On the trail of Billy the Kid
Written: May 02 '00 (Updated Jan 24 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Not your typical tourist trap
Cons: Way off the beaten path
The Bottom Line: Southeastern New Mexico offers lots of very interesting historic and natural attractions
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: New Mexico |
Billy the Kid, whose real name was William Bonney, is probably the most famous of the old west's outlaw icons. Travelers can visit the country where the legend was born on an easy three/four hour trip from El Paso, TX. Follow U. S. 54 north from El Paso through high desert ranch country into the cool pines and mountains of the Lincoln National Forest. Turn east onto U. S. 380 when you reach Carrizozo, just after Capitan (famous as the home of Smokey the Bear) you'll arrive at Lincoln.
The village of Lincoln is preserved much as it was in the late 1870's when Billy the Kid lived on the nearby Tunstall Ranch. Lincoln had grown from a sleepy Hispanic farming village after Fort Stanton was built nearby. The economic boost from the nearby fort brought prosperity and a major league power struggle between two prominent local business men, John Tunstall and L. G. Murphy. When Tunstall was gunned down, by Murphy's henchmen in 1878, Billy vowed to avenge his boss by killing every single man involved. The ensuing "Lincoln County War" lasted almost a year and culminated in a five day shootout in the streets of Lincoln. Billy (who was twenty years old) is reputed to have killed twenty one men in less than a year. Newspapers in the east sensationalized the war to boost circulation. Federal troops (Buffalo Soldiers from the Ninth Cavalry) and State authorities stepped in to halt the killing.
Billy surrendered to the Lincoln County sheriff after receiving a promise from Governor Lew Wallace (who was busy writing Ben Hur) that he would be pardoned. After spending a couple of weeks in the Lincoln County jail Billy learned that the county prosecutor planned to try him, find him guilty, and hang him without regard to Governor Wallace's pardon. Billy overpowered his guards and escaped. Two months later Pat Garrett was elected sheriff of Lincoln County and his first act was to negotiate Billy's surrender. After spending three months in the county jail, Billy once again escaped, with Garrett hot on his trail. Billy's end came in Fort Sumner two months later, when Garrett found him sleeping at Pete Maxwell's ranch, and shot him fatally.
Billy's grave is in an iron cage in the old Maxwell Family cemetery, about seven miles from Fort Sumner (the headstone has been stolen and recovered several times). The Billy the Kid museum Museum in Fort Sumner (though a bit tacky) provides some interesting exhibits relating to Billy's life, death, and exploits. Check in with the visitors center in Lincoln and they will provide a walking tour map that pin points all the important happenings. John Tunstall's General Store is now a museum, and well worth a visit. For more information contact the Lincoln State Monument and National Landmark, P. O. Box 36, Lincoln, N.M. 88338 (505)653-4372.
Nearby are the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, Clovis, where Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded their first hits in Norman Petty's tiny studio, the Valley of Fires State Park (ancient lava flow), the Three Rivers Petroglyph site (more than 5,000 native American petroglyphs), and the Trinity Site, where the first atom bomb was detonated.
Fort Sumner was the world's first concentration camp. More than 3000 Navajo's were defeated and captured at Canyon de Chelly in Northern Arizona by Kit Carson in 1864. The Navajo were marched 300 miles and settled at Fort Sumner, where they were forced to learn farming. The soil at Fort Sumner was sterile and the winters were harsh, food was scarce, disease was rampant, and hundreds of the Navajo died. In 1868, the Federal Government allowed those who remained alive to return to their beloved native lands in Arizona.
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Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 334
Trusted by: 1277 members
About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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