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Kid Antrim, aka Henry McCarty, aka William H. Bonney. Also know as Billy the Kid. Cold blooded killer, Outlaw, Robin Hood of the west, and Legend.
Billy the Kid has been known as many things, but no matter what you believe about the others William H. Bonney is definable one of the most predominate legends of the wild wild west. When Billy the kid was a very young lad In old Silver City he went to the bad; Way out in the West with a gun in his hand At the age of twelve years he killed his first man. Although not totally clear on the details of the early years of his life it is believed that he was born on the east side of New York near the year of 1860.
After the death of his father his mother Catherine McCarty moved then known as Henry and his brother to Indiana. There his mother met and married William Antrim, and the family again packed up and moved to Silver City, New Mexico. It was here that some say Billy had his first run in with the law, at the age of twelve when he shot a man for making a rude comment about his mother. When Billy was at the age of 14 his mother contracted tuberculosis and died.
Merely a child William McCarty, taking his step-fathers first name, was on the streets working to feed himself. His first job was in a hotel working for his board. The owner of the hotel made the comment that Billy was quote "the only kid who ever worked here who never stole a thing. " Scrawny and striving to be reckoned a man among men, Billy the Kid packed his things and became a teenage saddle tramp. Sometime in 1877 he appeared at the Camp Grant Army Post and was taken on as a civilian teamster, hauling logs from a timber camp to a sawmill. It was here at the age of 17 Billy had his first run in with the law.
The blacksmith of the camp a man named Frank "Windy" Cahill, enjoyed taunting and cracking wise remark at the young man. On one occasion he called the Kid a "pimp" the kid in turn called the smith a "son of a" well you get the picture. Cahill jumped at the boy and threw him to the ground. Everyone saw it coming man or child, scrawny or brawny, the revolver the Kid carried needed not the hand of a grown man to pull the trigger. So Billy used his equalizer and pulled the gun and fired. The event changed the life of Billy forever and changed him into a life long fugitive at the age of 17.
Billy's my name and showdowns are my game I'm as invincible as the dark of night Mess with me or my friends and be ready for a fight This poem is so true of Billy's life. His trait of loyalty to those who helped him and befriend the young gun was probably what started the spray of death and trail of blood the kid left behind. In late 1877 Billy drifted into Lincoln County. And he was soon swept up in what is now called the Lincoln County War. Hired on as a ranch hand by the Murphy-Dolan forces. L.
G. Murphy and J. J. Dolan owned giant ranches in Lincoln County and were at mortal combat with other ranchers of the area for water rights and grazing land. The opposition was led by Alexander McSween and John Tunstall, who were supported by the greatest cattle baron of the time John Chisum.
The Kid spent his time by rustling Chisum's cattle and turning them over to his bosses which sold them across the border. By accident one day Billy ran into John Tunstall, Billy instant liked the man and Tunstall became the father figure Billy never had. Tunstall treated the Kid just like his own son. The Kid quit his job and went to work for Tunstall.
He idolized Tunstall and tried to imitate his gentlemanly ways. John once said, "I'm going to make a man out of that boy yet. " Tunstall's wishes for the kid never came true. On Feb. 18, 1878, he was stopped on the road by a group of gunmen who and been bought out by the Murphy-Dolan side. The gunmen told Tunstall they were going to take part of his herd of cattle coming that they were Murphy stock that had been stolen.
The old rancher put up a fight saying that they had his brand on them and that they could look for themselves that they had not been doctored. Tunstall then handed over his gun saying he wanted no bloodshed. As he was handing the gun to the leader Evans. Evans shot from point blank range into the helpless man who fell to the road. Then another member of the posse fired one more shot into the head of the old man killing him instantly. At the news of the old mans death Billy was torn apart.
People claim to have seen him at the graveside and swearing vengeance on every man that had a hand in the death of his best friend and new found father. Billy once said, " He's the only man that ever treated me kindly. , " he then gritted his that and added, "I'll get every s. o. b. who helped kill him if it's the last thing I do. Billy joined a posse to hunt down the people who were responsible.
They caught to of the killers and in an attempt to escape Billy ran them down and shot them both. Loyalty and honor to those he cared for. The kid was a single minded man who would ride miles out of the way to face an enemy. His marksmanship was unfailing, all this set with a fast draw no one had beat to date. Life is to short to live in the quite Garret was hiding in the room that night He should have shot down in a blaze of Glory The death of Billy the kid started long before it actually happened. In Bibliography:
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