Ally next to Tunstall's. The structure to the right was not there and corral wall where Regulators/Billy the Kid shot down Brady stretched along the ally; Used to be a wooden swinging gate here
Rubble from the McSween home after it was burned to the ground during the 5 Days War, July 1878
Close-up of the McSween Home rubble.
Tunstall's. His lead-lined shutters are there as you can see. The Regulators could have used this as their hideout as opposed to the McSween home, as it would have provided them with much better protection due to the lead-lined window and door shutters, but the Regulators knew they'd be putting Lincoln's citizens in danger, and so they opted for the less protective McSween home.
"Hello Bob!" Were Billy's infamous words before gunning the son of a bitch Olinger down. He was a nasty piece of work, and I'm sure the Kid took great pleasure in ridding the world of this guy. It's important to note here, however, that Billy did not intend to shoot and kill Bob Olinger - his intentions were to leave quietly, but that plan was foiled by Jim Bell when the Kid failed to knock him out and thus began a struggle, causing the Kid to win out on grabbing Bell's gun and shooting him, alerting the town, and Ollinger, to trouble at the courthouse, leaving Billy no choice but to shoot the rest of his way out. It was not, however, a melodramatic shoot-out of Hollywood proportions. Only Bell and Olinger lost their lives.
The purpose of this image is to attempt to show the distance between where Billy leaned out of the window and shot Ollinger down.You can see the plaque on the ground where Bob O. fell.
This is the artillary room where Billy grabbed Olinger's shotgun. Did I mention that Billy killed 'ol Olinger with his own gun?
Not to step out of chronilogical order,but this is the top of the staircase that caused the ruckus that set off the chain of events that led to the shootout during the Kid's last escape out of Lincoln. Here is where Billy tried to knock Bell out quietly. When Bell didn't go down as planned, they both grappled for Bell's gun. Billy won out, and at that point, he felt he had no choice (his own words) but to shoot at Bell, raising the alarm that something was afoot. Remember...Billy intended to leave as quietly as possible.
These are the stairs that Billy used to leave the courthouse. He took a good hour or so to procure a horse and remove at least one of the leg irons. Patrons of Lincoln stood around watching, shooting the shit with Billy as he tried to get his ducks in a row.
I am going a little out of order here again just to show you the room Billy was held in. The white lines on the floor indicate whre the walls used to be that housed Billy in.
The rivet here in the floor is to show you how the prisoners, like Billy, were shackled to the floor. Many people wonder how Billy "Got the gun." It isn't a mystery. While Bob Olinger had taken the other prisoners over to the Wortley Hotel (still operational as is Old Lincoln) for lunch, he left Jim Bell in charge of Billy. Billy, savvy as ever, told Bell he needed to use the privy as a ruse, thus forcing Bell to unshackle him from the floor. Once Billy had "used" the privy, Bell had Billy walk ahead of him back up the stairs in the courhouse where Billy promptly slipped one of his wrists out of he ill-fitting cuffs of the day. Billy attempted to knock Bell out, and as I explained previously, Bell didn't go down quietly. They wrestled for the gun, Billy won, and the rest is history. Sidenote: Sheriff Pat Garrett *warned* Bell to watch the wiley Kid and to not trust him no matter what. Bell, which is guard down, wasn't expecting the attack Billy had planned, but again, Billy had no intention of killing Bell: "It was a matter of having to" - the Kid's words.
Phony bullet hole. This is not the real bullet hole created after the Kid shot Bell; the original bullet hole was covered over. The owner at the time was so tired of being asked about the bullet hole that he created a new one to show people. That's what you see in this photo.
Tree where Huston Chapman died after being shot down (near simultaneously) by Billy Campbell and James Dolan
Alexander A. McSween and John H. Tunstall's grave markers. They're not buried here. I know where they are, but I'm not telling.... ;o)
