He made a deal with the governor that should he testify against persons involved in the Lincoln County War, he would receive a full pardon for involvement in Sheriff Bradys death and other misdeeds. The moment word got out about his escape, New Mexicos governor put another $500 bounty on the Kid, dead or alive. Soon a man arose from the ground, in full view, but too far away to recognize. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10. Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty to Irish immigrants in New York City around 1859. Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, declined to follow through with that pardon. Several said the tintype was likely taken between 1879 and 1880, which coincides with the August 2, 1880, date someone had written on the photo,Abrams said. Meanwhile, Billy encountered Poe and McKinney and apparently said Quien es? which means who is it? in Spanish. People in Hico, Texaspopulation 1,780 and home to the Billy the Kid Museumtell a slightly different version. Now these are strange things for someone that is a fraud to focus on. 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. Pat Garrett: The Truth About The Man Who Killed Billy The Kid. The black and white image, taken in August 1880, shows the notorious outlaw with a gang of men, one of whom is Sheriff Pat Garrett,Billy the Kid's former friend and the man who gunned him down. Some of those in favor of Kids pardon have filed a petition, including defense attorney Randi McGinn who has offered to handle the case for free. There is no doubt there that Billy the Kid is one of their own, and theyre happy to tell the world. With a few words, which fell like a murmur on our ears, he went to the fence, jumped it, and walked down towards Maxwells house. Billy's arrest found him in Garrett's custody. Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid. Billy was sentenced to hang on April 13, 1881; A little over a year later, the New Mexico territorial legislature voted to give Garrett the $500 he was owed. And yet with the good cheer came a surprising ruthlessness. Garrett had recently caught the Kid, who was sentenced to hanging for killing another Sheriff, but Billy managed to escape. That's when he recognized Garrett in the image. The Lincoln County justice of the peace was convinced but before Brady could be arrested, local deputies loyal to the sheriff arrested Billy and threw him in jail. 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. A witness agreed, and Brazel went free. He added: 'People ask me all the time, what do you think its worth, what do you think its worth. This is the real story of Billy the Kid. After the escape, Garrett set out to remove Billy from the landscape, one way or another. Billy the Kidborn William Henry McCarty, but also known as William H. Bonneyoriginally came from New York. 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. This time however, he was sentenced to hang for the death of Sheriff Brady. A tiny stone cabbage has a big backstory stretching from Beijings Forbidden City to Taipei's National Palace Museum. But Garrett resigned before long and returned to his ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Garrett learned that The Kid had been in and out of Sumner, New Mexico, and was staying there with Pete Maxwell. The other known pictures of the outlaw were believed to have been taken in 1877, 1878 and 1879. In 1901 Garrett was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as Collector of Customs in El Paso. During the Kids time as an outlaw, Pat Garrett was elected Sheriff and sent after him. Hewas elected to the office of sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, winning ahead ofincumbent Sheriff George Kimball. He was bareheaded. In December 1880, he had brought in the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid on charges of murdering a former county sheriff. Carl Adamson never appeared at the trial as a witness, and Brazel was acquitted. It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way Up to some paradise Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice And ride a horse along a trail. He left his deputies outside as he entered the room in a bid to rouse his friend and question him. A handwriting expert in Texas compared a signature from Garrett on the photo with ten documents with his known handwriting. 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. 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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. It was a good racket, but he couldnt stay out of trouble long enough to enjoy it. It is only the fourth known photograph of Billy the Kid and is thought to be a trophy shot taken by Garrett and his posse after they arrested him. 