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Chronology of the Life of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, Part 8

July 1, 1879---In Las Vegas, a person identified only as ''The Kid'' is arrested for illegally operating a monte table. This in all likelihood is Billy Bonney, who arrived in Vegas recently with Tom Folliard and Doc Scurlock and has been making a living as a gambler.
July 4, 1879---The first New Mexico & Southern Pacific train pulls into Las Vegas, and a massive party is held to celebrate it and the Independence Day. With the railroad's arrival, the town basically splits in two, with one section called New Town, or East Las Vegas, due to the new businesses the railroad has brought, and the other division called Old Town, or West Las Vegas. Also following the railroad into Vegas is a plethera of gamblers, thieves, killers, gunfighters, and desperados including 'Dirty Dave' Rudabaugh, John 'Doc' Holliday, Tom Pickett, 'Mysterious Dave' Mather, J. J. Webb, Joe Carson, and dozens more. Due to the fact that the majority of these men hail from Dodge City, Kansas, the locals dub them the Dodge City Gang. The leader of this so-called gang is Hyman G. Neill, also known as Hoodoo Brown, who manages to get elected justice of the peace. With this role, he basically takes over the town and appoints fellow Dodge City Gang members to serve as the town's police force. The town quickly turns into one of the deadliest in America.
July 5, 1879---With all the testifying at the DCOI now completed, Henry Waldo delivers his closing statement. In his very long statement, he personally insults and degrades just about everyone who testified against Dudley.
July 13, 1879---At the home of A. J. Ballard, Jimmy Dolan marries Caroline Fritz, with John Long serving as best-man. Following the ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Dolan leave New Mexico for a two-month honeymoon in Texas.
July 16, 1879---Former Seven Rivers Warrior Sam Perry shoots and kills former Selman Scout Frank Wheeler at Perry's ranch near Tularosa. Wheeler had been working for Perry and had apparently been stealing his employer's cattle.
July 18, 1879---The tribunal presiding at the DCOI rule in favor of Dudley and declare that a court martial is not necessary.
July 22, 1879---Dudley is transferred from Fort Stanton to Fort Union.
July 26, 1879---Allegedly, Billy Bonney has dinner at the Adobe Hotel near Las Vegas. Joining Billy for dinner his old friend from Tascosa, Dr. Henry Hoyt, who is now working at the Exchange Hotel in Vegas. According to Hoyt, also eating dinner with them is new friend Billy just met that Billy introduces as Mr. Howard. Later, when Billy and Mr. Howard go their seperate ways, Billy confides in Hoyt that the man was really the infamous Jesse James, who was investigating New Mexico as a new place to move his family to. Apparently, Jesse liked Billy so much he asked him to return with him to Missouri and join a new gang he was forming. Billy turned him down though, saying he wasn't much for bank and train robbing.
Aug. 9, 1879---Sheriff Kimbrell and a fifteen man posse track ''Billy Kid'' to a small house located six miles south of Lincoln. The posse surrounds the house and plan to wait for Billy to surrender. By dawn, the posse discovers that, during the night, Billy climbed up the chimney of the house and escaped unnoticed.
Aug. 10, 1879---A ''Billy Kid'' appears in the San Miguel County District Court, charged with illegally keeping a gaming table. However, if the ''Billy Kid'' surrounded by Kimbrell's posse yesterday was really Billy Bonney, that it would be near impossible for this ''Billy Kid'' to be Bonney, due to the far distance between the two locations.
Mid. Aug. 1879---Gold is discovered in the hills thirty miles or so northwest of Lincoln. A boomtown quickly springs up, called White Oaks. A young man around age nineteen and calling himself Billy Wilson (which may or may not be his real name) opens a livery stable in the booming town. Billy Bonney and his friends begin frequenting White Oaks in order to gamble and end up becoming acquainted with Wilson. Billy also gets to know 'Whiskey Jim' Greathouse and Fred Kuch, two men who own and operate a way station/ranch/saloon located about forty miles northeast of the Oaks. Also around this time, Billy gets the idea to organize a rustling gang as another way to support himself besides just gambling. With the gangs of John Kinney and Jessie Evans now long gone, and the Seven Rivers Warriors basically disbanding, there will be next to no competition for Billy. His idea is to steal cattle and horses from John Chisum, who he feels wronged him for not paying him for fighting in the Lincoln County War, and the Mescalero-Apache Reservation, then sell the animals in White Oaks, Las Vegas, or the Texas Panhandle. After selling the animals in Texas, Billy's plan continues, he will steal livestock from the LX, LS, and LIT ranches and drive them back to New Mexico to be sold. The first to join Billy in this endeavor and make up his gang are former Regulators Tom Folliard, Doc Scurlock, and Charlie Bowdre, as well as Sam Cooper of White Oaks, Texas outlaw Joe Cook, horse thief Buck Edwards, Charlie Thomas, Paz Chaves, and Barney Mason of Fort Sumner. Also joining the gang is Mose Dedrick, the youngest brother of former Regulator Dan Dedrick, who now owns the former John Chisum ranch at Bosque Grande, where the gang's stolen animals will be held. Billy Wilson also gradually starts riding with the gang and allows them to store their animals in his livery stable in White Oaks. The gang also begins storing their stolen livestock at the Greathouse-Kuch ranch and in a large, natural cave located east of Fort Sumner known as Los Portales. Scurlock still works as a ranchhand for Pete Maxwell and Bowdre now works as ranch foreman for Thomas Yerby at his ranch several miles out of Sumner, and the two ride with Billy more out of loyalty to him than out of any necessity for extra income.
