GOOD TIME TO START A WAR

February 1878 was a time for murder in the County of Lincoln, New Mexico.  There was a posse looking for Englishman and entrepreneur John H. Tunstall in order to take his horses and other property through a writ of attachment that was part of crooked deal with the Murphy-Dolan Ring in the town of Lincoln.  A mercantile rivalry had been going on for some time.  And Lincoln County sheriff Brady and the posse were in the pocket of the Murphy-Dolan gang.

At about three o’clock in the morning of a cold, snowy February 18, 1878 John Tunstall decided to drive nine horses from his ranch on the Rio Feliz on a fifty mile trek to the town of Lincoln.  At the break of dawn, Tunstall and his foreman Dick Brewer, along with ranch hands Billy Bonney, John Middleton, Rob Widenmann, Henry Brown and Fred Waite got an early start and headed for Lincoln with the nine horses.  All were on horseback except for Waite who was in a wagon.  Six of the horses they were driving belonged to Tunstall, two were Brewer’s and one was Bonney’s.  After about ten miles of riding they split up, with Waite taking the wagon trail that leads to La Junta on the Rio Hondo and the rest of the group taking a short cut through Pajarito Springs.

At about the same time, that forty-five man posse looking for Tunstall was headed for the Tunstall ranch on the Rio Feliz.  The posse was led by deputy sheriff Billy Matthews, an employee of Jimmy Dolan and, Jimmy Dolan himself, partner in the Murphy gang.  Well, as luck would have it, Henry Brown’s horse threw a shoe and he had to leave to Tunstall group and go back to the ranch on the Rio Feliz to get it fixed.  Brown ran into the Dolan-Matthews posse on the way back because they were also headed for the Tunstall ranch.  They all got to the ranch at the same time and Dolan was fit to be tied when he discovered that the horses they were going to repossess were gone.  The only person at the ranch was Godfrey Gauss, Tunstall’s cook.  When the posse asked where Tunstall and the horses were, both Brown and Gauss played dumb.

Concluding that Tunstall had taken the horses to avoid the posse, Mathews and Dolan figured that the best thing they could do to catch up to Tunstall and the horses was to follow the hoof prints left in the snow by Henry Brown’s horse.  So they decided to send eighteen men in a sub-posse led by Buck Morton to back-track the hoof prints.  Among the eighteen were members of the infamous Jesse Evans gang, such as Evans himself, Tom Hill and Frank Baker.  Jimmy Dolan, Bill Matthews and the rest of the posse stayed around the Tunstall ranch, in case Tunstall had a change of plans and would come back with the horses.

At about five o’clock in the afternoon, John Tunstall and Dick Brewer, along with ranch hands Billy Bonney, John Middleton and Rob Widenmann rode down a gorge leading to the Rio Ruidoso, about ten miles from Brewer’s own Ruidoso ranch.   Tunstall, Brewer, and Widenmann were in front of the pack of horses while Bonney and Middleton rode drag, bringing up the rear.

Suddenly Bonney and Middleton heard the sound of horses behind them.  They quickly turned in their saddles and saw the sub-posse rapidly approaching.  The two ranch hands then quickly rode forward, yelling for Tunstall, Widenmann, and Brewer to ride with them.  The sub-posse immediately opened fire on the five men.  Bullets tore through the air.  Widenmann and Brewer along with Bonney and Middleton rode fast through a hail of lead to reach cover.  Middleton yelled straightforwardly at Tunstall to run. 

For some unknown reason, Tunstall froze. 

Riding low and taking cover in a ravine, Billy Bonney, Dick Brewer, Rob Widenmann, and John Middleton all suddenly lost sight of Tunstall.  Seeing the unmoving Tunstall, the sub-posse ceased their fire and rode up to him.  John Tunstall, hoping to reason with the sub-posse, rode his horse closer to them.  As he approached, Tom Hill and Billy Morton each slowly and calmly raised his rifle and fired one shot at him. Tunstall took one bullet in the chest and one bullet in the head and was immediately killed.

For whatever crazy reason went through his head, one the posse then killed Tunstall’s horse by shooting it in the head.  At that point, to make it look as though the group killed Tunstall in self-defense, another one of the posse took Tunstall's pistol out of its holster and fired two shots in the air.  Members of the sub-posse then picked up Tunstall's body and laid it next to his dead horse.  Tunstall’s hat was then placed on the horse's head as a sick joke.  One sub-posse member, inexplicably, then took it upon himself to bash in Tunstall's head with the butt of his rifle. The sub-posse rounded up the nine horses that Tunstall was driving and drove them back to the Rio Feliz ranch.  

