In the tale of the famous American outlaw William Henry McCarty, Jr famously known as, Billy the Kid, the west is portrayed erroneously as the land of freedom and rebellion by exemplifying actions of William’s exploits. However, in reality the west that Billy the Kid knew was a cutthroat and barbarous land filled with outlaws and lonesome juveniles. Billy the Kid is a personification of the American passion for western legends as he is regarded as both a cold blooded killer while being a hero to those who he treasured most as an accomplice and a fellow friend. The truth behind William McCarty’s past might lead one to believe that society’s view on our outlaw tale of Billy the Kid is simply more corrupt than the truth reveals. Our tale first …show more content…
The kid was loyal to his people that were on his side to the point of murder for another man’s blood. That same night Tunstall's friends met in Lincoln, Alex McQueen, called upon the men to avenge Tunstall’s death Dick Brewer, Tunstall’s Foreman, agreed to lead the group among many others as he was joined by Charlie Beaudry and of course Billy the Kid. The group called themselves the regulator's because they sought out to regulate justice. The regulator's road out of Lincoln and soon caught up with two men from the group that murdered Tunstall. The regulators took their two prisons but didn’t make it far as Billy the Kid avenged Tunstall’s death in dead man’s Canyon by shooting the men. The regulators next targets were Sheriff William Brady and Buckshot Roberts, both well-known allies of murphy and Dolan. In the year of 1878, territorial governor Samuel Axtell, filled with concern over the increasing violence in Lincoln County issued a proclamation and called all men now under arms to disarm then return to their homes. Without a doubt the proclamation was ignored while fellow bandits and lawbreakers continue in their heartless ways. Two months later the regulator's found themselves back in Lincoln, trapped in Alex McSween's house and were completely surrounded not only by the new Lincoln county sheriff, George Peppa, and his men but also by Colonel Nathan Dudley. the law had …show more content…
However, one could even claim that he was a “Robin Hood” of New Mexico, who fought to steal from the large companies occupying New Mexican land. In fact, Billy the Kid was responsible for the majority of the crimes occurring in the New Mexico area. Few men have witnessed what Billy did in his short life as he watched his mother, his mentor, and three of his best friends died right in front of him in cold blood. Billy the Kid killed to defend himself, he killed to avenge the death of those he respected, and he killed to escape. Admittedly, in the end even the West's most infamous outlaw at the young age of only twenty-one could not escape his own death. The noble and virtually Robin Hood image of William Henry Bonney is a product of his charm and the new notion of an “honorable gangster” in which violence was only a means of getting things accomplished. Billy the Kid was built in the harsh environment of the west that shaped an orphan boy into a bandit who strived on bringing his own law into a lawless land with his trusted accomplices. Bonney matured from a runaway boy to an adolescent outlaw and forever lives as a national symbol of the west. Consequently, Billy the Kid’s legacy is left through his exploits, media attention, and the changing definition of the word “hero” or the blurring of the line between fame and