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. I guess well just all have to anxiously await the outcome of this deceased outlaws judicial fate. A few months later, Garrett married Apolinaria Gutierrez, his sister-in-law. He died by the gun of Sherriff Pat Garrett at age 21. In Hico Billy is everywhere, from a statue downtown, to the standee in the Chamber of Commerce, to the monumental arch over Robertss grave. Born on New York Citys East Side, Billy as a child migrated with his parents to Kansas; his father died there, and the mother and her two boys moved to Colorado, where she remarried. The defining issue revolves around the belief that Wallace promised this pardon in exchange for Kids knowledge in a murder case involving three men. The following day, the Kid was buried in the Fort Sumner cemetery. His last days have been the central narrative of many of them, including Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, a 1973 film by director Sam Peckinpah that endures as a classic among fans of the genre. One particular misstep in the Kids life was his affiliation with the Lincoln County War. Garrett, who had been tracking the Kid for He was 57. Garrett wouldn't find McCarty until two years later, a month after he was appointed sheriff. El Paso Times 1934: Pistol That Killed Billy the Kid Will Be Returned to Garretts Widow. 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. By 1892 Garrett and his family had relocated to Uvalde, Texas, where he befriended John Nance Garner, a future United States vice-president. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billy-the-Kid-American-outlaw, American Heritage - Billy the Kid: From Outlaw to Legend, PBS - American Experience - The Life and Legend of Billy the Kid, Billy the Kid - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Who is it?' And that included his last escape, from the custody of Sheriff Garrett. Billy the Kid, that heasked Sheriff Kimball to appoint him deputy sheriff until his term officiallybegan in January of 1881. I believe he lived, had many more adventures before he finally died in Hico in 1950. Billy the Kids grave is in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. As is the case with so many mythologized historical figures, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. He continues to look into whether the Kid rightfully deserves a posthumous pardon as promised by Governor Wallace. In 1882, Garrett and his ghost writer, Marshall Upson, published The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid. One of them suddenly got up, walked out of the orchard, and leaped over a fence. Frank Abrams, a North Carolina attorney, first spotted the tintype photo in Asheville in 2011. Mysteries of the Old West: Did Pat Garrett Kill Billy the Kid? When Notorious Outlaw Billy the Kid Briefly Joined a U.S. Using the name Billy Antrim and nicknamed the kid for his youth and boyish appearance, McCarty soon came to be known as Billy the Kid and found work as a cowboy and ranch hand in Arizona. The comments below have not been moderated. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life at the best online prices at eBay! In New Mexico, Garrett worked as a cowboy for Pedro Pete Maxwell but quit to open a saloon. He managed to locate his stepfathers place in New Mexico, where he holed up for a few weeks. Maybe they lacked imagination, though "Willy Wet Behind the Ears" doesn't scan particularly well. Garrett related his side of the story in his The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid: I then concluded to go and have a talk with Peter Maxwell, Esq., in whom I felt sure I could rely. From what Ive heard, [Brushy Bill] told a pretty credible tale, says Hamilton Historical Commission Chairman Jim Eidson. William Wallace agrees, also citing that McGinn has, meager qualifications. What you may not know is that the long dead Kid may be up for a pardon from current New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. 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. Garrett did not pursue re-election for sheriff of Lincoln County in 1882. Garrett would encounter him again in July 1881, apparently killing him in a nighttime shootout. Whether his story actually ended in 1881, however, is another matter. However, just two days later, he escaped and his life as a fugitive began. How exactly the tension mounted between Billy and Grant remains unclear (some say Billy pegged Grant for a bounty hunter come to kill him; some say Grant was a loudmouth drunk looking for a fight). Shortly after his death, war broke out between the Jesse Evans Gang and the Regulators, who backed Tunstall. 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. Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again. So, why is the notorious Billy the Kid up for this pardon, you ask? 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. They fired at the men from behind a wall, and Brady died after being shot at least a dozen times. He is either a folk hero that single-handedly stood up against a corrupt government system, or he is a ruthless outlaw and cop killer that left a wake of terror in his path.. US Marshal Service How Much Did It Cost to Find Billy the Kid? HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. But mostly because of the cattle that went missing. Brushy Bill and Billy the Kid, the whole story, thats part of who we are now, Eidson says. Adamson agreed to meet with Garrett and Brazel to iron out an agreement. They mistook OFolliard for Bonney, however,and fatally shot him. The family moved to New Mexico, and, in his early teens, Billy fell into a career of thievery and lawlessness, wandering throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico, often with gangs.
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