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1 5 1 d espite having relatives living across parts of the Midwest and in Pennsylvania, Susan opted to remain in New Mexico following Alexander McSween’s death. She obviously considered the territory her home. She also realized that far greater opportunities awaited her here than in many of the more settled parts of the United States. As Susan weathered the physical intimidation and psychological assaults on her person and awaited justice for her late husband and herself, she looked forward to a better future. About January 18, 1879, Susan and Jimmy Dolan allegedly shook hands and settled into a wary truce. The extent of that so-called “peace treaty” remains unclear, except that the Mesilla Valley Independent reported a revived normality in Lincoln. Unfortunately, the informal truce proved short-lived, and by mid-February, Susan once again feared for her life. It is noteworthy that Billy the Kid played at least a cursory role in shattering the flimsy calm.1 Although it is unclear whether Susan and Billy crossed paths after the Big Killing, they traveled a somewhat parallel course. In their own ways both launched vendettas against individuals they deemed most responsible for their personal troubles and financial losses. Susan cast Colonel Nathan Dudley as her villain, whereas Billy singled out John Chisum, whom he insisted, “got me into all this trouble and then wouldn’t help me out.”2 Seemingly convinced that the Pecos Valley rancher had promised to pay good wages for the use of his six-gun during the Lincoln County War, Billy now vowed to rustle from Chisum’s herds until he considered the debt C ha p t e r e i g h t Beyond the lincoln County war 1 5 2 S c h A p t e r e I g h t paid off. Chisum, on the other hand, claimed that he owed the Kid nothing . Billy’s biographer, Robert M. Utley, and historian Harwood P. Hinton, who wrote a series of articles about Chisum, argue that the young man’s threat indeed amounted to little more than “a self-serving rationalization for his criminal activities.” And, of course, Billy was not new to cattle theft. He had for a time rustled alongside Jessie Evans and the Boys.3 As Susan picked up the pieces of her life, Billy and the former Regulators who remained with him camped in close proximity to the Chisum ranch. Billy apparently alternated between stealing horses and trying to court the rancher’s eighteen-year-old niece Sallie. He gave the pretty blonde girl an Indian tobacco sack and two “candi [sic] hearts.” She recorded the gifts in her diary.4 At roughly the same time that Susan fled to Las Vegas, Billy and his men stole fifteen horses and 150 head of cattle from the Pecos and Seven Rivers country. They drove the animals to Tascosa, a wild and lawless town in the middle of the Texas Panhandle. In Tascosa few prospective buyers asked questions when they shelled out cash for livestock, even when they sported altered brands.5 In Texas, however, some of Billy’s Regulators began to defect. Fred Waite, for instance, returned to the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory, where he later became involved in politics and held a number of elected offices, including attorney general of the Chickasaw legislature.6 John Middleton fled to Kansas and soon found work with the St. Louis–based cattle brokerage firm of Hunter & Evans, to which Chisum had sold most of his cattle in 1875. Unfortunately, the Kid lost men dedicated to Tunstall and loyal enough to McSween to put their lives on the line. In return, he attracted mostly undesirables like Dave Rudabaugh, the cold-blooded killer of a Las Vegas lawman who had also rustled cattle and robbed stagecoaches and trains across Kansas and Texas. Billy also added Tom Pickett, a former Texas Ranger who admired Rudabaugh, and Billy Wilson, a young man who believed in taking shortcuts to wealth and had passed counterfeit U.S. currency. Therefore, Wilson was already in trouble with federal authorities.7 Of course, Tom O’Folliard, who continued to idolize Billy, remained. Jim French and Charles Bowdre also stayed with the Kid and now became part of his rustling operation. They stole livestock from the Pecos country and sold them in Texas. At the same time Billy sometimes brought stolen Texas livestock back with him into New Mexico, where few ranchers dared pursue. Billy frequently sold...

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