As an outlaw, the Kid was unable to work a legal profession. In order to support himself, he went to Fort Sumter, New Mexico, and spent the next two years working at his signature trade: rustling, or stealing livestock. By this point, the Kid had become a famous outlaw, built up by the newspapers.
All of the attention the Kid was now receiving was dangerous.
One dangerous incident happened at a bar; the Kid ran into a man called Joe Grant. He felt that Grant might try to kill him, so he quickly and cleverly devised a plan. Pretending to admire Grant's revolver, he asked if he could look it. Then, he set the revolver on an empty chamber and gave it back to Grant. After this, Grant took the gun and fired, intending to kill the Kid. But he had unknowingly fired a blank, and the Kid was able to shoot and kill Grant before Grant could shoot again.
Another dangerous incident occured when a posse from the town of White Oaks tried to kill the Kid and his gang, but killed their deputy, James Carlyle, by accident. Scared, the posse used this disaster to take the Kid's public glorification away from him, blaming him for Carlyle's death. Now despised by those who had once loved and worshipped him, the Kid was on the run yet again.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Why do we admire them so?
Indeed, these gunslinging outlaws of the old Wild West were incorrigible. The nasty little buggers! Why, then, do we admire them? Why do we watch the movies about them, why do we buy the books about them, why do we become enamored in their being? These are not heroes. They lack the selfless public servitude of Robin Hood, and they certainly lack the nobility of the knights of King Arthur’s round table.
But there is one hero quality that they do not lack, and that is bravery. However brutal their acts may have been, they were certainly brave in the midst of it all. Nasty little buggers indeed. No matter what anyone did or said, no matter how much gold was tacked onto their heads, no matter how many times they were arrested! No matter what, these frontier criminals resurfaced. They could not be made to think, act or submit to ordinariness like everyone else did.
Yes, it must be that we admire them so much and so dearly for their bravery. After all, what is more admirable than the astounding ability to enter a gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to escape from a wild mob of vigilantes out to put a rope around your neck? Like the Latin root of the word “bravery,” they are barbaric; able to face anything and willing to do anything to win, no matter how brutal or cruel. This must be why we admire them so.
Yes, it must be that we like them so much for their bravery; their astounding ability to enter a wild gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to steal a horse in the night without making a sound. Like the Latin root of the word "bravery," they are barbaric. Able to face anything, and willing to do anything to win, - no matter how brutal or cruel - this must be why we admire them so.
But there is one hero quality that they do not lack, and that is bravery. However brutal their acts may have been, they were certainly brave in the midst of it all. Nasty little buggers indeed. No matter what anyone did or said, no matter how much gold was tacked onto their heads, no matter how many times they were arrested! No matter what, these frontier criminals resurfaced. They could not be made to think, act or submit to ordinariness like everyone else did.
Yes, it must be that we admire them so much and so dearly for their bravery. After all, what is more admirable than the astounding ability to enter a gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to escape from a wild mob of vigilantes out to put a rope around your neck? Like the Latin root of the word “bravery,” they are barbaric; able to face anything and willing to do anything to win, no matter how brutal or cruel. This must be why we admire them so.
Yes, it must be that we like them so much for their bravery; their astounding ability to enter a wild gunfight without a drop of sweat, or to steal a horse in the night without making a sound. Like the Latin root of the word "bravery," they are barbaric. Able to face anything, and willing to do anything to win, - no matter how brutal or cruel - this must be why we admire them so.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Billy the Kid (Part Three)
But the future was dim; Tunstall was murdered by the Boys and a sheriff on Dolan's side of the dispute, Sheriff Brady, along with his posse. Thrust back into "thug life," the Kid and his fellow ranch hands formed a gang called "the Regulators." The Regulators had to take the law into their own hands, like all vigilantes, since the law was not on their side. In a vendetta for Tunstall's death, the Regulators killed five men on the Dolan side: Bill Morton, Frank Baker, William McCloskey, Sheriff Brady and Sheriff's deputy George Hindman. This, of course, did not resolve the problem. It just made Dolan's people angrier.
Dolan and his men surrounded Alex McSween's home, trapping McSween and many Regulators inside. It became an all out siege, Dolan even called military troops to his assistance! After four days of this siege, the Regulators still did not surrender. In an act of impatience, Dolan's men set McSween's house on fire. Acting as a hero while the rest of the Regulators panicked, the calm Kid assumed leadership. He split the Regulators into two and sent one group out the front of the house and in one direction so as to distract the gunfire from the second party as the rest of the Regulators ran in the opposite direction. Only three men were killed, McSween and two Regulators, but the Kid and the rest of them survived.
That was the War. The Regulators were finished; each went his own way - so much for teamwork.
The Kid was not only an outlaw, but a now a fugitive as well.
