Billy The Kid
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
By Darci Clark
The American West
Dr. MaryAnn Borden
Henry McCarty
Henry Antrim
The Kid
Kid Antrim
The Wandering Kid
William H. Bonney
Billy Bonney
El Chivato
Billy The Kid
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 5.
General Consensus Among Historians:
Born Henry McCarty on either September 17, 1859 or
November 20, 1859 in the Irish slums of New York City
Mother was Catherine McCarty. No solid evidence of his
father’s name
Henry had one brother named Joseph but it is not clear if
he was older or younger than Henry
Sources:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 2.
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride, 6-7.
By 1868 Catherine and her two sons had moved to
Indianapolis, IN where she met William Antrim
In 1870 Antrim and the family moved to the cattle
town Wichita, KS
By 1873 the family moved to Santa Fe New Mexico
Territory where Catherine and William Antrim’s
marriage on March 1, 1873 was recorded and
witnessed by Henry and Joseph
Finally settled in Silver City later that year
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 14-17, 52, 56.
•No evidence Henry attended school in Wichita
•Jan. 1874 - Silver City opens first public school
•Henry and Joseph attended classes with Anglo
and Hispanic students
•Spanish and English languages taught
•Henry showed an aptitude for Spanish language
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 21, 66-68.
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Death of Catherine Antrim on September 19, 1874
William Antrim was not interested in bringing up
Catherine’s sons
The brothers were split up and started working
Henry began reading dime novels and stories of
criminals in the Police Gazette
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 78, 82-87
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Henry was first arrested at 15
In September 1875 he was first incarcerated
for hiding stolen goods
He escaped by climbing up a chimney
Left Silver City for Arizona Territory
Made a living off gambling, dealing, and theft
including horse theft and cattle rustling
Sources:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 87-89, 94-96
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 10
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August 17, 1877
George Atkin’s saloon in Camp Grant Arizona Territory
Francis P. Cahill nicknamed “Windy”
Henry shot him during an altercation
Fled back into New Mexico Territory eventually landing in
Lincoln County
Never indicted since he fled and the Arizona authorities did
not pursue him
Source:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 12-14
1880
Map
Lincoln County
New Mexico w
•Located in Southeastern New Mexico
•30,000 Square Miles of territory
•Less than 2,000 citizens
•County Seat: Lincoln
Sources:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 17
Photo Credit:
http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/us_states/newmexico/
Why was life in New Mexico Territory so dangerous ?
• The Quest for Power and Easy Money
•Liquor
•Firearms
•The Code of the West
Source:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 4.
What was The Code Of The West ?
•Concept originated on the Texas cattle trails
•Called for an act of revenge for any real or imagined
insult or injury
•Stand your ground and never retreat from an aggressor
•Use any level of violence necessary including murder
Sources:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 4.
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride ,121.
▪ Competition between the mercantile
businesses of John Tunstall and
Lawrence Murphy & James Dolan
▪ Murphy & Dolan had no competition
before Tunstall opened his business
John Tunstall
Photo Credit:
http://www.findagrave.com/
▪ Tunstall formed an alliance with
Lincoln lawyer Alexander McSween
▪ Tunstall’s cold blooded murder by
Dolan’s men was the first violent
confrontation between the two
factions
Alexander McSween
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Source:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 35-36
James Dolan and
Lawrence Murphy
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Billy was deeply affected by
Tunstall’s murder and swore
revenge on the men that had
killed him
Richard Brewer
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Charlie Bowdre:
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Richard Brewer was made a
“special constable” and served as
captain of the “Regulators”
deputized posse
Jose Chavez Y Chavez
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The Regulators comprised ten
to thirty men but there were as
many as sixty at one point
Source:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 48-55
Josiah “Doc” Scurlock
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Tom O’Folliard
Photo Credit: Findagrave.com
Dave Rudabaugh
Photo Credit:
Legends ofAmerica.com
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April 1, 1878
Billy and five other Regulators ambushed Sheriff Brady and
his deputy George Hindman from behind an adobe wall
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Both men were killed
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Billy gets shot in the leg but was able to escape
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Public opinion turned against the Regulators and were
considered no different than the Murphy Dolan faction
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 201-202.
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July 14, 1878
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Climax of Lincoln County War
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Alex McSween and sixty Regulators holed up in the McSween
house in Lincoln
James Dolan and Sheriff George Peppin had at least as many men
Basically a stalemate with only sporadic shooting for the first four
days
Colonel Dudley with cavalry and infantry on July 19
Many of the Regulators escaped leaving on McSween and thirteen
Regulators in the house.
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 211-213
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Sheriff Peppin’s men set fire to the house
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Billy devises an escape plan for the Regulators
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Alex McSween is killed during the escape
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Gov. Axtell and Dolan did not want to be
blamed for the bloody fight and decided to
place the blame on Billy
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 214-216
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Billy and the Regulators used Fort Sumner as a base
of operations where they stole horses and cattle
Billy contacts new Governor Lew Wallace and offers
to testify against Dolan’s men in exchange for a
pardon for Brady’s murder
They meet and agree to a deal which will put Billy
in protective custody until he can testify
Source:
Michael Wallis, Billy The Kid The Endless Ride , 221
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 117-118
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Billy testified but D.A. Rynerson reneged on the deal
Governor Wallace had offered
Billy would have been convicted of Sheriff Brady’s
murder
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On June 17, 1879 he escaped from custody and
returned to Fort Sumner
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Billy continued to steal horses and cattle
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By November 1880 Billy was considered a big time
rustler and a new sheriff would be charged with
apprehending him
Source:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 136-138
Tintype taken of The
Kid in Fort Sumner in
1880.
