A Confining Winter

A Charming Young Desperado, an Angry Soiled Dove, a Treacherous but Reform-minded Governor, a Feisty Antediluvian, a Filthy Career Criminal, and a spate of Disreputable Lawyers are just some of the colorful characters who jump from these pages that recount Santa Fe's fascinating frontier history. Billy the Kid's three-month stay in New Mexico Territory's capital city adobe jail during the winter of 1881-1882 provides a framework for exploring life-especially lawless life-at The End of the Santa Fe Trail in this second standalone volume in Lynn Michelsohn's non-fiction trilogy, "Billy the Kid in Santa Fe." *** Please note: The volumes of this trilogy may be read in any order. *** Billy spent part of his carefree youth learning Spanish while playing with companions in Santa Fe's ancient streets and singing for tips around its bustling Plaza. Now, seven years later, the legendary young man sits alone, chained and abandoned, in Santa Fe's grim lock-up. Jailmates like "Dirty Dave," "Bull Shit Jack," and "Slap Jack Bill" offer interesting diversions but little solace. Hiring a lawyer seems impossible. Governor Lew Wallace, who once promised Billy a pardon, won't even respond to his increasingly desperate letters. Is a quick murder trial, followed by a long drop and a short rope, the boyish outlaw's only escape?-Follow Billy's diverse bids for freedom throughout his long cold months in the adobe calaboose on Santa Fe's Rio Chiquito. -Discover, with Billy, the changes to this ancient city since he left it a bright-eyed youngster, his whole life ahead of him. -Follow day-to-day events in this frontier settlement during a year when the railroad, two Presidents, a UFO, and Billy the Kid all came to town. Read "A Confining Winter" for a glimpse life in the Old West through its intriguing characters, including the most famous of all-Billy the Kid! Recommended for Billy the Kid Aficionados, Western History Buffs, and Anyone who Loves Santa Fe!Table of Contents Part I. Billy Starts for Santa Fe-Again Chapter 1. The Capture: Hot pursuit across a frigid plain. Chapter 2. A Stopover: Leaving Las Vegas, it ain't easy. Part II. Santa Fe Awaits Chapter 3. Santa Fe 1880: 'Dobe or not 'Dobe? Chapter 4. Santa Fe Life: Rings and things. Chapter 5. 1880 Arrivals: The railroad, two presidents, and a UFO. Chapter 6. Jailmates: Mail robbers, murderers, and mystery men-but no women. Part III. The Confining Winter Chapter 7. Locked Up: The Case of the Missing Meals. Chapter 8. January 188: Pardon me, Governor Wallace. Chapter 9. February 1881: Comings, goings, and court surprises. Chapter 10. March 1881: Digging for freedom. Chapter 11. Billy Leaves Santa Fe-Again: An end . . . or a beginning? Excerpt: Such jails as there were in Territorial New Mexico had been hastily constructed and poorly built, usually of adobe or other vulnerable materials. Jailers relied more on chains and shackles than on secure jailhouse design to keep prisoners from escaping. A visitor once noted that the door to the Taos County lockup was securely fastened with a piece of twine. Understandably, escapes occurred frequently. Sheriff Pat Garrett-never one concerned with political correctness-remarked that southern New Mexico's Lincoln County never had a jail "that would hold a cripple." They certainly never held Billy.