"The most publicized gunfight in the Old West was that between
the Earps and the Clantons at Tombstone., Arizona, on 26 October
1881. Generally known as the "Gunfight at the OK Corral" it
actually took place in the street nearby. The details surrounding this
classic encounter are as controversial today as they were at the time,
but the cause and effect that led to that final showdown should be
examined.
In 1877 a prospector named Ed Schieffelin discovered a huge
silver sludge far out in the wilds of Arizona. It was then Apache
country and few people dared to get involved with the ferocious
warriors without being well armed or in large numbers. Sometime
before his discovery, Schieffelin told a friend that he was
prospecting for "stones"(which was a miner's description of quartz),
and the man waggishly replied: "Ed, I reckon the only stone you're
gonna find'll be your tombstone!" Schieffelin was so amused
by this that when he did make his big strike he named his diggings
Tombstone, and by the early part of 1879 the place had become
a town.
[...]
Amongst those drawn to the magnetic spot were Wyatt
Earp and his brothers Virgil and James. [..] At Prescott they
were joined by Virgil who had worked there as a stagecoach driver
and part-time sheriff. The brothers, together with assorted wives
and mistresses, arrived in Tombstone in December, 1879, and
early in 1880 were joined by their other brother, Morgan, the
hotheaded member of the family.
Wyatt Earp in 1880 was nothing like the man immortalized
by Stuart Lake in his fictionalized biography FRONTIER MARSHAL
published in 1931.
[...] the lady with him in Tombstone, known as Mattie Baylock,
may or may not have been his wife for no records have yet
been found of their marriage.
[...]
The arrival of the Earps in Tombstone was not regarded as
an event for none of them were well known outside Kansas.
James never became involved in the events which followed.
[...] But both Wyatt and Virgil were gun-toters and Wyatt's
reputation in Kansas was of a man who would kill if provoked
enough.
When the then marshal of Tombstone, Fred White, was killed in
October 1880, Virgil, his assistant, arrested his killer one
William "Curly Bill" Brocius, although it is claimed that
Wyatt made the actual arrest.
[...]
Wyatt bought an interest in the Oriental Saloon, and ran a
faro table at the Eagle Brewery, a rival saloon.
[...]
The Earps were joined in Tombstone by JOHN H.
HOLLIDAY, a tubercular dentist familiarly known
all over the West as "Doc" Holliday.
His career as a practising dentist had taken him to Dodge
City where he had renewed his acquaintance with the Earps
(he is believed to have known them for many years before
they became partners). Few men liked Holliday. His illness
aggravated by excessive alcohol made for a mean disposition,
and there were those who believed, perhaps with some cause,
that he had a death wish. Few were thinking of dentistry when
they considered what it would be like to be "drilled" by Doc
Holliday. But he and Wyatt were very close, and it is claimed
that once in Dodge City he saved Wyatt's life when he was
threatened by a mob of drunken cowboys.
[...]
Wyatt had little liking for cowboys , hardened as he was to
the violence of their Texas cousins. This soon led to a
disagreement with the most notorious of the rancher-rustler
outfits, the Clanton and the McLaurys. [...] There were three
Clanton boys, Ike a very cunning individual, Phineas and Billy,
but over lording the whole family was Old Man Clanton.
[...] Trouble between the Earps and the Clanton-McLaury
faction came when Wyatt lost a prized horse [...] Virgil Earp,
in his capacity as a deputy US- marshal, also upset sheriff
John Behan when he arrested two of his deputies, Frank Stillwell
and Pete Spence, for holding up a stagecoach. As both men were
also friends of the Clantons and the McLaurys the incident
built up further resentment against the Earp faction.
[...]
The situation came to a head on the afternoon of 25 October
when Ike Clanton had a run in with Doc Holliday at a lunch
counter in one of the saloons. He tried to avoid him but Doc
would not led him "You damn son of a bitch of a cowboy"
he sneered, and told him to get himself a gun and get to work.
Doc also accused him of threats against his friends the Earps
but Ike denied them. Morgan who was in the place stepped
forward, and Ike, fearful that there would be shooting, stepped
quickly outside. "Go get heeled" taunted Doc.
