Chapter 9: Pies and Brawls

"I don't care about not winning the race," Bellamy admitted. "As long as you beat Hunter and his horse, yer more of a winner than he'll ever be."

Avery nodded. "We sure showed him, didn't we?"

Becky ducked under the rail, holding Baron in her arms and sprinted out to her husband. Avery hopped off Checkers and ran to throw his arm around Becky.

"Did yah see it darlin'?" He spoke. "Did yah see what happened? I never thought I'd win, but Checkers just kept on goin'."

"Avery, we are so proud o' you," Becky smiled for him, relieved that Hunter did not throw him off course after all. "And yer Pa would be proud."

Only a few civilians and employees had surrounded Edward Nosedive when he stormed past the Winner's Circle, ranting and raving which fell on the deaf ears of the crowd that gathered to congratulate Avery. "That was not fair and square, that was just a lucky hit! It was Hunter that was way ahead by default! I saw it happened, that buzzard should be disqualified, not rewarded!" He was so busy with his ranting that he barely noticed the same bee that stung Hunter's nose, flying and buzzing behind him. And Edward did not have a chance to finish what he was saying the moment that someone or something had somehow stung his tail feathers. "YEOW! OH, MY TAIL FEATHERS! SOMEBODY CALL THE DOCTOR!" He ran away from the crowd, hiding his bottom as he heard laughing behind him. "EDNA!"

All the other civilians pushed through the crowd, seeing Avery hold the gold trophy in one hand and the money and ribbon in the other, standing next to Checkers. Becky stood next to the horse on the other side, holding Baron who was giggling at this point instead of panicking when some wanted to take pictures.

Callahan Condor had been the one who handed Avery the trophy, money, and ribbon. "Congratulations Avery Buzzard. I never doubted you for a second out there on the track…. not when it brought back a lot of memories."

"Thanks Mr. Condor. But I'd be nothin' without all the friends I made since we moved here. All I can say is it took a few lessons on ridin' my Pa used to teach me about respecting horses."

Becky and Avery put their arms around their friends and neighbors, giving them all a hug. Several photographers that were from out of town took countless pictures that would soon appear in a few newspapers when they returned home.

"And that concludes the Fourth Annual Avian Township Race!" Callahan announced to everyone, hearing their cheers. "But that is only the beginning. The next two events to occur are the rope jumpers and the pie bakers! For those that signed up for the rope jumping event, follow the signs that point south. And for the ladies that signed up for the pie contest had best get ready and set their places up right to the north side!" The bands began to play when the folks then started to leave for those contests. Although the rope jumping was for children, it was still fun for parents to watch them compete.

"Well, it looks like I better get goin' Avery," Becky said, getting ready to walk as soon as the crowd lessened.

"Good luck Becky darlin'. I'll go find Sheriff Hawktail so I can ask him if he can hold onto this, so I don't end up losin' it," Avery was referring to the trophy and money, minus the ribbon that was pinned to his shirt.

"Aw, good thinkin' there dear," Becky nodded, understanding this, now marching to where the pie baking contest was going to take place. "I'll meet you there!" She left with Baron in one hand, carrying the picnic basket in the other hand.

At the north side of the events, Becky stood behind a stand with several more of the others that entered the contest, setting their pies on the table for the judge, being Mr. Pronghorn, to decide on the first, second, and third place winner for the gold, silver, and bronze ribbon. This was something he did every year for the Founder's Day pie contest, having explained the rules that contestants were to bake their own homemade pies and not buy them. Mrs. Hedgehog, Ruby Hawktail, Darla Dove, Becky…. even the dreaded Edna Nosedive had been waiting patiently as the bands continued to play, with Mr. Pronghorn inspecting the apple pie, cherry pie, strawberry pie, blackberry pie, blueberry pie, pecan, sweet potato, sugar, pumpkin, rhubarb, and chocolate chip. Mr. Pronghorn of course had some help from a few ducks that worked with him at the general store, taking their time in deciding, even though there were so many options to choose from with every pie looking so delicious that they knew only three would be chosen in the end.

"Ladies, I'm certain all yer pies are as sweet and delicious as they appear," Mr. Pronghorn has assured them all, after sniffing the cherry pie. "Right now, this has been a difficult decision for us all as I talked it over with my men here. I'm afraid we'll have to narrow it down to five choices."

