Pat Garrett Didn't Kill Billy the Kid...

[Jeff Higgins]

...Has been rumored since very shortly after that fateful night of July 14, 1881. There is actually some very compelling evidence that he did not, beginning with the exclamation of the very first man who saw the body after Garrett had shot him - one of Garrett's own deputies - "you shot the wrong man!" Many say Garrett actually shot one Billy Barlow (another outlaw who deserved it anyway), and claimed it was Billy the Kid...

The two were actually old friends, having fought in the Lincoln County Wars together, wherein two powerful cattle barons were fighting over grazing land. As such, Garrett had no desire to kill his old friend, nor to apprehend him and see him hang. So he helped him escape and assume a life of anonymity.

Many people claimed to be Billy over the ensuing years. Some more credible than others. The most credible was on Ollie L. "Brushy Bill" Roberts, who passed away in 1950 in Hamilton Co. Texas. Those who knew him maintained that he had an uncanny recollection of the characters, places, and events of those times, along with an insight only one man could possibly have provided - Billy the Kid himself.

Not that it matters anymore, but fun stuff regardless. There is a new book out, written in the first person, as if an aged Billy the Kid had written his memoirs. The Narrative of William H. Bonney by James O. Easterbrook and Russel G. Nelson. I just ordered a copy.

[Jeff Higgins]

Interestingly, I went back and further perused the website from whence I ordered the book - they claim "Brushy Bill" was an imposter. The widely acknowledged "most credible" Billy the Kid. It will be interesting to read their case... should be here in a week or so...

[masraum]

Interesting stuff!

Like the JFK assassination, we'll probably never really know, but it's fun an interesting to think about and find out what others think.

[URY914]

Just like Jeffery Epstein, we'll never know....

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by URY914

Just like Jeffery Epstein, we'll never know....

I'm gonna go first....

HRC killed Billy the Kid

[vash]

it was a gun cleaning accident!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

it was a gun cleaning accident!

He wuz shot twice and the gun was even cleaned afterwards ... all by his own hand.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by URY914

Just like Jeffery Epstein, we'll never know....

Although we are interested in one and completely unconcerned about the other.

Actually, seems the one was pretty guaranteed to be a very bad man that deserved it and his death by whatever means saved taxpayers an obscene amount of money.

[93nav]

Genetics.

[cabmandone]

I watched Young Guns.

[Rusty Heap]

But Billy the Kid was sure to lube clean and use his nightstand weapon Jeff....

[Jeff Higgins]

There have apparently been at least a couple of efforts made in this modern age to verify, through DNA testing, who is who in this zoo. Billy's mother, one Catherine Antrim, is buried in New Mexico and her grave site is apparently fairly well recognized as authentic. Unfortunately, Billy's alleged grave site, assuming it was where it was claimed to be (near Ft Sumner), has been washed away in several floods over the years. No way to tell where it was, much less who was in it. Brushy Bill's grave site, however, is very well known. It shouldn't be all that big of a deal to exhume his and Catherine Antrim's and do a DNA comparison. Yet efforts to do so have been blocked in court. Gotta wonder why...

[Por_sha911]

wow, no one picked up on this one:

"..but I did not kill no deputy" (que the music)

[Rick Lee]

I read an article about this, I think, in the Dallas Morning News around 1981. I was really into this stuff as a child. In fact, when we took a family vacation through UT, AZ and NM, I (10 yrs old then) pitched a real fit about having to get dressed up for a Sunday service at the Mormon Tabernacle. My dad told me, "If you upset your mother on this day, we will be skipping Ft. Sumner on the way home." That set me straight. And we, indeed, visited Billy's purported grave on the way back to Dallas. Very cool history in that part of the world.

[SCadaddle]

Those who knew him maintained that he had an uncanny recollection of the characters, places, and events of those times, along with an insight only one man could possibly have provided imself.

Kind of like a fellow from Mississippi by the name of Sylvester Magee. Now that's a story......

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

wow, no one picked up on this one:

"..but I did not kill no deputy" (que the music)

I too thought of Bob Marley .... but HRC just plays better this time of year

[sc_rufctr]

Correct my if I'm wrong but didn't Pat Garrett brag about killing Billy the kid for years after?
Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

Anyway... Interesting but the only way we could be sure now is to find what's left of Billy the kid.

Does he have any living relatives? (DNA)

[sugarwood]

[cabmandone]

^^^
Hey! You watched it too!

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Correct my if I'm wrong but didn't Pat Garrett brag about killing Billy the kid for years after?
Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

Anyway... Interesting but the only way we could be sure now is to find what's left of Billy the kid.

Does he have any living relatives? (DNA)

You are absolutely right - Pat Garrett did indeed brag about killing Billy the Kid for years. It is maintained by some that that was no more than part of the cover-up story to allow Billy to live in peace, with no one pursuing him any longer. They were good friends - that much is sure. They fought together in the Lincoln County War, and Billy may have saved Pat's life.

Pat Garrett's revolver survives, having been held by his family until very recently. It's a single action Colt in .44-40 caliber, what they stamped as their "Frontier Six Shooter" on the barrel. At one time it commanded the highest price ever paid at auction for any firearm of any kind.

We'll never find what's left of whoever it was buried in that grave at Ft Sumner. As mentioned earlier, the area has flooded many times in the intervening years, washing everything away. The location of his mother's grave, one Catherine Antrim, is fairly confidently known. So there would be something to compare it to, if we did find anything verifiable as containing Billy's DNA. We know where "Brushy" Bill is buried, the so far most credible man claiming to be Billy. But, as mentioned earlier, efforts to exhume and conduct DNA tests have been blocked in court. But even that could be inconclusive, if it turns out "Brushy" Bill was an imposter - which is what the authors claim.

They also claim that Billy the Kid, long after he was "shot" by Pat Garrett, fought in the Apache Wars under one General George Crook, he spoke freely about their relationship. They also claim that Billy was good friends with such luminaries as Tom Horn, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, who all spoke freely about their relationships with Billy - long after he was supposedly shot.

The book should be here in a few days. I'm really looking forward to reading their case for Billy having survived to lead a long and happy life...