After hearing the shooting and the commotion, Billy Bonney, Dick Brewer, Rob Widenmann and John Middleton all realized that Tunstall had been killed. They waited, hiding in the ravine until dark, then rode on towards Lincoln when they were sure that the sub-posse had gone. The four men arrived in Lincoln around midnight and told Tunstall’s partner Alexander McSween what occurred.  McSween then called a mass meeting of most of his supporters and Tunstall's supporters at the McSween house.  Plans of vengeance were discussed.  With the murder of John H. Tunstall, the Lincoln County War had begun.

A COLD NEW MEXICAN JANUARY IN 1855

It was a chilly morning in southern New Mexico, as most mornings were in January. It was the morning of January 5, 1855 and a band Mescalero Apaches had disappeared into the Sacramento Mountains in the vicinity of Sierra Blanca, White Mountain, after stealing about 2,500 head of sheep. A large force of soldiers, with Captain Henry W. Stanton in command, had left Fort Fillmore, near Mesilla, to track them. 

Fort Fillmore was established less than four years before near Mesilla to protect settlers and traders traveling to California. Travelers heading west were plagued by Apache attacks, and a network of forts was created by the US Government to protect and encourage westward expansion. 

 Indians had been raiding, killing and stealing in southern New Mexico Territory since settlement began and in 1851 and 1852 treaties were signed with various bands by the United States government. These were to no avail and by 1854 Indian raids had become a real problem. 

 Captain Stanton, with a force of eighty men and three officers, as well as forty mules and eight packers, a guide and an interpreter, was to join up with Captain Richard S. Ewell and a force of soldiers from Fort Thorn by the middle of January. Fort Thorn was a settlement and outpost establish in 1853 near present day Hatch, New Mexico. Captain Stanton was instructed to ”…attack any party of Indians he may fall in with having sheep or cattle…” Stanton and Ewell, making good time, met up near the Rio Penasco on January 7 and set up camp. They began a regular patrol of the area because Ewell’s Dragoons had reported seeing an Indian running in the underbrush on the day they set up camp. The troop’s horses were spooked by something or someone on the night of January ninth. Mescaleros were assumed but, although the soldiers found some evidence, they found no Indians. 

The Mescaleros attacked the Dragoons’ camp on the night of the eighteenth, according to the New Mexico State Archives, stealing horses and setting the grass surrounding the camp ablaze. The soldiers woke up to the mocking of a band of Indians dancing around a fire on the hillside. Skipping breakfast, the troopers saddled up and went in pursuit of the warriors. Stanton and Ewell’s main force attacked along the banks of the Rio Penasco, while small parties of Dragoons maneuvered after various clusters of braves. This running battle lasted until about four o’clock that afternoon. Captain Stanton led a small detail of twelve men in pursuit of the Apaches while the main body of soldiers set up camp for the evening. They rode into a deep ravine, near the modern day town of Mayhill, where the Mescaleros waited in ambush. Upon hearing the gunfire, the soldiers in camp rushed to support Captain Stanton’s small force. A tough battle resulted but it lasted only twenty minutes. The warriors fled. 

 Having been shot in the forehead while attempting to cover the retreat of his soldiers from that hard fight, Captain Henry W. Stanton departed this life straight away. Private James A. Bennett, 1st Dragoons, recorded in his diary that Privates John Hennings and Thomas Dwyer were also killed in the Indian ambush. The soldiers wrapped their dead companions in blankets and buried their bodies, building fires over their graves in hope that the location would be hidden until they could make a return trip to recover the bodies. 

As the disheveled and grubby soldiers returned after four days of chasing Indians through the hilly, rocky and often precipitous terrain, they paused to recover the remains of Captain Stanton and the two Dragoons killed on the nineteenth. Someone had unearthed the bodies and stolen the blankets. Animals had mutilated the exposed bodies. The corpses were in a deplorable condition. While the horses and pack animals were given time to rest, the soldiers respectfully placed the bodies of their comrades-in-arms on piles of firewood and burned the flesh off the bones. The expedition, led by Captain Ewell, then took the remains back to Fort Fillmore for a proper military funeral. They arrived on February 2. 

Eagerly awaiting the return of her husband, Captain Stanton’s wife waited at her front door for over an hour before a soldier informed her of her husband’s death. 

