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{{Short description|American outlaw and gunfighter (1859–1881)}} |
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{{Other uses|Billy the Kid (disambiguation)}} |
{{Other uses|Billy the Kid (disambiguation)}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} |
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{{Use American English|date=May 2016}} |
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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = Billy the Kid |
| name = Billy the Kid |
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| image = Billy the Kid |
| image = Billy the Kid tintype, Fort Sumner, 1879-80-Edit2.jpg |
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| caption |
| caption = Portrait attributed to [[Ben Wittick]], {{circa|1880}} |
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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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| birth_name = Henry McCarty |
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| birth_date = September 17 |
| birth_date = September 17 or {{Birth date|1859|11|23}} |
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| alias = William H. Bonney |
| alias = {{hlist|William H. Bonney|Henry Antrim|Kid Antrim}} |
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| birth_place = New York City |
| birth_place = New York City, U.S. |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1881|7|14|1859|9|17}} |
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| height = 5' 8" |
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| death_cause = Gunshot wound |
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| death_date ={{Death date and age|1881|7|14|1859|9|17}} |
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| death_place = [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]] |
| death_place = [[Fort Sumner]], [[New Mexico Territory|New Mexico]] |
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| restingplace = Old Fort Sumner Cemetery |
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| death_cause = [[Gunshot wound]] from Sheriff Pat F. Garrett |
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| restwoundace = 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}} |
| 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 = |
| 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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| parents = {{unbulleted list|'''Father''': Patrick McCarty|'''Stepfather''': William Antrim|'''Mother''': Catherine Devine|}} |
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| relatives = '''Brother''': Joseph McCarty}} |
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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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'''Billy the Kid''' (also known as '''William H. Bonney'''; born '''Henry McCarty''' September 17, 1859 – July 14, 1881), was a 19th-century [[Gunfighter|gunman]] who participated in the [[Lincoln County War]] and became a frontier outlaw in the [[American Old West]]. According to [[legend]], he killed twenty-one men,<ref>Rasch (1995), pp. 23–35.</ref> but it is now generally believed that he killed eight.<ref name="Wallis, Michael pp. 244-245">Wallis, 2007, pp. 244–245.</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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He was relatively unknown during most of his lifetime, but was catapulted into legend in 1881 when New Mexico's governor [[Lew Wallace]] placed a price on his head, and the ''Las Vegas Gazette'' ([[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]) and the ''[[The Sun (New York)|New York Sun]]'' carried stories about his exploits.<ref>Utley (1989), pp. 145–146.</ref> Other newspapers followed suit. He was captured by Sheriff [[Pat Garrett]] in 1880, but escaped in April 1881 and evaded capture for two months. Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid in [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico|Fort Sumner]], on July 14, 1881. Over the next decades, legends grew that he had not died that night, and several men claimed to be Billy the Kid in subsequent years. |
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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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==Early life== |
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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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There is considerable speculation about the birthplace of Billy the Kid. In 1880, McCarty himself gave his age as 25 and said he was born in [[Missouri]],<ref name="Nolan09p6">Nolan (2009), p. 6.</ref> but most accounts say he was born in [[New York City]].<ref name="Nolan09p4">Nolan (2009), p. 4.</ref> A son named Patrick Henry was born to Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine on September 17, 1859, and baptized in [[St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (Manhattan)|St. Peter's Church]] eleven days later.<ref name="Nolan09p4"/> The 1860 Census shows the family in the Manhattan First Ward, though the family's surname is listed as 'McCarthy' instead of McCarty.<ref>1860 United States Federal Census, p. 176.</ref> Henry's brother, Joseph, was born in either 1863 or about six years earlier than Billy.<ref>Wallis (2007), pp. 5–6.</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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Patrick McCarty died shortly after the birth of his third child; he was last listed in the 1863 New York City Directory. In an 1864 city directory, his widow, "Catherine McCarty, widow of Patrick", was listed as head of a family living at 210 Greene Street.<ref name="Nolan09p5">Nolan (2009), p. 5.</ref> They next turn up in [[Indianapolis]] in 1868, but Catherine gave her name to the compilers of the Indianapolis City Director as the widow of Michael.<ref>Wallis (2007), p. 12.</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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On August 10, 1870, the family settled in Kansas along with William Henry Harrison Antrim, whom Catherine had met in Indianapolis.<ref>Wallis (2007), p. 15.</ref> On September 12, 1870, Catherine McCarty, from Indianapolis,<ref name="Nolan09p7">Nolan (2009), p. 7.</ref> was given the title to a vacant lot in Wichita.<ref>Deed Records of Sedgwick County, Kansas. Book A, p. 414.</ref> William Antrim married her on March 1, 1873, at [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]]'s First Presbyterian Church, with her two sons as witnesses.<ref name ="Nolan09p7" /><ref>Book of Marriages A, [[Santa Fe County, New Mexico]], pp. 35–36.</ref> Shortly after the ceremony, the family moved from Santa Fe to [[Silver City, New Mexico]]. On September 16, 1874, she died of [[tuberculosis]].<ref>Nolan, 2009, p.8</ref> |
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== |
==Early life== |
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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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Henry McCarty had his first known run-in with the law exactly one year after his mother's death, a day before his sixteenth birthday; he was charged with theft.<ref>''Grant County Herald'' (Silver City, New Mexico), September 26, 1875.</ref> |
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===First crimes=== |
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According to some accounts, McCarty eventually found work as an itinerant ranch hand for Henry C. Hooker in southeastern [[Arizona Territory]].<ref>Utley (1989), pp. 10–11.</ref> In 1876, McCarty settled in the vicinity of [[Fort Grant, Arizona|Fort Grant]], where he worked on ranches and tested his skills at local gaming houses.<ref>Wallis (2007), p. 103.</ref> During this time, he became acquainted with John R. Mackie, a Scottish-born ex-cavalry private with a criminal bent.<ref>Wallis (2007), p. 107.</ref> The two men supposedly became involved with horse thievery; McCarty stole from local soldiers and became known as "Kid Antrim" because of his slight build, clean-shaven appearance, his youth, and his personality.<ref>Wallis (2007), pp. 110–111.</ref><ref>Utley, (1989), p. 16.</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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McCarty kept out of the news for nearly two years, until August 17, 1877, when he killed Francis P. "Windy" Cahill in Arizona after the two had a verbal argument and a scrum, during which both men fought for McCarty's revolver and McCarty shot Cahill in the abdomen.<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> In fear of Cahill's friends, McCarty fled the Arizona Territory and entered into [[New Mexico Territory]].<ref>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 raided the herds of cattle magnate [[John Chisum]].<ref name="Wallis, Michael pp. 123-131">Wallis (2007) pp. 123–131.</ref> During this period, McCarty was spotted by a resident of Silver City, and the teenager's involvement with the gang was mentioned in a local newspaper.<ref name="Wallis, Michael pp. 123-131"/> |
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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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McCarty rode for a time with the [[Jesse Evans Gang]], but then turned up at Heiskell Jones's house in [[Fort Stanton|Pecos Valley, New Mexico]].<ref>Nolan (1998), p. 77.</ref> According to one account, [[Apache]]s stole McCarty's horse, forcing him to walk many miles to the nearest settlement, which happened to be Jones's home. When he arrived, the young man was supposedly near death, but Mrs. Jones nursed him back to health. The Jones family developed a strong attachment to McCarty and gave him one of their horses. At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself as "William H. Bonney".<ref>Wallis (2007), p. 144.</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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==Lincoln County War== |
