A WANTED Man



Billy.jpg


 
 

The worst part of the Lincoln County War was over. The Kid- and what was left of the Regulators- wandered in the hills on foot, until they stole some horses and made their way to San Patricio, a small Mexican village fourteen miles south of Lincoln. After lying low for about two weeks to avoid capture from the new sheriff, George Peppin, the Regulators rode to the Mescalero Apache Reservation Agency by Blazer's Mill. Aside from themselves, they also had three Mexicans with them; one of them was the former constable, Atanacio Martinez. While the Kid and the Regulators headed to a spring to water their horses, the Mexicans continued down the road towards the Agency.

The Mexicans then encountered some Mescalero Indians, who figured they were there to steal horses, and started to shoot at them.  Indian agent Fred Godfrey and his clerk Morris Bernstein heard the shooting, and Bernstein, without delay, mounted a horse and rather foolishly galloped to where the shooting was coming from. Antanacio would later say, that Bernstein had fired at him, and in self-defense he fired back, killing Bernstein.

  

Meanwhile at the spring, the Kid and the others dismounted to water their horses when suddenly the gunfire broke out. The Kid's horse reared up and pulled away, leaving the Kid on foot. George Coe pulled the Kid up behind him on his horse and the Regulators took off. Then taking advantage of the commotion, they rode around towards the corrals, and while the Kid was getting himself a new mount, the others opened the gate and made off with all the agency's horses and mules. Though Antanacio would later turn himself in and admit to killing Bernstein in self-defense, the Kid once again would be credited, even though he never fired a shot. 

  

The Regulators rode north to Fort Sumner, an old army fort turned Mexican village, which would become like a home to the Kid. The Regulators lived the life of Riley by dancing at bailes, carousing and visiting with pretty senoritas. But as time passed, the Coe cousins and Fred Waite were tired of dodging the law and wanted to settle down, so they quit the Regulators. The Kid, on the other hand, wasn't yet tired of his wild ways, so he and the remaining Regulators went back to Lincoln.

  

After taunting and intimidating his enemies in Lincoln, the Kid and his gang raided Fritz Ranch and made off with some horses. They then headed to the Texas Panhandle and sold the horse with no questions asked at Tascosa, Texas. The residents didn't seem to care about the gang's presence, as long as they behaved themselves and didn't cause any trouble. The Kid settled right in at Tascosa, and much as he did in Fort Sumner, he partied every night and competed in target shooting and horse racing.

  

While the Kid was whooping it up in Tascosa, things in Lincoln weren't faring any better. Residents were pleased to see Governor Axtell finally replaced by a new governor, a retired general named Lew Wallace, but all hell was still breaking loose. John Selman formed a ruthless gang called "The Rustlers" which consisted of the most dangerous badmen in the territory, most of them were former members of the Boys. The Rustlers went on a rampage of raiding and burning down ranches, killing anyone who got in their way, and even gang raping two women and shooting two young Mexican boys just for the hell of it. When someone brave enough to ask who they were, they yelled out "We are devils just come from Hell!" Billy the Kid never or would even considered behaving in such a manner! The Rustlers' actions even disgusted the Kid and he would later inform on them. Yet history tends to forget about the "Rustlers" and brand the Kid as the sole terrorist of New Mexico.

  

The Regulators broke up in Tascosa, and the Rustlers left Lincoln County and would eventually split up as well. As for the Kid, he and his long time sidekick Tom O'Folliard returned to New Mexico and Lincoln County. It had been less then two months since the Kid was in Lincoln, and things had actually started to quiet down. The new governor had offered an amnesty proclamation, in hopes to smolder out what was left of the Lincoln County War.

Since everyone else was being forgiven and able to settle down, the Kid didn't see why he couldn't. By now the Kid was tired of running and wanted to square himself with the law and his enemies; knowing he didn't qualify for Governor Wallace's pardon, he decided to clear himself with his adversaries. So with good intentions he put out a peace offer to James Dolan and Jesse Evans.