At that moment Wyatt and Virgil appeared, and seconds later
Morgan came out to the street. Clanton backed off repeatedly
denying any intention to fight and, begging Morgan not to
shoot him in the back, he scuttled off.
After an all-night session of poker and booze, Ike stepped onto
the streets of Tombstone in a belligerent mood, mouthing threats.
Wyatt was awakened and informed that Ike has said:
"As soon as those damned Earps make their appearance on the
street today, the ball will open."
[...]
The long awaited and dreadful moment had finally arrived.
[...] On the way Wyatt and Morgan were joined by Doc Holliday.
Wyatt tried to keep him out of it, but Holliday refused.
He carried his shotgun which some writers maintain he had
been given only moments before by Virgil, but more recent
evidence suggests it was probably the gun he personally
ordered from the Birmingham gun maker, W.W. Greener,
to be made for up for his own specifications.
Sitting in a barber shop on Allen Street, Sheriff John Behan
could see a crowd gathering on the corner. Hearing of the
cause he hastened over to the Hafford saloon where he met
Virgil who explained the position. Behan asked him to disarm
rather than fight the boys: it was his duty to do so.
Virgil ignored him so Behan said he would disarm them himself.
He came upon Morgan and Doc Holliday who were soon
joined by Virgil, and on the corner of Fremont Street he met
Frank McLaury who was holding a horse. Frank said he did
not want trouble but that he would not give up his guns, and
still talking he and Behan walked towards Fly's Photographic
Gallery. Outside were Ike and Billy Clanton, together with
Tom McLaury and Billy Claiborne. Behan again tried to get
them to disarm, and Ike said that he did not have any guns,
opening his coat so that Behan could search him and prove
it. Tom McLaury did the same show that he, too, was unarmed.
Behan asked the others to give up their guns. "Only if you
disarm the Earps", Frank McLaury replied.
Billy Clanton was now impatient. All morning he had been
trying to get the others to leave. "I want to go home", he said,
repeatedly, adding that he had not to come to town to fight.
Billy Claiborne shrugged and said he was not really involved
at all but was merely trying to get them all to leave town.
Thinking perhaps that he had averted a shoot-out, Behan
asked them all to come down to his office, but at that
moment the Earps appeared, walking slowly in line abreast
and fully armed. "Stay here", he said and hurried up to Virgil.
"For God's sake, don't go down there", he begged. Virgil
pushed him aside. "I'm going to disarm them". He and
his brothers and Holliday then started forward.
Behan rushed after them. "Go back! I'm sheriff of this
county!" he yelled, but the group ignored him.
Virgil was careful to legalize their action for he had
deputized his brothers and Doc as assistant city marshals.
Nevertheless, as the band set off on the last walk it was Wyatt
who dominated. Each man was dressed in the long frock
coat popularly known as a Prince Albert.
[...]
As noted earlier, the actual fight took place not in or
at the OK Corral but on Fremont Street right in front of
C.S. Fly's home and photographic gallery. The Clantons
and McLaury's were lined up with their backs against a
private home owned by William Harwood as the Earps
drew up to within about six or eight feet of them. Doc
Holliday remained on the street as the brothers advanced
into the vacant lot nearby to bring them into line with the
Clantons and McLaurys.
For a moment there was complete silence. Behan had
meanwhile slipped off behind Fly's house where he was
hastily joined by Billy Claiborne. Later Behan was to
testify that he thought Wyatt started the fight when he said:
"You sons of bitches, you have been looking for a fight, and
now you can have it". For this part Wyatt alleged that when
Virgil ordered them to give up their guns Billy Clanton and
Frank McLaury dropped their hands to their pistols and
Virgil then shouted:"Hold, I don't meant that, I have come
to disarm you."
Billy Clanton shouted out: "Don't shoot me, I don't want to
fight", and Tom McLaury opened his coat to show he was
not armed and said as much. Wyatt later claimed that since
Behan had said that he had disarmed the bunch, the sight
of pistols in the hands of Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton
led him to think otherwise, so he pulled his own pistol. He
ignored Billy but shot at Frank whom he regarded as a deadly
shot and dangerous. Two shots sounded as one: Wyatt
shooting at Frank and Billy Clanton shooting at Wyatt.