Aug. 13, 1879---A rumor circulates that Jessie Evans has been shot and killed near Fort Stockton, Texas. Although the part about Jessie being killed is false, it is correct in stating that he is in Texas now. In Texas, he puts together another rustling gang. Billy Campbell has already seperated from Jessie and disappeared, and the only member of the old Evans gang to join Jessie's new one is Dolly Graham, also known as George Davis. The rest of the gang is made up of native Texans, as well as John Selman, former leader of Selman's Scouts who also fled to Texas following the atrosities his gang committed in Lincoln County. Also around this time, Billy and Tom Folliard ride into Lincoln to visit Susan McSween. Also visiting Mrs. McSween is Frank Coe, who has returned to Lincoln County to retrieve an old haymaking machine of his and take it back to Colorado. A small baile is held that night, with Frank playing the fiddle. Also present at the baile is a sergeant from Fort Stanton, sent to arrest the Kid. Billy confronts the sergeant about this, and the soldier promptly backs down. Later, Frank warns Billy that more soldiers are on their way. Faced with this, Billy and Tom ride out of Lincoln and return to their adopted home of Fort Sumner, where they live with the Bowdres, the Scurlocks, or any of Billy's local Hispanic friends or girlfriends.
Aug. 18, 1879---A stagecoach near Las Vegas is held up and robbed by three members of the Dodge City Gang, one of which is possibly policeman 'Dirty Dave' Rudabaugh.
Aug. 26, 1879---At the Seven Rivers ranch of Joe Nash, former Seven Rivers Warriors John Jones and John Beckwith get into a heated argument over stolen cattle. The argument ends when both men pull their pistols and Jones kills Beckwith with one shot. On the same day, Oliver Pleasent Roberts, later Billy the Kid claimant, is born.
Aug. 29, 1879---Planning on turning himself over to law in Lincoln for the murder of Beckwith, Jones begins riding north from Seven Rivers. On the way, he stops at the ranch of Milo Pierce and Louis Paxton, who are there along with Bob Olinger, Buck Powell, Jim Ramer, and Bill Smith. What Jones does not know is that word of the Beckwith slaying has already reached the ranch and that retribution has been planned. Seeing Pierce lying on a cot on his porch, Jones walks over to shake his hand. When Pierce has his got Jones's hand in a firm grip, Olinger appears from behind Jones, pulls his pistol, and fires four quick shots. Two of the bullets hit Jones in the back, the other two in the back of his head, killing him instantaneously. One of the bullets, however, passes right through Jones and slams into Pierce's hip, giving him a pronounced limp for the rest of his life. When Billy Bonney hears of this cowardly killing, he allegedly swears vengeance on Olinger.
Aug. 30, 1879---Another stagecoach near Las Vegas is robbed, this time by six members of the Dodge City Gang. Dave Rudabaugh is again linked to the crime.
Late Summer/Fall 1879---The Apaches and their leader, Victorio, engage in a campaign of terror throughout the Southwest. Sometime in this period, Billy Bonney encounters John Chisum at Fort Sumner and orders him to pay him for fighting in the Lincoln County War. Chisum staunchly refuses though, even when Billy threatens to kill him. Billy eventually decides that Chisum is not worth killing and that he'll just continue to take the payment he deserves out of Chisum's cattle.
Oct. 14, 1879---Members of the Dodge City Gang, once again including Dave Rudabaugh, rob a train near Las Vegas of about $4,000.
Mid. Oct. 1879---Billy Bonney, along with Tom Folliard, Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, and two unidentified Hispanics steal 118 head of Chisum cattle near Bosque Grande. The gang rebrands the cattle then manages to sell them for $800 to some Colorado cattle men. Shortly thereafter, Doc gets word that the law is after him. Getting tired of being constantly hounded, Doc gathers his family and belongings and flees New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle.
Nov. 10, 1879---Col. Dudley appears in La Mesilla to stand trial for the burning of the McSween home. However, the trial is suspended when Susan McSween herself does not appear. The court issues a bench warrant for her arrest.
Mid. Nov. 1879---Jimmy Dolan, back from his honeymoon, Billy Mathews, and George Peppin appear in Socorro for their trials. Representing them all is Tom Catron, who manages to get the murder case of John Tunstall dismissed for both Mathews and Dolan. The charge of the murder of Huston Chapman facing Dolan is also dismissed, making Dolan a completely free man. The charges of the murder of Frank MacNab and the burning of the McSween home facing Peppin are also dismissed.
