Billy The Kid Old West Outlaw Gunman / American Wild West Gambler Rustler William H. Bonney. American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the so-called Lincoln County War. According to legend, he killed 21 men, one for each year of his life, but he most likely participated in the killing of fewer than half that number. He was said to be friendly and personable at times, and many recalled that he was as "lithe as a cat".Contemporaries described him as a "neat" dresser who favored an "unadorned Mexican sombrero". These qualities, along with his cunning and celebrated skill with firearms, contributed to his paradoxical image, as both a notorious outlaw and beloved folk hero.