PIONEER STORY OF Mrs. Lesnett, EARLY DAYS IN LINCOLN COUNTY

Written up by Edith L. Crawford, September 30, 1937

We lived in Lincoln, and while I was away visiting in Chicago, my husband, Frank built a general store and hotel in Lincoln. I took charge of it myself. Most of my customers were the neighboring ranchers and Indians, but the red men were very orderly, because they were treated with respect, they appreciated this and never harmed us in any way.

"The Kid" came to our house with a boy by the name of Jess Evans, and was introduced as Billie Bonney. Could this be the notorious "Billy the Kid?" I thought, surely not. He looked just like any other seventeen-year old boy, and not in the least like a desperado. He was very fond of children, and liked Irvin and Jennie Mae at once. He called my little boy "Pardie" and always wanted to hold the baby. He would take the two of them for a ride on his gray pony. He also had a little dog which was very spirited. He would jump up on the "Kid" until he would laughingly pull his gun and begin firing into the ground, the dog would playfully follow every puff of dust, yelping joyfully. Little did he realize that if one of those pellets of lead went amiss that he would be no more, but he was perfectly safe, as "The Kid" was one of the quickest, most accurate shots in the Southwest.

One incident at the close of the Lincoln County War, which was only one of the things which made it the bloodiest in the history of the West, the two sides, one for Law and the other for Lawlessness, were engaged in a war in which almost every cattleman in the county was somehow involved. Strange as it may seem, the Kid, an outlaw, joined the forces for law and order.

The lawless led by Morton, had driven the Kid and his band into the McSween home in Lincoln, the Kid having his forces organized, arranged the McSween home with loop holes, as he talked to McSween, who was very religious and always carried a Bible with him, he held out a gun toward him. McSween indignately pushed it away, saying, "I trust in the Lord, I know He will help bring me safely through."

"All right, you trust in your Bible, but I trust in my six-gun," replied The Kid.

The McSween home was soon surrounded by the Murphy gang, and firing became very heavy, knowing that all the men would go down fighting, Mrs. McSween, decided to go to a troop of soldiers that she knew was near. She got out of the house, but when she arrived, the soldiers firmly refused to help to help her. Her journey had been in vain!

But the soldiers did take an interest in the battle, and decided to go to Lincoln, to see the fight, Mrs. McSween seeing them, and thinking that they had changed their minds and had come to stop the fight, went out to meet them. After looking things over they decided that there was nothing they could do and retreated out of range of the bullets and watched the fight continue. Murphy's men knew that they would never get The Kid and his band unless they could drive them out of the house.

So they soaked a barrel with coal-oil and rolled it down the hill to set the house afire. The house began to burn, but the battle did not stop. The Kid kept moving his men from room to room until they reached the last room. He knew that they would have to take a desperate chance for their freedom. The only escape was to run across a thirty foot space behind the house, roll under the fence and go along the bed of the Bonito River.

He called his men to the back door and explained the plan to them. One by one they started for the fence, and one by one they fell, either dead or mortally wounded. At last McSween was to go. "Run out of that door like a streak of greased lightning, roll under the fence and hit for the Bonita River, then you'll see Mrs. McSween in the morning."

As McSween reached the door he drew himself up every inch of his height, and stepped dignified onto the steps. "Here I am--I'm McSween," he called in a listless voice, he knew what would follow. Fifty shots answered him--and his body was riddled with holes.

Then there was a lull in the fray. They knew who was coming next. The Kid hitched his belt a little tighter, inspected his guns, and with one in each hand ran through the blazing door. Immediately he was a target for every man in Murphy's gang, as someone yelled, "Here comes the Kid!" Many bullets were wasted for the Kid, jumping from side to side as he ran, was a very illusive target. Each gun was aimed with care and each bullet winged with hatred as it sought to find a way to his heart as he crossed that space of thirty feet. But not one touched his body, though they ripped his clothes to shreds. His score was one dead and two marked for life--one shot through the jaws and the other lost the lobe of his left ear. As he rolled under the fence a mocking laugh floated back to them. It is impossible to describe the horror of the deeds that were committed during the Lincoln County War.

Many unknown graves dot the surrounding country and many human bones lie bleaching in the sun for they carried on guerrilla warfare. When one party met the other while riding through the hills they just opened fire, either pushing forward or retreating as luck chanced to given them opportunity to do.

I saw Billy when he was a prisoner, in the jail, guarded by Bell and Olinger. Olinger knowing that I liked The Kid, gleefully invited me to the hanging, I turned my head and blinked fast to keep back the tears. He took me up to the Kid's cell. The Kid turned to me and said, "Mrs. Lesnett they can't hang me if I'm not here, can they?"

It was just a few days after this that The Kid killed his two guards at Lincoln, and made his escape. His freedom was not to last very long. Pat Garrett killed him at Fort Sumner, about two months later.