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I BILLY THE KID.THH TRUK HISTORY OF THE BOY—DEV-EI.’S TXKKIBLK EXPLOITS “HE Ctfi-I.Y KILI.KD ELEVEN MEN THAT IENOW OF.' DETAILS OF HI8 OWNDEATH.er Ids mother married a man nam-1 IheTrcaWrom^^ I EL11'®,.!?*.1 “i Linco.1!1’In your paper of last Monday which, owing to the wash-outs-along the railroad, has just reaphed here. I r.ee yon copy the long and absurd sketch ci Billy the Kid and liis fictitious “castle5' furnished the Philadelphia Times by its cor-resoondent at Fort Sumner, New .Mexico, in a letter dated July 10. ®ixleen The limes corresuondent gives, a3 ie the hero of an alleged wonderful | adventure in the caetle of the fa- j in the most deliberate, cold blooded iiiouD ' Kid 5 and the authority for style. Pursuit was hot, and lie fled liis Mancliasenish pen-picturc of j back to New Mexico and took lef-ed Antum, who is now living in Georgetown, New Mexico, and a brother of Billy is now livine in that region. When he was about fifteen years old he was jailed in Silver City lor robbing a store. Being very small for liis age, some ladies took pity on him, and assisted him to escape, which'be did by crawling lip through the chimney of the fall. His feminine sympao thizers then furnished Lira clothes and money and he skipped over into Arizona. Here, when lie was aevonteeu years oldKILLED TIIS FIRST MANthat redoubtable boy-devil, a Mr Duncan, who is described as hav ing been «t one time as member of Gen. Sherman's staff', but, when bis “adventure55 occurred, connected with a railroad surveying party, and “now a successful trader at Alamosa, New Mexico.The whole story of “the Kid5fi'5 gorgeous styles is the wildest bosh; liis “impregnable castle55 was clear case of “a castle in Spain55 and his gold braided broadcloth, his royally comparisoned steed, liis black buckskin trouserswitli rowsof fringe fsnd silver bells down the legs, and his $300 hat blazing with g -ld and jewels, were the guaziest fabrics ot a whiskied brain.But without any of this blazonry of humbag, and embroidery of fiction, the I:*story of “Billy the Kid’5 eclipses all Deadle5s dime romances of border ruffianism and crime, and dims by comparison the lunter of Missouri's pet heroes and erani-plars, the dashing Jamses. He needs no bogus silver spurs stuck on heels by a Philadelphia scribbler to send him galloping down toA BLOODY AND DAHE-DEYIXTCH immor-tAlity.in t Fig annals of this strange, wild territory. The simple story of liis hideous i.ireer would fill a volume written in letters of fire and blood.uge among the cowboys of Lincoln county, “just about the time that the “Lincoln couu'.y war” broke Ollf.This war, according to Marion Turner, who was a conspicuous figure in it, originated in the determination of “Old John Ciiisum,” and iiis partner, Alex McSwain, to establish a monopoly in the stock-growing business and make them-selves what the claimed to be, •'the cattle kings of the I’ecos valley.5’ They drove in 80,000 head of cattle. The herds ot the smaller ranches wcro swept away with the rolling avalanche of hoofs and horns. The losers attempted to reclaim their animals. Collisions between the herders were.of constant occurrence. The firm cf Murphy, Dolan J; Co., headed the ranchmen and herders opposed to Cliis-urn and McSwain. Both sides en-k... id all the strength and influence tli.-.y could. Cliisunl t!c McSwain hired “Billy, the Kid,” and I.: reckless da.'ed evil ism, his deadly marksmanship, his skill as a horseman, andliTS DELIGHT IN MURDEi. at once made him the leader of his faction.Early in 1873 Ghisum had “the Kid55 appointed deputy constable, and armed with a warrant for the arrest of some trival charge ofNVil-•li- K: J, , a, KTT* ]!