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{{Short description|American outlaw and gunfighter (1859–1881)}} |
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{{Otheruses|Billy the Kid (disambiguation)}} |
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{{Other uses|Billy the Kid (disambiguation)}} |
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{{Infobox Person |
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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} |
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| name = Henry McCarty<br/> a.k.a. William H. Bonney<br/> a.k.a. Billy the Kid |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} |
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| image = Billykid.jpg |
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{{Use American English|date=May 2016}} |
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| image_size = 250px |
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{{Infobox person |
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| caption = Billy the Kid. ''(Reversed [[ferrotype]] photograph)'' |
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| name = Billy the Kid |
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1859|11|23}} |
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| image = Billy the Kid tintype, Fort Sumner, 1879-80-Edit2.jpg |
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| birth_place = [[New York City]], [[New York]], [[United States]] |
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| caption = Portrait attributed to [[Ben Wittick]], {{circa|1880}} |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1881|07|14|1859|11|23}} |
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| birth_name = Henry McCarty<ref name="Nolan2015">{{Cite book |first=Frederick |last=Nolan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdazBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 |title=The West of Billy the Kid |year=2015 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-4887-8 |page=29 |access-date=July 1, 2019 |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902033606/https://books.google.com/books?id=LdazBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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| death_place = [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico|Fort Sumner]], [[New Mexico]], [[United States|U.S.]] |
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| birth_date = September 17 or {{Birth date|1859|11|23}} |
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| occupation = [[Ranch hand]], [[Gambler]], [[Cattle rustler]], [[Outlaw]] |
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| alias = {{hlist|William H. Bonney|Henry Antrim|Kid Antrim}} |
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| parents = '''Natural Father''': not known, poss. Patrick Henry McCarty, Michael McCarty ''or'' William Bonney<br /> |
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| birth_place = New York City, U.S. |
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'''Stepfather''': William Antrim<br /> |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1881|7|14|1859|9|17}} |
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'''Mother''':Catherine McCarty or Katherine McCarty Bonney |
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| death_cause = Gunshot wound |
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'''Brother''':Joseph Antrim |
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| death_place = [[Fort Sumner]], [[New Mexico Territory|New Mexico]] |
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| restingplace = Old Fort Sumner Cemetery |
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| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|34|24|13|N|104|11|37|W|region:US-NM_type:landmark|display=inline|name= Billy the Kid's Gravesite}} |
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| occupation = {{hlist|[[Cattle raiding|Cattle rustler]]|[[cowboy]] and ranch hand|[[Gambling|gambler]]|[[horse theft|horse thief]]|[[outlaw]]}} |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Henry McCarty''' (September 17 or November 23, 1859{{snd}}July 14, 1881), [[Pseudonym|alias]] '''William H. Bonney''', better known as '''Billy the Kid''', was an American [[outlaw]] and [[gunfighter]] of the [[American frontier|Old West]] who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.{{sfn|Rasch|1995|pp=23–35}}{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=244–245}} He is also known for his involvement in [[New Mexico]]'s [[Lincoln County War]], during which he allegedly committed three murders. |
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'''Henry McCarty''' (November 23, 1859<ref name="earlylife">{{cite web | url = http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/early_life.htm | title = Early Life | publisher = aboutbillythekid.com |accessdate = 2008-08-05}}</ref>—July 14, 1881), better known as '''Billy the Kid''', but also known by the aliases '''Henry Antrim''' and '''William H. Bonney''', was a 19th-century [[American frontier]] [[outlaw]] and gunman who participated in the so-called [[Lincoln County War]]. According to legend, he killed 21 men, one for each year of his life, but he most likely participated in the killing of less than half that number.<ref name="wallis244">Wallis (2007), p. 244.</ref> |
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McCarty was orphaned at the age of 15. His first arrest was for stealing food at the age of 16 in 1875. Ten days later, he robbed a [[Chinese laundry]] and was arrested again but escaped shortly afterwards. He fled from [[New Mexico Territory]] into neighboring [[Arizona Territory]], making himself both an outlaw and a federal fugitive. In 1877, he began to call himself "William H. Bonney".{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=144}} |
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McCarty (or Bonney, the name he used at the height of his notoriety) was 5 ft 8 in-5 ft 9 in (173-175 cm) tall with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and prominent front teeth. He was said to be friendly and personable at times,<ref name="wallis129">Wallis (2007), p. 129.</ref><ref name="rasch126">Rasch (1995), p. 126.</ref> and many recalled that he was as "lithe as a cat".<ref name="wallis129"/> Contemporaries described him as a "neat" dresser who favored an "unadorned [[Mexican]] [[sombrero]]".<ref name="wallis129"/><ref name="utley15">Utley (1989), p. 15.</ref> These qualities, along with his cunning and celebrated skill with firearms, contributed to his paradoxical image, as both a notorious outlaw and beloved folk hero.<ref name="wallis244-245">Wallis (2007), pp. 244–245.</ref> |
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After killing a blacksmith during an altercation in August 1877, Bonney became a wanted man in Arizona and returned to New Mexico, where he joined a group of [[Cattle raiding|cattle rustlers]]. He became well known in the region when he joined the [[Lincoln County Regulators|Regulators]] and took part in the Lincoln County War of 1878. He and two other Regulators were later charged with killing three men, including Lincoln County Sheriff [[William J. Brady]] and one of his deputies. |
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A relative unknown during his own lifetime, he was catapulted into legend the year after his death when his killer, Sheriff [[Patrick Garrett]], published a sensationalistic biography titled ''The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid''. Beginning with Garrett's account, Billy the Kid grew into a symbolic figure of the [[American Old West]].<ref name="wallis249-250">Wallis (2007), pp. 249—250.</ref> |
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Bonney's notoriety grew in December 1880 when the ''Las Vegas Gazette'', in [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]], and ''[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]'', in New York City, carried stories about his crimes.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=145–146}} Sheriff [[Pat Garrett]] captured Bonney later that month. In April 1881, Bonney was tried for and convicted of Brady's murder, and was sentenced to hang in May of that year. He escaped from jail on April 28, killing two sheriff's deputies in the process, and evaded capture for more than two months. Garrett shot and killed Bonney, by then aged 21, in [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico|Fort Sumner]] on July 14, 1881. |
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==Biography== |
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===Early life=== |
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Little is known about McCarty's origins, but most reputable scholars of western history agree that he "was born on the eve of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] in the bowels of an [[Irish people|Irish]] neighborhood in [[New York City]]."<ref name="wallis6">Wallis (2007), p. 6.</ref><ref name="utley2">Utley (1989), p. 2.</ref> While his biological father remains an obscure figure, some researchers have theorized that his name was Patrick McCarty, Michael McCarty, William McCarty, or Edward McCarty.<ref name="wallis6"/> There is clear evidence that his mother's name was Catherine McCarty, although "there have been continuing debates about whether McCarty was her maiden or married name".<ref name="wallis6"/><ref name="utley2"/> It is generally believed that McCarty's parents were survivors of the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Irish Famine]] of the mid-19th century.<ref name="wallis6"/><ref name="utley2"/> Some genealogists argue, however, that the future outlaw was born William Henry Bonney, the son of William Harrison Bonney and wife Katherine Boujean, paternal grandson of Levi Bonney and wife Rhoda Pratt and great-grandson of Obadiah Pratt, who in turn were the grandparents of [[Mormons|Mormon]] leader [[Parley P. Pratt]], making him and McCarty first cousins once removed.<ref name="wargs.com">{{cite web | url = http://www.wargs.com/political/romney.html | title = The Ancestors of Mit Romney | publisher = wargs.com | accessdate = 2008-08-03}}</ref> Furthermore, the late [[New Mexico]] historian, Herman P. Weisner, contended that McCarty was of partial [[Latino|Hispanic]] ancestry. Weisner's theory was based, in part, on the outlaw's remarkable fluency in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and his well-known sympathy for the Hispanic people of the [[New Mexico Territory]].<ref name="wallis153-156">Wallis (2007), pp. 153—156.</ref> |
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During the decades following his death, legends grew that Bonney had survived, and a number of men claimed to be him.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 30, 2017 |title=The Old Man Who Claimed to Be Billy the Kid |language=en |work=Atlas Obscura |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/billy-the-kid-survived-hico-texas |url-status=live |access-date=July 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708134218/http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/billy-the-kid-survived-hico-texas |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Billy the Kid remains one of the most notorious figures from the era, whose life and likeness have been [[List of works about Billy the Kid|frequently dramatized]] in [[Western genre|Western]] popular culture. |
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By 1868, Catherine McCarty had relocated with her two young sons, Henry and Joseph, to [[Indianapolis, Indiana]].<ref name="wallis14">Wallis (2007), p. 14.</ref> There, she met William Antrim, who was 12 years her junior.<ref name="wallis16">Wallis (2007), p. 16.</ref> In 1873, after several years of moving around the country, the two were married at the First [[Presbyterian]] Church in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]],<ref name="utley1">Utley (1989), p. 1.</ref> and settled in neighboring [[Silver City, New Mexico|Silver City]].<ref name="wallis52-56">Wallis (2007), pp. 52—56.</ref> Antrim found sporadic work as a bartender and carpenter but soon became more interested in prospecting and gambling for fortune than in his wife and stepsons.<ref name="wallis78">Wallis (2007), p. 78.</ref> Despite this, young McCarty often used the surname "Antrim" when referring to himself.<ref name="wallis55-56">Wallis (2007), pp. 55—56.</ref> |
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He has been a feature of more than 50 movies and several television series. |
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{{TOC limit|3}} |
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Faced with a husband who was frequently absent, McCarty's mother reportedly washed clothes, baked pies, and took in boarders in order to provide for her sons.<ref name="wallis64">Wallis (2007), p. 64.</ref> Although she was fondly remembered by onetime boarders and neighbors as "a jolly Irish lady, full of life and mischief",<ref name=utley6>Utley (1989), p. 6.</ref> she was already in the final stages of [[tuberculosis]] when the family reached Silver City.<ref name="wallis76">Wallis (2007), p. 76.</ref> The following year, on September 16, 1874, Catherine McCarty died; she was buried in the Memory Lane Cemetery in Silver City.<ref name="wallis78"/> At age 14, McCarty was taken in by a neighboring family who operated a hotel where he worked to pay for his keep. The manager was impressed by the youth, contending that he was the only young man who ever worked for him that did not steal anything.<ref name="wallis84-85">Wallis (2007), 84—85.</ref> One of McCarty's school teachers later recalled that the young orphan was "no more of a problem than any other boy, always quite willing to help with chores around the schoolhouse".<ref name="wallis83">Wallis (2007), p. 83.</ref> Early biographers sought to explain McCarty's subsequent descent into lawlessness by focusing on his habit of reading [[pulp magazines|dime novels]] that romanticized crime. A more likely explanation, however, was his slender physique, "which placed him in precarious situations with bigger and stronger boys".<ref name="wallis87">Wallis (2007), p. 87.</ref> |
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==Early life== |
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Forced to seek new lodgings when his foster family began to experience "domestic problems", McCarty moved into a boardinghouse and pursued odd jobs.<ref name="wallis87"/> In April, 1875, McCarty was arrested by [[Grant County, New Mexico|Grant County]] Sheriff [[Harvey Whitehill]], after McCarty stole some cheese. On September 24, 1875, McCarty was again arrested when he was found in possession of clothing and firearms that a fellow boarder had stolen from a [[Chinese people|Chinese]] laundry owner.<ref name="wallis87-88">Wallis (2007), pp. 87—88.</ref> Two days after McCarty was placed in [[County jail|jail]], the teenager escaped by worming his way up the jailhouse chimney. From that point on, McCarty was more or less a fugitive.<ref name="wallis89">Wallis (2007), p. 89.</ref> According to some accounts, he eventually found work as an itinerant ranch hand and shepherd in southeastern [[Arizona]].<ref name="wallis95">Wallis (2007), p. 95.</ref> In 1876, he settled in the vicinity of Fort Grant Army Post in Arizona, where he worked local ranches and tested his skills at local gaming houses.<ref name="wallis103">Wallis (2007), p. 103.</ref> Sheriff Whitehill would later say that he liked the boy, and his acts of theft were more due to necessity than criminality. |
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Henry McCarty was born to parents of [[Irish Catholic]] ancestry,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-07-15 |title=Life and death of Billy the Kid |url=https://clarechampion.ie/life-and-death-of-billy-the-kid/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=The Clare Champion |language=en-GB |archive-date=February 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226090313/https://clarechampion.ie/life-and-death-of-billy-the-kid/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Catherine ({{nee|Devine}}) and Patrick McCarty, in [[New York City]].<ref name="Tombstone Epitaph">{{cite news |last1=Slatten |first1=Jeremiah |title=Sign on the Dotted Line: Some truth about the mother of Billy the Kid |access-date= |work=[[The Tombstone Epitaph]] |volume=CXXXXIII|issue= 11|issn=1940-221X |date=November 2023 |pages=1, 8–9|location=Tombstone, AZ}}</ref> While his birth year has been confirmed as 1859, the exact date of his birth has been disputed as either September 17 or November 23 of that year.{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=1–6}}{{sfn|Rasch|Mullin|1953|pp=1–5}}{{sfn|Rasch|1954|pp=6–11}} There is uncertainty among historians about the exact place and date of McCarty's birth.{{sfn|Nolan|2009|pp=1–6}}{{sfn|Rasch|Mullin|1953|pp=1–5}}{{sfn|Rasch|1954|pp=6–11}} Census records indicate that his younger brother Joseph McCarty was born in 1863.{{sfn|Nolan|1998|pp=15, 29}} |
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Following the death of her husband, Catherine McCarty and her sons moved to [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], where she met William Henry Harrison Antrim. The McCarty family moved with Antrim to [[Wichita, Kansas]] in 1870.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=15}} After moving again a few years later, Catherine married Antrim on March 1, 1873, at the First Presbyterian Church in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory]], and the McCarty boys served as witnesses.{{sfn|Nolan|1998|pp=17–19}}{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|p=7}} Shortly afterward, the family moved from Santa Fe to [[Silver City, New Mexico]] and Joseph adopted Antrim's surname.{{sfn|Nolan|1998|pp=15, 29}} Shortly before McCarty's mother died of [[tuberculosis]] on September 16, 1874,{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|p=8}} William Antrim abandoned the McCarty boys, leaving them orphans. |
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During this time, McCarty became acquainted with John R. Mackie, a [[Scottish people|Scottish]]-born ex-cavalry private with a criminal bent.<ref name="wallis107">Wallis (2007), p. 107.</ref> The two men supposedly became involved in the risky, but profitable, enterprise of horse thievery; and McCarty, who targeted local soldiers, became known by the sobriquet of "Kid Atrim".<ref name="wallis110-111">Wallis (2007), pp. 110—111.</ref> Biographer Robert M. Utley writes that the nickname arose because of McCarty's "slight build and beardless countenance, his young years, and his appealing personality".<ref name="utley16">Utley (1989), p. 16.</ref> In 1877, McCarty was involved in an altercation with the civilian blacksmith at Fort Grant, a loquacious Irish immigrant named Frank "Windy" Cahill, who took pleasure in bullying young McCarty.<ref name="wallis114">Wallis (2007), p. 114.</ref> On August 17, Cahill reportedly attacked McCarty after a verbal exchange and threw him to the ground. Reliable accounts suggest McCarty retaliated by drawing his gun and shooting Cahill, who died the next day.<ref name="wallis115">Wallis (2007), p. 115.</ref> Years later, Louis Abraham, who knew McCarty in Silver City, denied that anyone was killed in this altercation.<ref name=eulogy>{{cite web | url = http://www.aboutbillythekid.com?Eulogy.htm | title = Eulogy | publisher = aboutbillythekid.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> Records show, however, that a coroner's inquest concluded that McCarty's shooting of Cahill was "criminal and unjustifiable". Some of those who witnessed the incident later claimed that McCarty acted in self-defense.<ref name="wallis116">Wallis (s007), p. 116.</ref> |
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===First crimes=== |
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In fear of Cahill's friends and associates, McCarty fled [[Arizona Territory]] and entered New Mexico Territory.<ref name="wallis119">Wallis (2007), p. 119.</ref> He eventually arrived at the former army post of Apache Tejo, where he joined a band of cattle rustlers who targeted the sprawling herds of cattle magnate [[John Chisum]].<ref name="wallis128">Wallis (2007), p. 128.</ref> During this period, McCarty was spotted by a resident of Silver City, and the teenager's involvement with the notorious gang was mentioned in a local newspaper.<ref name="wallis123-131">Wallis (2007), pp. 123—131.</ref> It is unclear how long McCarty rode with the gang of rustlers known as "the Boys", but reliable sources indicate that he soon turned up at the house of Heiskell Jones in Pecos Valley, New Mexico.<ref name="wallis144">Wallis (2007), pp. 144.</ref> According to this account, [[Apache]]s stole McCarty's horse, forcing him to walk many miles to the nearest settlement, which happened to be Jones' home. When he arrived, the young man was supposedly near death, but Mrs. Jones nursed him back to health.<ref name="wallis144"/> The Jones family developed a strong attachment to McCarty and gave him one of their horses.<ref name="wallis144"/> At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself as "Willam H. Bonney".<ref name="wallis159">Wallis (2007), p. 159.</ref> |
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[[File:Rancher Henry C Hooker retouched cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Henry Hooker]], one-time employer of Billy the Kid, at his [[Sierra Bonita Ranch]] in southeast Arizona]] |
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McCarty was 14 years old when his mother died. Sarah Brown, the owner of a [[boarding house]], gave him room and board in exchange for work. On September 16, 1875, McCarty was caught stealing food.<ref name="billyhistorynet">{{Cite web |title=Billy The Kid: Facts, information and articles about Billy The Kid, famous outlaw, and a prominent figure from the Wild West |url=http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103175548/http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid |archive-date=January 3, 2016 |access-date=January 4, 2016 |publisher=HistoryNet.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>''Grant County Herald'' (Silver City, New Mexico), September 26, 1875.</ref> Ten days later, McCarty and George Schaefer robbed a [[Chinese laundry]], stealing clothing and two pistols. McCarty was charged with theft and was jailed. He escaped two days later and became a fugitive,<ref name=billyhistorynet /> as reported in the ''Silver City Herald'' the next day, the first story published about him. McCarty located his stepfather and stayed with him until Antrim threw him out; McCarty stole clothing and guns from him. It was the last time the two saw each other.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=94–95}} |