Nov. 16, 1879---George Coe marries Phoebe Brown.
Nov. 17, 1879---Mrs. McSween finally arrives in Mesilla for the Dudley trial.
Nov. 20, 1879---Three days after the commencement of his trial, Dudley is acquitted on the charge of arson.
Dec. 18, 1879---Former Regulator John Middleton marries Maria Colcord.
Jan. 10, 1880---Jim Chisum and three cowboys discover a small herd of rebranded Chisum cattle near Fort Sumner. As they start to drive the animals back south, Billy Bonney, Charlie Thomas, and Barney Mason ride up to them. Knowing that it was Billy and his companions who stole and rebranded the cattle in the first place, Chisum is wary. His tensions are somewhat eased though, when Billy offers buy all the men drinks in a Sumner saloon. Thereafter, Billy and his two men, along with Chisum and his three cowboys, retire to the saloon of Bob Hargrove in Sumner. Also in the bar is a man from Texas wanting the reputation of a badman known as Joe Grant, who calls himself Texas Red. He's drunk and obnoxious and challenged Billy to a bet earlier in the day that he would kill a man before Billy would. Billy, however, refused to participate in the bet. While Billy and the others enjoy their drinks, Grant approaches Chisum cowboy Jack Finan and, admiring Finan's pistol, grabs it out of its holster. Grant then puts his own pistol in Finan's holster. Shortly thereafter, Billy strikes up a conversation with Grant and asks to be allowed to examine Grant's new gun; Grant consents and hands Billy the gun. What Grant doesn't know and what Billy does know is that earlier in the day, Finan fired three shots with the pistol and never reloaded. When Grant isn't looking, Billy spins the cylinder so that the next three shots will land on the empty cartridges. Billy then hands the gun back to Grant, who resumes his drinking. Getting even more obnoxious, Grant begins smashing bottles behind the bar. Without warning, he suddenly pulls his pistol, aims it at Jim Chisum, and loudly proclaims that he is going to kill John Chisum. Billy quickly intervenes, saying that Grant is confused and that Jim is John's brother. Grant calls him a liar, but Billy ignores him and turns his back on the drunkard. Billy then hears the clicking noise of Grant pulling the trigger of his gun. Billy quickly spins around, pulls his own pistol, and fires off three rounds into Grant's face, killing him instantly. Billy and his men then finish their drinks and leave the saloon.

Jan. 14, 1880---In Anton Chico, Fort Sumner bartender Pat Garrett marries Apolonaria Gutierrez. Barney Mason, member of Billy's gang, marries Juanita Madril at the same service. Billy Bonney, and other members of his gang such as Tom Folliard and Charlie Bowdre, are present at the weddings.
Jan. 22, 1880---In a dance hall in Las Vegas, a gunfight erupts between four badmen, Tom Henry, Bill Randall, James West, and John Dorsey, and Mysterious Dave Mather and Joe Carson, Dodge City Gang members and local policemen. In the ensuing gunfight, Carson and Randall are killed, and Henry and West wounded. Nevertheless, Henry, and Dorsey manage to flee Vegas before being arrested, while West is left behind and taken into custody.
Feb. 6, 1880---Dorsey and Henry are arrested by a posse made up of the Dodge City Gang at a farmhouse near Vegas. They are returned to Vegas and put in the town's jail with West.
Feb. 7, 1880---A lynch mob comprised of the Dodge City Gang (and including such notables as Dave Rudabaugh, Dave Mather, Hoodoo Brown, and J. J. Webb) storm the Vegas jail and drag out West, Henry, and Dorsey. The three badmen are taken to a large windmill located in the town plaza. There, all three men are lynched.
Feb. 1880---Billy Bonney, along with Mose Dedrick, Paz Chaves, Sam Cooper, Billy Wilson, probably Tom Folliard, and possibly others steal forty-eight horses from the Mescalero-Apache Reservation. The horses are herded to the Rio Pecos, where they are easily sold. Around this same time, Billy Wilson sells his livery stable in White Oaks to W. Harvey West and Sam Dedrick, the middle brother of Dan and Mose. Wilson is paid $400 cash, but is unware that all of it is counterfeit, made by West, Dedrick, and fellow gang member Sam Cooper. Without his stable, Wilson begins riding with Billy and his gang full-time.
Mar. 2, 1880---In Las Vegas, Dodge City Gang member (and policeman) John J. Webb shoots and kills cattleman Michael Kelliher. He is immediately arrested and charged with the murder.
Mar. 10, 1880---Billy and his gang strike again, this time making off with twenty-two head of Chisum cattle worth $220.
Mid. Mar. 1880---Bob Olinger shoots and kills one Frank Hill, but the circumstances of the killing remain mostly unknown. Also around this time, Paz Chaves, member of Billy's gang, is lynched by a mob made up of unknown men.
