #2442

So I'm driving cross-country when I see on the map that I'll be crossing the Pecos River. I think, "Hey, 'Law West of the Pecos!'" I'm all fired up in anticipation. Huge let down when I get to the bridge and realize it's basically a drainage ditch. Whoever decided it was a "river" really needed to get out more.

I wonder if Roy Bean ever knew Cherry Valance from Val Verde?

Probably the same person that named the mighty Salt River. Larry

The Judge Roy true stories are hard to separate from the fiction.
For example, one time the story goes he was in San Antonio. One of his funning buddies sent a telegram back to Langtry claiming to be the Judge.
The telegram instructed the son to kill their pet bear. Which he did.
Pecos, TX ain't that close to Langtry. And the Pecos River is another overused, abused, often fight over in court river.
If you want to see jaw dropping Pecos beauty, you need to go up into the Pecos in NM! Go to the town of Pecos, keep on going North. You are headed for the Pecos headwaters. You will get to the 'iron gate', that's where the Wilderness area starts.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

When you cross it on I-10 or I-20 is a puny little stream. When the river gets closer to the Rio Grande it grows a little.

Pecos River Valley Bridge, Highway 90, Near Comstock Texas

The bridge on Highway 90 near where the Pecos flows into the Rio Grande is about 1,000 feet long and about 300 feet above the river bed.

I haven't seen that movie in years but it is one of my all time faves too

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Brad