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After leaving Antrim, McCarty traveled to southeastern [[Arizona Territory]], where he worked as a ranch hand and gambled his wages in nearby gaming houses.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=103}} In 1876, he was hired as a ranch hand by well-known rancher [[Henry Hooker]].<ref name="nmdotorg">{{Cite web |title=Billy the Kid |url=http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126043335/http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |access-date=January 6, 2016 |publisher=State of New Mexico |df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=10–11}} During this time, McCarty became acquainted with John R. Mackie, a [[Scottish people|Scottish]]-born criminal and former [[United States Cavalry|U.S. Cavalry]] private who, following his discharge, remained near the U.S. Army post at [[Fort Grant, Arizona|Camp Grant]] in Arizona. The two men soon began stealing horses from local soldiers.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=107}}{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=11–12}} McCarty became known as "Kid Antrim" because of his youth, slight build, clean-shaven appearance, and personality.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=110–111}}{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=16}} |
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===Lincoln County War=== |
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In the Autumn of 1877, McCarty (now widely known as Bonney) moved to [[Lincoln County, New Mexico]], and was first hired by [[Doc Scurlock]] and [[Charlie Bowdre]] to work in their [[cheese]] factory.<ref>{{cite web |first=Kathy |last=Weiser |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-docscurlock.html |title= Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock - Cowboy Gunfighter |accessdate=2008-09-30 |publisher=Legends of America }}</ref> He met through them [[Frank Coe (Lincoln County War)|Frank Coe]], [[George Coe (Lincoln County War)|George Coe]] and [[Ab Saunders]], three cousins who owned their own ranch near to the ranch of [[Richard Brewer|Dick Brewer]]. After a short stint working on the ranch of [[Henry Hooker]], McCarty began working on the Coe/Saunders ranch.<ref>{{cite web |first=William H. |last=Wroth |url=http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=508 |title=Billy the Kid |accessdate=2008-09-30 |publisher=New Mexico Office of the State Historian }}</ref> |
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At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself by the name "William H. Bonney".{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=144}} On August 17, 1877, Bonney was at a saloon in the village of [[Bonita, Arizona|Bonita]] when he got into an argument with Francis P. "Windy" Cahill, a blacksmith who reportedly had bullied him and on more than one occasion called him a "[[pimp]]". Bonney in turn called Cahill a "[[Bitch (slang)#Son of a bitch|son of a bitch]]", whereupon Cahill threw Bonney to the floor and the two struggled for Bonney's revolver. Bonney shot and mortally wounded Cahill. A witness said, "[Billy] had no choice; he had to use his equalizer." Cahill died the following day.<ref name="cahill">{{Cite journal |last1=Radbourne |first1=Allan |last2=Rasch |first2=Philip J. |date=August 1985 |title=The Story of 'Windy' Cahill |journal=Real West |issue=204 |pages=22–27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=This Date in History – August 17, 1877 – Billy the Kid kills his first man |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-kills-his-first-man |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315024623/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-kills-his-first-man |archive-date=March 15, 2016 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |publisher=History Channel |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Bonney fled but returned a few days later and was apprehended by Miles Wood, the local [[justice of the peace]]. He was detained and held in the Camp Grant guardhouse but escaped before law enforcement could arrive.<ref name="NMHistorg">{{Cite web |last=Wroth |first=William H. |title=Billy the Kid |url=http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126043335/http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |publisher=New Mexico Office of the State Historian |df=mdy-all}}</ref> |
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Late in 1877, McCarty, along with Brewer, Bowdre, Scurlock, the Coe's and Saunders, was hired as a cattle guard by [[John Tunstall]], an [[English people|English]] cattle rancher, banker and merchant, and his partner, [[Alexander McSween]], a prominent lawyer.<ref name="wallis193-196">Wallis (2007), pp. 193—196.</ref> A conflict known today as the [[Lincoln County War]] had erupted between the established town merchants, [[Lawrence Murphy]] and [[James Dolan (Lincoln County War)|James Dolan]], and local ranchers.<ref name="wallis196-197">Wallis (2007), pp. 196—197.</ref> Events turned bloody on February 18, 1878, when an unarmed Tunstall was spotted herding cattle on the open range and murdered by William Morton, [[Jessie Evans (outlaw)|Jessie Evans]], Tom Hill, and Frank Baker — all members of the Murphy-Dolan faction.<ref name="wallis197-198">Wallis (2007), pp. 197—198.</ref> After murdering Tunstall, the gunmen shot down his prized bay horse.<ref name="utley46">Utley (1989), p. 46.</ref> "As a wry and macabre joke on Tunstall's great affection for horses, the dead bay's head was then pillowed on his hat", writes [[Frederick Nolan]], Tunstall's biographer.<ref name="molan272">Nolan (1965), p. 272.</ref> Although members of the Murphy-Dolan faction sought to frame Tunstall's death as a "justifiable homicide", evidence at the scene suggested that Tunstall attempted to avoid a confrontation before he was shot down.<ref name="jacobsen87-90">Jacobsen (1994), pp. 87—90.</ref> Tunstall's murder enraged McCarty and the other ranch hands.<ref name="wallis198-199">Wallis (2007), pp. 198—199.</ref> |
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Bonney stole a horse and fled Arizona Territory for New Mexico Territory,{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=119}} but [[Apache]]s took the horse from him, leaving him to walk many miles to the nearest settlement. At [[Fort Stanton]],{{sfn|Nolan|1998|p=77}} starving and near death, he went to the home of friend and [[Seven Rivers Warriors]] gang member John Jones, whose mother Barbara nursed him back to health.<ref name="TWJones">{{Cite magazine |last=Hays |first=Chad |date=March 19, 2013 |title=Ma'am Jones A stitch in time |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/maam-jones/ |url-status=live |magazine=True West Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222225253/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/maam-jones/ |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=144}} After regaining his health, Bonney went to Apache Tejo, a former army post, where he joined a band of rustlers who raided herds owned by cattle magnate [[John Chisum]] in [[Lincoln County, New Mexico|Lincoln County]]. After he was spotted in Silver City, his involvement with the gang was mentioned in a local newspaper.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=123–131}} |
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McSween, who abhorred violence, took steps to punish Tunstall's murderers through legal means; he obtained warrants for their arrests from a local justice of the peace.<ref name="wallis199">Wallis (2007), p. 199.</ref> Tunstall's men formed their own group called the [[Lincoln County Regulators|Regulators]].<ref name="jacobsen107-108">Jacobsen (1994), pp. 107—108.</ref> After being deputized by rancher [[Richard Brewer|Richard "Dick" Brewer]], Tunstall's foreman, who had been appointed a special constable and given the warrant to arrest Tunstall's killers, they proceeded to the Murphy-Dolin ranch.<ref name="wallis200">Wallis (2007), p. 200.</ref> The wanted men, Bill Morton and Frank Baker, attempted to flee, but they were captured on March 6. Upon returning to Lincoln, the Regulators reported that Morton and Baker had been shot on March 9 near Agua Negra during an alleged escape attempt.<ref name="wallis200-201">Wallis (2007), pp. 200—201.</ref><ref name="jacobsen111-112">Jacobsen (1994), pp. 111—112.</ref><ref name="burns89-90">Burns (1953/1992), pp. 89—90.</ref> During their journey to Lincoln, the Regulators also killed one of their own members, a man named McCloskey, whom they suspected of being a traitor.<ref name="SOTP">{{cite web | url = http://www.sptddog.com/sotp/billy.html | title = Chronology of Billy the Kid | publisher = Shadows of the Past, Inc. | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref><ref name="wallis200-201"/><ref name="burns90">Burns (1953/1992), p. 90.</ref> On the very day that McCloskey, Morton, and Baker were slain, Governor [[Samuel Beach Axtell]] arrived in New Mexico Territory to investigate the ongoing violence. The governor, accompanied by James Dolan and associate John Riley, proved hostile to the faction now headed by McSween. Thus, the Regulators "went from lawmen to outlaws."<ref name="wallis201">Wallis (2007), p. 201.</ref> Axtell, Dolan, Riley and the rest of the faction that had murdered Tunstall were part of the infamous "Santa Fe Ring", a corrupt group of Republican carpetbaggers, mostly Irish, who had taken over New Mexico after the Civil War.<ref>Joel Jacobsen, Such Men as Billy the Kid: The Lincoln County War Revisited. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994.</ref> |
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==Lincoln County War== |
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Unfazed, the Regulators planned to settle a score with Sheriff [[William J. Brady]], who had arrested McCarty and fellow deputy [[Fred Waite]] in the aftermath of Tunstall's murder. At the time Brady arrested them, the two men were attempting to serve a warrant on Brady for his suspected role in looting Tunstall's store after the Englishman's death.<ref name="wallis199">Wallis (2007), p. 199.</ref> On April 1, Regulators [[Jim French (cowboy)|Jim French]], [[Frank McNab]], [[John Middleton (cowboy)|John Middleton]], Fred Waite, [[Henry Newton Brown|Henry Brown]] and McCarty ambushed Sheriff Brady<ref name="brady">{{cite web | url = http://www.odmp.org/officer/2168-sheriff-william-brady | title = Sheriff William Brady | publisher = The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> and his deputy, [[George W. Hindman]],<ref name="hindman">{{cite web | url = http://www.odmp.org/officer/6526-deputy-sheriff-george-hindman | title = Deputy Sheriff George Hindman | publisher = The Officers Down Memorial Page, Inc. | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> killing them both in Lincoln's main street. McCarty was shot in the thigh while attempting to retrieve a rifle that Brady had seized from him during an earlier arrest.<ref name = "SOTP" /> With this move, the McSween faction disillusioned many former supporters, who came to view both sides as "equally nefarious and bloodthirsty".<ref name="wallis202">Wallis (2007), p. 202.</ref> |
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{{Main|Lincoln County War}} |
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===Prelude=== |
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The connection between McSween and the Regulators was ambiguous, however. McCarty was loyal to the memory of Tunstall, not necessarily to McSween, however.<ref name="jacobsen133">Jacobsen (1994), p. 133.</ref> There is some doubt as to whether McCarty and McSween were even acquainted at the time of Brady's death.<ref name="jacobsen133"/> According to a contemporary newspaper account, the Regulators disclaimed "all connection or sympathy with McSween and his affairs" and expressed their sole desire to track down Tunstall's murderers.<ref name="jacobsen133"/> |
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[[File:John Tunstall seated pose cropped and retouched.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[John Henry Tunstall]], 1872|left]] |
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After returning to New Mexico, Bonney worked as a cowboy for English businessman and rancher [[John Henry Tunstall]] (1853–1878), near the Rio Felix, a tributary of the [[Pecos River]], in Lincoln County (now in [[Chaves County]]). Tunstall and his business partner and lawyer [[Alexander McSween]] were opponents of an alliance formed by [[Irish-American]] businessmen [[Lawrence Murphy]], [[James Dolan (Lincoln County War)|James Dolan]], and John Riley. The three men had wielded an economic and political hold over Lincoln County since the early 1870s, due in part to their ownership of a beef contract with nearby [[Fort Stanton]] and a well-patronized dry goods store in the town of [[Lincoln, New Mexico|Lincoln]]. |
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By February 1878, McSween owed $8,000 to Dolan, who obtained a court order and asked Lincoln County Sheriff [[William J. Brady]] to [[Attachment (law)|attach]] nearly $40,000 worth of Tunstall's property and livestock. Tunstall put Bonney in charge of nine prime horses and told him to relocate them to his ranch for safekeeping. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brady assembled a large posse to seize Tunstall's cattle.{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=188–190}}<ref name=tunstallfamily /> |
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On April 4, in what became known as the [[Gunfight of Blazer's Mills]], the Regulators sought the arrest of an old buffalo hunter known as [[Buckshot Roberts]], whom they suspected of involvement in the Tunstall slaying.<ref name="wallis203">Wallis (2007), p. 203.</ref> Roberts, however, refused to be taken alive, even after he suffered a severe bullet wound to the chest.<ref name="burns97-98">Burns (1953/1992), pp. 97—98.</ref> During the gun battle that ensued, Roberts shot and killed the Regulators' leader, Dick Brewer.<ref name="wallis203"/><ref name="jacobsen144-145">Jacobsen (1994), pp. 144—145.</ref> Four other Regulators were wounded in the skirmish.<ref name = "SOTP" /> The incident had the effect of further alienating the public, given that many local residents "admired the way Roberts put up a gutsy fight against overwhelming odds."<ref name="wallis204">Wallis (2007), p. 204.</ref> |
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On February 18, 1878, Tunstall learned of the posse's presence on his land and rode out to intervene. During the encounter, one member of the posse shot Tunstall in the chest, knocking him off his horse. Another posse member took Tunstall's gun and killed him with a shot to the back of his head.<ref name="tunstallfamily">{{Cite magazine |last=Boardman |first=Mark |date=September 25, 2010 |title=The Tunstalls Return – John Tunstall's kin traveled from England to fathom death in Lincoln. |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/the-tunstalls-return/ |url-status=live |magazine=True West Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216031421/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/the-tunstalls-return/ |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=46}} Tunstall's murder ignited the conflict between the two factions that became known as the [[Lincoln County War]].<ref name=tunstallfamily />{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=23–55}} |
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====Killing of Frank McNab and after==== |
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===Build-up=== |
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After Brewer's death, Frank McNab was elected as captain of the Regulators.<ref name="wallis204">Wallis (2007), p. 204.</ref> For a short period, the Regulators benefited from the appointment of Sheriff John Copeland, who proved sympathetic to the McSween faction.<ref name="wallis204"/> Copeland's authority, however, was undermined by the Murphy-Dolan faction, which promptly rounded up recruits from among Sheriff Brady's former deputies.<ref name="wallis205">Wallis (2007), p. 205.</ref> On April 29, 1878, a posse including the Jessie Evans Gang and the [[Seven Rivers Warriors]], under the direction of former Brady deputy George W. Peppin, engaged Regulators Frank McNab, Ab Saunders and Frank Coe in a shootout at the Fritz Ranch.<ref name="wallis205"/> McNab was killed in a hail of gunfire, while Saunders was severely wounded and Frank Coe was captured.<ref name="wallis205"/> Frank Coe escaped custody a short time later, when his captors were occupied elsewhere.<ref name="wallis206">Wallis (2007), p. 206.</ref> |
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[[File:Dick Brewer cropped b&w.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Richard M. Brewer|Dick Brewer]], {{circa|1875}}]] |
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After Tunstall was killed, Bonney and [[Richard M. Brewer|Dick Brewer]] swore affidavits against Brady and those in his posse, and obtained murder warrants from Lincoln County justice of the peace John B. Wilson.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=48–49}} On February 20, 1878, while attempting to arrest Brady, the sheriff and his deputies found and arrested Bonney and two other men riding with him.<ref name="TWfebarrest">{{Cite magazine |last=Bell |first=Bob Boze |date=April 1, 2004 |title=I Shot the Sheriff (and I Killed a Deputy, Too) – Billy Kid and the Regulators vs Sheriff Brady and His Deputies |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/i-shot-the-sheriff-and-i-killed-a-deputy-too/ |url-status=live |magazine=True West Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216031605/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/i-shot-the-sheriff-and-i-killed-a-deputy-too/ |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Deputy [[United States Marshal Service|U.S. Marshal]] [[Robert Widenmann]], a friend of Bonney, and a detachment of soldiers captured Sheriff Brady's jail guards, put them behind bars, and released Bonney and Brewer.<ref name="TWtunstallambush">{{Cite magazine |last=Bell |first=Bob Boze |date=September 11, 2015 |title=Tunstall Ambushed – Regulators vs Dolan's Henchmen |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/tunstall-ambushed/ |url-status=live |magazine=True West Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216032547/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/tunstall-ambushed/ |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=February 11, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> |
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Bonney then joined the [[Lincoln County Regulators]]; on March 9 they captured Frank Baker and William Morton, both of whom were accused of killing Tunstall. Baker and Morton were killed while allegedly trying to escape.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=56–60}} |
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What is known about the morning following McNab's death is that the Regulator "iron clad" took up defensive positions in the town of Lincoln, trading shots with Dolan men as well as U.S. cavalrymen.<ref name="wallis205-206">Wallis (2007), pp. 205—206.</ref> The only casualty was Dutch Charley Kruling, a Dolan man wounded by a rifle slug fired by George Coe at a distance of 440 paces.<ref>{{cite book |last=Caldwell |first=C.R. |title=Dead Right - The Lincoln County War |year=2008 |publisher=Clifford, Caldwell | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HSysw_UbEIQC |isbn=0615171524 |page=108 }}</ref> By shooting at government troops, the Regulators earned their animosity and gained a whole new set of enemies. On May 15, the Regulators tracked down Seven Rivers gang member Manuel Segovia, the suspected murderer of Frank McNab, and shot him to death.<ref name="wallis209-210">Wallis (2007), pp. 209—210.</ref> Around the time of Segovia's death, the Regulator "iron clad" gained a new member, a young Texas "cowpoke" named [[Tom O'Folliard]], who became McCarty's close friend and constant companion.<ref name="wallis212">Wallis (2007), p. 212.</ref> |
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On April 1, the Regulators ambushed Sheriff Brady and his deputies; Bonney was wounded in the thigh during the battle. Brady and Deputy Sheriff [[George W. Hindman]] were killed.{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=233–49, 549}} On the morning of April 4, 1878, [[Buckshot Roberts]] and Dick Brewer were killed during [[Gunfight at Blazer's Mill|a shootout at Blazer's Mill]].<ref>Rickards, Colin. ''The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill'', 1974 – pp. 36–37.</ref> Warrants were issued for several participants on both sides, and Bonney and two others were charged with killing Brady, Hindman and Roberts.<ref>Wroth, William H. [http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid Billy the Kid] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126043335/http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |date=January 26, 2016 }}. Retrieved January 9, 2016.</ref> |
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The Regulators' position worsened when the governor, in a quasi-legal move, removed Copeland and appointed George Peppin (an ally of the Murphy-Dolan faction) as sheriff.<ref name="wallis211">Wallis (2007), p. 211.</ref> Under indictment for the Brady killing, McCarty and the other Regulators spent the next several months in hiding and were trapped, along with McSween, in McSween's home in Lincoln on July 15, by members of "The House" (as the Murphy-Dolan faction was known) and some of Brady's men.<ref name="wallis212-213">Wallis (2007), pp. 212—213.</ref> On July 19, a column of U.S. cavalry soldiers entered the fray. Ostensibly neutral, the column's actions worked to the clear advantage of the Dolan faction.<ref name="wallis213-214">Wallis (2007), pp. 213—214.</ref> After a five day siege, McSween's house was set on fire. McCarty and the other Regulators fled, although McCarty is believed by some to have killed one "House" member named Bob Beckwith.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newmexico.org/western/learn/billy_the_kid.php |title=Billy the Kid |accessdate=2008-09-30 |publisher=New Mexico Tourism }}</ref> McSween was shot down while fleeing the blaze, and his death essentially marked the end of the Lincoln County Cattle War.<ref name="wallis214-215">Wallis (2007), pp. 214—215.</ref> |
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=== |
==== Battle of Lincoln (1878) ==== |
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{{Main|Battle of Lincoln (1878)}} |
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In the Autumn of 1878, a former [[Union Army]] general, [[Lew Wallace]], became Governor of the New Mexico Territory.<ref name="wallis225">Wallis (2007), p. 225.</ref> In an effort to restore peace to Lincoln County, Wallace proclaimed an amnesty for any man involved in the Lincoln County War who was not already under indictment.<ref name="wallis225"/> McCarty, who had fled to Texas after his escape from McSween's house, was under indictment, but Wallace was intrigued by rumors that the young man was willing to surrender himself and testify against other combatants if amnesty could be extended to him.<ref name="wallis227-228">Wallis (2007), pp. 227—228.</ref> In March 1879, Wallace and McCarty met in Lincoln County to discuss the possibility of a deal. True to form, McCarty greeted the governor with a revolver in one hand and a [[Winchester rifle]] in the other. After taking several days to consider Wallace's offer, Bonney agreed to testify in return for amnesty.<ref name="wallis227-228"/> |
