[1/4] Billy the Kid - Anti-Hero of the Southwest -

Source: Wikimedia
Authentic Pic of Billy the Kid

Summers as a young child involved a long 15 hour trek across the Southwest to El Paso, Texas, and then south to Chihuahua, Mexico to visit family. It was during one of these trips that I first learned about Billy the Kid and other stories of the Wild South West. Since the 3rd grade, I had become a voracious reader, and would be teased by my brothers because I would bring books to read on summer vacations. So one day, during one of these long and hot journeys, we stopped for gas in Tucson, Arizona. I went to the restroom, and upon returning, there in the lobby they had Books! I quickly glanced at the books, and the ones that stood out the most were those about the Wild West, especially the ones about Billy the Kid. I begged my mom to buy me one and was immediately mesmerized in those first few moments of reading to this very day.
The series on Anti-Heroes of the Southwest will include Billy the Kid and 3 others. The first post on Billy the Kid will be broken up into 3 parts.

PART 1

Billy the Kid - Birth and Early Years

The mystique of this Southwest icon starts with his birth. On September 17, 1859, a child was born to Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine (nee') McCarty at 210 Greene St. New York City. On September 28, 1859 this child was christened (named, baptized and registered) as Henry McCarty in St. Peters Church in New York. Although this information has been gleaned from an 1860 U.S. Census, it is not 100% certain that this is truly Billy the Kids family information.

Image from Ancestry.com
1860 Census Showing the names Patrick, Cathrn, Bridget and 1 yr. old Henry McCarty
It is believed that Henry's (he still wasn't called Billy) biological father either left them or died sometime around 1863/64. Sometime around 1867, the family traveled and lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. There she met William H. Antrim. By September of 1870, Henry's family had moved to Wichita, Kansas. Catherine worked hard to provide for her children. It is believed that during this time, William H. Antrim also moved to Wichita, Kansas. Here the family history gets "a little grainy" again, with some historians and biographers claiming that the family along with William H. Antrim had moved to Colorado then to New Mexico.

Catherine was diagnosed with Tuberculosis while in Kansas, forcing her to find more temperate climate. In March of 1873, Catherine Devine McCarty and William H. Antrim were married in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Shortly thereafter, they made their home in Silver City, New Mexico. It was around this time, around the age of 12 or 13 that Henry, now mostly being called Billy after his step father William Henry Antrim, got in trouble and set himself on a path to infamy.

"I'll Make You Famous"

By most accounts, Billy is recalled as having been an ordinary child and student. He was well mannered, albeit mischievous. He was slight of build, making for an easy target for bullies, but he was also courageous and smart.Then his mother died on September 16, 1874. His step-father, William, was always out prospecting, and therefore left Billy and his younger brother in the care of some local families. It wasn't long before Billy got arrested for stealing some butter from a rancher. The Sheriff, Harvey Whitehill, let him go on the promise that he would behave and refrain from causing further trouble. It was not long after, that Billy found himself in trouble again.

Billy was a misguided youth with no mother and an absentee step-father. This led him to fall under the wing of a petty thief and gambler named George "Sombrero Jack" Schaefer. Sombrero Jack stole some laundry from a Chinese Launderer, and had Billy hide it, but Billy's landlord found the stash, and reported it to the Sheriff. This time, Sheriff Whitehall put Billy in Jail. Billy didn't wait to the see the judge, and within a few days had escaped through the Jail chimney. Billy was now a fugitive on the run, with his name making the The Grant County Herald newspaper. He headed to Arizona, where his step-father now resided, only to be rejected by William Antrim.

Billy had nowhere else to go. History has him staying in Arizona where he befriended a known horse rustler and thief named John Mackie. Billy must have been around the age of 14 during this time, and is most likely when he picked up the "Kid" part to his name because he still literally was a young kid fending for himself in the lawless Southwest. It was this lanky youthfulness that made him an easy target for bullying.

Source: wikimedia
An example of one of Billy's favorite style of Guns
Colt Model 1873 Army SA in 45 long
During one such time, Billy was pestered by Frank "Windy" Cahill at a local bar called Atkins Cantina in Camp Grant Arizona. Cahill was a known tormentor of Billy, and it was no different on August 18, 1877. According to eyewitnesses, Cahill called Billy a "pimp" and Billy retorted by calling him a "Son of a Bitch." Cahill then pounced on Billy, pinning him to the floor where he was said to be slapping Billy in the face, when Billy pulled the trigger of his newly purchased .45 six shooter. Cahill died of a shot to the stomach. Billy, now wanted for his first murder high tailed back to New Mexico. Billy was now on the path from young man to full on Murdering Outlaw to eventual legend of the Southwest.

Although Billy the Kid never did say those words, "I'll make you famous," (movie quote fromYoung Guns) that is exactly what he did from that day forth in August 18, 1877. When arriving in New Mexico, he quickly took up with a group known as "The Boys." Alone, Billy would not have stood a chance in the lawlessness of the Southwest. Now he was part of an outfit, and the first order of business was cattle and horse rustling. "The Boys" were now in the middle of what would later become known as the Lincoln County War.

Lincoln County, NM - The War

"The Boys" were led by Jesse Evans but masterminded by John Kinney. These two had worked together as members of a prior outlaw gang, then they each formed their own outlaw gang only to then combine their forces when hired by James Dolan, a prominent businessman and member of the Santa Fe Ring. The Santa Fe Ring were a group of powerful land speculators that gained their fortune through racketeering, corruption and fraud.

