The Death Of Billy The Kid, 1881 The Death Of Billy The Kid, 1881 Printer Friendly Version >>> Billy the Kid Billy The Kid was born in the slums of New York City in 1859. After the death of his father, he traveled west with his mother ending up in Silver City, New Mexico Territory in 1873. Little of substance is known about Billy's life during this period, and myth has replaced fact to shroud the early years of Billy the Kid in folklore. What is known for sure is that he arrived in Lincoln County, New Mexico in 1877 using the name William Bonney. His life would last only four more years, but in that short period he became embroiled in the events that made him a legend. Lincoln County was in a state of near-anarchy in 1877. The native Apache had recently been subdued and the local cattlemen divided themselves into two camps in a fight for local power. Unfortunately for Billy the Kid, he allied himself with the losing side in this "Lincoln County War." Billy worked as a ranch hand for John Tunstall a leader of one faction seeking control of the county.

Tunstall befriended the Kid acting in many ways as a surrogate father. Tunstall's ambush and murder in 1878 by a sheriff's posse set the Kid off on a path of revenge. His first victims were the sheriff and his deputy, killed from ambush on the streets of Lincoln. On the run for two years, the Kid was eventually captured, tried, convicted and returned to Lincoln to hang for the murders. However, Lincoln's makeshift jail was no match for Billy the Kid. On the evening of April 28, 1881 as he was climbing the steps returning him to his cell, the Kid made a mad dash, grabbed a six-shooter and shot his guard. Hearing the shots, a second guard ran from across the street only to be gunned down by the Kid standing on the balcony above him. Mounting a horse, William Bonney galloped out of town and into history. ADVERTISMENT Death of a Legend Pat Garrett was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in 1880 on a reform ticket with the expectation that he would reinstate justice in the area.

One of his first acts was to capture Billy the Kid, sending him to trial for the murder of the Lincoln sheriff and his deputy. Garrett was away from Lincoln on county business when the Kid made his escape. Rather than chase after the fugitive, Garrett kept to his ranch mending fences and attending to his cattle. In July, the Sheriff received word that the Kid was hiding out at the abandoned Fort Sumner about 140 miles west of Lincoln. Rounding up two of his deputies, John Poe and Thomas McKinney, Garrett set off in pursuit of the Kid. On the night of July 14, the Sheriff and his two deputies approached the dusty old Fort now converted to living quarters. The residents were sympathetic to the Kid and the lawmen could extract little information. Garrett decided to seek out an old friend, Peter Maxwell, who might tell him the Kid's whereabouts. As chance would have it, the Kid stumbled right into the Sheriff's hands. Garrett published his account of the incident a year after it happened: "I then concluded to go and have a talk with Peter Maxwell, Esq., in whom I felt sure I could rely.

We had ridden to within a short distance of Maxwell's grounds when we found a man in camp and stopped. To Poe's great surprise, he recognized in the camper an old friend and former Pat Garett partner, in Texas, named Jacobs. We unsaddled here, got some coffee, and, on foot, entered an orchard which runs from this point down to a row of old buildings, some of them occupied by Mexicans, not more than sixty yards from Maxwell's house. We approached these houses cautiously, and when within earshot, heard the sound of voices conversing in Spanish. We concealed ourselves quickly and listened; but the distance was too great to hear words, or even distinguish voices. Soon a man arose from the ground, in full view, but too far away to recognize. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, a dark vest and pants, and was in his shirtsleeves. With a few words, which fell like a murmur on our ears, he went to the fence, jumped it, and walked down towards Maxwell's house. Little as we then suspected it, this man was the Kid.

We learned, subsequently, that, when he left his companions that night, he went to the house of a Mexican friend, pulled off his hat and boots, threw himself on a bed, and commenced reading a newspaper. He soon, however, hailed his friend, who was sleeping in the room, told him to get up and make some coffee, adding: 'Give me a butcher knife and I will go over to Pete's and get some beef; I'm hungry.' The Mexican arose, handed him the knife, and the Kid, hatless and in his stocking-feet, started to Maxwell's, which was but a few steps distant. When the Kid, by me unrecognized, left the orchard, I motioned to my companions, and we cautiously retreated a short distance, and, to avoid the persons whom we had heard at the houses, took another route, approaching Maxwell's house from the opposite direction. When we reached the porch in front of the building, I left Poe and McKinney at the end of the porch, about twenty feet from the door of Pete's room, and went in. It was near midnight and Pete was in bed. I walked to the head of the bed and sat down on it, beside him, near the pillow.

I asked him as to the whereabouts of the Kid. He said that the Kid had certainly been about, but he did not know whether he had left or not. At that moment a man sprang quickly into the door, looking back, and called twice in Spanish, 'Who comes there?' No one replied and he came on in. He was bareheaded. From his step I could perceive he was either barefooted or in his stocking-feet, and held a revolver in his right hand and a butcher knife in his left. The death of Billy the Kid From a contemporary illustration He came directly towards me. Before he reached the bed, I whispered: 'Who is it, Pete?' but received no reply for a moment. It struck me that it might be Pete's brother-in-law, Manuel Abreu, who had seen Poe and McKinney, and wanted to know their business. The intruder came close to me, leaned both hands on the bed, his right hand almost touching my knee, and asked, in a low tone: -'Who are they Pete?' -at the same instant Maxwell whispered to me.

'That's him!' Simultaneously the Kid must have seen, or felt, the presence of a third person at the head of the bed. He raised quickly his pistol, a self-cocker, within a foot of my breast. Retreating rapidly across the room he cried: 'Quien es? Quien es?' 'Who's that? Who's that?') All this occurred in a moment. Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again. The second shot was useless; the Kid fell dead. He never spoke. A struggle or two, a little strangling sound as he gasped for breath, and the Kid was with his many victims." References: Garrett, Pat, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882, republished 1954); Utley, Robert, Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life (1989). How To Cite This Article: "The Death Of Billy The Kid, 1881," EyeWitness to History, (2001). Pat Garrett was shot in the back in 1908 while traveling in a buckboard from his ranch to a nearby town.

