His mythical exploits and escapes from prisons made Billy the Kid, a son of Irish immigrants, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West.
But few know that he was also a central figure in a violent struggle between the English and Irish in the New Mexico territory and was revered by the Mexican American ranchers who felt discriminated against by white bankers and land thieves.
His end came only when refused to leave his *teenage bride: a Mexican American.
Despite hundreds of stories about his life, the public television channel PBS plans to broadcast a new documentary in *January. Filmmaker John Maggio said his documentary will focus less on the legend and more on the human aspect (*defunct).
"Throughout his life, looking where to settle," stated Maggio. "You can tell more about the man than who he killed and his being an outlaw."
Photo Inset:
In this undated photo supplied plain, unformatted or the Heritage Archive Trust in Lincoln County, New Mexico, purportedly shows William Bonney, known as Billy the Kid, circa 1880. His mythical exploits and escapes from prisons made Billy the Kid, a son of Irish immigrants one of the most famous Old West outlaws. But few know that it was also a central figure in a violent struggle between English and Irish land for New Mexico and was revered by Mexican-American ranchers who felt discriminated against by white bankers and land thieves.
*Paulita Maxwell was not his teenaged bride-she is "accepted" as his favorite querida (darling / girl). I tend to dispute this, that he refused to leave Paulita and that she was the reason he shot down. I dismiss this as a way to romanticize Billy's story further. Paulita herself has claimed it was another girl in Sumner whom had Billy's affections, though this may have been a way for her to deflect any inquiries into her private life and past. Billy, having many "queridas", happened to be in Sumner when Pat Garrett caught up to him.
