Billy arrived at the home of Celsa and Saval Gutiérrez, where he sometimes had a siesta, instead of the Maxwell house. He was carrying a hock of beef leg and headed into the kitchen before returning to the room where Celsa and her husband were situated.
"Celsa, I brought some meat for you to make my supper," the Kid said.
Although Billy presumed Señora Gutiérrez could manage something with it, upon seeing the hock of a leg in the kitchen, the güero beauty knew it was pointless to even try.
"Beely, this meat that you brought is no more than a bone, Celsa called out. "It doesn't have any meat." "Give me a knife to go get some good meat," Billy answered from the other room in Spanish. "And tell Don Pedro that I took the meat so that he doesn't think that another stole the meat"
EL CHIVATO
Henry McCarty, aka Billy the Kid, spoke flawless Spanish which endeared him to the local Hispano community. The mutual respect earned him the nickname El Chivato-the Little Goat.
All Illustrations by Bob Boze Bell and All Images Courtesy True West Archives Unless Otherwise Noted
Celsa's seven-year-old illegitimate son Candido watched as Billy took the butcher knife that his mother loaned him. The Kid headed outside and made his way down inside the white pickett fence parallel with the western end of the parade ground. A full moon shone down upon him; he was in his stocking feet, dark pants and a white dress-shirt with a silk handkerchief around his neck. He briskly walked past the dance hall and flower garden to his left and was fastening his trousers as he approached the Maxwell house. It was almost 12:30 in the morning of Friday July 15, 1881.
This story is from the October 2022 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2022 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Where Did the Loot Go?
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist?
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
HERO OF HORSEPOWER
LOS ANGELES LAWMAN WILLIAM HAMMEL TAMED ONE OF THE WEST'S WILDEST TOWNS WITH HARD WORK AND HORSELESS CARRIAGES.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.