Billy the Kid’s Grave – A History of the Wild West’s Most Famous Death Marker
1. Killing Billy – “Kid Talked Before He Shot”… 1
Trial and Escape… 1
The Hunt… 8
Why Did Billy Not Leave the Area?… 9
Who Was Billy’s Girlfriend?… 10
Killed… 13
Fateful Choice… 16
Justifiable Homicide… 18
Dead or Alive… 18
Press Response… 20
“The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid”… 21
Photos… 23
2. Billy’s Grave – “The Bivouac of the Dead”… 41
Billy’s Burial… 41
The Cost of Fame… 42
Paulita’s Midnight Visit… 44
The First Tourist… 44
Fort Sumner Abandoned… 45
Billy’s Grave Misplaced in Public Imagination… 45
Cemetery Flooded… 46
Garrett Revisits Billy’s Grave… 46
Soldiers Moved from the Cemetery… 48
Fred E Sutton Visits the Cemetery… 49
“The Saga of Billy the Kid”… 50
Fort Sumner in 1926… 50
Marking Billy’s Grave… 51
Locating Billy’s Grave… 52
King Vidor’s BILLY THE KID… 53
Billy’s Grave Marked… 53
Fort Sumner in 1937… 55
Cemetery Sold For Taxes and Plowed… 55
Billy Gets His Own Marker… 58
Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell Given a Stone… 59
Billy’s Marker Stolen… 59
Lawsuit War to Move Billy to Lincoln… 60
Fort Sumner Park Created… 63
Billy’s Marker Returned… 63
Billy’s Marker Stolen Again… 64
Is Billy’s Grave in the Right Location?… 65
Was Billy Really Killed?… 66
Photos… 69
3. Cemetery Burials… 95
Military Burials… 96
Maxwell Family… 97
Bonney, Bowdre, and O’Folliard… 100
Abreu Family… 101
Beaubien Family… 102
Foor Family… 103
Garcia Family… 103
Gonzales Family… 104
Harris Family… 104
Jaramillo Family… 105
Sandoval Family… 105
Silva Family… 105
Anaya Family… 106
Baca Family… 106
Gallegos Family… 106
Lobato [Lovato] Family… 106
Madrid Family… 106
Mares Family… 107
Pena Family… 107
Salguero Family… 107
Segura Family… 107
Velasquez Family… 107
Zamora Family… 107
Other Burials… 107
Photos… 110
Appendix A – Charles W Dudrow’s Correspondence… 129
Appendix B – Interview with Sheriff Pat Garrett… 133
Notes… 135
Index… 141
