Posted on 12/31/2010 8:38:03 AM PST by JoeProBono
“Cowboy” hats (and no, they didn’t look anything like today’s hat) were just that; hats worn by cowboys. Most other people out West wore hats based on their trade or business. The Kid, being close to the Hispanic community, usually wore a sombrero. Where the hat came from in that photo is anyone’s guess. It’s not a “bowler” by any means, but a short-brimmed, beaver of some type. It might well have been a spur-of-the-moment joke he played. That smirk tells volumes...
Even “realistic” Westerns today make too much use of the “Cowboy” hat in their costuming. And not only cowboy hats but cowboy dress as well. Few walked around town in jeans, high-heeled boots, a flannel shirt, bandanna, and carrying a side-arm. Farmers dressed like farmers, townspeople like townspeople. Oh, and women didn’t wear pants (some farmer’s wives might have on occasion when working the fields). That was a big no-no...
Exactly.
I would trust Billy the Kid before I would trust that sick scumbag Richardson.
It's unlikely the Kid spent much, if any, time in Texas before going to New Mexico. The facts have him returning to New Mexico from a short period in Arizona. He did spend time in Texas after the Lincoln County War wound down, around the Tascosa area. He and his buddies would run stolen cattle and horses to Texas for sale. Then return to NM with their bankroll...
Beyond Paulita Maxwell, the Kid has been associated with rancher John Chisum's niece Sally Chisum, daughter of John's brother James. In fact, it's rumored that John Chisum was involved in getting Pat Garrett to Ft. Sumner for the Kid's killing, not wanting the Kid to have any further association with his niece.
The foundation of the cafe is still there.
Why would the townsfolk allow Billy to sit on the front porch and wait for help in getting his cuffs off? And who helped him? And why would they allow him to ride out of town wistleing a tune? He had just gunned down two deputies. Was everyone in town that afraid of him?
No doubt about it that Garrett lay in waiting for Billy. From what I’ve read about his prowess with a gun you can’t blame him. Maybe that answers my questions above.
You just answered your own question. These were townspeople, not gunmen. And frankly, he had his admirers as well. Not everyone was happy seeing him hang.
As for helping him, Godfrey Gauss, Tunstill's old cook, was living in a small house behind the courthouse, and helped Billy by throwing him a pick axe to break the connecting chain of his shackles.
As for helping him initially in his escape, there are various opinions. One, a pistol was hid in the outhouse, and used by him to kill his jailer, James Bell, on returning upstairs. In another, the Kid beat Bell to the 2nd floor landing, was able to get a pistol from the armory, and shot Bell as he chased the Kid up the stairs. In a third, the Kid wrestled Bell's gun from him and shot him with it. This is the most likely scenario.
The other jailer, Bob Olinger, had shortly before taken the other 5 prisoners across the street to the Wortley Hotel for dinner. That left Bell alone with the Kid. Questions remain about the Kid's intentions in killing Bell. Bell was decent to him and the Kid had no animosity toward him as far as is known.
The opposite is true in his relationship with Olinger. Olinger was on the Murphy/Dolan side during the Lincoln County War. He'd killed a friend of the Kids, and was overbearing and tantalized the Kid in his treatment of him. There was no love lost between the two.
This was the one event that made the Kid a household name across America. It also sealed his fate. One can say he didn't deserve the death sentence for the killing of sheriff Brady (the Kid was the only one of the shooters ever brought to trial for the shooting, and evidence of his firing the fatal shot was very circumstantial). OTOH, he was there, did fire into the group, so... But, this escape, with the result of two deputies dead, could not be tolerated. Yes, he had friends, but this was way to much for anyone else to ignore how dangerous he could be. He had to be dealt with.
Just saw Bob Boze Bell on CNN. He said he can see it either way. He pointed out that Billy was the only one brought to trial. He also pointed out that some of the killings he did while serving warrants as a legal law officer.
As for killing the two deputies, I can only assume he figured it was them or him at the end of a rope.
As I said, the foundation of the hotel is still there. At lease that’s what the townsfolk say.
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