Apr. 9, 1880---J. J. Webb is convicted and sentenced to hang for the murder of Michael Kelliher. However, Webb files a notice of appeal and remains hopeful the sentence will be overturned. He will be held in the Las Vegas jail until his fate is decided once and for all. Regardless, though, the Dodge City Gang's rule has reached its end. Joe Carson was recently killed, Mysterious Dave Mather left the town, and Hoodoo Brown, the gang's leader, fled the area only days after the Kelliher killing.
Apr. 20/21, 1880---Ex-Regulator Sam Smith is killed by Apaches, probably in Grant County, New Mexico.
Apr. 30, 1880---Dave Rudabaugh and 'Little Jack' Llewellyn, another former Dodge City Gang member, visit J. J. Webb in jail. At some point, they demand the keys to Webb's cell from jailer Antonio Lino Valdez. When Valdez refuses, either Dave or Jack shoot him, toss the keys to Webb, and take off on foot. Webb, however, refuses to free himself, still being hopeful he'll be exonerated in his appeal. Valdez, though, dies of his wound shortly thereafter. A posse pursues the two killers, but they have no luck in catching them. At some point after the shooting, Dave and Jack hook up with fellow former Dodge City Gang member (and ex-policeman) Tom Pickett. The three then quickly flee Las Vegas and begin heading south.
Early May 1880---On their way south, Dave Rudabaugh shoots and kills Little Jack, allegedly for being tubercular. Dave and Pickett continue on and are hired by Charlie Bowdre to work as ranch-hands on the Yerby ranch. At some point, the pair meet Billy Bonney. Exactly how and where they met Billy is unknown, but it was probably either by Charlie introducing them at the Yerby ranch, or Jim Greathouse introducing them at his way station/saloon, where Billy's gang and Dave and Pickett often frequent. Either way, Billy and Dave decide to ''team-up'' and begin riding together in Billy's rustling gang, with Pickett also joining. Apparently, Billy knows of Dave's infamous reputation as a badman and is wary around him.
Mid. May 1880---Billy Bonney, Tom Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Tom Pickett, Dave Rudabaugh, and probably others steal fifty-four head of cattle in the Panhandle and drive them to the Los Portales cave southeast of Fort Sumner. The cave is becoming the headquarters for the gang, since it acts as a natural holding pen for their stolen livestock. The cattle are rebranded at Portales then driven to White Oaks, where they are sold for $700 to Tom Cooper, a middleman for the ''Cattle King of the Tularosa,'' Pat Coghlan.
May 19, 1880---In Fort Davis, Texas, Jessie Evans and his gang (numbering five or six) rob the Sender & Siebenhorn store of $1,100 in money and merchandise. Later in the day, they rob the house of F. W. Rouff.
May 20, 1880---The Jessie Evans Gang robs the house of August Diamond. In response to this crime spree, Texas Rangers are sent to forts Davis and Stockton to put an end to the gang.
June 17, 1880---A cenus taker in Fort Sumner takes down the statistics of Billy Bonney, who is living next door to Charlie and Manuela Bowdre in the old Indian hospital at Fort Sumner. Billy gives his age as 25, birthplace as Missouri, and occupation as ''working in cattle.'' Whether or not Billy was telling the truth in regards to his age and birthplace remains debatable.
June 20, 1880---In Lincoln, Susan McSween marries George Barber. Billy Bonney and Tom Folliard, and most likely Charlie Bowdre as well, are known to be in attendance at the celebration following the wedding.
Early July 1880---Billy and the gang steal several head of cattle from the Azul Agua ranch of John Newcomb.
July 3, 1880---A group of Texas Rangers engage in a running gunfight with the Jessie Evans Gang near Fort Davis. In the ensuing battle, Ranger George Bingham is killed, as is gang member Dolly Graham, also known as George Davis, Jessie's constant sidekick since before the Lincoln County War. The gang soon surrenders and are taken back to Fort Davis, where they are tossed in a dungeon-like jail.
Mid./Late July 1880---Billy Wilson begins spending the $400 he was given by Harvey West and Sam Dedrick for the White Oaks livery stable. However, Wilson still doesn't know that the cash is counterfeit. In Lincoln, Wilson buys merchandise from Jimmy Dolan and pays him with a bogus $100 bill. Later, Wilson and fellow gang member Sam Cooper (who is aware the bills are counterfeit) pass on more funny money when they buy more merchandise from Jose Montano. Around the same time, West and Dedrick themselves begin to spend their homemade cash around White Oaks.
Mid. Aug. 1880---Dolan and others, such as Ira Leonard and prominent Roswell citizen Joseph C. Lea, begin writing letters to the U. S. Treasury Department, complaining of the counterfeit bills being passed throughout Lincoln County.
