He did, however, manage to escape from jail and go on the run. The months-long war came to a climax with the July 19, 1878, Battle of Lincoln, also called 'The Five-Day Battle'. He was plagued by debt in his later years, and while his ranch holdings weren't anywhere near profitable, their locations were desirable for water rights and staging grounds for, shall we say, nefarious activities. Whos that?) All this occurred in a moment. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Indigenous Desserts of Turtle Island With Mariah Gladstone, University of Massachusetts Entomology Collection, The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island, The Paratethys Sea Was the Largest Lake in Earths History, How Communities Are Uncovering Untold Black Histories, The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices, The Man Who Used His Nose to Keep New York's Subways Safe, John Dillinger Is Long Dead and Somehow Still a Troublemaker. He stated that he decided against the pardon, because of a lack of conclusiveness and the historical ambiguity as to why Gov. History Channel 9 Things You May Not Know About Billy the Kid, History Channel Billy the Kid Convicted of Murder, History Collection Billy the Kid Is Arrested for the First Time (1875). He came directly towards me. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Nine years older than Billy, he'd been a buffalo hunter, hired gun, and cowboy before he ran for sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, on a law-and-order platform. However, just two days later, he escaped and his life as a fugitive began. A suspicion lingered that Brazel or someone else conspired to execute Garrett, a lawman with many enemies. He was a wanted young man. As a society back then, people were tough, strong, and fearless, and yet this little guy is known as the most deadly outlaw of them all, says Daniel A. Edwards, author of Billy the Kid: An Autobiography. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. He was high-spirited and, as his notoriety grew, so did his cockiness. 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. His end wasn't particularly glamorous. Meanwhile, Billy encountered Poe and McKinney and apparently said Quien es? which means who is it? in Spanish. A witness agreed, and Brazel went free. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Pat Garrett, the man who shot Billy the Kid. On the evening of July 14, Garrett waited inside Maxwell's bedroom. There are different accounts regarding the tip-off that brought the lawmen to Fort Sumner, the encounter at the orchard, and the moments before and after the shooting. But surely even the man who shot charming, murderous Billy the Kid deserved a better end than a bullet while watering the desert. Right, another photo of Billy the Kid, whowas celebrated for his gun skills and, according to popular legend killed 21 men - one for each year of his short life. Word reached him of the death, but he didnt cut his trip short and missed the funeral. At almost precisely the same time, Garrett woke Maxwell up; his friend was understandably annoyed at being disturbed. Brazel surrendered to Deputy Sheriff Felipe Lucero in Las Cruces, shouting, Lock me up. 2023 Atlas Obscura. WebHe fled to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where he eventually joined a gang, one of whose members was Billy the Kid.. At Stinking Springs (near present-day Taiban, New Mexico), On December 23, 1880 a posse led by Pat Garrett captured Rudabaugh, Billy the Kid, Billy Wilson, and other members of the gang.They were taken to Las Vegas, but the danger of No purchase necessary. Roberts died a month later, and neither Billy the Kid nor Brushy Bill Roberts ever received a pardon. At around the same time, Billy was hungry, so he woke up and walked towards the fresh meat that was hanging on the rafter above the porch outside of Maxwells bedroom. Noticing it only had three rounds loaded, he subtly rotated the drum to an empty cylinder and handed it back. Garrett gets word that the Kid is hiding out near Maxwells place. The Billy the Kid Museum opened in Hico nearly 40 years after Robertss death, and the city actively celebrates the connection. But mostly because of the cattle that went missing. On the evening of April 28, 1881, Billy was left under the supervision of a single guard in the jailhouse while the rest of the staff hit the saloon across the street. As they talked, Billy, said Garrett, "expressed no enmity towards me, but evinced respect and confidence in me acknowledging that I had only done my duty, without malice, and had treated him with marked leniency and kindness.". WebPat Garrett was elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in 1880 on a reform ticket with the expectation that he would reinstate justice in the area. But Garrett resigned before long and returned