First, he tried Hillary's sweet potato pie, insisting it was very good and creamy. Next, he did Darla Dove's cherry pie, calling it standard and juicy. Third came in Ruby's blueberry pie, which he called grand. Next was Becky's turn with her traditional homemade apple pie, judged as perfectly sweet and traditional style. The last one had been Edna's chocolate chip pie, which he called delicious like a homemade cookie.

"Before I announce the winner, I will start off with handing the Bronze Ribbon to Mrs. Nosedive for her chocolate chip pie, congratulations!" He gave her the Bronze Ribbon for coming in at 3rd place, ignoring the fading smile from her face. "And to Ruby Hawktail, the Silver Ribbon for her blueberry pie." Now he turned to announce the winner of the Gold Ribbon at 1st place. "And Becky Buzzard, I award you the gold ribbon for your magnificent, traditional apple pie."

"I…. I…." Becky could hardly say anything, staring in disbelief and excitement at the sight of the very gold ribbon being handed over to her. "…. thank you, Miles." She tried to appear humble when saying that, never thinking she was going to win with her simple apple pie. "I don't know what else to say."

Ruby was the first to start clapping for Becky with the others following her, Edna being the last to clap lightly, doing her best to put on an impressive smile to hide her dissatisfaction from the others. While it was satisfying to win something, she could hardly believe that this was the first time with her being outshined by the wife of that other buzzard farmer who won the race. She hated it but couldn't show it. Her next moment would come; following another event they haven't yet announced which only needed volunteers with no need to sign up.

"Congratulations Becky, yer a fine baker," Ruby shook Becky's hand for support. "We're so mighty proud o' you."

"It sure is grand, Mrs. Hawktail," Becky smiled, proud of her gold ribbon for this year. "Honestly, I only entered at first to share the family recipe with my new friends. I thought it would've been too simple to win anything."

"I once thought the same thing when I entered my strawberry pie from last year," Ruby thought back to those events. "I may have ended with the Bronze Ribbon, but in the end, I learned that losin' every now and then is like learnin' to be better next time and to never stop tryin. And in this case, its character that counts above it all."

"She's right," Mrs. Hedgehog stepped up. "For me, I just like to compete and join in on the fun so folks can share and enjoy the family recipe. Yours must have been passed down from generation am I right?"

"That, it has been," Becky nodded, hardly noticing Baron look at the gold ribbon curiously, trying to reach it as he liked the shining color of it.

"Looks like that gold ribbon has brought your son's attention to it, Mrs. Buzzard," Hillary started to chuckle at the cute sight of Baron reaching his hand out to his mother's prized ribbon.

"Oops, sorry Baron Honey, but this ribbon ain't no toy," she said softly, pinning it to her dress shirt. "It's something that folks like Mr. Pronghorn and the judges hand out when you win fair and square. But you'll understand someday if you should ever decide to compete in any future events."

"Your ma's right, little one," Mrs. Hedgehog looked down on the tiny baby, wrapped up. "Besides, if you keep lookin' far too long at gold like that, it might give you gold fever."

"A baby hit by gold fever?" Ruby looked at Mrs. Hedgehog strangely. "Nonsense. I see no gold nuggets twinkling in his eyes. I say he's just curious like all other babies can be."

"Oh now, really?" Becky shook her head at the thought of Baron developing gold fever, despite already knowing that the ladies were only joking around, going along with it. "By the time our little Baron grows, me n' Avery will see to it that he steers clears from the path o' the gold fever before it finds him first."

Edna Nosedive finally walked away from the pie stand, gathering everything now that her part in this contest was finished, taking Edmund's hand as they went on their way to not have to listen anymore to the ridiculous nonsense about the urban legend of gold fever. By then, in the midst of all the ladies' discussions, little Baron had somehow caught a glimpse of the eaglet turning his head to look at him strangely; too young to know or understand what it means to be given the cold stare.

"So, you lost the gold ribbon to Mrs. Buzzard, Edna?" Edward asked his wife. Him, Edna, Edmund, and Hunter Smith having gathered inside their personal tent. "There's always next year if she decides not to enter in it again. And what does it matter? Your chocolate chip pie is and will always be better than the rest of theirs." He was talking about the ladies that were in the same pie baking contest. "Even Mrs. Buzzard's."