==Lincoln County War== |
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{{ |
{{Main|Lincoln County War}} |
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Bonney had returned to New Mexico just in time to play his role in the conflict known as the Lincoln County War. Since the early 1870s [[Lincoln County, New Mexico]] had been under the economic and political control of three Irishmen named [[Lawrence Murphy]], [[James Dolan]], and John Henry Riley, who held the lucrative beef contract for nearby Fort Stanton and ran the major store in the town of Lincoln.<ref>Nolan,Frederick ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History, 1992'' - pp. 23–55.</ref> Their control was challenged by a young lawyer, [[Alexander McSween]], and an Englishman named [[John Tunstall|John Henry Tunstall]], who established a rival store and bank in Lincoln, which soon drove their competitors into financial difficulty.<ref>Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History, 1992. pp. 75–86.''</ref> Tunstall had purchased a ranch on the Rio Feliz and signed the eighteen year-old "Billy the Kid" as one of his cowboys. When Turnstall was bothered by rustlers who subsequently got the local sheriff to attach nearly $40,000 of Tunstall's property,<ref>Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - p.188-89.</ref> Billy the Kid rode out with Turnstall and others to take six of Turnstall's prime horses to Lincoln for safekeeping. They ran into an eighteen-man posse, and Turnstall was killed.<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - p. 46.</ref> Billy the Kid and his companions escaped before they were discovered by the posse, but was arrested on February 20 by Sheriff Brady for disturbing the peace. They were released on February 22. |
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===Prelude=== |
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Soon after Billy the Kid joined a posse called the [[Lincoln County Regulators|Regulators]], led by Richard M. Brewer. On March 9, two of Tunstall's accused murderers, Frank Baker and William S. Morton, were captured by the Regulators and killed "while trying to escape".<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 56–60.</ref> On April 1, during an ambush on Sheriff Brady and his deputies, Billy the Kid was shot in the thigh.<ref>Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - pp. 233–249, 549 n. 1.</ref> |
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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 the morning of April 4, 1878, during a shootout between the Regulators [[Buckshot Roberts|Andrew L. "Buckshot" Roberts]] at [[Mescalero, New Mexico|Blazer's Mill]], the group's leader, Richard Brewer, was killed.<ref>Rickards, Colin. ''The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill'', 1974 - pp. 36–37.</ref> Warrants were issued for several participants on both sides of the Lincoln County War, and Billy the Kid and two others were charged with the killings of Sheriff Brady and deputy Hindman, and also with the murder of Buckshot Roberts. |
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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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==Battle of Lincoln (1878)== |
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{{main|Battle of Lincoln (1878)}} |
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===Build-up=== |
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On the night of Sunday, July 14, McSween and the Regulators, by now a group of fifty or sixty men, gathered in Lincoln and stationed themselves there among several buildings.<ref>Jacobsen (1994), p. 173.</ref> At the McSween residence were Billy the Kid, Florencio Chavez, [[Jose Chavez y Chavez]], Jim French, Harvey Morris, [[Tom O'Folliard]], [[Yginio Salazar]], and a few others. Another group led by Marin Chavez and Doc Scurlock positioned themselves on the roof of Ike Stockton's saloon. In addition to these forces, Henry Newton Brown, Dick Smith and George Coe defended a nearby adobe bunkhouse.<ref>Nolan (1992), pp. 312–313.</ref><ref>Utley (1987), p. 87.</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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On Monday, at high noon, Deputy Sheriff John Long walked to the front of the McSween residence with warrants for McSween and several others. The group inside the McSween house refused to surrender. Later that afternoon, several men from the Seven Rivers Warriors rode into Lincoln to aid the Dolan forces against the McSween group. The McSween partisans stationed on the roof of Ike Stockton's saloon fired the first shots of the day, but didn't hit any targets. The remainder of the day passed without incident.<ref>Utley (1987), pp. 92–93.</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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On Tuesday, July 16, Sheriff Peppin sent sharpshooters to pick off the McSween defenders at the saloon. When one of the snipers, Charles Crawford, was killed by Fernando Herrera, the remainder of Peppin's men retreated. Sheriff Peppin then sent a message, requesting assistance, to Colonel [[Nathan Dudley]], the commandant of nearby [[Fort Stanton]]. Dudley wrote a reply to Peppin turning him down, but someone fired a shot at the soldier who was carrying Dudley's reply to Peppin. The soldier was unhurt, but the shot gave Peppin and the Dolan forces a ''[[casus belli]]'', which was exactly what they wanted.<ref>Nolan (1992), p. 513.</ref> |
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==== Battle of Lincoln (1878) ==== |
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Captain Thomas Blair, leading a detachment of cavalry from Fort Stanton, rode into Lincoln on Wednesday to investigate the shots fired at Colonel Dudley's messenger. McSween denied that he or any of his men were responsible. Captain Blair favored the version offered by the Peppin-Dolan faction.<ref>Nolan (1992), pp. 315–317.</ref> |
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{{Main|Battle of Lincoln (1878)}} |
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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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Concerned that Colonel Dudley might still withhold the support of his troops, James J. Dolan rode out to Fort Stanton the next day and asked Colonel Dudley for the "protection of the women and children" of Lincoln. Doubts have been cast upon whether this event really happened.<ref>Nolan (1992), p. 318.</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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On Friday, July 19, the actual battle began. Shortly before noon, a column of soldiers from Fort Stanton brought a [[Howitzer]] and a [[Gatling gun]] into Lincoln. Faced with this heavy artillery, the men at Ike Stockton's saloon quickly abandoned their positions. Sheriff Peppin and a large group of soldiers then went to McSween's house and read him a warrant for his arrest. McSween slammed the door in their faces. |
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==Outlaw== |
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By now the McSween supporters who had been in other buildings were all gathered in the McSween house. When Deputy Sheriff Jack Long and Buck Powell attempted to set fire to the McSween house, the occupants opened fire. Long and Powell had to take cover in the only shelter available, a stinking pit beneath an outhouse, and remain there for several hours.<ref>Jacobsen (1994), p. 185.</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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The Dolan forces finally succeeded in setting fire to the McSween house, and the flames spread rapidly from room to room. [[Susan McSween]] left her burning home and pleaded with Colonel Dudley to spare the lives of her husband and the others defending her home. Dudley ignored her. By nightfall, all but one room had been engulfed by flames, and Billy the Kid and his companions had no choice but to make a run for it. During the confusion, Alexander McSween was shot and killed by Robert W. Beckwith, who was then shot and killed by Billy the Kid. Three more McSween defenders were killed. Salazar escaped death by pretending to be a corpse while the Dolan force took a body count. Running from the burning building, with both guns blazing, Billy the Kid somehow escaped into the darkness.<ref>Nolan (1992), pp. 322–331</ref><ref>Utley (1987), pp. 96–111.</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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==More murder== |
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[[File:OFOLLAIRD.JPG|thumb|Tom O'Folliard]] |
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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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Billy the Kid and three other survivors of the Battle of Lincoln were near the Mescalero Indian Agency when the agency bookkeeper was murdered on August 5, 1878; the Kid and his three companions were indicted for murder, despite conflicting evidence that Bernstein's murder had actually been committed by Antanacio Martinez. All of these indictments were later quashed, except for the one against Billy the Kid.<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 104–105, 107, 110 and Nolan Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - pp. 339–340, 342, 445,514.</ref> |