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On the night of Sunday, July 14, McSween and the Regulators—now a group of fifty or sixty men—went to Lincoln and stationed themselves in the town among several buildings.{{sfn|Jacobsen|1994|p=173}} At the McSween residence were Bonney, Florencio Chavez, [[Jose Chavez y Chavez]], Jim French, Harvey Morris, [[Tom O'Folliard]], and [[Yginio Salazar]], among others. Another group led by Marin Chavez and [[Doc Scurlock]] positioned themselves on the roof of a saloon. [[Henry Newton Brown]], Dick Smith, and [[George Coe (Lincoln County War)|George Coe]] defended a nearby adobe bunkhouse.{{sfn|Nolan|1992|pp=312–313}}{{sfn|Utley|1987|p=87}} |
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On Tuesday, July 16, newly appointed sheriff [[George Peppin]] sent sharpshooters to kill the McSween defenders at the saloon. Peppin's men retreated when one of the snipers, Charles Crawford, was killed by Fernando Herrera. Peppin then sent a request for assistance to Colonel [[Nathan Dudley]], commandant of nearby [[Fort Stanton]]. In a reply to Peppin, Dudley refused to intervene but later arrived in Lincoln with troops, turning the battle in favor of the Murphy-Dolan faction.{{sfn|Nolan|1992|p=513}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Mexico Office of the State Historian {{!}} people |url=http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629050035/http://newmexicohistory.org/people/billy-the-kid |archive-date=June 29, 2017 |access-date=July 19, 2017 |website=newmexicohistory.org |language=en}}</ref> |
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The arrangement called for McCarty to submit to a token arrest and a short stay in jail until the conclusion of his courtroom testimony.<ref name="wallis227-228"/> Although McCarty's testimony helped to indict John Dolan, the district attorney, one of the powerful "House" faction leaders, disregarded Wallace's order to set McCarty free after his testimony.<ref name="wallis 228-229">Wallis (2207), pp.228—229.</ref> After the trial, McCarty and O'Folliard slipped away on horses that were supplied by friends.<ref name="wallis229">Wallis (2007), p. 229.</ref> |
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A gunfight broke out on Friday, July 19. McSween's supporters gathered inside his house; when Buck Powell and Deputy Sheriff Jack Long set fire to the building, the occupants began shooting. Bonney and the other men fled the building when all rooms but one were burning. During the confusion, McSween was shot and killed by Robert W. Beckwith, who was then shot and killed by Bonney.{{sfn|Nolan|1992|pp=322–331}}{{sfn|Utley|1987|pp=96–111}} |
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For the next year-and-a-half, McCarty survived by rustling, gambling, and taking defensive action. In January 1880, during a well-documented altercation, he killed a man named Joe Grant in a [[Fort Sumner]] saloon.<ref name="wallis233">Wallis (2007), p. 233.</ref> Grant was boasting that he would kill the "Kid" if he saw him, not realizing the man he was playing poker with was "Billy the Kid." In those days people only loaded their revolvers with five bullets,{{Fact|date=March 2008}} since there were no safeties and a lot of accidents. The "Kid" asked Grant if he could see his ivory handled revolver and, while looking at the weapon, cycled the cylinder so the hammer would fall on the empty chamber.<ref name="wallis233"/> He then informed Grant of his identity. When Grant fired, nothing happened, and Bonney then shot him. When asked about the incident later, he remarked, "It was a game for two, and I got there first".<ref name="wallis234">Wallis (2007), p. 234.</ref> |
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Other versions of this story exist. In one version, Billy emptied the gun. In another, Grant had just purchased the six-shot pistol from a Chisum-employed cowboy named Jack Finan, who had fired three rounds earlier without reloading. According to this account, the Kid turned the empty cartridges up to the hammer.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} |
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==Outlaw== |
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In November 1880, a posse pursued and trapped McCarty's gang inside a ranch house owned by one of the Kid's friends, James Greathouse, at Anton Chico in the White Oaks area.<ref name="wallis236">Wallis (2007), p. 236.</ref> A posse member named James Carlysle<ref name="carlysle">{{cite web | url = http://www.odmp.org/officer/2797-deputy-sheriff-james-carlysle | title = Deputy Sheriff James Carlysle | publisher = The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. | accessdate = 2008-08-04 }}</ref> ventured into the house under a [[white flag]], in an effort to negotiate the group's surrender.<ref name="wallis236"/> Meanwhile, Greathouse was sent out to act as a hostage for the posse.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} At some point in the evening, Carlysle evidently decided the outlaws were stalling. According to one version of events, Carlysle heard a shot that had been fired accidentally outside. Concluding that the posse members had shot down Greathouse, he chose to run for his life. Carlysle crashed through a window and jumped into the snow.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} The posse, mistaking Carlysle for a member of the gang, fired and killed him.<ref name="wallis236"/> Recognizing their mistake, the posse members became demoralized and scattered, enabling McCarty and his gang to slip away. McCarty vehemently denied shooting Carlysle,<ref name="wallis236"/> and later wrote to Governor Wallace, claiming to be innocent of this crime and others attributed to him.<ref name="wallis237">Wallis (2007), p. 237.</ref> |
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[[File:Gov Lew Wallace in 1893 cropped lightened.jpg|upright|thumb|left|New Mexico Territorial Governor [[Lew Wallace]] in 1893]] |
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Bonney and three other survivors of the [[Battle of Lincoln (1878)|Battle of Lincoln]] were near the Mescalero Indian Agency when the agency bookkeeper, Morris Bernstein, was murdered on August 5, 1878. All four were indicted for the murder, despite conflicting evidence that Bernstein had been killed by Constable Atanacio Martinez. All of the indictments, except Bonney's, were later quashed.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=104–105, 107, 110}}{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=339–340, 342, 445, 514}} |
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On October 5, 1878, [[United States Marshal Service|U.S. Marshal]] John Sherman informed newly appointed Territorial Governor and former Union Army general [[Lew Wallace]] that he held warrants for several men, including "William H. Antrim, alias Kid, alias Bonny{{sic}}" but was unable to execute them "owing to the disturbed condition of affairs in that county, resulting from the acts of a desperate class of men".{{sfn|Utley|1987|p=120}} Wallace issued an amnesty proclamation on November 13, 1878, which pardoned anyone involved in the Lincoln County War since Tunstall's murder. It specifically excluded persons who had been convicted of or indicted for a crime, and therefore excluded Bonney.{{sfn|Nolan|2009a|pp=315, 515}}{{sfn|Utley|1987|pp=122–123, 126–128, 141, 150, 154, 156–158}} |
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=== Pat Garrett=== |
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[[Image:Pat Garrett2.jpg|thumb|A photograph of Sheriff Pat Garrett]] |
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During this time, McCarty became acquainted with an ambitious local bartender and former buffalo hunter named [[Pat Garrett]].<ref name="wallis234" /> While popular accounts often depict McCarty and Garrett as "bosom buddies", there is no concrete evidence that they were ever friends.<ref name="wallis235">Wallis (2007), p. 235.</ref> Running on a pledge to rid the area of rustlers, Garrett was elected as sheriff of Lincoln County in November 1880, and in early December, he assembled a posse and set out to arrest McCarty, now known almost exclusively as "Billy the Kid" and carrying a $500 bounty on his head.<ref name="wallis236-238">Wallis (2007), pp. 236—238.</ref> |
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On February 18, 1879, Bonney and friend [[Tom O'Folliard]] were in Lincoln and watched as attorney Huston Chapman was shot and his corpse set on fire. According to eyewitnesses, the pair were innocent bystanders forced at gunpoint by [[Jesse Evans]] to witness the murder.{{sfn|Utley|1987|pp=132–136, 139, 141, 143–144}}{{sfn|Nolan|1992|pp=375–376, 378, 516–517}} Bonney wrote to Governor Wallace on March 13, 1879, with an offer to provide information on the Chapman murder in exchange for amnesty. On March 15, Governor Wallace replied, agreeing to a secret meeting to discuss the situation. He met with Wallace in Lincoln on March 17, 1879. During the meeting and in subsequent correspondence, Wallace promised Bonney protection from his enemies and clemency if he would offer his testimony to a [[grand jury]].{{efn|For years Wallace denied that he had agreed to the bargain with Bonney; however, in a newspaper article published in 1902, Wallace changed his story and said he had promised him a pardon in exchange for the testimony.{{sfn|Cooper|2017|pages=556–561}} }} |
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The posse led by Garrett fared well, and his men closed in quickly. On December 19, McCarty barely escaped a midnight ambush in Fort Sumner, which left one member of the gang, Tom O'Folliard, dead.<ref name="wallis238">Wallis (2007), p. 238.</ref> On [[December 23]], the Kid was tracked to an abandoned stone building located in a remote location known as Stinking Springs. While McCarty and his gang were asleep inside, Garrett's posse surrounded the building and waited for sunrise. The next morning, a cattle rustler named Charlie Bowdre stepped outside to feed his horse.<ref name="jacobsen226">Jacobsen (1994), p. 226.</ref> Mistaken for McCarty, he was shot down by the posse.<ref name="jacobsen226"/> Soon afterward, somebody from within the building reached for the horse's halter rope, but Garrett shot and killed the horse, whose body blocked the building's only exit.<ref name="wallis239">Wallis (2007), p. 239.</ref> As the lawmen began to cook breakfast over an open fire, Garrett and McCarty engaged in a friendly exchange, with Garrett inviting McCarty outside to eat, and McCarty inviting Garrett to "go to hell".<ref name="wallis239"/> Realizing that they had no hope of escape, the besieged and hungry outlaws finally surrendered later that day and were allowed to join in the meal.<ref name="wallis239"/> |
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On March 20, Wallace wrote to Bonney, "to remove all suspicion of understanding, I think it better to put the arresting party in charge of Sheriff Kimbrell [sic] who shall be instructed to see that no violence is used."{{efn|Letter from Governor Wallace to W.H. Bonney, March 20, 1879.{{sfn| Cooper |2017|pages=563–565}} }} Bonney responded on the same day, agreeing to testify and confirming Wallace's proposal for his arrest and detention in a local jail to assure his safety.{{sfn|Cooper|2017|p=565}}{{sfn|Boomhower|2005|p=103}} On March 21, he let himself be captured by a posse led by Sheriff George Kimball of Lincoln County. As agreed, Bonney provided a statement about Chapman's murder and testified in court.{{sfn|Boomhower|2005|p=104}} However, after his testimony, the local district attorney refused to set him free.{{sfn|Boomhower|2005|pp=106–107}}{{sfn|Lifson|2009}} Still in custody several weeks later, Bonney began to suspect Wallace had used subterfuge and would never grant him amnesty. He escaped from the Lincoln County jail on June 17, 1879.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=111–125}}[[File:Tom O'Folliard circa 1875 retouched and cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Tom O'Folliard]], {{circa|1875}}]] |
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=== Escape from Lincoln === |
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[[Image:LincolnNM Jail and Courthouse.jpg|thumb|Courthouse and jail, Lincoln, New Mexico]] |
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McCarty was transported from Fort Sumner to [[Las Vegas, New Mexico|Las Vegas]], where he spent much of his time giving interviews to reporters.<ref name="wallis240-241">Wallis (2007), p. 240—241.</ref> Next, the prisoner was transferred to Santa Fe, where he peppered Governor Wallace with letters seeking clemency.<ref name="wallis241">Wallis (2007), p. 241.</ref> Wallace, however, refused to intervene,<ref name="wallis241"/> and the Kid's trial was held in April 1881 in [[Mesilla]].<ref name="wallis242">Wallis (2007), p. 242.</ref> On April 9, after two days of testimony, McCarty was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff Brady, the only conviction ever secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County Cattle War.<ref name="wallis242"/> On April 13, he was sentenced by Judge Warren Bristol to [[hanging|hang]].<ref name="wallis242"/> |
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Bonney avoided further violence until January 10, 1880, when he shot and killed Joe Grant, a newcomer to the area, at Hargrove's Saloon in [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]].<ref name="truewestmag">{{Cite magazine |last=Bell |first=Bob Boze |date=May 2, 2007 |title=The Tale of the Empty Chamber Billy the Kid vs Joe Grant |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/billy-the-kid-vs-joe-grant/ |url-status=live |magazine=True West Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216031739/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/billy-the-kid-vs-joe-grant/ |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=January 10, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The ''Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican'' reported, "Billy Bonney, more extensively known as 'the Kid', shot and killed Joe Grant. The origin of the difficulty was not learned."<ref>''Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican'', January 17, 1880.</ref> According to other contemporary sources, Bonney had been warned Grant intended to kill him. He walked up to Grant, told him he admired his revolver, and asked to examine it. Grant handed it over. Before returning the pistol, which he noticed contained only three cartridges, Bonney positioned the cylinder so the next hammer fall would land on an empty chamber. Grant suddenly pointed his pistol at Bonney's face and pulled the trigger. When it failed to fire, he drew his own weapon and shot Grant in the head. A reporter for the ''Las Vegas Optic'' quoted Bonney as saying the encounter "was a game of two and I got there first".{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=131–133, 145, 203, 249–250}}{{sfn|Nolan|1992|pp=397, 518, 572}} |
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With his execution scheduled for May 13, McCarty was removed to Lincoln, where he was held under guard by two of Garrett's deputies, James Bell and Robert Ollinger, on the top floor of the town courthouse. On April 28, while Garrett was out of town, McCarty stunned the territory by killing both of his guards and escaping.<ref name="wallis243-244">Wallis (2007), pp. 243—244.</ref> The details of the escape are unclear. Some researchers believe that a sympathizer placed a pistol in a nearby privy that McCarty was permitted to use, under escort, each day. McCarty retrieved the gun, and turned it on Bell when the pair had reached the top of a flight of stairs in the courthouse. Another theory holds that McCarty slipped off his manacles at the top of the stairs, struck Bell<ref name="bell">{{cite web | url = http://www.odmp.org/officer/1713-deputy-sheriff-james-w.-bell | title = Deputy Sheriff James W. Bell | publisher = The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> over the head with them, grabbed Bell's own gun, and shot him with it.<ref name = "SOTP" /> |
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In 1880, Bonney formed a friendship with a rancher named Jim Greathouse, who later introduced him to [[Dave Rudabaugh]]. On November 29, 1880, Bonney, Rudabaugh, and [[Billy Wilson (outlaw)|Billy Wilson]] ran from a posse led by sheriff's deputy James Carlysle. Cornered at Greathouse's ranch, he told the posse they were holding Greathouse as a hostage. Carlysle offered to exchange places with Greathouse, and Bonney accepted the offer. Carlysle later attempted to escape by jumping through a window but he was shot three times and killed.<ref name="ODMP2007">{{Cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Deputy Sheriff James Carlysle |url=https://www.odmp.org/officer/2797-deputy-sheriff-james-carlysle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925131942/http://www.odmp.org/officer/2797-deputy-sheriff-james-carlysle |archive-date=25 September 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP)}}</ref> The shootout ended in a standoff; the posse withdrew and Bonney, Rudabaugh, and Wilson rode away.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=143–146, 179, 204}}{{sfn|Nolan|1992|pp=398–401}} |
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Whatever happened, Bell staggered into the street and collapsed, mortally wounded.<ref name="wallis244" /> Meanwhile, McCarty scooped up Ollinger's<ref name="olinger">{{cite web | url = http://www.odmp.org/officer/10157-deputy-marshal-robert-olinger |title=Deputy Marshal Robert Olinger |publisher=The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. |accessdate=2008-08-04}}</ref> 10-gauge double barrel [[shotgun]] and waited at the upstairs window for Ollinger, who had been across the street with some other prisoners, to come to Bell's aid. As Ollinger came running into view, McCarty leveled the shotgun at him, called out "Hello Bob!" and shot him dead.<ref name="wallis244"/><ref name="burns248-249">Burns (1953/1992), pp. 248—249.</ref> The townsfolk supposedly gave him an hour that he used to remove his leg iron. The hour was reportedly granted in appreciation for his work as part of "The Regulators." After cutting his leg irons with an axe, the young outlaw borrowed (or stole) a horse and rode leisurely out of town, reportedly singing.<ref name="wallis244"/> The horse was returned two days later.<ref name="wallis245">Wallis (2007), p. 245.</ref> |
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A few weeks after the Greathouse incident, Bonney, Rudabaugh, Wilson, O'Folliard, [[Charlie Bowdre]], and [[Tom Pickett (outlaw)|Tom Pickett]] rode into Fort Sumner. Unbeknownst to Bonney and his companions, a posse led by [[Pat Garrett]] was waiting for them. The posse opened fire, killing O'Folliard; the rest of the outlaws escaped unharmed.{{sfn|Metz|1974|pp=74–75}}{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=155–157, 256–257}} |
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=== Death === |
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[[Image:Billy the Kids' grave TX.jpg|thumb|Billy the Kid's grave, Fort Sumner, New Mexico.]] |
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Responding to rumors that McCarty was still lurking in the vicinity of Fort Sumner almost three months after his escape, Sheriff Garrett and two deputies set out on July 14, 1881, to question one of the town's residents, a friend of McCarty's named Pedro Maxwell (son of land baron [[Lucien Maxwell]]).<ref name="wallis246">Wallis (2007), p. 246.</ref> Close to midnight, as Garrett and Maxwell sat talking in Maxwell's darkened bedroom, McCarty unexpectedly entered the room.<ref name="wallis247">Wallis (2007), p. 247.</ref> There are at least two versions of what happened next. |
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===Capture and escape=== |
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One version suggests that as the Kid entered, he failed to recognize Garrett in the poor light. McCarty drew his pistol and backed away, asking "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "Who is it? Who is it?").<ref name="wallis247"/> Recognizing McCarty's voice, Garrett drew his own pistol and fired twice, the first bullet striking McCarty just above his heart, killing him.<ref name="wallis247"/> In a second version, McCarty entered carrying a knife, evidently headed to a kitchen area. He noticed someone in the darkness, and uttered the words, "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" at which point he was shot and killed in ambush style. |
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[[File:Pat Garrett2.jpg|thumb|upright|Sheriff Pat Garrett, {{circa|1903}}|left]] |
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On December 13, 1880, Governor Wallace posted a $500 bounty for Bonney's capture.{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=147}} Pat Garrett continued his search for Bonney; on December 23, following the siege in which Bowdre was killed, Garrett and his posse captured Bonney along with Pickett, Rudabaugh, and Wilson at [[Stinking Springs]]. The prisoners, including Bonney, were shackled and taken to Fort Sumner, then later to [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]. When they arrived on December 26, they were met by crowds of curious onlookers. |
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The following day, an armed mob gathered at the train depot before the prisoners, who were already on board the train with Garrett, departed for Santa Fe.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=240}} Deputy Sheriff Romero, backed by the angry group of men, demanded custody of Dave Rudabaugh, who during an unsuccessful escape attempt on April 5, 1880 shot and killed deputy Antonio Lino Valdez in the process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deputy Sheriff Antonio Lino Valdez profile |url=http://www.odmp.org/officer/13549-deputy-sheriff-antonio-lino-valdez |access-date=30 December 2019 |website=[[The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc]] |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127004003/http://www.odmp.org/officer/13549-deputy-sheriff-antonio-lino-valdez |url-status=live }}</ref> Garrett refused to surrender the prisoner, and a tense confrontation ensued until he agreed to let the sheriff and two other men accompany the party to Santa Fe, where they would petition the governor to release Rudabaugh to them.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=126–127}} In a later interview with a reporter, Bonney said he was unafraid during the incident, saying, "if I only had my Winchester I'd lick the whole crowd."{{sfn|Metz|1974|pp=76–85}}{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=157–166}} The ''Las Vegas Gazette'' ran a story from a jailhouse interview following Bonney's capture; when the reporter said Bonney appeared relaxed, he replied, "What's the use of looking on the gloomy side of everything? The laugh's on me this time."<ref name="historynetbookreview">{{Cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 29, 2012 |title=Book Review: Billy the Kid's Writings, Words & Wit, by Gale Cooper |url=http://www.historynet.com/book-review-billy-the-kids-writings-words-wit-by-gale-cooper.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919050505/http://www.historynet.com/book-review-billy-the-kids-writings-words-wit-by-gale-cooper.htm |archive-date=September 19, 2015 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |website=HistoryNet |df=mdy-all}}</ref> During his short career as an outlaw, Bonney was the subject of numerous U.S. newspaper articles, some as far away as New York.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=145–147}} |