"My own chocolate chip pie beaten by Mrs. Buzzard's common apple pie?" Edna scoffed, tearing the third prize ribbon off her dress shirt and placing it on a small table. "We'll soon find out what happens at the dance if she ever decides to show up and outshine me there." She was then curious to know why else Mr. Hunter was in the tent with her husband. "And what else has Mr. Hunter done this time, more drunken outbursts?"

"No, I was just finished with calling out Mr. Hunter here on why he failed to use the secret weapon like I told him to before the race was finished!" He looked at Hunter sourly as he said this.

"I told you, it ain't my fault that the bee got on my nose without warnin' before I was just about to use it!" Hunter protested. "There were eyes all over….they would've seen me!"

"Not if you had rubbed yourself with olive oil to keep the bees away like I told you to!" Edward had shot back, rubbing his bottom while he ranted, catching Edna's attention.

"Was this the same bee that paid a visit to you next Edward?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"What….no, absolutely not Edna!" Edward had denied, taking his hand away and blushing from humiliation. "I just sat on the wrong side of my seat after the race ended, losin' my bet!"

Edna was hardly buying it, but decided to let it go when she was more concerned about something else. "Well whatever it is, what secret weapon have you been going on about? I'd like to know. This is my tent as it is yours."

"Alright Edna, I'll tell you," Edward had grabbed a can of some kind off another table full of supplies and showed it to her. "Just a good dose of itching powder ordered all the way from Jersey City; that same shop where they sell other merchandise for pranks."

At first, Edna scoffed slightly at the thought of her husband getting Hunter to cheat in order to win the bet. "Oh Edward, is that your way of…." She stopped in midsentence when a devious thought crossed her mind. "….how much is left in that can?"

"It's not half full yet….why darling?" Edward found it odd that she would ask him that.

Without answering clearly, Edna quickly snatched out of her husband's grip and ran out of the tent, taking Edmund with her, leaving only a few words behind her. "I'll see you over at the dance square contest tonight!"

"Huh, I wonder what scheme may be goin' through her mind now," Hunter spoke up in confusion.

"Never mind her. If she's got a plan to get even with those buzzards that cost me the victory money, we will not interfere. But we'll be there to watch her take part in that dance. I know my wife, she's better than the rest of them put together." He and Hunter went back to discussing personal business.

A few hours had gone by since Avery and Becky won first place for the horse race and the pie baking contest. While Edna was busy plotting to get even with Becky, everyone else had been too busy watching the jump roping, tug o' war, hoop rolling, sack race, three-legged race, horseshoe toss, and everything else that had been listed on the schedule. Avery had taken part in the tug of war game with Clarence, helping him, and other strong men to win against the opposing team of coal miners that fell in the mud hole. Thanks to Clarence, Avery did not have to worry about his trophy, ribbon, and prize money being hidden away in the sheriff's tent, protected by his men for safe keeping. Their main job was to help put a stop to any kind of dangerous trouble that might pop up if folks should ever need their protection. For Avery and Becky, winning at least one first prize was more than enough for them, never being downhearted if they got second, third or fourth. Of course, Becky remembered in between hours to give Baron his nap or bottle in a quiet area, watching others having fun and chatting with their friends. And as happy as Avery had been with winning the horse race, in his mind, what Hunter had said to him before that he knew had something to do with Becky, having been wanting to ask her, but at the same time, could not spoil what was left of their joy and fun. Looking out for Baron was even more important than always winning, and became a relief from the bustling crowds and noise of the events still going on.

By nightfall, the Founder's Day celebration was in full swing. The crowds were now hovering in and around the big striped tent where the dancing was about to take place and a music band was playing their instruments. Becky had loved dancing and never forgot her first dance with Avery before their wedding night.

The music began and the couples of High Wind Gulch reeled around the floor. Mr. Pronghorn was swinging with one of the elderly women named Mrs. Sandra Sparrow who lived somewhere in the neighborhood across from the buzzard family's home. And Reverend Badger-field was already on the dance floor with his wife, hearing other couples laughing at several jokes being told to one another. Mrs. Hedgehog had volunteered to hold Baron while Becky and Avery had joined the others on the dance floor, watching the others dance about, followed by banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas as song after song went by such as "Turkey in the Straw" soon followed by "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" before "Cotton Eyed Joe, Tin Roof Blues," and "Dixie" that many folks liked to dance to.

