Billy the Kid: American Outlaw

Early Life

Henry McCarty, the boy who would become known by various aliases, including Billy the Kid, was born in late 1859 in the Irish slums of New York, the eldest son of Catherine McCarty. Henry's father died young, leaving Catherine to raise the two McCarty boys alone. Not long after her husband's death, Catherine met a labourer named William Antrim. The two were soon courting, and the family - with Antrim - moved from state to state until Catherine became ill with tuberculosis.

The family settled in a cabin in the centre of Silver City, New Mexico - a mining town that had sprung up just a few years previously following the discovery of silver ore in the area.

When the family arrived in Silver City in the 1870s, they discovered a lawless frontier town teeming with desperate prospectors and hardened criminals. Here, violence was the common currency, with gun battles erupting regularly between rival outlaws.

It wasn't called the Wild West for nothing.

Despite his surroundings, Henry had a happy childhood. But that changed in 1874 when tragedy struck.

When Henry was just 14 years old, his mother died. His stepfather, William Antrim, was out prospecting and didn't even return for the funeral. When he finally did show up, it was to sell the family home, pocket the cash and dump the children on a local boarding house owner. It was a fork in the road little Henry never saw coming and one he'd never walk back from.

Outlaw Beginnings

Fate had dealt Henry a cruel hand, forcing independence on him at too young an age. He quickly picked up the new skills a boy needed to survive in the Wild West - gambling, fast-talking and, crucially, how to shoot. A year after his mother's death, 15-year-old Henry had his first run-in with the law when he was caught stealing butter. A scolding from the sheriff did no good - because several days later, Henry was arrested for stealing clothes. Sheriff Harvey Whitehill had just become the first man to arrest Billy the Kid.

Bad Company

By 1876, Henry had fallen in with a gang of horse rustlers. A Scottish ex-cavalry soldier took Kid Antrim (Henry's new alias) under his wing, and the two began stealing saddles and horses. An arrest warrant was issued, and Henry was soon tracked down, although he managed to escape his captors.

A scuffle with a local blacksmith, a man he already had a history with, led to The Kid's first murder (though the blacksmith had started the altercation in the bar - he was known as a bully throughout the town). When he pushed The Kid to the ground, his gun came loose. In the ensuing scramble, the blacksmith was shot in the stomach. While he lay bleeding out on the floor of the tavern, The Kid fled. Despite a plea of self-defence, the jury ruled the killing to be unjustifiable and criminal. The Kid was wanted for murder.

In the 1870s, Lincoln County was the largest county in the United States, taking up a quarter of the New Mexico territory. It was the epitome of the Wild West. Crooked politicians and ruthless cattle barons rubbed shoulders with hired gunslingers and corrupt sheriffs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the homicide rate of the sparsely populated New Mexico territory was nearly 45 times higher than the national average, accounting for 15 per cent of all the murders in the country.

It was here that Billy the Kid joined the Regulators, a gang aligned with the interests of ranchers and businessmen against the corrupt officials and sheriffs who ran the town. His involvement in this conflict solidified his reputation as a fearless and deadly gunslinger.
During the Lincoln County War, Billy was implicated in several murders, including the killing of Sheriff William Brady and Buckshot Roberts. Despite his notoriety, he was popular among some locals who saw him as a symbol of resistance against corrupt authorities.

Capture and Escape

In December 1880, Billy was captured by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Stinking Springs, New Mexico. He was tried and convicted of the murder of Sheriff Brady and sentenced to hang. However, in a daring escape from the Lincoln County Courthouse on April 28, 1881, Billy killed two deputies, James Bell and Bob Olinger, and fled once again.

He remained a fugitive until July 14th, 1881, when Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked him down to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. In a darkened room, Garrett shot and killed Billy, ending the young outlaw's life at the age of 21. Though widely accepted, Garrett's account of the event has been subject to controversy and debate.

Within a year of killing the kid, he hired a ghostwriter, and the two of them came up with this book about Billy the Kid, which really was meant to shine the spotlight on Sheriff Garrett. But, those who were fond of The Kid thought of Garrett as a murderer.

Michael Wallis, journalist, historian and author of Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride Legacy

Interest in The Kid has only swelled over the years, first with countless dime store novels full of daring jailbreaks and bloodthirsty deeds, followed by songs, movies and TV shows. Despite his short and violent life, he remains an enduring figure in American history, symbolising the lawlessness and rugged individualism of the Old West. Portrayed as both a ruthless killer and a dashing hero, the truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.