The adventures of the infamous desperado, Billy the Kid, and his wild, wild, west shoot-'em-up life seem far a field from peaceful Niagara County, New York. But like most anything else in life, if you examine it close enough, you can usually find a connection. Such is the case with William H. Bonney, a.k.a., Billy the Kid, and Judge Warren Bristol of Niagara County, who had the distinction of handing down the sentence for Billy the Kid to be hung until dead.

Warren Bristol began his formal education at the Wilson Collegiate Institute in Wilson, NY, and later at the Yates Academy, just east of the Niagara County¬Orleans County line. Bristol studied law and set up shop in Lockport and also taught school at the Old Union School on Chestnut "Street. His travels lead him to the western frontier where he was appointed justice of the Supreme Court of New Mexico, one of the most lawless regions of the West. Billy the Kid, the most notorious bad man in all New Mexico, had been caught many times, put in handcuffs and in jail, and always managed to escape. After several additional murders, he was caught once again and taken before Judge Bristol. On April 13, 1881, Bristol found the Kid guilty and sentenced him to hang. Legend has it that during his sentencing, Judge Bristol told Billy he was to hang "until you are dead, dead, dead!" and Billy shouted back, "And you can go to hell, hell, hell!”

Once again Billy did what he did, time and time again. How Billy escaped for sure will probably never be known. What is known, however, is that when Billy The Kid rode out of town on April 28, 1881, he was once again a free man and he left both of his guards lying dead in a pool of blood where they fell. Legend has it that as Billy the Kid rode out of town, he shouted, "tell Judge Bristol that Billy the Kid was not born to hang." Billy was right. He met his ultimate demise a few weeks later at the hand of a sheriff's revolver.

Judge Warren Bristol's moment in the spotlight has forever earned him a place in history, too. When he died in 1890, his wife wanted his body returned to it early roots in civilized Lockport. Judge Bristol was buried in a family plot at Cold Springs Cemetery, far from the final resting place of his most notorious adversary, Billy the Kid.

Douglas Farley, Director
Erie Canal Discover Center
24 Church St.
Lockport NY 14094
716.439.0431
CanalDiscovery@aol.com
www.NiagaraHistory.org