Reminiscences of Louis Bousman

[MissyS]

I found this copy of an interview taken of Louis Bousman in 1934 during the showing of Billy the Kid film in Wichita Falls at the State Theatre where he was a guest. Louis Bousman was with Pat Garrett’s posse when he arrested Billy the Kid and he talks about the Fort Sumner shooting, according to him John Poe was hiding under the bushes. He describes the hat that Billy was supposed to have been wearing on page 4 as a Mexican hat when Bowdre was shot. There is 7 pages in the interview. 

www.loc.gov/item/wpalh002304/

[noreaster]

You are a gemologist missy! Many thanks for all your contributions to this board. I love reading what you dig up.

[MissyS]

Jan 12, 2024 6:34:14 GMT -5 noreaster said:

You are a gemologist missy! Many thanks for all your contributions to this board. I love reading what you dig up.

Thank You very much noreaster,  It does my heart good that you love reading the posts. On October 25, 2015 a copy of Louis Bousman’s reminiscences was sold at the Heritage auction along with a couple other related items. In those papers all looks like the same except where Bousman mentions the bushes that Deputy John Poe was hiding under the word ROSE is there, I don’t know why the word is not included in the other copy? So John Poe may have been hiding under the rose bushes, if true it would seem tough to do because rose bushes have thorns. Louis Bousman would know first hand about Billy the Kid’s arrest because he was present, but the other incidents he wasn’t, so he must have been told that info by someone. The incident with Deputy Bell reading the newspaper and Billy standing behind him is a somewhat different take on the jail escape, and Poe hiding under the rose bushes is also different, and Billy the Kid working as a porter and a boot black at a hotel is also new information to me. This makes yet another interesting variation to the shooting.