The Kid quietly took the name of Bill Roberts and began living a fairly law-abiding life throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico. Historians have never conclusively proved that Roberts was actually Billy the Kid, but, hey, they've never proved he wasn't, either. The culmination of the Billy the Kid fever is the Billy the Kid Museum, a small exhibit and gift shop in a former hotel in the heart of downtown. But it doesn't explain why, if he was really the Kid, Roberts didn't try to capitalize on his identity. You'd have to ask him.
Shopping is the other spectator sport here.
Rummage through the furniture, pottery and knickknacks at one of the half-dozen antiques stores. Admire the Texas limestone buildings, which thankfully weren't tricked up during some renovation boom of the '70s or '80s. And be sure to save room for fudge or a truffle from Wiseman House Chocolates. Kevin Wenzel, who returned to the area he grew up in after living as far afield as Latvia, makes up to 100 pounds of chocolate weekly, from pecan fudge to almond toffee to Jack Daniels truffles. The shop, located in a lovely restored 19th-century home that once belonged to a local photographer and his wife, epitomizes what Hico has become.