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Wyatt Earp

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For other uses, see Wyatt Earp (disambiguation).
Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848–January 13, 1929), was a sometime buffalo hunter, officer of the law, gambler, and saloon-keeper in the Wild West and the U.S. mining frontier from California to Alaska. He is best known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral along with Doc Holliday, Virgil Earp, and Morgan Earp.

Family background

Wyatt was born in Monmouth, Illinois, USA to Nicholas Porter Earp (September 6, 1813 in Lincoln County, North Carolina - November 12, 1907 in Sawtell, California), a cooper and farmer, and his second wife Virginia Ann Cooksey (February 2, 1821 in Kentucky - January 14, 1893 in San Bernardino County, California).

His paternal grandparents were Walter Earp (1787 in Montgomery County, Maryland - January 30, 1853), a school teacher and Methodist Episcopal preacher, and Martha Ann Early (August 28, 1790 in Avery County, North Carolina - September 24, 1881). Nicholas Earp, their first born, was their only child born in North Carolina (their other five sons were born in various parts of Kentucky).

His maternal grandparents were James Cooksey and Elizabeth Smith. They had settled in Ohio County, Kentucky. Little else is known of their life.

Siblings

On December 22, 1836, Nicholas Porter Earp married Abigail Storm (September 21, 1813 in Ohio County, Kentucky - October 8, 1839 in Ohio County, Kentucky) in Hartford, Kentucky. The short-lived marriage produced Wyatt's older half-brother Newton Jasper Earp (October 7, 1837 in Kentucky - December 18, 1928 in Sacramento, California). (Another half-sister Mariah Ann Earp (Feb. 12-Dec. 13, 1839) did not survive to adulthood)

On July 30, 1840, Nicholas wed Virginia Ann Cooksey in Hartford, Kentucky. This second marriage produced a total of eight children:

Early life

Wyatt Earp, born during the California Gold Rush, was named after Captain Wyatt Berry Stapp of the Illinois Mounted Volunteers, Nicholas Earp's commanding officer during the Mexican-American War. In March, 1850, the Earps left Monmouth for California, but they never reached there, settling instead in Iowa. Their new farm consisted of 160 acres (0.6 km²), seven miles (10 km) northeast of Pella, Iowa.

On March 4, 1856, Nicholas sold his farm to Aquillin Waters Noe (c. 1800 - May 4, 1880), who resold it on the same day to Hiram Zenas Webster (March 1, 1829 - after 1915).

The family returned to Monmouth, but Nicholas found that nobody wanted his services as cooper or farmer. Faced with unemployment, Nicholas chose to become a municipal constable. He served for about three years. He reportedly had a second source of income from the selling of alcoholic beverages which made him the target of the local Temperance movement and in 1859 he was tried for bootlegging, convicted and publicly humiliated. Nicholas was unable to pay his fines and on November 11, 1859, Nicholas's property was sold at auction. Two days later, the Earps left for Pella, Iowa.

Nicholas apparently made frequent travels to Monmouth throughout 1860 to confirm and conclude the sale of his properties and to face several lawsuits for debt and accusations of tax evasion.

During the family's second stay in Pella, the American Civil War broke out. James, Virgil and Newton joined the Union Army. Wyatt was too young to join, but tried on several occasions to run away and join the army only to have his father find him and bring him back home. While Nicholas was busy recruiting and drilling local companies, Wyatt, with the help of his two younger brothers, Morgan and Warren, was left in charge of bringing in an 80-acre corn crop. James returned home in summer 1863 after being severely wounded in Fredricktown, Missouri. On May 12th, 1864, the Earp family joined a wagon train heading to California. The 1931 book Frontier Marshall by Stuart Lake, claims that the Earps had an encounter with Indians near Fort Laramie and that Wyatt reportedly took the opportunity of their stop at Fort Bridger to hunt American Bison with Jim Bridger. Later researchers have suggested that Lake's account of Earp's life is embellished, as there is little corroborating evidence to many of its stories.

By late summer, 1865, Wyatt and Virgil had found a common occupation as stagecoach drivers for Phineas Banning’s Banning Stage Line in Southern California. This is presumed to be the time Wyatt had his first taste of whiskey. He reportedly felt sick enough to abstain from it for the following two decades.

In spring, 1866, Earp became a teamster, transporting cargo for Chris Taylor. His assigned trail for 1866 - 1868 was from Wilmington, California to Prescott, Arizona Territory. In the spring of 1868, Earp was hired by Charles Chrisman to transport supplies for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. This is presumed to be the time of his introduction to gambling and boxing.

Lawman

In spring 1868, the Earps moved again, this time settling in Lamar, Missouri where Nicholas became the local constable. When Nicholas resigned to become Justice of the Peace on November 17, 1869, Wyatt was immediately appointed constable in place of his father. On November 26 and in return for his appointment, Earp filed a bond of $1000. His sureties for this bond were his father Nicholas Porter Earp, his paternal uncle Jonathan Douglas Earp (April 28, 1824 - October 20, 1900) and James Maupin.