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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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Governor Axtell was removed from office as a result of the reports compiled by special agent Frank Warner Angel. On September 8, 1878, [[Lew Wallace]] was sworn in as the new Territorial Governor of New Mexico. On October 5, U.S. Marshal John Sherman, Jr. informed Governor 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."<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier'', 1987 - p. 120.</ref> |
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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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Governor Wallace issued an [[amnesty|amnesty proclamation]] on November 13, 1878, which pardoned anyone involved in the Lincoln County bloodletting since the Tunstall murder of February 18, 1878. It specifically did not apply to any person who had been convicted of or was under indictment for a crime, so it excluded Billy the Kid.<ref>Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 = pp. 315, 515, and Utley, Robert M. ''High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier'', 1987 - pp. 122–123, 126–128, 141, 150, 154, 156–158.</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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On the afternoon of February 18, 1879, the Kid and O'Folliard were in Lincoln when Susan McSween's lawyer, Huston I. Chapman, shot by Bill Campbell while the Kid and O'Folliard watched. The unarmed Chapman was shot and killed by Bill Campbell, and his corpse set on fire. According to eyewitnesses, the Kid and O'Folliard were innocent bystanders who were forced at gunpoint by Jessie Evans to witness the murder.<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier'', 1987 - pp. 132–136, 139, 141, 143–144 and Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - 375–376, 378, 516–517.</ref> |
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===Capture and escape=== |
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The Kid wrote Governor Wallace offering to give information on the Chapman murder in exchange for being granted amnesty. The governor and the gunfighter met in Lincoln on March 15, 1879, and talked for more than an hour. Wallace promised the Kid a complete pardon if he would offer his testimony to a [[grand jury]] regarding what he knew of the Chapman murder. On March 20, Wallace wrote the Kid that "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."<ref>Governor Lew Wallace to W.H. Bonney, March 20, 1879.</ref> On March 21, the KId allowed himself to be "captured" by a posse led by Sheriff George Kimball of Lincoln County. True to his word, the Kid provided a long detailed statement about the Chapman murder. As the weeks passed, the Kid began to suspect that had been used by Wallace and would never be granted his promised amnesty. When his doubts became too much, the Kid broke out of jail on June 17, 1879.<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - p. 111–125.</ref> |
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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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Following his escape, the Kid avoided further violence until January 10, 1880, when he shot and killed Joe Grant at Hargrove's Saloon in [[Fort Sumner, New Mexico]]. The ''Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican'' simply reported that "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 sources, The Kid had been advised that Grant intended to kill him, so he boldly walked up to Grant, told him he admired his revolver, and asked to examine it. Grant complied. Before handing Grant's pistol back (which only contained three shells), the Kid positioned the cylinder so that the next shot would fire on an empty chamber. Within moments, Grant stuck his pistol in the Kid's face and pulled the trigger. The weapon clicked harmlessly, and the Kid drew his pistol and shot Grant in the head. A reporter for the ''Las Vegas Optic'' later quoted the Kid as saying that the encounter with Grant "was a game of two and I got there first."<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 131–133, 145, 203, 249–250 and Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - pp. 397, 518, 572.</ref> |
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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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During 1880, the Kid formed a friendship with Jim Greathouse, who, in turn, introduced him to [[Dave Rudabaugh]]. On November 29, 1880, the Kid, Rudabaugh and [[Billy Wilson (outlaw)|Billy Wilson]] had a running fight with a posse led by Deputy Sheriff James Carlyle. When cornered at Jim Greathouse's ranch, the Kid and his companions yelled out that they were holding Jim Greathouse as their "hostage". Deputy Carlyle offered to exchange places with Greathouse, and the switch was made. Later, Carlyle had a change of heat and attempted to escape by jumping through a window. He was shot three times and killed during the attempt. There is no way to determine who fired the shots that killed Carlyle. They could have been fired by the Kid and his companions or just as easily by Carlyle's own men, who mistook Carlyle for one of the fugitives. The fight ended in a standoff when the posse withdrew and the Kid, Rudabaugh, and Wilson rode off unmolested.<ref>Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 143–146, 179, 204 and Nolan, Frederick. ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'', 1992 - pp. 398–401.</ref> |
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[[File:LincolnNM Jail and Courthouse.jpg|thumb|Courthouse and jail, [[Lincoln, New Mexico]]]] |
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On December 19, Billy the Kid, Rudabaugh, Wilson, Bowdre, [[Tom Pickett (outlaw)|Tom Pickett]], and Tom O'Folliard rode into Fort Sumner. Awaiting them was a posse led by Pat Garrett, who opened fire, killing O'Folliard. The Kid and his other four companions escaped unharmed.<ref>Metz, Leon C. ''Pat Garrett: The Story of a Western Lawman'', 1974 - pp. 74–75 and Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 155–157, 256–257. |
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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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</ref> |
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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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[[File:Pat Garrett2.jpg|thumb|Sheriff Pat Garrett]] |
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== |
===Recapture and death=== |
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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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On December 23, Pat Garrett and his posse captured the Kid, Pickett, Rudabaugh and Wilson at Stinking Springs, following a siege in which Charlie Bowdre was killed. The Kid and his companions were taken to Santa Fe. En route, at [[Las Vegas, New Mexico|Las Vegas]] on December 27, there was a threat from a lynch mob, which was only narrowly averted. The Kid remained unfazed during the threat on his life, later telling a reporter "if I only had my Winchester I'd lick the whole crowd." Garrett got the Kid out of Las Vegas in one piece.<ref>Metz (1974), pp. 76–85</ref><ref>Utley (1989), pp. 157–166.</ref> |
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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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[[File:LincolnNM Jail and Courthouse.jpg|thumb|left|Courthouse and jail, Lincoln, New Mexico]] |
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The prisoner was transferred to Santa Fe, where he sent four separate letters over the next three months to Governor Wallace seeking clemency. Wallace refused to intervene<ref name="Wallis240241">Wallis (2007), pp. 240–241.</ref> and the Kid's trial was held in April 1881 in [[Mesilla, New Mexico|Mesilla]].<ref name="Wallis242">Wallis (2007), p. 242.</ref> After two days of testimony, the Kid was found guilty on April 9 of the murder of Sheriff Brady. It was the only conviction ever secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County War. On April 13, he was sentenced by Judge Warren Bristol to [[hanging|hang]]; his execution was scheduled for May 13.<ref name="Wallis242" /> |
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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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The Kid was removed to Lincoln, where he was held under guard on the top floor of the town courthouse by two of Garrett's deputies, Bob Olinger and James Bell. Garrett and Bell treated Billy with consideration. Bell had been a close friend of Jim Carlyle's, for whose murder Billy was held responsible, but Bell still reportedly showed the Kid respect and "never, by word or action, did he betray his prejudice if it existed".<ref name="Utley89179">Utley (1989), p. 179.</ref> |
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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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On the other hand, Olinger, one of the Seven Rivers Warriors, called himself 'Pecos Bob' and despised the Kid. The feeling was mutual.<ref name="Utley89176">Utley (1989), p. 176.</ref> Olinger held Billy responsible for the death of his friend Bob Beckwith at McSween's.<ref>Utley (1989), p. 177.</ref> Olinger's favorite weapon and tool of choice when tormenting the Kid was his [[double-barreled shotgun]]. He had loaded it with [[buckshot]] and was overconfident in his abilities as a guard. |
