Brushy’s hand

[MissyS]

I notice in this photo of Brushy where his right hand can be seen there looks to be a noticeable area on his hand close to the wrist, it looks like a spot of skin there that looks lighter, and maybe close to the size of a quarter? I don’t know what may have caused the discoloration? Could a burn leave a lighter patch of skin many years later?  I believe also there are some skin conditions as well that can cause small patches of skin to be lighter or discolored? I don’t know? I’m only pointing it out and wondering if it could even be related to something in the Lincoln County War, or something after? and wondering what your thoughts are?

[Brushythekid24]

One of the best post I have seen. Might be the bullet one he is refering to in a quaso-skirmish, I think he was a bit vague on where it happened. Wonderful observation. Thanks for sharing.

[MissyS]

I’m not familiar with the Quaso skirmish, Thanks for that information, I will have to pull that up, I have been going through looking at many alleged Billy the Kid photos to see if I see any discoloration or lighted spot on the hand as Brushy’s and it’s hard to tell on Billy’s famous photo, the hand does look to have patches or streaks of lighted areas but I’m not sure if it’s on the photo itself?  

[MissyS]

Another photo showing the hands on Brushy 

[Deleted]

I was trying to say quasi-skirmish. I have the book in front of me, I could not remember exactly where he said he got the scar. Morrison said there was one on his right trigger finger and behind the joints on his right hand. It could be a burn mark from the ashes of burning material falling down on him during the three-day battle at the McSween house. There is also a story that Miguel Otero and Pat Garrett and also John P. Meadows about him defending some German immigrants and rifle stock being blown to pieces and it hit him in one of his hands. Probably a burn mark from the McSween fire.

[Deleted]

It could be the wound that Morrison is talking about on his trigger finger. The discoloration is in the same area on the tintype photo, so could be the same wound. Hard to tell. I don't know if it is me, but there appears to be something different about the joints at his thumb to the ones at his trigger finger on the right hand in his photo there at the Governor's mansion. It is as though the other ones at the finger are flat, but it could just be the way the hand is positioned. Wish there was a way we could enhance it and do some type of analysis. Some way of making it clearer. It is an interesting find.

[Deleted]

The index finger on the right hand of the tintype and of Brushy in the governor's mansion are identical shape and length. There is definitely some type of scar there in both photos.

[MissyS]

Jul 4, 2021 1:05:32 GMT -5 @brushythekid said:

I was trying to say quasi-skirmish. I have the book in front of me, I could not remember exactly where he said he got the scar. Morrison said there was one on his right trigger finger and behind the joints on his right hand. It could be a burn mark from the ashes of burning material falling down on him during the three-day battle at the McSween house. There is also a story that Miguel Otero and Pat Garrett and also John P. Meadows about him defending some German immigrants and rifle stock being blown to pieces and it hit him in one of his hands. Probably a burn mark from the McSween fire.

Those are good theories, thanks, I want to read up more about the McSween fire to see if anything is mentioned about burns on the hand, however even if I there was no written account it still could have happened. A burn is my top guess as well, but some type of a skin condition could possibly cause a lighter patch on the skin, but it looks to be only on the hand. The location described in the book about the Quasi-skirmish of the wound behind the joints of the right hand may be close to the location in the picture , and it looks like there’s more discoloration along the side of the hand besides the spot close to the wrist, it could possibly explain it too if Morrison said Brushy had a scar there. I’m finding that the treatment used for wounds back in the 1800’s was remedies and things definitely not used today  such as grease and Morphine powder and gun powder and other things that could be harsh to the skin and I’m wondering if the treatment of a wound  could have caused discoloration of the skin? I don’t know? There was also the shooting at Blazer’s Mill with Buckshot Roberts on April 4,1878, but most accounts say it was a graze to the arm Billy got, so the location of that wound may not even be in the same place as on Brushy’s hand, but it’s interesting that in the photo of the possible Billy playing croquet it looks to be a bandage on his hand and wrist in that photo. 

[MissyS]

These hands do look similar

[devorerd]

Jul 4, 2021 3:10:35 GMT -5 MissyS said:

These hands do look similar

Agree, seems like there is enough data there to do a size comparison? 

[MissyS]

I noticed also looking through many questionable Billy the Kid photos this one of Billy the Kid and possibly, looking closely at his hand in the photo there looks to be close to the same kind of light patches on the top of hand as Brushy has on his hand. I think it has  been discussed on the board a good while back about the resemblance to this possible Billy and Brushy, but I don’t believe the white spots or patches on the hands of Brushy and the hand in the photo had been discussed, It may be something on the photo to make it look like light spots, maybe just a coincidence? Maybe this post should be on the what are the odds thread. 

[Wayne Land]

Slightly off topic but certainly related, I will retell a discussion held on another discussion board many years ago. It was regarding the hands from the standpoint of theories about how he was able to escape handcuffs. There was a board member who was a trained anatomy artist. He said as part of his training he was familiar with a rare type of hand structure that appeared obvious in the tintype and that Brushy had the same rare anatomy. Something to do with the thumb shape if I recall correctly. Unfortunately I didn't save the info as far as the name of the condition or the poster, etc. but I remember the discussion. I'm not even sure which board it was on. Could have been Marcelle Brothers', Lucas Speer's, etc.

[tboor74]

I've read about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome before. Was that it?

I'm not sure it would be apparent on a photo though.

[Wayne Land]

I can't be sure because I really don't remember but that doesn't sound like what he was talking about. He described a condition that he had been taught about that made hands appear different in drawings.

[cassandra jane]

Jul 10, 2021 3:30:44 GMT -5 tboor74 said:

I've read about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome before. Was that it?

I'm not sure it would be apparent on a photo though.

I think that one makes a lot of EDS sufferers more clumsy as opposed to less, going on this article/blog on it: www.fightwrite.net/dislocating-thumb-to-escape-handcuffs/

I read about one condition called dupuytren contracture which is a connective tissue disorder, but I don’t think it’s the right one either. It’s apparently characterised mainly by finger(s) that can’t be straightened properly and mobility as such is limited to a range of bent positions.

I’d always assumed he was double jointed and maybe dislocated his fingers to get out of the cuffs. The blog post I linked did say it was possible with EDS but the whole issue around getting light-headed etc as a result maybe doesn’t tally with how quick and with-it he was (purported to be, at least).