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During the years that I've had my Web-site up, I have received tons of e-mails from real nice folks. Some of the questions I often am asked is, "...Do you think Billy the Kid got a raw deal?" Or, "...Was Billy the Kid truly the Robin Hood of the West?" Well, since I (regretfully) was not born in the19th century, it's only fair to say, yes, perhaps some things were not quite so true, such as Billy being left-handed as first presumed, or that he killed 21 men, one for each year he lived. But history has a way of speaking out to us and making us go troweling through the past. Was Billy the Kid a Robin Hood? Well, I'd like to believe so. He may have done a few questionable things in his short lifetime, but so did many other men who made up the Wild West. Billy stood up for what he believed in. Newspaper reporters and dime novelists of his day loved nothing more than to fashion this young outlaw to appear larger than life. And they succeeded! Do I think Billy got a raw deal? Heck yeah, I do. History gives us the Lincoln County war, Billy's capture by Pat Garret and later being sentenced to hang. History now tells us Billy was not as dim-witted as some reports made him out to be. In actual truth he was well read. It's easy for accounts to change over the years and for bits and pieces to be tacked on. The truth was out there once upon a time, but sadly, the folks who lived through those days are now long gone. But thankfully there were also folks who kept journals, newspaper clippings and records.
So, I give to you the recordings and research on this young outlaw and the Kid who went on to become a legend, and let you, the reader, be the judge.
~ Lady Belle
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Part One
The Life of Billy the Kid
Born on November 23, 1859 in New York City and called Henry McCarty, this legendary gunfighter later made a name for himself as Billy the Kid. His notch in history, and the road that led him there, actually began on August 17, 1877 when he was 17 years old, the night he killed his first man.
But first, let's take a step back in time when Billy the Kid was Henry McCarty:
Around 1865, Henry and his family headed west to Coffyville, Kansas. When his father died, Henry's mother, Catherine McCarty, later tied the knot with a fellow by the name William H. Antrim on March 1, 1873. The ceremony was preformed at Santa Fe, New Mexico among witnesses Henry and his brother Joseph. Two years prior, Catherine had learned she was dying of consumption and was advised by a doctor to move to a dry climate.
It wasn't long before this extended family settled in Silver City, near the Arizona border where Catherine opened a boarding house. Henry was well liked by those who knew him. He was polite, easy going, witty and had a charming smile. A year and a half later, at the age of 34, Catherine died on September 16, 1874 of consumption. She left behind on this earthly world her sons Joe and Henry who had not yet celebrated his fifteenth birthday. During the 4 months leading up to Catherine's death, Henry stayed by his mother's bedside. Her nursemaid was Mrs. Truesdell, mother Chauncey Truesdell, a pal of Henry's.
The funeral was held in the Antrim home. Some recordings state 14-year old Henry's spirit changing after his mother's death.
Could this be a rare tintype of Billy the Kid? On closer look, is it the confident,
young outlaw history has shown us? Or is it simply a young man who looks anything
but thrilled having his photo taken? (Photo first published in 1936 in The Oregonian)
Part Two
All material copyright © 2007 by Lady Belle Oultlaw.
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