On October 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and their comrade Doc Holliday locked horns with the Clanton and McLaury brothers in what became the most famous shootout in the history of the American West. The gunfight at the OK Corral, which actually occurred on Fremont Street six blocks west of the corral, made Wyatt Earp a legend and one of the most famous lawmen to ever pin on the Silver Star. What started out as no more than a war of words escalated into the gunfight of the century that has since been the basis for copious amounts of books, films and television productions. But what is often glazed over in these accounts is the judicial hearing that followed the fight. On October 29, 1881 Ike Clanton - brother of Billy Clanton who perished in the battle - filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday. On November 7, Wyatt and Doc Holliday were arrested and carted off to jail. Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer presided over the preliminary hearing that saw Wyatt Earp take the witness stand in his own defense. Wyatt swore up and down that shots were not fired between the two parties until the Clanton and McLaury boys brandished their six shooters first. Ike Clanton swore otherwise. Virgil Earp, Wyatt's brother who was severely wounded in the tussle, testified from his bed in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. After gathering a month's worth of testimony, Judge Spicer issued a decision exonerating the Earp's and Holliday of any wrong doing. If you are intrigued like I am by this story, you are in luck! Contained in the archives of the Denver Public Library is a copy of the deposition and testimony in the proceedings of the Earp-Clanon Murder case. The collection number is -M956. Visit the 5th floor reference desk to look at the collection and decide for yourself!
Earps went to enforce that
Earps went to enforce that law. Clantons knew they were violating it, even though they had abided by it in the past. They were known horse thieves, and not honorable men. Earps did not walk in shooting. Fair warning was given before any shots were fired. Ike Clanton was spared when he refused to fight. Why is this confusing to anyone.
so, you were a witness. That
so, you were a witness. That would make you like 170 years old now
Love it because that was my
Love it because that was my thoughts exactly! All though, I do ,personally, love the way Earp and Holliday are depicted in the stories and would also side with them.
Whether the stories are all
Whether the stories are all true or not I love the stories of the men and woman who settled the West
,People who left everything for the chance to have some dirt and calling it their own I"m watching a 1950s. Series on Tubi called The Life And LegendOf Wyatt Earp.Every country has their legends,heroes,and villins .Wyatt Earp is truly a hero in the old west no matter what anyone says.
True are not don't shoot down
True are not don't shoot down my hero with out the stories then were would we be
Yes all the earps were…
Yes all the earps were raised right. And he did go on to do certain things that made him an American hero in the west.
What makes the Earps…
What makes the Earps interesting are the shades of gray in their life story. Wyatt even worked in a brothel, and his pistol-whippings with a large barrel gun added to his notoriety. The infamous revenge ride speaks for itself.
The fast and the brave…
The fast and the brave rarely won gunfights ! The chicken shits and back shooters did . The Earps and Doc went looking for trouble . Wyatt was a cheat and an asshole . Surprised he lived as long as he did ! Do your unbiased history search … if you can !
How did you reach this…
How did you reach this conclusion? Apparently he shot to wound not kill. And I’d rather be pistol whipped than shot. Was he really a deacon?
Whether the stories are all
Whether the stories are all true or not I love the stories of the men and woman who settled the West
,People who left everything for the chance to have some dirt and calling it their own I"m watching a 1950s. Series on Tubi called The Life And LegendOf Wyatt Earp.Every country has their legends,heroes,and villins .Wyatt Earp is truly a hero in the old west no matter what anyone says.
Whether the stories are all
Whether the stories are all true or not I love the stories of the men and woman who settled the West
,People who left everything for the chance to have some dirt and calling it their own I"m watching a 1950s. Series on Tubi called The Life And LegendOf Wyatt Earp.Every country has their legends,heroes,and villins .Wyatt Earp is truly a hero in the old west no matter what anyone says.
Okay, okay Rick53, you love
Okay, okay Rick53, you love Earp stories. We get it.
So you want to believe a…
So you want to believe a group of known thieves and worthless trash than two previous law enforcement officers?
Wrong.
Wrong.
Yeah ,and you trust the Bible
Yeah ,and you trust the Bible.
Them you can trust the things that realy happend!!
The Holy Bible is true nobody
The Holy Bible is true nobody's opinions matters Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of Lords you'll definitely know this one day soon. God bless yall brother
Wrong thread, Country Boy.
Wrong thread, Country Boy. Unless, of course, Jesus’ last name was Earp—which it wasn’t. Everybody knows it was Jones.
