In 1859 William H. Bonney AKA ‘Billy the Kid’ was born in New York City
On the 18th of February 1878 English Rancher John Tunstall was shot dead in cold blood starting a war in Lincoln County, USA. John Tunstall had employed young gunmen, including William Bonney, for protection as tensions rose between himself, his business partner, Lawyer Alexander McSween on one side and two Irish-Americans (J.J. Dolan and L.G. Murphy) owners of a general store called ‘The House’ and who wanted to control the beef market in the area. A posse, who were sent by the store owners, entered Tunstall’s ranch but soon left after meeting Bonney and the other hired guns. Before they left the ranch, Tunstall (who was alone) approached the posse demanding they didn’t return when one of the men shot him. The Tunstall hired guns could only watch as their boss was shot dead in cold blood and for this they would seek revenge against The House and its allies. Tunstall’s business partner, McSween, began legal proceedings to have the culprits brought to justice.
Billy the Kid and the rest of the Tunstall posse became known as “the Regulators” and after McSween secured warrants for the arrests of the men the regulators were deputised to bring them to justice. The regulators began to hunt down all those involved with the killing of Tunstall and on the 9th of March they shot two of the house posse, Bill Morton and Frank Baker, who they claim attempted to escape. When Regulator William McCloskey objected to killing Morton and Baker he was accused of working for the House and shot by fellow regulator Frank MacNab. When Governor Axtell arrived in Lincoln and heard of the deaths, the Regulators became outlaws.
Another of the men in the Houses posse was Sheriff William J. Brady and on the 1st of April 1878 Billy the Regulators ambushed the Sheriff and killed him along with his deputy George Hindman on the streets of Lincoln. The murders of Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman began a manhunt for Billy the Kid and many would try to claim the reward.
On the 4th of April they hunted down Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts and the famous Gunfight of Blazer’s Mill took place. Roberts was a formidable opponent for the Regulators and before he was shot dead he had managed to kill their leader, Dick Brewer, and wound several others.
The regulators voted Frank MacNab to take the place of Brewer but on the 29th of April the Regulators were cornered by a large posse and MacNab was killed. After 2 years on the run and several more confrontations Billy the Kid was finally caught by Sheriff Pat Garrett. He was put on trial and the judge ordered him to be hung. On the night of the 28th of April 1881, while Billy was being returned to his cell, he grabbed a gun and shot to guards before escaping on a horse.
Pat Garrett had made it his mission to return justice to the streets of Lincoln and he couldn’t allow the Kid to get away with such an insult. By June that year Garret had been informed that Billy the Kid was hiding out in Fort Summer, some 140 miles west of Lincoln. He took two deputies and went in search of Billy. When Garrett arrived in Fort Summer he sought information from an acquaintance of his, Peter Maxwell. Garret awoke Maxwell as he slept in his bed and began to question him on the whereabouts of Billy the Kid. At the same time the Kid was on his way over to Pete’s to get some beef from him. As he entered the room both the Kid and Garrett were unaware of the others identity. That was until Pete Maxwell whispered to Garrett saying “it’s him”. With that both men went for their guns. Garrett was had the upper hand as he was in the dark and Billy was taken completely off guard. Pat Garret shot Billy the Kid killing him with a single shot on the 14th of July 1881 (Billy was aged just 21).