The following day, the garrison buried the remains of Captain Stanton, Private Dwyer and Private Hennings with full military honors. According to John P. Ryan, author of Fort Stanton and Its Community, when a new fort was established on the banks of the Rio Bonito, later in that year of 1885, it was named in honor of Captain Henry W. Stanton

FORT STANTON LIVE!

When you are looking for Old West action and lots more, look no further than New Mexico and the historic Fort Stanton State Monument for FORT STANTON LIVE! 

FORT STANTON LIVE! will be held Friday through Sunday, July 13 through 15, with a Friday evening Candlelight Tour, concerts by favorites that include the Flying J Wranglers, and a Saturday evening Military Ball.  Mingle with costumed Living Historians from the Civil War and Indian Wars eras, including the Infantry, Mounted Rifles and Artillery Detachments of the Fort Stanton Garrison, portraying the 1858 Company K of the 8^th United States Infantry   Meet Buffalo Soldiers and Mescalero Apaches, too.

Visitors to FORT STANTON LIVE! will interact with authors, historians, photographers, and more.  Local Lincoln County historian Drew Gomber will speak about Lincoln County and Billy the Kid.  Larry Wilkinson will provide a Witness to Lincoln.  Dr. Cynthia Orozco will offer a power point presentation on the Fort Stanton Ranch.  Sightseers will enjoy story telling by Nisha Hoffman.  Dr. Noel Pugach, a Living Historian with the New Mexico Humanities Council will portray Territorial Governor General Lew Wallace.  Journalist, author and historian Sherry Robinson, also a Living Historian with the New Mexico Humanities Council will present Apache Voices.  Dr. Richard Melzer, Professor of History at University of New Mexico, Valencia Campus will speak about the struggles on New Mexico’s road to statehood and will be available for book signing.  Other authors signing their books include, Dr. Earl Pittman, Gary Cozzens of the Lincoln County Historical Society and Fort Stanton historians John Ryan and Jim McBride.  McBride will also give tours of the German Internment Camp.

Friday evening at FORT STANTON LIVE! will feature Candle Light and Lantern Tours to observe soldiers and their families engaged in various activities.  For advanced ticket sales go to www.fortstanton.org or call 575-354-0341.

Antique firearms will be on display in the cafeteria all day Saturday.  Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery drills will take place on the parade ground.  Learn about U.S. Army medicine in bygone days with Dr. Robert Mallin, as well.  And hear about the Evolution of U.S. Army Chevrons with John Pittsenbarger.  Ed Whitted will present the little known Confederate Army of New Mexico.  You’ll also enjoy the Mescalero Apache War dancers and the Apache dance of the Mountain Gods.  Saturday will also feature tours of the World War Two-era German Internment Camp.  Learn about Snowy River with the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project.  Relax in the afternoon with a Ladies’ Tea Social and Victorian Fashion Show on the lawn.  Saturday ends with the Saturday evening Military Ball.

Sunday at FORT STANTON LIVE! will feature Cavalry and Artillery drills as well as historic Period Church Services in the Fort Stanton Chapel.

A variety of historical sutlers will be at FORT STANTON LIVE! to share their handiwork.   You’ll love the Spencer and Jackson Theatrical Troup, purveyors of the music, drama and amusements of the late 1800s.  FORT STANTON LIVE! will have local food vendors on hand, too, so you and your family can spend the day.

Fort Stanton State Monument features nearly 160 years of southwestern history beginning with its initial creation as a military garrison in 1855 and operated as a military fortification through 1896.  It then became the first Tuberculosis Hospital in New Mexico, a working ranch, a CCC work camp, an internment camp for German seaman during World War II, the State Hospital for the Developmentally Handicapped, a low security women’s prison and has even housed several juvenile, drug rehabilitation and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

Your journey through the fascinating history of Fort Stanton can also include the Fort Stanton Museum which features an excellent exhibit and an introductory video that provides breathtaking images and informative interpretive content that will bring the rich history and heritage of Fort Stanton to life.  The Fort Stanton Museum Store sells a variety of items with all proceeds going to support the upkeep and restoration of Fort Stanton.

In addition to FORT STANTON LIVE!, visitors are welcome to explore the grounds of Fort Stanton State Monument at any time, year round. The Museum and Store are open 10-4 Thursday through Monday (12-4 on Sunday).  Group tours can also be arranged on request at no charge. To reserve a tour, please email tours@fortstanton.org or call Clinton Smith (575-258-5702) or Charlotte Rowe (575-336-4015) for more information.