  

On February 18, 1879 both sides of the Lincoln County War met for a parley. After a tense moment instigated by Jesse Evans, who wanted to kill the Kid on the spot, both sides calmed down and talked it out. While this was happening, Sheriff Kimbrell (who had replaced Peppin) hightailed it to Fort Stanton to get military assistance to arrest the Kid.

In the meantime an agreement was finally made between the two sides: neither party will kill any member without first giving notice of withdrawing from the treaty, all persons who have acted as friends are included in the agreement and are not to be molested, no officer or soldier are to be killed for any act previous to the date of the agreement, neither party shall testify against the other, each party must aid the other in avoiding capture or help in their escape, and lastly, anyone who failed to carry out or break the agreement would be killed on sight. After a round of handshakes and swearing to the treaty, the two sides went to celebrate at every saloon in town.

  

The hour was late and the men were drunk as they staggered from one tavern to the next, residents stayed out of their way but watched from a distance, and it seemed everyone anticipated what was going to happen next.  The men then came upon Mrs. McSween's attorney, Huston Chapman.  Mrs. McSween was going after the Dolan faction and Colonel Dudley for the death of her husband, which made not only her, but also Chapman a target.

Dolan and his men stopped the attorney and began to harass and threaten him. The Kid, who was probably the only sober one in the group, sensed a killing; witnesses would later report, he tried to walk away, but Jesse Evans blocked him and made him stay. Bill Campbell, a friend of both Evans and Dolan, pulled out his gun and pointed it at Chapmen. Dolan too, pulled out his gun and fired it in the ground at Chapman. Campbell then reacted to the sound and pulled the trigger of his gun, shooting Chapman in the chest and killing him. The Dolan men then poured whiskey over his body and set fire to it and walked away rejoicing. The Kid and Tom O'Folliard had no choice but to follow the men to a restaurant. While eating oysters, Dolan suggested that one of them should go back to the Chapman's body and put a gun in his hand, so they could say that the shooting was in self-defense. The Kid was anxious to leave this group and eagerly volunteered. But once outside, the Kid, did nothing of the sort; instead, he and O'Folliard immediately mounted their horses and skinned out.

  

Outraged by the cold-bloodied killing of the attorney, Governor Wallace went to Lincoln to oversee the arrest of the killers. While talking with residents about the incident, he learned the Kid was a front row witness to the murder. The Kid realized that this was an opportunity to right his wrong, and square himself with the law. If he could get on the side of the governor, who needed him as a witness to convict Chapman's killers, he could make deal for amnesty and finally settle down. But by testifying he would be breaking the treaty with his enemies, which was punishable by death.

This would be the biggest gamble of his young life, but the reward would be well worth it. On March 13, 1879 the Kid wrote to the governor and offered to testify against Chapman's murderers in exchange for an annulment of his indictments. The governor wrote back inviting the Kid to meet with him. In his letter to the Kid, he wrote,

"I have authority to exempt you from prosecution if you will testify to what you say you know," and he closed with: "If you could trust Jesse Evans, you can trust me."

  

On March 17, the Kid met the governor in Lincoln. During the meeting, Governor Lew Wallace made the promise the Kid had hoped for. The governor stated clearly, that if the Kid testified in court, that "In return for you're doing this, I will let you go scot-free with a pardon in your pocket for all your misdeeds."
 The agreement was made. The Kid would submit to a fake arrest, testify against Chapman's killers, James Dolan and Colonel Dudley, for a full pardon. A couple days later, the Kid and Tom O'Folliard surrendered to Sheriff Kimbrell as planned and were confined at Patron's store. The governor interviewed the Kid, by asking him about the Rustlers' hideouts and trails, also about the rustling activities and tricks of the trade. The following month the Kid began his court appearances. Due to the fact that Judge Bristol and prosecutor William Rynerson were Dolan men, the defendants were either pardoned under the governor's proclamation or acquitted.

