Wild West Legends Billy the Kid - Weebly · 2021. 1. 22. · Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, was a notorious outlaw and gunfighter in the wild west. He was orphaned

Wild West LegendsBilly the Kid

John Choi

Who is Billy the Kid?

Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, was a notorious outlaw and gunfighter in the wild west. He was orphaned at age 15 which led to his first arrest of petty crimes. He soon joined a deputized posse called the Regulators and became famous for stealing horses and cattle, but more importantly, killing 8 men.

Childhood

• Technically, his whole life was during his childhood

• Orphaned at age 15 when his mother died

• First arrest was due to stealing from a Chinese laundry

• First murder was at the age of 18 of a blacksmith during an altercation

Nickname• Real name: Henry McCarty

(Born on September 17 or November 23, 1859)

• Pseudonym: William H. Bonney

• Known as Billy the Kid

Famous Crimes

• After getting into an argument in a saloon with a blacksmith, Billy, shot and killed him.

• Billy fled but returned a few days later and was apprehended by Miles Wood, the local justice of the peace.

• Billy was detained and held in the Camp Grant guardhouse but escaped before law enforcement could arrive.

• He participated in the Lincoln County War which was famous because of him. It was a Old Western conflict between two rivaling factions.

Last Gunfight

• Almost three months after his escape, Garrett, the sheriff, responding to rumors that Billy was in the vicinity of Fort Sumner.

• Garret enters a room that Billy was in, but due to poor lighting, Billy did not recognize that it was the sheriff.

• Billy yells "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?" (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?")

• Sheriff Garret recognizes Billy's voice, draws his revolver, and shoots Billy. The first is a direct hit to the chest, and the second misses, but nonetheless, Billy supposedly dies.

• At first, the account of Billy’s body is unclear but later is confirmed and is buried.

Associates

• Billy and two other Regulators were later charged with killing three men, including Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady and one of his deputies.

• His main enemy was Sheriff Pat Grant, who killed him in Fort Sumner.

• His allies were the Regulators. The Lincoln County War brought him to the front, but several of the other Regulators were actually the driving force behind the events, and had a history of killing alongside one another prior to the war.

• Billy worked with John R. Mackie, a Scottish-born criminal and former U.S. Cavalry private. They stole cattle and horses together.

Rumors of Survival• Rumors grew that Billy the

Kid was still alive

• They believed that Garret let Billy go, out of friendship and that he fled.

• Many claimed to be Billy, but they were all false.

• These speculations lingered around for some time.

Death and Legacy• The Authentic Life of Billy

the Kid was written by Marshall Upson.

• Garret wanted to disprove the rumors so he asked Upson to ghostwrite the book.

• Billy the Kid became famous through the Wild West and dramatized the Western World.

Reference

• https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-billy-the-kid

• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/billy-the-kid-born

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billy-the-Kid-American-outlaw