The Earp-Holliday Trial: An Account

[Draggingtree]

The Earp-Holliday Trial: An Account

 

by Douglas O. Linder (2005)*

 

Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona

 

The Old West's most famous gunbattle lasted all of about thirty seconds, but it left three men dead, three other men shot, and enough questions to occupy historians for more than a century. The gunfight also led to criminal charges being filed against the three Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan) and Doc Holliday who, near the O. K. Corral on October 26, 1881, decided to enforce the law against four notorious "cowboys." The hearing that followed the shoot-out considered the question of whether the Earps and Hollidays killed out of a justifiable fear for their own lives or simply to rid themselves of troublemakers and personal enemies. After listening to weeks of testimony, Judge Spicer gave his answer--but whether his answer was the right one remained a subject of considerable debate long after the silver mines that gave birth to Tombstone, Arizona had vanished.

 

Background

Events Leading to the Shoot-Out

 

The Earps and Cowboys began their confrontational relationship in the summer of 1880 when deputy marshal Virgil Earp asked Wyatt and Morgan to hunt down the horse thieves who had stolen six mules from a nearby Army outpost. Following a tip, Wyatt and Morgan discovered the stolen mules at the McLaury ranch with their "US" brand changed to "D8." Frank McLaury reacted angrily to the Earp's intervention in the case, considering them to be acting as "citizens" rather than as lawmen, and warned them to stay clear of his ranch and his operations.

 

On October 28, 1880, a more serious crime took place. When Marshal Frank White tried to disarm Curly Brocius, a notorious Cowboy, Brocius's gun fired a bullet (whether intentionally or accidentally was a matter of dispute), fatally wounding White.

 

October 25-26, 1881

 

Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury arrived in Tombstone in the evening of October 25, 1881

 

Prosecution of the Earps and Holliday

 

A shaken Sheriff Behan made an aborted attempt to arrest Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday

[mozartlover]

Love the Star Trek episode based on this gunfight.