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AMELIA EARHART
On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart flew away from a town called Lae in the South Pacific. Earhart was attempting to circumnavigate the globe. After taking off from Lae, she disappeared. The Superhero Historians will investigate her life, her final flight, and the possible outcomes to that flight.
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On October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona, a gunfight erupted. The fight lasted 30 seconds and ended with 3 men dead and an episode that has gone down in Western history.
We hope you enjoyed reading about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Here is a list of our sources for this topic. Please join us for our next topic. Hint: “Boston Harbor to be a teapot tonight!”
And Die in the West: The Story of the O.K. Corral Gunfight by Paula Mitchell Marks
It took a little time, but public opinion over the gunfight changed direction against the Earps. The attitude changed in large part because of the funeral of the dead Cowboys. Tombstone had never seen a funeral as large. Versions of the fight, where Cowboys were unarmed and threw up their hands, began to make the rounds and change opinion. Once seen as heroes by many, both Wyatt and Doc Holliday, the non-law enforcement, were charged with murder. These charges led to the Spicer hearing where Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer concluded that there was not enough evidence to convict Wyatt or Doc. Spicer did question Virgil Earp’s use of both men. The history between the Earps and the Cowboys did not end there. Months later both Virgil and Morgan were shot by unknown gunmen. Virgil lost the use of his left arm while Morgan died as a result. These two shootings pushed Wyatt to go on what is commonly called the “Earp Vendetta Ride.” During that ride Wyatt, Doc, and others tracked down the Cowboys thought to be responsible for the shootings of Virgil and Morgan. That episode is for a future topic on Superhero Historians.
I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible. It may be tough to do that, because the history is so confusing due to conflicting accounts. It all began with two quick shots right on top of each other. Wyatt Earp claims that he fired right after Billy Clanton fired the first shot. However, this is highly unlikely if you take Wyatt’s testimony as a whole. Wyatt also claimed that Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury had their pistols already drawn while Wyatt did not. If you take that as truth, it is hard to believe that Wyatt would be able to get his shot off so quickly against men who already had guns out. Witnesses to the fight recall seeing smoke come from the front of Doc Holliday. In fact, witnesses to the fight echo the testimonies of Billy Claiborne and Ike Clanton who stated that both Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp began the shooting. So the real history probably has Doc Holliday shooting Frank McLaury and Morgan Earp shooting Billy Clanton. The first two shots were followed by another quick burst of fighting. In this fighting Tom McLaury and Morgan Earp are hit.
Once the Earp party got to the vacant lot, things happened like a lighting strike. There are varying witness statements regarding who was holding guns. However, everyone seems to agree that Virgil Earp said something like, “Throw up your hands, we are here to disarm you.” What happened after that varies according to the witnesses, but we do know this: the fight was short, about 25 shots were fired, and the fighters stood very close to one another. Close combat is what I would call it.
Cochise County Sheriff Behan first heard about the trouble while getting a shave at Barron’s barbershop. The time sat at around 1:00, so the events of the day had progressed almost to the breaking point. Behan’s intervention fought an uphill battle so late into the problem. The second strike against Behan was his friendship with the Cowboys. Would he be able to talk to either party effectively? Would the Earps think he was taking sides? Would the Cowboys be able to persuade their friend? Would they even listen to him? From history, it is clear that Behan had little effect, other than just being another witness. Of course, his testimony differs from other’s testimonies.
Things in Tombstone are really starting to sizzle. The fuse is lit and the spark is burning its way towards that stack of TNT. The bronco is bucking and won’t stop until… oh, yeah I’m sorry. I’ll get back on track. I promised Alistair I would stay focused. So, basically things in Tombstone are hot. They get even hotter when Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton come riding into town. There was a little debate about why they came to town. The Earps stated that they received a telegram to come and help with the fight. This is probably not likely, though, as the timeframe would have been impossibly fast for that. They were probably coming into town to conduct business. Picture Tombstone as a small little school. You know how when things happen in school, the word spreads very fast. This is also true for Tombstone at that time. When Billy and Frank got to town, they heard about the events immediately.