His murder was never solved. Billy the Kid meets Jesse James - latimes Billy the Kid meets Jesse James A UCLA film series is devoted to the many movies they inspired. January 06, 2010 |By Susan King Jesse James and Billy the Kid were the rock stars of the wild, wild West. James, who was born in 1847 and died in 1882, was an outlaw, gang leader, bank and train robber from Missouri who was the most infamous member of the James-Younger Gang. Mythologized even while he was alive, his celebrity grew after his death in dime novels where he was portrayed as a sagebrush Robin Hood. Billy the Kid, a.k.a. William H. Bonney, who was born in 1859 and died at 21 in 1881, was a outlaw and gunman who claimed that he killed more than 20 men (in reality, historians believe he probably shot only four -- but he was just starting out).

Unlike James, he was still a relatively unknown outlaw until the year after his death saw the publication of the highly exaggerated "The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid," which was written by his killer, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and M.A. "Ash" Upson. Just as these men captured the attention of novelists, Hollywood transformed James and Billy the Kid from murderous outlaws into heroic romantic heroes who were fighting the government and authority. Starting Friday, the UCLA Film & Television Archive is exploring the cinematic history of these two outlaws in its "Two Western Myths: Billy the Kid & Jesse James" film series at the Billy Wilder Theater. Jan-Christopher Horak, the head of the archive who programmed the monthlong series, notes that "there are lots of Billy the Kid movies and Jesse James movies because going back to the 19th century they have been the two primary mythological figures in terms of outlaws. They were young and in both cases were never brought to justice in a court of law." Both were killed by a representative of the law. "With Billy the Kid, it's Pat Garrett, and in the case of Jesse James it's Robert Ford, who is going to get a reward.

In both cases, the killings are instigated by the government. That only added to the fires of the anti-government ideology." Horak was also inspired to create the series -- the first western series at UCLA in a long time -- after catching up this past summer with the 2007 film "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," starring Brad Pitt as James and Casey Affleck in his Oscar-nominated role as Ford, who was a member of James' gang. The film concludes the series on Jan. 31. "I thought that film was pretty interesting in terms of its discourse turning Jesse James into a superstar and media hero," he says. "Ford is chasing him because he is a media hero. He is like the first stalker. So I thought, let's go back . . . and see the way people read those myths in various points in film history." The series opens with King Vidor's 1930 "Billy the Kid," starring Johnny Mack Brown as Billy and Wallace Beery as Pat. Vidor spent two years on the film, which presents a portrait of the mythologized Billy of the dime novel era.

Sam Fuller's first film, 1949's "I Shot Jesse James," rounds out the bill. "It picks up on the homoerotic aspect of 'The Assassination of Jesse James,' " says Horak. "Fuller was much more interested in the Bob Ford character than the Jesse James character." Both outlaws were also popular "B" western subjects in such films as 1942's "Billy the Kid Trapped," starring Buster Crabbe of "Flash Gordon" fame, and "1941's "Jesse James at Bay," with Roy Rogers, both of which screen Jan. 16. "They virtually have nothing to do with the myth except for surface plot elements," says Horak. "They are turned into both totally positive characters without any notice that they killed anyone. Buster Crabbe made 13 Billy the Kid films." But with political unrest and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, myths of the Old West were examined with gritty revisionist eyes, notably Sam Peckinpah's 1973 "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" and Philip Kaufman's 1972 "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid," which both screen Jan. 29.

With "Pat Garrett," screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer turned Billy the Kid into a rock 'n' roller, says Peckinpah scholar Nick Redman. The cast reflected that decision, with Kris Kristofferson as Billy and Bob Dylan and Rita Coolidge in supporting roles. "Peckinpah perhaps unwittingly or wittingly went along with it," says Redman. "Although I don't think he was part of the rock 'n' roll generation. He didn't know who Bob Dylan was at that time." Kristofferson was 36 when he made the film -- 15 years older than Billy at his death. "I think that the idea was Billy as world-weary character," says Redman. "Pat Garrett" is considered the director's flawed masterpiece. "A lot of people think it's as good or better than 'The Wild Bunch,' " says Redman. But it's a broken film. "One of the reasons why was Peckinpah's behavior was so bad," says Redman. "He was drinking more than he had ever done before and many days refused to come out of his trailer. He didn't treat Wurlitzer's script very well.

In fact, [Wurlitzer] wrote an essay about the appalling treatment he received. "But there are some great moments of existential weariness. Wurlitzer and Peckinpah wanted a Billy who lived fast and died young, but not quite as young as he actually was in life. They wanted that kind of older person who felt could see the end coming and does everything to allow the end to come." Billy the Kid Billy the Kid ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (Billy the Kid) was born in New York City on 17th September, 1859. After the death of his father, Patrick McCarty in 1863, the family moved to Wichita . His mother remarried William Antrim but she died in 1874. Around this time he acquired the nickname, Billy the Kid. In 1875 Billy was arrested and charged with being involved in robbing a Chinese laundry. He managed to escape through a fireplace chimney and fled to Arizona where he became involved in horse stealing. In August 1877 he killed Frank Cahill, an army blacksmith at Fort Grant. He was arrested but once again escaped and eventually found work with John Tunstall .

After Tunstall was murdered on 18th February, 1878. This incident started the Lincoln County War . Billy the Kid was deeply affected by this murder and claimed that Tunstall "was the only man that ever treated me like I was a free-born and white." Apparently at Tunstall's funeral Billy the Kid swore: "I'll get every son-of-a-bitch who helped kill John if it's the last thing I do." Billy the Kid joined the Regulators, a group led by Dick Brewer that supported Alexander McSween , Tunstall's former partner. It was claimed that Tunstall had been murdered on the orders of Major L. G. Murphy. Over the next few months this group killed Sheriff William Brady , George Hindman, Frank Baker, William Morton, Buckshot Roberts and others who they claimed they had been involved in the killing of Tunstall. On 19th July, 1878, Alexander McSween and his supporters, including Billy the Kid, were besieged by Sheriff George Peppin and a group of his men. McSween's house was set on fire and several people were shot dead as they came out of the house.