Aug. 26, 1880---From jail in Fort Davis, Jessie Evans writes a letter to Billy Bonney, asking him to come to his rescue. The letter is intercepted by Texas Ranger Lt. Charles Nevill, however, and never reaches the Kid. Nevertheless, a rumor begins to spread throughout the area that the Kid and his gang are on their way to liberate Evans. No rescue attempt is ever made, and it remains a mystery why Evans would think for a second Billy would risk his life to help him.
Sept. 1880---The Canadian River Cattlemen's Association (CRCA), made up of several Panhandle ranches such as the LX, LS, and LIT, hire a man calling himself Frank Stewart to serve as their ''cattle detective.'' His first assignment is to go to New Mexico and try to locate the cattle belonging to the Panhandle ranches that have been stolen by Billy Bonney and his gang. With Stewart go cowboys Lee Hall and Lon Chambers from the LX, Garrett 'Kid' Dobbs from the LS, and Charlie Reasor from the LIT. The five-man party travel to the Tularosa ranch of Pat Coghlan, where they locate several head of cattle stolen from the LIT. Former sheriff George Peppin, who is working as Coghlan's butcher, refuses to give the cattle back and tells them that Billy is in the area and will kill them if he finds them. Faced with this, Stewart and his men return to Texas to report to the CRCA. Around this same time, the head of the U. S. Secret Service, James Brooks, sends Special Operative Azariah F. Wild to Lincoln County to investigate the claims that reached the Treasury Department of counterfeit money being passed.
Early Oct. 1880---Under the recommendation of John Chisum and Joseph Lea, Pat Garrett and his wife move from Fort Sumner down to Roswell. Chisum and Lea think that Garrett, if elected sheriff in the next term, could be the man they need who will put a stop to Billy's gang's trepidations. Now, with Garrett a resident of Lincoln County, he starts to campaign for the job of sheriff, running against incumbent George Kimbrell. Kimbrell is well-known to be too timid a man to put a serious effort into catching Billy and the gang and has even been known to gamble with Billy on occasions in Lincoln. When Billy hears that his former friend Garrett is running for sheriff, Billy stars to campaign, in his free time, for Kimbrell.
Oct. 1, 1880---Azariah Wild arrives in White Oaks.
Oct. 4, 1880---Wild arrives in Lincoln and meets with several citizens, including Jimmy Dolan, who shows him the bogus $100 bill Billy Wilson passed on to him. Quickly in his investigation, Wild learns the name of the counterfeiters (Dan and Sam Dedrick, Harvey West, Sam Cooper, and Billy Wilson) and members of the Kid's gang. He writes a letter to U. S. Marshal John Sherman and asks him to arrest the outlaws, but Sherman writes back saying he simply prefers not to do so. It is apparent that Sherman's refusal to act is out of fear. Furious over this, Wild continues his investigation for the time being, gathering information on all the known members of the gang, upon which he bestows the name of ''the Rustlers.''
Oct. 6, 1880---In White Oaks, Ira Leonard receives a letter written by Billy Bonney. In the letter, Billy states he wishes to stop running from the law and would like to finally obtain the pardon promised to him by Gov. Wallace. Leonard shows the letter to Wild, who is back in White Oaks, and proposes that they use Billy as a witness against the counterfeiters, and in return finally grant Billy his pardon. Wild agrees to this and Leonard hastily writes a note to Billy, telling him to come to White Oaks within the week so they can meet.

Oct. 10, 1880 (approx.)---In White Oaks, Edgar Walz approaches Wild and tells him he has information regarding the Rustlers. According to Walz, one of the workers on his ranch (the old Murphy ranch, actually owned by Tom Catron) knows the Rustlers' hideouts and where the counterfeit money is being made. If he is paid $1,000, Walz continues, he'll bring in the Rustlers. Wild agrees to this and Walz returns to his ranch.
Mid. Oct. 1880---Since Marshal Serman refuses to act, Wild begins canvassing the area, looking for men who will go after the Rustlers. He soon decides that former Seven Rivers Warriors Bob Olinger and Johnny Hurley will back him if given official authority, so he writes to Sherman in Santa Fe and asks him to appoint them deputy U. S. marshals.
Oct. 16, 1880---Walz again meets with Wild in White Oaks, and tells him the name of his informant, James DeVours. Wild is nearly ecstatic and believes that Walz will surely capture the outlaws. He writes a letter to his superior, James Brooks, telling him of this fact.
Oct. 18, 1880---Near Fort Sumner, the mail carrying stagecoach is held up and robbed by the Rustlers. Among the stolen mail is Wild's letter to Brooks, detailing Walz's plan of attack and the information provided by DeVours.
Oct. 20, 1880---Wild hears of the recent mail robbery and is furious. When Walz also hears of this, he gives up on trying to catch the gang and DeVours himself flees the area.
Oct. 22, 1880---Wild reports that the Rustlers have stolen sixty head of cattle from either Ben or Isaac Ellis, 400 from someone else in the area, and seven horses from John Chisum.