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Although the popularity of the first story persists, and portrays Garrett in a better light, many historians contend that the second version is probably the accurate one.<ref name="otoole">{{cite web | url = http://deborahotoole.tripod.com/Kid/ | first = Deborah | last = O'Toole | title = Billy the Kid: Myths and Truths | publisher = tripod.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> A markedly different theory, in which Garrett and his posse set a trap for McCarty, has also been suggested. Most recently explored in the [[Discovery Channel]] documentary, "Billy the Kid: Unmasked", this theory contends that Garrett went to the bedroom of Pedro Maxwell's sister, Paulita, and bound and gagged her in her bed. Paulita was an acquaintance of Billy the Kid, and the two may have considered getting married. When McCarty arrived, Garrett was waiting behind Paulita's bed and shot the Kid. |
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After arriving in Santa Fe, Bonney, seeking clemency, sent Governor Wallace four letters over the next three months. Wallace refused to intervene,{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=240–241}} and he went to trial in April 1881 in [[Mesilla, New Mexico]].{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=242}} Following two days of testimony, Bonney was found guilty of Sheriff Brady's murder; it was the only conviction secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County War. On April 13, Judge Warren Bristol sentenced him to [[hanging|hang]], with his execution scheduled for May 13, 1881.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=242}} According to legend, upon sentencing, the judge told Bonney he was going to hang until he was "dead, dead, dead"; his response was, "you can go to hell, hell, hell."<ref name="historydotcom">{{Cite web |title=1881 Billy the Kid is shot to death |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-is-shot-to-death |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215230740/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-is-shot-to-death |archive-date=February 15, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2016 |website=History.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref> According to the historical record, he did not speak after the reading of his sentence.<ref name="TWMagBtKlegends">{{Cite web |last=Nolan |first=Frederick |date=April 28, 2015 |title='What if everything we know about Billy the Kid is wrong?' – Special Report |url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/what-if-everything-we-know-about-billy-the-kid-is-wrong/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216044410/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/what-if-everything-we-know-about-billy-the-kid-is-wrong/ |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=February 12, 2016 |website=True West Magazine |df=mdy-all}}</ref> |
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McCarty was buried the next day in Fort Sumner's old military cemetery, between his fallen companions Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre.<ref name="wallis249-250"/> A single tombstone was later erected over the graves, giving the three outlaws' names and with the word "Pals" also carved into it. The tombstone has been stolen and recovered three times since it was set in place in the 1940s, and the entire gravesite is now enclosed within a steel cage.<ref name="sumner">{{cite web | url = http://www.ftsumnerchamber.com/tourist.htm | title = Tourist Attractions | publisher = Fort Sumner Chamber of Commerce | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> |
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[[File:LincolnNM Jail and Courthouse.jpg|thumb|Courthouse and jail, [[Lincoln, New Mexico]]]] |
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== Notoriety, fact vs. reputation == |
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Following his sentencing, Bonney was moved to Lincoln, where he was held under guard on the top floor of the town courthouse. On the evening of April 28, 1881, while Garrett was in [[White Oaks, New Mexico|White Oaks]] collecting taxes, Deputy [[Bob Olinger]] took five other prisoners across the street for a meal, leaving [[James Bell (sheriff)|James Bell]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.odmp.org/officer/1713-deputy-sheriff-james-w-bell|title=Deputy Sheriff James W. Bell|website=The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP)|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023222958/https://www.odmp.org/officer/1713-deputy-sheriff-james-w-bell|url-status=live}}</ref> another deputy, alone with Bonney at the jail. He asked to be taken outside to use the [[outhouse]] behind the courthouse; on their return to the jail, Bonney—who was walking ahead of Bell up the stairs to his cell—hid around a blind corner, slipped out of his handcuffs, and beat Bell with the loose end of the cuffs. During the ensuing scuffle, Bonney grabbed Bell's revolver and fatally shot him in the back as Bell tried to get away.{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=181}} |
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Bonney, with his legs still shackled, broke into Garrett's office and took a loaded shotgun left behind by Olinger. He waited at the upstairs window for Olinger to respond to the gunshot that killed Bell and called out to him, "Look up, old boy, and see what you get." When Olinger looked up, Bonney shot and killed him.{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=181}}{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=243–244}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Olinger |url=https://www.odmp.org/officer/10157-deputy-us-marshal-robert-olinger |website=The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) |access-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804003517/https://www.odmp.org/officer/10157-deputy-us-marshal-robert-olinger |url-status=live }}</ref> After about an hour, Bonney freed himself from the leg irons with an axe.{{sfn|Jacobsen|1994|p=232}} He obtained a horse and rode out of town; according to some stories he was singing as he left Lincoln.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=243–244}} |
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Like many gunfighters of the "Old West", Billy the Kid enjoyed a reputation built partly on exaggerated accounts of his exploits.<ref name="wallis220">Wallis (2007), p. 220.</ref> While McCarty was credited with the killing of no less than 20 men, his proven murder count was four.<ref name="wallis244"/> Some historians speculate that his image was created deliberately to distract the public's attention from the nefarious activities of the Dolan faction and their influential supporters in Santa Fe, notably regional political leader [[Thomas B. Catron]].<ref name="wallis220"/> |
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===Recapture and death=== |
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Ironically, the undeserved notoriety that McCarty gained during the Lincoln County War effectively doomed his appeals for [[amnesty]].<ref name="wallis236-237">Wallis (2007), pp. 236—237.</ref> A number of the Regulators faded away or secured amnesty, but McCarty was in no position to accomplish either. His negotiations with Governor Lew Wallace (famed Civil War general and author of the novel [[Ben Hur]]) for amnesty came to nothing. His position was further undermined by a string of negative newspaper editorials that referred to him as "Billy the Kid".<ref name="wallis236-237"/> When a reporter reminded Wallace that the Kid was depending on Wallace's intervention, the governor supposedly smiled and said, "Yes, but I can't see how a fellow like him can expect any clemency from me".<ref name="wallis241"/> |
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While Bonney was on the run, Governor Wallace placed a new $500 bounty on the fugitive's head.{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=188}}<ref name="TWbounty">{{cite web |url = http://www.truewestmagazine.com/the-holy-grail-for-sale/ |title = The Holy Grail for Sale – The Billy the Kid tintype is on the auction block, and it might just clear half a million |work = True West Magazine |date = May 24, 2011 |access-date = February 10, 2016 |last = Boardman |first = Mark |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011909/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/the-holy-grail-for-sale/ |archive-date = March 5, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.abqjournal.com/311743/is-this-the-kid.html |title = Is this Billy the Kid? |work = Albuquerque Journal – Las Cruces Bureau |date = December 1, 2013 |access-date = February 6, 2016 |first = Lauren |last = Villagran |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161215113858/https://www.abqjournal.com/311743/is-this-the-kid.html |archive-date = December 15, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Almost three months after his escape, Garrett, responding to rumors that Bonney was in the vicinity of Fort Sumner, left Lincoln with two deputies on July 14, 1881, to question resident Pete Maxwell, a friend of Bonney's.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|pp=245–246}} Maxwell, son of land baron [[Lucien Maxwell]], spoke with Garrett the same day for several hours. Around midnight, the pair sat in Maxwell's darkened bedroom when Bonney unexpectedly entered.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=247}} |
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Accounts vary as to the course of events. According to the canonical version, as he entered the room, Bonney failed to recognize Garrett due to the poor lighting. Drawing his revolver and backing away, Bonney asked ''"¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?"'' (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?").<ref name="Nolan201486">{{cite book|author=Frederick Nolan|title=The Billy the Kid Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MwjjBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|year=2014|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0806182544|page=86|access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709200650/https://books.google.com/books?id=MwjjBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> Recognizing Bonney's voice, Garrett drew his revolver and fired twice.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/us/122-years-later-lawmen-are-still-chasing-billy-the-kid.html |title=122 Years Later, Lawmen Are Still Chasing Billy the Kid |first=Michael |last=Janofsky |date=June 5, 2003 |access-date=January 25, 2019 |page=24 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130848/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/us/122-years-later-lawmen-are-still-chasing-billy-the-kid.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The first bullet struck Bonney in the chest just above his heart, while the second missed. Garrett's account leaves it unclear whether Bonney was killed instantly or took some time to die.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=247}}<ref>{{cite web|title=The Death Of Billy The Kid, 1881|url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/billythekid.htm|publisher=Eyewitness to History/Ibis Communications|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-date=February 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219215459/http://eyewitnesstohistory.com/billythekid.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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One widely reported characteristic of Henry McCarty, a.k.a. Billy the Kid, has stood the test of research: his personal charisma and popularity. Various accounts recorded by friends and acquaintances describe him as fun-loving and jolly, articulate in both his writing and his speech, and loyal to those he cared for.<ref name=chrono>{{cite web | url=http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/billythekid/chronology2.html |title=Chronology of the Life of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, Part 2 |publisher=angelfire.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> He was fluent in Spanish, popular with the Latina girls, an accomplished dancer, and thus especially well-loved within the territory's Hispanic community. There he was regarded as a champion of the oppressed.<ref name="wallis244-245"/> "His many Hispanic friends did not view him as a ruthless killer but rather as a defender of the people who was forced to kill in self-defense", Wallis writes. "In the time that the Kid roamed the land he chided Hispanic villagers who were fearful of standing up to the big ranchers who stole their land, water, and way of life".<ref name="wallis245"/> In this sense, the Lincoln County War was a microcosm of the struggle of New Mexico's established Hispanic ranching communities to hold onto their lands in the face of the encroachments of northern Republican carpetbaggers such as Dolan, Fritz, Martin, Murphy and other corrupt members of the faction called "The House". This post-war struggle between Anglo-newcomers and ancestral Hispanic ranchers divides New Mexico to this day along the old Republican-Democrat lines. |
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A few hours after the shooting, a local justice of the peace assembled a [[coroner's jury]] of six people. The jury members interviewed Maxwell and Garrett, and Bonney's body and the location of the shooting were examined. The jury certified the body as Bonney's and, according to a local newspaper, the jury foreman said, "It was the Kid's body that we examined."<ref name="deathcert">{{cite web |url = http://www.history.com/news/historian-seeks-death-certificate-to-end-billy-the-kid-rumors |title = Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors |work = History.com |date = February 27, 2015 |access-date = February 10, 2016 |first = Christopher |last = Klein |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060901/http://www.history.com/news/historian-seeks-death-certificate-to-end-billy-the-kid-rumors |archive-date = March 4, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Bonney was given a wake by candlelight; he was buried the next day and his grave was denoted with a wooden marker.<ref name="SantaFeExaminer">{{citation |title = Ft. Sumner New Mexico: Where Billy The Kid met his demise |work = Santa Fe Examiner |date = December 31, 2012 |first = Elizabeth R. |last = Rose }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.truewestmagazine.com/a-shot-in-the-dark/ |title = A Shot in the Dark: Billy the Kid vs Pat Garrett |work = True West Magazine |date = August 12, 2014 |access-date = February 10, 2016 |first1 = Bob Boze |last1 = Bell |first2 = Mark Lee |last2 = Gardner |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160216031417/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/a-shot-in-the-dark/ |archive-date = February 16, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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==Left-handed or right-handed?== |
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While Billy the Kid was right-handed, it was widely assumed in the 20th century that he was [[left-handed]]. This belief stemmed from the fact that the only known photograph of Bonney, an undated ferrotype, shows him with a Model 1873 Winchester rifle in his right hand and a gun belt with a holster on his left side, where a left-handed person would typically wear a pistol. The belief became so entrenched that in 1958, a biographical film was made about Billy the Kid called ''The Left Handed Gun'' starring [[Paul Newman]]. Late in the 20th century, it was discovered that the familiar ferrotype was actually a reverse image. This version shows his Model 1873 Winchester with the loading port on the left side. All Model 1873s had the loading port on the right side, proving the image was reversed, and that he was, in fact, wearing his pistol on his right hip. Even though the image has been proven to be reversed, the idea of a left-handed Billy the Kid continues to widely circulate. Perhaps because many people heard both of these arguments and confused them, many hold the belief that Billy the Kid was [[ambidextrous]]. Many Billy the Kid sites describe him as such, and the idea of him being ambidextrous is still widely disputed.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/fact_vs_myth.htm | title = Fact v. Myth | publisher = aboutbillythekid.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref><ref name="brushy">{{cite web | url = http://www.nmia.com/~btkog/brushy2.htm | title = Brushy Bill–The Truth? | publisher = nmia.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref><ref name="wild west">{{cite web | url = http://historynut1.tripod.com/id5.html | title = Wild West: Billy the Kid | publisher = tripod.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref><ref name=chrono/> |
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Five days after Bonney's killing, Garrett traveled to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], to collect the $500 reward offered by Governor Lew Wallace for his capture, dead or alive. [[William G. Ritch]], the acting New Mexico governor, refused to pay the reward.<ref name="DNM">{{Citation|title=Santa Fe Daily New Mexican Newspaper|date=July 21, 1881|newspaper=Santa Fe Daily New Mexican|page=4}}</ref> Over the next few weeks, the residents of Las Vegas, Mesilla, Santa Fe, White Oaks, and other New Mexico cities raised over $7,000 in reward money for Garrett. A year and four days after Bonney's death, the New Mexico territorial legislature passed a special act to grant Garrett the $500 bounty reward promised by Governor Wallace.<ref name=ACT>{{Cite court |court=New Mexico Territorial Legislature |date=July 18, 1882}}</ref> |
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==Personality traits by first hand accounts== |
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Because people had begun to claim Garrett unfairly ambushed Bonney, Garrett felt the need to tell his side of the story and called upon his friend, journalist [[Marshall Ashmun Upson|Marshall Upson]], to [[ghostwrite]] a book for him.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=198–199}} The book, ''[[The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid]]'',{{efn|The full title of the Garrett-Upson book was ''The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, the Noted Desperado of the Southwest, Whose Deeds of Daring and Blood Made His Name a Terror in New Mexico, Arizona and Northern Mexico. By Pat. F. Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln Co., N.M., By Whom He Was Finally Hunted Down and Captured by Killing Him.''{{sfn|Utley|1989|p=199}}}} was first published in April 1882.<ref>{{cite book |last = LeMay |first = John and Stahl, Robert J. |date = 2020 |
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* [[Frank Coe (Lincoln County War)|Frank Coe]], who rode as a [[Lincoln County Regulators|Regulator]], years after Bonney's death: "I never enjoyed better company. He was humorous and told me many amusing stories. He always found a touch of humor in everything, being naturally full of fun and jollity. Though he was serious in emergencies, his humor was often apparent even in such situations. Billy stood with us to the end, brave and reliable, one of the best soldiers we had. He never pushed in his advice or opinions, but he had a wonderful presence of mind. The tighter the place the more he showed his cool nerve and quick brain. He never seemed to care for money, except to buy cartridges with. Cartridges were scarce, and he always used about ten times as many as everyone else. He would practice shooting at anything he saw, from every conceivable angle, on and off his horse".<ref name=eulogy>[http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/Eulogy.htm "Eulogy."] ''About Billy the Kid''. Page 1.</ref> |
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|title = The Man Who Invented Billy the Kid: The Authentic Life of Ash Upson |
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|location = Roswell, NM |publisher = Bicep Books |pages = 127–133 |isbn = 978-1953221919}}</ref> Although only a few copies sold following its release, in time, it became a reference for later historians who wrote about Bonney's life.{{sfn|Utley|1989|pp=198–199}} |
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==Rumors of survival== |
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* [[George Coe (Lincoln County War)|George Coe]], cousin to Frank and also a Regulator: "Billy was a brave, resourceful and honest boy. He would have been a successful man under other circumstances. The Kid was a thousand times better and braver than any man hunting him, including [[Pat Garrett]]".<ref name=eulogy/> |
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Over time, legends grew claiming that Bonney was not killed, and that Garrett staged the incident and death out of friendship so that Bonney could evade the law.{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=xiv}} During the next 50 years, a number of men claimed they were Billy the Kid.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Most of these claims were easily disproven, but two have remained topics of discussion and debate. |
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In 1948, a central Texas man, Ollie P. Roberts, also known as [[Brushy Bill Roberts]], began claiming he was Billy the Kid and went before New Mexico Governor [[Thomas J. Mabry]] seeking a pardon. Mabry dismissed Roberts' claims, and Roberts died shortly afterward.<ref>{{cite journal |title = Field & Stream |journal = Field & Stream 2007–08 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ewn0bxhvvbYC&pg=PA106 |date = July 1981 |pages = 106– |issn = 8755-8599 |access-date = July 20, 2017 |archive-date = November 1, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171101132237/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ewn0bxhvvbYC&pg=PA106 |url-status = live }}</ref> Nevertheless, [[Hico, Texas]], Roberts' town of residence, capitalized on his claim by opening a Billy the Kid museum.<ref>Texas Department of Transportation, ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008'', pp. 200–201</ref> |
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* [[Susan McSween]], [[widow]] of [[Alexander McSween]]: "Billy was not a bad man, that is he was not a murderer who killed wantonly. Most of those he killed deserved what they got. Of course I cannot very well defend his stealing horses and cattle, but when you consider that the [[Lawrence Murphy|Murphy]] [[James Dolan (Lincoln County War)|Dolan]] and Riley people forced him into such a lawless life through efforts to secure his arrest and conviction, it is hard to blame the poor boy for what he did".<ref name=eulogy/> |