This included McSween but Billy the Kid managed to escape. When Lewis Wallace took office as Governor of New Mexico on 1st October 1878, he proclaimed an amnesty for all those involved in the bitter feud. However, after Billy the Kid surrendered to the authorities, he was told he would be charged with the killing of William Brady . Billy the Kid escaped from custody and went to see John Chisum , a prominent figure in the Lincoln County War . Billy believed he was owed $500 but Chisum refused to pay. Billy the Kid responded by promising to steal enough cattle to make up this sum. This he did with a gang that included Dave Rudabaugh, Billy Wilson, Tom O'Folliard and Charles Bowdre. Billy's gang also stole from other cattlemen and became a serious problem in Lincoln County. In 1880 Pat Garrett was elected sheriff of Lincoln County. He immediately attempted to deal with the problems being caused by Billy the Kid. In December 1880, Garrett shot dead two of the Kid's gang, Tom O'Folliard and Charles Bowdre. Soon afterwards Billy the Kid, Dave Rudabaugh and Billy Wilson were captured by Garratt.

Billy the Kid was found guilty of murdering William Brady and was held in Lincoln jail while waiting to be executed on 13th May, 1881. However, Billy killed two guards (J.W. Bell and Bob Olinger) and escaped while Pat Garrett was away collecting taxes. News eventually reached Garratt that Billy the Kid was hiding out at the abandoned Fort Sumner. With his deputies, John Poe and Thomas McKinney, Garratt headed for Fort Sumner, a place 140 miles west of Lincoln. On 14th July, 1881, Garratt killed Billy the Kid during a shoot-out in a darkened room at the home of Pete Maxwell. It was later claimed that Billy the Kid had killed 21 men in his 21 years of life. However, most experts believe he was only responsible for nine deaths. Primary Sources (1) Pat Garrett , The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882) All who ever knew Billy will testify that his polite, cordial, and gentlemanly bearing invited confidence and promised protection - the first of which he never betrayed, and the latter he was never known to withhold.

Those who knew him best will tell you that in his most savage and dangerous moods his face always wore a smile. He eat and laughed, drank and laughed, rode and laughed, talked and laughed, fought and laughed, and killed and laughed. No loud and boisterous guffaw, but a pleasant smile or a soft and musical "ripple of the voice." Those who knew him watched his eyes for an exhibition of anger. Had his biographers stated that the expression of his eyes - to one who could read them - in angry mood was cruel and murderous, they would have shown a more perfect knowledge of the man. One could scarcely believe that those blazing, baleful orbs and that laughing face could be controlled by the same spirit. Billy was, at this time, about five feet seven and one half inches high, straight as a dart, weighed about one hundred and thirty-five pounds, and was as light, active, and graceful as a panther. His form was well-knit, compact, and wonderfully muscular.

It was his delight, when he had a mis-understanding with one larger and more powerful than himself, but who feared him on account of his skill with weapons, to unbuckle his belt, drop his arms, and say: "Come on old fellow: I've got no advantage now. Let's fight it out, knuckles and skull." He usually won his fights; if he got the worst of it, he bore no malice. There were no bounds to his generosity. Friends, strangers, and even his enemies, were welcome to his money, his horse, his clothes, or anything else of which he happened, at the time, to be possessed. The aged, the poor, the sick, the unfortunate and helpless never appealed to Billy in vain for succor. (2) Francisco Gomez, knew Billy the Kid when he was a child. He was interviewed about this as part of the WPA Project in 1938. When I was about eighteen years old I went to work for the McSween's. I stayed with them for about two years. I remember that one winter Billy the Kid stayed with the McSween's for about seven months. I guess he boarded with them.

He was an awfully nice young fellow with light brown hair, blue eyes, and rather big front teeth. He always dressed very neatly. He used to practice target shooting a lot. He would throw up a can and would twirl his six gun on his finger and he could hit the can six times before it hit the ground. He rode a big roan horse about ten or twelve hands high, all that winter and when this horse was out in the pasture Billy would go to the gate and whistle and the horse would come up to the gate to him. That horse would follow Billy and mind him like a dog. He was a very fast horse and could out run most of the other horses around there. I never went out with Billy but once. Captain Baca was sheriff then and once some tough outlaws came to Lincoln and rode up and down the streets and shot out window lights in the houses and terrorized people. Captain Baca told Billy the Kid to take some men and go after these men. Billy took me and Florencio and Jose Chaves and Santano Mayes with him. The outlaws went to the upper Ruidoso and we followed them. We caught up with them and shot it out with them.

One of the outlaws was killed and the other ran away. None of us were hurt. When the Lincoln County war broke out my father did not want to get into it so he made me quit working for the McSween's and come home and stay there. (3) Las Vagas Gazette (30th November, 1880) He did look human, indeed, but there was nothing very mannish about him in appearance, for he looked and acted a mere boy. He is about five feet eight or nine inches tall, slightly built and lithe, weighing about 140; a frank open countenance, looking like a school boy, with the traditional silky fuzz on his upper lip; clear blue eyes, with a rougish snap about them; light hair and complexion. He is, in all, quite a handsome looking fellow, the only imperfection being two prominent front teeth slightly protruding like squirrel's teeth, and he has agreeable and winning ways. (4) Amelia Church lived in Lincoln, New Mexico, when Billy the Kid murdered William Brady . She was interviewed about this as part of the WPA Project (September, 1938). I knew Major Brady very well.

