by John Mason Glen, Ph.D. for the Western Heritage Foundation
Sure, virtually everyone not living under a rock, has heard of the famous Western lawman and subject of no fewer than five major motion pictures, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp. He and his brothers Virgil, the Tombstone town marshal, and Morgan, and John H. “Doc” Holliday — all special deputies, had the gunfight near the O.K. Corral in the “town too tough to die” in October 1881.
BUT … were you aware of Wyatt’s “dark side,” when he either murdered or was an accomplice to murder of at least four local cowmen, who may or may not have been the “party or parties unknown” who assassinated Morgan Earp and shot Virgil from ambush, rendering him an invalid for the rest of his life?
The backstory. The Earp family arrived in Tombstone in 1879 seeking their fortune. The brothers began to work in law enforcement, gambling and really doing whatever they could to pay rent.
They quickly ran afoul of a loose confederation of local ranchers called “the cowboys” by some. This group included the Clanton brothers: Ike, Billy and Phin, as well as Tom and Frank McLaury, Frank Stillwell, Pete Spence, “Curly Bill” Brosius, Johnny Barnes, Florentino “Indian Charlie” Cruz, and other associated miscreants.
After Virgil Earp was appointed town marshal, an ordinance against carrying weapons within town limits was enacted. It was in violation of this ordinance that prompted Virgil — along with recently deputized brothers Morgan and Wyatt and their close friend, the tubercular dentist John H. Holliday, to arrest the McLaury brothers, Clanton brothers and local ne’er-do-well Billy Claiborne for violation of the ordinance.
Apparently, Virgil told the cowmen to give up their arms and the legendary 30-second gunfight began.
Ike ran toward Wyatt screaming that he was unarmed, and in response Wyatt pushed him aside. Billy Claiborne, unarmed at the time, ran away from the shootout. In less than a minute, both McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton lay dead. Morgan, Virgil and Doc received superficial wounds.
Ike vowed revenge. Around midnight two months later, three men ambushed Virgil as he walked from Schieffelin Hall to the Cosmopolitan Hotel where the Earps were staying. His left arm was shattered, maimed for life. Wyatt telegraphed U.S. Marshal Crawley Dake requesting he be appointed to fill Virgil’s position. Dake made it so.
Part 2 next month.