Nov. 2, 1880---Pat Garrett, who is in Roswell, is elected Sheriff of Lincoln County, beating incumbent Kimbrell by 141 votes. However, Pat can't take office until Jan. 1, so Kimbrell appoints him a deputy and takes a back seat to allow Garrett basically act as sheriff. Meanwhile, in White Oaks, Azariah Wild finally gets the deputy U. S. marshal commissions from Marshal Sherman he requested. Through a clerical error though, two of the commissions are in the name of Johnny Hurley. Knowing that Garrett has just been elected sheriff, Wild scratches out Hurley's name on one of the commissions and writes in Garrett's in its place, thereby appointing Garrett as a deputy U. S. marshal, although through dubious means.
Mid. Nov. 1880---In the Panhandle, the CRCA organizes their toughest cowboys in order to send them into New Mexico to retrieve their stolen stock. Two parties are assembled, one made up of LX cowboys James East, Lon Chambers, Lee Hall, 'Big Foot Frank' Clifford, Cal Polk, and led by Charlie Siringo. The other is composed of LIT cowboys 'Poker Tom' Emory, Louis 'Animal' Bousman, 'Tenderfoot' Bob Williams, Monroe Harris, a man known only as 'Uncle Jimmy,' and is led by Bob Roberson. The two parties meet at Tascosa, where cattle detective Frank Stewart already is. Together, they begin riding to New Mexico. Early on, Stewart decides to separate from the rest of the group and ride alone to Las Vegas, in order to see if he can form a larger posse there.
Nov. 14, 1880---Wild leaves White Oaks to ride to Roswell in order to meet Sheriff-elect Garrett. However, a severe snowstorm forces Wild turn around and return to the Oaks.
Nov. 15, 1880---Near Puerto de Luna, the Rustlers (Billy Bonney, Tom Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Dave Rudabaugh, Billy Wilson, Tom Pickett, Joe Cook, and Buck Edwards) encounter former gang member (who, unbeknownst to the gang, has turned informant for Pat Garrett) Barney Mason. They ask Mason where horses belonging to local rancher Alexander Grzelachowski are, and he tells them. The gang then raids the Polishman's ranch and make off with sixteen horses worth $1,600. Immediately afterwards, Folliard, Bowdre, and Pickett ride to the Fort Sumner area, while the other five begin herding the horses towards White Oaks to sell them. Billy, however, has another motive for going to the Oaks: to meet with Ira Leonard, who he hopes is still in town.
Nov. 17, 1880 (approx.)---Billy, Rudabaugh, Wilson, Cook, and Edwards arrive at the way station/saloon/ranch of Jim Greathouse and Fred Kuch, where they sell four of their stolen horses. Afterwards, they press on to White Oaks.
Nov. 19, 1880---Wild, still at the Oaks, gets word that Garrett is riding up from Roswell to meet him. Along the way, Garrett stops near Fort Sumner and picks up his snitch, Barney Mason. Mason tells Garrett of his recent encounter with the Rustlers. Mason also tells Garrett of a recent encounter he had with Dan Dedrick, in which Dedrick told him to ride to Old Mexico with a large amount of counterfeit money and buy up all the cattle he could down there. Mason, however, refused to do so.
Nov. 20, 1880---Garrett and Mason arrive in White Oaks and meet with Wild. On the same day, the Rustlers, with their twelve stolen horses, also arrive in White Oaks. The horses are put up in the livery stable of Sam Dedrick and Harvey West, while Billy goes to the house of Ira Leonard. However, he finds out that he is too late, as the lawyer left the Oaks a few days prior and is now in Lincoln. Afterwards, the gang enters a general store and stocks up on provisions, then walks out without paying. The supplies are taken to Dedrick-West stable and left there, while the gang leaves town for their camp, located near Blake's Mill, not far from the town's outskirts. Two other members of the Rustlers in town, Mose Dedrick and W. J. Lamper, agree to bring the stolen supplies to the camp by wagon at a later time. Meanwhile, Garrett, Wild, and Mason hear that the Rustlers have been in town. It's decided that Garrett will ride back to Roswell in order to assemble a posse, while Mason will try to infiltrate the gang once again to get more information. When Mason completes this, he and Wild are supposed to ride down to Roswell to meet back up with Garrett.
Nov. 21, 1880---Billy, Rudabaugh, Wilson, Cook, and Edwards return to White Oaks and hang around the Dedrick-West stable. Mason hears of this and himself enters the stable, where he runs into the Rustlers. A brief conversation between Mason and the Rustlers starts, but Mason apparently loses his nerve about infiltrating the gang and quickly exits the stable. Billy suspects that Mason is a turncoat and suggests that he be killed, but Sam Dedrick advises against it. Once outside the stable, Mason begins alerting the townsfolk to the Rustlers' presence. A small posse is quickly assembled, but by the time they reach the stable, all the Rustlers are gone.