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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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On the evening of April 28, 1881, Garrett was in White Oaks collecting taxes. Olinger left the prison to take five other prisoners across the street for a meal, leaving Bell alone with Billy. Olinger left the loaded shotgun in Garrett's office.<ref name="Utley89180">Utley (1989), p. 180.</ref> Billy asked Bell to take him outside so he could relieve himself in the outhouse behind the courthouse. On the way back, Billy was walking ahead of Bell up the stairs to his cell, with Bell somewhat behind him. At the top of the stairs Billy hid around a blind corner, slipped out of his handcuffs, hid around the corner, and surprised Bell, beating him with the loose end of the irons. The two men scuffled, Billy got Bell's revolver, and as Bell made for the stairs to get away, Billy shot him in the back.<ref name="Utley89181">Utley (1989), p. 181.</ref> The Kid himself later claimed that he never wanted to kill Bell, but the other man stood in the way of his escape. |
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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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Billy's legs were still shackled, but he got into Garrett's office, where he took the loaded shotgun and waited at the upstairs window for Olinger to respond to the gunshot and come back across the street to Bell's aid. As Olinger came running into view, the Kid leveled the shotgun out the window at him, called out, "Look up, old boy, and see what you get," and shot him dead.<ref name="Utley89181" /><ref name="Wallis243244">Wallis (2007), pp. 243–244.</ref> The Kid worked himself free of his leg irons with an axe, which took about an hour.<ref>Jacobsen (1994), p. 232.</ref> He then mounted a horse and rode out of town, reportedly singing.<ref name="Wallis243244"/> The horse returned two days later.<ref name="Wallis245246">Wallis (2007), pp. 245–246.</ref> |
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{{reflistp}} |
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==Death== |
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[[File:Billy the Kid Headstone.jpg|thumb|Tombstone at Billy the Kid's grave in Fort Sumner, New Mexico]] |
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Sheriff Pat Garrett responded to rumors that McCarty was lurking in the vicinity of Fort Sumner almost three months after his escape. Garrett and two deputies set out on July 14, 1881 to question one of the town's residents, a friend of McCarty's named Pete Maxwell (son of land baron [[Lucien Maxwell]]).<ref>Wallis, Michael. ''Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride'', 2007 pp. 245–246.</ref> Close to midnight, Garrett and Maxwell sat talking in Maxwell's darkened bedroom when McCarty unexpectedly entered the room.<ref name="Ref-1">Wallis, Michael. ''Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride'', 2007 - p. 247.</ref> |
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There are different versions of what happened next. The best-known version suggests that, as the Kid entered, he failed to recognize Garrett in the poor light. He drew his revolver and backed away, asking "''¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?''" (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?").<ref name="Ref-1"/> Recognizing McCarty's voice, Garrett drew his own revolver and fired twice. The first bullet struck McCarty in the chest just above his heart. McCarty fell to the floor, gasped for a minute, and died.<ref name="Ref-1"/> |
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Garrett allowed the Kid's friends to take his body across the plaza to the carpenter's shop to give him a wake. The next morning, Justice of the Peace Milnor Rudulph viewed the body and made out the death certificate, but Garrett rejected the first one and demanded that another one be written more in his favor. The Kid's body was then prepared for burial, and was buried at noon at the Fort Sumner cemetery between O'Folliard and Bowdre.<ref name="lastdays">{{cite web|url=http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/Last_Days.htm|title=Last Days|publisher=aboutbillythekid.com|accessdate=August 4, 2013}}</ref> |
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In the weeks following the Kid's death, Garrett felt the need to tell his side of the story. Many people had begun to talk about the unfairness of the encounter, so Garrett called upon his friend Marshall Ashmun (Ash) Upson to [[ghostwrite]] a book with him.<ref name="Ref-2">Utley, Robert M. ''Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life'', 1989 - pp. 198–199.</ref> Upson was a roving journalist who had a gift for graphic prose. Their collaboration led to a book entitled ''[[The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid]]'',<ref>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.''</ref> which was first published in April 1882. The book originally sold few copies, but it eventually proved to be an important reference for historians who later wrote about the Kid's life.<ref name="Ref-2"/> |
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==Rumors of survival== |
==Rumors of survival== |
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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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[[File:Bob Ollinger death marker.JPG|thumb|The site of the Bell and Olinger killings is preserved in Lincoln County with the hole in the wall on display where Bell was shot, as well as a plaque where Olinger was gunned down.<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=August 4, 2008}}</ref>]] |
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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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Legends grew over time that Billy the Kid was not killed that night, but that Garrett may have staged it all out of friendship for the Kid so that he could escape the law.<ref name="wallisxiv">Wallis (2007), p. xiv.</ref> Several men have come forward to claim that they were the real Kid. Most of them were easily and immediately debunked, but there are two who remain topics of discussion and debate for one reason or another. |
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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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In 1948, a man in Central Texas known as Ollie Partridge Roberts (nicknamed [[Brushy Bill]]) claimed to being Billy the Kid; his claims were dismissed by everyone, including his own family. His town of residence, [[Hico, Texas]], capitalized on the claim by opening the "Billy The Kid Museum".<ref>Texas Department of Transportation, ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008'', pp. 200–201</ref> |
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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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The family of a Arizona man named John Miller supported Miller's claim to be Billy the Kid in 1938, some time after Miller's death. Miller was buried at the state-owned Pioneers' Home Cemetery in [[Prescott, Arizona]]; his bones were dug up 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=August 4, 2008}}</ref> though without official permission.<ref>Associated Press (October 24, 2006) "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20061024/ai_n16801551 2 won't face charges in Billy the Kid quest], ''Deseret News'' via FindArticles.com; retrieved August 29, 2008.</ref> DNA samples from the remains were sent to a lab in [[Dallas, Texas]], to be compared with traces of blood obtained from a bench that was believed to be the one upon which McCarty's body was placed after he was shot to death, but the DNA samples were useless.<ref>{{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=21 July 2015|work=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=14 December 2015}}</ref> |
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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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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>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0318/p11s02-ussc.html|title=Shootout over Billy the Kid|last=Miller|first=Patrick|date=18 March 2004|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|accessdate=13 December 2015}}</ref> To date, no DNA test results have been made public. In 2008, a lawsuit was filed against officials in Lincoln County that would, if successful, publicize the results of those tests along with other evidence that Sullivan and Sederwall collected in the Miller investigation.<ref>Associated Press (August 28, 2008) [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,412761,00.html Lawsuit seeks DNA evidence for 1881 death of Billy the Kid], foxnews.com; retrieved August 29, 2008.</ref> |
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In February 2015, historian Robert Stahl petitioned a district court in Fort Sumner asking the state of New Mexico to |
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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==Photographs== |
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== Authenticated 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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[[File:Photo of Billy the Kid (left).JPG|thumb|Detail from a photo authenticated in 2015 of Billy the Kid (left) playing croquet in New Mexico in 1878]] |
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===Dedrick ferrotype=== |