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John Miller, an Arizona man, also claimed he was Bonney. This was unsupported by his family until 1938, some time after his death. Miller's body was buried in the state-owned Arizona Pioneers' Home Cemetery in [[Prescott, Arizona]]; in May 2005, Miller's teeth and bones<ref name="post">{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/21/one-mans-quest-to-bury-the-wild-west-mystery-of-billy-the-kids-death/ |title = One man's quest to bury the Wild West mystery of Billy the Kid's death |last = Miller |first = Michael E. |date = July 21, 2015 |newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] |access-date = December 25, 2015 |quote = "A family Bible put his age in 1881 at just 2 years old: far too young for even a criminal nicknamed 'the Kid'." |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151223231630/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/21/one-mans-quest-to-bury-the-wild-west-mystery-of-billy-the-kids-death/ |archive-date = December 23, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> were exhumed and examined,<ref name="lbanks">{{cite web |url = https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/a-new-billy-the-kid/Content?oid=1083797 |first = Leo W. |last = Banks |title = A New Billy the Kid? |work = Tucson Weekly |access-date = August 4, 2008 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090616130840/http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/a-new-billy-the-kid/Content?oid=1083797 |archive-date = June 16, 2009 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> without permission from the state.<ref>Associated Press (October 24, 2006) [http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650201170/2-wont-face-charges-in-Billy-the-Kid-quest.html 2 won't face charges in Billy the Kid quest] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201035347/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650201170/2-wont-face-charges-in-Billy-the-Kid-quest.html |date=February 1, 2016 }}, ''Deseret News''. Retrieved August 29, 2008.</ref> DNA samples from the remains were sent to a laboratory in [[Dallas]] and tested to compare Miller's DNA with blood samples obtained from floorboards in the [[Lincoln Historic Site|old Lincoln County courthouse]] and a bench where Bonney's body allegedly was placed after he was shot.<ref name="burns" /> According to a July 2015 article in ''The Washington Post'', the lab results were "useless".<ref name="post" /> |
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* Deluvina Maxwell, friend to Billy the Kid: "Garrett was afraid to go back in the room to make sure of whom he had shot. I went in and was the first to discover that they had killed my little boy. I hated those men and am glad that I lived long enough to see them all dead and buried".<ref name=eulogy/> |
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In 2004, researchers sought to [[exhume]] the remains of Catherine Antrim, Bonney's mother, whose DNA would be tested and compared with that of the body buried in William Bonney's grave.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0318/p11s02-ussc.html |title = Shootout over Billy the Kid |last = Miller |first = Patrick |date = March 18, 2004 |work = [[The Christian Science Monitor]] |access-date = December 13, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222091453/http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0318/p11s02-ussc.html |archive-date = December 22, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> {{as of|2012}}, her body had not been exhumed.<ref name="burns">{{cite web |url = http://www.albuquerquebusinesslaw.com/business-law/billy-the-kid-and-new-mexico-open-records-law/ |title = Billy the Kid and New Mexico Open Records Law |last1 = Burns |first1 = James T. |date = April 28, 2012 |website = Albuquerque Business Law |access-date = December 25, 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151226160552/http://www.albuquerquebusinesslaw.com/business-law/billy-the-kid-and-new-mexico-open-records-law/ |archive-date = December 26, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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* Louis Abraham, a friend to Bonney in [[Silver City, New Mexico]]: "The story of Billy the Kid killing a [[blacksmith]] in Silver City is false. Billy was never in any trouble at all. He was a good boy, maybe a little too mischievous at times. When the boy was placed in jail and escaped, he was not bad, just scared. If he had only waited until they let him out he would have been all right, but he was scared and ran away. He got in with a band of rustlers in Apache Tejo in part of the county where he was made a hardened character".<ref name=eulogy/> |
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In 2007,<ref name="abqj" /> author and amateur historian Gale Cooper filed a lawsuit against the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office under the state Inspection of Public Records Act to produce records of the results of the 2006 DNA tests and other forensic evidence collected in the Billy the Kid investigations.<ref>Associated Press (August 28, 2008) [http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/28/lawsuit-seeks-dna-evidence-for-1881-death-billy-kid.html Lawsuit seeks DNA evidence for 1881 death of Billy the Kid] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819020407/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/28/lawsuit-seeks-dna-evidence-for-1881-death-billy-kid.html |date=August 19, 2017 }}, Fox News Channel. Retrieved August 29, 2008.</ref> In April 2012, 133 pages of documents were provided; they offered no conclusive evidence confirming or disproving the generally accepted story of Garrett's killing of Bonney,<ref name="abqj" /> but confirmed the records' existence, and that they could have been produced earlier.<ref name="burns" /> In 2014, Cooper was awarded $100,000 in punitive damages but the decision was later overturned by the New Mexico Court of Appeals.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.pressreader.com/usa/las-vegas-review-journal-sunday/20160626/281874412709878 |title = Billy the Kid quest evolves into records fight |via = PressReader |access-date = August 18, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170819020746/https://www.pressreader.com/usa/las-vegas-review-journal-sunday/20160626/281874412709878 |archive-date = August 19, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The lawsuit ultimately cost Lincoln County nearly $300,000.<ref name="abqj">{{cite web |url = https://www.abqjournal.com/403158/award-ends-lawsuit-over-records-on-billy-the-kid.html |title = Award ends suit over Billy the Kid records |last1 = Villagran |first1 = Lauren |date = May 20, 2014 |website = Albuquerque Journal |access-date = December 25, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170819061108/https://www.abqjournal.com/403158/award-ends-lawsuit-over-records-on-billy-the-kid.html |archive-date = August 19, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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==People claiming to be Billy the Kid== |
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Legend grew over time that Billy the Kid had somehow cheated death, despite eyewitness accounts.<ref name="wallisxiv">Wallis (2007), p. xiv.</ref> In 2004, researchers sought to exhume the remains of Catherine Antrim, McCarty's mother, "so her DNA could be tested and compared with DNA to be taken from the body buried under the Kid's gravestone".<ref name="wallisxiv"/> The case ended up locked in the courts "much to the delight of New Mexico Governor [[Bill Richardson]], who knows all too well the value of Billy as a cultural icon and a draw for tourists".<ref name="wallisxiv"/> At least two men claimed to be McCarty, and were successful in convincing at least a few people. |
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In February 2015, historian Robert Stahl petitioned a district court in Fort Sumner asking the state of New Mexico to issue a death certificate for Bonney.<ref name="deathcert" /> In July 2015, Stahl filed suit in the New Mexico Supreme Court. The suit asked the court to order the state's Office of the Medical Investigator to officially certify Bonney's death under New Mexico state law.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.santafenewmexican.com/life/features/historian-asks-state-s-high-court-to-help-set-record/article_97c4476d-782b-535b-8584-1da98cad441d.html |title = Historian asks state's high court to help set record straight on Billy the Kid's death |last = Constable |first = Anne |date = July 17, 2015 |work = [[The Santa Fe New Mexican]] |access-date = December 14, 2015 |archive-date = November 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108165155/https://www.santafenewmexican.com/life/features/historian-asks-state-s-high-court-to-help-set-record/article_97c4476d-782b-535b-8584-1da98cad441d.html |url-status = live }}</ref> |
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===Brushy Bill=== |
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In 1949, a paralegal named William Morrison located a man in West Texas named [[Ollie P. Roberts]], nicknamed "Brushy Bill", who claimed to be the actual Billy the Kid, and that he indeed had not been shot and killed by Pat Garrett in 1881. Most historians reject the Brushy Bill claim. There were numerous points that both supported and discounted Roberts claim. Although, as stated, most historians discount his claims, people continue to proclaim that he was Billy the Kid. Despite discrepancies in birth dates and physical appearance, the town of [[Hico, Texas]] (Brushy Bill's residence), has capitalized on the Kid's infamy by opening the ''Billy The Kid Museum''. |
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== |
==Photographs== |
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{{As of|2021}}, only one authenticated photograph showing Billy exists; others thought to depict him are disputed.<ref name="BBC-42089464">{{cite web |title = Flea market photo 'shows Billy the Kid' |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42089464 |website = BBC News |access-date = November 23, 2017 |date = November 22, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171122235312/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42089464 |archive-date = November 22, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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Another claimant to the title of Billy the Kid was [[John Miller (Billy the Kid claimant)|John Miller]], whose family claimed him posthumously to be Billy the Kid in 1938. Miller was buried at the state-owned Pioneers' Home Cemetery in [[Prescott, Arizona]]. Tom Sullivan, former sheriff of Lincoln County, and Steve Sederwall, former mayor of Capitan, disinterred the bones of John Miller in May 2005.<ref name="lbanks">{{cite web | url = http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=81013 | first = Leo W. | last = Banks | title = A New Billy the Kid? | publisher = Tucson Weekly | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> DNA samples from the remains were sent to a lab in [[Dallas, Texas]], to be compared against traces of blood taken from a bench that was believed to be the one McCarty's body was placed on after he was shot to death. The pair had been searching for McCarty's physical remains since 2003, beginning in [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]], and eventually ending up in Arizona. To date, no results of the DNA tests have been made public. |
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===Dedrick ferrotype=== |
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==Selected references in popular culture== |
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[[File:Billy the Kid tintype, Fort Sumner, 1879-80.jpg|thumb|Unretouched original [[ferrotype]] of Billy the Kid, {{circa|1880}}|227x227px]] |
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Billy the Kid has been the subject or inspiration for many popular works, including: |
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One of the few remaining artifacts of Bonney's life is a {{convert|2|x|3|in|cm|adj=on|abbr=off|sp=us}} [[tintype|ferrotype]] photograph of him, attributed to photographer [[Ben Wittick]]<ref name="BowersMuseum2022">{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=Four Views of Walpi |url=https://www.bowers.org/index.php/collection/collection-blog/four-views-of-walpi |website=Bowers Museum |access-date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220703153447/https://bowers.org/index.php/collection/collection-blog/four-views-of-walpi |archive-date=3 July 2022}}</ref> in late 1879 or early 1880. The image shows Bonney wearing a vest under a sweater, a [[slouch hat]] and a bandana, while holding an [[1873 Winchester]] rifle with its butt resting on the floor. For years, this was the only photograph of Bonney accepted by scholars and historians.<ref name="TWbounty" /> The original ferrotype survived because Bonney's friend Dan Dedrick kept it after the outlaw's death. It was passed down through Dedrick's family, and was copied several times, appearing in numerous publications during the 20th century. In June 2011, the original plate was bought at auction for $2.3 million by businessman [[Bill Koch (businessman)|William Koch]].<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Tripp |first1 = Leslie |title = Billy the Kid photograph fetches $2.3 million at auction |url = http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/26/colorado.billy.the.kid.photo/index.html |publisher = CNN |access-date = July 4, 2015 |date = June 26, 2011 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150706031600/http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/26/colorado.billy.the.kid.photo/index.html |archive-date = July 6, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="BBCphoto">{{cite news |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-13919013 |title = Billy the Kid portrait fetches $2.3m at Denver auction |publisher = BBC News US & Canada |date = June 26, 2011 |access-date = January 26, 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160229211130/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-13919013 |archive-date = February 29, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in these sections are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of Please do not add to these sections unless you have broached it on the article talk page first. The article cannot encompass all pop culture references to Billy the Kid, nor should it. Don't add "The Simpsons" - it isn't a real reflection of this person. Thanks. --> |
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===Film=== |
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<!-- Sorted by release date --> |
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* ''[[Billy the Kid (1930 film)|Billy the Kid]]'', 1930 film directed by [[King Vidor]], starring [[Johnny Mack Brown]] as Billy and [[Wallace Beery]] as Pat Garrett.<ref name="wallisxvi">Wallis (2007), p. xvi.</ref> |
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* ''Billy the Kid Returns'', 1938: [[Roy Rogers]] plays a dual role, Billy the Kid and his dead-ringer lookalike who shows up after the Kid has been shot by Pat Garrett. |
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* ''[[Billy the Kid (1941 film)|Billy the Kid]]'', 1941 remake of the 1930 film, starring [[Robert Taylor (actor)|Robert Taylor]] and [[Brian Donlevy]] |
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* ''[[The Outlaw]]'', [[Howard Hughes|Howard Hughes']] [[1943 in film|1943]] motion picture |
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* ''The Kid from Texas'' (1950, Universal International) film starring [[Audie Murphy]]--location of title character's place of origin changed to appeal to Texans and capitalize on Murphy association with that state |
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* ''[[The Left Handed Gun]]'', [[Arthur Penn]]'s [[1958 in film|1958]] motion picture starring [[Paul Newman]] |
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* ''[[Chisum]]'', 1970 movie starring [[John Wayne]] as [[John Chisum]], dealing with Billy the Kid's involvement in the Lincoln County War, portrayed by [[Geoffrey Deuel]] |
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* ''Dirty Little Billy'',<ref name="dirty">{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068487/ | title = Dirty Little Billy | publisher = imdb.com | accessdate = 2008-08-04}}</ref> Stan Dragoti's 1972 film starring [[Michael J. Pollard]]. |
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* ''[[Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid]]'', [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s [[1973 in film|1973]] motion picture with [[Kris Kristofferson]] as Billy, [[James Coburn]] as Pat Garrett and with a soundtrack by [[Bob Dylan]] |
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* ''Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid'',<ref name="billygore">{{imdb title|id=0097450/ |title= Billy the Kid}}</ref> Gore Vidal's 1989 film starring [[Val Kilmer]] as Billy and [[Duncan Regehr]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''[[Young Guns]]'', Christopher Cain's [[1988 in film|1988]] motion picture starring [[Emilio Estevez]] as Billy and [[Patrick Wayne]], son of [[John Wayne]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''[[Young Guns II]]'', [[Geoff Murphy]]'s [[1990 in film|1990]] motion picture starring [[Emilio Estevez]] as Billy and [[William Petersen]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''Requiem for Billy the Kid'', Anne Feinsilber's [[2006 in film|2006]] motion picture starring [[Kris Kristofferson]] |
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The image shows Bonney wearing his holstered Colt revolver on his left side. This led to the belief that he was left-handed, without taking into account that the ferrotype process produces reversed images.<ref name="left hand">{{cite web |url = https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/jun/27/billy-the-kid-photograph-sold |title = Billy the Kid photograph sold at auction in Colorado for $2.3m |work = The Guardian |date = June 26, 2011 |access-date = December 28, 2015 |first = Jo |last = Adetunji |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042431/http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/jun/27/billy-the-kid-photograph-sold |archive-date = March 5, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In 1954, western historians James D. Horan and Paul Sann wrote that Bonney was right-handed and carried his pistol on his right hip.<ref>Horan, James D. and Sann, Paul. ''Pictorial History of the Wild West'', New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1954 – p. 57.</ref> The opinion was confirmed by Clyde Jeavons, a former curator of the [[BFI National Archive|National Film and Television Archive]].<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/03/1 |last = Mayes |first = Ian |title = I kid you not |newspaper = [[The Guardian]] |date = March 3, 2001 |access-date = June 19, 2009 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140312000916/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/03/1 |archive-date = March 12, 2014 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Several historians have written that Bonney was [[ambidexterity|ambidextrous]].<ref>Gardner, Mark Lee: ''To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett'' (2011), pp. 91, 277</ref>{{sfn|Nolan|1998|p=29}}{{sfn|Wallis|2007|p=83}}<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/jun/10/the-fact-and-fiction-32of-americas-outlaw/print/ |title = The fact and fiction of America's outlaw |last = Goode |first = Stephen |work = The Washington Times |date = June 10, 2007 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20200611180357/https://www.webcitation.org/5hfNVN6Db?url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/jun/10/the-fact-and-fiction-32of-americas-outlaw/print/ |archive-date = June 11, 2020 |access-date = December 25, 2015 |quote = Billy loved to sing and had a good voice, those who knew him claimed ... He was ambidextrous and wrote well with both hands. |url-status = dead |df = mdy }}</ref> |
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===Music=== |
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* Bob Dylan's album ''[[Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (album)|Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid]]'', soundtrack of the 1973 film by Sam Peckinpah |
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* [[Jon Bon Jovi]]'s album "[[Blaze of Glory]]", used as part of the soundtrack for ''Young Guns II'', and featured the song "Billy Get Your Gun". |
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* [[Marty Robbins]]' song "Billy the Kid" from the album ''Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs Volume 3'' |
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* [[Marty Robbins]]' song "Fastest Gun Around" from the 1963 album "Return of the Gunfighter" |
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* Dave Stamey's "The Skies of Lincoln County", which features the deceased Bonney as narrator, answering historical distortions by Pat Garrett |
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=== |
===Croquet tintype=== |
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[[File:Photo of Billy the Kid (left).JPG|thumb|Detail from photograph purporting to show Bonney (left) playing croquet in 1878|left]] |
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* [[Aaron Copland]]'s 1938 ballet, ''[[Billy the Kid (ballet)|Billy the Kid]]'' |
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A {{convert|4|x|6|in|mm|adj=on}} ferrotype purchased at a memorabilia shop in [[Fresno, California]], in 2010 has been claimed to show Bonney and members of the Regulators playing croquet. If authentic, it is the only known photo of Billy the Kid and the Regulators together and the only image to feature their wives and female companions.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/billy-the-kid-a-fan-of-croquet/article_5a5d7d2c-09e1-58b3-9f2b-dcad9004b1c1.html |title = Billy the Kid: A fan of croquet? |last = Constable |first = Anne |date = August 24, 2015 |access-date = December 10, 2017 |newspaper = [[The New Mexican]] |archive-date = May 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200508201010/https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/billy-the-kid-a-fan-of-croquet/article_5a5d7d2c-09e1-58b3-9f2b-dcad9004b1c1.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Collector Robert{{nbsp}}G. McCubbin and outlaw historian John Boessenecker concluded in 2013 that the photograph does not show Bonney.<ref name="truewestmag2" /> [[Whitny Braun]], a professor and researcher, located an advertisement for croquet sets sold at Chapman's General Store in Las Vegas, New Mexico, dated to June 1878. Kent Gibson, a forensic video and still image expert, offered the services of his facial recognition software, and stated that Bonney is indeed one of the individuals in the image.<ref name="Constable">{{cite news |first = Anne |last = Constable |title = Billy the Kid: A fan of croquet? |newspaper = [[Santa Fe New Mexican]] |date = August 24, 2015 |url = http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/billy-the-kid-a-fan-of-croquet/article_5a5d7d2c-09e1-58b3-9f2b-dcad9004b1c1.html |access-date = September 23, 2015 |archive-date = May 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200508201010/https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/billy-the-kid-a-fan-of-croquet/article_5a5d7d2c-09e1-58b3-9f2b-dcad9004b1c1.html |url-status = live }}</ref> |
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* [[Joseph Santley]]'s 1906 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play co-written by Santley, in which he also starred |
