Please direct all inquiries to: info@apacheria.com

LINCOLN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO RELATED HISTORICAL ITEMS. Let me take the opportunity to present items from my collection that relate to the era of the Lincoln County War, the era of Billy the Kid. As a collector and dealer of items related to the Old West, I wanted to visit Lincoln, New Mexico, the area where Billy the Kid was very significant in its history. Several years ago my wife and I decided we would attend the Labor Day week-end Gun Show at Ruidoso, New Mexico, and stay over a few days and visit Lincoln. We were fortunate enough to secure a room at Capitan, New Mexico, a town about 20 miles North of Ruidoso and about 20 miles West of Lincoln. It was an easy trip from the motel to the Gun Show.

We set up at the gun show on Friday afternoon and during the first few hours of the show on Saturday Morning, a Lincoln County deputy was walking around and came up to our table, looking at our items. That was the first time I had seen the shoulder patch of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. I commented on how attractive it was and that many folks would like to own one of those patches. He indicated they were popular and very well controlled. We began talking about the history of Lincoln County. I finally asked if he ever encountered any Lincoln County items that would date back to the famous period and time of Billy the Kid. He laughed and said those items were very scarce and difficult to find, but indicated there was an old saddle from that period in the show, and said that was very rare so I should go over and see it. I was rather stunned and asked him to point out the saddle.

As soon as he left the table I made a trip over to the saddle and looked at it very carefully. It belonged to a dealer/collector and this was the first time he had the saddle out for display and possible sale. I was definitely interested but gasped when I heard the terms of what it would take to own that saddle. However, I had the itch that antique nuts get when they must have something. Fortunately I had a lot of good antique firearms with me, including Pre Custer 73 Trapdoor carbines, Winchesters, Colts, etc, etc. and had a good show. By Sunday afternoon we had come to terms and I had the saddle and he had a pre Custer Carbine, an array of other items and a good deal of my cash.

The story on the saddle was that in the mid 1990’s an antique dealer who had a shop on the Old Sante Fe Trail in Sante Fe had stopped by a roadside flea market near Lincoln. An old gentleman whose last name was Salazar had the saddle in a box in the back of his pick-up and told the dealer that it had belonged to a member of his family who was a "Frontier Regulator" and rode with Billy the Kid. He said his family member had ridden this saddle for years and lived well into the 20th Century. Billy the Kid and several members of the Salazar family were friends. After Billy broke out of the Lincoln County Jail he fled to Salazar Canyon, and Scipio Salazar freed him from his shackles. He then went on to the home of Yginio Salazar, where he stayed for three days. Yginio (Eugenio) Salazar died in the town of Lincoln in 1936, well into the 20th century. On his Tombstone is marked. "Pal of Billy the Kid". Eugenio had been shot while leaving the McSween house and had been left for dead. He later regained consciousness and crawled away to a nearby house and recovered. According to some information, the Sheriff’s posse was so busy recovering saddles and other property of the McSween men they did not check to see if Salazar was really dead. They found 13 saddles in all. I do not know what other property they managed to find.

The dealer then sold the saddle to a gentleman who was a Field Supervisor in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and a very good historian on New Mexico History. That person put the saddle back together and made it back into an attractive saddle. He owned the saddle for awhile and then traded it to the individual who traded it to me. The restorer apparently received a beautiful engraved Colt SAA with Ivory grips for the saddle. I had a chance to talk to him prior to finalizing the deal on the saddle and had found everything I had been told by the current seller to be true.

The day after the gun show we stopped by an antique store in Capitan and asked if they knew the Santa Fe dealer who had purchased the saddle from the family member . They knew him well and said he was an honest person and was a good a picker. We then drove to Lincoln and found Mr. Salazar’s picture in the Museum. We also searched the cemetary and found his tombstone with the inscription. (LC020) We then did the tour of Lincoln and learned as much as we could about the history. I later contacted the historical society of Pendleton, Oregon, to ask about the saddlemaker. I received a copy of a page from the book Souvenir Pendleton 1899-1900 showing that Mr. James Crawford was listed in that book as a veteran Harness Maker and had been in business 33 years on Main Street and his saddles were made of the best materials. That would have placed him in business since 1866, most certainly in the timeframe of the Lincoln County War.

