On July 14, 1881, William Bonney, aka Henry McCarty, aka Billy the Kid, met his untimely end. At the time, Bonney had no more than 21 years of life under his gun belt, and his résumé held only a handful of short stints as a ranch hand and occasional monte dealer. Yet, in the years since his death he has become the most famous New Mexican. And, for a time, he visited Santa Fe, but his stay was brief and mostly behind bars.

By the winter of 1880, Bonney was on the run from authorities. He had gunned down at least one lawman in Sheriff William Brady and was wanted for cattle theft and the murder of a man named Buckshot Roberts. Bonney had even attempted to cut a deal with territorial Gov. Lew Wallace, but the deal had unraveled. In exchange for testimony at the murder trial of a lawyer, Bonney would receive a gubernatorial pardon for his crime. Wallace, however, found that he could not abide by those terms. On Dec. 15, 1881, Wallace placed a $500 reward on Bonney's head.

Less than a week later, the recently elected Sheriff Pat Garrett trapped Bonney in a one-room stone hut in Stinking Springs, not too far from Fort Sumner. A prisoner of the territory of New Mexico, Bonney was transported to Santa Fe, where he stayed in a small Water Street jail for several months. From the interior of his cell, Bonney penned a handful of letters to Wallace, pleading for the former Civil War general to make good on his promise and pardon Bonney for his crimes.

On New Year's Day 1881, Bonney pleaded, in his own hand, "I would like to See you for a few moments if you can spare time." Since Wallace and the Palace of the Governors stood only a few minutes' walk away, this made for a meager request, but Wallace never came.

For the next three months, Bonney waited in his Santa Fe cell. On March 27, Bonney made one final appeal to Wallace: "For the last time I ask, Will you Keep your promise. I start below tomorrow Send answer by bearer." But, like his previous attempts, Bonney received no answer, and a day later, Bonney was taken in chains to Mesilla to await trial and likely a death sentence. Bonney, however, had no intention of sitting still for the hangman's noose.

A month later, while locked down in the second story of the Lincoln County Courthouse, Bonney made his move. Somehow, he came into the possession of a handgun and shot J.W. Bell, one of the two men holding him. Next, Bonney grabbed a shotgun and walked out to the deck on the second story of the courthouse. From his elevated position, Bonney took aim, yelled "hey Bob" and shot Deputy Bob Ollinger. With his manacles still on, Bonney walked down to the dirt road through Lincoln, mounted a horse and galloped out of town.

The escape, coupled with his being shot dead weeks later, propelled Bonney to international celebrity. Soon after his death, a book came out and became the cornerstone of the exaggerated Bonney legend. The book came from the same hand that fired the gun that killed Bonney. Garrett's The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid, built the young ranch hand into a daring cowboy.

Just over 40 years later, The Saga of Billy the Kid by Walter Noble Burns, released in 1926, became an international sensation. Louis B. Mayer purchased the film rights. When finished, Billy the Kid joined a film collection that would grow to more than 60 movies based on the fictional, and sometimes true, adventures of William Bonney.

Around Santa Fe, Bonney remains a presence. In 2004, Gov. Bill Richardson attempted to assign Bonney a lawyer to investigate the unfulfilled pardon once promised by Wallace. Always the media darling, Bonney returned to the news that year when two Lincoln County men pushed to exhume his corpse and authenticate it. Rumors persist that Garrett, out of loyalty to Bonney, killed another man and let the young outlaw escape. Bonney's remains may be buried under concrete in Fort Sumner, but his legend is still at large.

Jason Strykowski is a doctoral candidate at The University of New Mexico.