The Holy Bible has been…
The Holy Bible has been rewritten too many times for everything in it to be 100% true. The name "Jesus" isn't even true Boss. As the letter "J" wasn't present in any language until hundreds of years after the man's death.
The Holy Bible has been…
The Holy Bible has been rewritten too many times for everything in it to be 100% true. The name "Jesus" isn't even true Boss. As the letter "J" wasn't present in any language until hundreds of years after the man's death.
True the letter (J) is not…
True the letter (J) is not Hebrew so Jesus as a name is wrong.
Translation from Greek to Latin to English. Is where Jesus came from. His real name is Yahweh
YHWY
Earp was a bad person. A…
Earp was a bad person. A horse thief pimp brothel owner strong arming bully. He was 6 ft in a 5'8 avg time.
He had 3 wives dead within year of marriage. Last one was a degenerate gambler.
He threw the heavyweight championship of the world boxing match as referee for $$ and was vilified for basically the rest of his life as he should've been.
A pretty book was done after his death depicting a charismatic brave hero.
He was none of those.
He never owned a brothel. He…
He never owned a brothel.
He was a bouncer in one.
Brothels were legal. Lawmen often moonlighted as bouncers as brothels attracted trouble.
Wyatt's first wife died of typhoid. His common law wife died years after they split and he was married to his third for forty years. He never stole a horse. He was accused of swindling a man out of a horse. It was a civil dispute and he would likely have been exonerated. He was involved in a fixed fight late in life. He wasn't the fixer but became a scapegoat. He was no Saint but he wasn't no devil.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
I believe your description…
I believe your description to be the most accurate, we all have made mistakes , and I belive Wyatt Earp was more honorable then most law men today, if I was him I would have finished the cowboys too.
You tell it! Apparently…
You tell it! Apparently some folks don’t really know history as they should before commenting in a debate where people are most definitely messed up on the western history of our lawmen!
In the wildwest heroes are…
In the wildwest heroes are few wyatt earp was the exception why he wasn't even scraped by a bullet defies explanation heroe not villain!
I’ve done a fair amount of…
I’ve done a fair amount of study about the Earps and Tombstone and the path of Wyatt and his brothers leading up to Tombstone, and my impression is that Wyatt and Virgil were respected individuals wherever they went, always being invited to be policemen of some sort. They were tough guys that nobody messed with, but basically honest, hardworking men. Once you got west of the Mississippi in the 1870’s/80’s, law enforcement was at best questionable, and at worst downright crooked, such as in Tombstone. If you wanted justice, you made your own. The west was full of itinerant entrepreneurs like the Earps, trying to make a buck, always on the move looking for the next hot town. Circumstance made them famous.
He never owned a brothel. He…
He never owned a brothel.
He was a bouncer in one.
Brothels were legal. Lawmen often moonlighted as bouncers as brothels attracted trouble.
Wyatt's first wife died of typhoid. His common law wife died years after they split and he was married to his third for forty years. He never stole a horse. He was accused of swindling a man out of a horse. It was a civil dispute and he would likely have been exonerated. He was involved in a fixed fight late in life. He wasn't the fixer but became a scapegoat. He was no Saint but he wasn't no devil.
He never owned a brothel. He…
He never owned a brothel.
He was a bouncer in one.
Brothels were legal. Lawmen often moonlighted as bouncers as brothels attracted trouble.
Wyatt's first wife died of typhoid. His common law wife died years after they split and he was married to his third for forty years. He never stole a horse. He was accused of swindling a man out of a horse. It was a civil dispute and he would likely have been exonerated. He was involved in a fixed fight late in life. He wasn't the fixer but became a scapegoat. He was no Saint but he wasn't no devil.
I agree
I agree
I agree
I agree
Earp was an evil human being.
Earp was an evil human being. Pulp fiction emortalized his exploits and romanticized his methods. Most of what we know of Earps exploits come from Earp himself; a man that abandoned his first wife, dumped the second; and carried out a "vendetta raid" supposedly to avenge his slain brother Morgan and crippled brother Virgil. Why is the vendetta ride seen as just retaliation; yet Ike Clinton should have just let the murder of his brother slide? The deaths of Pete Spence and Indian Charlie are paramount to murder. Both were run down, captured, interrogated and executed. Lawman my ass; he was a duplicitous vigilante murderer. Yet Hollyweird stills likes to present a picture of Earp as a hero.
