Has anyone read "Alias Billy The Kid" ?

[Rube Burrows]

I bought an original copy of this book several years ago and it was a pretty good read. It is the story of Brushy Bill Roberts.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a chance to read this book and what they thought of it? Im not really asking if anyone believes the story or not? I thought it was interesting enough and im glad I bought the book.

If anyone has not heard of it I can dig it out of my safe and give the details. I think it was published in the early 50s by New Mexico University.

[Stillwater]

I bought an original copy of this book several years ago and it was a pretty good read. It is the story of Brushy Bill Roberts.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a chance to read this book and what they thought of it? Im not really asking if anyone believes the story or not? I thought it was interesting enough and im glad I bought the book.

If anyone has not heard of it I can dig it out of my safe and give the details. I think it was published in the early 50s by New Mexico University.

I have read it, and I wouldn't believe anything the book says.

I have seen a picture of "Brushy Bill" Roberts taken in his twenties. He looks nothing at all like Billy The Kid. He is darker, much taller, brown eyed.

In the early fifties there were several old men coming forward, claiming to be some famous outlaw, or another. One particular old guy claimed to be Jesse James. The old fraud looked nothing at all like Jesse James.

Bill

[Rube Burrows]

I have read it, and I wouldn't believe anything the book says.

I have seen a picture of "Brushy Bill" Roberts taken in his twenties. He looks nothing at all like Billy The Kid. He is darker, much taller, brown eyed.

In the early fifties there were several old men coming forward, claiming to be some famous outlaw, or another. One particular old guy claimed to be Jesse James. The old fraud looked nothig at all like Jesse James.

Bill

Yeah.....I dont give either of those guys much merit but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

[Dead I]

In March of this year I sat in the living room of Nellie Ruth and Paul Jones.  Paul is Lily Casey's grandson and Nellie Ruth is Frank Coe's granddaughter.  We had a nice talk.  They live very close to the old Glencoe ranch and almost next door to the old William Brady spread, that is still owned by his family (Brady actually owned several ranches.).

As we were chatting Nellie Ruth said to me that she had met Brushy Billy and that her brother had ridden over the countryside with  him and that he said Brushy knew some things that only an old member of the community would know.   however, have never read that Brushy ever showed up in the Lincoln area in the 1930's.

I asked her if she believed that Brushy was Billy and she didn't own up to it.  But still is seemed to me that she did. 

I do not, and for many reasons, Brushy was much too young for instance and he doesn't look a bit like the Kid.  He carried around a vile of front teeth saying he'd had them pulled.  Brushy refused to talk with George Coe, who knew the kid well.

No, Brushy Billy was not Billy the Kid, but ya gotta love the guys verve.

BTW: it was exciting for me to talk with people who knew many of the LCW folks when they were living.  Paul had memories of Lily Casey...and they weren't fond memories either.   

[GunClick Rick]

Kid Curry whips "em" all!!

[santee]

The Stone Garden by Bill Brooks is a fascinating read about a "never killed" Billy that lived in anonymity, joined Teddy's Rough Riders, and married Charlie Bowdre's woman.

[Dead I]

The Stone Garden by Bill Brooks is a fascinating read about a "never killed" Billy that lived in anonymity, joined Teddy's Rough Riders, and married Charlie Bowdre's woman.

Actually Sallie Chisum's youngest son, Fred T. Roberts did try to join the Rough Riders.  He may have gotten in.  He was in the National Guard for a long time.  He liked the cavalry and was a good horsemen.  His father, William Robert worked him hard on their XIII ranch.  I was told he "nearly worked those boys to death".  I've seen Fred's draft papers.  It said he had a "defect of the left eye", but they took him anyway.  I think his older brother, John tried to join up too. 

[santee]

Thanks for the info. I never read much about the Chisums.

[Dead I]

Thanks for the info. I never read much about the Chisums.

I'll be happy to answer questions about the Chisum family.  I knew Sallie's great granddaughter 40 years ago and I know Sallie's relatives who live not too far from me.  They are blood relations to Walter Pitzer Chisum who was the eldest of Sallie's two younger brothers.  Sallie's dad was the younger brother of the famous John Simpson Chisum. His name was James Chisum.  Sallie's mother's name was Ara Josephine Wright Chisum. Sallie had an older sister, Mary Branch Chisum who died in Denton County Texas in 1873 at age 18.  John S. Chisum was a clerk in Paris, Texas and then went into the ranching biz and eventually traveled to Lincoln NM in 1867.  He ran cattle on public land, providing beef to the two Indian reservations there, one in Fort Sumner and the other at Fort Stanton.  Most of the Indians, Navajos, left Fort Sumner in 1865 and walked the 200 miles back home to Canyon De Chelly.

Eventually John S's two brothers, Pitzer and James joined him on his South Spring Ranch which was 40 acres that be bought in 1874.  John S. died of an abscess in his jaw/neck on Christmas 1884.  Sallie's husband, William Robert,  and her two brother's Willi and Walter Pitzer ran the place.  They negociated some loans to pay off law suits and lawyer's fees.  They lost the place in 1891, but lived on the place until 1892 or 93.  Sallie left her husband in 1890. He took their two boys, John E. and Fred T. Robert.  Sallie saw them only after they graduated from high school in Hutchinson, KS.  In 1890 Wm. Robert took 3,000 head of Chisum short horn cattle to the XIII ranch near Plains, Kansas and went into the cattle and oil biz.  He remarried and died successful. I do not know the year he died.  Sallie taveled around some, but returned to Roswell and Artesia.  She moved from town to town and did some ranching.  She remarried for a while and divorced again.  She was estranged from most of her family.  She was close,  however; to her niece, her brother Walter Pitzer's daughter.  Sallie taught school in Artesia and also ran the the post office.  She died in 1934 and is buried in the Chisum family plot in the South Park Cemetery near Roswell, NM.  Walter Pitzer's daughter married into a ranching family in Oregon and they live on the place to this day, working cattle with horses.  They are wonderful, charming people and very much tied up with their large ranch.

[wercvvbb]

have you ever read the outlaw jesse james by walker.  its kind of the same thing and it has 2 or 3 stories from Brushy in it.