The old courthouse in Mesila New Mexico, where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hang Billy had been captured December 23, 1880. On March 28, 1881, he was transported to Rincon by train and from there to Mesilla by wagon for trial for the murders of Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts and Sheriff William Brady. The indictment for killing Roberts was a federal indictment. The indictment for killing Brady was a territorial indictment. The territorial district court handled both jurisdictions, with the federal cases tried first. His trial for killing “Buckshot” Roberts began on March 30, 1881. The case against him in this trial was thrown-out on the grounds that the killing took place on private land, not public land, and the federal government thus had no standing to prosecute. The trial for the killing of Sheriff Brady began April 8. The judge presiding, Judge Bristol, dismissed Billy’s defense attorney from the Roberts trial, probably because of the change in jurisdiction, and appointed John D. Bail and Albert Fountain to represent him. On April 13. the jury brought in its verdict: guilty. The judge then sentenced Billy to death by hanging, to be carried out on May 13, 1881 in Lincoln, New Mexico.
El Rancho Hotel in Gallup New Mexico - on Route 66 and used by the old time movie stars when filming Westerns in the area - John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Spencer Tracey, Kirk Douglas, Alan Ladd, Katharine Hepburn and Jane Wyman all stayed here at some point.
great stuff Ron, did he escape from the jailhouse after shooting two lawmen and later tracked down by Pat Garret and was shot in the back ?
Yuma Territorial Prison (think of the film "The 3-10 to Yuma") which is preserved and open to the Public - not big, but in summer it gets feckin' hot round there.
SWMBO was desperate to see Dave. She'd heard a lot about him from @El Toro and the forum. In actual fact Michaelangelo spent 2 years carving him (1502-1504) from a block of marble that was left in the Piazza de Signora Florence that the Medici's didn't know what to do with. He said to them 'bung me a fiver and I'll make you summat'. Or words to that effect. But Michaelangleo didn't do all the work, he 'just' carved out the main shape (having done some preparatory sketches and preparatory plaster models first) and then left it to his apprentices in his studio to do all the smoothing down work with homemade 16th century emery paper. The lowliest apprentice was the 'willy polisher' who got to smooth down the last bit the big M chiseled out right in the middle.
OK, I get it now. Dave as an older man! Here's one of @Sev sitting down! ....... once today's pics upload into the Cloud!!
USS Midway (commissioned Sept 1945) moored in San Diego Harbour and open for visitors - loads of planes restored and kept on the flight deck too - served in the Vietnam War (amongst others)
Did the Bonneville pilgrimage four years ago - there's fuck all there except this sign and tons of white salt- not even a burger van.
