I
know what Wyatt Earp was thinking as he stepped off the plank walkway
in front of 44 year old Colonel Roderick Hafford's Saloon, on the
corner of Fourth and Allen Streets, just before 3:00pm, Wednesday, 26
October, 1881. He was deciding on a plan of action for the coming
fight, and he didn't have much time. The distance Wyatt, Virgil and
Morgan Earp and friend John Holliday had to cover was just 310 feet.
At an average walking speed of 3 miles an hour, they would reach the
corner of Fourth and Fremont in less than 20 seconds, and 312 Fremont
Street, Mollie Fry's boarding house, in another 30 seconds. Fifty
seconds between life and death. And another 30 seconds to determine
who would die and how.
Oddly,
this fight which would come to symbolize the violence of the American
West occurred after the crest of the wave. The peak had come in 1878,
when there were 36 recorded gunfights along the frontier. The next
year that dropped to 14, but in 1880 there were 25, and the one about
to occur would be one of 27 in 1881. But after this bloody year, the
total would never rise above 20 in any given year - at least until
historians stopped counting in 1900.
In
part this was a function of how few men actually made their living at
least part time through gun violence. Out of the 365 documented
gunmen in the American West, most had been born before the civil war
- average birth year was 1853 - but most were too young to have
fought in that conflict. Almost a third - 110 - worked at least part
time as lawmen, like the Earps and Johnny Behan. And the badge
extended their lives. Of the remaining 255, 35 were good enough to
be full time professional hired guns, while another 174 could be
called Cow Boys - ranchers and rustlers who used gun violence to
achieve other ends. Almost all of these men ended up at the end of a
rope or being shot to death, dead at an average age was just 35.
Waiting
in the 15 foot wide alleyway (above) between the boarding house and the home
of William Arthur Harwood - second mayor of Tombstone - stood 6 Cow
Boys. Wesley "Wess" Fuller, was deepest in the alley. This
26 year old gambler and Cow Boy had been posted to warn of anyone
approaching from the Allen Street entrance. He was now speaking to
Billy Claiborne. To Billy's left stood Ike Clanton. To his left
stood Robert Findley "Frank" McLaury, holding in his left hand the
bridle of his brother's horse . Frank had abandoned his guard post
south of Fourth and Allen to deliver from Johnny Behan a warning that the Earps were alert. To his left was his brother, Thomas Clark "Tom"
McLaury. To Tom's left stood 19 year old Billy Clanton. The odds are
the six were arguing about what to do next - leave town at once or
go inside the boarding house and murder Doc Holliday in his bed, and
then leave town.
Because
of their arrests, Ike Clanton (above) and Frank McLaury were still unarmed.
Ike had tried to buy a pistol in the hardware store, but the manager
took one look at his bandaged head and refused to take Ike's cash.
There is no indication any of the Cow Boys protested this "violation"
of his Second Amendment rights. And once again not having access to a
gun, saved Ike's life.
It
is important to note who might have been in the alley that
afternoon. Pete Spence and Frank Stillwell were still in jail in
Tuscon, awaiting trial for the Bisbee stage robbery. Curley Bill
Brocius (above), the smartest and best shot of the Cow Boys, was in New
Mexico, trying to pick up the pieces of the Rustlers' Trail, after the
Guadalupe Canyon Massacre. The gang was off balance, making it a bad
time to move against the Earps. But this reflexive lashing out was
just the kind of angry hot blooded assault Frank McLaury was well
known and well feared for.
As
the 4 lawmen reached the corner and turned onto Fremont they were
accosted by Cochise County Marshal Johnny Behan. Johnny assured Virgil he had already disarmed the Cow Boys.
In fact, Behan and Frank McLaury had walked south on Allen, before passing through the alley, drawing Wes Fuller with them, to a conference between Fly's Boarding House and the Harwood House. There the Cochise County Marshal warned the Cow Boys that the Earps were alarmed and ready for a fight. Frank McLaury, Billy Clanton, Wess Fuller and Billy "The Kid" Claiborn still wore their guns. Behan now suggested the Cow Boys disarm or just leave town, But the hot head Frank McLaury insisted he would disarm only if the Earps disarmed first. Giving up trying to disarm the Cow Boys, Behan had run back up the street to deliver the conciliatory message to the Earps But the McLaurys and Clantons had reneged on
every promise made to the Earps over the last year. The lawmen kept walking.
The
quartet walked west on Fremont, staying close to the
south side store fronts. They had been told by several civilians
where the Clantons and McLaury's were gathered - in the alleyway (above). And
by hugging the packed sand walkway they would be visible to the Cow Boys only if one of them stepped out into the street and made themselves vulnerable. And none did that.
But Behan's lie did have an effect, and it was disastrous.. Striding
west on Fremont, as they passed the rear entrance to the OK Corral, Wyatt, VIrgil and Morgan all three pocketed their 8
inch long 3 pound Smith & Wesson 44 caliber New Model 3 hand guns. Doc was carrying the coach gun, but also had a nickel-plated
.41 caliber "Long" Colt Thunderer in a holster under his arm. If the lawmen had kept the pistols in their hands, visible, they would have left the Cow Boys no choice but to hand over their guns, peacefully. But by introducing doubt into the lawmen's minds, Johnny Behan had insured there would be a gun fight. The lie, meant to protect his allies, had driven the final nail into coffins for 3 of them.
As
the 4 lawmen turned into the alley, Wyatt Earp was on the right, the
furthest forward., three steps into the alley, the wall of Fly's
Boarding House protecting his left flank. To Wyatt's right stood Virgil
Earp. To his right was Morgan Earp. And to his right, still armed
with the Coach Gun under his coat, was Doc Holliday. The Earps materialized without warning, no more than 6 feet away from Ike
Clanton and Frank McLaury. Doc Holliday was no more than 10 feet away from
19 year old Billy Clanton. In a breath the Earps had gotten "the
drop" on the Cow Boys, just as a year earlier when the Earps
were looking for the stolen Army mules. If their guns had been in their hands, the odds are the Clantons and McLaury's would have surrendered at once.
Before
any of the Cow Boys had time to react, Virgil Earp called out, "Throw
your hands up, I want you guns." Shocked, "Wess" Fuller and Billy Claiborne bolted, running north, into the rear of Fly's boarding house. That left 4 Cow Boys facing 4 lawmen. But only 2 of the Cow Boys were armed.
Frank McLaury and
Billy Clanton put their hands on their holsters, each containing their 3 pound, 13 inch long Colt
1873 revolvers. Virgil immediately yells out,
"Hold! I don't mean that!" or "I don't want that!" But as he does he shifts the cane to his left hand, freeing his right to draw his weapon. Wyatt and Morgan put their
hands on their own pocketed weapons as well.
And in the next breath, just
at that instant, Doc Holliday swings the 7 pound 37 inch
long Coach Gun out from under his coat and cocked both barrels. The
sound of that metallic double click ignited the tension. What happened
next is best described as chaos.
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