On January 10, 1870, Earp married his first wife, Urilla Sutherland (1849 - 1870/1871). She was daughter to William and Permelia Sutherland from New York City. The marriage was short-lived. Urilla is believed to have died either a few months later, or about a year later. There are two reported versions of her cause of death: one version claims that she died of typhus, the other that she died in childbirth.

In August 1870, Earp bought a house and the land it occupied, for $50. In November, he resold the house for $75. The later event has been used to estimate the death of Urilla, based on presumption that a widower has less need of permanent residence than a married man expecting children. That November, Earp ran for and won his constable's post, beating his older half-brother, Newton 137 votes to 108. This would be the only time Earp would ever run for office.

After his wife's death, Earp started to have some difficulties with the law. On March 14, 1871, Barton County, Missouri filed a lawsuit against Earp and his sureties. He had been in charge of collecting license fees for Lamar, the collected monies intended as funding for local schools. Earp was accused of never delivering the collected money. The action was eventually vacated, probably because Earp and his father had moved out of the state.

On March 31, one James Cromwell filed a lawsuit against Wyatt alleging that he had falsified court documents referring to the amount of money that Earp had hand collected from Cromwell to satisfy a judgment. To make up the difference between what Earp turned in and Cromwell owed (and claimed he had paid), the court seized Cromwell's mowing machine and sold it for $38. Cromwell's suit claimed that Earp owed him $75, the estimated value of the machine.

On April 1, Earp was one of three men (along with Edward Kennedy and John Shown) facing accusations for horse theft. On March 28, the accused had reportedly stolen two horses, "each of the value of one hundred dollars", from William Keys while in the Indian Country. On April 6, Earp was arrested by Deputy United States Marshal J.G. Owens for the latter charges. The arraignment of the charges against him was read to him by Commissioner James Churchill on April 14. Bail was set at $500. On May 15, the indictment against Earp, Kennedy and Shown was issued.

Anna Shown, wife of John Shown, claimed that Earp and Kennedy got her husband drunk and then threatened his life in order to earn his assistance. However on June 5, Edward Kennedy was acquitted while the case against Earp and John Shown remained. Faced with two lawsuits and a trial, Earp apparently chose to flee the State of Missouri. An arrest warrant was issued.

Both lawsuits and the horse theft case were eventually dropped because of the disappearance of Earp. Researchers of his life do not have enough evidence to conclude whether he was guilty of the charges. However, it would not be the first time Wyatt Earp settled legal problems though the use of distance.


Reappearance

For years, researchers had no reliable account of Earp's activities or whereabouts between the remainder of 1871 and October 28, 1874 when Earp maked his reappearance in Wichita, Kansas. It has been suggested that he spent these years hunting American Bison (as is reported in the Stuart Lake biography) and wandering from place to place in the great plains.

He is generally considered to have first met his close friend Bat Masterson around this period, on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River. Nevertheless, the discovery of contemporary accounts that place Earp in Peoria, Illinois, and the surrounding area during 1872, have caused researchers to question these claims. Earp is listed in the city directory for Peoria during 1872 as living in the house of Jane Haspel, who operated a bagnio (brothel) from that location. In February 1872, Peoria police raided the Haspel bagnio, arresting four women and three men. The three men were Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, and George Randall. Wyatt and the others were charged with "Keeping and being found in a house of ill-fame." They were later fined twenty dollars and cost for the criminal infraction. Two additional arrests for Wyatt Earp for the same crime during 1872 in Peoria have also been found. Some researchers have concluded that the Peoria information indicates that Earp was intimately involved in the prostitution trade in the Peoria area throughout 1872. This new information has caused some researchers to question Earp's accounts of Buffalo hunting in Kansas.

In Frontier Marshal, Lake claimed that while in Kansas, Earp met such notable figures as Wild Bill Hickok. Lake also identified Earp as the man who arrested gunman Benjamin Thompson (November 2, 1843 - March 11, 1888) in Ellsworth, Kansas, on August 15, 1873. However Lake failed to identify his sources for these allegations. Consequently later researchers have expressed their doubt about them. Diligent search of the available records has uncovered no evidence that Wyatt Earp was in Ellsworth at the time of Thompson's trouble there. Proponents of Earp's arrest of Thompson, or even Earp's presence in Ellsworth in August of that year, point to unsubstantiated recollections that Earp registered at the Grand Central Hotel there. Research has shown Earp did not check into the hotel that summer. In particular, the activities of Benjamin Thompson during the year of his arrest were covered in detail by the local press without ever mentioning Earp. Thompson published his own accounts for the events in 1884, and he too failed to report Earp as the man responsible for his arrest.

Witchita

Earp officially joined the Wichita deputies’ office on April 21, 1875 after election of Mike Meagher as marshal. One newspaper report exists referring to Earp as "Officer Erp" prior to his official hiring, making his exact role as an officer during 1874 unclear. Earp received several acclamations while in Wichita, but his stint as deputy came to a sudden end on April 2, 1876, when Earp took too active an interest in the marshal's election. Former marshal Bill Smith accused the Earp family of running a brothel. Wyatt responded by getting into a fist fight with Smith and beating him. Meagher was forced to fire and arrest Earp for disturbing the peace. With the cattle trade diminishing in Wichita, Earp moved on to the next booming cow-town, Dodge City, Kansas.