The Kid began the cycle of wandering, working, gambling and wandering some more once again. After a while, he found out that there was a new governor in Lincoln County, Lew Wallace, and wrote him a letter in which he basically asked for forgiveness. In it, the Kid said that, in order for all charges of murder placed on him during the Lincoln County War to be forgiven, he would testify against Dolan's side. The governor told the Kid he would be completely pardoned if he did so.
Though the Kid did testify against Dolan's side, it all went wrong. All of Dolan's men were acquitted since they had such heavy influence on the law and court systems of Lincoln County. The Kid wasn't to be pardoned; Governor Lew Wallace did not have the power to do so. Convinced that he had no possibility of being pardoned, and that he would most likely be killed or jailed, he cleverly escaped, as usual.
Could another new beginning be in store for the Kid?
Dolan and his men surrounded Alex McSween's home, trapping McSween and many Regulators inside. It became an all out siege, Dolan even called military troops to his assistance! After four days of this siege, the Regulators still did not surrender. In an act of impatience, Dolan's men set McSween's house on fire. Acting as a hero while the rest of the Regulators panicked, the calm Kid assumed leadership. He split the Regulators into two and sent one group out the front of the house and in one direction so as to distract the gunfire from the second party as the rest of the Regulators ran in the opposite direction. Only three men were killed, McSween and two Regulators, but the Kid and the rest of them survived.
That was the War. The Regulators were finished; each went his own way - so much for teamwork.
The Kid was not only an outlaw, but a now a fugitive as well.
The Kid began the cycle of wandering, working, gambling and wandering some more once again. After a while, he found out that there was a new governor in Lincoln County, Lew Wallace, and wrote him a letter in which he basically asked for forgiveness. In it, the Kid said that, in order for all charges of murder placed on him during the Lincoln County War to be forgiven, he would testify against Dolan's side. The governor told the Kid he would be completely pardoned if he did so.
Though the Kid did testify against Dolan's side, it all went wrong. All of Dolan's men were acquitted since they had such heavy influence on the law and court systems of Lincoln County. The Kid wasn't to be pardoned; Governor Lew Wallace did not have the power to do so. Convinced that he had no possibility of being pardoned, and that he would most likely be killed or jailed, he cleverly escaped, as usual.
Could another new beginning be in store for the Kid?
Billy the Kid (Part Two)
There were many arrests and escapes in this new line of work, and though the Kid and Mackie had become partners, the Kid decided to call it quits. In an effort to clear his name, he returned a few stolen horses to the army and then picked up where he had left off, working as a ranch hand.
Though he had tried to live as low-risk a life as possible for the Wild West, he ended up sticking it to a bully - with a revolver. The bully's name was Frank Cahill, nicknamed Windy, and he had it coming. After Windy slammed the Kid down with his body and began to hit him, the Kid grabbed his gun and fired. With a gunshot wound in the gut, Windy fell over, nearly dead if not dead already, and the Kid hightailed it out of there, stealing a horse in the process.
The Kid left Arizona to avoid any murder charges and found a new home in nearby New Mexico. He wasn't able to find any work as a ranch hand this time around - he was a certified outlaw. Soon he met the leader of a gang called "The Boys," Jesse Evans. The Kid joined the gang, perhaps reluctantly because he was sick of "thug life," but maybe he embraced it as something he had been molded into over time and by hardships. Personal feeling and motive aside, no man's land places like New Mexico were no place for a man to be alone. He needed some one to have his back, and so he joined "The Boys."
Thus, the Lincoln County saga begins. Here, "The Boys" found alliance with a man called James Dolan. An ongoing feud between Dolan and "The Boys" and a competing business and Englishman called John Tunstall and his attorney/partner, Alex McSween, soon became known as the Lincoln County War.
No matter how much Dolan's side of the fued intimidated Tunstall and McSween, they just wouldn't leave the competition. In an effort to further intimidate Tunstall and McSween, "The Boys" began stealing their horses and livestock. The Kid was caught and arrested for his participation in this, but Tunstall wanted to give the Kid a second chance; he thought the Kid was just an innocent kid who didn't want anything but a place to belong. The second chance was to work as Tunstall's employee, and would be given to the Kid if he testified against Dolan's side. The Kid agreed.
At Tunstall's, a new chapter seemed to open up for the Kid. He changed his name to William H. Bonney and people began to call him and to refer to him as "the Kid." Perhaps the Kid would find a better future to belong to.
Though he had tried to live as low-risk a life as possible for the Wild West, he ended up sticking it to a bully - with a revolver. The bully's name was Frank Cahill, nicknamed Windy, and he had it coming. After Windy slammed the Kid down with his body and began to hit him, the Kid grabbed his gun and fired. With a gunshot wound in the gut, Windy fell over, nearly dead if not dead already, and the Kid hightailed it out of there, stealing a horse in the process.