"Swing your partner round and round and bring her back to me!" Sheriff Hawktail had been dancing around wildly with Ruby, both laughing in joy.

By the time that the dance floor was packed and a new music tune had played, Bellamy couldn't help but wonder if Avery would ever let anyone else dance with his wife, even if they are close friends.

"Pardon me Avery, but would it be too much trouble if I danced with your wife just this once?" he asked as politely as he could.

Becky looked to Avery with hope in her eyes, showing she wouldn't mind if she danced with another as long as he knew that she still loved him and nothing would come between them.

"Becky, you know I'd never hold a thing against our closest friends," Avery said mischievously, which was his way of saying she was more than welcome to try out dancing with Bellamy, seeing no threat from him unless it was one of their worst enemies.

Nodding her head, Becky grabbed Bellamy's hand, both of them out on the dance floor in one step. Avery decided to stand at the edge of the floor where Mrs. Hedgehog was with Baron, having fallen asleep in her arms, despite the music and noise of the crowd going about. Many of them clapped along to the musical beat.

"Becky, I feel that I must warn you about someone here that might have it out for you and Avery as I overheard from one of the judges," Bellamy had said to her urgently, spinning Becky across the floor.

Becky looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean by that Bellamy? Who could possibly…?" She never got to finish her sentence the moment when both had been distracted enough to not notice someone else maneuver their way around and ACCIDENTALLY bump into Becky and Bellamy, knocking them off balance. Becky turned to see that it was Edna with Edward, spinning away laughing, answering her question right there on who the ram was referring to. There was no doubt that other than seeing them win in first place at the horse race and the pie contest, the crowd became delighted with the buzzard family's dancing that it was the final straw which infuriated the eagles, viewing them as some kind of competition getting in their way.

Vexed, Becky did a cross-the-center cut with Bellamy and rammed directly into them, spinning away laughing, while Edna stood and glared daggers.

Bellamy grabbed Becky's hand as the announcer brought the music to a halt. "Alright ladies, listen up now." He said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "And now folks, it's time to move onto the jig dance contest. Every lady that has signed up shall now come forward. So circle around and get jigging!"

As the younger girls entered the circle to compete, Bellamy wished Becky luck after she had cursed Edna as believing herself to be the belle of the ball, stepping inside the dance circle once the music started, having been in many of these dance jigs before and never missing a beat. She had no idea what was Edna's problem or her husband's, but she sure as hell was not going to lose to her. From twenty ladies, it was down to fifteen, then ten, then five. The rule was to keep up with the music without missing a beat or else one mistake and you're out. Edna Nosedive had managed to avoid any cuts, dancing surprisingly well for such a stuck up bird woman, which Becky had thought, dancing over towards her.

"Which school in New Cattleton did you learn to dance so well?" She asked, half out of breath.

Edna only laughed. "Oh darlin', if I told you my secret, I would not be the best dancer around here, now would I?"

Becky was gigged by this horrid woman, not even the least bit winded, with her anger giving her a second burst of energy. By now there were three dancers left being Darla, Becky, and Edna, with her husband cheering her on.

"Dance the night away Edna love!" Laughed Edmund.

Edna danced a circle around Becky and laughed in her face. Darla tried some fancy footwork herself, but a misstep had sent the restaurant owner back to the crowd where her husband and friends were waiting, so now it was finally down to Becky and Edna. Now the competition was as intense as ever, with the announcer keeping up a nonstop patter to push the band to play faster and faster. Becky thought her heart would give out too soon, feet up, feet down, in what seemed like a blurred motion of a hundred steps a minute. Edna was hardly that tired out with the crowd not having much faith in Becky lasting longer than her.

With Becky still dancing, Edna looked over to Edward with anyone hardly noticing that he had given her a sign by nodding his head a bit as she was on the edge of the dance ring. He seemed to be using the "do it" sign in using that same itching powder she had swiped away which Hunter failed to use on Avery during the horse race. But at the last second, Becky thought something did not seem right with how those two were looking at each other, but said nothing and acted like she didn't notice, spurring herself into a final effort as the two bird women closed in tighter, allowing Becky to maneuver the dance over towards where the food and punch bowl sat on a table. Edna still followed closely behind her, playing along when secretly looking for that opportunity to push her over and sneak in the powder.