Then it was the Kid's turn. Instead of being tried in Lincoln where he had a chance for acquittal, prosecutor Rynerson got a change of venue to Dona Ana County, where the Kid didn't stand a chance.  But that wasn't the Kid's only problem, the governor wasn't making good his promise of a pardon and left the Kid to his fate, while he went back to Santa Fe to finish his book Ben Hur.

  

The Kid had been used. He risked his life to carry out his end of the deal, told the governor and the courts everything they wanted to know, and helped Mrs. McSween by testify against Colonel Dudley for the death of her husband.

Now his enemies were angrier than ever with him and would do anything to see him dead. The Kid's guards at Patron's store understood his predicament and let him walk out and leave. The Kid rode out of Lincoln, and understandably feeling betrayed, now he was right back where he started...a wanted man.

  

The Kid returned to his old ways, as he had no choice. He couldn't settle down and live an honest life, since his enemies and the law were after him. So, to make a living the Kid went back to his old occupation of  rustling and gambling. While in Fort Sumner, he reunited with his old friends and former Regulators, Charlie Bowdre and Doc Scurlock, and rustled cattle on and off from John Chisum's herds. The Kid believed Chisum owed him fighting wages during the late Lincoln County War, but Chisum denied this, and so the Kid would just steal from his herds for the unpaid wages.

  

On January 10, 1880, the Kid was involved in his second "single handedly" killing, and like Windy Cahill, he was another loudmouth bully that got on the Kid's nerves; a fellow named Joe Grant.

While the Kid was at a saloon in Fort Sumner, having drinks with Jim Chisum (John's brother) and a couple of his cowboys, the Kid encountered a drunk who was trying to start trouble with him. Grant vowed that he would kill someone that night, and the Kid had an idea who it would be.

As the evening went on, Joe Grant was getting more obnoxious. Then he noticed one of Chisum's cowboys had a nice ivory hand revolver, so he took it and replaced it with his own. The cowboy knew better to contest it, but the Kid saw his chance to cover himself against the rowdy drunk. The Kid knew the cowboy had fired that gun earlier at a target, so he lifted Grant's stolen gun out of the holster, and spun the barrel so the trigger would hit an empty chamber. Later when the Kid turned to walk out the door, Grant drew his gun and fired "click click."

Upon hearing the click, the Kid wheeled about, drew his gun and fired "BANG BANG BANG," and Joe Grant was dead. The killing was considered another saloon fracas, and since Joe Grant was no one important, it was forgotten about as quickly as it happened.

  

By now the Kid was eighteen or nineteen (?) and had spent the last five years of his life wandering and running from the law.

After he rode out of Lincoln (with a knife in his back), he was causing quite a stir stealing livestock and dabbling in counterfeiting. Though there were other outlaws and rustlers in the area causing trouble, the Kid was singled out, thanks in part to his powerful enemies who wanted him dead.

  

One of their ways was through the news press, which exaggerated his outlawry and built up his "bad boy" reputation, by making him much worse than he really was. The Kid was tired of this stressful lifestyle, and wanted out. But before pulling up stakes and leaving the territory altogether, he decided to make one last ditch effort at clearing himself.

The Kid wrote to Attorney Ira Leonard (who tried to help him months earlier in Lincoln to get his pardon), asking if he could help him once again to "straighten things out." Leonard sent him a note to meet him in White Oaks in Lincoln County right away.

 

About this time, when the Kid was contacting Leonard, a tall lanky man by the name of Pat Garrett won the election for Lincoln County Sheriff. Garrett and Billy the Kid knew each other from Fort Sumner; Garrett had worked as a cowhand for Pete Maxwell and then as a bartender. Thought Garrett and the Kid were never close friends as legend says, but he did seem to know the Kid and his friends, more than as just acquaintances. The fact that he knew the Kid's hideouts and trails may suggest, that he may very well have rustled a time or two with the Kid (as the Kid's friends would later claim).


