The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid

Pat F. Garrett

• Publisher: Sunstone Press
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9781611391183
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

When Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett ended Billy the Kid's life on the night of July 14, 1881 with a shot in the dark, he was catapulted at once into stardom in the annals of Western history. The killing occurred at old Fort Sumner, New Mexico on the Pecos River. Garrett by pure chance had encountered the Kid in a darkened room of the Pete Maxwell house. As the unsuspecting Billy entered, he was cut down without warning. But the Kid had his share of friends and many of them stepped forward to level some harsh criticism against the lawman. It soon became clear that while Pat Garrett was an instant celebrity, he had also come away, at least in some quarters, with a negative image. To address that problem, he began thinking about a book to give the public his side of the story. The editor of the "Santa Fe New Mexican, " Charles Greene, offered to publish a Garrett volume if the sheriff could find someone to ghost write it for him. Pat enlisted his good friend Marshall Ashmun (Ash) Upson, a journalist, to do the job. Upson cranked out a manuscript and it was published in 1882 under the title "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid." Sunstone's edition is a facsimile of the 1927 edition. Before that fateful night in 1881, there was not much in Pat Garrett's career to suggest he was headed for a place in the history books. Alabama-born in 1850, he worked as a cowboy and buffalo hunter in Texas. By 1878 he had drifted to the Pecos in eastern New Mexico. Perhaps craving excitement, Pat Garrett ran for sheriff of wild Lincoln County in the fall of 1880. He was elected. Winning the office put him on a collision course with the outlaw Billy and the incident that catapulted the Kid into literary immortality.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• The Southwest Heritage Series / I
• Foreword To This Edition / II
• Facsimile Of 1927 Edition / III
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Foreword
• Introductory
• I: Childhood And Youth—Sudden And Quick In Quarrel Even In Boyhood—Always A Defender Of The Helpless—High Regard For His Mother—His First Murder
• II: A Fugitive In Arizona—Picks Up A Partner Named "Alias"—Kills Three Indians For Plunder—A Bunco Horse Race With Indians—Kills A Soldier Blacksmith At Fort Bowie—Flight Into Mexico
• III: Gay Life In Sonora—Killing Of A Mexican Gambler —Taking Desperate Chances—A Ride For Life And A Lucky Escape
• IV: In Chihuahua City—A Dead Monte Dealer—Adios Chihuahua
• V: Once More A Wanderer—Meets Again With Jesse Evans—Billy's Appearance At Seventeen—A Bloody Fight Against A Party Of Mescalero Apaches
• VI: Parts Company For Time Being With Jesse—Acquires The By-Name, "The Kid"—A Remarkable Ride To The Aid Of A Friend—Jail Delivery Single-Handed
• VII: A Perilous Journey Through The Guadalupe Mountains—Another Encounter With Mescalero Apaches —Almost Miraculous Escape
• VIII: The Kid Joins Jesse Evans' Crowd On The Pecos—The Lincoln County War—The Kid A Partisan In The Feud, First On The Murphy-Dolan Side, Then On The Tunstall-Mcsween Slde
• IX: The Kid's Apparent Reformation While In Tunstall's Employ—Tunstall's Cowardly Murder—The Kid Swears Vengeance—Partially Carries Out His Vow In Killing Morton And Baker
• X: The Kid Bears A Part In The Buckshot Roberts Encounter—Becomes Leader Of The Band Upon The Death Of Brewer—A Clash In Lincoln With Billy Matthews—Killing Of Sheriff Brady And His Deputy, Hindman
• XI: Bowdre Captured By Jesse Evans' Party—The Kid To The Rescue—Dramatic But Bloodless Encounter Between The Kid And Evans
• XII: The Desperate Three Days' Fight At Lincoln—Burning Of The Mcsween Residence—The Kid Makes A Sortie—Fights His Way From The Burning Building And Escapes—Death Of Mcsween
• XIII: The Killing Of Bernstein At The Indian Agency—Fort Sumner Becomes Headquarters For The Kid's Gang—The Kid Calls Long's Bluff—Horse And Cattle Stealing Expeditions—Threats Against Chisum—Arrest At Lincoln And Easy Escape From Jail—The Kid And Jesse Evans Meet Again—Murder Of Chapman By Dolan Partisans
• XIV: The Kid Under Voluntary Arrest At Lincoln—Another Escape From Jail—Continued Wholesale Cattle Stealing—Kills A Texas Desperado Named Grant
• XV: Several Cattle And Horse Stealing Raids—Fight At Coyote Springs With Hudgens' Posse—The Kid's Band At Bay At Greathouse's Ranch—Killing Of Carlyle—Another Lucky Escape By The Kid's Party
• XVI: Garrett Becomes Sheriff Of Lincoln County—Barney Mason Made His Auxiliary—Important Clue Incidental To Search For Counterfeiters—Energetic Pursuit Of The Kid And His Band Begins
• XVII: A Hot Chase Over The Prairie After O'folliard—The Kid's Castle At Los Portales—A Parley With Bowdre—Difficulties With San Miguel Officers—Reinforcements From The Canadian
• XVIII: Garrett Tightens The Coils Around The Kid—A Modern Don Quixote—A Trustworthy Spy—On The Kid's Trail Assiduously
• XIX: Garrett Lays A Trap At Fort Sumner For The Kid's Party—O'folliard Its Victim—The Kid And His Other Accomplices Escape—Renewed Pursuit Of The Band
• XX: The Kid's Gang Trapped At Stinking Spring—Death Of Bowdre—The Kid's Plan Of Escape Checkmated By Garrett's Marksmanship—Surrender Of The Kid And Remnant Of His Gang
• XXI: Garrett In Defense Of His Prisoners Stands Off A Mob At Las Vegas—The Kid In Jail At Santa Fe—Trial And Conviction Of The Kid At Mesilla—The Kid Under A Death-Watch At Lincoln
• XXII: The Most Dramatic Of All The Kid's Escapes—Killing Of His Two Guards, Bell And Ollinger—His Get-Away And Subsequent Movements
• XXIII: Garrett Perfects Plans For The Kid's Recapture—The Fatal Shot In The Dark At Pete Maxwell's—The Kid's Burial In The Old Military Cemetery At Fort SumnerXXIII: Garrett Perfects Plans For The Kid's Recapture—The Fatal Shot In The Dark At Pete Maxwell's—The Kid's Burial In The Old Military Cemetery At Fort Sumner
• Addendum