He was sheriff of Lincoln County when he was killed. I saw him as he and another man, deputy sheriff George Hindman, lay dead in the street, shot down, as they were passing, by Billy the Kid and his gang, who lay hidden behind an adobe wall. Major Brady was killed instantly. George Hindman fell when he was shot, and Ike Stockton who was standing near, on seeing he was still alive, ran to him and gave him water that he brought from a ditch in his hat. However nothing could revive him for he was mortally wounded and died in a few minutes. The third man, Billy Mathews, who was with Major Brady when the shooting began, made his escape by running into an adobe house near by. Up stairs in the old Court House at Lincoln is the room where Billy the Kid was confined waiting his trial for the killing of Major Brady. There have been many untrue stories told of the Kid's sensational escape after killing his two guards Bell and Ollinger. I remember all the facts in connection with that escape. Billy the Kid was playing cards with Bell while Ollinger, his other guard, was at dinner across the street. He saw his chance and grabbed Bell's gun.

Bell darted down the inside stairway, but Billy the Kid was too quick for him, fired and Bell fell dead at the bottom of the stairs. Billy the Kid then walked calmly to a window and shot Ollinger down as he came running when he heard the shooting. The "Kid" then threw the gun on Ollinger who lay dying and told Goss, the jail cook, to saddle a horse that was feeding in a field nearby. The cook helped get the shackles off the Kid's hands but, because they were welded on he couldn't get them off his legs. That is why he was thrown from the horse because of having to ride side-wise on account of the shackles. He rode a mile and a half west before they were removed by a Mexican man, who afterwards gave the shackles to George Titsworth, who lived at Capitan, and possessed an interesting collection at that place. (5) Ella Davidson lived in Lincoln, New Mexico, durng the Lincoln County War . She was interviewed about this as part of the WPA Project in 1938.

On the Sunday evening before the terrible days that ended the Lincoln County War Mother said: 'Ella this is the week that will end all this bloodshed and fighting and, I thank God your father is away and won't be mixed up in the shooting, but I an afraid to stay here with you children unprotected.' So that night after supper she took us to stay with the Ellis family, in their house which was built with all the rooms in one long row. About ten o'clock we heard someone with spurs on, come clattering down the whole length of the house. The door where we sat opened and there was Billy the Kid! He was followed by fourteen men who took possession of the house. We went back to our home but Mother was afraid to stay there after she thought our water supply would perhaps be cut off, so we went to Juan Patron's house and about midnight that house was taken over by some of the fighters. We then went to Montonna's store where we went to bed and when we got up the next morning about twenty men had taken possession there, but we stayed there from Sunday evening, until the next Friday morning.

Mother got up and after we saw men fired on and one killed, she said, 'I am going to take you children out of this danger! So she took us two miles out of town to where there were some tall poplar trees - they are still there - and about noon we saw heavy smoke. It was the McSween store that had been set afire by the Murphy men to burn out the McSween men (one of them was the Kid) who were surrounded, so they couldn't escape. When the fire was under way Mr. McSween calmly walked to the door as if surrendering and was shot down. Then, two others that followed were riddled with bullets. George Coe, Henry Brown, and Charlie Bowdre were among the crowd that escaped. Billy the Kid was the last one left in the building. During the excitement of the roof crashing in, he rushed out with two pistols blazing. Bob Beckwith, whose shot had killed McSween, was killed by one flying bullet and two others were wounded. The Kid, with bullets whizzing all around him, made his escape. After this battle that took place in July, 1878 everything quieted down, and my mother took us home.

Mrs. McSween, whose home was burned, stayed with us all night, and the next morning she asked me to go with her to see the ruins of her house. We found only the springs and other wires of her piano that was the pride of her life. She raked in the ashes where her bureau had stood and found her locket. That was the most destructive battle of the Lincoln County War. We were terribly upset with all the fighting and killings. My sister Amelia had more than she could stand so my mother sent her to a ranch until things could settle down. (6) Pat Garrett , The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882) We had ridden to within a short distance of Maxwell's grounds when we found a man in camp and stopped. To Poe's great surprise, he recognized in the camper an old friend and former partner, in Texas, named Jacobs. We unsaddled here, got some coffee, and, on foot, entered an orchard which runs from this point down to a row of old buildings, some of them occupied by Mexicans, not more than sixty yards from Maxwell's house. We approached these houses cautiously, and when within earshot, heard the sound of voices conversing in Spanish.

We concealed ourselves quickly and listened; but the distance was too great to hear words, or even distinguish voices. Soon a man arose from the ground, in full view, but too far away to recognize. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, a dark vest and pants, and was in his shirtsleeves. With a few words, which fell like a murmur on our ears, he went to the fence, jumped it, and walked down towards Maxwell's house. Little as we then suspected it, this man was the Kid. We learned, subsequently, that, when he left his companions that night, he went to the house of a Mexican friend, pulled off his hat and boots, threw himself on a bed, and commenced reading a newspaper. He soon, however, hailed his friend, who was sleeping in the room, told him to get up and make some coffee, adding: 'Give me a butcher knife and I will go over to Pete's and get some beef; I'm hungry.' The Mexican arose, handed him the knife, and the Kid, hatless and in his stocking-feet, started to Maxwell's, which was but a few steps distant.

When the Kid, by me unrecognized, left the orchard, I motioned to my companions, and we cautiously retreated a short distance, and, to avoid the persons whom we had heard at the houses, took another route, approaching Maxwell's house from the opposite direction. When we reached the porch in front of the building, I left POE and McKinney at the end of the porch, about twenty feet from the door of Pete's room, and went in. It was near midnight and Pete was in bed. I walked to the head of the bed and sat down on it, beside him, near the pillow. I asked him as to the whereabouts of the Kid. He said that the Kid had certainly been about, but he did not know whether he had left or not. At that moment a man sprang quickly into the door, looking back, and called twice in Spanish, 'Who comes there?' No one replied and he came on in. He was bareheaded. From his step I could perceive he was either barefooted or in his stocking-feet, and held a revolver in his right hand and a butcher knife in his left. He came directly towards me.