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One of the few remaining artifacts of McCarty's life is a 2x3 inch [[ferrotype]] taken by an unknown photographer sometime in late 1879 or early 1880. It was for many years the only image of McCarty that scholars agreed was authentic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/the-holy-grail-for-sale/|title=The Holy Grail for Sale|author=Mark Boardman|work=True West Magazine|accessdate=March 17, 2015}}</ref> The ferrotype survived because Dan Dedrick, one of McCarty's rustler friends, held onto the picture after McCarty's death, and passed it down in his family; it was copied several times, and the original was bought at auction on June 25, 2011, for $2.3 million by billionaire [[Bill Koch (businessman)|William Koch]].<ref>{{cite web|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?&hpt=hp_c2|website=CNN|publisher=CNN|accessdate=July 4, 2015|date=June 26, 2011}}</ref> It was the most expensive piece ever sold at Brian Lebel's Annual Old West Show & Auction,<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13919013 BBC News – Billy the Kid portrait fetches $2.3m at Denver auction]. Bbc.co.uk (June 26, 2011). Retrieved on August 1, 2011.</ref> and at the time was the [[List of most expensive photographs|seventh most expensive photograph]] ever sold. |
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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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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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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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In August 2013, a tintype photograph was located that appears to show McCarty and friend Dan Dedrick.<ref name="Moore1">{{cite web|url=http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_23884872/new-photo-appears-be-billy-kid-and-friend|author=Moore, S. Derrickson|date=August 17, 2013|title=Newly unveiled photo appears to be Billy the Kid and friend|publisher=Las Cruces Sun-News|accessdate=August 30, 2013}}</ref>{{dead link|yes|date=December 2015}} The photo has been forensically examined and one forensic investigator agreed that it is of McCarty and Dedrick.<ref name="Moore1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_24248626/forensic-detective-says-billy-kid-photo-is-real|author=Moore, S. Derrickson|date=October 5, 2013|title=Forensic detective says Billy the Kid photo is real deal|publisher=Las Cruces Sun-News|accessdate=January 9, 2014}}</ref>{{dead link|yes|date=December 2015}} |
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===Croquet tintype=== |
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A tintype purchased in 2010 for $2.00 at a sale in [[Fresno, California]] appears to show McCarty and the Regulators playing croquet, and it was reviewed by several experts who attempted to authenticate it.<ref>{{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 |accessdate=September 23, 2015}}</ref> On October 5, 2015, Kagin's, Inc. auction house declared the image authentic after experts examined it for over a year. A special show describing the examination of the photo was shown on the [[National Geographic Channel]] on October 23, 2015. Other experts disagree that the photo shows Billy the Kid.<ref name="Billy the Kid Experts Weigh in on the Croquet Photo">{{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}}</ref> Kagin's insured the original tintype for 5 million dollars.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Man who discovered rare Billy the Kid photo: 'The hunt is a really grand thing' |url=http://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 |authorlink=Rory Carroll |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=October 27, 2015}}</ref> |
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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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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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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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==Handedness== |
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It was widely assumed that the Kid was [[left-handed]], but in 1954, western historians James D. Horan and Paul Sann announced that McCarty was actually "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> an opinion confirmed by Clyde Jeavons, a former [[curator]] of the [[BFI National Archive|National Film and Television Archive]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/mar/03/1|last=Mayes|first=Ian|title=I kid you not|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=March 3, 2001|accessdate=June 19, 2009}}</ref> Wallis wrote in 2007 that McCarty was [[Ambidexterity|ambidextrous]].<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|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5hfNVN6Db|archivedate=June 20, 2009|accessdate=June 20, 2009|quote=Billy loved to sing and had a good voice, those who knew him claimed. ... He was ambidextrous and wrote well with both hands.}}</ref> |
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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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==Posthumous pardons considered== |
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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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In 2010, New Mexico Governor [[Bill Richardson]] considered a posthumous pardon for the Kid, who had been convicted of killing Sheriff William Brady. The pardon was considered to be a follow-through on a purported promise made by former Governor Lew Wallace in 1879. On December 31, 2010, his last day in office, Richardson announced his decision on ''[[Good Morning America]]'' not to issue the pardon, citing "historical ambiguity" surrounding the conditions of Lew Wallace's pardon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/31/new.mexico.billy/index.html?hpt=T2|title=No pardon for Billy the Kid|publisher=CNN|accessdate=December 31, 2010|date=December 31, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Posthumous pardon request== |
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==Grave marker theft and locations== |
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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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[[File:Billy-The-Kid-Individual-Tombstone.jpg|thumb|Billy the Kid's grave]] |
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==Grave markers== |
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According to Garrett, the Kid was interred at the old military cemetery of [[Fort Sumner]] on July 15, 1881 (the day after he was killed), between his fallen companions Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre.<ref>Wallis, Michael. ''Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride'', 2007 = pp. 249–250.</ref> |
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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 1932,<ref name="aboutbilly">{{cite web|url=http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/frequently_asked_questions.htm|title=Frequently Asked Questions|accessdate=March 17, 2015}}</ref> Charles W. Foor, the unofficial tour guide of the cemetery, spearheaded the drive to raise funds for a marker. Although the edges are damaged, this large white marker has never been stolen. It serves as a memorial monument noting three individuals buried in the cemetery, O'Folliard, Bowdre, and Bonney.<ref name="aboutbilly"/> |
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==In literature and the arts== |
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Eight years later, [[Warner Bros.]] used a Billy the Kid grave marker as a prop in the movie ''[[The Outlaw]]''. James N. Warner of [[Salida, Colorado]], donated the marker to the cemetery when it was no longer required for the movie.<ref>[http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141837/m1/1 "Hico Validates Life of Billy the Kid"] The J-TAC (Stephenville, Texas), Vol. 148, No. 10, Ed. 1, texashistory.unt.edu, November 3, 1994.</ref> It was stolen again in February 8, 1981, but recovered days later in [[Huntington Beach, California]]. New Mexico Governor [[Bruce King]] arranged for the Sheriff of the county seat to fly to California to bring it back to Fort Sumner,<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=17374 The Historical Marker Database].</ref> where it was re-installed in May 1981. On June 16, 2012, a group of vandals entered the cage at night and tipped over the stone.<ref>{{cite news|title='Billy the Kid' tombstone in New Mexico vandalized|author=Lohr, David|authorlink=David Lohr|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/billy-the-kid-tombstone-vandalized_n_1638484.html|accessdate=March 21, 2013|publisher=Huffington Post|date=June 30, 2012}}</ref> |
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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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==Selected references in popular culture== |
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{{refimprove section|date=December 2015}} |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in these sections are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or most well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of everything about Billy the Kid that has ever been done. 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. The music section is limited to music contained in films about him, or complete works focusing on him or the genre of Western and/of gunfighting. Billy Joel doesn't meet that definition. Thanks. NO MORE ADDITIONS.--> |
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===Literature=== |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in these sections are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or most well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of everything about Billy the Kid that has ever been done. Please do not add to this section 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. Thanks. NO MORE ADDITIONS.--> |
