What to know: Indiana's ties to 'mythologized' Old West outlaw Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid reached legendary status in the Old West as a charismatic outlaw with a habit of stealing and a sharp sense of survival. In the 142 years since his 1881 death, those facts have mushroomed into myriad myths to create a legacy ripe with half-truths and tall tales.

"He is definitely one of the most mythologized figures of American frontier history — I would argue one of the most mythologized figures in American history," said James B. Mills, the author of "Billy the Kid: El Bandido Simpático."

In the quest to uncover the truth, historians have looked in part to Indiana. Billy spent some of his early childhood in Indianapolis, became the stepson of a Hoosier and, late in his short life, sought amnesty from then-New Mexico Territory Gov. Lew Wallace, an Indiana native.

Read the full story: Billy the Kid was a famous Old West outlaw. But Indiana ties shaped his roots and fate

IndyStar took a close look at Billy the Kid's Indiana connections. Here are a few takeaways:

Plenty of myths are ingrained into Billy's legacy

While some lies cropped up as Billy's fame grew toward the end of his life, others took root afterward thanks to sensationalist writers.

Among the wildest false tales: that Billy decapitated a kitten with a penknife his stepfather gave him and that he stabbed a man who insulted his mother. Some people also claimed that the Kid took a man's life for every one of his 21 years.

In reality, Billy killed four people by himself — two in self defense and two while escaping jail — and was involved in about five more killings as part of posses, Mills said.

Myths about the Kid's death — or lack thereof — persisted as well, including that he survived as Brushy Bill Roberts or escaped to Canada.

Billy the Kid lived in Indianapolis as a child

Historians have traced Billy's mother Catherine McCarty, an Irish immigrant and single mother, to addresses around Massachusetts Avenue in 1867 and 1868. Why Catherine and her sons Joseph and Billy — then known as Henry McCarty — came to Indianapolis is unknown.

A Hoosier became Billy's stepfather

About 1865, Catherine met Huntsville native William Henry Harrison Antrim, who had served in the 54th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Where and how exactly they met is unknown, but city directories show their addresses were near one another.

By 1870, they had begun a series of westward moves, and in 1873, Antrim and Catherine wed in Santa Fe in the New Mexico Territory. After his mother's 1874 death from tuberculosis, Billy and his stepfather had a falling out that ended their relationship.

Billy and 'Ben-Hur' author Lew Wallace had a complex relationship

Billy's eventual fate would be tied up with another Hoosier — Brookville native Wallace, who was governor of the New Mexico Territory. In 1879, Billy and Wallace exchanged letters, and even met in person, while they discussed a deal to clear the Kid's slate of violence in exchange for his testimony against associates of a corrupt group who'd been the enemies of his former employer.

Billy did end up testifying but was never pardoned. Arguments over whether Wallace betrayed him continue to this day.

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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What to know: Indiana's ties to 'mythologized' outlaw Billy the Kid