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In his forty years as a freelance writer and newspaper reporter, Bill Kelly had interviewed and written about hundreds of names familiar to us: Mickey Rooney, Rory Calhoun, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Broderick Crawford, Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Ginger Rogers, Ida Lupino, John Wayne, Aldo Ray, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, and Henry Armstrong are among many.

Bill has authored an astounding 15,000 magazine articles -- a phenomenal feat for any writer. He had appeared in Poker Digest, Card Player, Real West, True West, Treasure Search, Treasure Cache, Lost Treasure, South Bay, Country Review, True Detective, Inside Detective, California Highway Patrolman, Oklahoma State Trooper, Texas Highway Patrol, Inland Empire, Reader’s Digest, Poker World, Ring Magazine, Boxing Illustrated, K.O., and Variety.

His freelance work has appeared in too many California newspapers to list here, but they include, Herald Examiner, Orange County Register and Press-Enterprise.

His critically-acclaimed Collector’s Edition of Bill Kelly’s Encyclopedia of Gunmen is a reference book treasured by historians and Western buffs alike. Bill’s second book, Treasure Trails and Buried Bandit Booty, is a collection of true accounts of buried outlaw swag, and contains clues to reportedly hidden loot throughout the United States.

Bill recently appeared on the History channel as an old west historian in High Rollers: The History of Gambling.

His latest book is Gamblers of the Old West ($24.95). An autograph copy can be purchased by contacting Bill by e-mail: wildbill@cosmoaccess.net or by snail mail: 29759 Longhorn Dr. Canyon Lake, Ca. 92804.

Bill Was born in Tom’s River, New Jersey, on May 5, 1927. He now resides in Canyon Lake, California, where he spends most of his waking hours writing tons of articles to be enjoyed by thousands of readers.

His book, EMPTY SADDLES, is a nostalgic tribute to the sagebrush sagas of the 1940s and 50s, and contains Bill’s interviews with fifty Cowboy stars that made cinema history. No release date has been set for this book at this writing

EUSTACIO LEGADA, NEW MEXICO CARD SHARP

Pat Garrett, slayer of "Billy the Kid" was himself slain by Wayne Brazel, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, on the morning of February 29, 1908. The fatal bullet entered the back of the head and came out over the left eye; the second projectile entered the lower breast and traveled up some nine inches into the shoulder blade. Garrett died instantly, without uttering a sound.

Pat Garrett, the famous hunter of desperados, and gambler of some note, was laid to rest in a tiny graveyard at Las Cruces (The Crosses). The cortege was strewn with floral offerings, and followed to the cemetery by a train of friends. He was buried without ceremony.

Readers of Western lore no doubt remember Garrett only as the man who killed "Billy the Kid," but his reputation in the Southwest during the late 1800's extended far beyond that celebrated incident.

Lincoln County was engulfed in terror, until Pat Garrett restored order by dispensing or killing any number of desperadoes far more dangerous than the celebrated "Kid." One of those men was an inhuman brute, Manuel Ribar, alias Eustacio Legada, a noted gambler who frequented the gambling dens around Mesquite, New Mexico during 1895-96. At this time, the rough-and-ready camp had a population of 2,500 with twelve gambling dens, seven restaurants, four mercantile establishments, a livery stable, one hotel and the usual brothels.

Violence erupted almost daily and inevitable clashes occurred in the streets and saloons where every game of chance imaginable was played; roulette, monte, faro, poker, blackjack, dice and the shell game. Gambling was a lucrative business that operated round-the-clock. Here, the legend of Eustacio Legada was born. He was a restless, eager youth who associated with some of the rougher element of the boom camp, including an assortment of poker players and cattle rustlers.

It was not long before Eustacio was hauled into court at Mesquite, charged with getting "Doc" Burton drunk, then luring him into a poker game with some friends who connived to get his gold dust away from him. Feeling was running high against Eustacio because Burton had a wife and six kids. Eustacio was indicted and he posted a $500 bond. A search of court records discloses no evidence of a trial, probably because three days after Burton signed an application for one, he was found at the side of the road with his face shot away. The case was never solved.

Describing Eustacio as five-feet-ten-inches tall, weighing about 175 pounds, Frank Dowler, in his diary, pictured him as of fine physique and manly bearing, "a swaging man who wore his pistol strapped down, and dark eyes peeking from beneath a huge sombrero. "Whenever he was sitting in on a poker game, or faro, which he seemed to favor, he was always clean shaven except for a swooping moustache, and neatly dressed," Dowler wrote.

In 1896, a Mexican rancher had won handily at cards from a group of cattlemen who had just blown in from the range. On a lucky streak, he eventually moved over to a table where several other hombres were playing draw poker. Within the hour, he had them cleaned out, also. One of the heaviest losers at the table was Eustacio Legada. When the Mexican got up to leave, Eustacio insisted he give him a change to get even. An agreement was struck whereas Eustacio would accompany the Mexican home to finish the game.

An argument developed at the house as Eustacio continued to lose in a high-stakes poker game that lasted until daylight. Eustacio shot and killed the man in front of his family. Legend has it that he buried the man, using his pistol as a shovel. And then he went on the dodge, with every lawman in the southwest looking for him.

Eustacio Legada had become Manuel Ribar when he appeared in El Paso, Texas two years later. He looked a little different, but his habits hadn't changed any. He still frequented gambling establishments, and when he wasn't rolling the dice, or playing faro, he was usually seated in some corner, playing draw poker. One day, Detective George Harold walked in and spotted him. He immediately notified Pat Garrett, traveled by train to El Paso. It wasn't difficult for the New Mexico lawman to arrest his man. He was drunk and naked in bed with a prostitute when Garrett barged in and threw down on him. By stage, they returned to Mesquite, the lawman and his shackled prisoner.

Legada confessed to the crime before Judge Topper and subsequently took his captors to where he had buried the body. Under heavy guard, Eustacio was taken to Las Cruces and placed in jail to await his trial.

He got his jailer into a card game, each man sitting on opposite sides of the bars. When the time was ripe, Eustacio grabbed the jailer's gun, forced him to open the cell door, and placed him inside the cell. Outside, he mounted the first horse he saw, and, pississit! -- he was gone. He remained at large for eleven years.

In March 1908, a drunken man was arrested in a saloon in El Paso for drawing his weapon in public, after having accused a man of cheating him in a poker game. Detective Harold walked in, and recognized him as the escaped killer. He was arrested and returned to Las Cruces and placed under heavy security watch.

Peculiarly enough, it was the day of Pat Garrett's funeral.

As there were no prosecuting witnesses, the case against Legada was dismissed. He returned to the gambling saloons of Mesquite. A week later, he shot and killed his cousin, Dolores Legada. Again, he eluded a posse of mantrackers who chased him with ever-quickening tempo across the flats. A posse of one hundred strong rode all night, and returned empty-handed in the morning.

For months after that, Detective Harold haunted every poker game in Mesquite, ever on the alert for the killer. "He'll be back," Harold said. "Poker is a game he can't live without, and he loves the gambling Mesquite has to offer."

He was right. Legada did return, and when he did, Harold arrested him.

After a patient investigation and trial, one of the most important in New Mexico at the time, the prosecution proved conclusively that he was a thief and a cold-blooded killer. As he was being escorted from the courtroom to the jailhouse, he boasted no jail could hold him. "I will escape," he said, "and I'll kill everyone responsible for my incarceration."

In fear of his life, the judge ordered a quick hanging. Two upright posts and a cross-beam were hastily erected. Less than three days after his sentencing, Legada was taken out and placed on a beam supported by two wooden crates, He was quite particular about the rope and the exact position of the knot. With tears in his eyes, he asked Judge Topper if he could jump off the boxes instead of them being yanked from under him. The judge said, yes.

Asked if he had any last words, the prisoner said he didn't want to hang, but if they were dead set on it, would they make sure his neck was broken, because it bothered him that he might wake up in his grave.

At the very last moment of his life, Legada repeated the password into Heaven: "I'm innocent!" And then he counted: "One, two, three." and he leaped into the embrace of death.