10 MOST INTERESTING CHARACTERS IN NEW MEXICO TERRITORY

1 Davy Crockett: No, not that Davy Crockett. A reputed bully in Cimarron, this Davy—either a grandson or grandnephew of the Alamo legend—gained infamy for having murdered three U.S. 9th Cavalry buffalo soldiers at the bar of the St. James Hotel in 1876. Acquitted, but fined $50 for having carried a gun in town, he rampaged through Cimarron, often riding his horse into saloons and firing into the ceiling. Townspeople soon tired of his antics. On Sept. 30, 1876, Sheriff Isaiah Rinehart and posse shot and killed Crockett after the bully refused to surrender.

2 Billy the Kid: Orphaned at 13, William Henry McCarty struggled to live in the adult world. Slight in stature, he compensated with his pleasing personality, charming wit and, when pushed, his gun. A natural leader, he hung around Lincoln and became a Regulator. The Kid’s short life ended on July 14, 1881, when shot by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett..

3 Clay Allison: Known for extreme violence, and implicated in many vigilante jail break-ins and lynchings, the notorious gunman reportedly once rode through Mobeetie, Texas, wearing nothing but his six-shooter and gun belt. Allison homesteaded near Cimarron, where on Nov. 1, 1875, he prevailed in a shootout at the St. James Hotel, killing Francisco “Pancho” Griego.

Outlaw Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum partnered with older brother Sam, robbing businesses and trains. The brothers later joined the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. In 1899 Tom foolishly attempted to rob the same train