It is difficult to be absolutely certain that any antique has a definite defandable historical connection. In my own collection, the Alex Henry Rifle (LA204) with the connection to Captain Ross from Scotland is the only one I have that I feel 100% sure of. Even some of the Custer Battlefield firearms that others have sold for prices of $200,000 to $684,500, to me are not 100% absolutes. First of all, I have read the science to match the casing fired by one of those firearms to the casings picked up at the Battlefield is only about 90 to 95% accurate. In addition, those casings were picked up from the battlefield over 100 years after the battle itself. Who is to say another person a few years after the battle did not fire a weapon and discharge a casing in the area of the battle. However, that documentation with the casing match is about as good as one can get. Trying to prove provenance of many antique firearms can be difficult and somewhat similar to attempting to convince a jury of a crime when there is no eye witness. The prosecutor has to present a case and convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. But we all know there are situations that those decisions made by the jury were later proven incorrect. The same can hold true for the provenance of historical items. The collector thinks he has it down pat and sometimes sudden new information comes to light that brings new questions to the provenance.

During my research I learned that Billy, after breaking out of the Lincoln County Court House make-shift jail and killing deputies Bell and Olinger headed for the home of a Salazar and then to the home of his old Regulator friend Yginio Salazar and stayed for three days. He reportedly hid out in the hills during the day and came in to the Salazar house to eat. He left here and apparently made his way to Fort Sumner.

The acquistion of this saddle and subsequent research got me very interested in Lincoln County history and items. Since then I have acquired several items that are related to that general area. This is not to state or even infer that any of them were ever used by Billy the Kid. They do relate to that area and timeframe and I do believe the saddle to relate to a member of the Salazar family who was a regulator and I believe that person to be Yginio. I believe other items relate to Lincoln Country as I will state when those items are pictuired. All items came from reliable New Mexico sources. I will discuss the item when they are pictured.

LC035-LINCOLN COUNTY SADDLEI have already told the story of the saddle above. The maker was James Crawford of Pendleton, Oregon who was in business there from 1866 to at least 1900. He apparently listed himself as a harness maker but also made saddles.Picture

LC035A-VIEW FROM BACKPicture

LC035B-MAKER MARKPicture

FL035C-CLOSE UP SKIRTPicture

LC035D-VIEW FROM FRONTPicture

LC035E-SEAT AND CANTLEPicture

FL035F-SKIRT JOINTPicture

LC035G-OTHER SIDEPicture

LC035H-MAKER MARK SIDE JOCKEYPicture

FL035I-FENDERPicture

LC035J-CANTLEPicture

LC035K-HORNPicture

FL035L-LOOP SEATPicture

FL035M-PHOTO OF SADDLE ON DISPLAYPicture

LC034-ORIGINAL BILLY THE KID WANTED POSTERThis poster was issued by Lou Wallace, Governon on New Mexico, offering a $500 Reward for capture of Billy the Kid. The documents state this Reward Poster was found with the original printing press and plate at the Museum of Printing in New Mexico. A number of these posted were found in 1989. The letter is signed by Stephen E Reed, Mayor of Harrisburg, Pa, where the original press and posters were acquired for the Harrisburg Museum.. In recent years copies of this poster have sold in the range of $3000 to $12000. Picture

LC034A-CLOSE UP SEALPicture

LC034B-LETTERHEAD OF MAYORPicture

FL034C-BODY OF LETTERPicture

LC034D-VIEW FROM FRONTPicture

LC033-TWO MODERN BOOKS ON BILLY THE KIDOne book is entitled "Billy the Kid" The Story - The Trial by Randy Russell and the second book is entitled "History of the Lincoln County War" edited by Robert N. Mullin.Picture

LC033A-BOOK BILLY THE KID BY ROBERT M. UTLEYPicture

LC032-PRINT "TOWARDS THE BONITO"This is an illustration I obtained from the Fort Stanton Museum. It depicts the 10 Cavalry heading towards Lincoln out of Fort Stanton, in 1878. The day the McSween group and the Sheriff’s posse had the shootout in Lincoln the Cavalry was in Lincorn apparently to assist the posse. Picture

LC031-PERCUSSION MUSKET RELICThis Austrian musket relic was one of five relics purchased by a collector in the early 1960’s. According to his statement he purchased all five of them from a man who had found them all in the same pack rats nest in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The other guns were two Sharps Carbines and two Spencer Carbines, according to the statement. The finder indicated he was 16 when he found them. The person who made the purchase from the finder kept them for 40 years. He signed the sales information on October 5, 2003. They must have been hidden by someone at some point in time and the pack rats made a nest around them.Picture

LC031A-OTHER SIDEPicture

LC030-RELIC 2ND MODEL WINCHESTER 1873 SRCThis relic Saddle Ring Carbine was found in the Pecos River Valley in New Mexico. The serial number is not visible but the cabine had the screw-on dustcover rail indicating 2nd model and a date of manufacture of somewhere between mid 1879 to early to mid 1882. The town of Pecos is Northwest of Fort Sumner, both on the Pecos River.Picture