Before he reached the bed, I whispered: 'Who is it, Pete?' but received no reply for a moment. It struck me that it might be Pete's brother-in-law, Manuel Abreu, who had seen POE and McKinney, and wanted to know their business. The intruder came close to me, leaned both hands on the bed, his right hand almost touching my knee, and asked, in a low tone: - 'Who are they Pete?' -at the same instant Maxwell whispered to me. 'That's him!' Simultaneously the Kid must have seen, or felt, the presence of a third person at the head of the bed. He raised quickly his pistol, a self-cocker, within a foot of my breast. Retreating rapidly across the room he cried: 'Who's that? Who's that?' All this occurred in a moment. Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again. The second shot was useless; the Kid fell dead. He never spoke. A struggle or two, a little strangling sound as he gasped for breath, and the Kid was with his many victims.

(7) White Oaks Golden Era (21st July, 1881) To those not familiar with the deceased (Billy the Kid) criminal record cannot comprehend the gladness that pervades the wole of New Mexico and especially this country. He was the worst of criminals. (8) Sante Fe Weekly Democrat (21st July, 1881) Billy Bonny, alias Antrim, alias Billy the Kid, the twenty-one year old desperado, who is known to have killed sixteen men, and who boasted that he killed a man for every year of his life, will no longer take deliberate aim at his fellow man and kill him, just to keep in practice. (9) Grant County Herald (23rd July, 1881) The vulgar murderer and desperado known as 'Billy the Kid' has met his just deserts at last. . . . Despite the glamor of romance thrown about his dare-devil life by sensation writers, the fact is he was a low down vulgar cut-throat, with probably not one redeeming quality.

(10) Emerson Hough, The Story of the Cowboy (1897) The whole region was full of horse thieves and outlaws, the worst of these being under the leadership of the notorious cut-throat, Billy the Kid, a name famous even yet along the border. Billy the Kid died at the ripe age of twenty-three, and at that time had killed twenty-three men, committing his first murder when he was but fourteen years of age. He and his men inaugurated a reign of terror, which made his name a dread one from one end of the country to the other. Historian Petitions for Billy the Kid Death Certificate - ABC News ABC News Historian Petitions for Billy the Kid Death Certificate By EMILY SHAPIRO Feb 28, 2015, 5:53 PM ET 0 Shares Star The Print Collector/Getty Images Billy the Kid, American gunman and outlaw, (1877-1881) is seen in a print from the Pictorial History of the Wild West, 1954. 0 Shares Email Billy the Kid may finally get a death certificate.

Rumors have been circulating for years surrounding the death of the infamous outlaw from the 1800s, and historian Robert Stahl has filed a petition at a district court in Fort Sumner a to make the death date official. Stahl believes that Billy the Kid, the notorious bandit who had escaped from the Lincoln County Jail in New Mexico, was shot and killed the morning of July 15, 1881, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett. In the 29-page petition, Stahl, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University, requests that the state of New Mexico issue a death certificate acknowledging July 15, 1881 as the death date and Garrett as the shooter. Robert Stahl Historian Robert Stahl has filed a petition to get a death date issued for Billy the Kid. "By us issuing a death certificate, especially with overwhelming evidence that he did in fact die, it would mean all of these people who are impostors couldn't have been Billy the Kid, because he died at about 12:30 a.m. on July 15, 1881," Stahl told ABC News today.

"There is overwhelming evidence. Too many people saw the body with the bullet. "And the coroner's jury report not only identified the body as being that of Billy the Kid, but that he was shot by Pat Garrett," Stahl said. Others claim that the outlaw didn't die at the hand of the sheriff and instead lived to be an old man. Several people over the years have claimed to be Billy the Kid. But according to Stahl, the state only "didn't officially recognize the Kid died because they didn't create a death certificate." "Death certificates should be issued when somebody died," Stahl said. "And the fact is, in territorial New Mexico at the time, death certificates were rarely issued and especially in rural areas. And we do know that Billy was killed because there is an official coroner's report. But even with that report, it was not a common practice to go and create a death certificate." A New Mexico judge is expected to schedule a hearing soon to make a decision. 0 Shares The Truth About Brushy Bill Roberts The Truth About Brushy Bill Roberts There are many frequently asked questions regarding the death of Billy the Kid. Many wonder if Brushy Bill Roberts was really Billy the Kid.

There are many websites and books out there that are full of lies, misleading statements, and fake photo and handwriting tests performed by people with no qualifications to do so that try to prove Roberts� claim of being Billy the Kid. I am by no means an expert and don�t claim to be, but I do know enough about Billy the Kid to see through the lies and misconceptions that so many of the newcomers to the legend of Billy the Kid so easily fall for. I will list each one of the numerous misconceptions below and destroy it using nothing, but historical fact. From there it is up to you to make up your own mind. Lie: Garrett made sure that Poe and McKinney were guarding the body at all times, and the Rudolph jury said they only viewed the body on the next morning. They later said they NEVER viewed it. John Graham, who buried the casket, said the body wasn't that of Billy the Kid. Fact: This whole statement is a bold faced lie! Within minutes of the shooting the whole village of Fort Sumner was present at Pete Maxwell's Home . Billy�s body was NOT guarded all night and the lawmen did not keep people from viewing it.

Billy�s body was taken by the local residents of Fort Sumner and was dressed and then was laid out on a carpenter�s bench where it was on public display all night! The following three statements below from eyewitnesses who were present when Billy the Kid was killed confirms this. It should also be known that no guy by the name of John Graham buried Billy the Kid's casket. It is known for a fact that the men who buried Billy�s casket were Jesus Silva, Vicente Otero, Saval Gutierez, and Antonio Savedra. It was Vicente Otero who dug the grave. Deputy John W. Poe�."Within a very short time after the shooting, quite a number of the native people had gathered around, some of them bewailing the death of their friend, while several women pleaded for permission to take charge of the body, which we allowed them to do.