Dodge City

File:WyattEarpBatMasterson.jpg
Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson in 1876

Earp was appointed assistant marshal in Dodge, under Marshal Larry Deger, in 1876. There is some indication that Earp traveled to Deadwood, Dakota Territory, during the winter of 1876-7. Wyatt was not on the police force in Dodge City during all of 1877. However, his presence in Dodge as a private citizen is substantianted by notice in the newspaper the he was fined $1.00 and costs for slapping a woman named Frankie Bell.

In October 1877, Earp left Dodge City for a short while to try his luck on the gambling circuit in Texas. During this time, Earp stopped at Fort Griffin, where (according to the Lake Biography) he met a young, card-playing dentist. This was the first meeting between Earp and Doc Holliday.

Earp returned to Dodge City in 1878 to become the assistant marshal under Charles Bassett. Holliday moved to Dodge City in June 1878, and saved Earp's life in August of the same year. While trying to break up a bar-room brawl, a cowboy drew a gun and pointed it at Earp's back. Holliday yelled, "Look out, Wyatt," then drew his gun and fired, scaring the cowboy enough to make him back off. This would mark the beginning of Earp's and Holliday's friendship.

In the summer of 1878, Texas cowboy George Hoy fired into the second story of the Varieties theater, outside of which stood police officers Earp and Jim Masterson. Earp, many years later, claimed Hoy was attempting to assassinate him at the behest of Robert Wright, with whom he claimed an ongoing fued. Evidence shows Hoy's shot to have struck nowhere close to the officers. Hoy ended up being shot in the arm as he rode away, and later died of the wound. Whose bullet struck Hoy is unknown, and why Wyatt later claimed this strange "kill" is also odd.

Earp said the feud between himself and Wright started when Earp arrested Bob Rachals, a prominent trail leader who had shot a German fiddler. According to Earp, Wright tried to block the arrest because Rachals was one of the largest financial contributors to the Dodge City economy. Earp claimed that Wright then hired Clay Allison to kill Earp, but Allison backed down when confronted by Earp and Bat Masterson.

Clay Allison was also a moderately famous character of the Old West, but current research does not support the tale of Earp and Masterson ever confronting him. Bat Masterson was out of town when Allison tried to "tree" (scare) Dodge City on September 19, 1878, and witnesses, cowboy Charles Siringo and Chalkley M. Beeson, proprietor of the famous Long Branch saloon, left written recollections of the incident. They said it was actually Texas cattleman Richard McNulty who faced down Allison. But it may be that the incident that Earp and Masterson remembered happened at another time.

Arriving in Dodge with Earp was Celia "Mattie" Blaylock, a former prostitute, who would continue with Earp until 1882.

Earp resigned from the Dodge City police force on September 9, 1878, and headed to Las Vegas, New Mexico.

The “Buntline Special”

Deputy Earp was known for pistol-whipping armed cow boys before they could dispute town ordinances against carrying of firarms. What kind of pistol Wyatt used for the job has been a mystery.

The existence of Earp’s long-barreled pistol, for many years doubted, may have been a reality. The Lake biography, in describing its origin is probably incorrect, however. The story of the Buntline begins with the murder of actress Dora Hand in 1878. Dora was shot by a gentleman attempting to kill Dodge City mayor, James H. “Dog” Kelly. Dora was a guest in Kelly’s house and sleeping in his bed at the time. Dora was a national celebrity in 1878 and her death was a big story. Earp was in the posse which brought down the murderer. The story of the capture was reported in newspapers as far as New York and California.

Five men were dispatched as a posse to capture the assassin: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, a very young Bill Tilghman, Charlie Bassett and William Duffy. Earp shot the man’s horse and Masterson wounded the assassin, James "Spike" Kenedy, son of Texas cattleman Miflin Kenedy. The Dodge City Times called them “as intrepid a posse as ever pulled a trigger”.

It is very likely that Dora’s murder and the tracking down of her assassin were the events which caused Ned Buntline to bestow the gift of the “Buntline Specials”. Earp’s biography claimed the Specials were given to “famous lawmen” Earp, Masterson, Tilghman, Basset and Neal Brown in 1876 by author Ned Buntline in return for “local color” for his western yarns. The historical problem, of course, is that neither Tilghman nor Brown was a lawman then. Tilghman was only 18. Further, Buntline wrote only four western yarns, all about Buffalo Bill. So, if Buntline got any “local color”, he never used it. His stock in trade was sea yarns (a buntline is a knot). It is most probable that 80 year old Earp “misremembered” Brown (who was a true tough guy and teamed up with Earp another time) for Duffy (who never appeared in history again).

If Lake made up the Buntline Special he even fooled himself because he spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to track it down through the Colt company and Masterson and contacts in Alaska. In all probability it was a 10 inch barreled Colt Single Action Army model with standard sights and wooden grips into which the name, “Ned”, was carved. (And, sorry, no shoulder stock). This gibes with both Lake’s original description and the description of one eyewitness to the gunfight at the O.K. corral shooting. The butcher, Bauer, saw a “pistol 14 or 16 inches long." A Colt SAA with a 10 inch barrel is exactly 15 inches overall. On the other hand, it is very possible that Bauer was looking at Holliday's short shotgun, and it is known that Wyatt was carrying his side-arm in the pocket of his pea-coat. This is not the place for a pistol with a 10-inch barrel.

