Trent Rosser's Hypothesis, How Likely Could This Be?

[Deleted]

"Some historians will say that Ollie Roberts was just an old man trying to gain a little fame. Or was he really wanting to clear his conscience and get the pardon that he was promised for testifying against participants in the Lincoln County war?

Here is my theory. Doc Scurlock was the leader of the “regulators” before Billy became their leader. Doc moved to Amarillo, TX to start a new life and leave the Lincoln County war behind him. It is also a well-known fact that Billy and the gang used to go to Tascosa, TX to sell stolen horses and cattle.

Tascosa is 42 miles northwest of Amarillo. Many people claimed to have met Billy the kid and many stories have come from residents there. One, in particular, is about a shooting contest between Billy, Bat Masterson, and Temple Houston (Lawyer and son of General Sam Houston).

The story goes that Billy was bested by both but lost graciously. This was supposed have happened after he was killed. Bat Masterson was not there, But Temple Houston could have been. Ollie could have made his way back to Tascosa. Another resident of Tascosa was “Frenchy” McCormick.

She was quoted as saying that, “He was the best natured kid and had the most pleasant smile I ever saw in a young man” But “Frenchy” did not arrive in Tascosa until 1880. So, if she did meet him before the incident with Pat Garrett, it was just briefly. So again, Ollie could have made his way back to Tascosa after his supposed death at Fort Sumner. This would also be the time that Pat Garrett came to Texas and became a Texas Ranger. Doc Scurlock was in Amarillo and Ollie was in Tascosa.

I believe that Pat had a hidden agenda to be in the area. He wanted to either kill Ollie and finish the job, or to make sure no one would recognize that Billy the kid was still alive, and he would be made a public spectacle for killing the wrong man and passing it off as Billy the Kid.

Shortly after his arrival, Doc Scurlock moved to Eastland, TX and Ollie disappeared once more."

Jesus bless you all 😊

[MissyS]

rufus,
The idea that Pat Garrett may have trailed Billy/Brushy to Texas if Billy had gotten away in Fort Sumner is interesting. Thinking about how persistent Garrett was to hunt Billy down in the past when he caught Billy at Stinking Springs he had trailed him for miles in the bitter cold with snow on the ground, even doing so two days before Christmas, it's my guess that it was probably too cold for Billy to be doing much rustling anyway? I don't understand why he couldn't have waited?, but if Garrett was so determined in the past why wouldn't he be as determined again if Billy had gotten away? the thought that Billy could have shown back up in New Mexico and expose the mistake could have made him even more determined, I wonder what prompted Garrett to become a Texas Ranger and a Customs agent in El Paso if he had a ranch in New Mexico? In the book A Frontier Doctor by Henry F Hoyt, he mentions meeting up with Billy in Tascosa, and Billy having a remuda of horses I don't believe he mentioned Bat Masterson?, or Temple Houston?, he said it was in the fall of 1878, and in so many words Hoyt said that Billy was very adept or proficient at many skills he ever tried to achieve so he may have witnessed Billy having a shooting contest? Bat Masterson died in 1921 and Temple Houston died in 1905 in Oklahoma, Brushy would of had to have had the shooting contest no later than 1905?