Dec. 19, 1880; Fort Sumner, San Miguel County, New Mexico Territory---Sheriff-elect (and deputy U. S. marshal) Pat Garrett and his posse of Texas gunmen have been camped in Fort Sumner since the previous morning. Soon after arriving, Garrett stationed his men in the old U-shaped Indian hospital located at the northeast entrance to the small town. Meanwhile, Garrett himself and his deputy, Barney Mason, walked around town, gathering information about the Rustlers from the townsfolk. They soon discovered that six of the Rustlers, Billy the Kid, Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, Charlie Bowdre, Tom Folliard, Tom Pickett, and Billy Wilson, were camped at the Wilcox-Brazil ranch, located about twelve miles northeast of Sumner. They also talked with Jose Valdez, a compatriot of the Kid's, who was in town looking over the situation for the rest of the gang. In order to prevent Valdez from relaying the news of their presence to the Kid, Garrett and Mason detained him at Sumner.
On this morning, Garrett and Mason spot a young boy named Juan Gallegos, who happens to be rancher Thomas Wilcox's step-son, in town. After talking with the two lawmen for only a brief time, Gallegos confesses that he was sent into Sumner to act as a spy for the Kid. Apparently, the Rustlers had gotten word the day before from another compatriot of theirs, Bob Campbell, that Garrett and Mason were in town, and Gallegos was sent to see if they still were. Garrett forms a plan and has Mason get Jose Valdez for him. Then, Garrett orders Valdez to write a note to the Kid, informing him that Garrett and Mason had already left Sumner to return to Roswell. Garrett also writes a note to Wilcox, asking him for help in his scheme against the Rustlers. Both notes are given to young Gallegos, who is ordered to take them back to the ranch and deliver them to the correct people.
Gallegos reaches the ranch in the early evening and delivers both notes. When Billy and gang read their note, they shout their disgust for the cowardice of Garrett for leaving Sumner so soon. The six Rustlers then go to the corral, saddle up, and begin to ride towards Sumner. What no one knows, including Garrett and his posse, is that the Rustlers have grown tired of being the subject for such a manhunt and are planning on leaving the area the very next day. Billy and Big Foot Tom are planning on traveling to Texas to visit Tom's grandmother, Charlie is hoping to simply retire from the outlaw life and live respectably as a rancher, and Dirty Dave, Wilson, and Pickett are planning to leave the territory altogether, probably for Mexico. They're riding to Sumner to catch one last good-night's sleep before going their seperate ways in the morning. Charlie Bowdre's wife, Manuela, lives in the Indian hospital, which is where all the Rustlers are planning on sleeping for the night. Garrett deliberatly placed his men in the hospital building for this reason, because he knew that when the Rustlers eventually would return to town, this would be their first stop.
In the hospital, Garrett and is men are waiting for the Rustlers. Standing guard on the roofed-porch facing northwest are Lon Chambers and Lee Hall, while on the inside, Garrett, Mason, and the rest of the men are playing poker on the floor. Around 11:00 PM, Chambers and Hall see riders coming in through the heavy fog. Chambers runs back in the hospital and shouts that someone is coming, to which Garrett responds by saying, "Get your guns, boys. None but the men we want are riding this time of night." Grabbing their guns, the men all creep outside, taking various positions around the building. Garrett himself and Chambers take up positions on the porch. The heavy fog and darkness provide many shadows for the posse members to hide in, unable to be seen by the approaching Rustlers. In contrast, the bright moon is being reflected off the snow covering the ground, thereby lighting the Rustlers who are out in the open.
The Rustlers are riding side-by-side in pairs. Due to the fog and the several layers of clothing each rider is wearing though, none of the posse are able to tell which outlaw is which. In front of the group are the two Toms, Folliard and Pickett, with Charlie and Dirty Dave right behind them, and the Kid and Wilson following them. As they ride towards the hospital, the posse waits for Garrett's signal to open fire. Slowly, Garrett and Chambers raise their rifles to their shoulders and take aim. Folliard's horse walks right by the porch where Garrett and Chambers are, and they are so close that breath from Tom's horse touches the barrels of the lawmen's rifles. However, the shadows are so dark that Tom is unable to see the men waiting in ambush. Suddenly, two rifles are fired almost as one. Garrett's shot slams into Tom's chest, near the heart, while Chambers's tears across the front of Tom's coat. Tom lets out a painful scream and reels back in the saddle as his startled horse begins to buck and run. Garrett and Chambers then turn their guns on Pickett and open fire, while the rest of the posse starts shooting at the other four Rustlers. Pickett screams as though he's hit and takes off, riding out of town and into the fog. The Kid, Dave, Charlie, and Wilson, with bullets flying all around them, manage to turn their horses and charge back in the direction from whence they came. As the fog engulfs them, one bullet hits Dave's horse, but the horse keeps running. Tom's horse, meanwhile, charges after the other fleeing Rustlers, with Tom being bounced around in the saddle with no control over the animal. Soon, the posse loses sight of them all and the shooting stops.
In dead silence, the posse waits outside for a possible reprisal from the outlaws. Suddenly, they hear the sound of a horse approaching from the direction the outlaws just fled in. Coming through the fog, they spot Folliard, who managed to grab his reins and gain control of his horse. Knowing he had no hope of catching up with the rest of the gang, he turned his horse around and rode back towards Sumner. Sagging forward in the saddle, the posse can tell that Tom's wounded. Approaching slowly with their rifles aimed at him, Tom says, "Don't shoot, Garrett. I'm killed." They then order him to throw down his pistol, to which Tom responds that he cannot. A couple posse members put down their guns and drag Tom off his horse, then carry him inside the hospital and lay him on a blanket on the floor. The rest of the posse also returns to the hospital and someone looks at Tom's wound, which is obviously mortal. With this fact, the posse resumes their card game and waits for Tom, who is lying only a few feet away, to die. Tom groans and curses Garrett, and Mason, who was once a member of the Rustlers himself, tells Tom to "take his medicine." Tom also asks posse member Jim East to write a letter to his cousin, Tom McKinney, asking him to inform the rest of the family of his death. Shortly thereafter, East gives Tom a sip of water from his canteen, then he shutters and dies. The poker game goes on, without anyone except East taking notice of Tom's death.
Meanwhile, the other fives members of the Rustlers ride to the Wilcox-Brazil ranch. On the way, about a mile outside of Sumner, Dave's horse collapses and dies, and Dave from then on rides double with Wilson. They reach the ranch after midnight and are probably at a loss over what their next move should be. The next day, Tom Folliard is buried in old military cemetery at Sumner with Garrett, his posse, and a few townsfolk in attendance. Later, when the posse goes through the possessions in Tom's saddlebags, they find a letter addressed to Tom's grandmother. The letter apparently was to be mailed out on the 20th and states simply that Tom and Billy will be leaving New Mexico for Texas to come visit her. Understandably, the posse doesn't proceed to mail the letter.
Rustlers involved
Pat Garrett's posse
