One of the most infamous gunmen in American history, the story of Billy the Kid is one filled with lawlessness and murder. The start of his rise to fame came when a New Mexico governor, Lew Wallace, put a bounty on his head.

A lot can be learned from the life of Billy the Kid. For one, he was known for being a cool-tempered young man who was optimistic. He actually wound up being bullied quite a bit and eventually killed for the first time when he shot somebody in self defense. In truth, it is quite a tragic story where a good kid gone bad became one of the most famed outlaws. While nobody says that they are a bully, think twice about your actions. You really never know what somebody is capable of. You may not throw things at people or call them names, but if they are often the subject of your jokes – you should really work on your sense of humor.

Did Billy the Kid Exist?

Born as William Henry McCarty Jr. he was also known by several other names: William H. Bonney, Henry Antrim and, his calling card, Billy the Kid. It is unknown even now just who the father of this soon-to-be outlaw was, though several names have cropped up as possibilities. His mother, Catherine McCarty, was a jolly Irish woman who worked several jobs to raise money to support herself and her two sons, though she later died of tuberculosis when Billy was a teenager.

As a young teenager, Billy was a helpful youth, and was not known for stealing or causing problems.  His descent into becoming an outlaw is theorized to have stemmed from his love of reading dime novels about crime, and his naturally slender body, which would have made him the mocking statement of other boys.

The Legend of Billy the Kid

• His first kill was when he was eighteen years old. The man killed was an Irish immigrant called Frank Cahill. He had taken pleasure in bullying Billy, until one day the bullying escalated into a full out fight, ending with Cahill being shot. Some people who witnessed the fight later said that Billy shot Cahill in self-defense.
• He took part in what is known now as the Lincoln County War, a conflict that had erupted between established town merchants and business rivals. His employer at the time, Tunstall, was one of the men killed in the conflict, and Billy and his fellow employees sought revenge.
• For an outlaw, Billy the Kid was a pleasant person, both in looks and character. Though many a legend took note of his ruthlessness in certain situations, most remaining accounts of people who had met him mentioned his good looks and his natural optimism. He was known for keeping a clear head in any situation, which brutalizes the idea of him having a quick temper.
• The most famous legend about Billy the Kid is the claim that he had killed, depending on the account, an average of twenty one people, supposedly one for each year of his life. This myth has been proven more often than not to be a complete lie. The definite number of people he had killed, as researchers have discovered, is only about five, and many people believe the ones he had killed had deserved their fate.

The End of Billy the Kid

The life of Billy the Kid came to an end when he was shot and killed by the then sheriff Patrick Garrett, who later had a book written to tell the “true” story of Billy the Kid, in which the boy was portrayed as a cold-blooded killer. He was buried between two other grave sites marking the places of his friends.

However, the legend of this outlaw lives on, in the romantic exaggerations and additions that people have added on over the years. The thing that makes this outlaw so interesting to historians is that so little was known about him before the legend and nothing interests people more than a good mystery.