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In August 2015, [[Lincoln State Monument]] officials and the [[New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs]] said that despite the new research, they could not confirm that the image showed Bonney or others from the Lincoln County War era, according to Monument manager Gary Cozzens. A photograph curator at the [[Palace of the Governors]] archives, Daniel Kosharek, said the image is "problematic on a lot of fronts", including the small size of the figures and the lack of resemblance of the background landscape to Lincoln County or the state in general.<ref name="Constable" /> Editors from the ''[[True West Magazine]]'' staff said, "no one in our office thinks this photo is of the Kid [and the Regulators]."<ref name=truewestmag2>{{cite web |url = http://www.truewestmagazine.com/billy-the-kid-experts-weigh-in-on-the-croquet-photo/ |title = Billy the Kid Experts Weigh in on the Croquet Photo |date = October 14, 2015 |access-date = February 3, 2016 |work = [[True West Magazine]] |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160301175846/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/billy-the-kid-experts-weigh-in-on-the-croquet-photo |archive-date = March 1, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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===Television and radio=== |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in these sections are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of Please do not add to these sections unless you have broached it on the article talk page first. The article cannot encompass all pop culture references to Billy the Kid, nor should it. Don't add "The Simpsons" - it isn't a real reflection of this person. Thanks. --> |
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* ''[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4799493307205206852&q=nmpbs Billy the Kid]'', a New Mexico [[PBS]] documentary |
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* The 2003 [[Discovery Channel]] Quest, ''Billy the Kid: Unmasked'', investigated the life and death of Billy the Kid through forensic science. |
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* TV series ''[[The Tall Men]]'' ran from 1960 to 1962, starring [[Clu Gulager]] as Billy and [[Barry Sullivan]] as Pat Garrett |
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* TV series ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' featured an episode where Bret ([[James Garner]]) meets several infamous outlaws, including Billy the Kid. |
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In early October 2015, Kagin's, Inc., a [[numismatic]] authentication firm, said the image was authentic after a number of experts, including those associated with a recent [[National Geographic Channel]] program,<ref>{{cite news |last = Guijarro |first = Randy |title = Billy the Kid: New Evidence. Found Photograph |url = http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/galleries/billy-the-kid-new-evidence/at/billy-the-kid-new-evidence14-2100466/ |newspaper = [[National Geographic]] |date = October 18, 2015 |access-date = December 10, 2017 |archive-date = December 14, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171214023054/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/galleries/billy-the-kid-new-evidence/at/billy-the-kid-new-evidence14-2100466/ |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.natgeotv.com/int/billy-the-kid-new-evidence |title = Billy the Kid: New Evidence |work = [[National Geographic]] |date = October 18, 2015 |access-date = December 10, 2017 |archive-date = December 11, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171211053555/http://www.natgeotv.com/int/billy-the-kid-new-evidence |url-status = dead }}</ref> |
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===Games=== |
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examined it.<ref name="NPRcroquet">{{cite web |url = https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/15/448993361/-2-photo-found-at-junk-store-has-billy-the-kid-in-it-could-be-worth-5-million |title = $2 Photo Found at Junk Store Has Billy The Kid in It, Could Be Worth $5M |publisher = [[NPR]] |date = October 15, 2015 |access-date = January 25, 2016 |first = Brakkton |last = Booker |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160126002311/http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/15/448993361/-2-photo-found-at-junk-store-has-billy-the-kid-in-it-could-be-worth-5-million |archive-date = January 26, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title = Man who discovered rare Billy the Kid photo: 'The hunt is a really grand thing' |url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/19/man-who-discovered-rare-billy-the-kid-photo-the-hunt-is-a-really-grand-thing |date = October 19, 2015 |last = Carroll |first = Rory |author-link = Rory Carroll |newspaper = [[The Guardian]] |access-date = October 27, 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151028141516/http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/19/man-who-discovered-rare-billy-the-kid-photo-the-hunt-is-a-really-grand-thing |archive-date = October 28, 2015 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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* ''Billy the Kid Returns'', a PC game based on the life of Billy the Kid published by Alive Software in 1993 |
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* ''[[The Legend of Billy the Kid]]'', a game published by [[Ocean Software]] in 1991 for PC and [[Amiga]]. |
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==Posthumous pardon request== |
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* ''[[Call of Juarez]]'', a 1st person shooter based on the events surrounding "Billy the Kid" |
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In 2010, New Mexico Governor [[Bill Richardson]] turned down a request for a posthumous pardon of Bonney for the murder of Sheriff William Brady. The pardon was considered to fulfill Governor Lew Wallace's 1879 promise to Bonney. Richardson's decision, citing "historical ambiguity", was announced on December 31, 2010, his last day in office.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/31/new.mexico.billy/index.html |title = No pardon for Billy the Kid |publisher = CNN |access-date = December 31, 2010 |date = December 31, 2010 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121109024425/http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/31/new.mexico.billy/index.html |archive-date = November 9, 2012 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = An Outlaw by Any Name: Billy the Kid |url = https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives/billy-the-kid |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date = July 14, 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170129080342/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/obituaries/archives/billy-the-kid |archive-date = January 29, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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==Grave markers== |
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[[File:Billy-The-Kid-Individual-Tombstone.jpg|thumb|Grave marker for Billy The Kid, also at Fort Sumner, New Mexico]] |
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[[File:Billy the Kid Headstone.jpg|thumb|The "PALs" gravemarker for Tom O'Folliard, William H. Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, and Charlie Bowdre, at [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]]]] |
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In 1931, Charles{{nbsp}}W.{{nbsp}}Foor, an unofficial tour guide at Fort Sumner Cemetery, campaigned to raise funds for a permanent marker for the graves of Bonney, O'Folliard, and Bowdre. As a result of his efforts, a stone memorial marked with the names of the three men and their death dates beneath the word "Pals" was erected in the center of the burial area.{{sfn|Simmons|2006|pp=161–163}} |
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In 1940, stone cutter James N. Warner of [[Salida, Colorado]], made and donated to the cemetery a new marker for Bonney's grave.{{sfn|Simmons|2006|pp=164–165}} It was stolen on February 8, 1981, but recovered days later in [[Huntington Beach, California]]. New Mexico Governor [[Bruce King]] arranged for the county sheriff to fly to California to return it to Fort Sumner,<ref>{{cite web |title = Billy the Kid's Elusive Tombstone / Old Fort Sumner and Billy the Kid's Grave |publisher = Cemeteries-of-tx.com |url = http://www.cemeteries-of-tx.com/newmexico/DeBaca/Sumner.html |access-date = February 9, 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160527081257/http://www.cemeteries-of-tx.com/newmexico/DeBaca/Sumner.html |archive-date = May 27, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> where it was reinstalled in May 1981. Although both markers are behind iron fencing, a group of vandals entered the enclosure at night in June 2012 and tipped the stone over.<ref>{{cite news |title = 'Billy the Kid' tombstone in New Mexico vandalized |last = Lohr |first = David |author-link = David Lohr |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/billy-the-kid-tombstone-vandalized_n_1638484.html |access-date = March 21, 2013 |work = The Huffington Post |date = June 30, 2012 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120704000850/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/billy-the-kid-tombstone-vandalized_n_1638484.html |archive-date = July 4, 2012 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> |
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==In literature and the arts== |
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{{Main|List of works about Billy the Kid}} |
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The life and likeness of Billy the Kid have been frequently represented in comics, literature, film, music, theater, radio, television, and video games. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Folklore of the United States]] |
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* [[List of Old West gunfighters]] |
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* [[List of Old West lawmen]] |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{ |
{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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* Burns, Walter Noble (1953/1992). ''The Saga of Billy the Kid''. New York: Konecky & Konecky Associates. ISBN 1568521782 |
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* Jacobsen, Joel (1997). ''Such Men as Billy the Kid: The Lincoln County War Reconsidered''. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803276060 |
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* Nolan, Frederick (1965). ''The Life & Death of John Henry Tunstall''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. |
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* Rasch, Philip J. (1995). ''Trailing Billy the Kid''. Stillwater, OK: Western Publications. ISBN 0935269193 |
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* Utley, Robert M. (1989). ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life''. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803295588 |
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* Wallis, Michael (2007). ''Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride''. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0393060683 |
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== |
===Sources=== |
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{{refbegin|30em}} |
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* Nolan, Frederick (2007). ''Tascosa: Its Life and Gaudy Times''. Lubbock, TX: [[Texas Tech University Press]]. |
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* {{cite book |last = Adams |first = Ramon F. |title = A Fitting Death for Billy the Kid |url = https://archive.org/details/fittingdeathforb00adam |url-access = registration |date = 1960 |publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |location = Norman |oclc = 8937525 }} |
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* Trachman, Paul (1974). ''The Old West: The Gunfighters''. New York: Time-Life Books. |
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* {{cite book |last=Boomhower |first=Ray E. |title=The Sword and the Pen |location=Indianapolis |publisher=Indiana Historical Society Press |year=2005 |page=103|isbn=0-87195-185-1}} |
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* Tuska, John (1983). ''Billy the Kid, A Handbook''. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803294069 |
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* {{cite book |last = Burns |first = Walter |title = The Saga of Billy the Kid: The Thrilling Life of America's Original Outlaw |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mzNgBgAAQBAJ |date = 2014 |publisher = Skyhorse Publishing |location = Garden City, New York |isbn = 978-1-63220-112-6 |oclc = 894170041 |access-date = May 12, 2016 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Coe |first = George W. |title = Frontier Fighter: The Autobiography of George W. Coe Who Fought and Rode with Billy the Kid, as Related to Nan Hillary Harrison |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hCAzAQAAIAAJ |date = 1934 |publisher = Houghton Mifflin |location = Boston |oclc = 692143776 |access-date = August 29, 2016 |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613213318/https://books.google.com/books?id=hCAzAQAAIAAJ |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=Gale |title=The Lost Pardon of Billy the Kid: An Analysis Factoring in the Santa Fe Ring, Governor Lew Wallace's Dilemma, and a Territory in Rebellion |location=Albuquerque, New Mexico |publisher=Gelcour Books |year=2017 |isbn=978-0986070723}} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = DeMattos |first = Jack |date = November 1978 |title = The Search for Billy the Kid's Roots |magazine = Real West |issue = 160 |publisher = Real West }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = DeMattos |first = Jack |date = January 1980 |title = The Search for Billy the Kid's Roots – Is Over! |magazine = Real West |issue = 167 |publisher = Real West }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = DeMattos |first = Jack |date = August 1983 |title = Gunfighters of the Real West: Henry McCarty, Alias 'Billy the Kid' |magazine = Real West |issue = 192 |publisher = Real West }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Dworkin |first = Mark J. |date = 2015 |title = American Mythmaker: Walter Noble Burns and the Legends of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Joaquín Murrieta |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YFbZBgAAQBAJ |location = Norman|publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |isbn = 978-0-8061-4902-8 |access-date = June 13, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190612085727/https://books.google.com/books?id=YFbZBgAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Dykes |first = Jefferson |title = Billy the Kid: The Bibliography of a Legend |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9NwSAAAAIAAJ |date = 1952 |publisher = The University of New Mexico Press |location = Albuquerque|access-date = August 29, 2016 |archive-date = June 9, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190609175456/https://books.google.com/books?id=9NwSAAAAIAAJ |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Earle |first = James H. |title = The Capture of Billy the Kid |year = 1988 |publisher = Creative Publishing Co. |location = College Station, Texas |isbn = 0-932702-44-9 |oclc = 18052460 |url = https://archive.org/details/captureofbillyki00earl }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Edwards |first = Harold L. |title = Goodbye Billy the Kid |year = 1995 |publisher = Creative Publishing Co. |location = College Station, Texas |isbn = 1-57208-000-0 |oclc = 33335740 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Fable | first = Edmund Jr. |title = The True Life of Billy the Kid, The Noted New Mexican Outlaw |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hT3XAAAAMAAJ |date = 1980 |orig-year = 1881 |publisher = Creative Publishing Co. |location = College Station, Texas |isbn = 0-932702-11-2 |oclc = 6487191 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Fulton |first = Maurice Garland |editor = Robert N. Nullin |author-link = Maurice Garland Fulton |title = History of the Lincoln County War |date = 1968 |publisher = University of Arizona Press |location = Tucson |oclc = 437868 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Gardner |first = Mark Lee |title = To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West |date = 2010 |publisher = William Morrow |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-06-136827-1 |oclc = 419859633 |url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061368271 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Garrett |first = Pat F. |author-link = Pat Garrett |title = The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vGVNAAAAYAAJ |edition = 1st |date = 1882 |publisher = New Mexican Printing and Publishing Co. |location = Santa Fe |oclc = 748293298 }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Hough |first = Emerson |date = September 1901 |title = Billy the Kid: The True Story of a Western 'Bad Man' |url = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023579140;view=1up;seq=316 |magazine = Everybody's Magazine |publisher = The Ridgeway Company |location = New York |access-date = August 28, 2016 |archive-date = September 2, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210902033610/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023579140&view=1up&seq=316 |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Hunt |first = Frazier |author-link = Frazier Hunt |title = The Tragic Days of Billy the Kid |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A1Lw1k5WRA0C |year = 2009 |orig-year = 1956 |publisher = Sunstone Press |isbn = 978-0-86534-717-5 |location = Santa Fe, New Mexico |oclc = 316327276 |access-date = November 21, 2017 |archive-date = December 23, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161223154622/https://books.google.com/books?id=A1Lw1k5WRA0C |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Jacobsen |first = Joel |title = Such Men as Billy the Kid: The Lincoln County War Reconsidered |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SR9A9s2QHfkC |date = 1994 |publisher = University of Nebraska Press |location = Lincoln |isbn = 978-0-8032-2576-3 |oclc = 29429457 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Keleher |first = William Aloysius |title = Violence in Lincoln County 1869–1881 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gABJ88abRooC |date = 2007 |orig-year = 1957 |publisher = Sunstone Press |location = Santa Fe, New Mexico |isbn = 978-0-86534-622-2 |oclc = 182573474 }} |
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* {{cite book |last1 = Klasner |first1 = Lily |last2 = Chisum |first2 = John Simpson |author-link2 = John Chisum |last3 = Ball |first3 = Eve |title = My Girlhood Among Outlaws |url = https://archive.org/details/mygirlhoodamongo00klas |url-access = registration |date = 1972 |publisher = University of Arizona Press |location = Tucson |isbn = 978-0-8165-0354-4 |oclc = 166482848 }} |
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* {{cite journal |last = Koop |first = Waldo E. |year = 1964 |title = Billy the Kid: The Trail of a Kansas Legend |journal = Kansas City Posse of Westerners |volume = IX |issue = 3 }} |
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* {{cite magazine|last=Lifson |first=Amy |title=Ben-Hur |magazine=Humanities |volume=30 |issue=6 |publisher=National Endowment for the Humanities |location=Washington, D.C. |date=2009 |url=http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-11/BenHur.html |access-date=August 27, 2014 |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305215400/http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-11/BenHur.html |url-status=live }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = McCubbin |first = Robert G. |date = May 2007 |title = The Many Faces of Billy the Kid |magazine = True West |publisher = True West }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Metz |first = Leon C. |date = August 1983 |title = My Search for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid |magazine = True West |publisher = True West }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Metz |first = Leon C. |title = Pat Garrett: The Story of a Western Lawman |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_E7r2iowX6QC |date = 1983 |edition = reprint, revised |orig-year = 1974 |publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |location = Norman |isbn = 978-0-8061-1838-3 |oclc = 18722891 |ref = {{harvid|Metz|1974}} }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |date = 2009a |title = The Life and Death of John Henry Tunstall |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c5AZj3dbzj4C |publisher = Sunstone Press |location = Santa Fe, New Mexico |isbn = 978-0-86534-722-9 |oclc = 440562959 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |title = The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VRpiOdgkFDEC |edition = revised |date = 2009 |orig-year = 1992 |publisher = Sunstone Press |location = Santa Fe, New Mexico |isbn = 978-0-86534-721-2 |oclc = 319064671 |access-date = May 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 11, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190611135227/https://books.google.com/books?id=VRpiOdgkFDEC |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |title = The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History |date = 1992 |publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |location = Norman }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |date = June 2003 |title = The Hunting of Billy the Kid |magazine = Wild West |publisher = Wild West }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |date = 1998 |title = The West of Billy the Kid |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mYhw78YF12IC |location = Norman |publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |isbn = 0-8061-3082-2 }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |date = July 2000 |title = The Private Life of Billy the Kid |magazine = True West |publisher = True West }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Nolan |first = Frederick W. |author-link = Frederick W. Nolan |date = 2007 |title = The Billy the Kid Reader |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AQ3FQtqmXuAC |location = Norman |publisher = University of Oklahoma Press |isbn = 978-0-8061-8446-3 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Otero |first = Miguel |date = 2006 |orig-year = 1936 |title = The Real Billy the Kid, With New Light on the Lincoln County War |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JloxyqgoJnkC |location = New York |publisher = Sunstone Press |isbn = 978-1-61139-100-8 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Poe |first = John William |date = 2006 |orig-year = 1933 |title = The Death of Billy the Kid |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=myQ6bUwH_UwC |publisher = Sunstone Press Company |location = Santa Fe |edition = reprint |isbn = 978-0-86534-532-4 }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last1 = Radbourne |first1 = Allan |last2 = Rasch |first2 = Phillip J. |date = August 1985 |title = The Story of 'Windy' Cahill |magazine = Real West |issue = 204 |publisher = Real West }} |
