GARRETT, Patrick F.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Contract signed between Garrett and the Englewood Gold Mining Company. A scarce signature by the lawman who killed the fabled outlaw Billy the Kid in 1881, on a contract with the Englewood Gold Mining Company, paying him to dig a tunnel on their property in Dona Ana County, New Mexico.Garrett agrees to excavate a 250-foot tunnel at $7.50 per foot, beginning 17 December. He is to supply his own tools, while the company is to provide timber, track, and a car.Garrett was then in dire straits. He had achieved national fame for killing Billy the Kid, which he capitalized on in his 1882 book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid. But in 1905 he failed to secure a further appointment as collector of customs in El Paso and returned to his ranch in Dona Ana County. He was insolvent, and his possessions were seized and auctioned for back taxes in 1906. This contract shows his desperate need for money and work. He was ambushed and killed in a land dispute in 1908.

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