to his ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. He died by the gun of Sherriff Pat Garrett at age 21. Garrett did not seek re-election as sheriff of Lincoln County the year after McCarty's death. Offer subject to change without notice. Richardson is a known Billy the Kid aficionado, and is considering the pardon because of an alleged promise by Governor Lew Wallace. The man, local blacksmith Frank Cahill, called Billy a pimp. What historians do know is that Garrett was elected sheriff of Lincoln County in November 1880, on a platform promising to end the violence between two groups of warring landowners feuding over dry goods and cattle interests in the county. Pat Garrett: The Truth About The Man Who Killed Billy The Kid. I might not pardon him. In 1903, Garrett got into a public brawl with his employee, George Gaither. Garrett was so impatient to capture the outlawWilliam Bonney, a.k.a. The authenticity of the photo has since been disputed, despite National Geographic standing behind it. Nobody is sure of the exact date he was born but it seems to have been sometime in September 1859 because theres a baptism record for him from the end of that month. As a child, Billy the Kid went under the name of Henry McCarty. Though quick with a joke, he did not hesitate before pulling the trigger. Soldier in range wars, cattle rustler, horse thief, but also universally described as charming, funny, a good singer and good dancer, at least bilingual, and an avid reader. We had ridden to within a short distance of Maxwells grounds when we found a man in camp and stopped. They fired at the men from behind a wall, and Brady died after being shot at least a dozen times. He was 57. Garrett was able to get inside the house on July 14 and when Billy entered, Garrett shot him dead. About two months later with no amnesty forthcoming, Billy realized hed been had and they were going to hang him instead. According to Robert M. Utley's definitive Billy the Kid, by the time his life ended on July 14, 1881, at age 21, McCarty/Antrim/Bonney had killed four men for certain, one perhaps, and participated in killing perhaps five more. As one of the few Regulators whod made it out of the Battle of Lincoln, Billy the Kid Was now a prime target for local law enforcement. By Kelly Mclaughlin For Mailonline and Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com and Associated Press, Published: 06:57 EST, 15 November 2017 | Updated: 10:53 EST, 15 November 2017. Pat Garrett, byname of Patrick Floyd Garrett, (born June 5, 1850, Chambers County, Ala., U.S.died Feb. 29, 1908, near Las Cruces, N.M.), Western U.S. lawman known as the man who killed Billy the Kid (q.v.). Furthermore, several of Billys friends say he only had a knife and not a gun. When Garrett was appointed Sheriff of Dona Ana County in April of 1896, it took two years for him to gather enough evidence to ask a judge in Las Cruces for warrants to arrest William McNew, Oliver M. Lee, James Gililland, and Bill Carr. Sheriff Pat Garretts grandson, J.P. Garrett, argues that Richardson should have assigned an impartial historian to aid in the case, and believes that McGinns involvement may be a conflict of interest. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. As a result of one of the many ambushes that occurred, Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and one of his deputies were found dead, having been shot by the Kid. Henry got the better of Cahill and shot him, inflicting a wound that would kill him the next day. In the aftermath of the Lincoln County War, Lew Wallace, the new territorial governor of New Mexico, published a wanted list which included the Kid, who was implicated in the murder of Sheriff Brady in 1878, shortly after Brady arrested the Kid. All rights reserved. On November 2, 1880, Garrett turned to law enforcement. That same year, a man named Randy Guijarro bought an old photo for $2 at a shop in Fresno, California. Nevertheless, it says a lot about the continued American fascination with Billy the Kid that a mere photo of him would be valued at $5 million some 135 years after his death. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Billy the Kid was also still stealing. The defining issue revolves around the belief that Wallace promised this pardon in exchange for Kids knowledge in a murder case involving three men. McCarty, a member of the Regulators, vowed to avenge Tunstall's death. From his first robberies to his days as a frontier gunslinger to his epic death, Billy the Kid remains perhaps the definitive legend of the Wild West. During a card game, Billy the Kid accused another player of cheating. As Currys inauguration was not for a few months, Garrett returned to El Paso to look for work. A Los Angeles forensic video expert said facial recognition software indicates that it is most likely Garrett and Billy the Kid in the picture, according to a signed declaration. The Kid was moved to a jail in Lincoln, New Mexico but escaped on April 28 before the hangmans noose could claim him. People in Hico, Texaspopulation 1,780 and home to the Billy the Kid Museumtell a slightly different version. