Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-12-23
TEXAS LANDMARK
FAST cRuMBL|NC
Once Proud Seat Of "Law West
Of Pecos' Is Now crum-
bling Ruins.
WHERE JUDGE Bean PRESIDED
Towns Name, Eagles Nest, Vanishes
From Map and Only Memory Re-
mains Of the Judge and
His Rulings.

San Antonio, Tex With It's founda-
t0n posts wabbIing like old mems legs
It's floors showing ugly gaping holes,
It's porch roof shorn of the last linger
ing board, scrnggy bits of what was
once white paint hanging to the outer
walls, and It's door banging to Il single
rusty hinge-at Lnngtry. Tex. once
known as Eagles Ncst-~what remains
of one of Texas most famous old land
marks is succunbing to wind and rain.
1t IL the once proud seat OF the
Law West of the Pec0S'-the Ola
home and saloon and throne where,
not so many years ago, Judge Roy
BeAn lived and reiSned supreme as
dispenser of justice and red eye liquor
and dared the world TO interfere with
his game.
But since Judge Bean went away
there has been n great change. Per
haps 1t is just as well that he 'cashed
mas he himself probably would ex-
press it-before the days when no.
where in the whole of Texas can the
traveller find Il drop to drink.
In the Good Old Days"
Many humorous and many semi
tragic stories regarding Judge Bean
have been handed down by friends
and relatives, many of whom are Nv
ing in or adjacent to San Antonio to-
day. 1t was in Il day when enforcerS
Of the law were few and far between,
and when the men with the quickest
trigger finger and the steadieSt nerve
were monarchS of Il large portion OF
what they surveyed.
Bean was justice of the peace OF
precinct No. 6 and the ranking repre-
sentative of the law for hundreds Of
miles north. south. east and west OF
him. Equipped with a copy of the
statutes of Ohio of the vintage of 1883,
n sense of fair play, and strong con
viction of what the law should be
even though it We're not so written
down in the books. he put up his sign:
Judge Roy Bean,
Justice of the Peace,
In addition to being chief magis'
trate over everything "West of the
Pecos" Judge Bean conducted thirst.
Queuching emporium typical of the
day. The saloon was in the hall OF
Justice and from behind he bar came
the voice Of authority backed by
brace Of perfectly good siA' sliuo, oIS.
y Judge Beams "Law."
Two Mexican men aud women
walked into Judge Beans court one
day and Informed him that they want
ed change that they wanted to|
swap helpmcets. The Judge made dill
gent inquiries of each Of the four
found all to be of the same mind
dozen bottles of beer and called II
done.
When Il state official from Austin
on Il flying visit to Eagles Nest com
planned to Judge Bean that he was
exceedin: As authority, explaining
that divorces should be passed up t.
n higher court, Bean is alleged tc
have retorted:
"Why, say! Have | ever butted into
your affairs? These people wanted
to swap. they paid me for changih
'em around, they're Twin together
pu'fectly happy, an nobody round
here has complained. You go on back
to Austin an handle your courts like
you want to, but this is out o youl
Jurisdiction"
Then there was Judge Beans ia.
nous decision in the case Of man
being tried for killing Chinaman
The judge, after Il careful search
through the statutes of Ohio, couldn't
find single word against killing
Cinnamon; therefore there was moth
ing to do but' release the party who
did the killing.
Likewise the story of the judges
method of disposng of the so in
money found in the pockets Of a dead
Chinaman. A six-shooter also had
been found on him, so the judge fined
the deceased $50 for carrying deadly
weapon.