They carried it across the yard to a carpenter shop, where it was laid out on a workbench, the women placing lighted candles around it according to their ideas of properly conducting a 'wake' for the dead." Paco Anaya�."Don Pedro took the $25 and he and Don Manuel Abreu went to the latter's store and bought a beige suit, a shirt, an undershirt, shorts, and a pair of stockings. I, the writer, and my brother, Higinio Garcia, and several others of those that were there, dressed Billy with these clothes then we laid him on a high bed, one of those narrow ones, and we took him to the saloon where they held dances. There we watched, and on the next day we buried him." Jesus Silva...A few moments later I returned to the room, picked up the lifeless body of Billy and walking into a large hallway in the Maxwell home, laid his body on a long table. I there examined him again and ascertained without doubt he was dead. The body was then removed to an old carpenter shop where it was laid out. Of course an inquest had to be held.

There was no justice of the peace at the old Fort, so we dispatched a messenger for Alejandro Seguro, justice of the peace at a little town 10 miles up the river. Seguro came and the inquest was held. Lie: The body has been described as having a full beard, which would make it an impossibility for the body to be Billy's. In the four months that Billy was held after his capture, he could not shave and the only facial hair he could develop was thin, silky fuzz on the upper lip. It would be a PHYSICAL IMPOSSIBILITY for Billy to then develoop a full beard only a few months after he escaped. Fact: There is absolutely no proof that Billy�s body had a beard! The only mention of his body having a beard came from an article written by S.M. Ashenfelter for the Grant County Herald in Silver City, New Mexico titled �Exit the Kid�. S.M. Ashenfelter was over in Silver City writing for a newspaper and not in Fort Sumner when Billy was killed so his statement is not worth the paper that it was written on. Lie: George Coe never believed Billy the Kid was killed. Fact: The above statement is an absolute lie!

George Coe himself said he KNEW Billy was dead in his autobiography �Frontier Fighter� on p. 228. Here is Coe�s statement exactly as it was written. "Just recently the newspapers carried a story to the effect that Billy the Kid was living in obscurity on a ranch near Odessa, Texas. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If the Kid were alive anywhere in the world, I should know it. There never was but one of his kind. A few years ago I decided to have his body removed to my place, and Miguel Otero came to see me, as he wanted the body taken to Santa Fe and given burial there. He went from my place to Fort Sumner and interviewed the commissioners there. He wrote me that neither he nor I could remove Billy's remains, as the commissioners said only a blood relation could have that done. So in a most remote spot at old Fort Sumner is the grave of Billy the Kid. It remained unmarked and unkept until 1932, when a headstone was erected through the efforts of Mr. Charles W. Foor.� Lie: Brushy Bill knew way too much about Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War to have read about it.

He knew little details that were known to only a few people. Fact: Actually Brushy didn�t know much at all about the life of Billy the Kid. He not only made numerous mistakes in his interviews, but totally omitted many important facts, such as his time spent in the Silver City jail for hiding stolen laundry and the killing of �Windy� Francis Cahill in Camp Grant Arizona on August 17, 1877. I have listed Brushy�s numerous errors below. It is very easy to see that he made way too many mistakes to have really been there! There are enough holes in his story to ride a horse through! During his interview with New Mexico Governor Thomas Mabry in 1950 he choked up and forgot everything including Pat Garrett�s name! ." Fact: Aside from Brushy's fantasy gunfight with Garrett and his two deputies on the night Billy was killed, this is perhaps Brushy's biggest error. Frank Lobato definately did not bring him two horses, because he was not in Fort Sumner the night Billy was killed.

This can be proven by Frank Lobato himself in a 1937 article called "Only One Man Living Who Saw 'Billy the Kid' in Both Life and Death" which appeared in the Clovis News Journal. Lobato said in this article that he was working on the old Pig Pen Ranch southwest of Melrose at the time of Billy's death, but that his mother, Marie Lobato was present and saw the body of Billy the Kid the morning it was laid to rest in the little cemetary down the valley. This proves he was definately not there and that more than likely Brushy completely made this up as well as the rest of his ridiculous claim. Brushy claimed that a man named Billy Barlow was actually shot by Pat Garrett instead of Billy the Kid. There is no proof that a Billy Barlow ever existed. There is a song called "Billy Barlow" that was written in 1834. Coincidence? You decide! In 1937 Jesus Silva was asked about the rumors that Billy the Kid might still be alive. Silva replied "That may be the rumor, my boy," he said, "but if there are dead men in this world, then Billy the Kid is among them.

I know he is dead and as far as I know I am the only one yet living who saw him in death." Frequently Asked Questions Question: Why were there no photos taken of Billy's body? Answer: There were no photos taken of Billy's body simply because there was no photographer in Fort Sumner back then. Unless you have been there you may not realize just how isolated Fort Sumner is even today. Especially back then! The nearest photographer would have probably been in Las Vegas or Santa Fe. That would have been at least a three day ride for him just to get there. Question:When was Brushy Bill Roberts born? Answer: Brushy claimed many times according to Hico residents that he was born in 1868, which makes him too young to be Billy the Kid. Here is an exact quote from the booklet "Billy the The (alias Brushy Bill)The True Story" published by the Hico News Reveiw. "Brushy Bill had recounted often that his place of birth was Buffalo Gap in Taylor County, and the time was December 31, 1868, stating that he was born on the last day of the year.