Tombstone

Wyatt and his brothers Virgil and James moved to Tombstone, Arizona in December 1879. Wyatt brought a wagon with him that he planned to convert into a stagecoach. When he arrived in Tombstone, however, he found two established stage lines already running. Virgil was appointed deputy U.S. marshal prior to arriving in Tombstone. The Earps started staking mining claims, hoping one would pan out has a big producer of silver. Wyatt also went to work for Wells, Fargo, riding shotgun for their stagecoaches. Eventually Morgan Earp and Warren Earp moved to Tombstone as well.

On July 25, 1880, Virgil accused Frank McLaury, a "cow-boy," (local term for a cattle-dealer which often was synonymous with rustler) of taking part in the stealing of six mules from Camp Rucker. This incident would mark the beginning of the animosity between the Earps and the cowboys. Near the same time, Wyatt was appointed deputy sheriff of Pima Country (the surrounding area of Tombstone)-- the office of "sheriff" in those times (as now) being a county law position.

In September 1880, Doc Holliday moved to Tombstone.

On October 28, 1880, while trying to break up a group of revelers shooting at the moon on Allen Street in Tombstone, "Curley" Bill Brocious shot city marshal Fred White, as White attempted to take Brocious' gun away. Wyatt arrested Brocious and took him to Tucson for a hearing, before a lynch mob could be formed.

Earp resigned as deputy sheriff of Pima County on November 9 because of an election dispute. Around the same time, the Earps started making money on their mining claims. Charlie Shibell, sheriff of Pima County, appointed Johnny Behan, as the new deputy to replace Earp. When the southern portion of Pima County was formed into Cochise County, Behan made a deal with Earp that if Earp didn't seek the position of sheriff of the new county, that Behan would name Earp as undersheriff. After Behan was appointed sheriff of Cochise County, he reneged on his deal with Earp and chose Harry Woods to be the undersheriff.

Shortly after Earp arrived in Tombstone, he had a horse stolen. Later he found out that it was in the possession of Ike Clanton, who was in Charleston, Arizona at the time. Earp and Holliday rode to Charleston to recover the horse. The incident, while nonviolent, made the Clantons look bad, and they would hold a grudge. Also, it was the beginnings of the Earp's difficulties with Behan, who believed that Earp and Holliday were in Charleston to warn Clanton that Behan was going to subpoena Clanton.

On December 27, 1880, Earp testified in court regarding Brocious-White shooting. Because of Earp’s testimony, the judge ruled that the shooting was accidental and he set Brocious free. Brocious would later become one of the principal targets in what became known as the Arizona War.

Wyatt Earp became part owner. with Lou Rickabaugh. in the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon, in January 1881. Shortly thereafter, John Tyler was hired by a rival gambling operator to cause trouble at the Oriental to keep patrons away. Tyler purchased $100 in chips and sat down at Rickabaugh's faro table. After losing a bet, Tyler began to get belligerent with Rickabaugh. Earp took Tyler by the ear and threw him out of the saloon.

Tensions between the Earps and the Clantons/McLaurys increased though 1881. In March, 1881, three cowboys held up a stage coach in which one of the drivers was killed. There were rumors about Doc Holliday and the Earps' involvement. To help clear Doc's name and to help him win a coming sheriff's election, Wyatt later testified that he went to Ike Clanton and offered to give him all the reward money for information leading to the three cowboys who had robbed the stage. Clanton agreed, fully knowing if word got out to the cowboys that he had double-crossed them that they would kill him. After the three cowboys were killed in unrelated incidents, Clanton accused Earp of leaking their deal to either his brother Morgan or to Holliday. CLanton especially blamed Holliday.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

On October 25, Clanton and Tom McLaury had ridden into Tombstone on a buckboard, to get some supplies. Soon Clanton, very drunk, was telling everybody that he was going to kill Doc Holliday, or the first Earp that he saw.

Holliday was out of town, gambling at a Fiesta in Tucson. Morgan Earp went to get him for the trouble that he saw coming. Early in the morning of the 26th, Clanton was still drunk and still gambling. Holliday walked into the bar and tried to provoke Clanton into drawing his gun, but Clanton was unarmed. When Clanton threatened Holliday, Holliday replied with the now famous line, "You're a daisy if you do." (meaning "you'll be pushing up daisies")

Ike also ran into Wyatt that night and told him that he'd have him "man for man" the next day. Virgil, the town Marshal, to try to calm things down, spent the night playing cards with Ike and Tom McLaury (with a pistol on his lap).

The next morning, Clanton had acquired a rifle and pistol (probably having gotten them from the West End Corral where his buckboard was), and publically looking for an Earp to shoot. Just after noon, Virgil came up behind Clanton on 4th Street, grabbed the rifle and pistol whipped Ike. The Earps took Clanton to court for violating the town's ordinance against carrying firearms. Clanton was fined $25 and left unarmed. Virgil told him he'd leave his rifle and pistol at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and there they stayed through what followed that day.

