Burns books were popular, but contained many errors. I remember reading his "Saga of Billy The Kid" when I was a child. It fired my interest in Western history, so I can't condemm it. By far the best book is William A Keleher, 1957, "Violence in Lincoln County, 1969-1881, University of New Mexico Press. It is well-researched and summarizes the court records and newspaper accounts of the time.

Mentioned in Knibbs' ballad, John Tunstall, Alexander McSween, Pete Maxwell, and John S. Chisum were all employers of Billy at one time. All were good men; the first two lost their lives in the Lincoln County War. Maxwell, son of Lucien Maxwell of the fabulous land grant, died in 1898 and Chisum lost his ranch and died in Arkansas in the 1880s.