Can’t you hurry this up a bit? I hear they eat dinner in Hades at twelve sharp, and I don’t aim to be late.” – Black Jack Ketchum, just before he was hanged at Clayton, New Mexico on April 26, 1901.
Writing about the American West is difficult. Such an immense and glorious landscape has sheltered ancient peoples, as well as violent criminals. We tend to think a lot about the stereotypes of the West: the native; the cowboy; the pioneer; the prostitute/saloon girl; the outlaw. It is of this last class of people that I wish to write today--the outlaw; the gunman. But, how to choose which psycho to write about?
Shall we try someone like William Bonney, aka Henry McCarty, aka Billy the Kid?
Alright partner...let's ride!
Legend has it, that Billy killed 21 men. Did he? Probably not...we really don't know the actual figure. What follows is a close approximation of his life--I'm sorry, I sure wish we knew more definitively what his early experiences were, but still, you might find his story interesting--give or take a lie or two! I find it really strange that every young American has heard the name "Billy the Kid," but no one ever knows much beyond that name. What we're left with are inexactitudes: perfect for the Hollywood machine, eh?
Tinsel town has ever had a hard on for Billy...not because of his true history, but rather for the legend that grew up around him. An early death also didn't hurt. At one time, or another many actors have played him:
Yeah. I know, right? Newman at 30 playing an 18 year old? Not even Paul is that good. But it's still a really weird movie...I can't really recommend it.
Robert Taylor? Really? Really?
Ah...Emilio.
...and, yes, you've got it, Val Kilmer in Gore Vidal's "Billy the Kid." It was made for TV in the 90s. OK movie. Grrrreat performance by Kilmer.
You judge.
And, over the years there were cinematic figures that drew deeply from his legend. Here are some elegies to Billy...
Bet you thought I didn't remember this!! Hey...how can one ever forget Billy Jack on acid?
No. Wait a minute. That isn't him. This is:
I know, I know: he's wasn't exactly/traditionally good looking, but sources suggest that he was immensely charming, Actually, I think he looks stoned here. Bad teeth too, and that never helps.
Early Days
It's actually hard to unravel this brief life--there's so much mythology surrounding Billy, that it's nearly impossible to tell his story with provable facts. It’s also a bit galling how we continue to try and sympathize with the multiple murderer. But, don't let that stop us, OK? Alright amigos and amigas! Let us proceed!
Henry McCarty was probably born in New York's Lower East Side, ca. 1859. His Family emigrated from Ireland, during the last gasp of the great Potato Famine. Not too much, if anything, is known about his father. He could have died due to any number of reasons--but this left the mother and her children in a difficult place. They had zero chance of finding either jobs or living space in New York City. Oh, what to do...what to do? Inevitably, the McCartys were as affected (read seduced) by popular fantasies about opportunity in "the West". You're shaking your head aren't ya, and waiving your arms in the international "no" gesture?--don't worry Sheriff, I see ya.
You know whenever you see a horror movie, and then a character does something incredibly stupid (like going down a darkened stairway, into a room that is not lit)? This was just like that. If only they knew what we know now, yada, yada, yada....but hindsight is so last century.
First, the family most likely moved to Kansas, which turned out to be a total bummer.-- Billy's life is a little murky at this point. We think that his mother then went "Further West, Young Woman!" Also my lady, don’t forget to say yes to the first slob who asks for your hand in marriage, in this case, William Attrand--a loser and an abuser. He was also unemployed, and had no prospects. Eventually the, er, "family" settled down near Silver City, New Mexico, and this is where Billy 'grew up.' There was a large Spanish population living in the city, and reputedly, Billy loved interacting, dancing, and speaking with them. He immersed himself in their culture, and was quickly fluent in their language, and made many friends among them. This continued during the course of his brief life--Billy would usually find shelter from the law among the Hispanic population around Santa Fe. For a while, anyway.
One of the fun facts about Billy that I rather enjoy, are descriptions that he was actually a really good dancer, especially when it came to Latin dances.
Ye Gads I love me some flamenco...
So, let's return to Silver City. Here, Billy's family existed barely above the poverty level. Stepfather Attrand was useless, and his mother ended up being the main provider. At some point, predictably, their marriage went wrong, and Billy's mother ended up alone.
The story goes, that tragedy came into Billy's life when his family died of consumption. Definitely his mother died, and reportedly a sibling as well. Billy was alone. Have you ever felt like that? No mother, no annoying siblings, no pets. Just total absence. That is what this 14 year old was was facing in 1875. From this point, Henry/Billy would begin to reinvent himself. Eventually, he became known as "William Bonney"-- a name he may have grabbed partially from his mother.
