Behind the OK Corral: The Legend and the Legacy

In October of 1881, Tombstone, Arizona was a pressure-cooker ready to blow. Simmering within was a stew of wounded pride, jealousy, and anger. The fire was fueled by strong personalities, special interests, passion, and liquor. While the pinnacle event was the proverbial "Gunfight at the OK Corral", most pundits of the American west know that this was not the beginning of the story, nor was it the end of the conflict between the two principle factions. Much has been made in the way of movies and television about Wyatt Earp and the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Ike Clanton and his clan, and the outlaw band known as "the Cow-Boys." The entertainment media tends to portray these events in a cut-and-dried, good guys vs. bad guys fashion. In reality, things weren't so black and white, and the controversies continue to this day.

Background
In 1877, silver was discovered in the San Pedro River Valley, which led to the establishment of the town of Tombstone. The silver industry spurred the growth of the town into the biggest metropolitan area between New Orleans and the San Francisco. Naturally, this produced a booming entertainment industry as well, with over 50 saloons in operation at the time, many of which housed gambling operations like faro and poker.

Cattle was another profitable trade at the time, and the Clanton family had the biggest operation. Unfortunately, some of the ranch workers were actively involved in a number of criminal activities such as cattle rustling and stage robbing. These outlaws were known as "the Cow-boy gang" or "the Clanton gang" (even though the patriarch of the Clanton family may have known nothing about the illegal activities of some family members and hired hands). This gang was a very loose-knit collective of individuals and smaller outlaw groups, and not the cohesive team of organized criminals they're sometimes portrayed to be.

Enter the Earps
Wyatt and Virgil Earp arrived in Tombstone at the end of 1879. Virgil Earp was the deputy U.S. marshal for the surrounding area, while Wyatt engaged in various jobs including deputy sheriff, armed guard for Wells Fargo stage runs, and gambling concessions. The Earp family also held some profitable mining claims. During the two years after their arrival, relations between the Earps and the Clantons grew steadily more strained. When a stolen horse belonging to Wyatt turned up on the Clanton ranch, the tension between the Earps and the Cow-boy factions increased. Similarly, another prominent ranching family (the McLauries) was implicated when some mules were stolen from the army, further solidifying the animosities. A corrupt sheriff (Johnny Behan), political double-crossings, and an increase in the number of robberies and shootings set the stage for the coming showdown and its aftermath.

In the movies, the Cow-boys are a despicable band of cut-throats led by famous outlaws like Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo. They spend their time bullying and terrorizing the town's people, and are generally feared and loathed. Actually, while the Cow-boys were boisterous and rowdy, they were generally well-liked by the citizenry, and rarely broke the law in town. One notable exception to this geniality towards the Cow-boys was probably the town's feelings about Ike Clanton, who was by all accounts a loud and obnoxious individual, especially when he'd been drinking.

The Earps on the other hand are usually portrayed as upstanding moral guideposts, famous lawmen who took a stand against the bad guys and fought for law and order on behalf of the citizenry. Wyatt is almost always portrayed as the stronger, more experienced brother, when in fact it was his older brother Virgil who had more experience as a lawman, as a soldier, and in gunfights in general. Wyatt's checkered past is an aspect of his life that is rarely mentioned in the movies. Previous to his arrival in Tombstone, Wyatt had been charged with failing to deliver tax collections, falsifying court documents, horse theft, and "keeping and being found in a house of ill-fame."

While in Tombstone, the Earp brothers did represent the side of law and order, but many considered them opportunists interested in capitalizing on the burgeoning silver economy. They were accused of selectively enforcing the ban on carrying firearms in town. Doc Holliday for example is believed to have carried concealed weapons frequently, which the Earps would doubtlessly know about. They regularly dis-armed the Cow-boys, but never trifled with Doc. In fact, when Virgil hastily deputized Doc prior to the infamous showdown behind the corral, he supplied Doc with a shotgun, but Doc was also already armed with a pistol, worn under his coat.

There are many surprising facts about the gunfight itself that are usually glossed over or omitted entirely from the movies. For example, Ike, who escaped from the fight because he was unarmed, raised enough questions about the motives and actions of the Earp faction that Wyatt and Doc Holliday were arrested on charges of murder and spent 16 days in jail pending an investigation. Virgil was suspended from his position as town marshal (chief of police), but was not jailed because he was recovering from the wounds he received during the fight. Eventually they were exonerated by a judge, but their reputations in the town suffered irreparably from the ordeal.

Tombstone survives today mainly as a tourist attraction because it is the site of the gun battle. Even so, there are signs that the romanticized version of the event is giving way to a more realistic portrayal. Re-enactments of the gunfight are staged daily, but the top billing for this show now reads "Tragedy at the OK Corral" instead of "Gunfight at the OK Corral." Pictures showing the bodies of Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton layed out in their coffins can be purchased with captions that say "victims at the OK Corral", where in the past you would generally see "losers at the OK Corral."

The Controversy Continues
The surviving members of the Clanton family still insist that the Earps and Holliday were guilty of murder. They present an alternative interpretation of the events of the time, including a re-examination of the testimonies of the Earps and the Clantons, on their website. They also maintain that Doc Holliday robbed a stage, killing the stage hands - a crime generally attributed to the Cow-boys. "Big-Nosed" Kate - Doc's girlfriend at the time, corroborated this accusation for a short while. She later recanted, stating that she was just trying to get back at Doc for slighting her.

We may never know all of the details of the events in and around Tombstone in 1881. Historians have pieced together the most likely scenarios based on the available evidence. With all the drama and controversy however, we can be sure of one thing: there is enough material for more movies in the future.