Infamous America - BILLY THE KID 0 | Prologue

Episode Date: October 30, 2019

The life of the most infamous outlaw in the history of the American West is steeped in mystery. This is the story of Henry McCarty, aka Henry Antrim, otherwise known as William H. Bonney, glorified in legend as Billy the Kid. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My relentless sleep problems have always come from an overactive mind. I lay in bed at night with my mind racing from one thing to another, and then, of course, I have a brainstorm about something new. That lights the fire, and then I'm in real trouble. To calm my mind, the only things that have ever worked with any consistency are sleep gummies. Sleepy Time Advanced Gummies from Mood.com come in various combinations of THC, CBD, and CBN, so you can get something that's very low in THC, but higher in CBD, which helps turn off the stress,

and CBN, which is the thing that makes you sleepy. The brain shuts up, the racing thoughts stop, and it's off to sleep. Mood is federally compliant. The gummies are legal and delivered right to your door. At Mood.com, get 20% off your first order with our promo code, Infamous. Go to Mood.com and use the code infamous to get 20% off your first order. your first order. And they have a 100-day satisfaction guarantee. Mood.com promo code infamous. He was described as lean and wiry with sandy brown hair and clear blue eyes. He was charismatic

and enjoyed a joke. He liked to gamble, but ignored tobacco and rarely drank whiskey. He loved to sing and dance, and his abilities came from his mother. He spoke fluent, Spanish and charmed young ladies on the dance floor in two languages. He could read and write, and he preferred moccasins to boots, and a sombrero to a cowboy hat. He never knew his father, and even his name has been debated. But one thing that is known, in 1877, Henry McCarty, also called Henry Antrim, otherwise known as the Kid, was around 17 years old. That summer, He killed his first man. It was a hot August evening in the town of Benita.

The speck of a settlement sat outside Fort Grant, a small military outpost about 60 miles from Tucson in southern Arizona territory. On this night, the blacksmith from Fort Grant, an Irishman named Frank Cahill, was playing cards at George Atkins' cantina. And, as always, he was talking. Cahill earned the nickname Windy because he told stories

non-stop, stringing them together one after another. At his table sat Henry Antrim, whom everyone called Kid Antrim. He was no more than 17 years old, and his baby face and slender frame made him look younger. The kid had endured torments from the loudmouthed windy Cahill on several occasions. The blustery Irishmen like to knock the kid around and tussle his hair and make fun of him at every opportunity. But on this night, the kid reached his breaking point. As they sat at the table, Wendy Cahill continued his loud talk, and the situation grew heated as the blacksmith and the kid traded insults. Cahill called the kid a pimp. The kid called Cahill a son of a bitch. Cahill dove at the kid. They crashed to the floor and wrestled all the way outside and into

the dusty street. Cahill pinned the kid to the ground. but the kid wrenched an arm free and grabbed the 45 caliber pistol that was stuffed into his pants. The kid jammed the gun into Cahill's side and pulled the trigger. A slug tore through the Irishman's abdomen. As windy Cahill collapsed into the dust,

the kid realized the severity of his actions. He leapt to his feet and ran down the street. He jumped onto a horse that wasn't his and galloped out of Benita. He didn't stop riding until he, he was all the way out of Arizona territory. The kid had committed other crimes in the last three years, but none as serious as murder. If Cahill died and gutshot men almost always did, then the 17-year-old drifter would be a murderer, and that label stuck with a person forever.

Cahill lingered for several agonizing hours, during which he dictated his last will and testament. In it, he said he was born in Galway, Ireland. and died in Arizona territory, killed by a young man called Henry Antrim. After Cahill succumbed to his wound, a coroner's jury of six men declared that the death of Frank Cahill was criminal and unjustifiable, and they found a single young man guilty of the act. Henry Antrim, alias kid. Henry never set foot in Arizona again, and by the time he resurfaced in New Mexico, he had adopted a new name, but the alias still.

with him. Now he called himself William H. Bonnie, which was eventually shortened to Billy the Kid. From Black Barrel Media, our new season of infamous America begins in one week, and it's the story of the most notorious outlaw in the history of the American West, Billy the Kid. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and leave your expectations at the door with this one. Whatever you thought you knew about the story, think again. This is the journey of a skinny, young man from nowhere who unexpectedly becomes a central player in the events known as the Lincoln County War. And whether you're a long-time listener or new to the show, I have a request.

We want to hear from you. Please visit our social media channels and fill out a quick survey about the show. We're Black Barrel Media on Facebook and Instagram and B-Barrell Media on Twitter. Thanks in advance for your help, and we'll see you next week for Chapter 1 of Billy the Kid. Thank you.