The Rustling Activities of Billy the Kid

Throughout his life, Billy the Kid rustled livestock and became quite adept at it. He started learning the trade in Arizona Territory probably, when he was riding with a gang of horse and saddle thieves led by John R. Mackie. Fleeing Arizona for New Mexico after the murder of Windy Cahill, the Kid hooked up with the Jessie Evans Gang, who were a vastly experienced bunch in the ways of rustling and no doubt taught the Kid a lot. Later, during the Lincoln County War, Billy and the Regulators stole the livestock of their enemies on a few occasions. Following the war's end, Billy supported himself by gambling in and around Las Vegas, Fort Sumner, and Anton Chico, and also by starting up his own gang, called the Rustlers. With the Rustlers, Billy's reputation as a badman grew as he stole cattle and horses from the likes of cattle barons John Chisum and Joseph Lea and the Mescalero-Apache Reservation, then drove the animals to the boomtown of White Oaks or the Texas Panhandle to sell them. After selling the animals in Texas, Billy and the Rustlers would steal cattle from the LX, LS, and LIT ranches located along the Canadian River in the Panhandle, then drive them back to New Mexico to be sold. Eventually though, Billy's rustling ring fell apart as several of his gang were captured (including himself) or killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

Below, I have listed Billy's known rustling activites with the Jessie Evans Gang, the Regulators, and the Rustlers. Due to the little documentation that exists involving Billy's time in Arizona, I have not listed the depredations he committed with the Mackie Gang. The dates, details, and documentation regarding the escapades of the Rustlers are understandably very sparse, and there are no doubt several more undocumented incidents that occured with them that are not contained in the list as well.

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With the Jessie Evans Gang

• Sept. 18, 1877---The Jessie Evans Gang raids the Rio Ruidoso ranch of Dick Brewer and make off with several horses belonging to Brewer, Alex McSween, and John Tunstall. Following the theft, the gang drives the animals west to Dona Ana County. By late Sept., the gang sells off the horses somewhere along the New Mexico-Arizona border. Billy the Kid was indentified as having ridden with the gang on their way west to sell the animals, so it is likely to assume he was present in the actual theft as well. However, even if Billy did not participate in the actual theft, he did aid in the gang's driving and selling of the animals, making him an accessory to the crime at the very least.

With the Regulators

• May 14, 1878---Billy and the Regulators raid the Jas. J. Dolan & Co. cattle camp (unbeknownst to the Regulators, it is actually owned by Tom Catron at this time) in Seven Rivers. They scatter all the cattle, make off with twenty-seven horses, and kill Manuel Segovia, a member of the Jessie Evans Gang hiding out at the camp.
• Late July 1878---With half of the Regulators' horses confiscated by Dolan men after the Five-Day Battle in Lincoln, the Regulators make several quiet, evening raids on the Casey ranch and make off with just enough horses so that every member of their ranks is mounted.
• Aug. 5, 1878---Needing better, fresher horses than those they stole from the Caseys, the Regulators ride to the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency. After a running gunfight with a group of Apaches and Clerk Morris Bernstein (who is killed in the fight), the Regulators manage to make off with several dozen horses, far more than they need. The horses are driven to the ranch of Frank Coe, and from there, north to San Miguel County, where all the extras are eventually sold.
• Sept. 6, 1878---The Regulators ride to the ranch of Charles Fritz and easily make off with about 150 head of cattle and fifteen horses. The Regulators then drive the animals to Tascosa, Texas, where they are all sold.

With the Rustlers

• Oct. 1879---Near Bosque Grande, Billy the Kid, Tom O'Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Doc Scurlock, and two unidentified Mexicans steal 118 head of Chisum cattle. The cattle is driven to the ranch of Thomas Yerby (Charlie's employer), where they are rebranded. From there, the animals are driven to the ranch of Alexander Grzelachowski at Alamogordo and sold to some men from Colorado. Shortly thereafter, Chisum men locate and retrieve the cattle..
• Late Dec. 1879/Early Jan. 1880---Billy the Kid, Charlie Thomas, Barney Mason, and a few more accomplices steal a small herd of Chisum cattle near Bosque Grande and drive them to the area around Fort Sumner, where they are rebranded. Jim Chisum and three cowboys will recover the cattle on Jan. 10.
• Feb. 1880---Billy the Kid, Billy Wilson, Mose Dedrick, Paz Chaves, Sam Cooper, probably Tom O'Folliard, and possibly others raid the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency and make off with 48 horses. The animals are herded to the Pecos, where they are sold.
• Mar. 10, 1880---Billy the Kid, Tom O'Folliard, and several others steal twenty-two head of cattle, worth around $220, from the Chisums.
• May 1880---Billy the Kid, Tom O'Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Tom Pickett, and one other man (possibly Dave Rudabaugh) steal fifty-four head of cattle from ranches in the Texas Panhandle and drive them to Los Portales, a cave located to the east of Fort Sumner. The animals are stored in the cave and rebranded, then driven to White Oaks and sold to Tom Cooper (Pat Coghlan's middle man) for $700.
• June 1880---Unidentified Rustlers steal several horses in and around White Oaks and drive them to the Fort Sumner-Portales area, where they are sold off.
• July 1880---Billy the Kid and several other Rustlers steal several head of cattle from the ranch of John Newcomb at Agua Azul, fifteen miles away from Lincoln.
• Summer 1880---Numerous stock raids throughout New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle are attributed to Billy and the Rustlers. At one point, they steal thirty head of cattle from a rancher near Fort Sumner and drive them to Las Vegas, where they are sold to John Singer.
• Fall 1880---More incidents involving the Rustlers' thieving are reported.
• Oct. 21, 1880 (approx.)---The Rustlers steal sixty head of cattle from either Ben or Isaac Ellis, 400 more from an unknown rancher, and seven horses from John Chisum.
• Mid-Nov. 1880---Billy the Kid, Tom O'Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, Dave Rudabaugh, Billy Wilson, Tom Pickett, Buck Edwards, and Joe Cook steal sixteen horses from the ranch of Alexander Grzelachowski near Puerto de Luna. O'Folliard, Bowdre, and Pickett ride back to Sumner, but Billy and the other four press on to White Oaks with their stolen herd. On the way, they stop at the Greathouse-Kuch way station, where four of the horses are sold off. The Rustlers then continue to White Oaks, where the remaining horses are stored in the livery stable of Sam Dedrick and Harvey West. The next day, a posse pursues the gang back to the Greathouse-Kuch station, a gunfight ensues, and posse member James Carlyle is killed.