If correct, that would belie current tales being aired by daily newspapers linking his identity with that of a famous early-day character" 1868 is also the date which appeared on Brushy's original headstone. Brushy's orginial headstone Lucas Speer and Virginia Clark standing at Brushy's grave in Hamilton, Texas complete with a new and "improved" headstone. Note that his birthdate has been changed from 12/31/1868 to 12/31/1859. At the time of Brushy's death he was claiming to have been born 12/31/68, which would explain why this date was put on his original stone. Brushy's real birthdate is August 26, 1879, but of course no self respecting tourist would buy into that big of an age gap. Once Brushy got tired of claiming that he was a member of the James Gang, he then claimed to be Billy the Kid. At this time Brushy claimed that he was born in December of 1859 in Buffalo Gap, TX. There is one problem with this claim though. Buffalo Gap did not even exist at this time.

In fact it was not founded until 1875! This can be confirmed by contacting the Buffalo Gap Historic Village at Po Box 818, Buffalo Gap, TX 79508. Brushy's niece Mrs. Geneva Roberts Pittmon however claimed in a letter to Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang founder Joe Bowlin that Brushy was born on August 26, 1879 and that she had the family Bible record to prove it. According to Geneva Pittmon Brushy Bill was her father Tom's brother. If that is correct, then Brushy Bill Roberts was only two years old when Billy the Kid was killed in 1881! Question: Was Brushy Bill Roberts literate? Answer: According to authors Frederick Bean and W.C. Jameson on p.204 of their book "The Return of the Outlaw Billy the Kid" "Evidence suggests Roberts possessed only rudimentary reading and writing skills. His wife, Melinda, wrote letters for him. Examples of his penmanship in the possession of the authors show a scrawl not unlike that made by a four-year-old child." Question: How many witnesses actually viewed Billy the Kid's body?

Answer: There are at least 28 witnesses known to recorded history to have viewed Billy's body. They are: Pat Garrett, John W. Poe, Kip McKinney, Pete Maxwell, Dona Luz Maxwell, Paulita Maxwell, Deluvina Maxwell, Odila Maxwell, Don Manuel Abreau, Don Pablo Beaubien, Dona Rebecca Beaubien, Paco Anaya, Jesus Silva, Jose Silva, Vicente Otero, Sabal Gutierrez, Celsa Gutierrez, Marie Lobato, Lorenzo Jaramillo, Antonio Savedra, Milnor Rudolph, Charles Rudolph, Higinio Garcia, Henry Lola, Cruz Trujillo, Alejandra Segura, Manuela Bowdre, Tom O'Folliard's commom law wife, and Pedro Antonio Lucero. Question: Where was Brushy Bill Roberts living when he died? Answer He was living in Hico , Tx when he died. He was buried approximately 20 miles south of Hico in the town of Hamilton. This is another newspaper article proving that Brushy Bill publicly and during a press conference claimed to be a member of the James Gang. Jesse James claimant J.

Frank Dalton was proven to be a fake through DNA testing in the summer of 1995. (Article courtesy of Wayne Kindred) Brushy posing for a photo with his friend and fellow fraud J. Frank Dalton. Is this Billy the Kid? Historian claims new photo shows the legendary American gunman | Daily Mail Online comments This astonishing new photograph shows legendary American gunman Billy the Kid, a historian has claimed. The man on the right of this picture - taken around 1879 - is believed to be the Wild West gunslinger. The picture is now generating huge excitement because, if authenticated, it would be only the second known image of the notorious outlaw. The other fetched more than $2million at auction. Rare: This astonishing new photograph shows legendary American gunman Billy the Kid, a historian has claimed. The famous outlaw is pictured, right, with his friend Dan Dedrick left The image, as reported by the Las Cruces Sun News , was released by New Mexico historian Frank Parrish. He claims to have extensively researched the picture to back up his claim that it is Billy the Kid. A large part of this involved identifying the man on the left, who he claims is Dan Dedrick - a close friend of the outlaw.

Speaking to the Albuquerque Journal, Mr Parrish said: 'Identification of Dedrick is the "clincher" in this image, elevating a near-certain image to a clearly and obvious picture of the Kid. Pricey: This picture of Billy the Kid was sold for $2million at auction to billionaire William Koch 'It’s finally a good image of the Kid that reveals a young man as people who remembered him described him – not as the famous bucktoothed Billy we know so well.' It is thought the picture was taken when the gunslinger was 20 - two years before he was killed. Mr Parrish admitted that some people will be skeptical of the picture. But he is absolutely certain that it shows Billy the Kid. 'It’s Billy,' he said. The only only surviving authentic photograph of the outlaw was expected to make $400,000 at an auction in 2011. But billionaire William Koch ended up paying more than $2million for it. The photograph - a tintype owned by Dedrick's family for years - shows Billy the Kid packing a Colt revolver and trademark 1873 Winchester carbine rifle.

After its purchase, the 71-year-old told the Denver Post: 'I love the Old West. I plan on enjoying it and discreetly sharing it. 'I think I'll display it in a few small museums.' The photo was taken outside a saloon in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, when Billy the Kid, born William Henry McCarty and later known as outlaw William Bonney, was barely out of his teens. Experts estimate it was taken around 1879. But 132 years later, it endures as the most recognisable photo of the American West. It was only expected to fetch between $300,000 and $400,000, but the price climbed dramatically in just two minutes after Mr Koch began bidding. The Kid gave the photograph to his friend, Dan Dedrick, and it's been kept in the family for the last century, going on public display only once at Lincoln County Museum in New Mexico in 1986 to 1998. It was famously featured in a book by Pat Garrett, the sheriff who gunned Billy down on July 14, 1881 - 130 years ago next month.

GUNMAN WAS BOTH A NOTORIOUS OUTLAW AND CELEBRATED FOLK HERO Billy the Kid was a notorious 19th-century American gunman who was celebrated for his skill with guns. According to popular legend he killed 21 men, however, it is generally believed that this figure is more likely to be between four and nine. He is thought to have been 17 when he killed his first man in 1877 - although some historians say he could have been as young as 15. Notorious: This image from the 1973 film 'Pat Garatt and Billy the Kid' starred Kris Kristofferson as the outlaw and Richard Jaeckel as a sheriff He was friendly and personable and a smart dresser, often wearing a Mexican sombrero. These qualities contributed to his image as both a notorious outlaw and a folk hero. He was catapulted into legend in 1881 when New Mexico's governor, Lew Wallace, placed a price on his head. This prompted newspapers to carry stories about his exploits. It has been claimed that Billy the Kid was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 despite being promised clemency for testifying in a murder case.

