Billy The Kid: One of The Most Famous Outlaws of The Old American West

On August 18, 1877, the Kid had a run in with his tormentor at Atkins’s cantina. Cahill called the Kid a pimp and the Kid returned the insult by calling him a son of a bitch. Cahill then plowed into the Kid and wrestled him to the ground. Gildea recorded, “Windy threw the youth on the floor. He sat on him, pinned his arms down with his knees and started slapping his face. Billy worked his right arm free and managed to grasp his .45. Then there was a deafening roar. Windy slumped to the side as the Kid squirmed free.” … [Although Cahill had the upper hand,] the shooting was considered unjustifiable (Brothers).

Having killed Cahill, McArty decided to go back to New Mexico to escape the police. There, he joined a group of cattle rustlers known as “The Boys.” They would steal cattle and horses at night and sell them to people who didn’t ask questions. McArty eventually separated himself from The Boys though, because they were getting to be too much as some of the members didn’t like him and kicked him out of the camp a couple of times. He was apparently getting a little too close to Bill Morton’s girlfriend. Eventually, he was arrested and thrown in jail for stealing some of John Tunstall’s horses. John Tunstall was one of the two people involved in the Lincoln County War, and seeing how McArty could be of use, he offered employment at his ranch at Río Féliz (Wroth). McArty, seeing this as a new beginning, changed his name to William Henry Bonney (Brothers). Unfortunately, this new beginning would not last long. Tunstall was shot to death as part of the war on February 18th, 1878 (“Shadows”). Swearing revenge, Bonney and Dick Brewer, another one of Tunstall’s employees, formed a group called “The Regulators” and proceeded to hunt down and kill Sheriff William Brady and his deputies. This added another major murder to Bonney’s repertoire (Brothers). Through the course of the Lincoln County War, Bonney would kill eight more people; he was caught and killed by Sheriff Pat Garett on July 14, 1881 (Tompkins 274).

Billy the Kid was a remarkable character. As harsh and cruel as he seemed, George Coe would later remember, “He was the center of interest everywhere he went, and … he seemed as gentlemanly as college-bred youth. He quickly became acquainted with everyone, and … grew to be a community favorite.” George’s cousin Frank would also fondly remember, “He was about seventeen, 5ft 8in, weight 138lbs and … [was as] fine looking [a] lad as ever I met. He was a lady’s man and the Mexican girls were all crazy about him. … He was a wonder, you would have been proud to know him” (Brothers).

Unfortunately, McArty did a great many unlawful things, and thus was killed for it. He is an American hero, if only because he didn’t let anything get him too down and because he just kept going, but mostly he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had a terrible childhood. His life serves as a lesson to remind all of us to keep on trying, no matter how hard it seems to be to carry on.

Works Cited

Brothers, Marcelle. About Billy the Kid. Webmistress/Historian Marcelle Brothers. Web. 06 Dec. 2009.

“Shadows of the Past, Inc., Looks at Billy the Kid.” Welcome To Spotted Dog Ranch. N.P. Web. 09 Dec. 2009.

Tompkins, Vincent. American eras. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Print.

Wroth, William H. “New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Billy the Kid.” New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Digital History Project. N.P. Web. 09 Dec. 2009.