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The death of Billy the Kid is quite possibly the most controversial subjects of old west history. Most of the complications
we have today are derived from Pat Garrett's book, "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid." So I will tell you what
Pat Garrett claimed and then add in what I think could be inaccurate.
First off, as Garrett sat next to Pete Maxwell, he said he could see a figure walk into the bedroom (Billy). But, Billy
could not even make out Garrett's figure sitting on the bed. Included in Garrett's book, he claims that Billy walked up to
the bed and rested his hands on the bed, almost touching Garrett's knee, but still didn't see him. Sure, Garrett's eyes could
have been more adjusted to the darkness than Billy's, but it was already night time and there were no bright lights to blur
Billy's vision. Billy should have been able to see Garrett.
Did Billy have a gun? This is a common question asked. Pat Garrett claimed Billy carried both a knife and an 1877 Colt
model Thunderer. But afterwards, only a knife was recovered, which is currently in the collection of Robert McCubbin. There
was no gun recovered. Could it be that Garrett shot an unarmed Billy and tried to hide it by saying he did in fact have a
firearm? Let's face it, Garrett would have been frowned upon if people found out he shot an unarmed man, no matter who it
was he killed. Garrett was covering his mistake. The entire last chapter of his book he tries to justify his actions in shooting
the Kid, why would he have to do this if he didn't have a guilty conscience?
Why was Billy buried so fast? When Jesse James was killed, his body was photographed, put on display, and even had a mass
funeral. But no one was allowed to see Billy's body and he was quickly buried a few hours after he was shot. There wasn't
even enough time for a photographer to come down to get a few pics. Why the urgency to bury him? Is it possible that Garrett
shot and killed someone else other than the Kid? Or did Garrett just want to get out of town quick in case some of Billy's
friends went looking for him? Or maybe Garrett didn't think it was that big of a deal to go through with all of that.
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