1881-1950
After escaping from Ft Sumner July 14 1881, Billy, Traveling only at night, made his way south to El Paso Texas. he crossed the Rio Grande into Old Mexico and lived with the Yaqui Indians for about a year. in the fall of 1882, dressed in Indian attire to avoid recognition, he went up to Grand Saline Texas, where he made 2 trips to Carlton, Driving a Salt wagon and looking for his Family. With no luck at finding them Billy went back to Sonora Mexico until the winter of 1883. Billy went back to Texas using the alias 'Texas Kid' and went to work for the Powers Cattle company. He ran into a friend of his called 'Indian Jim' who was working with the same company. Billy and Jim struck up a partnership that would last for years. While Billy was on a cattle drive in Kansas City Kansas, he was arrested as Billy the Kid. His friends got him released after pointing out that Billy the Kid was claimed to have been killed in 1881. Billy and Jim worked all over the Western U.S. breaking horses for many different Ranches. They also worked as scouts for the stage lines. They were with the scouts for about 4 years on the Idaho Trail, where Billy was given the name 'Brushy Bill' because of the way he rode through the brushy hills of the Dakotas.
In 1888 Billy headed back to Texas where he joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The Pinkertons were not all salaried; in the less-populated areas of the country they worked on a per-case-solved commission. He also joined up with the Anti-Horse-Thief Association. 'Brushy Bill,' as he had become known, was back on the side of the law where he started out in Lincoln New Mexico. Their territory included all of East Texas along the Red River, Oklahoma (which was Indian Territory back then), all the way up the Ozark trail in Missouri. They worked under Judge Parker out of Fort Smith Arkansas. Billy worked with them until the early 1890’s
He joined the U.S. Marshals service in 1892. In the Marshals service Billy chased the likes of men like The Daltons, Cherokee Bill, Joe Shaw, and Al Jennings to name a few. In 1893 Billy’s skill as a rider took him all the way to the Argentine Republic to help in the breaking of some Horses his employer had bought from a Horse Dealer in the Western U.S. From there Billy went to the Shetland Islands to help catch ponies for about 3 months. When billy and jim headed home, they headed back to Indian Territory on the North Canadian River. For the next year Billy worked between the Anti-Horse-Thief Association and The U.S. Marshals service. Taking time off to work in Buffalo Bill's and Pawnee Bill’s Wild West shows.
In 1895 Billy and 9 others decided to put up a ranch just across the border from El Paso. They bought about 1,000 head of cattle and 50 horses. Diaz was offering good terms on grazing land and it sounded like a great deal to them. They worked the Ranch for about 3 years. In 1898 Roosevelt called for volunteers for his Rough Riders. Billy and Jim happened to be in Oklahoma territory at the time and signed up in Muskogee. After training they were assigned to a unit, but not the Rough Riders, and were shipped out to Cuba. After seeing how Billy handled the scared horses that had had to swim ashore in Cuba, he and Jim were assigned to the 10th cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) who were in charge of calming down and breaking the horses. After getting out of the service Billy and Jim went back to Old Mexico to work the ranch there. The government of Mexico seized all of their property and ran them all out of Mexico
Billy ran his own Wild West show for a while in 1902. At the same time trading horses and cattle in Indian Territory up in Oklahoma.
In 1907 Billy went back to Mexico with a couple of other guys and started another ranch. The revolution started in 1910 and Billy and his crew ended up fighting with Poncho Villa.
In 1912 Billy decided to settle down; he met Molly Brown and they were married. Billy went in to the trading business in East Texas and Oklahoma and even had a small farm in Arkansas for a while. Billy worked in the Oil Fields of Oklahoma and East Texas after Oil was found. Billy was offered a job with the Gladewater Texas police department as a Plainclothes Detective. He worked with them for a few years.
Molly died in 1919. Billy Married Louticia Ballard in 1925. He lived with her until her death in 1944. She was brought back to Van Zandt County Texas to be buried with her first husband. In November of 1944 Billy married Melinda Allison whom he lived with until his death in 1950.
Billy lived under many aliases throughout his life, and died under the alias of Ollie Roberts.