When Wyatt left the court that had fined Ike, he ran into Tom McLaury and got into an argument with him. Tom, as a citizen who had arrived in town the day before, was not supposed to be armed, and wasn't visibly so. But Wyatt had a problem--- having no status as officer of the law, he wasn't supposed to be armed, either. Nor could he legally arrest Tom for carrying a gun, or search him for one. The best he could do was goad Tom into drawing his own gun, which he tried to do. Wyatt ended up pistol-whipping Tom McLaury and leaving him bleeding in the street, but Tom would not, or could not, draw a pistol. Whether Tom McLaury actually had a concealed pistol in his pants at this time, is one of the mysteries of history. It is known that very near this time, Tom McLaury DID leave his pistol at a nearby bar, which according to City Ordinance was something he should have done the day before, when arriving in town. But whether he did this before or after being beaten up by Wyatt, is unknown.

Neither Tom nor Ike had slept, but had spent the night gambling. Now, both had been beaten about the head, and at least Ike was drunk. Both now sought medical attension, and it is likely that both were in very poor mental shape.

About this time (1:30 pm or so), fresher help arrived. Ike's younger brother Billy (age 19) and Tom's older brother Frank had heard that Ike had had trouble threatening the Earps overnight, and had ridden into town on horseback, for support. Both were armed with pistol and rifle as was the custom for lone riders though the wild country in Pima County. They both were soon told of the beatings of their brothers an hour before, which was the big news in down.

Both Frank and Billy should have left their firearms at the first corral or bar they stopped at, but instead of doing that, they hung about the Western part of town--- at some some point even venturing up to the gun and hardware store on 4th Street to buy ammunition. There, they were confronted by Wyatt, who again had the problem that he had no legal authority and could do nothing but move their horses off the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, Virgil was tying to avoid a confrontation with armed men who were newly arrived in town, and were pushing at the fuzzy borders of how far East in town a cowboy could go with a firearm (the corrals were all at the West end of town, a block away from where the cowboys were buying ammo), and how long after arriving in town could a traveler keep his firearms if he still had his horse with him (surrendering horse at a correl meant surrendering firearms with it).

The Earps thought Tom and Ike were at the O.K. Corral where they were friends of the owner. They naturally assumed that Frank and Billy would leave their horses and guns there also. Unfortunately, unknown to the Earps, Ike and Tom had left their horses and buckboard at the West End Corral, a block North-West of the O.K. Corral, and on Fremont Street. When Frank and Billy began to conduct business while armed on Freemon Street, Virgil felt they were getting too far from the corral he assumed they'd arrived at, and decided that enough was enough.

Johnny Behen, County Sheriff and friend of the cowboys, learned of the trouble while he was being shaved at the barber. He immediately went to Fremont Street where he found Frank McLaury still with horse and arms, on 4th street. Down the street west, he saw that Ike, Tom, and Billy had all gathered off the street in a vacant lot West of Fry's photography gallery. This was about half a black East of the West End Corral, where all the men were probably intending to use as jumping off poing to get out of town as soon as Frank finished his business. Unfortunately it as through the block and a block away from the O.K. Corral on Allen Street.

Behen tried to disarm Frank, and here Frank made the fatal and illegal error of insisting that Virgil Earp and his brothers disarm first. Since Virgil was Tombstone's Chief of Police, it is probably safe to say that Frank McLaury died of egotism.

Meanwhile, Virgil had decided to act. The lot in which the cowboys had collected was next door to Doc Holliday's boarding house. Virgil gave his shotgun to Holliday to hide under this long coat (the Earps were wearring short peacoat formal jackets with pistols in the pockets). Then the Earps and Holliday marched down the side of Freemont, keeping out of sight. At the corner of Fly's bording house, they confronted the cowboys.

Along the way, Behan informed Virgil that he had already disarmed the cowboys and that no trouble was necessary. But when the Earps came up on the cowboys they found two horses and Frank and Billy still fully armed.

The 30 second gunfight that ensued came to be known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and has been the subject of many books and movies. Who started the shooting remains a mystery, though it is probable that Holliday fired early, and killed Tom McLaury early.

Wyatt came out of the gunfight completely unscathed, while Virgil was shot through the calf, Morgan was shot through the back above his shoulder blades by a single bullet, and Holliday was just grazed in the hip. Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury died from their wounds and Ike Clanton escaped, uninjured. Frank McLaury had been shot in the stomach early in the fight (probably by Wyatt). He escaped to street, only to be felled by a shot to the base of his head under the ear, fired by either Morgan or Doc. Tom McLaury was seen running early in the fight, and he fell and died at the corner of Freemont and third street, with a chest full of buckshot. Billy Clanton was hit once in the arm and twice in the chest, and died a few minutes after the fight, after being carried to a nearby house and given morphine by a doctor. Frank and Tom died essentially where they fell. No pistol was ever found on Tom. His own pistol remained at the bar where he had left it, less than a block from the gunfight.

