William bonney biography death

Before his untimely death at the age of 21, Billy the Kid built an infamous reputation as a gunslinging, cattle-rustling outlaw. Operating under the alias of William H. Bonney his given name was likely Henry McCarty , he lived a short, but eventful life that included at least nine murders and a brazen jailbreak. Here are nine fascinating facts about this legendary Old West figure:.

Raised by a single mother, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, as a boy before later migrating west to New Mexico in the early s.

Did billy the kid's brother die of consumption

Henry quickly adapted to life in the rugged territory and became fluent in Spanish, but his sickly mother died of tuberculosis in , leaving him an orphan at the age of just Left in the care of an absentee stepfather, the future gunslinger spent the next year living in foster homes and boarding houses. Before long, he fell in with a rough crowd and turned to petty crime and thievery.

Henry hid the loot in his boarding house but was arrested after his landlord turned him in to the sheriff. The crime only carried a minor sentence, but rather than face punishment, the wiry youth escaped the jailhouse by shimmying up a chimney. McCarty then fled town and embarked on a career as a roving ranch hand, gambler and gang member.