Greathouse Station Showdown

Come November 15, 1880, Billy the Kid, ridin’ with Dave Rudabaugh, Billy Wilson, and a handful of rough riders, was cuttin’ a trail from Las Vegas to White Oaks. They reined in at Jim Greathouse’s ranch station, a weathered outpost where whiskey flowed like a desert spring. “Whiskey Jim,” a man with an eye for a deal, took a likin’ to the gang’s 16 horses, likely rustled from Alexander Grzelachowski, if the cantina talk’s to be believed and bought a few for his spread. With their pockets heavier, the boys spurred on to White Oaks, stashin’ their remainin’ ponies at Dietrichs’ Livery Stable.
Tales ‘round the poker table say the gang swaggered into a general store, grabbin’ supplies and skippin’ out without droppin’ a dime. Some reckon they paid with bad coin, just enough to square Wilson’s stable bill. But Barney Mason, a yella bellied snitch, spotted the crew and ran to Sheriff Will Hudgens. The sheriff, a hard man with a badge, rustled up a posse, includin’ J.W. Bell and James Carlyle, a blacksmith turned deputy and a pal of Hudgens. Whispers say Special Agent Wilde might’ve been skulkin’ nearby. The posse tracked the gang to Coyote Springs, where the outlaws were settin’ camp. Without so much as a howdy, they let loose a volley, droppin’ two horses. The Kid and his boys, ridin’ double, lit out for Greathouse Station, where they holed up.