Nov. 22, 1880---A posse led by storekeeper and deputy Will Hudgens and Constable Thomas Longworth and made up of Dep. James Carlyle, J. W. Bell, J. P. Eaker, George Neil, James Redman, John Hudgens, and William Stone leaves White Oaks in the direction of Blake's Mill. Upon arriving at the Mill, they find the outlaws' camp deserted, but they decide to follow fresh tracks in the snow leading further away from town. On their way, they encounter a wagon driven by Mose Dedrick and W. J. Lamper. Knowing that the pair are on their way back to town after having just delivered the stolen supplies to the Rustlers, they are both placed under arrest and forced to accompany the posse as prisoners. Near Coyote Springs, the posse surprises the gang at their new camp. The Rustlers all quickly mount up and pull their guns and a fight ensues. In the melee, the horses of Billy Bonney and Billy Wilson are killed, as is the horse being ridden by Will Hudgens. While Rudabaugh, Cook, and Edwards all flee on horseback in different directions, the two Billies make their escape together on foot. Not wishing to pursue the Rustlers further, the posse confiscates all they find at their camp then return to town. In White Oaks, Mose and Lamper are taken before Probate Judge James Tomlinson. Lamper is let off easy and discharged, but Mose is placed under bond to appear at the next term of court. Mose quickly posts bond however, and, fearing a lynch mob, flees the area.
Nov. 23, 1880---Billy Bonney and Billy Wilson meet back up with Dave Rudabaugh and they head towards the relative safety of the Greathouse-Kuch station, forty miles north of White Oaks. Joe Cook, meanwhile, rides south, towards Roswell. Buck Edwards goes his own way as well, and rides west to Arizona Territory. Probably on the same day, Azariah Wild and Barney Mason ride down towards Roswell. Also around this same time, Frank Stewart arrives at Puerto de Luna.
Nov. 25, 1880 (approx.)---Near Fort Bascom, the parties of Charlie Siringo and Bob Roberson make camp. Siringo volunteers to go ahead to Las Vegas alone, ostensibly to get food and supplies. Leaving Roberson in charge of both parties, he tells the others to go ahead to Anton Chico and he'll meet them there. When Siringo gets to Vegas, though, he spends the next week or so spending all his money at the monte tables and completely forgets about the food and supplies for his men. On the same day, Wild and Mason arrive at Garrett's house in Roswell. Together, they begin putting together a posse of local men to go north to the Fort Sumner region after the Rustlers.
Nov. 27, 1880---Before dawn, a thirteen-man posse from White Oaks, once again led by Will Hudgens and Tom Longworth, surrounds the Greathouse-Kuch way station, which is currently housing Billy, Rudabaugh, and Wilson. Before the sun rises, Constable Longworth rides back to the Oaks to get reinforcements and leaves Hudgens and Dep. Jame Carlyle in charge. When cook Joseph Steck steps outside in the morning, he is grabbed by the posse and told to carry a note inside to the Kid, ordering him to surrender. Billy and gang laugh at this and send Steck back outside with a note asking one of the posse to come inside and discuss their ''terms of surrender.'' Dep. Carlyle volunteers, provided Jim Greathouse come outside and give himself to the posse. Greathouse agrees and comes out and Carlyle goes in. Inside, Carlyle speaks with Billy, while Wilson and Rudabaugh proceed to get drunk at the bar. When Billy looks at Carlyle's hands, he discovers he's wearing a pair of gloves belonging to Billy that he left at the Coyote Springs campsite a few days earlier. Although at first incensed over this, he calms down and resumes his discussion with the deputy. At some point, the outlaws order Carlyle to sit at the bar and have a drink with them. For the next several hours, with their guns trained on him, Rudabaugh and Wilson make the deputy match them drink for drink until he, like them, is drunk. Billy, however, apparently obstains from the drinking. Meanwhile, Steck carries notes back and forth between Billy and the posse for most of the day. Billy knows that inside the warm ranchhouse, he can easily outlast the posse out in the shivering cold. By 11:00 PM, the posse tires of this and sends Steck inside with a note telling Billy to hand over Carlyle in the next few minutes, or Greathouse will be shot. Billy and the others don't take the threat seriously though, and continue to hold Carlyle. A few minutes later, one of the posse fires a shot in the air. Thinking Greathouse has been killed, Carlyle leaps through a nearby window and ends up being shot three times, either by the outlaws or by his own startled posse. He staggers a few feet, then collapses, dead in the snow. A short time later, the posse withdraws and rides back to town. Greathouse, who was unharmed by the posse, along with Steck and Fred Kuch mount their horses and ride to the nearby Spencer ranch, fearing the posse will return. Billy, Rudabaugh, and Wilson, however, remain at the station for the night. On the same day, the Texas cowboys being led by Bob Roberson arrive in Anton Chico and proceed to spend their time gambling and getting drunk as they await Siringo's arrival.
Nov. 28, 1880---Before dawn, Billy, Rudabaugh, and Wilson leave the Greathouse ranch and ride to the Spencer ranch, where they are given a meal. From there, they proceed to their home of Fort Sumner.
