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TOLD BY JOHN MEADOWS, PICTURESQUE OLD PIONEER AND WHO WAS A PERSONAL FRIEND OF THE KID, HAD BILLY TAK EN MEADOWS’ ADVICE HE WOULD HAVE LIVED LONGER (From the Roswell Dispatch) Gathered around the campfire, a crowd of 1200 people heard “Old Tim er’ John Meadows, tell of the thrill ing story of “Billy The Kid.” The quiet of the crowd through the two hour recital told the story of interest which this present day Chav es county audience had in the thrill ing past. Preceding the story- telling, old time songs and dances given in a set ting strikingly likened to those of early New Mexico history gave the huge audience a half hour of some of the best entertainment seen here in a long time. With costumes and with characters of the early days, the songs and dan ces took on a realism that was catch ing. During the square dance, called by Elza White, most of the crowd kept time with tapping feet. The theme song, “My Pecos Valley Home,” was sung by Lt. M. Sansom who also appeared as the partner of Mary Elizabeth Bell in a clog dance. Lt. Sansom in his role, dressed in black cowboy hat, and with gun dang ling from his right hip, brought strangely to mind the picture of The Kid. The Chorus of old time songs were enthusiastically received. The setting, the dress and the numbers selected combined to give the audience a feel ing that early days were here again. Frank B. Coe, with his fiddling, was well received. During the inter mission, four “cowboys” sang songs of the camp fire. The N. M. M. I. Band played sever al numbers in front of the building, and opened the presentation with the Zacatecos march and with a collec tion of Irish melodies. The presentation was under the general direction of Miss Elizabeth Garrett, daughter of the famous peace officer, Mrs. Whitney and Mrs. Martenis assisted in the direc tion of the play The first part of the program was more entertaining, but nevertheless the big crowd showed plainly its in terest in the facts told of the early days in the story told by Old Timer, John Meadows. Reminiscences by John Meadows, Ex Mayor of Tularosa Perhaps no man could better have told the story. The first man whom Meadows met after he came to New Mexico was Billy the Kid who befriended the newcomer. Through the trying years Meadows was one man whom Billy could turn to as a friend. Later, Meadows was for many years a depu ty Sheriff under Pat Garrett both at Lincoln and at Las Cruces and was closely connected with the fmous peace officer for 22 years. Thus he was close or closer to both of the leading figures in this great drama than was any other man. Today, Meadows says for Billy, “He had a human streak in him and despite his badness, for which I don't have any excuse, I loved him for it. He was raised in a saloon and gamb ling hall, and in my opinion he never had a chance. But he did have breed ing. He was expert at everything he tried. He never tried anything but dealing monte and shooting and he could do them to perfection.” Of Garrett he says, “I loved him and all of his and will love them al ways with all my heart. Meadows settled for once and all the tales that have flown about in re ward to the relations and feelings be tween the Kid and Garrett. “The Kid told me himself, three days after he had escaped from the Lincoln county jail where he was un der a sentence of hanging, that he wouldn't harm a hair on Pat Gar rett's head,” said Meadows. “Before he caught us, he was mighty rough, but after that he treated us as white as any man could have treated us. The Kid told of how Garrett had insisted that the short shackles be replaced with long ones after bring ing him to the Lincoln County court house. He also told of how Garrett had stood up against a mob of 200 or more at Las Vegas who sought to lynch the Kid and his partners. The final actual killing of the Kid by Garrett was unavoidable. It was a question of one life or the other. arrett fired and his shot struck the Kid's heart. The Kid's bullet may be found today under the window sill of the room in which Billy fell, Mead ows believes. The Kid after his escape from Lin coln had gone to Meadows’ place on the Penasco (about 14 miles SE of Alamogordo). There Meadows gave him a horse and advised the Kid to get out of the country “If you go back to Fort Sumner Pat Garrett will kill you.’ Meadows says he told the Kid. The Kid laugh ed and said he had too many friends there. He said he didn’t have enough money to go to Mexico as Meadows advised him to do, but said that he would go back to Fort Sumner, raise some money and then go to Mexico. Garrett was sheriff of Lincoln coun ty at that time backed by the north while people of the county and had given the outlaws repected warnings to leave or be captured Garrett had a tip that the Kid was at Fort Sumner and went there with John W. Poe and Kip McKinney, to see if a capture could be arranged. While Garrett was there looking a round, the Kid came in from a sheep ranch after dark and went into his room at the east end of a long row of adobe rooms. Maxwell with whom the Kid was staying, was in a room in the far west end As the Kid came in with a piece of meat for his supper he aw three strangers pass. He took his gun out and started down to the west end of the long building. Stepping into Maxwells room he started to ask Maxwell a question, Garrett was sitting on the bed talk ing to Maxwell and trying to plan a means of capturing the Kid Just then the Kid saw a strange form sit ting on the bed. He pulled his gun and with it six inches from Garrett's breast, Garrett fired, dodging to one side. Meadows told of his coming to New Mexico in March of Issa) with Tom Norris, his pal. He had lost his hat a few days before and the sun and rain had made his face a mess of blis ters. Near Fort Sumner Meadows lay down under a tree waiting while went to look for a hat. Ile was found by Billy the Kid. The Kid and the Maxwells cared for Meadows until his face healed and Meadows worked for the Kid for a tire handling a herd of cattle for bins and finally selling them. In answer to the question of where the Kid killed his first man, Meadows said: “It was at Camp Thomas, Ari zona. The Kid was dealing Monte when a blacksmith, drunk and broke, started to pick on him thinking him an easy mark to get some money from. The Kid gave the blacksmith a quarter to get a drink, but when the blacksmith came back for more the Kid objected. The blacksmith knocked the Kid under the table, and,” Meadows said, “when he came out from under, he came out’ shoot ing. A bullet hit the blacksmith un der the chin and come out at the top of his head.” From then the Kid had some ex periences handling cows in Mexico, but finally drifted up to the White Oaks country Later the Kid got work at Chis holm’s ranch near Roswell. Trouble was brewing near Lincoln, at this time. The Kid a short time later started for the Liuidose. After stop ping with the Coe and with Dick Brewer for a time he started from Fort Stanton to the Felice river with Tunstall. On the way they met up with a posse, Tunstall , killed by Tom Hill, after Hill had told Tunstall that he would protect him. This, Meadow vid, was the thing which brought [ily actively into the Lincoln county woul d From then on he Kid just seemed to turn loose his ‘war dogs. The Coe boys and Dick Hiewer got mixed up in it and every lot got mad and went to killing “Both sides had good men on them good honest mer
Newspaper Details
Alamogordo News
Alamogordo, New Mexico, US
Thu, Mar 05, 1931
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Deborah M.
USA 17 Nov 2025
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