He had a reputation for helping the elderly, the poor and the young.
He was killed by the hand of a coward who was once his friend.
He was shot in the dark without warning. He was unarmed.
An all night long candle lit vigil followed as everyone mourned.
His short and violent life had come to an end.
The entire village was heartbroken. They had all grown to love him.
He was already a legend back when the old west was untamed and wild,
but legend doesn't portray the brutal harshness of the true life he had lived.
His was the tragedy of a promising young boy,
forced to become a man while still a child.
All would one day know him as Billy, the Kid.