Pat Garrett’s story sits at the heart of the Old West. This episode follows his path from ranch hand to elected sheriff, and the chase that ended Billy the Kid’s life in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881.
We walk through Garrett’s election in Lincoln County, his pursuit after the Lincoln County War, the capture and escape of the Kid, and the night inside Pete Maxwell’s house that sealed the legend.
We place each moment in New Mexico’s wider struggle after the Lincoln County War and show how politics, cattle money, and community loyalties shaped what happened. We also trace Garrett’s career after 1881, from customs work to his final years, and the day he was shot near Las Cruces in 1908.
You will hear the accepted account and the disputes that followed, including claims that challenge the shooting of Billy the Kid and competing theories about Garrett’s own death. We look at Wayne Brazel’s role, the courtroom outcome, and later suspicions that killer-for-hire Jim Miller might have been involved.
Along the way, we meet allies and rivals like John Chisum, Governor Lew Wallace, John Tunstall, Alexander McSween, James Dolan, Paulita Maxwell, and others who turned Lincoln County into a battleground.
By the end, you’ll have a clear view of the facts, the myths that grew around them, and why Pat Garrett’s name still anchors American frontier history.
----------------------------