In most instances, you need “two to tango.” For the night after the confrontation between Ike Clanton and the Earps, it was Ike dancing solo, wandering Tombstone itching to finish the fight while “heeled.” It is clear that his night of wandering and uttering threats to whomever would listen, got enough ire up in the Earps to have them want to “tango” too. This is especially true of Wyatt.
While the Earps and Doc Holliday slept comfortably in bed, Ike Clanton searched Tombstone carrying a Winchester rifle and a six-shooter. Ike went from saloon to saloon to boarding house, brandishing his weapons and telling anyone who asked that he was looking for Holliday and the Earps. The night before he was not “heeled,” but now Ike claimed to be ready for the fight.
We have the Earps and Holliday. We have the Cowboys. Political tensions are brewing and both parties are making accusations. Tombstone has Ordinance Number 9, restricting the carrying of firearms. A fight is definitely in the works, but there needs to be a tipping point, where actions go over the line too far to come back. That happens on October 25, 1881.
Two of the lesser mentioned fighters at the OK Corral are Billy Claiborne and Wes Fuller, both on the side of the cowboys. One of the reasons they are lesser mentioned is that they both turned from participants to witnesses as soon as the bullets started whizzing around that vacant lot.
Why is it called the Gunfight at the OK Corral when the fight didn’t take place in the actual corral? Well, probably because the Gunfight at the Vacant Lot # 2, Block 17 doesn’t sound as snazzy! The shootout took place in this lot, which was about 18 feet wide, and sat behind and to the side of the actual OK Corral. If you look at a map of Tombstone, the lot is located by Fremont and Third Streets. Some of the fighting ended up spilling over into Fremont Street. It all happened next to C.S. Fly’s photo studio and boarding house.
Sorry I can’t help it, every single time I hear about C.S. Fly’s Shop, I think of fishing… then trout… or even… salmon. Hmmm.
The single action revolver set the standard for firearms in the West. The single action revolver must have its hammer cocked in order to fire, and then it only fires once. That is why it’s called “single action.” Modern revolvers are “double action,” meaning that you don’t have to cock the hammer to fire. You can just pull the trigger. This is safer than the single action because when the hammer is cocked it can accidentally go off. This happened many times in the “Wild West,” so it became common for gun carriers to leave an empty chamber in their gun, so if the hammer clicked, it would click on an empty chamber.
The Clantons were a very interesting bunch and acted as the loose hub of the cowboy wheel, so to speak. The Clanton ranch in Lewis Springs, a little hop skip and jump out of Tombstone, was a place where the Clantons worked with other cowboys. Old Man Clanton ran the ranch with his four sons, two of them, Ike and Billy, were involved at the OK Corral.
People often use the term “cowboys” when talking about the gunfight at the OK Corral: the Earps shooting it out with the cowboys in a vacant lot by Fly’s Photo Studio. In fact, the cowboys were a very loosely tied together group, very loosely tied. Most of the people in Tombstone who cared for law and order considered anyone who lived outside of “law and order” a cowboy. This feeling increased after “Curly” Bill Brocius shot and killed Marshall Fred White. In reality, the cowboy represented anyone who lived life outside of established society. These were people who both ranched and rustled. So they weren’t always on the other side of the law, just on the outside of the community. There is also the political aspect to consider. We have to consider the political. Most cowboys, especially around Tombstone, were Democrat. Republicans, like the Earps, did their best to fuel the anti-cowboy fire. If you are wondering why some ranching and rustling cowboys would care about politics, just remember that it is easy to live your lifestyle when the people in charge, especially in law enforcement, are on your side.
Let’s talk about some of the rowdies who faced off with the Earps. By the time of the Tombstone boom, cattle ranching (and rustling) were major industries in Arizona. Many of the cattle were driven clear from Texas. “Yee haw.” Although the cattle traveled in herds, the workers were very solitary men who took advantage of the cattle industry to travel and work throughout the west. Sounds a bit like the buffalo hunters. Frank and Tom McLaury were two such men.