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* {{cite journal |last1 = Rasch |first1 = Philip J. |last2 = Mullin |first2 = Robert N. |year = 1953 |title = New Light on the Legend of Billy the Kid |journal = New Mexico Folklore Record 7 }} |
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* {{cite journal |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |year = 1954 |title = Dim Trails: The Pursuit of the McCarty Family |journal = New Mexico Folklore Record 8 }} |
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* {{cite journal |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |year = 1955 |title = The Twenty-One Men He Put Bullets Through |journal = New Mexico Folklore Record 9 }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |date = January 1969 |title = A Second Look at the Blazer's Mill Affair |magazine = Frontier Times }} |
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* {{cite magazine |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |date = November 1987 |title = The Trials of Billy the Kid |magazine = Real West |issue = 216 |publisher = Real West }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |date = 1995 |title = Trailing Billy the Kid |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JRVYPQAACAAJ |location = Stillwater, Oklahoma |publisher = Western Publications |isbn = 978-0-935269-19-2 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |date = 1997 |title = Gunsmoke in Lincoln County |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4ygEAAAACAAJ |location = Stillwater, Oklahoma |publisher = Western Publications |isbn = 978-0-935269-24-6 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Rasch |first = Philip J. |date = 1998 |title = Warriors of Lincoln County |location = Stillwater, Oklahoma |publisher = Western Publications |isbn = 978-0-935269-26-0 }} |
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* {{cite journal |last = Rickards |first = Colin W. |year = 1974 |title = The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill |journal = Southwestern Studies Monograph No. 40 |location = El Paso, Texas |publisher = Western Press }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Simmons |first = Mark |date = 2006 |title = Stalking Billy the Kid: Brief Sketches of a Short Life |publisher = Sunstone Press |isbn = 0-86534-525-2 }} |
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* {{cite web |last = Turk |first = David S. | authorlink = David S. Turk |url = http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm |title = Billy the Kid and the U.S. Marshals Service |work = Wild West Magazine |date = February 2007 |access-date = November 2, 2017 |archive-date = August 17, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180817161341/http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Tuska |first = Jon |date = 1983 |title = Billy the Kid: A Handbook |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6VbGeSIyfNcC |location = Lincoln |publisher = University of Nebraska Press |isbn = 0-8032-9406-9 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Utley |first = Robert M. |author-link = Robert M. Utley |title = High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier |url = https://archive.org/details/highnooninlincol00utle |url-access = registration |date = 1987 |publisher = University of New Mexico Press |location = Albuquerque|isbn = 978-0-8263-1201-3 |oclc = 15629305 |access-date = May 12, 2016 }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Utley |first = Robert M. |title = Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MKqfZ_U5MgAC |year = 1989 |publisher = University of Nebraska Press |location = Lincoln |isbn = 978-0-8032-9558-2 |oclc = 37868038 |access-date = May 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 11, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190611080048/https://books.google.com/books?id=MKqfZ_U5MgAC |url-status = live }} |
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* {{cite book |last = Wallis |first = Michael |author-link = Michael Wallis |title = Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride |url = https://archive.org/details/billykidendlessr00wall |url-access = registration |year = 2007 |publisher = W.W. Norton & Co. |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-393-06068-3 |oclc = 77270750 |access-date = November 21, 2017 }} |
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{{refend}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090727111307/http://www.newmexico.org/billythekid/ Billy the Kid Territory] – guide by New Mexico Tourism Department |
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{{Commons}} |
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* [http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/M0292/id/56/rec/14 Letter, 15 March 1879, Lew Wallace to W. H. Bonney], at the [[Indiana Historical Society]], Indianapolis |
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{{wikiquote}} |
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* [http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/M0292/id/57/rec/16 Letter, 20 March 1879, W. H. Bonney to Lew Wallace], at the Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis |
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* [http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94&pt=William%20%27Billy%20The%20Kid%27%20Bonney Findagrave: Billy the Kid] |
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* [http://www.billythekidoutlawgang.com/ Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang] |
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* [http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/ About Billy the Kid] |
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* [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/mccarty/1.html Court TV's Crime Library: Billy the Kid] |
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* [http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-the-great-escape.htm Wild West magazine], ''Billy the Kid: The Great Escape'', Barbara Tucker Peterson and Louis Hart, August 1998 |
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* [http://www.historynet.com/the-hunting-of-billy-the-kid.htm Wild West magazine], ''The Hunting of Billy the Kid'', Frederick Nolan, June 2003 |
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* [http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm Wild West magazine], ''Billy the Kid and the U.S. Marshals Service'', David S. Turk, February 2007 (issued December 2006) |
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* [http://www.billybyway.com/ Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway] |
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* [http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/oct/papr/billykid.html DesertUSA: "The Desert's Baddest Boy"] |
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*{{worldcat id|id=lccn-n79-55264}} |
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Latest revision as of 23:26, 1 June 2024
Billy the Kid | |
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![]() Portrait attributed to Ben Wittick, c. 1880 | |
Born | Henry McCarty[1] September 17 or November 23, 1859 New York City, U.S. |
Died | July 14, 1881 | (aged 21)
Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
Resting place | Old Fort Sumner Cemetery 34°24′13″N 104°11′37″W / 34.40361°N 104.19361°W |
Other names |
|
Occupations |
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Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.[2][3] He is also known for his involvement in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.
McCarty was orphaned at the age of 15. His first arrest was for stealing food at the age of 16 in 1875. Ten days later, he robbed a Chinese laundry and was arrested again but escaped shortly afterwards. He fled from New Mexico Territory into neighboring Arizona Territory, making himself both an outlaw and a federal fugitive. In 1877, he began to call himself "William H. Bonney".[4]
After killing a blacksmith during an altercation in August 1877, Bonney became a wanted man in Arizona and returned to New Mexico, where he joined a group of cattle rustlers. He became well known in the region when he joined the Regulators and took part in the Lincoln County War of 1878. He and two other Regulators were later charged with killing three men, including Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady and one of his deputies.
Bonney's notoriety grew in December 1880 when the Las Vegas Gazette, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and The Sun, in New York City, carried stories about his crimes.[5] Sheriff Pat Garrett captured Bonney later that month. In April 1881, Bonney was tried for and convicted of Brady's murder, and was sentenced to hang in May of that year. He escaped from jail on April 28, killing two sheriff's deputies in the process, and evaded capture for more than two months. Garrett shot and killed Bonney, by then aged 21, in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881.
During the decades following his death, legends grew that Bonney had survived, and a number of men claimed to be him.[6] Billy the Kid remains one of the most notorious figures from the era, whose life and likeness have been frequently dramatized in Western popular culture. He has been a feature of more than 50 movies and several television series.
Early life
Henry McCarty was born to parents of Irish Catholic ancestry,[7] Catherine (née Devine) and Patrick McCarty, in New York City.[8] While his birth year has been confirmed as 1859, the exact date of his birth has been disputed as either September 17 or November 23 of that year.[9][10][11] There is uncertainty among historians about the exact place and date of McCarty's birth.[12][10][11] Census records indicate that his younger brother Joseph McCarty was born in 1863.[13]
Following the death of her husband, Catherine McCarty and her sons moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she met William Henry Harrison Antrim. The McCarty family moved with Antrim to Wichita, Kansas in 1870.[14] After moving again a few years later, Catherine married Antrim on March 1, 1873, at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory, and the McCarty boys served as witnesses.[15][16] Shortly afterward, the family moved from Santa Fe to Silver City, New Mexico and Joseph adopted Antrim's surname.[13] Shortly before McCarty's mother died of tuberculosis on September 16, 1874,[17] William Antrim abandoned the McCarty boys, leaving them orphans.
First crimes
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Rancher_Henry_C_Hooker_retouched_cropped.jpg/180px-Rancher_Henry_C_Hooker_retouched_cropped.jpg)
McCarty was 14 years old when his mother died. Sarah Brown, the owner of a boarding house, gave him room and board in exchange for work. On September 16, 1875, McCarty was caught stealing food.[18][19] Ten days later, McCarty and George Schaefer robbed a Chinese laundry, stealing clothing and two pistols. McCarty was charged with theft and was jailed. He escaped two days later and became a fugitive,[18] as reported in the Silver City Herald the next day, the first story published about him. McCarty located his stepfather and stayed with him until Antrim threw him out; McCarty stole clothing and guns from him. It was the last time the two saw each other.[20]
After leaving Antrim, McCarty traveled to southeastern Arizona Territory, where he worked as a ranch hand and gambled his wages in nearby gaming houses.[21] In 1876, he was hired as a ranch hand by well-known rancher Henry Hooker.[22][23] During this time, McCarty became acquainted with John R. Mackie, a Scottish-born criminal and former U.S. Cavalry private who, following his discharge, remained near the U.S. Army post at Camp Grant in Arizona. The two men soon began stealing horses from local soldiers.[24][25] McCarty became known as "Kid Antrim" because of his youth, slight build, clean-shaven appearance, and personality.[26][27]
At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself by the name "William H. Bonney".[4] On August 17, 1877, Bonney was at a saloon in the village of Bonita when he got into an argument with Francis P. "Windy" Cahill, a blacksmith who reportedly had bullied him and on more than one occasion called him a "pimp". Bonney in turn called Cahill a "son of a bitch", whereupon Cahill threw Bonney to the floor and the two struggled for Bonney's revolver. Bonney shot and mortally wounded Cahill. A witness said, "[Billy] had no choice; he had to use his equalizer." Cahill died the following day.[28][29] Bonney fled but returned a few days later and was apprehended by Miles Wood, the local justice of the peace. He was detained and held in the Camp Grant guardhouse but escaped before law enforcement could arrive.[30]
Bonney stole a horse and fled Arizona Territory for New Mexico Territory,[31] but Apaches took the horse from him, leaving him to walk many miles to the nearest settlement. At Fort Stanton,[32] starving and near death, he went to the home of friend and Seven Rivers Warriors gang member John Jones, whose mother Barbara nursed him back to health.[33][4] After regaining his health, Bonney went to Apache Tejo, a former army post, where he joined a band of rustlers who raided herds owned by cattle magnate John Chisum in Lincoln County. After he was spotted in Silver City, his involvement with the gang was mentioned in a local newspaper.[34]
Lincoln County War
Prelude
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/John_Tunstall_seated_pose_cropped_and_retouched.jpg/150px-John_Tunstall_seated_pose_cropped_and_retouched.jpg)
After returning to New Mexico, Bonney worked as a cowboy for English businessman and rancher John Henry Tunstall (1853–1878), near the Rio Felix, a tributary of the Pecos River, in Lincoln County (now in Chaves County). Tunstall and his business partner and lawyer Alexander McSween were opponents of an alliance formed by Irish-American businessmen Lawrence Murphy, James Dolan, and John Riley. The three men had wielded an economic and political hold over Lincoln County since the early 1870s, due in part to their ownership of a beef contract with nearby Fort Stanton and a well-patronized dry goods store in the town of Lincoln.
By February 1878, McSween owed $8,000 to Dolan, who obtained a court order and asked Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady to attach nearly $40,000 worth of Tunstall's property and livestock. Tunstall put Bonney in charge of nine prime horses and told him to relocate them to his ranch for safekeeping. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brady assembled a large posse to seize Tunstall's cattle.[35][36]
On February 18, 1878, Tunstall learned of the posse's presence on his land and rode out to intervene. During the encounter, one member of the posse shot Tunstall in the chest, knocking him off his horse. Another posse member took Tunstall's gun and killed him with a shot to the back of his head.[36][37] Tunstall's murder ignited the conflict between the two factions that became known as the Lincoln County War.[36][38]
Build-up
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Dick_Brewer_cropped_b%26w.jpg/150px-Dick_Brewer_cropped_b%26w.jpg)
After Tunstall was killed, Bonney and Dick Brewer swore affidavits against Brady and those in his posse, and obtained murder warrants from Lincoln County justice of the peace John B. Wilson.[39] On February 20, 1878, while attempting to arrest Brady, the sheriff and his deputies found and arrested Bonney and two other men riding with him.[40] Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Widenmann, a friend of Bonney, and a detachment of soldiers captured Sheriff Brady's jail guards, put them behind bars, and released Bonney and Brewer.[41]
Bonney then joined the Lincoln County Regulators; on March 9 they captured Frank Baker and William Morton, both of whom were accused of killing Tunstall. Baker and Morton were killed while allegedly trying to escape.[42]
On April 1, the Regulators ambushed Sheriff Brady and his deputies; Bonney was wounded in the thigh during the battle. Brady and Deputy Sheriff George W. Hindman were killed.[43] On the morning of April 4, 1878, Buckshot Roberts and Dick Brewer were killed during a shootout at Blazer's Mill.[44] Warrants were issued for several participants on both sides, and Bonney and two others were charged with killing Brady, Hindman and Roberts.[45]
Battle of Lincoln (1878)
On the night of Sunday, July 14, McSween and the Regulators—now a group of fifty or sixty men—went to Lincoln and stationed themselves in the town among several buildings.[46] At the McSween residence were Bonney, Florencio Chavez, Jose Chavez y Chavez, Jim French, Harvey Morris, Tom O'Folliard, and Yginio Salazar, among others. Another group led by Marin Chavez and Doc Scurlock positioned themselves on the roof of a saloon. Henry Newton Brown, Dick Smith, and George Coe defended a nearby adobe bunkhouse.[47][48]
On Tuesday, July 16, newly appointed sheriff George Peppin sent sharpshooters to kill the McSween defenders at the saloon. Peppin's men retreated when one of the snipers, Charles Crawford, was killed by Fernando Herrera. Peppin then sent a request for assistance to Colonel Nathan Dudley, commandant of nearby Fort Stanton. In a reply to Peppin, Dudley refused to intervene but later arrived in Lincoln with troops, turning the battle in favor of the Murphy-Dolan faction.[49][50]
A gunfight broke out on Friday, July 19. McSween's supporters gathered inside his house; when Buck Powell and Deputy Sheriff Jack Long set fire to the building, the occupants began shooting. Bonney and the other men fled the building when all rooms but one were burning. During the confusion, McSween was shot and killed by Robert W. Beckwith, who was then shot and killed by Bonney.[51][52]
Outlaw
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Gov_Lew_Wallace_in_1893_cropped_lightened.jpg/170px-Gov_Lew_Wallace_in_1893_cropped_lightened.jpg)
Bonney and three other survivors of the Battle of Lincoln were near the Mescalero Indian Agency when the agency bookkeeper, Morris Bernstein, was murdered on August 5, 1878. All four were indicted for the murder, despite conflicting evidence that Bernstein had been killed by Constable Atanacio Martinez. All of the indictments, except Bonney's, were later quashed.[53][54]
On October 5, 1878, U.S. Marshal John Sherman informed newly appointed Territorial Governor and former Union Army general Lew Wallace that he held warrants for several men, including "William H. Antrim, alias Kid, alias Bonny [sic]" but was unable to execute them "owing to the disturbed condition of affairs in that county, resulting from the acts of a desperate class of men".[55] Wallace issued an amnesty proclamation on November 13, 1878, which pardoned anyone involved in the Lincoln County War since Tunstall's murder. It specifically excluded persons who had been convicted of or indicted for a crime, and therefore excluded Bonney.[56][57]
On February 18, 1879, Bonney and friend Tom O'Folliard were in Lincoln and watched as attorney Huston Chapman was shot and his corpse set on fire. According to eyewitnesses, the pair were innocent bystanders forced at gunpoint by Jesse Evans to witness the murder.[58][59] Bonney wrote to Governor Wallace on March 13, 1879, with an offer to provide information on the Chapman murder in exchange for amnesty. On March 15, Governor Wallace replied, agreeing to a secret meeting to discuss the situation. He met with Wallace in Lincoln on March 17, 1879. During the meeting and in subsequent correspondence, Wallace promised Bonney protection from his enemies and clemency if he would offer his testimony to a grand jury.[a]
On March 20, Wallace wrote to Bonney, "to remove all suspicion of understanding, I think it better to put the arresting party in charge of Sheriff Kimbrell [sic] who shall be instructed to see that no violence is used."[b] Bonney responded on the same day, agreeing to testify and confirming Wallace's proposal for his arrest and detention in a local jail to assure his safety.[62][63] On March 21, he let himself be captured by a posse led by Sheriff George Kimball of Lincoln County. As agreed, Bonney provided a statement about Chapman's murder and testified in court.[64] However, after his testimony, the local district attorney refused to set him free.[65][66] Still in custody several weeks later, Bonney began to suspect Wallace had used subterfuge and would never grant him amnesty. He escaped from the Lincoln County jail on June 17, 1879.[67]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Tom_O%27Folliard_circa_1875_retouched_and_cropped.jpg/170px-Tom_O%27Folliard_circa_1875_retouched_and_cropped.jpg)
Bonney avoided further violence until January 10, 1880, when he shot and killed Joe Grant, a newcomer to the area, at Hargrove's Saloon in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.[68] The Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican reported, "Billy Bonney, more extensively known as 'the Kid', shot and killed Joe Grant. The origin of the difficulty was not learned."[69] According to other contemporary sources, Bonney had been warned Grant intended to kill him. He walked up to Grant, told him he admired his revolver, and asked to examine it. Grant handed it over. Before returning the pistol, which he noticed contained only three cartridges, Bonney positioned the cylinder so the next hammer fall would land on an empty chamber. Grant suddenly pointed his pistol at Bonney's face and pulled the trigger. When it failed to fire, he drew his own weapon and shot Grant in the head. A reporter for the Las Vegas Optic quoted Bonney as saying the encounter "was a game of two and I got there first".[70][71]
In 1880, Bonney formed a friendship with a rancher named Jim Greathouse, who later introduced him to Dave Rudabaugh. On November 29, 1880, Bonney, Rudabaugh, and Billy Wilson ran from a posse led by sheriff's deputy James Carlysle. Cornered at Greathouse's ranch, he told the posse they were holding Greathouse as a hostage. Carlysle offered to exchange places with Greathouse, and Bonney accepted the offer. Carlysle later attempted to escape by jumping through a window but he was shot three times and killed.[72] The shootout ended in a standoff; the posse withdrew and Bonney, Rudabaugh, and Wilson rode away.[73][74]
A few weeks after the Greathouse incident, Bonney, Rudabaugh, Wilson, O'Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, and Tom Pickett rode into Fort Sumner. Unbeknownst to Bonney and his companions, a posse led by Pat Garrett was waiting for them. The posse opened fire, killing O'Folliard; the rest of the outlaws escaped unharmed.[75][76]
Capture and escape
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Pat_Garrett2.jpg/170px-Pat_Garrett2.jpg)
On December 13, 1880, Governor Wallace posted a $500 bounty for Bonney's capture.[77] Pat Garrett continued his search for Bonney; on December 23, following the siege in which Bowdre was killed, Garrett and his posse captured Bonney along with Pickett, Rudabaugh, and Wilson at Stinking Springs. The prisoners, including Bonney, were shackled and taken to Fort Sumner, then later to Las Vegas, New Mexico. When they arrived on December 26, they were met by crowds of curious onlookers.
