| Pat Garrett: When we reached the porch in front of the building, I left Poe and McKinney at the end of the porch, about twenty feet from the door of Pete's room, and went in. It was near midnight and Pete was in bed. I walked to the head of the bed and sat down on it, beside him, near the pillow. I asked him as to the whereabouts of the Kid. He said that the Kid had certainly been about, but he did not know whether he had left or not. The year is 1881,I know that people had a lot of respect for others at that time and I'm sure that Pete Maxwell's door was unlocked that night. But what I cannot believe is that Garrett opened Maxwell's door around 12:00 midnight and walked into his house and then into his bedroom, unannounced, in the dark and sat down on his bed with out Maxwell getting out of bed. Remember most people, or all people had a gun handy during that time and you took a chance of being shot walking into someone's house. Pat Garrett:At that moment a man sprang quickly into the door, looking back, and called twice in Spanish, 'Who comes there?' No one replied and he came on in. He was bareheaded. From his step I could perceive he was either barefooted or in his stocking-feet, and held a revolver in his right hand and a butcher knife in his left. Ok Garrett opens the door at Maxwell's house in the middle of the night, goes to the bedroom sits on the bed and does not get shot, "Though suprising to me." Now a man springs quickly through the door unannounced with a gun and a butcher knife in his hand in a dark room and cannot see Garrett or Maxwell, but Garrett can tell that this man is bare footed, not wearing a hat, got his gun drawn, a knife in his left hand, saying who goes there in spanish, but does not know who it is. A lot of things were going on in that dark room at midnight that night and I dont think we are getting the real story here for some reason. Frist if Billy had thought he was in danger he would have simply left, and not have bolted through the door saying who's there. If in doubt he would have knocked on Maxwell's door before entering which I believe happened. Billy was also barefoot, why would he go out without his boots, knowing that he might have to flee from the law at any time? Pat Garrett: He came directly towards me. Before he reached the bed, I whispered: 'Who is it, Pete?' but received no reply for a moment. It struck me that it might be Pete's brother-in-law, Manuel Abreu, who had seen Poe and McKinney, and wanted to know their business. He came directly toward me. In a dark room sitting on a bed a man springs through the door with a pistol in one hand and a butcher knife in the other and is comming towards me and I ask someone else who is this? Remember this is 1881 and I'm looking for Billy the Kid. Billy Knew Garrett's voice and Garrett should have been able to recall Billy's. Garrett knew that this was Billy when he walked in the door. If by any chance that Garrett did not know who this man was, using common sense, he surly would have drawn his gun as soon as this man entered the room to protect himself. Pat Garrett: The intruder came close to me, leaned both hands on the bed, his right hand almost touching my knee, and asked, in a low tone"Who are they Pete?" at the same instant Maxwell whispered to me. 'That's him!' Billy should have known that someone was in the room other than Maxwell at this time. If Garrett could see Billy's gun and knife, I'm sure Billy could see something. Billy was not blinded by any lights, he walked down a dark street to Maxwell's house and walked into a darkened room so his eyes should have been accustomed to the light as was Garrett's, and why would Maxwell now whisper with Billy so close that he was almost touching Garrett's knee he would have heard what was said the same as Garrett. Pat Garrett: Simultaneously the Kid must have seen, or felt, the presence of a third person at the head of the bed. He raised quickly his pistol, a self-cocker, within a foot of my breast. Retreating rapidly across the room he cried: 'Quien es? Quien es?' 'Who's that? Who's that?') All this occurred in a moment. Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again. The second shot was useless; the Kid fell dead. He never spoke. A struggle or two, a little strangling sound as he gasped for breath, and the Kid was with his many victims." According to Garrett Billy had his gun in hand and was almost touching him before he knew that Pat was in the room, yet Billy never fired his gun and it was a self cocker which means all Billy had to do was pull the trigger. Garrett draws his gun in the dark room and puts a slug in Billy's chest with the first shot. Maybe a lucky shot but I dont think so. Billy was lured into that room late that July night while Pat Garrett lay in wait to kill him. There were to many chances for Garrett to arrest him. He could have taken Billy alive that night if he wanted to. I think there's another story to be told but we will never know will we? The Rebel |
| The Killing Of Billy |
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| On the night of July 14, 1881 Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid at the home of Pete Maxwell. Garrett published his account of the incident a year after it happened. Below is what Garrett had to say about the killing and some questions that I would love to know the answers to. |
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