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pat-Garrett, HistoryNet - Pat Garrett Was the Last Great Frontier Lawman, Texas State Historical Association - The Handbook of Texas Online - Biography of Pat Garrett, Robert Garrett - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The next scene with Jason Robards, James Coburn is sporting a nice moustache. Brazel used the land to raise goats, which was unacceptable to the Garrets. But how much of the myth is actually true? He and an accomplice named John Mackie began swiping horses from a nearby Army fort and then selling them. The other known pictures of the outlaw were believed to have been taken in 1877, 1878 and 1879. Before I made the discoveries I made in my book, I did not have an opinion on Brushy Bill, says Edwards. McCartys family life was total chaos from the start. Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress/LC-DIG-highsm-29831. After seeing a TV program in 2015 about the discovery of a photo of the outlaw playing croquet, Abrams was inspired to research him further. They lived in a slum on Manhattans east side and his father, Patrick, died soon after his first son was born. Some argue his book about Billy Bonney is the only reason why The Kid is remembered today. 'To me, it's one of the most intriguing and historically significant of those tintypes of the Old West. Although the book was not successful when it was released, an originaledition became quite valuable over the years. 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Henry Woodson Strong scouted for famed Indian fighter Ranald S. Mackenzie. Garrett was away from Lincoln on county business when the Kid made his escape. A year after pulling the trigger, Pat Garrett wrote and published an account of what happened that night, and you can find that account here. They saw a group of men nearby who were speaking in Spanish. Billy the Kid was up for a posthumous pardon for the murder for which he was to be hanged. By 1876 he was hunting buffalo, until a dispute with another hunter, Joe Briscoe, ended up with Garrett killing Briscoe. They were acquitted of the Fountain killings, and the charges for killing the deputy were dismissed. Garrett fired twice, hitting Billy once, and killing him. Web2013-08-26 To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West ; 2013-08-24 To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West ; 2013-08-17 The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid ; 2012-03-25 Michael Flynn - The January Dancer Join us for a daily celebration of the worlds most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places. 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. Omissions? Garretts body was left on the side of the road. President Roosevelt supported Garrett as complaints piled up and went so far as to invite him to a reunion for the Rough Riders in San Antonio in April of 1905. When the governors office refused to give Garrett his $500 reward (for reasons that remain unclear), local citizens chipped in and raised $7,000 for him instead. The one that counted the one who still counts was variously known as Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim, Kid Antrim, William H. Bonney, Billy Bonney, and sometimes just The Kid. In Chisum (1970), Pat Garret was played by 36-year-old Glenn Corbett, and Billy the Kid was played by 26-year-old Geoffrey Deuel. And when it was stolen in 1981 and then quickly recovered in Florida, New Mexicos governor had it flown back home. Overall, there are a huge number of unanswered questions. Wikimedia CommonsThe full-length version of the sole completely authenticated photo of Billy the Kid. It was at this point that many sources say the Kid began his life of crimestarting with stealing and progressing to murder. "I knew the desperate character of the man," Garrett would later write in his own biography of Billy, "that he was daring and unscrupulous, and that he would sacrifice the lives of a hundred men who stood between him and liberty." He contacted the governor to exchange a witness statement for a pardon. In 2008, for instance, Bonham sold Billy's gun for $64,350. Billy then managed to cut through his leg irons and steal a horse to make his escape. I walked to the head of the bed and sat down on it, beside him, near the pillow. While still young, his family relocated to New Mexico. He then worked in Graham County as a farmhand, teamster, and cowboy. Lee and Gililland stayed on the run for another eight months and finally surrendered. Lets get the issue of imposters out of the way