To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett

To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West In the late 1870's, New Mexico Territory represented some of the only frontier left in the United States, and men like Lew Wallace, the territorial governor, and others were determined to tame it. In a land where might makes right, law and order was not necessarily a tool to help Good defeat Evil, as much as it was an implement of those who held power to club their adversaries with.Mark Lee Gardner in To Hell on a Fast Horse examines these various issues as they created the legend of Billy the Kid and the man who killed him, Pat Garrett. His meticulous research shows the human side of Billy - how it was his strengths of character that led him into the life of a murderer and fugitive, and that it was weakness of character of those who held the reins of power that forced him on and on. Rather than the ruthless character that the dimestore novels created, Mr. Gardner's work shows Billy's better half - his loyalty, his ability to love his fellow man, and his passions on which the stage of the Wild West forced him to make decisions that he did. In Billy's mind, had the authorities simply left him alone, then he would have lived a simple and virtuous life. There is even a chance, from the depths of Mr. Gardner's research, that this may have held at least a nugget of truth.Into the foray between those who wished to banish the outlaws of New Mexico Territory and those who felt their existence imperiled by the law came Pat Garrett. We learn from Mr. Gardner all about Pat's formative years, and the ambiguity in his relationship to Billy and others in his gang. One story in particular illustrates this. Although Pat doggedly pursued Billy until he was able to capture him, he promised safe passage to justice for Billy and his gang. In order to keep that promise, Pat and his posse had to stand off a sheriff and his deputies as well as the entire town who were determined to lynch the prisoners. To save them, he would have armed them if necessary. Throughout the book, we read again and again of Garrett's rugged strength, physically, but spiritually as well. He took on the mission of bringing Billy the Kid to justice because it was his duty to do so. What I learned from Mr. Gardner's thorough research was that it was this very adherence to principle that led to the tragic death of The Man Who Shot Billy the Kid. Pat Garrett was not allowed to fade gently into the sunset as another famous lawman, Wyatt Earp, was.To me, Mr. Gardner's ability to round out the character of his chief protagonists was paramount. We learn that Billy's most famous exploit, his escape from the jail from which he was sentenced to hang, was as much a function of the arrogance of his jailers as it was Billy's intrinsic escape talents. And his brutal murder of two deputies was a reaction to their cruelty as well. And Billy's final moments, Pat Garrett's most famous deed, we learn, was far more an accident and an act of Billy staying his own hand rather than to risk harming people for whom he cared deeply. Pat was fortunate, Billy was not. What surprised me was how the same element of disregard for the law in order to protect the established order persisted well into the twentieth century. Ironically, Pat died at the hands of those whose abuse of power by owning the law were the philosophical descendants of Billy's original protagonists.Yet with all of the research that Mr. Gardner clearly undertook in creating this work - much of which is detailed in an index at the end of the book - To Hell on a Fast Horse was remarkably readable. It was the story not only of the two men who found themselves inextricably bound, but of the times that forced them together. Other critics of the book complain that too much time is spent discussing Pat Garrett's fate once Billy was gone. To me, it was vital to know how the forces that led to Billy's death were the cause of Pat's death as well, more than thirty years later. That no one ever was made to account for Pat's coldblooded murder brings the irony and the cautionary tale Mark Gardner weaves to a full circle.Bravo, Mr Gardner for this wonderful piece of work! I highly recommend it to those who want to know what living in the lawless New Mexico Territory in the post-Civil War era was like. I can hardly wait for Mark Gardner's next opus.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: even the most imaginative fiction pales in comparison to real life.I grew up on television westerns, and have published a number of westerns, but the real stories are in many ways more interesting. The players tend to be almost too human, with flaws and weaknesses that we would not want in our heroes. The “plots” are messy and at times what happens may seem to make little or no sense.Take the lives of Pat Garrett and Billy the kid, as detailed in TO HELL ON A FAST HORSE by Mark Lee Gardner.In real life the heroes did not always dash into battle, guns blazing, but adhered to the old dictum that discretion is the better part of valor. An example of this is when Garrett sent Barney Mason, a deputy, to see if he could find Billy’s trail. Garrett figured that a single man would likely have an advantage over a sheriff’s posse, considering how Kid-friendly the countryside was.Mason picked up the trail and followed it almost too well:“Mason started out from Fort Sumner with cattleman Jim Cureton. After riding fifteen miles, the two arrived at a sheep camp at the head of Buffalo Arroyo, where they suddenly came upon the stolen horse, as well as its rider—Billy the Kid. The Kid was with four Hispanic men who rapidly positioned themselves as if to shoot it out with the intruders. Mason was the only one carrying weapons, but as soon as he recognized Billy, he whipped his horse around and dug his spurs in deep…”Many events, even the most pivotal ones, such as the final “showdown” between Billy and Pat Garrett, depended on happenstance. On that night Garrett entered the bedroom of a friend of Billy’s who might know where the outlaw could be found. As they talked quietly, Billy himself stepped into the pitch-black room. The man whispered to Garrett, “That’s him.”Gardner wrote:“Garrett instantly reached around for his Colt. Billy, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, saw the sheriff’s movement and sprang back, simultaneously bringing up his six-shooter and beginning to point it…The Kid sensed danger, but he hesitated to fire his weapon. He did not recognize the person… he (or she) might be a friend. That hesitation of not more than a heartbeat or two, that split-second confusion born of the Kid’s conscience, was all Garrett needed. A Colt Single Action Army revolver makes four distinct clicks when its hammer is pulled back to full cock... Billy heard this sound, and then he was blinded by a bright flash of light, followed by a deafening roar. He felt a powerful, paralyzing blow to his chest, and he fell limp to the floor. Garrett had jerked his pistol from its holster and fired it in one swift motion. Although he, too, was blinded by the handgun’s muzzle flash, he quickly lunged to his side and fired a second shot in the same direction, filling the room with acrid blackpowder smoke.”A similar incident took place when Pat Garrett, then a legend, was shot and killed. The circumstances were not the conclusion of a manhunt, nor a high-noon shoot-out, but a murder at close range at a moment of distraction. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime.Gardner also throws in some interesting quotes attributed to the real-life characters. My favorite might be one from Billy: “Advise persons never to engage in killing.”The book is filled with such stories, quotes, excerpts from legal documents and newspapers, as well as numerous character sketches of lesser-known figures that illuminate that illuminate their lives and times. It makes for fascinating reading whether for hard-core historical enthusiast or the casual reader.

Whilst I knew a tiny bit about Pat Garrett before buying this book and was certain that I knew quite a lot about Billy the Kid, I was soon proven wrong on both counts. Mark Lee Gardner has pulled together many sources of research in order to recount a tale that is as gripping as it is detailed and expansive. The author should be commended for his meticulous work in pooling together so much information and his ability to relate a tale to the reader in such a fascinatingly thoughtful and eloquent way.As well as enlightening the reader about the lives of the two main protagonists, this book also serves to paint a vivid portrayal of the West when it truly was wild. In so doing, it sets aside any notion that the potential ferocity of life during these times was nothing but a mythical result of the over-fertile machinations of penny dreadfuls and Hollywood.This book is a must read if you have any interest in Billy the Kid or Pat Garrett, or you simply fancy what feels like an authentic taste of the American West of the late 19th Century.

This is very good popular history. The subject and story is fascinating, and it is told in a fine, interesting manner, pulling you forward. It doesn't get five stars simple because a) it could have done with a little more context, more background to situate the events it describes, and b) after Billy the Kid is dead it carries on at the same pace detailing the rest of Pat Garret's life, and that simply isn't as interesting. But not every book can get five stars: this is very good read, fast and fact-filled, and I thoroughly enjoyed it

I think it's fair to say that Billy The Kid and Pat Garrett are the "forgotten" pair in the stories of the Old West, but this book does a good job on their lives and history. Neither of them actually come out smelling of roses; The Kid was just another desperado with a nickname, and Garrett, when he wasn't busy fathering countless children, was gambling away his money as fast as he earned it. It's a good solid read and I could hardly put it down though it does flag a bit toward the end as you read of Garrett involved in yet another loss-making enterprise.

The story of the outlaw Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett the man who brings him to justice. It is clear that the author has no intention of glorifying any of the protagonists and neither cover themselves in glory. Billy is portrayed as a ruthless gunslinger with little saving grace. Garrett has a checkered past and is intent on using his position to further his own career and reputation. An excellent expose of an episode in Western history which has been adulterated for some time.

Saw a TV documentary on Billy and had to read a book about him. Well written - was not disappointed.