The Kid left Arizona to avoid any murder charges and found a new home in nearby New Mexico. He wasn't able to find any work as a ranch hand this time around - he was a certified outlaw. Soon he met the leader of a gang called "The Boys," Jesse Evans. The Kid joined the gang, perhaps reluctantly because he was sick of "thug life," but maybe he embraced it as something he had been molded into over time and by hardships. Personal feeling and motive aside, no man's land places like New Mexico were no place for a man to be alone. He needed some one to have his back, and so he joined "The Boys."
Thus, the Lincoln County saga begins. Here, "The Boys" found alliance with a man called James Dolan. An ongoing feud between Dolan and "The Boys" and a competing business and Englishman called John Tunstall and his attorney/partner, Alex McSween, soon became known as the Lincoln County War.
No matter how much Dolan's side of the fued intimidated Tunstall and McSween, they just wouldn't leave the competition. In an effort to further intimidate Tunstall and McSween, "The Boys" began stealing their horses and livestock. The Kid was caught and arrested for his participation in this, but Tunstall wanted to give the Kid a second chance; he thought the Kid was just an innocent kid who didn't want anything but a place to belong. The second chance was to work as Tunstall's employee, and would be given to the Kid if he testified against Dolan's side. The Kid agreed.
At Tunstall's, a new chapter seemed to open up for the Kid. He changed his name to William H. Bonney and people began to call him and to refer to him as "the Kid." Perhaps the Kid would find a better future to belong to.
Billy the Kid (Part One)
Popularly called Billy the Kid during his outlaw years, this particular outlaw was born as William H. (for Henry) McCarty to Catherine McCarty (paternity unknown) sometime between 1859 and 1861 in New York. The birth of his younger brother, Joseph, is documented as taking place in 1863. Historical documentation places the Kid in Indiana during the late 1860s and in Wichita, Kansas in 1970. Apparently, his mother was suffering from tuberculosis and decided to move farther West after being advised to go somewhere warm and dry.
When Ms. McCarty married William Antrim in 1973, everyone in the family started to call the Kid Henry instead of William or Billy, in order to avoid confusion. Thus, he became Henry McCarty-Antrim. Barely a year after the marriage took place, the Kid's mother died, leaving him and his brother in the care of their stepfather, who was all too happy to place the boys in foster care. As a result, the Kid and his little brother Joseph were separated, most likely never to see each other again.
Abandoned and alone, the Kid had to take care of himself. He worked at a restaurant as a dishwasher and waiter. A year went by for the Kid, all on his own, until he began hanging out with what his mother may have called bad influences were she still alive. The Kid ended up arrested and locked up for theft after he agreed to hide stolen clothes for one of those "bad influences," who was known as Sombrero Jack. Though he was only to be in jail for a few days, the Kid escaped and left town for Clifton, Arizona (where his stepfather was now living). The Kid visited his stepfather, in hopes of being taken back, but to no avail. He was told to leave; abandoned and disgraced for the second time.
Still alone, the Kid wandered the desert looking for work. He worked as a ranch hand when he was needed, and when he wasn't doing that, he gambled. This is how it was for the next two years (by now the Kid is about sixteen years of age). The cycle of wandering, working, gambling and wandering some more ended for the Kid when he met John Mackie, a horse thief, who taught him the trade. The Kid wasn't alone anymore.
When Ms. McCarty married William Antrim in 1973, everyone in the family started to call the Kid Henry instead of William or Billy, in order to avoid confusion. Thus, he became Henry McCarty-Antrim. Barely a year after the marriage took place, the Kid's mother died, leaving him and his brother in the care of their stepfather, who was all too happy to place the boys in foster care. As a result, the Kid and his little brother Joseph were separated, most likely never to see each other again.
Abandoned and alone, the Kid had to take care of himself. He worked at a restaurant as a dishwasher and waiter. A year went by for the Kid, all on his own, until he began hanging out with what his mother may have called bad influences were she still alive. The Kid ended up arrested and locked up for theft after he agreed to hide stolen clothes for one of those "bad influences," who was known as Sombrero Jack. Though he was only to be in jail for a few days, the Kid escaped and left town for Clifton, Arizona (where his stepfather was now living). The Kid visited his stepfather, in hopes of being taken back, but to no avail. He was told to leave; abandoned and disgraced for the second time.
Still alone, the Kid wandered the desert looking for work. He worked as a ranch hand when he was needed, and when he wasn't doing that, he gambled. This is how it was for the next two years (by now the Kid is about sixteen years of age). The cycle of wandering, working, gambling and wandering some more ended for the Kid when he met John Mackie, a horse thief, who taught him the trade. The Kid wasn't alone anymore.
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