quickly. I believe all communities are built on legends, and in Hamilton County Brushy Bills stories connect us to those wild days of the frontier.. In 1879 he married Juanita Gutierrez, who died in childbirth less than a year after their marriage. But this time it was a U.S. Wikimedia CommonsLew Wallace, before he became governor. Once again, Billy the Kid was now on the run. When the warden came out into the street to investigate the gunshot, Billy shouted down to him: Look up, old boy, and see what you get! and then he shot him dead (apparently arousing no suspicion from any bystanders in the process). Together the couple had nine children four girls and five boys. However, he was unable to remember important events in Billys life such as the Lincoln prison escape, he didnt really look like the outlaw, he was illiterate while the Kid wasnt and finally, his birth date was recorded in his family Bible as 1879. Soon afterwards he was captured and shot by Lincoln County sheriff, Patrick Floyd Garrett in a sting operation. And that included his last escape, from the custody of Sheriff Garrett. Garrett was correct in his estimation of The Kid Billy was legendary, a man who had managed to escape incarceration more than once. History tells us that the outlaw known as Billy the Kid (aka Henry McCarty, aka William Bonney) was gunned downat the ripe old age of 21by Sheriff Pat Garrett on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He was orphaned as a teen. He murdered two deputies, James Bell and Bob Olinger, during the escape. He and Garrett went to court, and Brazel agreed to cancel his lease with Garrett providing he could sell his 1,200 goats. In 1879 he married and settled in Lincoln County, N.M., where he became first deputy sheriff and then sheriff. We'll see what happens,' Abrams said. In Hico Billy is everywhere, from a statue downtown, to the standee in the Chamber of Commerce, to the monumental arch over Robertss grave. They all moved to Kansas together in 1870 and she married Antrim in 1873. Maxwell lit a candle to illuminate the room and the body of Billy the Kid lay motionless, with Garretts bullet lodged in his heart. He was a gambler and heavy drinker andoften deeply in debt. Wikimedia CommonsA cropped version of the sole fully authenticated photo of Billy the Kid. Alternate titles: Brushy Bill, Henry McCarty, William H. Bonney, Jr. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Another chance at a famous crime solving came after Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain and his eight-year-old son Henry vanished at White Sands, New Mexico, in 1896. Mysteries of the Old West: Did Pat Garrett Kill Billy the Kid? Its the last day of Richardsons term. Garrett was well aware that Billy was a cockeyed optimist when it came to hopes for escape. Garrett learned that The Kid had been in and out of Sumner, New Mexico, and was staying there with Pete Maxwell. These absences got longer and more common as McCartys mother got sick with tuberculosis and became more dependent on the men in her family to look after her. ', This undated file photo (left) is thought to be an image of famed gunslinger Billy the Kid near the age of 18. Garrett invited Tom Powers to go along and introduced Powers to the President as a prominent Texas cattleman; they sat for photographs with Roosevelt. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Persevering Pilot And Author Who Charted Her Own Course, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Pat Garrett: The Truth About The Man Who Killed Billy The Kid Before resigning in disgrace, federal judge William Story preceded the more celebrated hanging judge Isaac Parker in Arkansas Western District. Click here to sign a petition for the pardon of Billy the Kid, or click here to sign a petition opposed to that pardon. 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. Of course, the above is Pat Garretts account which has been disputed by many people ever since. In 2015, Stahl filed a petition in New Mexico Supreme Court in pursuit of a death certificate for the Kid, also known as William Bonney, from the state's medical examiner. He was buried in the old military cemetery at Fort Sumner next to two of his gang members. Set of wooden folding chairs sells for 5.3MILLION after Live like the mob! Stahl said he thought it was a 'high probability' that it was Garrett in the photo, but he wasn't sure if another man was Billy the Kid. The Regulators and the new sheriffs forces clashed in July 1878 at whats become known as the Battle of Lincoln. before being shot dead. He had already written down the jurys verdict and asked Segura, Anaya and the rest of the jury to sign it. Now these are strange things for someone that is a fraud to focus on. McCarty, was a member of the Regulators gang.
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