Little is known about Billy the Kid's early days, but he was most likely born Henry McCarty in the Irish slums of New York City sometime in late 1859. Raised by a single mother, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, as a boy before later migrating west to New Mexico in the early 1870s.
Billy the Kid spoke his last words in Spanish. Calling out “¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?” before he was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett, the young outlaw's final moments signal his diverse ethnic context.
After killing a blacksmith during an altercation in August 1877, Bonney became a wanted man in Arizona and returned to New Mexico, where he joined a group of cattle rustlers. He became well known in the region when he joined the Regulators and took part in the Lincoln County War of 1878.
Henry McCarty is believed to be born to an Irish immigrant named Catherine McCarty. Although the identity of his father is uncertain, Henry probably lived alone with his mother in the slums of New York City before moving to Indianapolis some time in the next decade.
The Ghost Town of Bonita and the First Man Killed by Billy the Kid
Could Billy the Kid speak Spanish?
The Kid was a charmer; he spoke fluent Spanish and easily befriended Hispanics, especially the señoritas. But the Kid's cheerful disposition only disguised a quick temper that sometimes drove him to commit audacious acts of crime. Contrary to popular folklore of the Old West, Billy the Kid never killed 21 men.
Billy the Kid (born November 23, 1859?, New York, New York, U.S.—died July 14, 1881, Fort Sumner, New Mexico) was an American outlaw who was one of the most notorious gunfighters of the American West. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10.
During the Lincoln County War his associates began calling him “The Kid” because of his youthfulness and slender build. In 1880, newspaper reporters and dime novelists who often embellished his deeds and his legend grew. So did the nickname that most people know him today, “Billy the Kid.”
Furthermore, it's mentioned that he had two siblings, but one disappeared from records, while the other did not maintain a connection with him beyond their childhood. It's safe to conclude that he did not have any offspring, and consequently, there are no living descendants.
He stood 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighed approximately 155 pounds. Billy had blue eyes, dirty blond hair, and had two front teeth that protruded. He wore a high-crowned sombrero with a green hatband and was right-handed. Billy also spoke fluent Spanish, was of above average intelligence, and was a born leader.
According to Pat Garrett, Billy was “quick as a flash.” While a good shot, he said, Billy “was no better than the majority of men who are constantly handling and using six-shooters. . . .”
Reporting on his death in 1881, The New York Times described Billy the Kid as slim, good-looking and mild-mannered. “His soft blue eyes were so attractive that those who saw him for the first time looked upon him as a victim of circumstances,” it reported.
His crimes earned him a bounty on his head and he was eventually captured and indicted for killing a sheriff during the Lincoln County War. Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang for his crime; however, a short time later, he managed another jail break, murdering two deputies in the process.
Historians believe that his father (some say his name was William Bonney, others think it was Patrick Henry McCarty) died near the end of the Civil War, leaving his mother (variously identified as Catherine McCarty or Katherine McCarty Bonney) with two young sons.
Bonney, later known as Billy the Kid. It is evident that the two were friends, but how close has not been determined. Some say that Billy the Kid was the closest friend Garrett had at that time. Billy the Kid and his gang went on to become the most feared outlaws in the Southwest.
The gunslinger Frank “Buckskin” Leslie shoots the Billy “The Kid” Claiborne dead in the streets of Tombstone, Arizona. The town of Tombstone is best known today as the site of the infamous shootout at the O.K. Corral.
Bottom line: Earp and Wayne never met. Anything Wayne knew about the real Earp came to him secondhand from Ford during their 25-year working relationship. Their encounter is only a charming Hollywood fable. Nonetheless, Earp and Wayne did share several qualities.
Billy was a likable young man. He was very popular with the Latino population in New Mexico. He spoke Spanish fluently, was loyal to his friends, liked music and loved attending the bailes and dancing with the pretty girls. On the other hand, he was a notorious livestock thief.
What is the most historically accurate movie about Billy the Kid?
The title reflects this fact - Gore Vidal's Billy The Kid has been billed with the author's name since it first aired in 1989. Fans of westerns will be quite pleased with Gore Vidal's Billy The Kid. It follows genre conventions closely and is regarded as the most historically accurate movie of the outlaw's life.
As the story goes, Billy—just 21 years old, but already a murderer who had escaped from jail and killed two guards in the process—made the mistake of walking into a darkened bedroom, where Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett was questioning Maxwell.
Despite Dulcinea's fictional nature, Billy the Kid's real-life romantic partner was Paulita Maxwell, a prominent love interest with similarities to Dulcinea.
Writer visits Lincoln, New Mexico, and explains the ethnic hatreds behind the range war that erupted between the Irish Catholic faction which ran the county, and English Protestants... Billy the Kid fought for the Protestant side, but was apparently a Catholic...
DENVER (Reuters) - The only authenticated photograph of infamous Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid was auctioned off to Florida billionaire William Koch for an $2.3 million on Saturday night.