If you are looking for a special place to visit, a place to help you understand the history of New Mexico, and a place whose beauty and activity will leave an indelible impression on you and your family, the Fort Stanton State Monument is a must-see attraction.  New Mexico’s newest State Monument is nestled along the Bonito River running through the picturesque Capitan Mountains with the Sacramento Mountains – and the beautiful peak of Sierra Blanca – in the distance.  Fort Stanton is easy to find just off the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway (Hwy 380) on Hwy 220 at the Bonito River. The turnoff to Hwy 220 is 4 miles east of Capitan on the Byway or 10 miles west of Lincoln, NM.   The Fort is also easy to reach on Hwy 48, with the turnoff past the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport.  Watch New Mexico history come to life at historic Fort Stanton State Monument.

PIONEER MOTHER MURDERED BY INDIANS

Back in the years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers' Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and were lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by Jose Apodaca on April 28, 1959.

Jose Apodaca’s parents, Severanio and Juanita, moved to Agua Azul, on the south side of New Mexico’s Capitan Mountains, in 1872.  They built a two roomed hut and had a few horses and cattle.  The following story was told to Jose when he was just a boy.

Early in January, 1873, Marcial Rodriguez and Severanio went on a hunting trip and were attacked by Indians.   Severanio escaped the Indian attack and made it to the Casey Ranch.  The Casey’s formed a posse and sent word up and down the Rio Bonito for every man who could go to meet at Agua Azul to fight the Indians.  The posse found the mutilated body of Marcial Rodriguez and buried him.  The posse set out again and found the Indians at the west end of the Capitan Mountains.  Several Indians were killed and some escaped.  Someone in the posse noticed two Indian women on the side of the mountain and a white woman with them.  Jose Apodaca related, “The two squaws had my mother and when they saw the white men coming and knew that they could not get away with my mother, they split her head open with an axe, and the squaws made their getaway.  When the men got to my mother,” Apodaca explained, “she was dead and they found that she had given birth to her baby, which was alive and a boy.  The posse dug a grave and buried my mother right there on the mountain side.”

Severanio Apodaca took his newborn son to the town of Lincoln and gave the boy to Tulia Gurule Stanley to care for.  She raised the child and gave him the name Jose.  The Indians who killed his mother were Mescalero Apaches.  This all occurred while the Infantry and Cavalry were being assigned to Fort Stanton following the Civil War.  In our next installment, Jose Apodaca will relate the fate of his father, Severanio.

PIONEER WOMAN KIDNAPPED BY INDIANS

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers’ Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Jose Apodaca’s parents, Severanio and Juanita, moved to Agua Azul, on the south side of the Capitan Mountains, in 1872.  They built a two roomed hut and had a few horses and cattle.  The following story was told to Jose when he was just a boy.

Early in January, 1873, Marcial Rodriguez and Severanio went on a hunting trip.  “They got up at daybreak and went out to look for their horses.”  The men had to cross a flat between the mountain and a big arroyo.  The junipers in that area had limbs that were very close to the ground.  “While my father and Marcial were crossing this flat a band of Indians were hidden in the juniper trees and, as the men came out in the open, the Indians began shooting at them.”

In our last installment we learned that Severanio escaped the Indian attack and made it to the Casey Ranch.  The Casey’s formed a posse and sent word up and down the Rio Bonito for every man who could go to meet at Agua Azul to fight the Indians.

Jose Apodaca continues, “The posse left the Casey Ranch just at day break and went as fast as possible to Father’s house to see about my mother, who was expecting a baby.  When they got there they found that the Indians had been there and taken my mother away with them.  The posse, headed by my father, took up the trail of the Indians.  When they got to the flat at Agua Azul they found the body of Marcial Rodriguez.  The Indians has scalped him and cut off his right arm.  The posse dug a grave and buried him where he lay.  By this time several others had joined them and they started out after the Indians again.  They overtook them at the west end of the Capitan Mountains and the Indians and the posse had a fight.  Several of the Indians were killed but some got away.”

Someone in the posse noticed two Indian women on the side of the mountain and a white woman with them.  We’ll learn what Jose Apodaca told about that in our next installment in two weeks.

INDIAN ATTACK

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers’ Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Jose Apodaca’s parents, Severanio and Juanita, moved to Agua Azul, on the south side of the Capitan Mountains, in 1872.  They built a two roomed hut and had a few horses and cattle.  The following story was told to Jose when he was just a boy.

