A Layman's Theories on Scientific Theories

In New Mexico, the events surrounded William Bonny, a.k.a. Billy the Kid. On the Outlaw Trail, it was Butch and Sundance. Over in Arizona it was the Earp brothers and Doc Holiday. We all know the old west stories. They have inspired many memorable novels and Hollywood films. The stories and legends best known to us are largely embellishment, but there has been serious research to decipher fact from legend. What we find is that after the fiction is set aside, there is very little evidence of what really happened in these peoples' lives. During the few decades that these outlaws operated, they had railroads, telegraphs and newspapers, in other words mass communication. The railroad delivered current news and information from coast to coast within a couple of weeks, the telegraph within hours. While it cannot be compared with the split second capabilities of today's telecommunication and internet systems, in their day these advances were the latest in technology. Also consider that by then they could keep accurate records, time and many other elements of information. Despite all this capability at the time, researchers today often resort to theory when explaining the lives of these outlaws. The events took place less than 125 years ago, and we still debate whether Butch and Sundance died in the Bolivian outback or not. Butch's sister admitted to seeing him in the 1920's, but even after digging up a Bolivian grave and DNA testing, there is still no conclusive proof either way. The people involved with these events are long gone, and the remaining evidence left is open to question.