Source: Wikimedia
John Tunstall : future boss to Billy the Kid and prominent figure in the Lincoln County War
When John Tunstall started his own business in Lincoln County he immediately made enemies of the Santa Fe Ring, who were Tunstall's direct business competition. James Dolan and the Santa Fe Ring used "The Boys" gang to intimidate Tunstall, and when that didn't work, they would rustle Tunstall's livestock. Tunstall would not back down, and hired his own set of "Hired Guns" to help protect his land and property. They eventually had some of the leaders of "The Boys" gang arrested for stealing some of Tunstall's Horses, but they escaped. It would be Billy who would get caught with those stolen horses, and land in jail.

Billy never took well with "The Boys" gang. He must have felt betrayed or left behind by them, because the first chance he got, he switched sides and now began working for John Tunstall sometime around November of 1877. John Tunstall secured Billy's release from jail, and made him a ranch hand. Unknowingly, Billy was now in the middle of the Lincoln County War.

Alex McSween was both friend and attorney to John Tunstall. Unfortunately for Tunstall, this association would further exacerbate his problems with James Dolan and the Santa Fe Ring. McSween was hired to collect on an insurance policy for the estate of Emil Fritz, but McSween did not turn over the money fearing that the executors of Fritz's will (most likely James Dolan) would keep the money and not distribute it to the family of Emil Fritz. This led to both civil and criminal proceedings against McSween that resulted in his arrest as well as levies placed against his properties by James Dolan. On February 4, 1878, McSween was placed under House Arrest at his home, while Dolan used civil proceedings to confiscate McSween's properties. Either knowingly or mistakenly to his benefit, Dolan used these same civil proceedings against McSween to also confiscate John Tunstall's store.

Source: Wikimedia
Richard "Dick" Brewer, Regulator Leader
James Dolan and the Santa Fe Ring had many civil servants under their thumb, and so with impunity, Dolan continued to pursue John Tunstall's cattle and horses in order to seize them. They even intended to confiscate the cattle that belonged to Richard "Dick" Brewer who happened to be a ranch hand employeed by John Tunstall. On February 18, 1978, Tunstall and his crew, including Billy, were taking his horses back to his ranch. Tunstall became separated during the commotion that ensued when Deputy Mattews and "The Boys" came chasing after them to confiscate the horses. Tunstall was surrounded and then gunned down in cold blood. This meant War.

The (Original) Regulators

Warrants were issued for the arrest of John Tunstall's killers. Billy, Fred Waite (an employee of the now deceased Tunstall) and Constable Atanacio Martinez attempted to effect the arrests of the killers, but instead, Sheriff Brady, under the thumb of James Dolan, had them arrested and released without their weapons a few days later. This would be an act that Billy would begrudge Sheriff Brady.

Source: Wikimedia
Charles Bowdre, long time Associate of Billy the Kid
Since Sheriff Brady was unable or simply would not arrest Tunstall's killers, Richard "Dick" Brewer was then appointed constable with the authority to serve warrants by Justice of the Peace John Wilson. Many employees and friends of Tunstall such as Charles Bowdre, Doc Skurlock and of course Billy the Kid now formed "The Regulators" under the leadership of Dick Brewer. Their purpose was to bring in, "Dead or Alive," the killers of John Tunstall.

On March 9, 1878 The Regulators arrested Bill Morton and Frank Baker for the killing of John Tunstall. During the return back to Lincoln, Morton and Baker were killed, as was one Regulator, William McCloskey. The rest of Tunstall's killers remained free, and Sheriff Brady would do nothing to arrest them, even if there was a warrant for their arrest. The Regulators felt that Sheriff Brady was also partially responsible for the death of John Tunstall as well as interfering in the arrest of his killers. On April 1, 1878 The Regulators were in a shoot out where Sheriff Brady and George Hindman were killed. Now, The Regulators, who walked a fine line between lawmen serving arrest warrants and being vigilantes had now completely stepped out of line and became outlaws themselves with the killing of Sheriff Brady.

About 4 days later, the Regulators regrouped at Blazer's Mill on an Apache Indian Reservation. While there, a Dolan gunman named "Buckshot" Roberts happened to show up. Frank Coe, a Regulator, was a friend to Buckshot Roberts, and tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender, since Dick Brewer did have an arrest warrant for Roberts. Roberts was fearful, especially since the last Regulator prisoners, Morton and Baker, were killed before making it back to jail. The impatient Regulators didn't wait for negotiations and attempted to arrest Roberts. Roberts fired on Charles Bowdre missing, but Bowdre did mortally wound Roberts, who continued to battle. Roberts managed to seriously wound 2 Regulators, and then killed the leader of the Regulators, Richard "Dick" Brewer. The Regulators rode off, leaving Roberts to succumb to his wound. The next day Roberts and Brewer were buried side by side in Blazer's Mill.

To Be Cont...
10/10/16
Full $teem Ahead!
@streetstyle
My Top Blogs
- $1500 into $15,000
- Hitler vs. Picasso

sources:
Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography pg. 112 - Thrapp
http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-otherslist.html
Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life - Utley
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/12/billy-the-kids-real-name-was-not-william-h-bonney/
http://www.heraldbulletin.com/archives/in-history-was-billy-the-kid-from-anderson/article_b6579798-ac8e-553b-a204-37a35ba9fe80.html
http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2010/06/1987-billy-the-kid-made-1st-escape-from-silver-city-jail.html
https://www.geni.com/people/William-Henry-Bonney/6000000010894444446
Ancestry.com
http://www.billythekidoutlawgang.com/