[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              PECOS, TEXAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gallego) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to continue my journey 
through the 23rd District of Texas and saddle up and ride along the 
Butterfield Trail to a place that is truly American, and that is the 
city of Pecos, Texas, home of the Eagles, the mighty purple and gold.
  Pecos is on Forbes' Top 400 Fastest-Growing Small Towns list. Spurred 
by growth in agriculture, Pecos is the home of the sweetest 
cantaloupes--Pecos cantaloupes--grown anywhere in the country, and also 
of incredible growth in oil and gas, as Pecos is part of the Permian 
Basin.
  Pecos can be found sitting quietly in rich tradition just outside the 
Chihuahuan Desert where the Pecos River flows. The formidable Pecos 
River was nearly impossible to ford at one time. But being intrepid 
citizens, Americans using their ingenuity explored and discovered 
several places of the river where they could cross, and they founded 
the city of Pecos.
  The city of Pecos was established in the late 1800s, and with the 
arrival of the Texas Pacific Railroad in 1881, Pecos functioned as a 
transportation hub and created something that was Texas tough, kind of 
a combination of a cowboy culture and a Hispanic culture that still 
thrives even today. Many outlaws like Bill Earhart and John Denson met 
their end in Pecos, messing with the Texas tough values of Pecos.
  That combination of cultures encouraged competitiveness. As a result, 
the dusty air was filled with cowboys contending for bragging rights 
through friendly rivalries that would eventually lead to the first ever 
rodeo on July 4, 1883, in Pecos, Texas. The winner of many Pecos rodeos 
was that mythical person Pecos Bill, a man who legend says was raised 
by coyotes and can be found in many movies and many books.
  Today, Pecos continues that longest-running annual rodeo. If you are 
lucky, perhaps you can catch a glimpse of Pecos Bill still carrying on 
that rich tradition of accomplishment, perhaps eating a cantaloupe--as 
I said, one of the fruits that that area is famous for.
  I invite all to visit Pecos, to learn more about the culture, the 
beauty, the traditions of the 23rd District. I am certain you won't 
regret your visit to west Texas.

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