Wild West LegendsBilly the Kid

John Choi

Who is Billy the Kid?

Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, was a notorious outlaw and gunfighter in the wild west. He was orphaned at age 15 which led to his first arrest of petty crimes. He soon joined a deputized posse called the Regulators and became famous for stealing horses and cattle, but more importantly, killing 8 men.

Childhood

• Technically, his whole life was during his childhood

• Orphaned at age 15 when his mother died

• First arrest was due to stealing from a Chinese laundry

• First murder was at the age of 18 of a blacksmith during an altercation

Nickname• Real name: Henry McCarty

(Born on September 17 or November 23, 1859)

• Pseudonym: William H. Bonney

• Known as Billy the Kid

Famous Crimes

• After getting into an argument in a saloon with a blacksmith, Billy, shot and killed him.

• Billy fled but returned a few days later and was apprehended by Miles Wood, the local justice of the peace.

• Billy was detained and held in the Camp Grant guardhouse but escaped before law enforcement could arrive.

• He participated in the Lincoln County War which was famous because of him. It was a Old Western conflict between two rivaling factions.

Last Gunfight

• Almost three months after his escape, Garrett, the sheriff, responding to rumors that Billy was in the vicinity of Fort Sumner.

• Garret enters a room that Billy was in, but due to poor lighting, Billy did not recognize that it was the sheriff.

• Billy yells "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?")

• Sheriff Garret recognizes Billy's voice, draws his revolver, and shoots Billy. The first is a direct hit to the chest, and the second misses, but nonetheless, Billy supposedly dies.

• At first, the account of Billy’s body is unclear but later is confirmed and is buried.

Associates

• Billy and two other Regulators were later charged with killing three men, including Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady and one of his deputies.

• His main enemy was Sheriff Pat Grant, who killed him in Fort Sumner.

• His allies were the Regulators. The Lincoln County War brought him to the front, but several of the other Regulators were actually the driving force behind the events, and had a history of killing alongside one another prior to the war.

• Billy worked with John R. Mackie, a Scottish-born criminal and former U.S. Cavalry private. They stole cattle and horses together.

Rumors of Survival• Rumors grew that Billy the

Kid was still alive

• They believed that Garret let Billy go, out of friendship and that he fled.

• Many claimed to be Billy, but they were all false.

• These speculations lingered around for some time.

Death and Legacy• The Authentic Life of Billy

the Kid was written by Marshall Upson.

• Garret wanted to disprove the rumors so he asked Upson to ghostwrite the book.

• Billy the Kid became famous through the Wild West and dramatized the Western World.

Reference

• https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-billy-the-kid

• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-born

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billy-the-Kid-American-outlaw