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*"The Disinterested Killer Bill Harrigan," by [[Jorge Luis Borges]]. |
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*''Billy The Kid'' (1958), a [[Long poem|serial poem]] by [[Jack Spicer]]. |
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*''Billy the Kid'' (1962), an episode in the ongoing adventures of [[Billy the Kid (Lucky Luke)|Lucky Luke]] by Goscinny and Morris. |
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*''El bandido adolescente'' ("The teenage outlaw") (1965), a biography written by Spanish author [[Ramón J. Sender]]. |
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*''The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems'', by [[Michael Ondaatje]], 1970 [[Governor General's Award#Governor General's Literary Awards|Governor General's Award]]-winning biography in the form of experimental poetry. |
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*''The Illegal Rebirth of Billy the Kid'' (1991) is a science fiction novel by [[Rebecca Ore]]. |
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*''Anything for Billy'' (1988) is a fictionalized account of Billy's last year by [[Larry McMurtry]]. |
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*''Lucky Billy: a novel about Billy the Kid'' (2008), is a novel by John Vernon, a professor at [[Binghamton University]]. |
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*The novels, ''[[Inferno (Niven and Pournelle novel)|Inferno]]'' and ''[[Escape from Hell (novel)|Escape from Hell]],'' by [[Larry Niven]] and [[Jerry Pournelle]], feature interactions between the novels' contemporary main characters traversing [[Dante Alighieri|Dante's]] ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' and Billy the Kid. |
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*''Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' he is first introduced in the Sorceress and is there until the end of the Enchantress by [[Michael Scott (Irish author)|Michael Scott]] |
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*''Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas'' ebook by [[Michael Scott (Irish author)|Michael Scott]] |
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===Film=== |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in this section are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or most well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of everything about Billy the Kid that has ever been done. 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. NO MORE ADDITIONS.--> |
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<!-- Sorted by release date --> |
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* ''Billy the Kid'', a 1911 silent film directed by [[Laurence Trimble]] and starring [[Tefft Johnson]]. All copies are believed to be lost. |
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* ''[[Billy the Kid (1930 film)|Billy the Kid]]'', 1930 [[widescreen]] film directed by [[King Vidor]] and 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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* [[Bob Steele (actor)|Bob Steele]] and [[Buster Crabbe]] played Billy the Kid in a series of 42 western films from 1940 through 1946, released by [[Poverty Row]] studio [[Producers Distributing Corporation]]. Some of the titles include ''Blazing Frontier'', ''The Renegade'', ''Cattle Stampede'', and ''Western Cyclone'' (1943).{{citation needed|reason=Information challenged on Talk page|date=November 2015}} In a 1952 film, [[Allan "Rocky" Lane]] goes after Billy the Kid's lost treasure.<ref>Johnny D. Boggs. |
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Billy the Kid on Film, 1911–2012. McFarland</ref> |
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* ''[[The Outlaw]]'', [[Howard Hughes]]' 1943 motion picture starring [[Jack Buetel]] as Billy and featuring [[Jane Russell]] in her breakthrough role as the Kid's fictional love interest. |
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*''I Shot Billy the Kid'', a 1950 film directed by [[William Berke]] and starring [[Don "Red" Barry]] as Billy. |
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* ''[[The Kid from Texas]]'' (1950) starring [[Audie Murphy]] as Billy the Kid |
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* ''The Law vs. Billy the Kid'' (1954, [[Columbia Pictures Corporation]]) starring [[Scott Brady]] as the Kid, [[James Griffith]] as Pat Garrett, [[Betta St. John]] as Nita Maxwell, and [[Alan Hale, Jr.]] as Bob Ollinger |
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* ''[[The Left Handed Gun]]'', [[Arthur Penn]]'s 1958 motion picture based on a [[Gore Vidal]] [[teleplay]], starring [[Paul Newman]] as Billy and [[John Dehner]] as Garrett |
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* ''The Boy from Oklahoma'' (1954), with [[Tyler MacDuff]] in the role of Billy the Kid |
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* ''[[One-Eyed Jacks]]'' (1961), is the only film directed by [[Marlon Brando]], who also played its lead character, Rio. This story is from an adaptation by [[Rod Serling]] of a Charles Neider novelization of Billy the Kid's life, with a later revision by [[Sam Peckinpah]] among others. |
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* ''[[Billy the Kid vs. Dracula]]'' (1966), directed by [[William Beaudine]], has [[Count Dracula]], played by [[John Carradine]], traveling to the [[Old West]], where he takes a shine to Billy's fiancee and tries to turn her into a vampire. Chuck Courtney co-stars as Billy. |
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* ''I'll Kill Him and Return Alone'', a 1967 "[[spaghetti Western]]" directed by [[Julio Buchs]], starred [[Peter Lee Lawrence]] as Billy and [[Fausto Tozzi]] as Pat Garrett. |
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* ''[[Chisum]]'' (1970), set during the Lincoln County War, was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and stars Geoffrey Deuel as Billy and [[Glenn Corbett]] as Pat Garrett. |
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* ''[[Dirty Little Billy]]'' (1972), set during Billy's early years as a criminal, starred [[Michael J. Pollard]]. |
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* ''[[Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid]]'', [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s 1973 motion picture with [[Kris Kristofferson]] as Billy, [[James Coburn]] as Pat Garrett, and with a soundtrack by [[Bob Dylan]], who also appears in the movie |
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* ''[[Young Guns (film)|Young Guns]]'', Christopher Cain's 1988 motion picture starring [[Emilio Estevez]] as Billy and [[Patrick Wayne]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''[[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'' (1989) features Billy the Kid (played by [[Dan Shor]]) as the "Historical Figure" that Bill and Ted pick up in the Old West. |
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* ''[[Billy the Kid (1989 film)|Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid]]'', Gore Vidal's 1989 film starring [[Val Kilmer]] as Billy and [[Duncan Regehr]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''[[Young Guns II]]'', [[Geoff Murphy]]'s 1990 motion picture starring [[Emilio Estevez]] as Billy and [[William Petersen]] as Pat Garrett |
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* ''[[Purgatory (1999 film)|Purgatory]]'', [[Uli Edel]]'s 1999 made-for-TV movie starring [[Donnie Wahlberg]] as Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid |
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* ''Requiem for Billy the Kid'', Anne Feinsilber's 2006 motion picture starring [[Kris Kristofferson]]. |
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* ''[[BloodRayne 2: Deliverance]]'' featured a vampiric Billy the Kid as the film's main antagonist, played by [[Zack Ward]]. |
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* ''Birth of a Legend'', a 2011 film in two parts based on [[Frederick Nolan]]'s book ''The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History'' directed by Andrew Wilkinson |
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===Music=== |
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<!--"Selected" means that the inclusion of items in this section are limited to the highest profile, most historically reflective, or most well known. The section is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of everything about Billy the Kid that has ever been done. Please do not add to this section 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. The music section is limited to music contained in films about him, or complete works focusing on him or the genre of Western and/of gunfighting. Billy Joel doesn't meet that definition. Thanks. NO MORE ADDITIONS.--> |
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* "Billy the Kid", a folksong in the public domain, was published in [[John A. Lomax]] and [[Alan Lomax]]'s ''American Ballads and Folksongs'' album,<ref>MacMillan, (1934), p. 137</ref> and also their ''Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads'' album.<ref>MacMillan, (1938), pp. 140–141. From Jim Marby, recorded in 1911, Library of Congress E659098.</ref> Members of the [[Western Writers of America]] chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.<ref name="Top100">{{Cite web|title=The Top 100 Western Songs|author=Western Writers of America|year=2010|authorlink=Western Writers of America|publisher=American Cowboy|url=http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6RjFQXqGy|archivedate=August 10, 2014|deadurl=yes}}</ref> |
