About Billy the Kid: Man and Mystery
Presented by Dick Etulain, Historian & Author
Billy the Kid (1859-1881) is likely the most-written-about
character of the Old West. Part warm friend, part desperado, he roamed the
Southwest in the late 1870s and early 1880s. His supporters, particularly
Hispanics and women, celebrated his bravery and courage; opponents called him a
gunman and murder. Which was he? Why are so many unsolved mysteries
still surrounding him? What should we think about him? This slide-illustrated
presentation will deal with both the life and legends of Billy the Kid.
About the Speaker:
Richard W. Etulain, a specialist in the history and literature of
the American West, is professor emeritus of history at the University of New
Mexico. The son of a Basque sheepman and frontier mother, he was raised
on a sheep ranch in eastern Washington and took his doctorate at the
University of Oregon. He is the author or editor of more than 50 books,
including Beyond the Missouri: The Story of the American West (1996),
The Life and Legends of Calamity Jane (2014), Ernest Haycox
and the Western (2014), and most recently Presidents Who
Shaped the American West (2018). He is presently completing
a two-volume study of Billy the Kid, which should be published in
2019.