LC030A-OTHER SIDEPicture

LC030B-TOP OF RECEIVERPicture

LC029-COLT CONVERSIONThis is a conversion of a Modle 1861 36 caliber Colt Navy Revolver. The serial number is 153xx indicating a date of manufacture of 1863. I purchased this from the same collector who had the saddle. He had a great many items that were related to that historical period. When I purchased the firearm he stated that the grips were not the correct one for the firearm but he did not want to change them. It was his information they had been with the gun for a long time. When I got the gun home I looked closely at the grips. On the bottom of the grips Lincoln N.M. was scratched with Lincoln on one side and N.M. on the other. I called him and asked him about the name being scratched in the grips. He seemed rather shocked and indicated he had not noticed the markings. We were both glad he had not changed the grips. His information was that the gun had been sold in Lincoln County in the 1970’s and he did not know anything about those markings.Picture

LC029A-OTHER SIDEPicture

LC029B-BOTTOM OF GRIPPicture

LC028-REMINGTON 1861 NAVY MODEL RELICThis relic is a 36 caliber with a 7-3/8 inch uncut barrel. The date of manufacture would be in 1862. It was found in Ft. Sumner.Picture

LC028A-OTHER SIDEPicture

LC027-ROSWELL SPURSThe leathers on the spurs are marked "ROSWELL HAR. & SAD.CO. / MAKERS/ ROSWELL, N.M.. I could not find this maker in the Spur maker or Saddle maker book. The same problem with the Crawford Saddle. I do not know if this Harness reference in the maker’s name keeps it out of the books or not. I could not find Crawford from Pendleton, Oregon in the books but the historical society gave me a reference and he called himself a harness maker, but also made saddles.Picture

LC027A-CLOSE UP LEATHERPicture

LC026-DEPUTY SHERIFFS BADGE-DONNA ANA COUNTYThis is an authentic badge but not from the 1870-80’s. It is in excellent shape and is the County were Pat Garrett had served as sheriff three times after Billy the Kid. Garrett was shot and killed on February 29, 1908. Wayne Brazel confessed to the crime but many thought he was killed by a man whose name was Miller. This Miller, together with three of his associates, were hanged to the rafters in a stable at Ada, Oklahoma. I believe a mock up of that hanging scene is in one of the museums in Oklahoma that I have visitied. Picture

LC025-DEPUTY SHERIFFS BADGE LINCOLN COUNTYThis is an authentic badge from Lincoln Country but not from the 1870-1880 period. It is in excellent shape. Just wish I had one of those Shoulder Patches worn by members of the Sheriff’s Department to go with it..Picture

LC024-NEW MEXICO BRAND BOOK 1907This book shows brands used by ranchers in New Mexico up to 1907. Iginio had three brand listings and Iginio and Jose had one brand listing.Picture

LC024-PAGE IN BOOKPicture

LC023-THE SAGA OF BILLY THE KIDThis is a 1927 edition of the book written by Walter Noble Burns. Chapter XI of that book is entitled "The Man Who Played Dead". Mr. Burns talks of an interview with Yginio Salazar. The highlights of that chapter is where Yginio states "When it came my turn to dart out the door of the McSween house the Murphy men were firing at a distance of ten yards." He states that he was struck three times by rifle bullets and stumbled and fell among the dead bodies of McSween, Romero, Semora and Harvey Morris. When he came to, the Murphy Men were laughing and drinking whisky among the corpses. Andy Boyle kicked him to see if he was dead. The kick was painful but he did not flinch. He layed motionless for three hours. During much of that time the Murphy men were waltzing around and kicking up their heals as if they had gone crazy with joy. The crowd finally got tired of their fun and went away whooping and singing and laughing and left him lying there. After they left he crawled away for help. Eventually he spent 6 months in Fort Sumner recovering..Picture

LC023A-BOOK OPENPicture

LC022-BOOK ENTITLED GEORGE CURRY 1861-1947Interesting book. In his book Mr. Curry indicated he went to Lincoln in 1879. He indicated at that time the size of the county was seventeen million acres, one fifth of all of the acres in New Mexico territory. When Lincoln Country is referred to, it does not mean it is bound by the same boundaries as the current Lincoln County. It was the largest county in the US. He also served as Chief Clerk of the Fort Stanton Post store. Interesting information about the period.Picture

Following are several photos of the grave site of Yginio Salazar. The Cemetary is on the outskirts of town. It is not the oldest one in Lincoln but the oldest one is on private property and is not accessible. I have also put in some other views of the old cemetary and its surrondings to give the viewer an idea of what it is like.

