Before we get to Smokey and Billy, browse a few shots from Carlsbad Caverns. Click to advance pictures.
But wait, Billy’s grave is the end of the story which spans from 1864 to 1881.
In 1864 the Navajo and Mescalero Apache in the southwest were “rounded up and herded” to a barren area of New Mexico called Bosque Redondo. The U.S. government wanted the native lands for exploitation and needed the native population moved so Kit Carson was assigned the task. The Long Walk of 300 miles for the Navajo was notoriously harsh and left 200 dead. When they arrived, many more were ill and the situation was bad.
Over the course of the next year, Fort Sumner was built using Indian labor so U.S. soldiers could oversee and control the native population. Conditions for the Indians were poor. Food, water and firewood were scarce. Many died. After a few years, word of the atrocious conditions reached Washington and General Sherman was sent to investigate.
In the five years since the Long Walk, the U.S. government had not found great value in the native lands of the Navajo and Apache. Given this, it was easy for the U.S. to negotiate a treaty returning the land to the native peoples. The Treaty of Bosque Redondo was signed in 1868 and the tribes returned.
So where’s Billy the Kid in all this? Patience, we’re almost there.
Fort Sumner operated as a trading post for a few more years but when the railway arrived several miles to the north the fort was sold to Lucien Maxwell who turned it into a ranch. That too only lasted a few years and the fort buildings were soon abandoned. Enter Billy the Kid.
This idiot’s story can be read here. Suffice to say that his escape after being convicted of murder ended with his death in 1881 at deserted Fort Sumner. The Long Walk, Bosque Redondo, and Fort Sumner all have much to do with one another; Billy the Kid’s death at Fort Sumner is pure coincidence as that’s simply where he was hiding out. All these converge to make a geographic focal point in New Mexico.
I learned this story at the Bosque Redondo Memorial. Here they pay tribute to the native cultures and document the internment of the Apache and Navajo.
I got there with 30 minutes to spare and was their only visitor. They gave me a tour, taught me the history, and answered my many questions. I have to say, I was impressed and thankful for their generosity.
Contiguous with the New Mexico State Memorial is a second-rate novelty store which had Billy the Kid’s tombstone out back. I’m sure it’s great for business but it was all a bit much for me as the kid was basically a delinquent. One aspect did catch my attention though and that had to do with how Billy’s tombstone had been stolen not once but twice. It’s now surrounded by a cage. Details were on this sign which was next to the “grave” and tomb stone:
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