This picture is selling at Christie's this month, for over a million dollars. BTW: Billy is the one wearing the top hat. I also drew a red arrow.
Billy drifted around Santa Fe. He worked at a series of jobs, with no real long-term employment and only a rudimentary education. Perhaps it was inevitable (?) that Billy quickly fell in with shadier social elements. Soon, Billy was rustling a little cattle here, stealing a horse there. It started a pattern in his life. But, there is nothing new about that. Was this an inescapable evolution? Here's what Truman Capote wrote about a life gone wrong:
Two features in his personality make-up stand out as particularly pathological. The first is his ‘paranoid’ orientation toward the world. He is suspicious and distrustful of others, tends to feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that others are unfair to him and do not understand him. He is overly sensitive to criticism that others make of him, and cannot tolerate being made fun of. He is quick to sense slight or insult in things others say, and frequently may misinterpret well-meant communications. He feels the great need of friendship and understanding, but he is reluctant to confide in others, and when he does, expects to be misunderstood or even betrayed. In evaluating the intentions and feelings of others, his ability to separate the real situation from his own mental projections is very poor. He not infrequently groups all people together as being hypocritical, hostile, and deserving of whatever he is able to do to them. Akin to this first trait is the second, an ever -present, poorly controlled rage--- easily triggered by any feelings of being tricked, slighted, or labeled inferior by others. For the most part, his rages in the past have been directed at authority figures (297).” Capote, In Cold Blood
This is the point in Billy's life, where John Tunstall entered the picture.
The Lincoln County Wars
So. Who was he?
John Tunstall
Tunstall was an independent rancher and businessman in Lincoln County, NM. He came to the American Southwest by way of Canada--Vancouver, British Columbia, to be exact. At 19, John found himself working as a clerk in his family's store (a most prosperous concern)--alas, he was not enamored of this life. He needed a change, but where? Doing what? The territory of New Mexico offered possibilities for a life he thought he might be better suited for: ranching. He settled on Lincoln County, NM, hoping for prosperity, and instead met his doom. I guess we could say the same thing about a million other poor bastards coming to the American West in search of a fortune.
First, we need to learn a little bit about Lincoln County. It was very good country for ranching, and had provided a nice living for a group of interconnected ranchers, calling themselves collectively "the House." Things were pretty tight among this circle--together they had a stranglehold on the cattle industry and retail businesses in the area. Predictably, the lawmen were also bought. I'm sure you can guess that an outsider would not be welcomed into this environment.
It also didn't help, that Tunstall was an ambitious young man on the make. But, it seems as though John was cut from a different cloth than other Gilded Age cattle barons. For example, he was known to provide shelter for homeless men (and boys) to work on his ranch. Billy would be one of those kids. Who knows, maybe this was a convenient source of cheap labor for the new rancher. Tunstall was different, though, for his family had money. So his way was easier than those of other emigres.
Tunstall's operation became quite prosperous, enough so to make him a significant threat to the "House." It was not long before tragedy struck, when Tunstall was ambushed by a group of 'masked men' and murdered. Billy was more than a little pissed off, and with a group of several other Tunstall's 'boys', waged a kind of brush war with the establishment and local law enforcement. This is popularly accepted as the point when his life turned violent. But, we'll never really know.
In his account of Billy's life, Pat Garrett told a story about the kid's first kill:
The story goes that Frank P. Cahill began picking on the fuzzy-cheeked McCarthy inside a tavern.
"Look at this guy," Cahill supposedly said, "looks like a little scared billy goat. I'm gonna call you Billy the Kid Goat!"
Cahill shoved McCarthy and wrestled him to the ground. McCarthy pulled out his six-shooter and made his first kill.
Cahill was a rather unprepossessing Arizona blacksmith, who was most unlucky in his choice of words and subjects. He died the next day.
Billy kept up the conflict in Lincoln Cty., off and on for over two years. At last, he gunned down the sheriff William J. Brady. That was going too far, especially for men like Pat Garrett.
By 1880, stories surrounding the Kid made their way into the papers, and readers as far East as New York City knew his name.
By 1881, Garrett was enlisted in the hunt, and under heavy pressure to arrest the Kid. Billy was finally caught in April of that year, and sentenced to hang for the death of Sherriff Brady. He escaped, killing two deputies in the process. Billy remained at large for two more months, before being cornered at the house of a friend.
The story goes, that Pat lay in wait for Billy inside the main house. Billy quietly came up to the open doorway, saying in a soft voice, "qui en es?" Garrett didn't hesitate, shooting Billy dead.
He was 21.
This post first appeared on
Penelope's Loom, please read the originial post:
here