The Earps and Holliday were considered heroes for about forty-eight hours. The funerals for Clanton and the McLaurys (who were relatively wealthy men) were the largest ever seen in Tombstone. The huge turnout caused many Tombstone residents and businesses to reconsider their calling for the mass murder of cowboys. Also, the fear of cowboy retribution and the potential loss of investors because of the negative publicity in large cities like San Francisco started to turn the opinion against the Earps and Holliday. Sories that Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury were unarmed and that Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury threw up their hands before the shooting now began to make the rounds. Yet another Clanton brother (Finn Clanton) had arrived in town, and some bagan to claim that the Earps and Holliday had committed murder, instead of enforcing the law.

From heroes to defendants

On October 30, Ike Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday. Wyatt and Holliday were arrested and brought before the Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer, while Morgan and Virgil were still recovering. Bail was set at $10,000 apiece. The hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to go to trial started on November 1. The first witnesses were Billy Allen and Behan. Allen testified that Holliday fired the first shot and that the second one also came from the Earp party, while Billy Clanton had his hands in the air. Then Behan testified that he heard Billy Clanton say, "Don't shoot me. I don't want to fight." He also testified that Tom McLaury threw open his coat to show that he wasn't armed and that the first two shots were fired by the Earp party. Behan also said that he thought the next three shots also came from the Earp party. Behan's views turned public opinion against the Earps. His testimony portrayed a far different gunfight than had been first reported in the local papers.

Because of Allen's and Behan's testimony and the testimony of several other prosecution witnesses, Wyatt and Holliday's lawyers were presented with a writ of habeas corpus from the probate court and appeared before Judge John Henry Lucas. After arguments were given, the Judge ordered them to be put in jail. By the time Ike Clanton took the stand on November 9, the prosecution had built an impressive case. Several prosecution witnesses had testified that Tom McLaury was unarmed, that Billy Clanton had his hands in the air and that neither of the McLaurys were troublemakers. They portrayed Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury as being unjustly bullied and beaten by the vengeful Earps on the day of the gunfight. The Earps and Holliday looked certain to be convicted and executed until Ike Clanton inadvertently came to their rescue.

Clanton's testimony repeated the story of abuse that he had suffered at the hands of the Earps and Holliday the night before the gunfight. He reiterated that Holliday and Morgan Earp had fired the first two shots and that the next several shots also came from the Earp party. Then under cross-examination, Clanton started to contradict his earlier statements. By the time he finished his testimony, the entire prosecution case had become suspect. The first witness for the defense was Wyatt Earp. He read a prepared statement explaining that they were going to disarm the cowboys and that they fired on them in self defense. Because of Arizona's territorial laws allowing a defendant in a preliminary hearing to make a statement in his behalf without facing cross-examination, the prosecution never got a chance to question Earp. After the defense had clearly established serious doubts about the prosecution's case, the judge allowed Holliday and Earp to return to their homes in time for Thanksgiving.

Spicer ruled that the evidence indicated that the Earps and Holliday acted within the law and he invited the Cochise County grand jury to reevaluate his decision. Spicer did not condone the Earps' actions and he criticized Virgil Earp's choice of deputies, but he concluded that no laws were broken. Even though the Earps and Holliday were free, their reputation was tarnished. Tombstone residents became very worried about cowboy retribution and they blamed the Earps for placing the citizenry in danger. Some people in Tombstone looked upon the Earps as robbers and murderers. On December 16, the grand jury decided not to reverse Spicer's decision.

Cowboy revenge

On December 28, while walking toward his room at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Virgil was shot by three men using double-barreled shotguns. His left arm and shoulder took the brunt of the damage. Ike Clanton's hat was actually found in the back of the building from where the shots were fired. Wyatt wired U.S. Marshal Crawley Dake asking to be appointed deputy U.S. Marshal with authority to select his own deputies. Dake responded by doing exactly that. In mid-January, Earp sold his gambling concessions at the Oriental when Rickabaugh sold the saloon to Milt Joyce, an Earp adversary. On February 2, 1882, Wyatt and Virgil, tired of all the criticism leveled against them, submitted their resignations to Dake, who refused to accept them. On the same day, Wyatt sent a message to Ike Clanton that said he wanted to reconcile their differences and obliterate the animosity between them. Clanton refused. Also on the same day, Clanton was acquitted of the charges against him in the shooting of Virgil Earp, when the defense brought in seven witnesses that testified that Clanton was in Charleston at the time of the shooting.

Clanton went before the Justice of the Peace J. B. Smith in Contention and again filed charges against the Earps and Holliday for the murder of Billy Clanton and the McLaurys. A large posse escorted the Earps to Contention, fearing that the cowboys would try to ambush the Earps on the unprotected roadway, with just Behan serving as guard. The charges were dismissed by Judge Lucas because of Smith's judicial ineptness. The prosecution immediately filed a new warrant for murder charges, issued by Justice Smith, but Judge Lucas quickly dismissed it writing in his decision that new evidence would have to be submitted before a second hearing would be called. Because the November hearing before Spicer was not a trial, Clanton had the right to continue pushing for prosecution, but the prosecution would have to come up with new evidence of murder before the case could be considered.

