Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.
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.
Billy the Kid committed many crimes during his short 21 years, but bank robbery was not one. Billy the Kid was most known for being a horse thief and belonged to a gang that stole horses from cattleman, John Chisum of New Mexico.
Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.
Billy's lover Paulita Maxwell later claims that she never liked the picture, claiming it does not do him justice. In a saloon in Fort Sumner, the Kid shoots and kills a local drunk during an argument. A posse tracks the Kid and his gang back to a ranch between Vegas and White Oaks where a gun battle breaks out.
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. . . .”
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.
Mr. William H. Bonney, some say Billy the Kid lies beneath a headstone inscribed "Pals" with his name and those of two of his outlaw buddies. Visitors often decorate the grave with large caliber bullets and shotgun shells.
At that time, he also spotted Garrett, sitting near the bed. but due to the darkness, the Kid did not recognize him. Instead, he hoarsely voiced, Quien es?, meaning, "Who are you?" And Garrett, knowing this was a bad time to say, "It's me, Billy!
Quotes. I don't blame you for writing of me as you have. You had to believe other stories, but then I don't know if any one would believe anything good of me anyway. People thought me bad before, but if ever I should get free, I'll let them know what bad means.
The posse captured two men and executed them, allegedly as they tried to escape. Then six Regulators, the Kid among them, ambushed Brady and his deputy George Hindman, although it's unclear who fired the fatal bullets. The Kid proved a good shot, constantly practising with either a pistol or his trusty Winchester.
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.
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.
Though many gunfighters were remembered to be dangerous with a pistol during the American frontier, only a few known historical individuals have been noted by historians as "fast", such as Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, John Wesley Hardin, Luke Short, Tom Horn and Billy the Kid.
The folder of Billy the Kid materials consists of photocopies of four 1881documents: a death warrant signed by New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace; a note written by Sheriff Pat Garrett explaining that Bonney's death warrant was not carried out because he escaped custody; and Spanish and English versions of the coroner's ...
Back in New Mexico, the Kid poses awkwardly for the only photo ever taken of him. Billy's lover Paulita Maxwell later claims that she never liked the picture, claiming it does not do him justice. In a saloon in Fort Sumner, the Kid shoots and kills a local drunk during an argument.
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.
After being caught and jailed, in April 1881 the Kid managed a legendary escape, cementing his status as a Western icon. On July 14, 1881, the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garret, never having received his pardon. In 2002, Bill Richardson was elected Governor of New Mexico.
In 2010—a year before the record sale of Billy's first photograph—Californian Randy Guijarro was digging through items in a junk shop in Fresno, California. In a dusty cardboard box he found an interesting 4x5 inch tintype picture of two young men and a woman in the mid-1800s playing croquet.
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.
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.
Perhaps as important is the item Billy was holding in his left hand that fateful night at Fort Sumner: a simple butcher knife. Billy had been on his way to cut a piece of fresh meat from a slaughtered beef hanging at Pete Maxwell's house when he came upon Garrett's deputies.
