One biographer, Joel Jacobsen, recounts the story as described in Utley, describing Grant as a "drunk" who was "making himself obnoxious in a bar". As he approached, he saw Garretts two deputies on the porch and since he didn't recognizing the strangers, he backed cautiously into Maxwells room and asked Pete, who are those fellows outside? He got no answer and as he walked towards the bed, he saw Garretts silhouette and started to back away and asked in Spanish, Whose there? Garrett recognized the Kids voice and fired his gun. In December 1880 he was captured by Garrett and stood trial for murder in Mesilla, New Mexico, in April 1881; he was found guilty and was sentenced to hang. The Kid felt betrayed when he learned that Governor Wallace didnt have the power to pardon him without Rynersons cooperation, nor was the governor pressuring the attorney to collaborate. This perception was encouraged by the only documented photograph of McCarty (an undated ferrotype), in which he appears to be wearing a gun belt with a holster on his left side. [70] McNab was killed in a hail of gunfire, while Saunders was severely wounded and Frank Coe was captured. The Green Mile, Wild Bill has a tattoo of Billy the Kid in the 1999 film. During a trip to the outhouse, the Kid slipped out of his handcuffs, ambushed a guard and shot the man to death with his own pistol. This wise precautionary move saved the Kid's life, because Grant then pulled his gun on him and fired. I hated those men and am glad that I lived long enough to see them all dead and buried". Husband of Abrana Garcia, alleged wife of BTK and Juana Montoya "La Tullida" Patron, alleged girlfriend of BTK There's also something fishy about this whole incident and there may have been more foul play then we're led to believe. The ABC series Maverick featured an episode where Bret (James Garner) meets several outlaws, including Billy the Kid. She resided at 199 North East Street and it was there she met and began a long term relationship with a man named William Antrim, a twenty-three year old labor and teamster who lived a few blocks away. [100] On April 13, he was sentenced by Judge Warren Bristol to hang.[100]. [91] At some point in the evening, Carlyle evidently decided the outlaws were stalling. The conflict centered on a business rivalry. [110], Like many gunfighters of the "Old West", Billy the Kid enjoyed a reputation built partly on exaggerated accounts of his exploits. [65] There is some doubt as to whether McCarty and McSween were even acquainted at the time of Brady's death. Before the local newspapers reported Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid in Pete Maxwell's bedroom on July 14, 1881, there were already rumors that Garrett killed the wrong man. [67] During the gun battle that ensued, Roberts shot and killed the Regulators' leader, Dick Brewer. Antrim didnt want to be burden with two small boys, so he separated them and placed them in foster homes and left Silver City for Arizona. The Boys started to steal Tunstalls livestock, so arrests were made and the Kid eventually was caught and placed in jail. Beginning of a short life On November 23, 1859, Henry McCarty was born in New York City but moved to Kansas with his family when he was very young. He went by many names -- Henry McCarty, William Henry Bonney (William H. Bonney), Oliver P. Roberts (Ollie), and, most notably, Billy the Kid. McCarty was shot in the thigh while attempting to retrieve a rifle that Brady had seized from him during an earlier arrest. While McCarty and his gang were asleep inside, Garrett's posse surrounded the building and waited for sunrise. For the next 2 years the Kid tramped around as a ranch hand and gambler. A Billy the Kid Mystery Solved IHS owns most of Billy the Kid's more famous letters - including one in our collections that was previously unidentified. and killed him. Dolan sent for Colonel Dudley at Fort Stanton for assistance. The Lincoln County War would have turned out exactly the way it did if Billy the Kid never took part in it. [9][10] According to some accounts, McCarty was born as William Henry McCarty, Jr., but his mother preferred to call him "Henry" because she did not wish him to be known as "Junior". Now the Dolan side struck back. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10. All we know is he had a mother named Catherine (maiden name unknown) and a younger brother named Joseph (middle and last name unknown), and absolutely nothing is known of his biological father. The Kid wrote to the governor that he was tired of running and would surrender to authorities and testify against the Dolan side to have his murder charges dropped. McCarty (or Bonney, the name he used at the height of his notoriety) was 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) to 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) tall with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and prominent front teeth. The Kid left the war with a reputation as one of the Wests most skilled gunmen, but he remained wanted for the murder of Sheriff Brady. It was widely assumed throughout much of the 20th century that Billy the Kid was left-handed. As Ollinger came running into view, McCarty leveled the shotgun at him, called out "Hello Bob!" [54][57][58] On the very day that McCloskey, Morton, and Baker were slain, Governor Samuel Beach Axtell arrived in Lincoln County to investigate the ongoing violence. [95] On December 23, the Kid was tracked to an abandoned stone building located in a remote location known as Stinking Springs (near present-day Taiban, New Mexico). He escaped jail on April 28, however, killing two deputies, and remained at large until tracked down and ambushed by Garrett, who shot him dead on the evening of July 14 at the ranch home of Pete Maxwell. Until the death of his mother in 1874, Billy led a fairly normal life . [45] Events turned bloody on February 18, 1878, when Tunstall was spotted while driving a herd of nine horses towards Lincoln and murdered by William Morton, Jessie Evans, Tom Hill, and Frank Baker all members