"I don't know which shot was fired first. We fired almost
together. The fight them became a general", declared Wyatt.
At this point Virgil ordered them back to the street where
they joined Holliday. Ike Clanton panicked and rushed up to
Wyatt and grabbed his left art. Seeing he was unarmed Wyatt
told him."The fight has now commenced; go to fighting, or
get away", and pushed him aside. Ike turned blindly away and
ran off eventually reaching the OK Corral and safety, narrowly
escaping a blast from Holliday's shotgun.
Wyatt's first shot had hit Frank McLaury in the stomach,
but he managed to get one shot off before staggering off
towards the street. Tom McLaury, realizing that his plea of
neutrality was wasted, grabbed his brother's Winchester rifle
from it's saddle scabbard and took cover behind the horse.
Morgan meantime put a ball into Billy Clanton's right wrist
and another in his chest. He fell back against Fly's Gallery
and tried desperately to use his pistol. Suddenly, Frank
McLaury's horse, frightened by the noise and confusion,
reared away and exposed Tom McLaury. Holliday swung the
muzzle of his shotgun and fired the remaining barrel. The blast
all but knocked Tom off his feet as the buckshot tore into his
waistcoat , peppering it with shot holes that rapidly become
bloodied. He screamed, staggered back, stumbled into
Fremont Street, collapsed and died.
Virgil had so far not fired a shot, but he was soon to learn that
Billy Clanton was far from dead. Somehow the dying boy found
strength to steady his pistol and put a ball into Virgil's calf
knocking him to the ground. Frank McLaury, all but dead,
managed to raise his six-shooter and fired it at Doc Holliday.
Doc had just thrown down his now empty shotgun and plucked
a six-shooter from his pocket. Both Holliday and McLaury fired
simultaneously and unobserved by either of them, Morgan Earp
also fired at McLaury. Doc missed but Morgan's bullet hit the dying
man in the head. McLaury's final shot had nicked Holliday's hip
taking a piece of skin and holster with it.
At that moment Billy Clanton also fired his last shot. It hit Morgan
Earp in the shoulder, and even as he stumbled and fell, both he
and Wyatt fired simultaneously and Billy Clanton hit the
ground to rise no more.
[...]
The fight lasted less than a minute, and during that time eight men
had diced with dead; three of them were dead, three badly wounded,
and two survived miraculously without a scratch - Ike Clanton who
had turned and run, and Wyatt Earp.
The aftermath of that fight is as controversial as the event. Virgil
and Morgan were found to be unfit to stand trial, and Holliday
was not called either. But Wyatt was in court and was allowed
to read a prepared statement.
[...]
Justice Spider found reason to criticize Virgil's action in enlisting
his brother's and Holliday's aid in attempting to arrest the
Clantons and McLaurys, but added that the social climate
then prevailing left Virgil with little choice.
Then, as now, feeling ran high, and some weeks later Virgil
was crippled for life when someone emptied a load of buckshot
into his side as he left the Oriental Saloon.
Morgan , too, became a victim shot through the back in
Hatch's saloon as he played pool in March 1882.
Wyatt suspected Morgan's death was the work of Pete Spence
and Frank Stillwell but he was unable to prove it. Wyatt
accompanied Virgil and James as far as Tucson when Morgan's
body was sent back to their parents' home in California for burial.
While the brothers waited for the train to leave, Wyatt came face
to face with Frank Stillwell. The Earps later claimed that he had
tried to kill Wyatt. At least that is their story. When the train left
for California a very dead Frank Stillwell lay on the tracks beside
the Southern Pacific Depot[...].
Soon afterwards, Wyatt and Doc Holliday were in the hills on the
trail of Pete Spence. He escaped their wrath but a Mexican
woodcutter (sometimes described as an Indian) was killed at
Spence's camp up in the Dragoons.
The Earps then moved on to Albuquerque, New Mexico,
leaving behind a reputation both good and bad."
-Syblille-
Joseph G. Rosa and Robin May
Chicago, 1977