The following day, an armed mob gathered at the train depot before the prisoners, who were already on board the train with Garrett, departed for Santa Fe.[78] Deputy Sheriff Romero, backed by the angry group of men, demanded custody of Dave Rudabaugh, who during an unsuccessful escape attempt on April 5, 1880 shot and killed deputy Antonio Lino Valdez in the process.[79] Garrett refused to surrender the prisoner, and a tense confrontation ensued until he agreed to let the sheriff and two other men accompany the party to Santa Fe, where they would petition the governor to release Rudabaugh to them.[80] In a later interview with a reporter, Bonney said he was unafraid during the incident, saying, "if I only had my Winchester I'd lick the whole crowd."[81][82] The Las Vegas Gazette ran a story from a jailhouse interview following Bonney's capture; when the reporter said Bonney appeared relaxed, he replied, "What's the use of looking on the gloomy side of everything? The laugh's on me this time."[83] During his short career as an outlaw, Bonney was the subject of numerous U.S. newspaper articles, some as far away as New York.[84]
After arriving in Santa Fe, Bonney, seeking clemency, sent Governor Wallace four letters over the next three months. Wallace refused to intervene,[85] and he went to trial in April 1881 in Mesilla, New Mexico.[86] Following two days of testimony, Bonney was found guilty of Sheriff Brady's murder; it was the only conviction secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County War. On April 13, Judge Warren Bristol sentenced him to hang, with his execution scheduled for May 13, 1881.[86] According to legend, upon sentencing, the judge told Bonney he was going to hang until he was "dead, dead, dead"; his response was, "you can go to hell, hell, hell."[87] According to the historical record, he did not speak after the reading of his sentence.[88]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/LincolnNM_Jail_and_Courthouse.jpg/220px-LincolnNM_Jail_and_Courthouse.jpg)
Following his sentencing, Bonney was moved to Lincoln, where he was held under guard on the top floor of the town courthouse. On the evening of April 28, 1881, while Garrett was in White Oaks collecting taxes, Deputy Bob Olinger took five other prisoners across the street for a meal, leaving James Bell,[89] another deputy, alone with Bonney at the jail. He asked to be taken outside to use the outhouse behind the courthouse; on their return to the jail, Bonney—who was walking ahead of Bell up the stairs to his cell—hid around a blind corner, slipped out of his handcuffs, and beat Bell with the loose end of the cuffs. During the ensuing scuffle, Bonney grabbed Bell's revolver and fatally shot him in the back as Bell tried to get away.[90]
Bonney, with his legs still shackled, broke into Garrett's office and took a loaded shotgun left behind by Olinger. He waited at the upstairs window for Olinger to respond to the gunshot that killed Bell and called out to him, "Look up, old boy, and see what you get." When Olinger looked up, Bonney shot and killed him.[90][91][92] After about an hour, Bonney freed himself from the leg irons with an axe.[93] He obtained a horse and rode out of town; according to some stories he was singing as he left Lincoln.[91]
Recapture and death
While Bonney was on the run, Governor Wallace placed a new $500 bounty on the fugitive's head.[94][95][96] Almost three months after his escape, Garrett, responding to rumors that Bonney was in the vicinity of Fort Sumner, left Lincoln with two deputies on July 14, 1881, to question resident Pete Maxwell, a friend of Bonney's.[97] Maxwell, son of land baron Lucien Maxwell, spoke with Garrett the same day for several hours. Around midnight, the pair sat in Maxwell's darkened bedroom when Bonney unexpectedly entered.[98]
Accounts vary as to the course of events. According to the canonical version, as he entered the room, Bonney failed to recognize Garrett due to the poor lighting. Drawing his revolver and backing away, Bonney asked "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?").[99] Recognizing Bonney's voice, Garrett drew his revolver and fired twice.[100] The first bullet struck Bonney in the chest just above his heart, while the second missed. Garrett's account leaves it unclear whether Bonney was killed instantly or took some time to die.[98][101]
A few hours after the shooting, a local justice of the peace assembled a coroner's jury of six people. The jury members interviewed Maxwell and Garrett, and Bonney's body and the location of the shooting were examined. The jury certified the body as Bonney's and, according to a local newspaper, the jury foreman said, "It was the Kid's body that we examined."[102] Bonney was given a wake by candlelight; he was buried the next day and his grave was denoted with a wooden marker.[103][104]
Five days after Bonney's killing, Garrett traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to collect the $500 reward offered by Governor Lew Wallace for his capture, dead or alive. William G. Ritch, the acting New Mexico governor, refused to pay the reward.[105] Over the next few weeks, the residents of Las Vegas, Mesilla, Santa Fe, White Oaks, and other New Mexico cities raised over $7,000 in reward money for Garrett. A year and four days after Bonney's death, the New Mexico territorial legislature passed a special act to grant Garrett the $500 bounty reward promised by Governor Wallace.[106]
Because people had begun to claim Garrett unfairly ambushed Bonney, Garrett felt the need to tell his side of the story and called upon his friend, journalist Marshall Upson, to ghostwrite a book for him.[107] The book, The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid,[c] was first published in April 1882.[109] Although only a few copies sold following its release, in time, it became a reference for later historians who wrote about Bonney's life.[107]
Rumors of survival
Over time, legends grew claiming that Bonney was not killed, and that Garrett staged the incident and death out of friendship so that Bonney could evade the law.[110] During the next 50 years, a number of men claimed they were Billy the Kid.[citation needed] Most of these claims were easily disproven, but two have remained topics of discussion and debate.
In 1948, a central Texas man, Ollie P. Roberts, also known as Brushy Bill Roberts, began claiming he was Billy the Kid and went before New Mexico Governor Thomas J. Mabry seeking a pardon. Mabry dismissed Roberts' claims, and Roberts died shortly afterward.[111] Nevertheless, Hico, Texas, Roberts' town of residence, capitalized on his claim by opening a Billy the Kid museum.[112]
John Miller, an Arizona man, also claimed he was Bonney. This was unsupported by his family until 1938, some time after his death. Miller's body was buried in the state-owned Arizona Pioneers' Home Cemetery in Prescott, Arizona; in May 2005, Miller's teeth and bones[113] were exhumed and examined,[114] without permission from the state.[115] DNA samples from the remains were sent to a laboratory in Dallas and tested to compare Miller's DNA with blood samples obtained from floorboards in the old Lincoln County courthouse and a bench where Bonney's body allegedly was placed after he was shot.[116] According to a July 2015 article in The Washington Post, the lab results were "useless".[113]
In 2004, researchers sought to exhume the remains of Catherine Antrim, Bonney's mother, whose DNA would be tested and compared with that of the body buried in William Bonney's grave.[117] As of 2012, her body had not been exhumed.[116]
In 2007,[118] author and amateur historian Gale Cooper filed a lawsuit against the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office under the state Inspection of Public Records Act to produce records of the results of the 2006 DNA tests and other forensic evidence collected in the Billy the Kid investigations.[119] In April 2012, 133 pages of documents were provided; they offered no conclusive evidence confirming or disproving the generally accepted story of Garrett's killing of Bonney,[118] but confirmed the records' existence, and that they could have been produced earlier.[116] In 2014, Cooper was awarded $100,000 in punitive damages but the decision was later overturned by the New Mexico Court of Appeals.[120] The lawsuit ultimately cost Lincoln County nearly $300,000.[118]
In February 2015, historian Robert Stahl petitioned a district court in Fort Sumner asking the state of New Mexico to issue a death certificate for Bonney.[102] In July 2015, Stahl filed suit in the New Mexico Supreme Court. The suit asked the court to order the state's Office of the Medical Investigator to officially certify Bonney's death under New Mexico state law.[121]
Photographs
As of 2021, only one authenticated photograph showing Billy exists; others thought to depict him are disputed.[122]
Dedrick ferrotype
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Billy_the_Kid_tintype%2C_Fort_Sumner%2C_1879-80.jpg/150px-Billy_the_Kid_tintype%2C_Fort_Sumner%2C_1879-80.jpg)
One of the few remaining artifacts of Bonney's life is a 2-by-3-inch (5.1-by-7.6-centimeter) ferrotype photograph of him, attributed to photographer Ben Wittick[123] in late 1879 or early 1880. The image shows Bonney wearing a vest under a sweater, a slouch hat and a bandana, while holding an 1873 Winchester rifle with its butt resting on the floor. For years, this was the only photograph of Bonney accepted by scholars and historians.[95] The original ferrotype survived because Bonney's friend Dan Dedrick kept it after the outlaw's death. It was passed down through Dedrick's family, and was copied several times, appearing in numerous publications during the 20th century. In June 2011, the original plate was bought at auction for $2.3 million by businessman William Koch.[124][125]
The image shows Bonney wearing his holstered Colt revolver on his left side. This led to the belief that he was left-handed, without taking into account that the ferrotype process produces reversed images.[126] In 1954, western historians James D. Horan and Paul Sann wrote that Bonney was right-handed and carried his pistol on his right hip.[127] The opinion was confirmed by Clyde Jeavons, a former curator of the National Film and Television Archive.[128] Several historians have written that Bonney was ambidextrous.[129][130][131][132]
Croquet tintype
A 4-by-6-inch (100 mm × 150 mm) ferrotype purchased at a memorabilia shop in Fresno, California, in 2010 has been claimed to show Bonney and members of the Regulators playing croquet. If authentic, it is the only known photo of Billy the Kid and the Regulators together and the only image to feature their wives and female companions.[133] Collector Robert G. McCubbin and outlaw historian John Boessenecker concluded in 2013 that the photograph does not show Bonney.[134] Whitny Braun, a professor and researcher, located an advertisement for croquet sets sold at Chapman's General Store in Las Vegas, New Mexico, dated to June 1878. Kent Gibson, a forensic video and still image expert, offered the services of his facial recognition software, and stated that Bonney is indeed one of the individuals in the image.[135]
In August 2015, Lincoln State Monument officials and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs said that despite the new research, they could not confirm that the image showed Bonney or others from the Lincoln County War era, according to Monument manager Gary Cozzens. A photograph curator at the Palace of the Governors archives, Daniel Kosharek, said the image is "problematic on a lot of fronts", including the small size of the figures and the lack of resemblance of the background landscape to Lincoln County or the state in general.[135] Editors from the True West Magazine staff said, "no one in our office thinks this photo is of the Kid [and the Regulators]."[134]
In early October 2015, Kagin's, Inc., a numismatic authentication firm, said the image was authentic after a number of experts, including those associated with a recent National Geographic Channel program,[136][137] examined it.[138][139]
Posthumous pardon request
In 2010, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson turned down a request for a posthumous pardon of Bonney for the murder of Sheriff William Brady. The pardon was considered to fulfill Governor Lew Wallace's 1879 promise to Bonney. Richardson's decision, citing "historical ambiguity", was announced on December 31, 2010, his last day in office.[140][141]
Grave markers
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Billy-The-Kid-Individual-Tombstone.jpg/220px-Billy-The-Kid-Individual-Tombstone.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Billy_the_Kid_Headstone.jpg/220px-Billy_the_Kid_Headstone.jpg)
In 1931, Charles W. Foor, an unofficial tour guide at Fort Sumner Cemetery, campaigned to raise funds for a permanent marker for the graves of Bonney, O'Folliard, and Bowdre. As a result of his efforts, a stone memorial marked with the names of the three men and their death dates beneath the word "Pals" was erected in the center of the burial area.[142]
In 1940, stone cutter James N. Warner of Salida, Colorado, made and donated to the cemetery a new marker for Bonney's grave.[143] It was stolen on February 8, 1981, but recovered days later in Huntington Beach, California. New Mexico Governor Bruce King arranged for the county sheriff to fly to California to return it to Fort Sumner,[144] where it was reinstalled in May 1981. Although both markers are behind iron fencing, a group of vandals entered the enclosure at night in June 2012 and tipped the stone over.[145]
In literature and the arts
The life and likeness of Billy the Kid have been frequently represented in comics, literature, film, music, theater, radio, television, and video games.
See also
Notes
- ^ For years Wallace denied that he had agreed to the bargain with Bonney; however, in a newspaper article published in 1902, Wallace changed his story and said he had promised him a pardon in exchange for the testimony.[60]
- ^ Letter from Governor Wallace to W.H. Bonney, March 20, 1879.[61]
- ^ The full title of the Garrett-Upson book was The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, the Noted Desperado of the Southwest, Whose Deeds of Daring and Blood Made His Name a Terror in New Mexico, Arizona and Northern Mexico. By Pat. F. Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln Co., N.M., By Whom He Was Finally Hunted Down and Captured by Killing Him.[108]
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- ^ Wallis 2007, pp. 244–245.
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- ^ Utley 1989, pp. 145–146.
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- ^ Nolan 2009a, pp. 1–6.
- ^ a b Rasch & Mullin 1953, pp. 1–5.
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- ^ Wallis 2007, pp. 245–246.
- ^ a b Wallis 2007, p. 247.
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- ^ (New Mexico Territorial Legislature July 18, 1882).
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- ^ Utley 1989, p. 199.
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Wallis 2007, p. xiv.
- ^ "Field & Stream". Field & Stream 2007–08: 106–. July 1981. ISSN 8755-8599. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
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- ^ a b Miller, Michael E. (July 21, 2015). "One man's quest to bury the Wild West mystery of Billy the Kid's death". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
A family Bible put his age in 1881 at just 2 years old: far too young for even a criminal nicknamed 'the Kid'.
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- ^ a b c Burns, James T. (April 28, 2012). "Billy the Kid and New Mexico Open Records Law". Albuquerque Business Law. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
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- ^ Associated Press (August 28, 2008) Lawsuit seeks DNA evidence for 1881 death of Billy the Kid Archived August 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Fox News Channel. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
- ^ "Billy the Kid quest evolves into records fight". Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017 – via PressReader.
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- ^ Tripp, Leslie (June 26, 2011). "Billy the Kid photograph fetches $2.3 million at auction". CNN. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
- ^ "Billy the Kid portrait fetches $2.3m at Denver auction". BBC News US & Canada. June 26, 2011. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
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- ^ Horan, James D. and Sann, Paul. Pictorial History of the Wild West, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1954 – p. 57.
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- ^ Gardner, Mark Lee: To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett (2011), pp. 91, 277
- ^ Nolan 1998, p. 29.
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- ^ Goode, Stephen (June 10, 2007). "The fact and fiction of America's outlaw". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
Billy loved to sing and had a good voice, those who knew him claimed ... He was ambidextrous and wrote well with both hands.
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- ^ a b "Billy the Kid Experts Weigh in on the Croquet Photo". True West Magazine. October 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
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- Rasch, Philip J. (1954). "Dim Trails: The Pursuit of the McCarty Family". New Mexico Folklore Record 8.
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External links
- Billy the Kid Territory – guide by New Mexico Tourism Department
- Letter, 15 March 1879, Lew Wallace to W. H. Bonney, at the Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis
- Letter, 20 March 1879, W. H. Bonney to Lew Wallace, at the Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis