Not a movie, this time, but a very important book in the history of the Old West, and its wild bassets.
Billy the Pup was one of the wildest… a notorious outlaw and killer, possibly himself a victim of untreated rabies or distemper, along with a genetic predisposal to bad behavior, in the days before Animal Control was motorized and had lethal drugs at their disposal.
A beautiful cover, the Pup standing alone, challenging his pursuers.
You can possibly see the madness in his eyes.
Also a pictorial guide to actual clothing and accoutrements of its day and place, very useful to reenactors… A small but important market in its category.
….
Pat Grrrett, as noted in the subtitle, was the actual Sheriff who took him down…. not only an eyewitness but a co-creator of history as it was made, and as it turns out, flamekeeper of the Pup’s legend afterwards.
…
The book was so engrossing to the many seekers of true Western basset history, that it never went out of print or copyright… I think not to this very day.
The rights were sold over and over, and many versions exist, but this is the very first, in its “dime novel” paperback format.
Oddly, it never sold well in Grrrett’s lifetime, or made him the fortune he desired, but after his passing, it became the allegedly definitive source of information on Billy the Pup, and made Garrett an icon of old West lawmanship, as well.
….
Unfortunately, it was discovered, years later, that it contains many inaccuracies, purposely written to counteract already-published criticisms of Grrrett and his methods, and show him in a better light, which was very successful.
Still, though, a good read, which, taken with the proverbial grain of kibble, does give a lot of actual information about the two as well.
Just read it with a proper eye for hyperbole and whitewashing.
Ahh…..rabies or distemper…..interesting to consider! My head is swimming with all the conflicting stories and theories that are floating about. In one, there’s a theory that Grrrett shot and buried him without allowing anyone to see the body, leading to the possibility that Billy the Pup was not actually killed by Grrrett on that day. And, of course there was that ol’ codger, Brushy Bill Robdog, who claimed to be Billy the Pup until the day he died in 1950.
Nice job, Susan, weeding through all these stories and giving us a peek at what the book is all about. We always look forward to your reviews!
A little inaccurate. I seem to remember that William was a street urchin in NYC. “At the age of twelve years he killed his first man”. But it was in New York with a knife.
There are many stories and songs about Billy the Kid, and I don’t pretend to know what is fact and what is fiction. I almost posted the Marty Robbins song until I listened to Billy Joel’s version and decided I preferred that. Oyster Bay in Long Island, NY is mentioned in Joel’s song, so New York was cited. The veracity of any of these songs and legends is questionable, I think. And, the more years that go by, the cloudier it all becomes. I’m not quite sure any are totally accurate.
Thanks for posting Marty Robbins. Much appreciated!
stel, what a great new poster!!! i have always loved the old west! you have managed to capture the flavor of the era. i especially love the ”true” stories. i believe they are true!!!
Billy was not left handed.
It was assumed so because of the one photo we had of him. His revolver was on his left.
But a few years ago someone noticed that the loading port for the rifle he had was on the wrong side. The old photo was a reproduction that had been done reversed for some reason.
Although the Pup is holding the rifle in his left hand, to me, it looks like he’s strapped his pistol on his right hip! Am I looking at it wrong??? I came across that same information so I tried to get it right.
The “official” photo reprinted in Wikipedia has the rifle, buttons and belt buckle all on the wrong side. (I even Googled Winchester Rifle to make sure)
Great video!
Les Moore, His mourners had a sense of humoor.
Billy the Pup! He was stealing steaks and chicken legs down on the Rio Grande!
As long as we are off the subject,
I never saw this video before. I always loved the song with my imaginary Zelda.
the gal in green was Susan Oliver and this was from the very first Star Trek episode (pilot) with Jeffrey Hunter as the captain of the Enterprise
…as Orion slave girl.
And, Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike…
chocolate hazelnut cake
i always like nuts with my chocolate cake. mmmmm …
.,,
Those eyes.
You can’t lie to them.
Well, maybe a few fakeouts when you’re throwing the ball, but that’s not really lying, right?
NOSE!!!
A brand spanking new poster from StelBel!
First in ages, and nobody is talking about it?
Not a movie, this time, but a very important book in the history of the Old West, and its wild bassets.
Billy the Pup was one of the wildest… a notorious outlaw and killer, possibly himself a victim of untreated rabies or distemper, along with a genetic predisposal to bad behavior, in the days before Animal Control was motorized and had lethal drugs at their disposal.
A beautiful cover, the Pup standing alone, challenging his pursuers.
You can possibly see the madness in his eyes.
Also a pictorial guide to actual clothing and accoutrements of its day and place, very useful to reenactors… A small but important market in its category.
….
Pat Grrrett, as noted in the subtitle, was the actual Sheriff who took him down…. not only an eyewitness but a co-creator of history as it was made, and as it turns out, flamekeeper of the Pup’s legend afterwards.
…
The book was so engrossing to the many seekers of true Western basset history, that it never went out of print or copyright… I think not to this very day.
The rights were sold over and over, and many versions exist, but this is the very first, in its “dime novel” paperback format.
Oddly, it never sold well in Grrrett’s lifetime, or made him the fortune he desired, but after his passing, it became the allegedly definitive source of information on Billy the Pup, and made Garrett an icon of old West lawmanship, as well.
….
Unfortunately, it was discovered, years later, that it contains many inaccuracies, purposely written to counteract already-published criticisms of Grrrett and his methods, and show him in a better light, which was very successful.
Still, though, a good read, which, taken with the proverbial grain of kibble, does give a lot of actual information about the two as well.
Just read it with a proper eye for hyperbole and whitewashing.
Ahh…..rabies or distemper…..interesting to consider! My head is swimming with all the conflicting stories and theories that are floating about. In one, there’s a theory that Grrrett shot and buried him without allowing anyone to see the body, leading to the possibility that Billy the Pup was not actually killed by Grrrett on that day. And, of course there was that ol’ codger, Brushy Bill Robdog, who claimed to be Billy the Pup until the day he died in 1950.
Nice job, Susan, weeding through all these stories and giving us a peek at what the book is all about. We always look forward to your reviews!
Been meaning to ask whether anybody here is in touch with Liverlips McCracken.
Haven’t seen him for about a week, so I checked his GoComics profile, and it’s been 7 days there too.
Please don’t get all alarmed and start spreading gloom and doom… a week isn’t that long. We have Cleoites who are gone for a week now and then.
But not usually Liverlips, and he’s one of the ones I mentioned whose email I don’t have, in case anybody else can get in touch.
thanks for your observation.
I kinda like this one.
A little inaccurate. I seem to remember that William was a street urchin in NYC. “At the age of twelve years he killed his first man”. But it was in New York with a knife.
There are many stories and songs about Billy the Kid, and I don’t pretend to know what is fact and what is fiction. I almost posted the Marty Robbins song until I listened to Billy Joel’s version and decided I preferred that. Oyster Bay in Long Island, NY is mentioned in Joel’s song, so New York was cited. The veracity of any of these songs and legends is questionable, I think. And, the more years that go by, the cloudier it all becomes. I’m not quite sure any are totally accurate.
Thanks for posting Marty Robbins. Much appreciated!
stel, what a great new poster!!! i have always loved the old west! you have managed to capture the flavor of the era. i especially love the ”true” stories. i believe they are true!!!
Thanks, ML!!
WORLD REEF AWARENESS DAY | JUNE 1
,
flying turtles?
.
Beautiful undersea photos, NH!
Billy was not left handed.
It was assumed so because of the one photo we had of him. His revolver was on his left.
But a few years ago someone noticed that the loading port for the rifle he had was on the wrong side. The old photo was a reproduction that had been done reversed for some reason.
Although the Pup is holding the rifle in his left hand, to me, it looks like he’s strapped his pistol on his right hip! Am I looking at it wrong??? I came across that same information so I tried to get it right.
It’s something i read before. Quite a while back. Pre social media internet stuff.
It might have been a National Geographic.
The “official” photo reprinted in Wikipedia has the rifle, buttons and belt buckle all on the wrong side. (I even Googled Winchester Rifle to make sure)
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