°!l3e: ^'d, on tl,e advice of his friends, i vo^n Apf r61-5 TT I decided to leave the country, buta young boy from ban An ton'o, ITexas, noticed one of his friends j 8WORE nE would kill col. dudlev full near liis side. Amid a perfect j before he went. A court-martial storm OF balls and BucKsiior Ior court of investigation as to Dud-1N WALKED THE KID,instantly doteeting, in spite of the darkness, that there wa6 somebody in the room with Maxwell, he levr eled his pittols, exclaiming, *Quiin est ? Quicn est f‘ (Who are you I or Who’s there?) Bui, the delay of asking was tatal. Before tlm Words were off hialips Pat Garret** belief^ wasIhrough his heart, andui«. i , ,, ,r c ■ ----- ‘BiHy the Kid,5 the terror of Newkilled by Deputy Sheriff * Ted l,y Mr. McSwarn to pros* Mexico, lay a gasping, quiveringlt5s posse, shortly before'?‘iar8lt;!a against Col. j corpse, while his life blood djrffof Pete Maxwell’s lint. Eloven goiy ghosts stood wmtiog tu escort himhe coolly stopped, nicked up his 'l^L? ,,art *'? ,l,e ot June,18(9, was going on at Fort ‘Stauns ton, m Lincoln county. Judge Iracomrade and started to carry himoff in his arms; but, finding he was tt, t . c , ,r.-.dead, threw down the body, mid , Leonard, formerly of Missouri, pistol in hand, fought bis way cut. I bUt ?ow Mexico, had beenTomPat Garrett» •**-»,.» uU,ulu ... M _, . . . .the capture of the lvid last winter. • ult;Jley of being accessory to the tho dirt floor murder ot her husband and the | dark adobeTntThe Kid escaped fire, bullets and ■ imer’s posse at the McSwain!McSwain l,riDS ‘jt'Jier house. Judge Leoganized Ids gang. About Axtell was removed‘“V* . 1 . .i • , • . , ‘ . ttiuoio OlUUll M11I1ediatelv re-or-!V^rd at th®‘i,Ke a resident of- Las to etcrQal e|l8dp. .bout this tin-. '1*5w.*f accotnpamed to I ort from the Gov „hV- JAn McPherson.Iernorsjiip of the Territory and Lew F'T* r,t' r‘,Hc® ^ f as Vegas, who | the Kid Wallace was appointed in his |1 , b,eon w*™ed by the gamblers | pcradott GDUIIHUU ill II IB I , . ... O” r- ~......1JUwent up to Santa I a,ul tl,nSs,of ‘ iat P*ace to leave on | very small and,slender, being a means, won the Pam °* , e,a !',er,3°:! ,,ad .about five feet fWo inches till,ver to the side of _en Wlth the Quantrell during the weighing scarcely 120 pounds.and give a hotter idea than all the Ilium Morton and Frank Baker, herdsman in the employ ot Tom Catron, formerly of Lafayette county, Mo., and the partner of Hon. Stephen B. Elkins, also a Missouriinventions and pen-and-ink ex travaganxea of a thousand correspondents of the desperadoism that has for years cursed Now Mexico and retarded the development of the richest mining lezfou on tho continent. The “Kid” was the incarnation of New Mexican civilization, as it has been In the ruffianly days not yet gone by—the civiliva tion of the knife and pistol, of rifles with the number ot their victims, notched on tiieir 6tocks, of Apache raids and massacres, of ruthless vendettas and assassinations, and of murderous wars between would-be cattle kings and boss land-grant swindlers — a civilization of whichTil 13 SIGNIFICANT OUTCROPPING, appeals in the Las Vegas Qasetle of day before yesterday morning :NOTICE!TO THUG3, THIEVES, CUT-THROATS, MURDERERS!You are notified that your presence will not be tolerated in tho vicinity of Las Vegns after 10 o’clock P. M., Wednesday 27. This notice is intended to include the “Kids’ and all other persons not engaged in earning a livelihood in a legitimate way. By order of theCommittee of Safeiy.July 21, 1SS1.Sncli a “civilization” slionld bo spelled dcvilizatiou; and “Billy tho Kid” was its prophet, its legitimate result, its perfect exemplification. From interviews with many men who knew him, including Mr. Taylor, whom I have already mentioned, Marion Turner, who led in one of the most notable campaigns against him, and PatW allacc was appointed place. C.iisum Fe, and, by some new Governor ovthe Kid. George Taylor, Turner s paitr.er, talking .o me last night about the affair, said: ‘Wallace was a d—d romantic old fool, and easily led himself to sympathize with the Kid, often speaking of biin as that brave boy, or that wild young knight errrant. He lost sight of hb crimes in tho romance of his devilisbm?a.’Under the influence of liis foolish sentiment which was better suited toONE-nORSE NOVELIST than to the Chief Executive of a turbulent Territory, Gov. Wallace issued a general proclamation of pardon to all the parties, including army ofiieeri who had been engaged in the Liucoln-countv outbreak, eomuiaudiug them to” lay down their arms, go home and keep the nonce. The amiy^afficer” allusion of this remarkable grouuncia-mento was aimed at Lieut. Col. Dndley, of the Ninth eavalry, and, very naturally, exasperated that gentleman by placing him, in gubernatorial grace uud estimation exactly upon a level with cow-boys, outlaws ami l ids.Ilia novelistic Excellency s bugle had scarcely rung truce when the widow of McSwain resolved to prosecuteTHE - .