Quote:
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...