Stinking Springs was a ranch [1] and an overnight way station for cattle drivers and sheep herders [2] located near the present site of Taiban, New Mexico. [3] [4] On 23 December 1880 sheriff Pat Garrett and his posse found Billy the Kid and the Regulators in a stone hut, where it began a shoot-out which killed Charlie Bowdre and captured Billy, Dave Rudabaugh, Tom Pickett and Billy Wilson. [5] [6] Only the foundation remains nowadays. [7]
The musical production The Lighter Side of Stinking Springs centers around the stonehouse. The song is simple and includes the reprisal of The Ballad of Stinking Springs. [8]