"Dirty Dave" Rudabaugh, Billy the Kid's Most Feared Companion

This book is about David Rudabaugh, a man whose life is both obscure and wildly mythologized.One myth about Rudabaugh is that he was a "nasty, treacherous bully" who "stole and killed and brutalized people... Dirty Dave would try anything, as long as it was crooked." Not true. Another fictitious accusation is that Rudabaugh shot a jailer in cold blood. The true account of jailer Antonio Lino Valdez's fatal shooting is presented for the first time in this book, based on the never-before-published trial transcript. The unquestionable trial evidence shows that it was another man who shot the ill-fated jailer, not Rudabaugh.Following the jailer's killing, Rudabaugh fled. Now a wanted man, Rudabaugh teamed up with Billy the Kid and participated prominently in Billy's final gun battles with authorities. Famously, Rudabaugh was captured along with Billy at Stinking Springs by Deputy Sheriff Pat Garrett and his posse.After his capture, Rudabaugh was tried for Valdez's killing and sentenced to