Images are reversed in
tintypes which led
people to think The Kid
was left-handed
The reversed image on
the right shows The
Kid like he actually
posed for the photo
The shotgun in his left
hand and his pistol on
his right hip
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Arrived in Fort Sumner in
1878
 Billy knew Garrett but they
were not close friends
 Won election as sheriff of
Lincoln County on
November 2, 1880
 Began his hunt for Billy on
December 18, 1880
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Pat Garrett
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Sources:
Robert M. Utley, Billy The Kid, 136
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 120-121
Governor Lew Wallace offers a
$500 reward for the apprehension
of “Billy The Kid”
 Pat Garrett shoots and kills Tom
O’Folliard at Fort Sumner on
December 19, 1880
 Pat Garrett traps Billy and the other
Regulators at Stinking Spring.
Garrett shoots and kills Charlie
Bowdre thinking it was The Kid
 Surrounded and without supplies
The Kid, Dave Rudabaugh and two
others surrender to Garrett
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Source:
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 121-133
Governor Lew Wallace
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The Kid was tried in Mesilla for Sheriff
Brady’s murder and was found guilty
He was returned to Garrett’s custody in
Lincoln on April 21, 1881 and sentenced
to hang on May 13
Pat Garrett assigns Bob Ollinger and James
Bell to guard The Kid
Ollinger was a bully who tormented The
Kid but Bell treated him fairly
Garrett warned both deputies not to
underestimate The Kid but they did not
heed his warning
Above:
Jail Cell at Fort Sumner
Photo Credit: Darci Clark
Right:
Handcuff and chain at the
Lincoln County Courthouse
Photo Credit: Darci Clark
Source:
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 138-143
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Stairs at the Lincoln County Courthouse where
James Bell was shot Photo Credit: Darci Clark
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April 28, 1881 Ollinger escorts several
prisoners to the hotel across from the
courthouse for dinner
The Kid asked Bell to take him to the
outhouse
When they reentered the courthouse
Billy ascended the stairs followed by Bell
When he reached the top of the stairs
Billy suddenly hit Bell in the head with
his handcuffs
A struggle ensued but Billy grabbed Bell’s
pistol
Bell ran down the staircase and The Kid
fired. The bullet ricocheted and hit Bell
Bell stumbled out of the courthouse and
died
Source:
Mark Lee Gardner,
To Hell On A Fast Horse,
145-146, 155
Bob Ollinger
Marker outside the Lincoln County Courthouse
Photo Credit: FindAGrave.com Photo Credit: Darci Clark
Billy retrieved Ollinger’s own shotgun out of the armory
He looked out the windows so he could see any activity on the street below
Ollinger heard the shots and ran out of the hotel and back toward the courthouse
Billy shot Ollinger through an open window killing him instantly
This is the one event that made Billy The Kid truly famous, feared and notorious…..
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After his escape, The Kid returned to the area around Fort Sumner
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Garrett did not immediately go after The Kid
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Once Garrett received solid info that The Kid was at Fort Sumner
he decided to act
Garrett arrived in Fort Sumner on July 13, 1881 with only two
deputies instead of a large posse
Information indicated that The Kid was staying in the vicinity of
Pete Maxwell’s place so Garrett went to the house to speak with
Maxwell
Source:
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 157, 159, 161, 163, 168
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Garrett went into the bedroom where Pete
Maxwell was sleeping to ask him about The
Kid’s whereabouts
At that same moment Billy entered Pete
Maxwell’s to pick up some meat for a meal
Garrett’s two deputies were outside the
bedroom but The Kid did not know them
and they had never seen him before
Billy slipped away from the deputies and
into Pete Maxwell’s dark bedroom where
Gravestone for Tom O’Folliard,
Garrett was waiting.
Charlie Bowdre and William H. Bonney
The Kid asked ¿Quién es? several times not
at Fort Sumner
recognizing the stranger in the room
Photo Credit: Darci Clark
Garrett fired without warning and shot
Billy squarely in the chest killing him.
Source:
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 168-172
Questions That Remain:
Oddly enough, when Garrett announced to his deputy, John W. Poe, that he had
killed The Kid, Poe replied:
“Pat, the Kid would not come to this place. You have shot the wrong man”
Garrett replied, “I am sure that it was him, for I know his voice too well to be
mistaken.”
Regardless, the body was finally identified by Garrett and many of The Kid’s friends
as William H. Bonney
His funeral took place the next day on July 15, 1881 and he was buried in the Fort
Sumner burying ground and was marked with a simple wooden marker with only
the words “Billy The Kid” stenciled on the surface
Source:
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 171-175
In 1948 a paralegal working on an estate
settlement discovered evidence that William
“Brushy Bill” Roberts was in fact Billy The Kid.
At first Roberts denied the fact but eventually
admitted he was The Kid and still wanted the
pardon he had been promised by Lew Wallace
His stated Garrett actually killed a friend of The
Kid’s named Billy Barlow who looked liked him
and had a similar slim build
On November 30,1950 New Mexico Governor
Thomas Mabry met with Roberts but declined to
issue him a pardon
He passed away shortly after his meeting with
Governor Mabry
William “Brushy Bill” Roberts
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Sources:
W.C. Jameson, Billy The Kid Beyond The Grave, 2, 18, 41
Mark Lee Gardner, To Hell On A Fast Horse, 254
Gardener, Mark Lee. To Hell On A Fast Horse.
New York: HarperCollins, 2011
Jameson, W.C. Billy The Kid Beyond The Grave.
Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005
Utley, Robert M. Billy The Kid A Short and Violent Life.
Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
Wallis, Michael. Billy The Kid The Endless Ride.
New York & London, W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.