Billy The Kid: A Criminal Cowboy Legend Who Kills One Person A Year During His Life

JAKARTA - Lively, brave, criminal. Those are the best words to describe Billy the Kid, the legend of the cowboy era in the 19th century. During his 21 years of life, he had killed 21 people. Divided equally, Billy would have killed one person a year during his lifetime.

During his life, he almost spent in and out of prison. He was dealt with and caught by the police for the first time when he stole a basket of laundry. It happened on September 23, more than a century ago, or in 1875.

But with his slender body, The Kid managed to escape through the chimney and fled to Arizona. There, he was involved in horse theft.

Two years later, The Kid killed Frank Cahill, an army blacksmith at Fort Grant. Because of that incident, he was arrested again. But again, he managed to escape and ended up working with John Tunstall.

As reported by the Spartcus Educational page, The Kid worked as a horse thief in Arizona. Then, after that, he returned to Mexico and joined a group of snipers and cattle thieves who were involved in the Lincoln County War.

The Lincoln County War was a famous war between ranchers and merchant factions in Lincoln County in 1878. After that, Billy went away and continued his criminal life of stealing cattle and horses, gambled, and killed people.

Billy The Kid was found guilty of murdering a sheriff named William Brady and detained in Lincoln prison while waiting to be executed by hanging on May 13, 1881. However, Billy killed two guards (JW Bell and Bob Olinger) and fled, when a sheriff in charge of his case named Pat Garrett, was out collecting taxes.

Garrat finally found out Billy the Kid's hideout in Fort Sumner. With his deputies, John Poe and Thomas McKinney, Garratt headed for Fort Sumner. On July 14, 1881, Garratt killed Billy the Kid in a gun battle in a dark room at Pete Maxwell's house.

It is said that Billy The Kid killed 21 people in his 21 years of life. However, most experts believe he was only responsible for nine deaths.

The Legend

After his death, Billy the Kid became increasingly famous and legendary. He became a symbol of the Old West alongside Kit Carson, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, and Wyatt Earp.

The story of Billy The Kid is mythological and romanticized in many films, books, TV shows, and songs. Every year, tourists visit Fort Sumner to see Billy the Kid Museum and his tomb.

Billy the Kid was born William Henry McCarty Jr. on November 23, 1859, in New York. His early life is unknown. Some said that that his father either died or left the family when Billy was very young. Billy The Kid was orphaned at the age of 15 when his mother died of tuberculosis. Before long, he and his brother were involved in petty theft.

Quoted from Biography, Billy is slender, blonde hair and blue eyes, and wears a typical sombrero with a wide decorative ribbon. He could also be charming and polite but could be angry and violent. He used his generous nature to exert influence during his robbery.

The legend of Billy The Kid resurfaced in November 2017. At that time, a North Carolina lawyer revealed that he had realized he had bought a tintype - a photo medium in the form of a thin metal plate covered with dark varnish or enamel - featuring Billy the Kid and the shooter, Sheriff Garrett.