New Mexico is Billy The Kid country

Perhaps one of the most iconic figures in Western lore, particularly eastern New Mexico, is the young man known as Billy The Kid.

He is the legendary hero and ultimate bad boy who escaped jails and killed men, perhaps mostly in loyalty to a former employer ... depending on which history book you may prefer.

Courtesy photo: Mike Jimenez

Billy The Kid escaped from the Lincoln jail in April of 1881, killing two sheriff’s deputies in the process. Lincoln County is approximately 140 miles from Fort Sumner and can be reached by traveling south to Roswell, then West on U.S. 70.

According to W.C. Jameson, writing in his book, “Billy The Kid: Beyond the Grave,” he was born Henry McCarthy in New York City on Nov. 23, 1859, and after the family moved to Silver City, New Mexico, he changed his name to William Bonney.

After leaving Silver City, The Kid worked various ranches including the Jones Ranch at Seven Rivers in New Mexico.

Walter Noble Burns writes Billy and the cattle baron John Chisum were friends and he often visited South Springs Ranch south of Roswell to spend time in relative safety. Pat Garrett also spent time at the Chisum ranch and later on, as the elected sheriff, killed Billy on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner.

According to Burns, Garrett and The Kid were once friends.

Jameson writes of the Kid working for an Englishman named John Tunstall who was competing for the lucrative markets selling beef to the military located in nearby Fort Stanton. Tunstall was later slain, setting off what was to become the Lincoln County War, where the legend of Billy the Kid grew as he and other loyal followers of Tunstall sought revenge against those who had killed their employer.

This group, known as the Regulators, was the group featured in the 1988 movie “Young Guns,” with Emilio Estevez playing the part of Billy the Kid.

Several communities in eastern New Mexico seek to keep the Kid’s memory alive.

The village of Lincoln is a beautiful community nestled between pine-filled mountains, cool breezes, and a welcoming spirit by those who live and work there.

The Kid escaped from the Lincoln jail in April of 1881, killing two sheriff’s deputies in the process.

If you visit on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in August, you can see the Last Escape of Billy the Kid re-enactment.

According to Jameson, Billy and the survivors of his gang later found themselves in Fort Sumner where they believed townspeople would help them. It was here that newly elected Sheriff Garrett and his deputies cornered the Kid and shot him as he whispered, “Quien es?”(Who is it?)

Today, the Billy The Kid Museum in Fort Sumner at 1435 East Sumner Ave., is owned by the Sweet family and is open daily from 8:30 am to 5 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults.

The Kid’s gravesite is just south of Fort Sumner and there’s no charge to see that.

Fort Sumner is an easy drive on U.S. 60, approximately 60 miles west of Clovis.

If you wish to continue on to historic Lincoln County, the drive is approximately 140 miles from Fort Sumner and can be reached by traveling south to Roswell, then West on U.S. 70.

Mike Jimenez, 63, of Hagerman is an Eastern New Mexico University graduate who has been traveling New Mexico for decades, mostly on his motorcycle. His series of travel reports will run each Sunday through the summer.