The shack in the photo is the saloon of Judge Roy Bean with a sign indicating his famous "Law West of the Pecos" slogan. Those of you old enough to remember 1956 might recall Edgar Buchanan playing the Judge in a comic western series. The real Roy Bean (1825-1903) was a true Texas rogue and a creative judge. Since there were no jails in his jurisdiction he settled all but two cases with fines which were usually the amount of money in the accused's pockets. He refused to send the fines to the state government and pocketed them himself. As a justice of the peace, he performed marriages for $5 and ended the traditional ceremony with "and may God have mercy on your souls." Even though only higher courts were authorized to do so, Bean also offered divorces for $10. According to local tradition much of the fine money found its way to the poor and the support of the schools. Bean was a tremendous self-promoter. He once caused a minor panic on Wall Street when he heard that Jay Gould, a railroading rival of the Frederick Lothrop Ames, was passing nearby. He flagged the train down with flag used to indicate a bridge was out. He then entertained Gould and his daughter in his saloon for two hours-while New York believed the magnate had been killed in a train wreck. In 1896 he sponsored a world heavyweight championship fight on an island in the Rio Grande because boxing was banned in both Mexico and Texas. World Champion Bob Fitzsimmons won by a knockout in only 1 minute and 35 seconds. In the draconian legal system of early Texas Bean was very lenient. In a long career he only sentenced two men to death. Horse thieves, normally hanged in Texas, were let go if they paid a fine and returned the horse. Bean had a tremendous crush on 19th century superstar Lily Langtry. He named his saloon the Jersey Lily and the town where it sat Langtry in hopes that the diva would visit him. She did so but it was several years after the judge's death. Bean had not died with his boots on instead passing away peacefully in bed after an extensive round of drinking.
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