BILLY FOR SCHOOL KIDS!

Written by our former president, Don McAlavy. First published in the BTKOG OUTLAW GAZETTE 1999 used here under special permission.

BILLY THE KID . . . WHO IS WAS AND WHY

Billy the Kid, was born Henry McCarty in New York City in 1859. His mother was Catherine McCarty. We do not know for certain yet who his father was, perhaps a Patrick or Michael McCarty. Billy came to live in New Mexico in 1873 when his mother step-father moved to Silver City because she had tuberculosis and the dry air and high climate would help her. She soon died, (1874). He grew up under the wrong influences and in defense of his life killed a bully, a blacksmith, Windy Cahill, as he was beating him up. Billy fled, thinking he would be put in jail. He went by the name of Kid, or Kid Antrim (his stepfather was William Antrim), and went to Lincoln County, NM and got involved in the Lincoln County War, using the name William H. Bonney (we do not know where he got that name).

He became famous in that war, became a Regulator to hunt down John Tunstall's murders, and Billy killed some of them as Tunstall was like a father to him. That war ended in the famous 5 day battle where Billy took over the leadership of the Tunstall forces and led the way out of the burning McSween home, many were killed, but Billy and many others escaped. Governor Lew Wallace, who wrote the famous book BEN HUR, promised Billy a pardon if he would testify against others who committed crimes too, but when he testified, the promised was broken and Billy was finally hunted down, and in 1881, on July 14th, at midnight, in the darken bedroom of Pete Maxwell, at old Fort Sumner, Sheriff Pat Garrett, shot him dead. Billy never knew who killed him.

What makes Billy stand out as the most noted outlaw in our civilized world?

1. He has come to embody much of the good and the bad of the Old West: recklessness, bravery, lawlessness and freedom.

2. He lived at a time when strong men make their own law, took care of their own problems, settled many of them with a gun. Even a small person, or young person, was made equal by Samuel Colt. (This was the fascination of people for life in the Old West, when in reality it was mostly a hard, bitter and unrewarding life.)

3. What made him famous was his daring, his "devil-may-care" attitude, and a boldness and wit that older men, gunmen included, hadn't counted on in such a youth, and paid the consequences. No one ever said that Billy the Kid was dumb, in fact most people who studied him admit that he was very intelligent. (Could read and write well, was not awed by those who supposedly had power over him.)

4. People admire someone who can take care of themselves, whether it be with guns, humor, or wit, and be loyal to his friends. Billy was certainly loyal to his friends and became quite expert with his guns, became knowledgeable of people (learned to speak Spanish fluently), was courteous with women (who admired him for it, and of course his dancing abilities). He had been taught good manners, said "Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am.

5. To realize that Billy the Kid's mother died when he was about 15, and his step-father handed him off for someone else to see after, and rough handling by bullies (such as by Windy Cahill, the backsmith), one can empathize with him. For most of his short life he managed to dish out more than he received, in confrontations with his enemies.

6. Billy had good press. Whether that press (he was well known from 10 cent novels long before he life ended) depicted him as a monster, a cold-bloodied killer, or as a victim of circumstances, readers were fascinated by a boy winning out over men. They liked his pluck. (Look that word up.)

7. Billy was lucky, with the exception of his hesitation in the darken bedroom of Pete Maxwell, where he saw someone near Pete's bed, and hesitated to shoot and ask questions afterwards, when the man (Sheriff Pat Garrett) recognized his voice, and pulled his pistol and shot him dead. That says a lot about Billy the Kid. He did not want to shoot and kill or injure a friend of Pete's.

8. And lastly, his death at age 21, killed in the dark without being given a fair chance to defend himself, broke one of the cardinal rules of the West. "You always gave the other person a fair chance." (By killing the Kid, Pat Garrett was never liked by most people after that.) All of the above, and much more, are some of the reasons why Billy stood out. Even without all the silly, inaccurate, movies, and many novels about him (all of which perpetuate the myths and the legend he became) he would still have been someone to admire, as he did go up against the crooked politicians and merchants in his time. Yes, he did kill four men (documented), but these four were in self-defense, even the killing of his guards (one, Olinger goaded him to escape so he could kill him with his shotgun) were self-defense as he was about to be hung for someone he did not kill. All of this adds up to the fascination about him, plus the unsolved mystery of his background, such as who was his father, was he really born in New York City, or Indiana, as some believe? Why didn't Gov. Lew Wallace keep his promise to Billy, why did he knuckle under to the notorious Santa Fe Ring? Hundreds of questions still need to be answered. As a historian I want to know these things. It's part of our history.

A good book that lists all the books, films, etc. and talks about the legend and the true history, is BILLY THE KID - His Life and Legend (1994), by Jon Tuska, in paper back. Another good book, by the expert on Billy the Kid, is THE WEST OF BILLY THE KID, by Frederick Nolan, who lives in England. This book can be found at Amazon.com on the Internet. Also look at Gunfighters Bookstore on the net.

In answer to those who ask if Billy the Kid was a Hero: Billy was no scoundrel and no real hero. He was simply trying to correct a wrong done when the so-call law murdered his employer John H. Tunstall. He was made a hero by his many Mexican-American friends, as they too were under the thumb of crooked merchants, Murphy, Dolan, & Riley, who in turn were controlled by the greedy and powerful politicians called the Santa Fe Ring which at that time ruled the Territory of New Mexico. They were the true villains. He was what you call a "folk-hero" to his many friends. Yes it is proven that Billy the Kid did kill 4 men and maybe others, but the other side killed as many or more. Billy the Kid was the only one, after that Lincoln County War, that was sentenced to be hung. He was made a scapegoat. None of the other killers were ever tried in court.

By Don McAlavy, past-president of the Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang