WPA Billy the Kid /
Interview by: Edith Crawford
May 10, 1937
BILLY THE KID
(As Told by Francisco Trujillo,
(Translation by A.L. White) 85
years old, of San Patricio,
I arrived at San Patricio in the
year 1877. During the first days of October Sheriff Brady appointed a committee
to pursue some bandits whom we found at Harry Baker's ranch at Siete Rios.
There we arrested them and brought them to the jail at
In November the people of
[Ponasco?] went to take the bandits out from jail. Among the people coming from
[Ponasco?], was Billy the Kid.
At about the same time Lucas
Gallegos, my brother, Juan Trujillo and I went to Pajarito to hunt deer. We
were at the mouth of the
The bandits surrounded Juan, my
brother. I started to get away but Billy the Kid followed me telling me to
stop. I then turned around and saw that he was pointing a rifle at me so I
jumped from my horse and aimed my gun at him. He then went back to where the
people were and aimed his gun at Juan saying "If Francisco does not
surrender I am going to kill you." Lucas Gallegos then shouted
"Surrender, friend, otherwise they will kill my COMPADRE Juan." Billy
then took my gun from where I had laid it and we returned to the place where
the people were. Billy then said to me "We have exchanged guns now let us
exchange saddles." I said that suited me picking up the gun when another
Texan said "Hand it over you don't need it." At this point Lucas
Gallegos interposed saying to my brother "Let me have the pistol,
COMPADRE." Then my brother gave Lucas the pistol in its holster. Then and
there we parted and left for San Patricio to recount our experiences.
In December Macky Swin and Marfe
went to court about a guardianship and a decision was rendered in favor of
Macky Swin. When Marfe saw that he had lost out he ordered his men to kill
Macky Swin or some of his companions. Macky Swin hearing of the order that
Marfe had given gathered his people in order to protect himself. Among those he
rounded up was Billy the Kid, Charley Barber and Macky Nane. In addition to
these three men, six more got together and Macky Swin made them the same
promise, to the effect that a prize of $500 was to be awarded to each person
who killed one of the Marfes. It was then and there that Billy the Kid
organized his people and went out in search of Frank Baker and Billy Mote whom
he apprehended on the other side of the Pecos river and brought to
A few days later Macky Nane, Frank
Coe and Alex Coe were on their way to Picacho from
When we left the hut, accompanied
by Juan, he said to me "Don't let them kill me Kiko!" Seeing a string
of people coming from Siete Rios we ran to nearby hill and from there towards
the plains and then headed for
As I came up to Charley, I turned
and saw the Indian Armijo riding between them very slowly. When Charley and I
had gone about fifty yards we noticed that the Indian had gotten away from his
captors and was riding away as fast as he could. Billy the Kid and Jose Chaves
took out after him and began to shoot at him until they got him. Several of us
congregated at the place where he fell. Billy the Kid then said to me
"Francisco, here are the saddle and trappings that I owe you." I then
commanded [?] [Banche?] to do me the favor of bringing me the horse the Indian
Armijo had been riding, in order that I might remove the saddle which was
covered with blood. Noting my disgust Doke said that he would take it and clean
it and let me have his in the meantime. And so, we exchanged. Our business
finished we turned homeward and crossed the river at a point called "Vado
de los Indios". At this side of the
At this point it was decided to
leave Captian Stock to guard over Macky Swin. Of the original eight Mexicans in
the party, four were left to join the Americans, not having admitted the other
four to do so. Macky Swin then asked us to meet him the following Monday at
From [?] we left for [Berendo?]
where found a [FANDAWOO?] in progress. We were enjoying ourselves very thoroughly
when don Miguel came up to us and said "Better be on your way boys because
presently there will arrive about fifty Marfes who are probably coming here to
get you."
Esteco, our leader, agreeing with
don Miguel, commanded us to saddle our horses. We had not been gone half a mile
when we heard shouts and gun-shots so we decided to wait for the [gant?] and
have it out. Our efforts were of no avail, however, as the gang failed to show
up. We then pursued our course toward the Captian mountains and arrived at Agua
Negra at day break and there we had our lunch. At this point the party broke
up, the Anglos going to Lincoln,
the Mexicans to San Patricio whence they arrived on Sunday afternoon. Billy the
Kid then said to Jose Chaves, "Let us draw to see who has to wait for
Macky Swin tomorrow at
Being in the store about eleven,
the mail arrived and with it Macky Swin. There also arrived Brady and a Texan
name George Hamilton. At this juncture Brady also arrived where he found Billy
the Kid, Jim French Charley Barber and John Melton. They were in the corral
from whence two of the gang shot at one, and two others at the other, where
they fell.
Billy the Kid then jumped to
snatch Brady's rifle and as he was leaning over someone shot at him from a
house they used to call "El Chorro."
Macky Swin then reached the house
where the nine Macky Swins were congregated - the four who were in the corral
and five who had been at the river. There they remained all day until nightfall
and then proceeded to San Patricio.
The next morning they proposed
going to the hills should there be a war and so that it could be waged at the
edge of town in order not to endanger the lives of the families living there.
The same day, toward evening, six Mexicans came to arrest Macky Swin. They did
not arrive at the Plaza but camped a little further down between the acequia
and the river at a place where there were thick brambles. Shortly after the
Mexicans arrived Macky Swin came with his people to eat supper at the house of
Juan Trujillo - that being their headquarters, that also being their mess hall,
having hired a negro to prepare the meals. After supper they scattered among
the different houses, two or three in each house.
In one of these at the edge of
town Macky Swin and an American boy whose name was Tome locked themselves in.
Next day early in the morning the six Mexicans who had been looking for Macky
Swin showed up. When they arrived at the house where Macky Swin was Tome came
out and shot at the bunch of Mexicans and hit Julian, about forty Marfes came
down to San Patricio killing horses and chickens. At this point there arrived
two Marves, an American and a Mexican. The American's name was Ale Cu, and the
Mexican's Lucio Montoya. When the Macky Swins became aware of them, they began
to fire and killed all the horses. The two Marfes ran away to San Patricio
where the rest of the Marfes were tearing down a house and taking out of the
store everything that they could get hold of. From there all the Marfes went to
I don't recall exactly when Macky
Swin, who was being hounded down by the Marfes, was killed but I do remember
that he gathered together all his friends and went back home to Lincoln accompanied by eight Mexicans
and two Americans, also his wife. When the Marfes found out that he was in the
house they surrounded him but seeing that they were unable to hurt him they
caused to be brought over a company of soldiers and a cannon from the nearby
Fort. Notwithstanding this Macky Swin instructed his people not to fire. For
this reason the soldiers had to sit until it was dark. The Marfes then set fire
to the house and the soldiers returned to the fort. When the first room burned
down, Ginio Salazar and Ignacio Gonzales came out to the door but the Marfes
knocked them down and left them there, dazed. When the flames reached the
middle room, an American proposed to go out thro'ugh the doors of the kitchen
on the north side. No sooner did he jump than the Marfes knocked him down.
Francisco Samora jumped also and he too was shot. Vincente Romero was next and
there the three remained in a heap. It was then proposed by Billy the Kid and
Jose Chaves y Chaves to take aim at the same time and shoot, first to one side
then to the other. Chaves took Max Swin by the arm and told him to go out to
which Mack Swin answered by taking a chair and placing it in the corner stating
that he would die right there. Billy and Jose Chaves then jumped to the middle
door, one on one side, and the other on the other. Then Robert Bakers and a
Texan jumped and said "Here is Macky Swin". Drawing out his revolver
he shot him three times in the breast. When the last shot was fired Billy the
Kid said "Here is Robert" and thrust a revolver in his mouth while
Jose Chaves shot at the Texan and hit him in the eye. Billy and Chaves then
went along the river headed for San Patricio where they both remained for some
time.
In October the Governor
accompanied by seven soldiers and other persons came to Sam Patricio camping.
Having heard about the exploits of Billy the Governor expressed a desire to
meet him and sent a messenger to fetch him. The interview was in the nature of
a heart to heart talk wherin the Governor advised Billy to give up his perilous
career. At this point occurred the General Election and George Kimbrall was
elected sheriff of the county.
Obeying the Governor's orders he
called out the militia having commissioned Sr. Patron as Capitan and Billy the
Kid as First Lieutenant. During that year - that of '79 things were comparatively
quiet and Billy led a very uneventful life.
About the last part of October of
the same year, the Governor issued an order that the militia should make an
effort to round all bandits in Chaves county,
a task which the militia was not able to accomplish hence it disbanded. Billy
the Kid received an honorable discharge and would probably have gone straight
from them on had it not been that at this juncture the District Court met and
the Marfes swore a complaint against him and ordered sheriff Kimbrall to arrest
him. Billy stubbornly refused to accompany the sheriff and threatened to take
away his life rather than to be apprehended. Again nothing was heard for a time
and then Pat Garrett offered to bring in the desperado for a reward. The
Governor having been made aware of the situation himself offered a reward of
$500. Immediately Pat Garrett accompanied by four other men got ready to go
after Billy and found him and three other boys, whom they surrounded. One
morning, during the siege, one of Billy's companions went out to fetch a pail
of water whereupon Pat Garrett shot at him, as well as the others, hitting him
in the neck and thereby causing him to drop the pail and to run into the house.
With a piece of cloth, Billy was able to dress the wound of the injured man and
at least stop the hemorrhage. He then advised the wounded man to go out and to
pretend to give himself up, hiding his fire-arm but using it at the first
opportune moment to kill Pat. Charley did as we was told but when he went to
take aim, dropped dead. Bill and the other three companions were kept prisoners
for three days but finally hunger and thirst drove them out and caused them to
venture forth and to give themselves up. Billy was arrested there being no
warrant for the others. Then followed the trial which resulted in a sentence to
hang within thirty days. News of the execution having spread about people began
to come in for miles around to be present on the fatal day but Billy was not to
afford them much pleasure having escaped three days before the hanging. A
deputy and jailer had been commissioned to stand guard over him. On the day of
the escape at noon the jailer told the deputy to go and eat his dinner and that
he would then go himself and fetch the prisoner's. It was while the jailer and
Billy remained alone that the prisoner stepped to the window to fetch a paper.
He had somehow gotten rid of his hand-cuffs and only his shackles remained.
With the paper in his hand he approached the officer and before the latter knew
what his charge was up to, yanked his revolver away from him and the next
instant he was dead. Billy lost no time in removing his keeper's cartridge belt
as well as a rifle and a "44 W.C.F." which were in the room.
When the deputy heard the shots he
tho'ught that the jailer must have shot Billy who was trying to escape and ran
from the hotel to the jail on the steps of which he met Billy who said
"hello" as he brushed past him, firing at him as he dashed by.
Billy's next move was to rush to the hotel and to have Ben Eale remove his
shackles. He also provided for him a horse and saddled it for Billy upon the
promise that he was to leave it at San Patricio. True to his word Billy secured
another horse at San Patricio from his friend Juan Trujillo promising in turn
to return the same as soon as he could locate his own.
Billy now left San Patricio and
headed for John Chisum's cattle ranch. Among the cow-boys there was a friend of
Billy Mote who had sworn to kill the Kid whenever he found him in order to
avenge his friend. But Billy did not give him time to carry out his plan
killing him on the spot. From there Billy left for [Berendo?] where he remained
a few days. Here he found his own horse and immediate sent back Juan
Trujillo's. From Berendo Billy left for Puerto de Luna where he visited Juan
Patron, his former captian. Patron did everything to make his and his
companion's stay there a pleasant as possible. On the third evening of their
stay there was to have been a dance and Billy sent his companion to make a
report of what he saw and heard. While on his way there, and while he was
passing in front of some abandoned shacks, Tome was fired upon by one of Pat
Garrett's men and killed. No sooner had Billy heard the distressing news than
he set out for the house of his friend Pedro Macky at Bosque Grande where he
remained in hiding until a Texan named Charley Wilson, and who was supposed to
be after Billy, arrived.
The two exchanged greetings in a
friendly fashion and then the stranger asked Billy to accompany him to the
saloon, which invitation Billy accepted. There were six or seven persons in the
saloon when the two entered. Drinks were imbibed in a general spirit of
conviviality prevailed when some one suggested that the first one to commit a
murder that day was to set the others up. "In that case the drinks are on
me" said Charley who commanded all to drink to their heart's content.
Billy then ordered another round of drinks and by this time Charley who was
felling quite reckless began to shoot at the glasses not missing a single one
until he came to Billy's. This he pretended to miss, aiming his shot at Bill
instead. This gave Billy time to draw out his own revolver and before Charley
could take aim again, Billy had shot the other in the breast twice. When he was
breathing his last Billy said "Do not whisper you were to eager to buy
tho'se drinks." It was Billy's turn now to treat the company.
Quiet again reigned for a few
days. In the meantime Pat Garrett was negotiating with Pedro Macky for the
deliverance of Billy. When all details were arranged for, Pat left for Bosque
Grande secretly. At the ranch house, Pedro hid Pat in a room close beside the
one Billy was occupying. Becoming hungry during the night Billy got up and
started to prepare a lunch. First he built a fire, then he took his hunting
knife and was starting to cut off a hunk of meat from a large piece that hung
from one of the VIGAS when he heard voices in the adjoining room. Stepping to
the door he partially opened it and thrusting his head in asked Pedro who was with
him. Pedro replied that it was only his wife and asked him to come in. Seeing
no harm in this Billy decided to accept the invitation only to be shot in the
pit of the stomach as he stood in the door. Staggering back to his own room it
was not definitely known that the shot had been fatal until a cleaning woman
stumbled over the dead body upon entering the room, the following morning.
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