The Legend of Old West Outlaw Billy the Kid

in the late 19th century ranchers rustlers sheriff's and gunslingers fought life-or-death battles on this land Kit Carson Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp are just a few of the legendary men who rode and fought here their gun battles soaked the earth in blood and marked New Mexico Territory as a lawless land few places in the States saw more blood and less law in those years than Lincoln County which lies in the southern half of the state it was here in the town of Lincoln in the late 1870s where a ruthless gang boss named James Dolan had an iron grip on almost all aspects of life local rancher John Tunstall challenged Dolan and paid with his life soon a new gang formed to continue the fight against Dolan and seek revenge for Tunstall's death they were called the regulator's one of the members was a young gunslinger who would become notorious as Billy the Kid over the next year murder followed murder with Billy doing his share of the killing it would become known as the Lincoln County War when it was over Billy the Kid was one of the last men standing a price was put on his head and he lit out for New Mexico's wide-open spaces but legendary lawman Pat Garrett tracked him down the kid was sentenced to hang and brought here to the Lincoln County Courthouse to await his fate but when Garrett left town to buy wood to build a gallows a friend slipped Billy a gun the next day as he was being led down the steps of the courthouse the kid shot his guards and made his escape he didn't get far just about 100 miles before Pat Garrett finally tracked Billy the kid down for the last time on July 14 1881 and shot him dead

Channel: Smithsonian Channel

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Keywords: Smithsonian, channel, stream TV, free TV streaming, TV online, video, documentary, free videos, watch, watch online, episodes, facts, history, America, United States, New Mexico, Old West, outlaw, gunslinger, ranchers, cowboys, Wild West, Lincoln County War, The Regulators, murder, Pat Garrett, courthouse, death sentence, escape

Id: fQ-2LjNgPZw

Length: 2min 19sec (139 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 09 2012