Billy Claiborne
William F. "Billy" Claiborne (born October 21, 1860 in Yazoo County , Mississippi , † November 14, 1882 in Tombstone , Arizona ) was a cowboy , miner and gunslinger of the Wild West .
Early life
Claiborne moved to Arizona at a young age, initially working as a ranch worker for John Slaughter , and later as a cowboy on the cattle drives. Because of his short stature, he was given the nickname "The Kid". Eventually he stayed in Tombstone, Arizona, working as a carter and miner for various mining companies. During this time he made the acquaintance of Ike Clanton , for whom he occasionally worked as a cowboy.
On October 1, 1881, Claiborne entered the Queen's Saloon in the Charleston miners' station . There there was an argument with a drunk man named John Hickey, in the course of which Claiborne shot him. Claiborne was arrested (possibly by Virgil or Morgan Earp ) and brought to justice. However, since Hickey was also armed, Claiborne's act was classified as self-defense and he was acquitted.
After the death of William H. Bonney, better known as " Billy the Kid ", Claiborne claimed the name "Billy the Kid" in relation to his old nickname "The Kid". According to his own statement, he killed at least one man who laughed at him about it.
Shootout at OK Corral
When Claiborne came to Tombstone on October 26, 1881, he learned that his friend Ike Clanton was in the courthouse for carrying guns after a crash with the Earp brothers. Immediately he rushed to the court and took Ike, who was injured, to the doctor. He then met Ike's brother Billy Clanton and Frank McLury and informed them of the news. Together they met Ike and Frank's brother Billy McLury at the entrance to the OK Corral , where the cowboys had their horses when the Earp brothers showed up with Doc Holliday . After a brief battle of words, the shooting began and Claiborne - unarmed - fled unharmed like Ike Clanton. Because of this escape, Claiborne was reviled as a coward and left Tombstone shortly afterwards.
Later life and death
Claiborne went to Globe and worked as a miner again. When he heard of the death of his friend Johnny Ringo and rumor had it that Frank "Buckskin" Leslie had murdered him, he returned to Tombstone. On November 14, 1882, Claiborne - completely drunk - met Leslie in the Oriental Saloon and blamed him for the death of Ringo. After a heated argument, Claiborne left the saloon and hid behind a fruit stand to ambush Leslie. Leslie expected that and left the saloon via a side exit. When he spoke to Claiborne, he shot, but missed his opponent and was hit by Leslie. Claiborne was still treated by a doctor, but died a few hours later. Leslie was charged, but the court ruled that he had acted in self-defense. Claiborne was buried in the Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone.
literature
- Bill O'Neal: Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1979, ISBN 978-0-8061-2335-6 , pp. 60 f. ( limited preview in Google Book search)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Billy O'Neal: Billy the Kid and His Brothers - All Gunslingers of the Wild West . Fischer-Verlag, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 978-3-596-14366-5 , pp. 69 .
- ↑ a b Billy Claiborne in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ↑ Paul Trechtmann: The big gunslingers . Naumann & Göbel Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne 2002, ISBN 978-3-625-10761-3 , p. 26th f .
- ↑ Tom Correa: "Billy the Kid" Takes a Shot at "Buckskin Frank". Cowboy Chronicles, October 14, 2015, accessed January 15, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Claiborne, Billy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Claiborne, William F. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Cowboy, miner and gunslinger of the wild west |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 21, 1860 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Yazoo County , Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 14, 1882 |
| Place of death | Tombstone , Arizona |