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* "Billy the Kid" folksong sung by [[Woody Guthrie]], recorded by Alan Lomax in 1940 for the Library of Congress (#3412 B<sub>2</sub>), with a melody Guthrie later used for his song "So Long, it's Been Good to Know You". He also recorded it in 1944 for Moe Asch's Asch/Folkways label (MA67).<ref>[http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40112.pdf Liner notes, p. 63, number 3, "Billy the Kid"] media.smithsonianfolkways.org. Retrieved January 7, 2010</ref> |
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* [[Aaron Copland]]'s "[[Billy the Kid (ballet)|Billy the Kid]]", a ballet that premiered in 1938. |
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* On his album ''[[Piano Man (album)|Piano Man]]'' (1973), [[Billy Joel]] performs a song titled "[[The Ballad of Billy the Kid]]", which was intended to be a western-themed ballad rather than an account of the life of Bonney or any other outlaw; the title refers in part to a bartender Joel was friendly with.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Gamboa, Glenn|title=Billy Joel talks about his top Long Island songs|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/billy-joel-talks-about-his-top-long-island-songs-1.3880655|website=Newsday|date=August 6, 2012}}</ref> |
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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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* Takeoff's verse from the [[Migos]] remix to [[Travi$ Scott]]'s "Quintana mentions Billy the Kid" |
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* [[Jon Bon Jovi]]'s album, ''[[Blaze of Glory (Jon Bon Jovi album)|Blaze of Glory]]'', was used as part of the soundtrack for ''Young Guns II'', and featured the song "Billy Get Your Guns". |
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* [[Marty Robbins]]' song "Billy the Kid" from the album ''Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs Volume 3''. |
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* [[Ry Cooder]] recorded the folk song "Billy the Kid", on the album ''Into The Purple Valley'',<ref>1972 Reprise K44142</ref> with his own melody and instrumental. It was also on ''Ry Cooder Classics Volume II''.<ref>Japan 1992 P-Vine PCD 2541</ref> |
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* [[Tom Petty]] wrote the song "Billy the Kid", released on his 1999 album [[Echo (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album)|Echo]]. |
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* [[Meg & Dia|Dia Frampton's]] "Billy the Kid," on the 2011 album [[Red (Dia Frampton album)|Red]] |
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* [[Charlie Daniels]] recorded the song "Billy the Kid" on his 1976 album [[High Lonesome (Charlie Daniels album)|High Lonesome]]. [[Chris LeDoux]] also covered the song on his album [[Haywire (Chris LeDoux album)|Haywire]]. |
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* [[Joe Ely]] recorded the song "Me and Billy the Kid" on his 1987 album ''Lord of the Highway''. |
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* [[Running Wild (band)|Running Wild]] recorded the song "Billy the Kid" on their 1991 album ''Blazon Stone''. |
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===Stage=== |
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* [[Joseph Santley]]'s 1906 Broadway play, co-written by Santley, in which he also starred |
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* [[Michael McClure]]'s 1965 play [[Michael McClure#The Beard|The Beard]] recounts a fictional meeting between Billy the Kid and [[Jean Harlow]]. |
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* [[Michael Ondaatje]]'s 1973 play, ''The Collected Works of Billy the Kid''.<!--NO MORE ADDITIONS.--> |
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* [http://www.livestock.org.uk/#!billy-the-kid---his-life-in-music/c1zbe Billy the Kid - His Life in Music], 2013, presented by Livestock |
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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. NO MORE ADDITIONS. Thanks. --> |
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* The ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' radio show had an episode titled "Billy the Kid", broadcast on April 2, 1952. It purports to tell of Billy the Kid's first murder as a runaway boy and credits [[Marshal Matt Dillon|Matt Dillon]] with giving him the "Billy the Kid" moniker.<ref>Gunsmoke radio show "Billy the Kid", first broadcast May 26, 1952</ref> |
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* The [[CBS]] radio series [[Crime Classics]] told the story of Billy the Kid in its October 21, 1953 episode entitled "Billy Bonney - Bloodletter." The episode featured [[Sam Edwards]] as Billy the Kid and [[William Conrad]] as [[Pat Garrett]]. |
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* [[Richard Jaeckel]] played The Kid in a 1954 episode of the [[Television syndication|syndicated]] television series ''[[Stories of the Century]]''. |
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*[[Robert Blake (actor)|Robert Blake]] starred as The Kid in the 1966 episode "The Kid from Hell's Kitchen" of the syndicated western series, ''[[Death Valley Days]]''. He sets out to avenge the death of his friend [[John Tunstall]] played by [[John Anderson (actor)|John Anderson]]. |
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* [[Robert Walker, Jr.]] starred as Billy The Kid in a 1967 episode of the Irwin Allen science fiction series ''[[Time Tunnel]]'' |
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* The [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] series ''[[The Tall Man (TV series)|The Tall Man]]'' ran from 1960 to 1962, starring [[Clu Gulager]] as Billy and [[Barry Sullivan (actor)|Barry Sullivan]] as Pat Garrett. |
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* [[American Experience]], ''Billy the Kid'', aired on [[PBS]] January 9, 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=http://video.pbs.org/video/2185484678/|title=Video: Billy the Kid - Watch American Experience Online - PBS Video|work=PBS Video|accessdate=March 17, 2015}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Folklore of the United States]] |
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{{Portal|Biography}} |
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*[[ |
* [[List of Old West gunfighters]] |
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*[[List of |
* [[List of Old West lawmen]] |
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*[[List of Western lawmen]] |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Line 251: | Line 171: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist |
{{reflist}} |
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===Sources=== |
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{{refbegin|30em}} |
{{refbegin|30em}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Adams|first=Ramon F.|title=A Fitting Death for Billy the Kid| |
* {{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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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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=Dykes|first=Jefferson|title=Billy the Kid: The Bibliography of a Legend|year=1952|publisher=The University of New Mexico Press|location=Alburquerque, New Mexico|ref=harv}} |
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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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 |
* {{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 |
* {{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=Fulton|first=Maurice Garland|editor=Robert N. Nullin|authorlink=Maurice Garland Fulton|title=History of the Lincoln County War|year=1968|publisher=University of Arizona Press|location=Tucson, Arizona|oclc=437868|ref=harv}} |
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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=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|year=2010|publisher=William Morrow|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06-136827-1|oclc=419859633|ref=harv}} |
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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=Garrett|first=Pat F.|authorlink=Pat Garrett|title=[[The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid]]|edition=reprint|year=1980|publisher=Time-Life Books|location=Alexandria, Virginia|isbn=0-8094-3581-0|oclc=6555318|ref=harv}} |
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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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= |
* {{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= |
* {{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| |
* {{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= |
* {{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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* Nolan, Frederick. ''The Life and Death of John Henry Tunstall''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1965. |
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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=Nolan|first=Frederick W.|title=The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=VRpiOdgkFDEC|year=1992|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|location=Norman, Oklahoma|isbn=080612377X|oclc=24010838}} |
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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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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* Nolan, Frederick. ''The West of Billy the Kid''. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8061-3082-2. |
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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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* Nolan, Frederick. "The Private Life of Billy the Kid". ''True West'', July 2000. |
