ALL THE NEWS THAT’S 122 YEARS OLD

The following post comes from the desktop of critic, picker, and raconteur Henry Cabot Beck. It should be noted that the conspiracy theory in this piece of pointless but fascinating cowboy triva incorporates two gunmen and a lone victim.

Sworn Statement Again Challenges Billy The Kid's Death
Calif. Man Tells N.M. Officials Outlaw's Infamous Death Was Faked

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Was there a conspiracy surrounding the death of legendary Old West outlaw Billy the Kid? Legend says the man often called William Bonney was gunned down at age 21 by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 in Fort Sumner, N.M. But a California man says the notorious fugitive's death was faked. Homer Overton said he was told by Garrett's widow more than 60 years ago that the dead man was actually an unwitting impostor, a drunk who was shot point-blank in the face by two unlikely pals -- Garrett and Billy the Kid himself. Overton's sworn statement is being offered as evidence for exhuming the body of Billy The Kid's mother. Some New Mexico officials want to compare her DNA with that of a Texas man who claimed until his death in 1950 that he was the real Billy the Kid. A hearing on the exhumation petition is set for Jan. 27 in Silver City, N.M., where the outlaw's mother is buried. Town officials oppose disturbing the gravesite. More