The Kid Comes to Texas
It was the fall of 1878. After picking up the hometown mail at Fort Bascom, just inside the New Mexico border, Dr. Henry Hoyt rode west toward the Texas Panhandle town of Tascosa. Along the way, he encountered five men he didn’t recognize. Though friendly, they asked a lot of direct questions, mostly about the ranches in the vicinity. They had horses to sell and needed buyers. Most of them were young, especially the one with wavy hair, a smooth complexion, and a distinctive smile with two protruding front teeth. Those who knew him often recalled that smile and the good nature behind it, even in the deadliest of moments. Those moments were common in the short violent life of Billy the Kid.
Growing Up in New Mexico
The origin of Billy the Kid is shrouded in mystery. He was born Henry McCarty in 1859 to Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York or possibly Indiana. His father may have fought and died in the Civil War. Billy and his brother Joseph were raised by their mother Catherine, who made a living doing laundry. They later moved to New Mexico, settling in the mining town of Silver City. She remarried William Antrim, a merchant clerk and miner. Stricken with tuberculosis, Catherine died leaving Billy and his brother with a stepfather who didn’t want them. Abandoned, they were taken in by Sarah Brown who owned a boarding house in Silver City. From there, Billy began his outlaw ways, starting with petty theft and later shooting a blacksmith who bullied him - the first of 4 confirmed victims.
The Legend Begins
It was the Lincoln County War (1878-1881) where the legend of Billy the Kid began. It originated in Lincoln, New Mexico when rancher John Chisum and his business partners, fellow rancher John Tunstall and lawyer Alexander McSween, opened a bank and dry goods store in direct competition with James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy. The Murphy faction, collectively known as “The House,” had the support of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and an outlaw gang of bandits and cattle rustlers led by Jesse Evans. The opposing side included Chisum and Tunstall, who were backed by a posse of cowboys called the Lincoln County Regulators, of which young Billy was a member. A series of assassinations ensued. Among the victims were Tunstall, Sheriff Brady, and McSween. After the death of McSween, the war ended. The regulators scattered to avoid arrest over the shooting of Sheriff Brady, often turning to cattle rustling to support their activities. Now under the alias William H. Bonney, Billy and his fellow regulators headed east into Texas with a herd of stolen horses to sell.
Leave Your Guns at the Door
Tascosa was a frontier cowtown consisting of two stores, a blacksmith shop, an adobe house and several makeshift saloons and brothels run by the lowest the Panhandle had to offer. Small, remote with no government nor law enforcement, it nevertheless was the supply center for most of the ranches in the Panhandle region. Needless to say, the sudden appearance of Billy the Kid and his fellow gunmen caused quite a stir. A meeting was called to order by rancher C. S. McCarty to question Billy’s intentions. He told the assembled ranchers his gang had horses to sell and wanted to be left in peace, not an easy task in an untamed frontier town. Billy and his gang indulged themselves with whiskey and gambling. All except Billy, who didn’t drink, but loved to deal cards. A close call came when the Kid tripped during a footrace with his new friend Henry Hoyt, falling in the middle of a dance floor during a town dance or “baile” at the home of Pedro Romero. Billy’s gang quickly surrounded his prostrate form and drew their firearms. Guests at the Romero house were required to leave their guns at a nearby store prior to the dance. Refusing to adhere to local rules of conduct, Billy’s gang snuck their arms into the baile. After that, Billy’s cohorts were no longer welcomed to the dances. The Kid and fellow gang member Tom O’Folliard left Tascosa in late 1878 after selling most of their horses. The rest of the gang left Billy’s crew for new lives in other towns. Before leaving, he presented his friend Henry Hoyt with a horse that once belonged to the murdered Sheriff Brady.
The Panhandle Stock Association
During the period before barbed wire, cattle were allowed to roam free on the Panhandle plains to graze, making them vulnerable to wild animals, inclemate weather, and cattle rustlers. During the winter months, frigid “Blue Northers” forced the herds southward down the Panhandle and into the hands of rustlers. Many ranchers, blamed their losses on the Kid. To protect their herds, Panhandle ranchers met at the town of Mobeetie at Mark Husselby’s ten room hotel. They organized the Panhandle Stock Association and elected Charles Goodnight president. By-laws were drawn up and a $250 reward was posted for the apprehension of anyone stealing cattle from the association. The organization grew rapidly, and through its membership represented upwards of three hundred thousand head of cattle.
Detectives and lawyers were hired as well. Association detective, Frank Stewart, and four ranch hands set out for White Oaks, New Mexico, a popular gambling town and a known place where Billy the Kid sold rustled cattle. At the White Oaks corral, hides bearing the brands of Panhandle ranches were found draped across the fences. Stewart ordered the butcher to stop butchering Panhandle cattle but was rebuffed. The butcher told him no verbal notice would prevent him from butchering. A different type of notice would be required. One that came at the point of a gun held by one of the West’s most famous lawmen.