After attending a show of Stolen Kisses on March 18, Morgan Earp wanted to play some pool. Wyatt tried to convince Morgan to head home. He had heard rumors that the cowboys were going to attack that night. Morgan insisted on playing a game of pool, so they headed to Campbell and Hatch's saloon. At ten minutes before 11, Morgan walked around the table to line up a shot, leaving his back to the glass door at the rear of the room. With the lights on inside, anyone standing in the alley could easily see through the glass and spot the figures inside. While Morgan leaned over the table to take the shot, a shot came through the glass and hit Morgan in the lower back. A second shot hit the wall just over Wyatt's head. By the time anybody could get to the alley, the assassins were gone. Morgan died from his wounds less than an hour later, lying on a couch in the poolhall.

The Arizona Vendetta

Wyatt, determined to avenge one brother's death and another brother's maiming, made arrangements to send Virgil and his wife Allie to the family home in Colton, California. When Wyatt took Virgil and Allie, and Morgan's casketted body by wagon to the railhead in Contention, he received a warning that Ike Clanton, Frank Stilwell, Billy Miller and another cowboy were watching all the trains leaving the area so they could kill Virgil. Wyatt, Warren Earp, Holliday, John Johnson and Sherman McMasters decided to stay on the train until it reached Tucson. After having dinner in Tucson, Virgil and Allie got back on board headed for California. When the train pulled away from the station, gunfire was heard.

Wyatt later said he saw Frank Stilwell (who was in Tucson to face a charge of stage-robbery) and another man he believed to be Clanton lying prone on a flatcar, shotguns in hand. As Wyatt approached, the two men ran. Stilwell stumbled, and, by Wyatt's own admission, he shot Stilwell while Stilwell was begging for his life. Stilwell was later found with not only shotgun wounds but many other bullet wounds as well, and other parties with Wyatt obviously joined in the killing. Wyatt Earp, a man who took pride in avoiding bloodshed, had crossed the line to become what Clanton always claimed he was, a murderer. Clanton, if he ever was in Tucson, once again got away. What Stilwell was doing on the tracks near the Earps train, has never been expained. A warrant against Wyatt, Warren, Holliday, McMasters and Johnson for the murder of Stilwell was issued.

Based on the testimony of Pete Spence's wife, Marietta, at the coroner’s inquest on the killing of Morgan, the coroners jury concluded that Spence, Stilwell, Frederick Bode, and Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz were the prime suspects in the assassination of Morgan Earp. Spence immediately turned himself in so that he would be protected in Behan's jail instead of out in the open where Wyatt could find him. The trial for the murder of Morgan Earp began on April 2 and ended very quickly when the prosecution called Mrs. Spence to the stand and the defense objected. The prosecution dropped the case.

Pima County justice of the peace Charles Meyer sent a telegram to Tombstone saying that the Earps were wanted in Tucson for the killing of Stilwell, and Behan should arrest them. The manager of the telegraph office, a friend of the Earps, showed the message to Wyatt before delivering it to Behan; he agreed to hold on to it long enough for the Earp posse to leave town again. Behan got the message just as Earp's posse was getting ready to leave. Behan approached them to arrest them, but they told him that they would be seeing Pima County sheriff Bob Paul about the matter and rode out of town.

By then, "Texas" Jack Vermillion had joined the Earp posse and Behan had deputized Johnny Ringo, Fin Clanton and other cowboys so that they could be part of the posse that went out to arrest the Earps for the murder of Stilwell. Officially a territorial federal (U.S. Marshal's) posse was now hunting for a local country Sherrif's posse, both armed with warrants for men in the other bands. Historians have remarked that for two weeks both these posses managed to avoided each other remarkably well.

On March 22 the Earps found Cruz in the Dragoon Mountains. Earp said that he got Cruz to confess to being the lookout, while Stilwell, Hank Swelling, Curly Bill and Ringo killed Morgan. Then Wyatt shot Cruz. The coroner's inquest found Cruz with a leg wound and a shot to the side of the head. Wyatt Earp would later tell the story of letting Cruz draw a pistol in a set-up contest for his life. Even if this story of goading a wounded man is true, it helps the Earp case not at all. Nor does the scanty evidence that exists, support Cruz' death in a "duel."

The next day, in Iron Springs, Arizona, the Earp party confronted a group of cowboys led by "Curley Bill" William B. Brocious. In Wyatt's account that he jumped from his horse to fight, when he noticed the rest of his posse retreating as fast as their horses could carry them. Curley Bill and some of his companions got off a few shots that perforated Wyatt's long coat and hit his boot heal and saddle, before Wyatt returned fire and hit Curley Bill in the chest with a shotgun blast. Brocious' friends apparently buried Curley Bill on the Patterson near the Babocomari River. His grave is unmarked. Some have claimed he survived but he was never seen again. A number of witnesses did later contend that Earp killed Brocious.

Apparently Brocious compadre Johnny Barnes, the many who many credited with firing the shot that permanently crippled Virgil Earp also recieved wounds in Iron Springs fight, and later died from them.

Life after Tombstone

The "Dodge City Police Commission" from left to right, standing: W.H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, W.F. Petillon. Seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Frank McLain and Neal Brown

After the killing of Curley Bill, the Earps left Arizona and headed to Colorado. In a stop over in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wyatt and Holliday had a falling out, but remained on fairly good terms. The group split up after that with Holliday heading to Pueblo and then Denver. The Earps and Texas Jack set up camp on the outskirts of Gunnison, Colorado where they remained quiet at first, rarely going into town for supplies. Eventually, Wyatt took over a faro game at a local saloon.