LC021-YGINIO HEADSTONEPicture

LC020-YGINIO GRAVESITEPicture

LC019-YGINIO GRAVESITEPicture

LC018-YGINIO GRAVESITEPicture

LC017-YGINIO GRAVESITEPicture

LC016-SALAZAR GRAVESITEPicture

LC015-SALAZAR HEADSTONEPicture

LC014-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC013-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC012-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC011-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC010-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC009-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC008-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC007-OTHER VIEWPicture

LC006-MAP OF LINCOLN SHOWING RIO BONITO CREEK ON NORTH SIDEThis is a very detailed map and is difficult to read in the photo. It does show the relationship of the town to the Rio Bonito Creek. The legend on this map is "The Most Dangerous Street in America, Lincoln, N.M.T., 1872-81." The second Map is probably more visible on the computer image and the buildings are darkened. The town had a different name in its earler period. I believe it was Plaza Bonito or something close to that. For some reason I cannot find information on the early history. It probably changed when New Mexico changed from Spanish rule to become a terrritoy of the US in the mid 1800’s.Picture

LC006A-SECOND MAPPicture

LC005-TORREONThis can be seen as the circle near the middle of the second map. It was apparently built in the early period of the settlement to protect the settlers when the Native Americans came to enrourage them to leave.Picture

LC004-MONTANO STOREThis store was on the East end of town and on the South side of the street. It was used by some of the McSween Mexican Adherent forces during the 5 Day War. McSween and 11 or so more, including Billy the Kid and Yginio Salazar, were in his house. Picture

LC003-YGINIO SALAZAR FAMILYThis is a photographic picture of a photo of Yginio Salazar and family in later years. The photo appears in one of the museums in Lincoln. One of the other two pictures shows the vacant lot where the McSween house was during the period. The second shows the lot going to the river where apparently the individuals who did escape from the house ran to in order to get away. Somewhere in that area Yginio layed for 3 hours pretending to be dead. Picture

LC003A-VACANT MCSWEEN LOTPicture

LC003B-BACK OF MCSWEEN LOT NEAR THE CREEKPicture

LC002-VIEW OF COURT HOUSEThe next four pictures show the courthouse where Billy the Kid was being held in a make-shift jail and he managed to escape and kill two deputies in the process.Picture

LC002A-WORTLEY HOTEL & DINING ROOMDeputy Ollinger was eating in the dining room of the hotel when he received word that Billy the Kid was trying to escape. He ran accoss the street to the courthouse and was killed by the Kid. The Kid’s shot came from the upstairs window. We have eaten in that dining room and I ordered the "last meal", which was featured on the menu. It has been several years since we have eaten there but I believe the meal was beef tips and gravy over mashed potatos. Picture

LC002B-OLLINGER MARKERThis marker shows the spot where deputy Ollinger was shot as he ran from the dining room to the courthouse trying to stop Billy the Kid from escaping. There is a similar marker on the South Side of the Courthouse showing where Deputy Bell fell after staggering from the Courthouse. Picture

LC002C-WINDOW FROM WHERE BILLY FIRED THE SHOT AT OLLINGERThe upstairs window is where the shot was fired. Billy had been held in a make-shift jail very near that window.Picture

LC001-EXTERIOR VIEW OF FT. STANTONThis is the Ft. that housed the soldiers that went to Lincoln during the 5 Day War. Only the exterior view can be shown as there is no admittance to the Fort. A lady from the historical society indicated that the parade field on the inside of the fort is still in tact but cannot be seen by the public. She hopes some day that it will be turned over to the Historical Society. The fort has been used as a hospital for TB patients and as a correctional facility after it was no longer used as a military fort. Picture

LC001ACLOSE UP VIEW OF ONE PARTPicture

This is the end of my current presentation of my items related to the Old Lincoln County area. Some items are newer. Lincoln is a neat place and if you have not been there you should make a trip. Do not take anything I have presented as indicating that Billy the Kid used them. I believe the items had a history in that area and some at the time of the Lincoln County War. Some are newer like the badges, books and print. However, to me they still have a connection with the events. I enjoy studying the historical aspects of items if at all possible. So much of the items that I buy, sell, trade and even keep were associated with the Old West, but cannot come close to documenting how. This group above does have a connection to that 1870-1880’s time period in our history and with the Old Lincoln County. Whether the association is exactly as I have stated is open for disucssion. I believe my research was pretty good, and my inferences are reasonable. If I have made a mistake in stating something, please do not hesitate to let me know. I am not trying to pass myself as a great historian. Rather I love collecting and enjoy developing a reasonable level of knowledge about whatever I collect. I hope you enjoy looking at the items and reading about them. I have spent many enjoyable hours with them myself.