In the history of the Southwest, Pat Garrett stood tall, both physically and in legend. He was more than just a famous western sheriff, more than the slayer of the legendary Billy the Kid. While on occasion his gun was for hire, and while he was sometimes known to protect special interests-particularly those of the cattle barons-more often than not Pat Garrett combined in his six-foot five-inch frame the good, honest, and honorable qualities that went to make up the lawman of the Old West.
Garrett is, of course, immortal for his successful efforts to end the career of the Kid, but, as the author amply demonstrates, Garrett's career by no means ended on that hot evening in July, 1881, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Within days Garrett had established a reputation as an implacable foe of western criminals, a reputation that was to follow (and sometimes haunt) him for the rest of his life. He was an important figure in the frontier politics of Texas and New Mexico, and he rubbed shoulders with the great and the near great of the region.
Through the story of Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett the panorama of the Southwest unfolds: its dreams, its courage, its explorations, its mistakes, its violence, its conquests, and ultimately its emergence as a settled society. No other character in southwestern history is more closely identified with the land and the people of America's last frontier.
Leon C. Metz, Archivist in the University of Texas Library at EI Paso, has exhaustively researched this definitive biography of Garrett and has traveled far and wide to interview Garrett's family and friends-the people who knew him well. He has laid to rest many of the rumors and speculations surrounding Garrett's life and death, as well as those of his most famous victim. He has discovered many rare and previously unpublished photographs of Garrett and his associates, all included in this book.
Undoubtedly the definitive biography of the man who killed Billy the Kid, this thorough and well-written analysis deals effectively with almost every question that has been raised about the controversial life and death of Pat Garrett....The author presents much of the fascinating political, economic, and social history of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas that is necessary to a proper understanding of the man....An exciting biography and highly recommended to the 'gunfighter crowd' and general readers everywhere." - Library Journal.
"Metz has been diligent in seeking and judging source material, and he describes and evaluates varying interpretations of controversial events such as the killing of Billy the Kid, the search for the killers of Albert Fountain, and the killing of Garrett himself in 1908....Well written, excellent illustrations...Recommended for all libraries and for general reading."- Choice.
"Metz...reveals a talent for characterization worthy of a novelist. This well-documented biography is a valuable addition to the record of southwestern history. It catches the flesh-and-blood Garrett just in time; before he and the Kid recede forever into the mists of western legend." -The American West.