The Guns of Pat Garrett
At six and a half feet tall with a thick mustache, Pat Garrett was easily recognizable wherever he went. He likely met Billy at Fort Sumner while working in a saloon. They were likely acquaintances, but were not close friends as Hollywood has often suggested. Prior to becoming a sheriff, he was a barkeep, hunted buffalo, and punched cattle for rancher Pete Maxwell in Fort Sumner. In 1880, local ranchers backed Garrett for Sheriff of Lincoln County. Shortly after being elected to office, Garrett began forming a posse to go after Billy the Kid. To cover the vast expanse of New Mexico and counter its ever increasing violence, he needed tough men that didn’t shy away from gunplay, who better than the Panhandle ranch hands of his native Texas.The Association, at Garrett’s request, provided men and money for Garrett’s posse. Among the volunteers were Charley Siringo, who later became a detective for the Pinkerton Agency, Jim East, the future Sheriff of Oldham County, Texas, Frank Clifford, who once rode with notorious gunfighter Clay Allison, famed gunman and cowboy Louis Bousman, future sheriff turned train robber Lon Chambers, and Deputy Sheriff Frank Weldon with the curious title “The Mongolian Monster.” Complete with buckboards for hauling supplies and a chuck wagon, the Association’s anti-rustling expedition set out from Tascosa. At Anton Chico, they made camp prior to meeting up with Garrett. He and his deputy and brother-in-law Barney Mason met with the group and then left with six volunteers to track the Kid. Each were armed with a six-shooter and a Winchester rifle.
The Kid on the Dodge
Though reinforced after Tascosa, the Kid’s associates dwindled considerably after they heard about Garrett and his Panhandle posse. Only five rode with him: Tom O’Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Dave Rudebaugh, Tom Pickett, and Billy Wilson. It was only a matter of time before Garrett closed in on them.
It was snowing by the time Garrett’s posse reached Fort Sumner. Garrett knew Billy’s gang were camped out nearby at Portales Lake. Expecting the Kid to return to Fort Sumner, he set up an ambush along the Fort Sumner-Portales Road at the abandoned Fort Sumner Military Hospital. While waiting for the Kid, the men played poker or caught a few minutes of shut-eye on the floor. Lon Chambers was keeping watch until he spotted a group of horsemen in the distance, almost undetectable in the falling snow. He yelled out their approach before the Texans dropped their cards, ran outdoors, and took positions behind a fence. Garrett belted out a challenge to the riders. The lead rider reached for his sidearm. The posse opened fire, hitting the rider twice while the others scattered in the evening darkness. The wounded rider dropped from his saddle. It was Tom O’Folliard, the Kid’s close companion. Garrett’s men carried him inside the cabin and unceremoniously dropped him on the floor. They continued their poker game. “God damn you Garrett,” yelled O’Folliard. “I hope to meet you in Hell!” Garrett, in a less than compassionate tone, replied, “I would not talk that way Tom. You are going to die in a few minutes.” Folliard was anything but repentant, “Ah, go to Hell you long-legged son of a bitch.” Garrett gave him a sip of water before Tom shuddered and then died. Tom O’Folliard was buried the following day. Garrett paid for the funeral.
Gunfight at Stinking Springs
The tracking continued until a tip-off led them to a small stone cabin at Stinking Springs. Garrett’s men surrounded the cabin. Charlie Bowdre walked out the door with a feed bag for his horse. Garrett yelled, “Throw up your hands !” Before he could draw he was shot by Hall and Garrett. Bowdre staggered back inside the cabin, only to be told by the Kid, “Charlie you’re done for. Go outside and see if you can get one of them before you die.” He fell dead before he could cock his revolver. Taunts and shooting began in earnest. The winter cold, knawing hunger, and flying bullets forced them to surrender. Placed in shackles, Billy and his gang were taken by train to Santa Fe for arraignment. The Texans returned home.
Escape From Lincoln
The trial of Billy the Kid was held in Lincoln. He was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff Brady and sentenced to hang. It was not to be. In a daring escape for the ages, Billy escaped and killed two deputies. After breaking off his shackles with an ax, Billy the Kid headed for Fort Sumner. Once again Garrett sought the services of the Association. This time they provided him with John William Poe, the Association’s new cattle detective. Charles Goodnight gave Poe a letter of introduction that would give him acceptance among the New Mexico locals, who might not cooperate with a strange Texan. Garrett, Poe and Special Deputy Kip McKinney set out from Roswell to Fort Sumner, the Kid’s favorite haunt.
“Quien Es ?”
Based on a hunch, Garrett believed Billy was in Fort Sumner. The Kid spoke fluent Spanish and mingled easily with the Hispanic locals, who often assisted him while he was on the run. Their gossip made its way to Garrett’s Hispanic wife thus bolstering Garrett’s hunch. The Kid was indeed in Fort Sumner, trying to visit his girlfriend Paulita Maxwell, the sister of rancher Pete Maxwell. At midnight, July 14, 1881, the three lawmen crept up to Maxwell’s ranch house. Garrett entered Maxell’s bedroom from an outside door while his two deputies waited outside on the porch. Garrett woke up Maxwell and asked him where the Kid was. Billy was there alright. He was up and about looking for a late night snack. He spotted the two deputies on the porch, calling out “Quiet Es” [who is it]. He backed into Maxwell’s bedroom while asking him who those men were. The reply came from Garrett’s pistol; he fired twice. Billy the Kid was buried the following morning at the Fort Sumner Cemetery next to fellow gang members Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. He was 22 years old.
The Final Years of the Panhandle Stock Association
The Panel Stock Association continued operations until 1889. It built The Great Drift Fence across the Northern Panhandle to control the winter cattle migrations. The Association also imposed quarantines to control the movement of tick-infested herds from South Texas. After Goodnight left the Association, membership started to dwindle. Drought, barbed wire fences, economic depression, and government managed law enforcement led to its demise. The legend of Billy the Kid, however, lives on.
There are fifty movies, TV documentaries and TV mini-series about Billy the Kid, possibly the most for any historical figure out of the Old West. They range from serious, Oscar-worthy portrayals to horror B-films like “Billy the Kid vs Dracula.” In recent times, the most popular movies about the Kid are “Young Guns” and “Young Guns II” starring Emilio Estevez. As for books, I recommend “Billy the Kid” by Robert M. Utley and “Billy The Kid: The Endless Ride” by Michael Wallis.
