On the Trail of Sheriff Pat Garrett
From Amarillo, Texas, to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Categories: Renegade Roads
By: Johnny D. Boggs 01/01/2008
The Great Mystery
As I head to Alamogordo to visit White Sands National Monument and Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, I discover it’s not so much Billy down here, but it’s also not Pat.
In 1896, Col. Albert Jennings Fountain and his eight-year-old son Henry disappeared near White Sands, forcing Pat out of retirement to pin on the badge of Doña Ana County sheriff. He plodded along to solve the murder—everyone knew Fountain and Henry had been murdered, even if the bodies were never found—and attempted to bring suspected killers William McNew, Oliver Lee and James Gilliland to justice.
After Garrett’s posse arrested McNew, it caught up with Lee and Gilliland at Wildy Well near Oro Grande, south of Alamogordo, on July 12, 1898. Good for Lee and Gilliland. Not so good for Garrett and deputy Kurt Kearney. During the gunfight, Kearney was killed and Garrett had to retreat, allowing Lee and Gilliland to remain free men ... for the time being.
So what do I find in these parts? No Pat Garrett tribute, but a state park dedicated to Oliver Lee and his restored Dog Canyon Ranch. Flooding prevents me from touring the ranch, but I can spend a lovely afternoon exploring the White Sands—275 square miles of gypsum dunes and, maybe, somewhere out here, rest the remains of poor Col. Fountain and little Henry.
Nope, Pat just doesn’t get respect.
Over in Mesilla, I visit a Billy the Kid gift shop on the Plaza, site of the Kid’s 1881 murder trial. Then I shoot up north to the ghost town of Hillsboro, where in 1899, Lee and Gilliland were finally brought to trial, and Pat took center stage again.
Good for Lee and Gilliland. Not so good for Garrett.
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