He was killed a few months after escaping from jail. Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors - History in the Headlines Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors February 27, 2015 By Christopher Klein Poster for the 1925 movie "Billy the Kid." Share this: Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors Author Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors URL Google In spite of eyewitness testimony and official records, rumors have persisted that the famous gunslinger Billy the Kid was not killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 but escaped to live a long life. Fed up with the doubts about Billy the Kid’s demise, an historian has petitioned a New Mexico court to create a death certificate for the notorious outlaw. As midnight approached on the night of July 14, 1881, Pat Garrett’s posse closed in on the most wanted man in the West. After three months of searching, the Lincoln County sheriff had received a tip that the gunslinger who had escaped jail—as well as a date with the noose—was holed up in the small town of Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Seeking information on the fugitive’s whereabouts from one of Fort Sumner’s leading citizens, Garrett entered the open door of Peter Maxwell’s residence like a cooling breeze on the hot summer night. Just moments after the sheriff roused Maxwell from his slumber to ask about the outlaw, another figure appeared in the doorway of the unlit room with a six-shooter in one hand and a butcher knife in another. “That’s him,” Maxwell whispered. As the shadowy figure in the doorway spotted Garrett’s outline, he drew his gun and yelled in Spanish: “Who’s that? Who’s that?” Instantly recognizing the fugitive’s voice, the sheriff fired his revolver as a bright flash lit up the bedroom. The bullet pierced the heart of the wanted man, and when Garrett’s posse entered the room, the flicker of their candlelight fell upon the body of William H. Bonney—better known as “Billy the Kid.” The only existing photo of Billy the Kid, likely taken in 1880. As Billy the Kid’s legend grew in the following decades, however, so did doubts about whether he died that night in Maxwell’s bedroom.

Some said Garrett had shot a different man or even conspired with Billy the Kid to stage the killing in order to claim the $500 reward money. The conspiracy theories gained momentum in 1950 when an old man in Hico, Texas, named Ollie “Brushy Bill” Roberts proclaimed himself the authentic Billy the Kid and petitioned New Mexico Governor Thomas J. Mabry for a pardon. Although the testimony of Roberts proved flimsy, doubts about the official demise of Billy the Kid remained strong. In Hico today, a Billy the Kid Museum continues to vouch for Brushy Bill’s story. Fed up with the persistent stories that the notorious outlaw escaped death and went on to live a long life, historian Robert Stahl last week went to a district court in Fort Sumner and petitioned the state of New Mexico to retroactively create an official death certificate for Billy the Kid. “Enough is enough about and from the supporters of the Billy the Kid imposters,” Stahl writes in the opening of his 29-page petition.

“A major reason millions have supported these imposters is their claim that no official death certificate was issued because there was insufficient evidence to confirm that it was the authentic Billy the Kid who was shot and killed that night,” Stahl goes on to write. He points out, however, that death certificates were rarely issued in 1880s New Mexico, particularly in rural areas such as Fort Sumner. Pat Garrett “I believe the petition provides overwhelming evidence that Billy did die by a bullet fired by Pat Garrett and that there were enough people around to substantiate that,” says Stahl, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University and a longtime member of the Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang. His petition includes eyewitness accounts from Maxwell, Garrett’s posse and Fort Sumner residents and friends of Billy the Kid who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting and confirmed the body was that of the outlaw. “Not a single person who reported himself or herself as being in Fort Sumner on July 15, 1881, ever publicly denied that Sheriff Garrett had killed Billy the Kid that day,” Stahl writes in the petition.

Stahl says that in 1880s New Mexico a coroner’s jury report was considered the equivalent of an official death certificate today, and just such a report was issued for Billy the Kid. Within hours of the shooting, a nearby justice of the peace formed a six-person coroner’s jury that interviewed Maxwell and Garrett, examined the body and crime scene and certified that the dead man was indeed William H. “Billy the Kid” Bonney. In a letter to a New Mexico newspaper, the jury foreman confirmed “it was ‘the Kid’s’ body that we examined.” Indicating there was no doubt about the validity of the coroner’s jury report, New Mexico legislators unanimously agreed to grant the $500 reward to Garrett. Historian Robert Stahl The petition notes the lack of any recorded statements in newspapers or documents questioning whether Billy the Kid escaped or not for decades after the incident at Fort Sumner. The first mention of the outlaw being alive that Stahl could find came from a 1920s El Paso newspaper.

In rebutting the claims of Brushy Bill, Stahl reports that Roberts’s family Bible as well as his World War I draft registration list his birth as 1879, which would confirm that in 1881 Roberts was not Billy the Kid, but just merely a kid. Don’t expect science to be able to settle the matter; a 1904 flood washed away the grave markers in Billy the Kid’s Fort Sumner cemetery. “No DNA testing is possible because we have no idea where, if at all, Billy is buried,” Stahl says. Although New Mexico did not achieve statehood until 1912, Stahl says he believes there is nothing to preclude it from issuing a death certificate from its territorial days. His petition has been forwarded to District Judge Albert Mitchell who will decide whether or not to hold an official hearing in Fort Sumner. Does Stahl truly believe that the creation of a death certificate would be taken as “proof” of the official story by skeptics? “Hopefully individuals who will look at the information in the petition will accept that the death certificate is an official report, and some people will finally accept the fact that he died,” Stahl says.

“For those true believers, though, nothing to my knowledge will ever change their minds.” Tags

Question: What year saw the death of Billy the Kid
Answer: 1881