Patrick Floyd Garrett, widely known as "Pat," (1850-1908) had tracked down and killed the outlaw Billy the Kid but also became a victim of the tangled politics of the time. He has been maligned by writers, libeled by Hollywood and deprecated by many of his contemporaries. But despite them, all his deeds retain for him a niche in the gallery of fast shooting peace officers who helped to bring law and order to the frontier West. When he died, there was rejoicing in some quarters and relief in others, as might be expected in the case of a controversial figure. There was also genuine and profound sorrow in the rugged hearts of many in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, as well as farther afield, and the circumstances surrounding his death, ostensibly at the hands of a most unlikely cowboy named Wayne Brazel, have puzzled and intrigued historians since that spring day in 1908 when he was shot to death and left lying in a sand drift on a lonely road. But was Pat Garrett shot by Wayne Brazel, or hired killer Jim Miller? Brazel confessed, but few believed his story and he was acquitted. Colin Rickards' book sheds light on this unhappy affair which still remains a source of controversy. Colin Rickards has done extensive research on Pat Garrett including checking official court records, investigating contemporary accounts and conducting interviews. He separates fact from fantasy in this meticulously documented account. An authority on frontier history, the author has written numerous articles and books on the Old West. A journalist by profession, Rickards has applied the same techniques to ferreting out the true stories of life and death adventures in western history.