Early in January, 1873, Marcial Rodriguez and Severanio went on a hunting trip.  “They got up at daybreak and went out to look for their horses.”  The men had to cross a flat between the mountain and a big arroyo.  The junipers in that area had limbs that were very close to the ground.  “While my father and Marcial were crossing this flat a band of Indians were hidden in the juniper trees and, as the men came out in the open, the Indians began shooting at them.”

“They hit Marcial in the back and my father in the leg.  The two men fought with the Indians all day and, as it began to get dark, Marcial told father to make a run for the arroyo and try to get away and save himself, as Marcial felt that he was going to die and there was nothing that father could do to try to help him.  It was best for father to go for help.  Father made a run for the arroyo with the Indians after him, but as it was dark he was able to get away from them.  Father walked most of the night and came out at the Casey Ranch, which was about four miles north of Picacho.  He told the Casey men about the Indians and that he had left Marcial Rodriguez seriously wounded on the flat at Agua Azul.”

The Casey’s formed a posse and we’ll learn what Jose Apodaca told about that in our next installment

GRINGO AND GREASER

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers' Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and were lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Albert Ziegler came to America from Coblenz, Germany in September of 1884.  After thirteen days at sea, Ziegler landed in New York City and left at once by immigrant train for Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his brother Jake was clerking in the Jaffa Brothers' store.

In 1885, Albert clerked for Price Brothers in Socorro, NM and visited his brother Jake, who was by then living in Manzano, New Mexico.

"He and a man named Herman Goodman ran a small store there, selling dry goods, groceries and liquor," Albert Ziegler explained.  "The town of Manzano was a Spanish-American town."

"My brother, Mister Goodman and a fellow by the name  of Kountz were the only white men living there at the time.  This fellow Kountz ran a newspaper which was called the 'Gringo and Greaser'."

It seems that this rather politically incorrect pejorative for those of Hispano descent goes back further than you may have thought.

"He (Kountz) did not like the Spanish-Americans and was always making dirty remarks about them in his paper.  One night while he was eating supper someone shot through a window and killed him instantly.  That ended the 'Gringo and Greaser' newspaper!"

RIDING WITH BILLY THE KID

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers’ Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Francisco Gomez was born in the Manzano Mountains on September 17, 1854 and moved with his family to the New Mexico Territory village of Las Placitas in 1863 at age 9.  Las Placitas would become the town of Lincoln.

Francisco Gomez related that while Captain Saturnino Baca was sheriff of Lincoln County, he rode with Billy the Kid.  Baca was elected sheriff in 1875 and served for three years.  Gomez would have been 21through 24 years of age during that time.  History tells us that William Henry McCarty Antrim, later William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid, was born in 1859 and arrived in Lincoln around the fall of 1877.  The following probably happened during the winter of 1877-78 or spring of 1878 but surely before July, 1878 when the Lincoln County War broke out. 

“I never went out with Billy but once,” Gomez related.  “Captain Baca was sheriff then and once some tough outlaws came to Lincoln and rode up and down the streets and shot our window lights in the houses and terrorized people.”

That kind of activity sounds like the Horrell Brothers but they did their dirty deeds in Lincoln in December of 1873 which was before Billy the Kid arrived, before Baca was the sheriff, and when Gomez was a teenager.

“Captain Baca told Billy the Kid to take some men and go after these men,” Francisco Gomez remembered.  “Billy took me and Florencio and Jose Chaves and Santano Maes with him.  The outlaws went to the upper Ruidoso and we followed them.  We caught up with them and shot it out with them.  One of the outlaws was killed and the other ran away.  None of us were hurt.”

Francisco Gomez was acquainted with Billy because he also worked for McSween.  Gomez stated that he quit working for McSween and returned home to live with his father a quarter mile east of Lincoln when the Lincoln County War broke out and that was in July of 1878, two months before his 24^th birthday.  Gomez was 84 years of age when he related this story in 1938.

A FIRST-HAND DESCRIPTION OF BILLY THE KID

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers’ Project, Edith Crawford, the representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Francisco Gomez was born in the Manzano Mountains on September 17, 1854 and moved with his family to the New Mexico Territory village of Las Placitas in 1863 at age 9.  Las Placitas would become the town of Lincoln.  Francisco remembers that when he was about 18 years of age, circa 1872, he went to work for the McSweens and stayed in their employ for about two years.  Following the historical timeline, this would have really been in 1876 when Gomez was 22 years of age.

