One man who lived in Hico, Texas, and went by the name of Oliver P. "Ollie" Roberts, aka "Brushy Bill," claimed to be Billy the Kid. His story has been told since 1955 in a variety of books. Dr. C. L. Sonnichsen wrote "Alias Billy the Kid" from materials furnished by William Morrison, who was Brushy Bill Roberts lawyer in Brushy Bill's attempt to procure a pardon for the crimes of Billy the Kid from Gov. Thomas Mabry in 1950. The pardon was not granted. Roberts died shortly thereafter.
Later, William A. Tunstill of Roswell wrote "Billy the Kid and Me Were the Same." Judge Bobby E. Hefner has penned "The Trial of Billy the Kid," a fictional trial weighing the truth of evidence presented on behalf of Brushy Bill.
Hefner, a former municipal judge, comes down on the side of Brushy Bill, concluding "... Billy will live forever in our hearts and minds. He died of old age. But he will forever be Billy the Kid." It should be noted that Hefner owns the Billy the Kid Museum in Hico, Texas.
The Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang, is a group of interested residents and historians, who like to get together and tell the truth about Billy the Kid, argue about the legends and continue a good-willed but occasionally heated debate about Brushy Bill.
To summed it up: "... how we know Brush Bill was not our Billy the Kid - to make it concise: (1) Brushy Bill was only 2 years old in 1881, (2) Billy the Kid was right-handed, not left-handed like Brushy, and (3) Billy could speak fluent Spanish, Brushy could not even understand Spanish, (4) Billy was literate and wrote a beautiful handwriting (Brushy was illiterate)."
Gang founder Maryln Bowlin, who operates the Old Fort Sumner Museum, said the museum has a copy of one page from the Roberts' family Bible, which shows Oliver P. Roberts' birthdate as 1879. A photo in Hefner's book shows Brushy Bill's headstone and the birthdate is listed as 1868. While living, Brushy Bill claimed he was born in 1859.
The left-handed, right-handed argument results from publication of a tintype of Billy the Kid, the only known photo of William Bonney, which is really a mirror image. When published correctly, Billy's pistol is on his right side.
Besides speaking fluent Spanish, Billy the Kid was literate and did write in quite easy-to-read handwriting. He penned several letters to Gov. Lew Wallace, attempting to remind Wallace of his promise of a pardon.
Bowlin said local Fort Sumner residents, who include a good number of descendants of those who knew Billy the Kid, generally believe Garrett killed the Kid. One woman recalls taking Deluvina Maxwell, a woman who knew Billy the Kid, to visit Billy the Kid's grave.
"That's what convinced me," the woman told Bowlin. "If Billy the Kid wasn't really buried there, I don't think she would have been visiting his grave."
Those wanting to read newer books on Brushy Bill's claim should get two books: "Billy the Kid: 'Killed in New Mexico - Died in Texas" by Jannay Valdez, and "The Return of the Outlaw Billy the Kid", by W. C. Jameson and Frederic Bean.
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