\YERS OF HER HUSBANDand destroyers of her home. She myloyen a lawyer named Chap'API EARAXCE — anything bat a des^-gamblers j pcrado or a monster. lie vug butnlt;)ntbad a plain but pleasant face, with sometime thin, sharp features, blue eves ar.fithe roughs earned out; iijji.t l.nir. He was calculated fietiiako friends, and, 6frange as ftwar, and was himself a desperado Returning to Las Vegas afterwardtheir thi eats and killed him. A ho and Leonard were sitting theirroom at Fort Stanton one monrned deAth/ 0nemay seem, left many who Binccrely• * , « .• .... . . , i iiivmii ucu n.o ut'Hiib una of I liftnight, shortly after their arnval ... ,t t „ ,they heard a tap on the window.',. , .. ,r o Vk T^y 1°’ Upon opening the shutter the Kid I 1,0*h W1, ‘ thc oppoaitostenned into tUc room and annom.- f“t,J,n* knew lmn_well, said to m’pthis morning’: ‘Do you know 1 rkU!iRg\uA Wirh ' much i ^ould,t kelp feeling sorry when ! *tv thov succeeded in diasaud-! ho:ird that b”v waB killed?- Ht was a fplerdid liorsemnn and a dead shot, ai.d at tlio time' of hie death was only about twen.y-two He then mounted his horse and years old. struck out for the Staked | Tho hero of tho hour in Ne'flr Plains, where ho embarked in the Mexico now, the king lion of thoced that he had come trial I diflicuing him from attempting toEXECUTE 1113 BLOODY rURPOSE.end thobusiness of cattle stealing at wholesale, making his headquarters about Fort Sumner, and finding purchas-Territorial meaagosie,I’ATSEY y/r.REthcrs for liis stolen herds among men , tho slayer of the Kid. liis name is whose names are by no means ob-J in everybody’6 mouth. The papersscare in Territorial history and af ......f aire.are full of hie exploits a:id bia praises.' The Very children in thoHaving a diffculty With liis o’.d I Greets stop and honor him with i qdeyer, Chismr, in regard to jc,lrloU8 a',d admiring stare as he ges due him for various services, I l’aseti8- I met him yesterday inboy, but long the New Mexican j man, of Las Vegas, who went down into Lincoln county and promptly began to stir up all the old strife, but was soon murdered by a man named Campbell aud ethers of the opposite faction. When Gov. Wallace beard of the death, of Chapman lie arose In all the might and majesty of a litile wooden Ter ritorial official with a tin ear, end went down into Lincoln county, outlawed Turner aud his posse nod all other officers ol tho law who iiad been fighting Chisnm and Mc-8wain and tho Kid and liis gang, had Turner and ten or twelve of liis posse put in irons and had Col. Dudley arrested and relieved of liis command.Twenty-one indicments were found against Turner for murder, arson and cattle stealing, lie and his as^ocmtesdelegate in Congrcas, and now one of tlie “solid men’5 of New York After arrest ing Morton and Baker the Kid declared his detcnn'iiauon to kill them. A man named Mc-Cluskey. who had accompanied him and assisted iu making the arrest, interfered to prevent the murder. The Kid promptly shot him dead in his tracks and thenKILLED TITE TWO PRISONERS,near Chi-mnrs ranch.Sheriff Brady and Deputy Sheriff’ George Hindman, of Lincoln county, went out to arrest him l'or tliis tripie murder. The Kid waylaid them and firing upon them from behind the adode wall around McSwaiida house, killed them both, lie now gathered around him a I baud of outlaws aud desperadoes I and delied county, Territory and United States authorities. Iu June, 1879, Marion Turner, deputy sheriff of Lincoln county, had u warrant placed in his hands for the arrest of the Kid for the murder of Morton, Baker, McClusky, Brady and Ilinman. Turner ' rganized a posse of thirty-five men, principally ranchmen and cowboys of the anti-CUisum faction, anil started onHIS DESPERATE ERRAND.On the 17th of June lie came upon the Kid with sixty-three men, and instantly began a running fight whicli lasted three days. Lieut. CVd. Dudlv, of the Ninth cavalry (Gen. Hatch's fnincuo colored regiment), learning that rc-en-fnrcements were hei'Jg rent to theI, AY IN IRONR forty days and nights, and were then brought before the court for trial, the Kid appearing as the principal witness against them. They were all acquitted, but Turner lias been 'harassed from that day to this. “By G—d, ’ said he to me last night, ‘‘they have had me in-dieted in every court since, and it lies cost me £6,000 to stand them off, besides nil the annoyance and loss of time.”On the morning of the 27th of September, 1879, Turner was married, at a hotel in the town of Lincoln, to-a young girl named Iiattiu I’hillips, who had a cousin married to Surgeon Appel, of the Ninth cavalry. The same evening Ap pel, with two companies of negroGarret, who killed him, I am able Kiff, took two companies of his troops,surrounded the hotel and to n-ivo von :______ i__. ... w.______*_iveA FEW FACTSin regard to him aud to correct several errors which are being published far aud wide.The paper speak of him a3 Billy Conley, Billy Coyle, B illy Donovan and Billy Bonny, and as many regions clamor for the honor ol his birth as tor that ot ancient Homer. Tho New. York Sun sets him down as a Now 1 ork- beer saloon brawler of five years ago. Springfield, ill: Sherman, Texas; Philadelphia, Cincinnati and several other places are credited with his nativity,HIS ItBAL NAURwas Billy McCarthy, and he wasregiment and went to Turner s a3 sistance. The Kid and his gang took shelter in McSwair’s house, in the town of Lincoln, ttlie most elegantly furnished dwelling in the Territory, and it is said that during the fight Mrs. McSwain encouraged her wild garrison by playing inspiring airs oti her piano anil singing rousing battle songs, until the beseigiug posse getting the range of the piano from tho sound1, shot it to pieces with their heavy buffalo rifles. On the third daySEIZED THE BRIDEand carried her off, claiming that she was only sixteen years old and a minor. She was afterward sent to Monroe. Michigan, and placed in a fctpalo seminary, where she still is. She lino an uncle living there. Frederick C. Godfrey, who was formerly Indian Agent at the Mesoalero Agency, in Lincoln count)', and who took an active par in spiriting her away. Her mind has since been so influencedof the skirmish Turner had the agaiust Turner, that she recently house fired'by throwing buckets applied for a divorce, on tho ground full of blazing coal oil into it and that the marriage was illegal on ac-over it, and about dusk the desper- j count of her minority. It was notudocs maderushein| wag-he swore vengeaneo against him j and his, and from that time on ChUum.'d herds and herders suffer-; iid. How many men ho killed, how many cattle ho stole, how many deeds cf daring deviltry aud cruelty he perpetrated, will probably never be known until the record books of damnation are opened and cowboys and Congressmen, law makers and law breakers, presidents, i ii rates, Governors and things are eutatnoned to judgment.During the early part ot the present year Deputy Sheriff Put Garrett, of Lincoln county, captured the Kid and took hith to Aiesil-ia, where he wac tried r.ndSEN FENCED TO BE HANGEDin the town ol Lincoln. He was taken to Lincoln, ironed and under a strong guard. Soon after reaching the town lie managed to knock Deputy Sheriff Boll in the head with bis handcuffs, and before lie could recover from tiio stunning effect of the blow, the Ivid pei .vd bis pistol and shot him dead, Deputy United States Marshal Robert Oltlinger, who had been one of tl.o Turner posse in 1879, hearing the shot, came running, gun iu hand, to Bell’s assistance. Tho Kid :Santa Fe, and a milder-looking gentle-spoken fellow 1 never saw. lie is about twenty-seven years old. six feet five inches full and.of almost willowy 6ilt;j.Tdcrnes8; with a slight tendency to stoop in his position that is natural to ono of his build. IliS coftlpDxicn, tVat-nrally fair, is still—tanned to a ruddy brown. His eyos are grayish brown and keen as tin eagle’s, and liis hair and slight mustache ‘arc ot a light brown tint scarcely’ deeper than gulden. Ilia voice is asSOFT AS A WOMAN’S 1and ho rarely nsoc it to talk of himself. He spoke very kindly of tho kid, and hiivrng o-ieabion, in reply to a question, to allude to the exploit which lias made him famous, simply remarked: ‘Ho was tukcn the night of the l l'.li ot this month.