Pat-Garrett.jpg


   

The Kid arrived in White Oaks to meet with Leonard, but the attorney was not there, probably because the Kid was about six weeks late. The Kid learned he was in Lincoln, so he and his friends stocked up on supplies at a store (which they may not have paid for) and rode out. A posse from White Oaks, led by James Carlyle, went after the gang and sneaked up on them at a camp. Gunfire broke out and the outlaws scattered and mounted their horse to make a break. The Kid's horse was shot out from under him and he ran off on foot. Even though they were caught completely by surprise, the Kid and his friends got away.

  

But four days later, the posse caught up with the Kid and his gang hiding out at a ranch owned by Jim Greathouse. The house was surrounded, so the Kid invited the posse's leader, Deputy Carlyle, to come in to talk things over. To guarantee his safety, Greathouse offered himself as a hostage to the posse and Carlyle went in the house. The Kid learned Carlyle had no warrants for their arrest and refused to surrender; he then told Carlyle he'll have to stay and lead them out when they make a break at nightfall. The posse outside was getting anxious and notes were exchanged back and forth. The lawmen then demanded that if Carlyle wasn't released in five minutes, Greathouse would be killed.

  

What happened next is up for debate. Greathouse's partner Fred Kuch, who was the messenger boy and the ranch cook, Joe Steck were told by the posse to make for cover because the posse was going to rush the house. No sooner did the two men make a run for it, shots were fired, followed by a window shattering and James Carlyle falling dead. The posse would later report that an accidental shot was fired from their side and then they saw Carlyle leap out the window and try to run from the house.

The Kid then threw himself halfway out the window, took deliberate aim and shot the deputy  in cold blood. Another claim made several weeks later after the Kid's capture by James Bell (who was a member of Carlyle's posse), said that Billy the Kid gang member, Dave Rudabaugh confessed that both he and Billy Wilson (another gang member) fired one shot each and the Kid twice at Carlyle. But remember where this statement came from. Did Rudabaugh really say that or was Bell trying to cover his butt?

Keep in mind that if Carlyle was a good buddy of Bell's, than why did Bell treat the Kid so fairly when he would later guarded over him at the courthouse in Lincoln? Not only did Bell win the Kid's confidence and trust, but also his regret for killing him. Now doesn't that sound a little odd? Was Bell just  an overly forgiving person or did he feel a little regretful that Billy was getting pinned with a killing he help commit?

  

In a letter to the governor concerning the incident, the Kid wrote that when Carlyle heard the gunshot outside, he thought Greathouse was killed and then dove out the window and was killed by his own posse. Since Kuch and Steck did say, "about 60-75 shots were fired at us, bullets flying from all directions," that tells us that the posse was doing some trigger-happy shooting.

After Carlyle was killed, the confused posse left and now that the coast was clear, the Kid and his gang rode out themselves. So why would the posse, who had the place completely surrounded and were getting ready to rush the house, suddenly ride off and leave Deputy Carlyle's killers free to escape? Because they made a boo- boo and panicked.

Nevertheless, the Kid is blamed for the shooting, and even to this day most  believe that the Kid killed James Carlyle. In Jon Tuska's book Billy the Kid: Life and Legend, he mentions, "Neither Wilson nor the Kid were ever indicted by the Lincoln County grand jury for this crime. The members of the White Oaks posse chose silence rather then risk exposure." Because of the lack of evidence, it's not fair to charge Billy the Kid with this killing and he very well may have told the truth when he said: "(Carlyle) was killed by his own party, they thinking it was me trying to make my escape."

  

After the incident at Greathouse's ranch, the Kid and his gang headed back towards Fort Sumner. The Kid had enough and decided it was time to leave for good. The gang would go to Fort Sumner, get money and supplies and kiss New Mexico farewell.

  

The new Lincoln County Sheriff, Pat Garrett had plans of his own, he was heading for Fort Sumner too. Garrett was bent on capturing the Kid, not only for the money, but the fame of bringing in New Mexico's most notorious outlaw.  

  

Time had run out for Billy the Kid.



Previous