Becky ducked in time as a "slipped elbow" went over her head and bent backwards as she saw whatever it was that Edna held before hit her square in the face, causing her to sneeze, blowing some of the particles on a few other bystanders that were watching, now scratching their faces terribly, allowing Becky to time it just right to spin around and bump her hip sideways at the moment when Edna was now bending backwards, now caught off balance and about to land on top of the table, until the eagle lady still had a few more tricks up her sleeve to see that this plot works.

"Here, take a sniff of this!"

Hearing this, Becky turned around when she saw that Edna was ready to throw something at her, ducking just in the nick of time, hitting Edward straight in the face instead, and knocking him backwards and off his feet.

"What in tarnation is yer problem Edna?" Becky snarled at Edna, still scratching her face. "Can't handle a little competition in the way?"

"There ain't no way I'm losin' the spotlight to a buzzard in my book!" Edna had snapped. "And besides, I make better pies than you do!" And before she knew it, the eagle woman had leapt so suddenly at her, tearing off the same gold ribbon attached to her dress collar, tearing a hole there, but becoming more shocked in outrage and disbelief to see Edna holding it up high and out of reach.

Becky's eyes grew wide. "HEY GIVE THAT BACK YOU TRAMP!" Even her anger grew as she furious with Edna's terrible attitude. "I WON IT FAIR AND SQUARE, UNLIKE YOU!" She tried reaching for it, only for Edna to keep her back with her free hand. "I SAY YOU WAS TRYIN' TO CHEAT HERE AGAINST ME!"

"You're just jealous that my family is rich n' powerful while you're so dirt poor!" Edna had hissed, holding the ribbon away.

Avery could feel his fingers digging into his palms as he clenched his fists tighter to see how another female was treating his beloved wife. Years before, he was taught never to hit any girls, good or bad, but in this case, he was just about ready to break that promise he made in order to protect Becky, until some other force had grabbed hold to the back of his shirt, yanking him out of the tent which nobody noticed, too distracted by the fight going on.

"WE AIN'T POOR; WE JUST DON'T LIKE OVERSPENDIN' ON OURSELVES LIKE YOU DO!" Becky had snapped back. "I RECKON YOU ONLY MARRIED YER HUSBAND FOR MONEY INSTEAD OF LOVE THAT NO DOLLAR CAN BUY!" She tore a piece of Edna's rich clothing in retaliation.

"Hey, that's my best dress bone picker!" Edna retorted.

"Look who's talkin' here! You wanna piece o' me?!" Despite having been a buzzard woman all her life trying to avoid fighting with anyone, even for the right reasons, Becky was preparing to put this cheat in her place by showing her fists.

"BRING IT ON!" Edna challenged, dropping the gold ribbon.

"JUST WATCH ME POP YER STUCK UP EGO!" Becky smirked.

Although some of Avery and Becky's friends tried to stop this, only a few remembered the rule that once women started to brawl, there would be no stopping them, not even when the buzzard lady rolled up her sleeves and the eagle had tossed her hat aside. The band then started playing a different tune once the two started to dive at each other, punching and kicking. Soon the fight became dirty with Becky punching Edna across the cheek. Feeling the burn, Edna rebelled in anger and grabbed Becky's hair, yanking it hard that Becky let out an aggravated cry. In that moment, she sent her fist flying towards Edna's beak as hard as she could.

Edna screamed an insult and punched Becky in the gut. Becky tried to move back, but Edna was still holding onto her hair, allowing the buzzard lady to recover quickly and raise her head to head butt her opponent. Edna let go and stumbled back in a daze, landing with her rear in the punch bowl, still on the table. Although she managed to make Edna look like a wet hen with a few laughs from the crowd, the attack wasn't as strong, causing Becky to tumble over there with her, cracking the table in two. Both of them rolled to the floor, covered in food and punch stains all over. Becky took the chance to jump on top of Edna, ignoring some of the folks that starting to encourage her to keep at it, even making bets with one or the other on who would make it alive in the end.

Sparks flew behind Edna's eyes when she hit her head on the floor, feeling Becky slapping at her face until instincts popped in her dizzy mind, slapping and punching back against her attacker. Becky let out a smirk as she grabbed Edna's feathers around her neck to get back at her for the hair pulling assault, yanking at them harder than any angry buzzard woman could. At this rate, Edna had grabbed hold of Becky's right arm getting ready to bite into it, some of the children shouting 'FIGHT' repeatedly.

