Charles Siringo’s “History of Billy the Kid”, 1920

[elroostero]

Greetings,

I came across this book written by Charles Siringo, who was a sincere acquaintance of BTK. I found it after a lot of research and found it fun to read as speculation is low, and a delivery of the facts takes front stage.
It is a quick read.

I’m wondering if others have read it and if Charles Siringo’s reputation holds up the way he says it does.

Thank you for any interest about this text.

El Roostero

[elroostero]

Here is an online source for the book:


www.gutenberg.org/files/38039/38039-h/38039-h.htm


Fort Sumner shooting anniversary today. I love this mystery and feel a genuine connection to the truth and the lore surrounding this part of history.
Good stuff.

[MissyS]

elroostero,
Welcome to the board, and Thank You for the link, and the anniversary reminder, Wow 139 years ago today an event happened that has kept a lot of minds a wondering.  I noticed in the link that Siringo’s picture of Billy the Kid looks different than the Upham tintype, I believe more clearer? The book was published in 1920, so the tintype would have been around 40 yrs old at the time it was copied for the book, interesting to see how it would have looked before it got scratched up with another 100 years of age added to it, but I’m curious as to why Siringo’s photo of Billy doesn’t look to have his teeth showing?

[elroostero]

MissyS,

Thank you for the welcome.
My thought on the picture from the Siringo book was that it was an artists’ touch up on a copy of the tintype. Either that, or Charles Siringo may have had some pictures somewhere. That’s what needs to be really searched for is archives of Pinkerton national detective agency and/or their agents’ possessions which might have historical value. I wonder if Pinkerton national detective agency kept tintypes and/or photo archives.

The book was definitely a nice find since it was available online and was a fast read. Charles Siringo became another name for me to search out and investigate. It only adds to my imagining of events during that time. To know that so many men of high integrity were sincere acquaintances of Billy the Kid Is for some reason reassuring. Confirms the nature by which the Kid was influenced by others around him, and then acted on those influences to become El Chivato.

Thank you again for the response. I will try to contribute to the boards as I find stuff.

[cassandra jane]

I had to read the book again just now, because I skimmed through it late last night, to see if I had a third opinion from the first time I ever read it, and I still feel a lot of Siringo’s account doesn’t add up to everything we know now. It just seems to miss huge patches out (like his time in Bonita/Fort Grant). As for the story about killing a man in Silver City, it just sounds too fanciful to me when I’ve never come across any other record of such an incident; particularly when we know Billy stayed with the Truesdells and Browns respectively before he left SC. And the story about Dulcinea del Toboso - why not just give Billy’s alleged girlfriend’s real name, you know? Not just reference a tale written three hundred years before Siringo’s account? I have my own reservations about Billy’s romantic “prowess” anyway (how on Earth he had the time to have all those girlfriends that he’s been connected to over the years, most or all of who have also denied any such connections).

I don’t know, maybe he’s telling the truth, but I don’t buy a lot of it.

[mckinley412]

I was just listening to that book on youtube. It offers a few unique details. Here is a link where you can see a history on all the early versions of the Billy tintype such as the one Siringo used.

truewestmagazine.com/from-a-remote-new-mexico-photograph-to-retouched-images-and-other-variants/

[elroostero]

I agree this text does not fill all the holes, but Siringo’s profession and long held reputation implies he investigated for only facts he could corroborate himself from recollection or from people years after the shooting in Maxwell’s room at Fort Sumner. I’m sure the people Siringo talked to mixed up events and added or subtracted details by just the nature of trying to remember, or possibly giving biased information based on who they associated with.

Siringo’s history and reputation is what earned my attention and justifies adding his book to my research. Again, I recognize that some of the points Siringo makes in his book doesn’t jive with popular belief, but it is nice to read an account from someone who actually knew BTK.

[mckinley412]

I guess he met Billy the Kid before but he knew Pat much better. I do like his book toward the end after listening to it again but I think he mostly rewrote Pat's book and added to it.