Francisco Gomez related that one winter Billy the Kid boarded with the McSweens for about seven months.  Now history tells us that William Henry McCarty Antrim, later William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid, was born in 1859 and arrived in Lincoln around the fall of 1877.  Billy lived at the Coe ranch that winter.  Gomez related his memories in 1939 and his mind’s calendar might have been off a bit.

“He was an awfully nice fellow” Francisco Gomez recalled, “with light brown hair, blue eyes and rather big front teeth.  He always dressed very neatly.”

Gomez went on to describe Billy’s gun play.  “He used to practice target shooting a lot.  He would throw up a can and would twirl his six gun on his finger and he could hit the can six times before it hit the ground.”

Billy the Kid rode a big roan horse about ten or twelve hands high, according to Gomez.  “All that winter when this horse was out in the pasture Billy would go to the gate and whistle and the horse would come up to the gate to him.  That horse would follow Billy and mind him like a dog.  He was a very fast horse and could outrun most of the other horses around there.”

Francisco Gomez stated that he quit working for the McSweens when the Lincoln County War broke out and that was in July of 1878, two months before his 24^th birthday.  Gomez was 84 years of age when he related this story in 1938.

EYEWITNESS TO THE ESCAPE OF BILLY THE KID

Back in years 1937-1939, as part of the New Mexico Federal Writers’ Project, Edith Crawford, the FWP representative in Lincoln County, collected a number of interviews of Lincoln County pioneers.  These were never published and lost until the collection was brought to the attention of the Lincoln County Historical Society.  This vignette is based on that work and taken from the actual words spoken by the subject.

Daniel Carabajal stated in an interview that he was born in Lincoln County on December 12, 1878.  On April 28, 1881, Billy the Kid shot his way out and escaped from custody at the Lincoln County Courthouse.  And little Daniel, at age 2 years and 4 months, remembers seeing Billy the Kid leave town!  At least that’s how he remembered it when he related the story to Edith Crawford 58 years later!  A photo taken of Daniel in 1941 is inscribed "70 years of age" which would have put his birth in 1871, making him 10 years of age at the time of Billy the Kid’s escape.

Convicted in a Mesilla court, Billy was sentenced to hang on May 13^th and had been taken from Mesilla to the Lincoln County Courthouse by seven guards.  Sheriff Pat Garrett knowing that Billy was a sly prisoner whose life depended upon escape, kept the Kid shackled hand and foot and guarded around the clock in the room behind his own courthouse office.

Sheriff Garrett was away collecting taxes in White Oaks and had assigned deputies Bob Ollinger and James W. Bell to guard Billy. Ollinger had the reputation of being mean and it was said that he constantly harassed the Kid.  The other guard, Bell, apparently treated the prisoner well.  Ollinger took the five other prisoners across the street to Sam Wortley’s hotel around 6pm for dinner.  Billy was left shackled in the room with Bell keeping watch.

Most folks agree that the Kid asked Bell to escort him to the outhouse out back of the courthouse and Bell did just that.  Billy was still in his leg irons, chains and handcuffs.  Once back in the building, Billy made his move.

An anonymous writer, published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, stated, “Quick as lightning he jumped and struck Bell with his handcuffs, fracturing his skull.  He immediately snatched Bell’s revolver and shot him.”

Ollinger, still having dinner at the hotel, heard the shot and came out with the five prisoners.  As Ollinger entered the courthouse yard without the prisoners, he heard his name called from above.  When he looked up, Ollinger saw his own double-barreled shotgun pointing down at him from an upstairs window.  Somehow Billy had been able to get the shotgun out of Garrett’s office.

“I stuck the gun through the window and said, ‘Look up, old boy, and see what you get,” recalled Billy.  “Bob looked up and I let him have both barrels right in the face and breast.”  Ollinger died instantly.

"We lived just below the old Torreon at the time" Daniel remembered.  "I was up-town playing with some boys just across the street when Billy killed the guards.  We hid behind a picket fence.  We were too scared to go and see the two men he had killed; as we were afraid he would come back and shoot us."

Now lots of stories tell about how Billy left town that evening, taking his time and even shaking hands with passers-by.  But Daniel Carabajel tells a different story about how the people of Lincoln reacted on that fateful day.

"All the people of Lincoln were afraid to come out for a long time after Billy rode away towards Fort Stanton.  I wanted to go and see the men he had killed but I was afraid to go."