of the Murphy-Dolan faction, and members of a posse sent to attack McSween's holdings. By 1873 he had moved west to New Mexico as a result of his mother remarrying after. The Kid didnt stick around to face murder charges and left Arizona and returned to New Mexico. [89] Meanwhile, Greathouse was sent out to act as a hostage for the posse. He then met up with a horse thief name John Mackie who taught him the tricks of the trade and the two became partners. Lucky Billy: a novel about Billy the Kid is a 2008 novel by John Vernon, a professor at Binghamton University. )[114] Indeed, the notion of a left-handed Billy became so entrenched that, in 1958, a film biography of "the Kid" (starring Paul Newman) was titled The Left Handed Gun. Garrett may have deliberately been waiting in the dark to shoot the Kid. [84] After the trial, McCarty and O'Folliard slipped away on horses that were supplied by friends. [12] By 1868, Catherine McCarty had moved with her two young sons, Henry and Joseph, to Indianapolis, Indiana. [40] The Jones family developed a strong attachment to McCarty and gave him one of their horses. In January 1880, he reportedly killed a man named Joe Grant in a Fort Sumner saloon. The Kid from Texas (1950, Universal International) film starring Audie Murphy--location of title character's place of origin changed to appeal to Texans and capitalize on Murphy association with that state. Legends grew over time that Billy the Kid had somehow cheated death, despite eyewitness accounts of his slaying. "As [McCarty] was leaving the saloon, his back turned to Grant, he heard a distinct click. [44] A conflict known today as the Lincoln County War had erupted between the established town merchants, Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan, and competing business interests headed by Tunstall and McSween. McSween and three men were killed, but Billy the Kid and the others escaped into the darkness. [120] 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. These qualities, along with his cunning and celebrated skill with firearms, contributed to his paradoxical image, as both a notorious outlaw and beloved folk hero. All Rights Reserved. After his escape from death row, the Kid spent several months hiding out on the frontier and taking refuge with sympathetic locals in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. On the night of July 14, 1881, Garrett went to the home of rancher Peter Maxwell to question him about the outlaws whereabouts. Billy the Kid is one of the most notorious Wild West outlaws, which is especially impressive because he had to fit all his outlawing into just 21 years of life. On November 30, 1880, Billy the Kid's Gang, David Anderson, aka Billy . "Ash" Upson, published a sensationalistic biography titled The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid. One-Eyed Jacks (1961) is the only film directed by actor Marlon Brando, who also played its lead character, Rio. But before Garrett could get his prisoners to jail, he had to defend them from a lynch mob that formed around the train on the route to Santa Fe. After a year of no parental guidance and looking out for himself, the Kid quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. As for Billy the Kid's biological father, there is absolutely nothing known about him -not even a name. Some of those who witnessed the incident later claimed that McCarty acted in self-defense. MPI/Getty Images. He neglected to keep a low profile, however, and it wasnt long before Sheriff Pat Garrett and two deputies rode into town. [37] During this period, McCarty was spotted by a resident of Silver City, and the teenager's involvement with the notorious gang was mentioned in a local newspaper. His legend survived and grew long after his death. The journey begins with Billy's mother Catherine McCarty Catherine Bonney arrived in New York City by way of Devonshire, England in 1846. It proved to be a wise move. He was a pawn in losing game and he was made a scapegoat for other outlaws crimes. Add languages. One particularly legendary gunfight unfolded in January 1880 at a New Mexico saloon. [14] In 1873, after several years of moving around the country, the two were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico,[15] and settled further south in Silver City. [30] Biographer Robert M. Utley writes that the nickname arose because of McCarty's "slight build and beardless countenance, his young years, and his appealing personality". Michael takes a deep dive into the claims that Abrana Garcia of Fort Sumner was Billy the Kid's wife, and that Billy fathered her son Patrinocio Garcia who lived until 1964! [35], Susan McSween, widow of Alexander McSween, stated: "Billy was not a bad man, that is he was not a murderer who killed wantonly. [36] He eventually arrived at the former army post of Apache Tejo, where he joined a band of cattle rustlers who targeted the sprawling herds of cattle magnate John Chisum. On September 16, 1875, McCarty was caught stealing food. Footnote 4: James Dolan was the protg of LG Murphy and when Murphy became ill of cancer and hospitalized in Santa Fe, Dolan stepped up to take his place. All we know is that his mother's name was Catherine Devine or McCarty, Katherine Beaujean or Katherine Bonney. [43], Late in 1877, McCarty, along with Brewer, Bowdre, Scurlock, the Coes and the Saunders, was hired as a cattle guard by John Tunstall, an English cattle rancher, banker and merchant, and his partner, Alexander McSween, a prominent lawyer. [97] Realizing that they had no hope of escape, the besieged and hungry outlaws finally surrendered later that day and were allowed to join in the meal. [118] At least two men claimed to be McCarty, and they were successful in persuading a small segment of the public. [108] There are at least two versions of what happened next. [22] One of McCarty's school teachers later recalled that the young orphan was "no more of a problem than any other boy, always quite willing to help with chores around the schoolhouse".
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