Virgil Earp, Nephew of Wyatt, Talks About Billy the Kid

In the following excerpt, the son of Newton Jaspar Earp shares a few “recollections” of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. A lot of it has the ring of “old-timer braggadocio,” but who knows? Maybe there’s a little truth to it.

Published in the Albuquerque Journal on May 6, 1958.

“Billy the Kid was no leader of an outlaw gang. And Pat Garrett – they make a hero of him for shooting Billy. He was the worst outlaw in the Southwest. No, I don’t and didn’t think much of Pat Garrett. He knew it, too … Now for Billy the Kid. I didn’t know him, but my father knew him very, very intimately. He was born in New York. He was a very small fellow, and this Englishman sort of adopted him on his ranch. That was in New Mexico and John Chisum and others were claiming the cattle – 20 million longhorns – that had run wild since Cortez. Seven fellows rode up to the Englishman’s ranch, and this Englishman came out in the yard and said, “Light, boys, come in and have something to eat,” which was customary. And they shot and killed him. They didn’t kill Billy. He was just a kid, so after these fellows left, Billy drug the old man back of the barn and buried him and swore on his grave he’d kill every man that participated, and he did. Now Billy, when he anted a piece of money, used to run some of the wild cattle down to the butcher shop. Pat Garrett was in with him, and Chisum owed Billy not only money but friendship. But he was claiming all the cattle. He got Pat Garrett elected sheriff with the understanding that he’d kill Billy the Kid. So Garrett did like he did with other men. He didn’t give Billy a chance. He had a gun on him when Billy came through the open door. The room was dark. He shot and Billy went down with the first shot. Garrett was so scared he ran like hell, and the second shot missed Billy by eight feet. They found the bullet in an old commode. Garrett was a real cold-blooded renegade, but a lot of stories paint him like a hero. It just shows how mixed up lots of things are about the West nowadays.”[1]

[1] Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, New Mexico, May 6, 1958.

Linked here is Virgil's 1958 appearance on the tv show "The $64,000 Question."