Since there has been some discussion about the killing of Deputy James W. Bell in the comment threads, I figured to post some pics significant to his death. After his escape from Lincoln, Billy the Kid stopped off at the home of Yginio Salazar and then later John Meadows. Billy explained to Meadows how he escaped, which Meadows wrote in his book years later, in Billy’s own account he said that he slipped his hands out of one of the cuffs, whacked Bell over the head and jerked Bell’s revolver out of the holster and told him to throw up his hands, but Bell turned and ran down the stairs and the Kid shot him. This then explains the two gashes found on Bell’s head, the scuffling sound which was heard from the groundskeeper, Gottfried Gauss, who was standing outside by the door. After being shot, Bell staggered out the back door and right into the arms of Gauss. Then of course, upon hearing the gunshot, Bob Olinger came running from across the street at the Wortley Mess and right pass the upper window where Billy was waiting for him. As soon as Olinger passed through the gate and passed underneath the side upper window, Billy gunned him down. Afterwards, Billy went out on the balcony and saw that a small crowd had gathered and was watching from across the street…a witness’s statement of what the Kid said would verify how he killed Bell: “He stood on the upper porch in front of the building and talked with the people who were in Wortley’s, but he would not let anyone come towards him. He told the people that he did not want to kill Bell, but as he ran, he had to. He said he grabbed Bell’s revolver and told him to hold up his hands and surrender and that Bell decided to run and he had to kill him. He declared he was ‘standing pat’ against the world and while he did not wish to kill anybody, if anybody interfered with his attempt to escape, he would kill him.” It’s recorded that Billy used a pick axe to break free from his leg irons, and it took so much time that he was satisfied with just freeing one leg and left the remaining chains dragging, which spooked his horse and got him bucked off. There’s no mentioning of him struggling to free himself of his handcuffs, because he didn’t need to. He just slipped them off like bracelets. So this logical thinking tells us Billy told the truth, that he slipped his hands and used the cuffs to hit Bell over the head to knock him out. So the common belief of a “gun in the outhouse” story is debunked in my book. After arming himself with revolvers and a rifle, he went down the stairs and went out the back door. As he passed the body of Bell, Gauss heard him say, “I’m sorry I had to kill you, but couldn’t help it.” As the Kid went around the building to the gate, he came to the blood-soaked body of Olinger. Showing no remorse as he had shown for Bell, he kicked the corpse and said “You’re not going to round me up again!” The Kid mounted the horse with some difficulty on account of his leg irons that were dangling from one leg and rode off. The townsmen made no move to stop him, though they could have easily mobbed or shot him to death, but instead they stood back and allowed him to escape, which goes to tell you about their opinion of the Billy the Kid. As I mentioned in the other comment threads… There was blood stains found on the original flooring (at the top of the staircase) that is underneath the current floor boards (use to protect the original floor from foot traffic). Its not proven to be Bells blood, but its a possibility. Bell did have two large gashes on his head and its even said he had a fractured skull. So Billy clocked him good with his cuffs and I believe with the intentions to knock him out cold, so he could spare killing him. Things didn’t go as planned and a wrestling match ensued with Billy ending up on the floor (thanks to the leg shackles no doubt), but he did succeed in getting Bells gun. Since head wounds bleed profusely, Bell couldve bled on the floor as he stumbled or fell down the stairs. Im thinking Bell, with a head concussion and blinded by his own blood, actual fell down the stairs and didnt deliberately make a run for it. So Billy, lying sprawled on his belly, had no choice but to take a shot at Bell at the foot of the stairs. Poor Bell still had the presence of mind to crawl away and out the back door at the bottom of the staircase....and unfortunately for him, not before a bullet ricochet off the wall and into the side of his chest. Since those blood stains were found at the top of the staircase, a new theory was born…and embellished even more so thanks to a show called “Decoded.” It’s implied that Billy actually shot Bell at the top of the stairs. Here’s my problem with that theory…I believe Billy the Kid’s confession on how he killed his two guards. Not only did he tell his two friends, Salazar and Meadows, but even townspeople outside the courthouse. His story is consistent and makes perfect sense and even Garrett supports this with his investigation findings. Not only did Garrett find two gash wounds on Bell’s head, but he also found the bullet that killed him in the stairway: The ball had hit the wall on Bells right...caroomed off at an angle, passed through his body, and buried itself in an adobe wall on his left. There was no other proof besides the marks on the wall. Now as I mentioned in another thread, Garrett was on the scene right away and evidence was fresh and not to mention he viewed the corpses, so its funny how forensic investigators are trying to solve a murder that happened 135 years ago. Speaking of that gunshot mark on the wall, locals would come to look at the mark, it became a popular tourist’s attraction. Then the courthouse got a complete renovation and the mark was gone. So to give present-day tourists something to look at, they made that phony one and its not even in the right spot. From Garrett’s description the bullet ping pong from right to left, so it should be (if looking down the stairs) on the left side wall by the foot of the stairs, not the wall directly facing the staircase. Again, that hole in the mark we see today IS NOT the original ricochet mark by Billy’s gun. I feel bad when I see tourists, who don’t know any better, gawk and be in awe of a bullet hole they think is the bullet that Billy fired and killed Bell. Oh well, all museums are guilty of exaggerating and fibbing. In my final conclusion, I dont see why Billy would lie about shooting Bell at the top of the stairs versus at the bottom. I believe he took Bell’s gun and didn’t retrieve one out of the outhouse. I believe it happened the way he said it happened and the evidence discovered by Garrett supports it. Well, that’s by big ole two-cents. Thanks for reading! Now I gotta get the Hell outta here...Im late for work. Cya.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:34:49 +0000