However, Clarence had arrived back in the tent with a few of his men after he heard from Mrs. Hedgehog that Becky had gotten into a terrible fight with Edmund's wife as she ran out of there to search for him, not wanting Baron to see what was happening with his mother, now crying. He told the town baker to wait where she was at, rushing over to the riot, ordering the other townsfolk to move aside, letting him and the other law birds to through.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO, BREAK IT UP!" Clarence's voice boomed through the riot, everyone moving aside for him, quieting most of the folks when they watched him lift Becky off of Edna before the eagle woman could take a bite of her arm, hands thrashing wildly and her breath coming in short whimpers.

For Becky, it was all red again, blinding red. And then she was staring into the crowd of people, even Edna picked up off the ground by one of Clarence's men after she was lifted off her.

"Mrs. Buzzard, control yourself now!" Clarence said sharply, arms holding her waist in a firm grip to stop her from attacking Edna any further. "This ain't no way for a mother to behave and set a bad example for her child! Yer lucky that Mrs. Hedgehog found me just in time to tell what happened!"

At the mention of her son, the fight was over and the energy was gone from both fighters, surrendering to the weariness of their muscles and the overload inside their brains. There were no winners in this brawl, no matter who had started it. Now she was fully aware of her surroundings and seeing that the townsfolk were in a bit of shock while some had seemed to enjoy the fight, disappointed that it had come to an end.

"Baron, Avery I….where's my baby?" She whimpered, thinking first of her husband and child, searching the crowd for them. "Where are they?"

"Baron is inside my tent with Mrs. Hedgehog!" Clarence answered her. "Looks like I better take you there and help get this all straightened out, so follow me."

"What about Avery?" She pleaded.

"We'll find him Mrs. Buzzard, but we need to get you outta here before things get any uglier than they already have." The eagle sheriff turned to face the crowd, clearing his throat to get their attention. "This matter is handled folks, go back to your business!"

"SHERIFF! This bone picker attacked me!" Edna had pointed an accusing finger at Becky while she was still held back by the other law bird named Deputy Roderick Raptor, a common black hawk with dark brownish feathers all over his face. "I wish to press charges!"

"That won't be necessary Edna Nosedive!" Clarence said firmly. "I heard about what happened from the other witnesses in how this started! A woman your age should know better!"

"WHAT?!" Edna whimpered, unable to release herself from the deputy. "I demand retribution for this, for the damage she and her family caused with their appearance here!" She scanned the crowd for any sign of Edward, seeing that he was nowhere in sight. "Edward, get your tail over here and help me!"

"You are dismissed Mrs. Nosedive, I'll take it from here!" Clarence had insisted, not the least bit frightened by her petty threats. "If you got any other complaints to file, I suggest you take it up with Mr. Condor at City Hall. Now if you'll excuse me, I think you've caused enough pain to this goodhearted mother here! Come with me Mrs. Buzzard!" He signaled for Deputy Raptor to release Edna, knowing she would not dare jump at Becky now that the law was handling this.

"Just wait till my husband hears of this!" She warned, now marching in anger and disappointment out of the tent to find Edward, desperate and anxious to tell him everything that happened to her in there, but not forgetting to take Edmund with her, who had been watching it all from the corner with the other children. As far as anyone did not know, he seemed to have enjoyed everything. "Come along Edmund darling! There is nothing more for us to see here. The sooner we get back home, the faster I can get this filth off me once I have my bath and take my dress to the cleaners first thing in the morning. When he hears about this, I promise you that there will be hell to pay. But we'll leave that to your father!"

AN: Oh my, where could Avery have gone and who snatched him away? We'll have to find out in the next chapter, but I assure you he will survive as long as he can throughout the rest of this story. What happens then I cannot say just yet, otherwise that will spoil everything. Brawls and bar fights were one of the common things that happened in the wild west time period, which is why I wanted to stick to some of the historical facts, even if some of it did get a bit altered for Hollywood films, but many of them still remain classics when you look at Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Maverick, Bonanza, or even Gunsmoke. Back then, you probably would not have gotten arrested or charged for fighting in public like today, depending on how every boomtown was run and if the laws were any strict with trying to keep the peace around.