Billy the Kid

There is some confusion over Billy the Kid's real name. At his trial he used the name William Bonney, but as a child he was known as Henry McCarthy.
By the age of 12, Billy the Kid was already a gambler and card player, and had knifed a man for insulting his mother. When he was just 16, he and a partner murdered three Native Americans and stole the furs they were carrying. In 1877, after more murderous exploits, he became involved in a ‘war’ between two cattle-ranching families. As leader of one of the gangs, he was in one gun battle after another. He returned to cattle thieving and murder when that ‘war’ was over.
A sheriff called Pat Garrett was determined to catch him, and he finally succeeded in 1881. Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang, but he managed to escape. Two months later, Garrett cornered him and shot him dead. Films have been made which show Billy the Kid as a hero, but in reality he was a criminal who murdered at least 21 people.