With so many legends, myths, and lies surrounding the West’s most fabled outlaw, it’s impossible to say for sure how many deaths the “infant rascal” of the old west was responsible for. But here’s my best estimate…
#1. Frank “Windy” Cahill
On August 18th, 1877, Henry McCarty, a teenage orphan who would eventually be known throughout the West as William H. Bonney, and then to the world as Billy the Kid, went from petty thief to permanently-on-the-lamb outlaw.
This was before his Bill and Ted incident.
The deceased was an Arizona blacksmith known as “Windy” Cahill. By all accounts Cahill was an all-around asshole, who enjoyed taunting The Kid for his slender frame and feminine appearance.
Some have claimed that Cahill was embarrassed by Billy Bonney because he had slipped out of a pair of shackles Windy had made in his last prison break (he already had 2 under his belt). No matter the cause, it’s documented that things got out of hand when Cahill called Billy a “pimp.”