Nov. 29, 1880---A twenty-man posse led by Pat Garrett and Bob Olinger, and containing Azariah Wild and Barney Mason, rides north out of Roswell towards Dan Dedrick's Bosque Grande ranch, where Garrett suspects the Kid and his men will be hiding out. Soon after leaving, they encounter Joe Cook riding with two stolen horses. Cook is promptly arrested and Garrett has Wild and two other possemen take the outlaw back to Roswell, while Garrett and the others continue to ride north. In Roswell, Cook is placed in irons and thrown in jail, and rumor soon starts to spread that the Rustlers are planning to ride to town and break him free. Nothing of the sort happens, however. On the same day, the Greathouse-Kuch ranch is burned to the ground by unknown parties and immediately afterwards, the Spencer ranch shares the same fate. Possibly on this same day, Frank Stewart arrives in Las Vegas from Puerto de Luna.
Nov. 30, 1880---The Garrett-Olinger posse arrives at the Bosque Grandre ranch of Dan Dedrick. Garrett is disappointed though, when he realizes that neither the Kid nor any member of his gang are there. What the posse does find at the ranch though, is J. J. Webb and George Davis, recent escapees from the Las Vegas jail. Webb, who had apparently lost faith in his appeal and escaped with horse thief Davis, headed south in the hopes of locating his old comrade, Dave Rudabaugh. Both Webb and Davis are placed under arrest and forced to accompany the posse as they ride to Fort Sumner.
Dec. 1, 1880---In the morning, the Garrett-Olinger posse arrives in Fort Sumner and eats breakfast. After asking around, Garrett discovers that Billy is no longer in Sumner, but that Charlie Bowdre, Tom Folliard, and Tom Pickett are allegedly at the ranch of Thomas Yerby, Charlie's employer, near Las Canaditas. Garrett decides to investigate the ranch and leaves four possemen at Sumner to guard prisoners Webb and Davis. On the way to the ranch, Garrett and his men spot Tom Folliard riding by himself several hundred yards ahead. When Tom sees the posse, he pulls his Winchester, starts shooting, and puts his spurs to his horse. Due to Tom's fresher horse and the rocky terrain the posse is on, he quickly outdistances them. By the time the posse arrives at the Yerby ranch, they find if there were Rustlers there, they're gone now, altered by Tom. All that remains is Manuela Bowdre, Charlie's wife, and another Hispanic woman. In one of the corrals, though, four stolen horses and two stolen mules are discovered and confiscated. Disappointed again, Garrett leads his posse back to Sumner. Meanwhile, the Rustlers flee to Anton Chico. On the same day, Jessie Evans enters the Huntsville, Texas penitentiary with a life sentence.
Dec. 2, 1880---Garrett and his posse ride east of Sumner to Los Portales, the cave where the Rustlers are known to hold their stolen stock. When they arrive at the cave though, they find it deserted, with only two or three cows still there. Apparently, the Kid figured on Portales being hit by the posse and moved the stolen cattle and horses to a spring fifteen miles away. In case the Rustlers return, Garrett decides to camp at the cave for the next few days.
Dec. 3, 1880---W. S. Koogler, editor of the Las Vegas Independent, writes an article about the lawlessness throughout the territory and basically casts all the blame on Billy Bonney, who he calls ''Billy the Kid.'' This marks the first time that this soon to be infamous moniker is used in print.
Dec. 5, 1880---Satisfied that the Rustlers won't be returning to Portales, Garrett and his posse begin riding back to Sumner. On their way, they stop for a meal at the ranch of Wayne Brazil and Thomas Wilcox. During their meal, Wilcox tells Garrett that Charlie Bowdre was there earlier and wants to meet with him, alone, at a fork in the road leading to Fort Sumner. Garrett agrees to this and finds Charlie waiting for him at the fork. Charlie expresses to Garrett that he wants to stop running and live a respectable life. Garrett then shows Charlie a letter written by Joseph Lea, stating that if Charlie were to surrender and sever his ties with the Rustlers, all would be done to give him a chance to go straight. Charlie then goes on to tell Garrett that he will stop riding with the Rustlers, but will still feed them and let them stay at his house. Garrett replies that if he doesn't sever all contact with the gang, he might end up killed or captured himself. Following this, Garrett and Bowdre part. On this same day, Charlie Siringo, completely broke, arrives in Anton Chico to find his men drunk and quarreling with the townsfolk. To remedy this, Siringo and Roberson move their parties to White Oaks. Probably also around this time, the Rustlers begin to feel the heat from the manhunt they're the subject of. Charlie wants to retire from the outlaw life and Tom Folliard states he wants to go to Texas to visit his grandmother, and Billy agrees to go with him. Dave Rudabaugh and Billy Wilson, who both have federal warrants out for them, also plan to leave the territory. Therefore, it's pretty much decided that, at some point within the next couple weeks, Billy and Tom will ride to Texas, Charlie will retire to being a simple farmer and family man, and Dave, Wilson, and Pickett will go their own ways.