You're wrong.
You're wrong.
Jack Gantzhorn was there in
Jack Gantzhorn was there in Tombstone that day, and he wrote of it later in life. According to him, he witnessed Doc Holliday holding up the Wells Fargo stage, and everyone in twon was pretty sure the Earps ambushed the Clantons. Later, when Wyatt was on the run from a murder charge he murdered the federal agent sent to capture him, and went off to Colorado to hide behind the protection of his friend the governor. He died a fugitive from justice.
no he didnt, he died in
no he didnt, he died in california, with an honorable funeral. EARLY ACTORS WENT TO HIS FUNERAL.
You are misinformed he was
You are misinformed he was arrested as a vagrant multiple times especially in the 1920s also it is a known fact in Arizona that he did not kill Curly Bill him nor died, they either one could not stand up Durango and both were in Colorado so that's a lie too add to that that he is prosecuted horse thief as well as pimps that make money off girls lying on their back and that's the kind of man and the old hero worship
Everybody loves a good pimp…
Everybody loves a good pimp and outlaw.
Were you there or?
Were you there or?
I disagree with you
I disagree with you generalization of Erp. No one is perfect and Erp himself admitted on numerous occasions that he was not. There were activities in his early life those bore that out...but he was also a man who became committed to law and order individuals being innocent until proven guilty, the establishment of towns with law and order, and the importance of family ties.
I have read number numerous autobiographies, historical accounts, and other books abort out Wyat Erp. As a representative of the law he far, far more often than not did everything in his power to avoid gun played saving scores of lives by doing so. When acctually engaging in gun play, he was so fast either right or left handed, and such a good shot that he avoided killing criminals who pressed him into gun fights by either ambushing him or pressing to meet. them in the street, usually shooting for and hittin their shoulders. Their elbow, or their wrist. In this way he turned those who were cold blooded killers into much less capable shooters and killers with hand guns than they had been.
There were a relative small number of instances like the OK Corral where shooting to kill could not be avoided. But again, in the vast majority of "showdowns" he either avoided shooting, or wounded those he came up against.
Undoubtedly, if he was a cold blooded killer, or someone seeking a high body count he could have obtained it..but he is quoted on numerous occasions why he did not:
1. The relatives of those killed would almost invariably in those days seek revenge killings therby defeating his goal of making the towns he worked in safer and more peaceful and up holding of law and order.
2. Making a huge name for himself with scores of killings would have also invariable invited every outlaw who themselves sought such accounts for themselves to come wherever Erp worked to try and say they had "knocked him off" once again, thereby defeating his own goal for law and order.
These things are simply the truth for his career in Whichita, Dodge City, and Tombstone.
For several years after he quit his law career, he did, himself become a vigilante chasing down and killing several of the plannning members of the two families of those involved in the OK Corral and its following feud. In those accounts as far as I have been able to research, he only killed those involved with planning and carry out the murders who had escaped justice and mostly fled to far flung hide outs and places where local law enforcement was not interested in risking their personnel rooting out and finding those involved in those crime which lay far outside of their area of Jurisdiction.
But once he had completed that effort he retired peacefully for several decades with his wife (who was by far his most long standing, Josephine Sarah Marcus married 1882-1929, married 47 years) in California, him dying at a ripe old age of 80 years old in Los Angeles.
Right about much of above. He
Right about much of above. He was buried in Los Angeles, California. and when Josie, his common law wife died, she was buried next to his grave.
Wyatt Earp was buried in
Wyatt Earp was buried in Colma, California. A town south of San Francisco.
I once lived in the Bay Area. I have been to the cemetery and have seen his final resting place.
we really need citations of
we really need citations of sources for this…otherwise it’s just fantasy
You’re either for or against.
You’re either for or against. Most historians reviewing available evidence,as well as judge Spicer concur with the Earp’s version of events. The vendetta ride was just that. A vendetta. Pay back for Morgan and Virgil Earp.
You are entitled to think
You are entitled to think what you want. The west was “tame” the west. All of the true hero’s are no longer seen as that because our world has turned evil. If this world had more hero’s like the President we just had it would not be a sick world.
Give me a break really? You
Give me a break really? You're going to bring dumpnard politics into this discussion. Dump is a traitor to America , working for Putin and Russia.
Amazing how libtards think…
Amazing how libtards think if they repeat a falsehood long enough, it becomes the truth. Only in the minds of other ignorant libtards.
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