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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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* Nolan, Frederick. ''The Billy the Kid Reader''. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. |
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* {{cite |
* {{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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* Otero, Miguel Antonio. ''The Real Billy the Kid, With New Light on the Lincoln County War''. New York: Rufus Rockwell Wilson, Inc., 1936. |
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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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* Poe, John William. ''The Death of Billy the Kid''. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1933. |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. ''Trailing Billy the Kid''. Stillwater, OK: Western Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-935269-19-3. |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. ''Gunsmoke in Lincoln County''. Stillwater, OK: Western Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-935269-24-X |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. ''Warriors of Lincoln County''. Stillwater, OK: Western Publications, 1998. ISBN 978-0-935269-26-0 |
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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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* Rickards, Colin W. ''The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill'', Southwestern Studies Monograph No. 40. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1974. |
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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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* Tuska, Jon. ''Billy the Kid: A Handbook''. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983 ISBN 0-8032-9406-9. |
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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=Utley|first=Robert M.|authorlink=Robert M. Utley|title=High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YoLTMkXGsGYC|year=1989|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|location=Albuquerque, New Mexico|isbn=9780826312013|oclc=15629305}} |
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*{{cite book|last= |
* {{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=Wallis|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Wallis|title=Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride|year=2007|publisher=W. W. Norton & Co.|location=New York|isbn=978-0-393-06068-3|oclc=77270750|ref=harv}} |
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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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{{refend}} |
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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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;Periodicals |
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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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{{refbegin}} |
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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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* DeMattos, Jack. "The Search for Billy the Kid's Roots," ''Real West'' (No. 160), November 1978. |
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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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* DeMattos, Jack. "The Search for Billy the Kid's Roots - Is Over! ''Real West'' (No. 167), January 1980. |
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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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* DeMattos, Jack. "Gunfighters of the Real West: Henry McCarty, Alias "Billy the Kid.'" ''Real West'' (No. 192). August 1983. |
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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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* Hough, Emerson. "Billy the Kid: The True Story of a Western 'Bad Man{{'"}}. ''Everybody's Magazine'', September 1901. |
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* {{cite |
* {{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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* McCubbin, Robert G. "The Many Faces of Billy the Kid". ''True West'', May 2007. |
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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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* Metz, Leon C. "My Search for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid". ''True West'', August 1983. |
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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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* Nolan, Frederick. "The Private Life of Billy the Kid". ''True West'', July 2000. |
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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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* Nolan, Frederick. "The Hunting of Billy the Kid." ''Wild West'', June 2003. |
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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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* Radbourne, Allan and Rasch, Philip J. "The Story of 'Windy' Cahill." ''Real West'' (No. 204), August 1885. |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. "New Light on the Legend of Billy the Kid." ''New Mexico Folklore Record 7'' (1952–53). |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. and Mullin, Robert N. "Dim Trails: The Pursuit of the McCarty Family." ''New Mexico Folklore Record 8'' (1953–54). |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. "The Twenty-One Men He Put Bullets Through." ''New Mexico Folklore Record 9'' (1954–55). |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. "A Second Look at the Blazer's Mill Affair." ''Frontier Times'', January 1969. |
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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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* Rasch, Philip J. "The Trials of Billy the Kid." ''Real West'' (No. 216), November 1987. |
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* Rickards, Colin W. ''The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill'', Southwestern Studies Monograph No. 40. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1974. |
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{{refend}} |
{{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://www.newmexico.org/billythekid/ Billy the Kid Territory] – guide by New Mexico Tourism Department |
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*Turk, David S. [http://www.historynet.com/billy-the-kid-and-the-us-marshals-service.htm "Billy the Kid and the U.S. Marshals Service."] ''Wild West Magazine''. February 2007 (issued December 2006) |
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*{{Find a Grave|94|William "Billy The Kid" Bonney|date=January 1, 2001|accessdate=December 13, 2015}} |
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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 |
|
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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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Wallis 2007, p. xiv.
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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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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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- Fulton, Maurice Garland (1968). Robert N. Nullin (ed.). History of the Lincoln County War. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. OCLC 437868.
- Gardner, Mark Lee (2010). To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-136827-1. OCLC 419859633.
- Garrett, Pat F. (1882). The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid (1st ed.). Santa Fe: New Mexican Printing and Publishing Co. OCLC 748293298.
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- Rasch, Philip J. (1954). "Dim Trails: The Pursuit of the McCarty Family". New Mexico Folklore Record 8.
- Rasch, Philip J. (1955). "The Twenty-One Men He Put Bullets Through". New Mexico Folklore Record 9.
- Rasch, Philip J. (January 1969). "A Second Look at the Blazer's Mill Affair". Frontier Times.
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- Rasch, Philip J. (1995). Trailing Billy the Kid. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Western Publications. ISBN 978-0-935269-19-2.
- Rasch, Philip J. (1997). Gunsmoke in Lincoln County. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Western Publications. ISBN 978-0-935269-24-6.
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- Rickards, Colin W. (1974). "The Gunfight at Blazer's Mill". Southwestern Studies Monograph No. 40. El Paso, Texas: Western Press.
- Simmons, Mark (2006). Stalking Billy the Kid: Brief Sketches of a Short Life. Sunstone Press. ISBN 0-86534-525-2.
- Turk, David S. (February 2007). "Billy the Kid and the U.S. Marshals Service". Wild West Magazine. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- Tuska, Jon (1983). Billy the Kid: A Handbook. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-9406-9.
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- Wallis, Michael (2007). Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0-393-06068-3. OCLC 77270750. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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