1. Have each person in the position and moving in the way described above.
-
A. Pete Maxwell - in bed, unarmed.
B. Pat Garrett - seated on the bed sitting on his holstered pistol.
C. The Kid standing knife and gun in his hands walking toward Maxwell's bed.
2. The shooting started when Garrett recognized the Kid's voice. Use a random device to determine when somebody speaks and is recognized. Rolling a six-sided die:
- 1, 2 = Kid speaks - Garrett shoots
3 = Each recognizes the other - both shoot
4, 5, 6 = movement continues.
3. Special shooting rule.
- A. Veterans snap shooting in the dark take a penalty of 50%.
B. Gun flashes reduce the penalty to 30% unless the target moves after shooting.
C. Chance of hitting bystander = 20% roll after misses only.
4. Deputies may come to the door after the shooting starts. Roll a six-sided die.
- 1, 2, 3 = Kid will fire at deputy silhouetted against night sky,
4 = Deputy will fire at figure inside the room. Roll die to see who it is:
- 1, 2 = Maxwell
3, 4 = Garrett
5, 6 = the Kid,/UL> Then roll for hit or miss
5, 6 = Deputy does not come to the door.
Feel free to modify the above rules. I wrote them to work with Donald Featherstone's skirmish rules.
Old Timer Q&A
The documented histories of Billy the Kid are not the only versions of events.
While buying books at the museum near the grave of Billy the Kid, I asked some questions. There was an old timer sitting behind the counter with the clerk.
M. S.: Is the Pete Maxwell house till standing?
Old Timer: No. It was washed away by the river.
M. S. Did the artist who did the painting (of the shoot-out) see the Pete Maxwell house? Did he get the windows right?
Clerk: It was night. It was dark.
M. S.: But there would be moon or star light. Where were the windows in the room?
Old Timer: No windows. He was killed in the hall. My grandfather lived a block away. He heard a shot and went out. He met Pat Garrett and asked him what happened. "I shot the Kid. Will you go see if he is dead?" "Go see him yourself you S-O-B. You shot him."
The old timer continued, "They say Billy had a gun. How could he? He was staying at my grandfather's house and his guns were hung up, and his rifle was leaning against the wall."
With that the old timer put on his ten gallon hat and walked out into the blazing heat of August in New Mexico.
Since then I have tried to find drawings of the Maxwell house and have found some done by people who had seen it. None of them shows a hallway. Billy the Kid remains the stuff of legend.
Bibliography
Adams, Roman. A Fitting Death for Billy the Kid. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1954.
Featherstone, Donald. Skirmish Wargaming. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens, 1975.
Foor, Charles W. Charlie Foor's Fort Sumner. (Map) 1927.
Fulton, Maurice G. History of the Lincoln County War. Tucson: the University of Arizona Press,
1997.
Garrett, Pat F. The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1954.
Metz, Leon C. Pat Garrett: The Story of a Western Lawman. Norman: The University of
Oklahoma Press, 1973.
Utley, Robert M. Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1989.
Billy the Kid's grave is in a cemetery just outside Fort Sumner, New Mexico. It is enclosed in an iron cage because vandals have stolen the tombstone. The larger, light colored stone reads "Pals Tom O'Folliard [di]ed Dec. 1880 William H. Bonney Alias Billy the K[id] Died July 1[881] Charlie Bowdre Died Dec 1880" The edges of the stone have been broken off and I have supplied the missing letters or numerals in brackets.
The smaller darker stone is secured in place with iron shackles. It was stolen in 1950, recovered in 1976, stolen again in 1981, and recovered a few days later. It reads, at the top, "truth and history, 21 men." Below it reads, "Billy the Kid Born Nov. 23 1860. Killed July 14, 1881. The boy bandit king. He died as he lived."
Billy the Kid: Historical Background
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