Earp's actions created a debate that lasted for years - law versus order, the right of self-preservation over adherence to legal structure. To some, Wyatt Earp will always be a hero that made Arizona safe for commerce, but to others he will always be the ultimate vision of evil, perhaps even the mastermind of stage coach robberies.

Slowly all of the Earp assets in Tombstone were sold to pay for taxes, and the stake the family had amassed eroded. Wyatt and Warren joined Virgil in San Francisco in late 1882. While there, Wyatt rekindled the affair that he had with Josie Marcus, Behan's one-time fiancée, while his wife, Mattie waited for him in Colton. Earp left with Josie in 1883 and she became his companion for the next forty-six years. Earp and Marcus returned to Gunnison where they settled down and Earp continued to run a faro bank.

In 1883, Earp returned, along with Bat Masterson, to Dodge City to help a friend deal with the corrupt mayor. What became known as the Dodge City War, was started with the mayor of Dodge City tried to run Luke Short out of business and then out of town. Short appealed to Masterson who contacted Earp. While Short was discussing the matter with Governor George Washington Glick in Kansas City, Earp showed up with Johnny Millsap, Shotgun Collins, Texas Jack Vermillion and Johnny Green and marched up Front Street into Short's saloon. There they were sworn in as deputies by constable "Prairie Dog" Dave Marrow. The town council offered a compromise to allow Short to return for ten days to get his affairs in order, but Earp said there would be no compromises. When Short returned, there was no force ready to turn him away. The Dodge City War ended without a shot being fired.

Earp spent the next decade running saloons and gambling concessions and investing in mines in Colorado and Idaho, with stops in various boom towns. In 1886 Earp and Josie moved to San Diego and stayed there about four years.

On July 3, 1888, Mattie Earp committed suicide by taking an overdose of laudanum. There is no historical evidence that in her life with Earp Mattie was the laudanum addict and general impossible woman that she is portrayed to be in "Wyatt Earp(movie)".

The Earps moved back to San Francisco during the 1890s so Josie could be closer to her family and Wyatt closer to his new job, managing a horse stable in Santa Rosa. During the summer of 1896, Earp wrote his memoirs with the help of a ghost writer (Flood). On December 3, 1896, Earp was the referee for the boxing match to determine the heavyweight championship of the world. During the fight Bob Fitzsimmons, clearly in control, landed a low blow against Tom Sharkey. Earp awarded the victory to Sharkey and was accused of committing fraud. Fitzsimmons had an injunction put on the prize money until the courts could determine who the rightful winner was. The judge in the case decided that because fighting, and therefore prize fighting, was illegal in San Francisco, that the courts wouldn't determine who the real winner was. The decision provided no vindication for Earp.

In the fall of 1897, Earp and Josie chased another gold rush, this time to Alaska. Earp ran several saloons and gambling concessions in Nome. They would return to San Francisco or Seattle, Washington. While living in Alaska, Earp met and became friends with Jack London. Controversy continued to follow Earp and he was arrested several times for different minor offenses.

The Earps eventually moved to Hollywood, where he met several famous and soon to be famous actors on the sets of various movies. On the set of one movie, he met a young extra and prop man who would eventually become John Wayne. Wayne would later tell Hugh O'Brian that he based his image of the Western lawman on his conversations with Earp. But Earp's his best friend in Hollywood was William S. Hart, the biggest cowboy star of his time. In the early 1920s, Earp served as deputy sheriff in a mostly ceremonial position in San Bernardino County.

File:Wyatt marker.jpg
Wyatt Earp's tombstone

When Wyatt died of chronic cystitis in 1929 at age 80, William S. Hart was a pallbearer. Josie had Wyatt's body cremated and buried Wyatt's ashes in the Marcus family plot at the Hills of Eternity, a Jewish cemetery (Josie was Jewish) in Colma, California. When she died in 1944, Josie's ashes were buried next to Wyatt's. The orginal gravemarker was stolen, but has since been replaced.

Movies and television

Wyatt Earp has been portrayed many different times in the movies and on television.

Wyatt Earp in fiction

In the long narrative poem Wyatt Earp in Dallas, 1963 (ISBN 0969963904) by Steve McCabe, Earp received a prophecy from a prisoner who foretold the invention of television and the death of President Kennedy. Earp, motivated by this prophecy, time-traveled to Dallas to prevent JFK's assassination.

Sources

  • Primary sources concerning Wyatt Earp
  • . ISBN 0-471-18967-7. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
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This book has come under criticism for having been mostly come out of the imagination of the editor. There is (alas) no evidence that Josie/Sadie wrote the most interesting parts.

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This book was originally published in 1932, and is primarily responsible for Wyatt's mythical reputation. Despite problems with perfect history accurcy, Lake had access to Wyatt himself in life, and also the earlier Flood manuscript. He also did his homework, going carefully though the Tombstone count transcripts of the O.K. Corral fight. And Lake knew how to tell a story. This all makes an irresistable combination, despite its defects.

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