As we’ve seen in class, often times the most remarkable aspect of a legendary figure is how he or she died. In the instance of Sacagewea and Davy Crockett, their deaths defined their lives, and changing the details of their death could change their place in American history. As such, I decided to investigate Billy the Kid’s death and how it affected his legend.
I continued to use Siringo’s book and checked his details against an article written by Robert Utley on the subject. Utley also wrote Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life, so that may be a useful book to read in the coming weeks. Their accounts matched, with Utley’s providing a bit more detail and insight into the motivations and reactions of the people.
The story goes that after the daring escape I wrote about last week, the Kid lodged around Fort Sumner. Pat Garrett, after the murder of his two deputies, went out after him but was having trouble locating the criminal. One night, he went to a known associate of The Kid’s, Pete Maxwell, with the intention of asking about the Kid. However, as he was in the room, Billy the Kid himself stumbled in, having been startled by the sheriff’s deputies outside, and asked Maxwell who was out there. Noticing the sillouhette of Garrett on Maxwell’s bed, he started backing up, still asking “Quien es?”. Pat Garrett drew his pistol and fired two times, killing the Kid before he had a chance to retaliate (Siringo 128-132) (Utley 418-423).
There are several aspects that make this an entertaining story. The sheer amount of luck it took for both men to stumble into Maxwell’s room at the same time, for instance, would only seem plausible in a movie or a book. Also, the fact that Billy the Kid never fired a shot, despite having his pistol drawn before Garrett’s, lends some humanity to the tale of the ruthless killer (Utley 424). Utley proposes several reasons why the Kid might have refrained from shooting, ranging from unwillingness to shoot strangers to concern over hitting Maxwell. In any event, any of these interpretations softens the image of the Kid.
Utley makes the point that up until his escape and eventual death, Billy the Kid was nothing more than a sensationalized bandit who owed his fame more to the newspapers than to his exploits (424-426). Siringo doesn’t make the same claim, but he also spends much more time describing the final months of the Kid’s death compared to the rest of his life. So once again, a legendary figure becomes defined by his death.
The killing of the Kid manages to make him a tragic hero. Cut down in his youth by cruel fate, people might say. Billy the Kid’s life, capped by his death, allows the population to sigh and say “if only” before dropping the fantasy and returning to their lives.
Utley, Robert M. “Final Days of Billy the Kid.” New Mexico Historical Review 64.4 (1989): 401-26. Print.