* 1 asked him if the Kid had killed really as many men as tho papers report—from nineteen to twenty-* six. *No,: lie answered in his musical, feuuriine vorcc, ‘ho only killed eleven as I know of.5 I thought one for every two years of his life wac nearly enough.Some hitch occurred in regard to the reword Garrett expected td get from the Territorial authorities!armed with Bull’s shot-gun and the people of nil the cities andpistol, saw Oh linger coming, and dy hailed him with ‘Hello, Bob!Ohlinger paused a second and it I him, and Lastowns in tho Territory have gone to work to raise a enbsaription forst him his life ; the h id poured charge of buckshot into hi killing him instantly—TWO KURD!readyheart, € 1,200giveIN HALF A MINUTE. The young monster then stepped out on tho pcalone has aliunde up lt;i purse of nearly n gold. It other places much in proportion, the fund will amount to a good many thousands. 1*. Donan,rtico ot the old house I in which dead men had been guard-1 ing him. aud defied tho wholetown. He made ono man knock . , . , j... ,, , .i is given, better flowers and richerus irons off, and covering another p . , , . JWaste coffee'and coffee grounds e excellent fertilizers for roses! healthier, raoro vigorous growthwith Ids death dealing shotgun, ordered him to saddle a liorro that I waa standing in the street, out, mounted and galloped out of town in the presence of tho Aholc population.But such n rnreer must have an bd, and “Billy tho Kid” was a ip—colors. A great deal is thrown ■ a way and wasted, which, if placed ,V‘“. | around rose bushes would greatly 11 clt; benefit them.A standing antidoto for poisor. by dew. poison oak, ivy, etc., is to take a handful t.f quicklime, dia-‘idly nearing the inevitable close of eolvo in water, let it stand half ar. his blood-stained carter. IIo had Iwnr, then paint the poisoned partsheretofore carried death with him. with it. Three or four applications I will never fail to cure tho most ng-! gravated cases.butDEATH WAS NOW CLOSE A FT ER HIM. Deputy Sheriff Put Garrett, with two companions, started on liis trail swearing to capture or kill himto escape to! so under the laws of tho territory, born in New York. When he was (their horses. A desperate hand toj but Turner admitted it in order to Garret went to Maxwell s, and beJosh Billings gives tho follow-'ing advico to young men; ‘Don’tbe discouraged if ycr mustuck don’t or die trying. In some way known, . * j,c ry .. •, _ i 1 grow: it pointimca happens whoreonly to himself Garrett learned,b _ ■ , , . ,i • i.„. . , , , iii • a rmitaeh dnz the best nothing elsethat the Kid would probably visit: . tho house of Fete Maxwell, at Fort' 11 ” eo weSumner, in Lincoln county; sometiino during the night of Tuesday,July 14. Shortly liefore midnightsja very small boy the family settled hand fight ensued, in which twelve j Free her, and the divorce was grant- just seated hiinsclHn tlm dark on H in Silver City, Graut county, New (of the Kid5s men and two of Turn- jed last mouth Mexico, nml bo. was raised in flint er’s nnnsn worn killed McSwaiu Alter tho athe sioG of Maxwell’s bed when tl.cMexico, and he was raised iu that cr’s posso were killed, MiSwahi After tho acquittal ol Turner aud doot opened, audHe was sitting in »lie parlof with her when a rooster crowed in' the yard, and leaning over ho said:' ‘Chanticleer.5 ‘I wish yon wouM? I am sleepy as I can be.5 He cleared.
Newspaper Details
Western Sentinel
Winston, North Carolina, US
Thu, Sep 01, 1881
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kokomo-Howard C.
IN, USA 14 Feb 2025
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