Billy the Kid. William Henry Bonney. Brushy Bill. John Miller? Did Billy die in 1881, or not? Let's dive into that.
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| One of the only confirmed pictures of Billy the Kid |
A short introduction to Billy the Kid is in order. He was born in the slums of New York City. His father died when he was a child, his mother remarried, and he was a straight shooter until he stole laundry at age 14 while working at a hotel. From there he went to jail (and instead of just letting it blow over and get released) only to escape out a chimney. He went to work as a civilian teamster in Arizona and encountered a man who bullied him. He shot him in self-defense during a fistfight. Once again, instead of letting the law acquit him on self-defense, he ran away. From there he eventually ended up in Lincoln County working for John Tunstall, who got killed by a rival rancher. This set him up for being on the wrong side of the Lincoln County War. All this led to Pat Garrett supposedly killing him at Fort Sumner.
The Debate
Yes, that was a lot, but if you want more go down and surf my sources. He's a fascinating outlaw. Here is where we debate. Did he die in 1881 at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett, or did he live out his life as Brushy Bill or John Miller? No one actually has proof of either situation. It would not surprise me if evidence was buried due to a mistake in identification, or if Garrett sympathized with him as a friend.
First, let's give you the facts. No opinions, just facts, on what can be proved. It isn't much, sad to say. Billy was in Fort Sumner visiting women, staying at Peter Maxwell's house. He had a knife on him because he was cutting meat off a killed yearling outside. Pat Garrett had been asking questions of Peter Maxwell when Billy came into the room. Here Garrett shot him. This is all that can be proved.
Young guns is not as factual as you think, but it does ask the question of whether it happened this way or not. According to Pat Garrett's book "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid", this is how it happened. However, according to Joe Hines (a survivor of the Lincoln County War), Garrett killed the wrong man and Brushy Bill was in fact Billy the Kid. Historians all have different views. Some say Billy was dead in 1881, while others think he was Brushy Bill or John Miller.
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| Brushy Bill in Hico, Texas |
Evidence is a problem. There are two coroner reports that are nowhere to be found and the remains of the original (possibly, but maybe not) Billy and Brushy Bill have not been kept track of well. The sketchy part is that most times you kill an outlaw you have a picture of the body. Garrett buried the body so quickly that there is no picture of the dead body and the witnesses who signed the coroner report barely saw the body. Brushy Bill being Billy is denied by the family of Brushy Bill. The timeline doesn't line up, as well. You see, Billy the Kid is a legend and most likely only killed 9 men (when newspapers said he killed 21). His case is so cold that we may never have actual proof of the outcome and newspapers don't help.
So, What Happened?
I will say this for Brushy Bill - he only wanted the pardon he was denied by Lew Wallace. He said he left him to die when he took back his word. This fact and several others convinced a lot of Hico, Texas that Brushy Bill was Billy the Kid. Paired with Joe Hines' tale, it would actually fit together that Billy the Kid died around 90 years old in Hico, Texas - that he didn't die in 1881 in Fort Sumner.
As for Pat Garrett's tale, I can't look past the fact he buried the body almost as quickly as he shot the man. It would be believable that he could lose a coroner's report or two to cover up his mistake. Also, wouldn't you want to show off that you shot a notorious outlaw who was known for killing 21 men? His story is also contradicted by Joe Hines. In general, something is not lining up. It is entirely possible he shot the wrong man.
Lastly, some think he lived a peaceful life as John Miller after dodging Garrett. I can't find much on this at all, which might be why it is possibly true. If he was hiding out, it could be he did so in a way that drew no attention to himself. He wanted that pardon he was given and then denied, so why not use his "death" to live the peaceful life he desired?
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| An Updated (not the original) grave of Billy the Kid in the Billy the Kid museum. The original was a wooden board and his body was in flooded land. |
All of these are possible outcomes to a cold case that has never been solved. What do you think? Did he die in 1881 or not? I'll leave it up to you. Go ahead and surf my sources. See what you can find.
Pictures:
Roadside America
Wikipedia
Mental Floss
Sources:
https://www.biography.com/video/billy-the-kid-a-controversial-death-2203008690?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-biograph
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