A young Wyatt Earp. History
Undoubtedly, the most famous figure in America’s Wild West remains Wyatt Earp. The illustrious gunslinger forged his bloody reputation during an era of unbridled lawlessness amid the country’s rapid westward expansion. The shootout at the OK Corral and battles around Tombstone cemented Earp’s place in history.
The last man standing from that famous shootout etched his place in American lore with an assist from Hollywood. Although, as the author of “Fast is fine, accuracy is everything. In a gun fight... You need to take your time in a hurry,” it’s no surprise Wyatt Earp became the Wild West’s foremost lawman.
"You gonna do somethin'? or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?"~ Wyatt Earp
A Nose For Trouble
Growing up, Earp ran away from home multiple times, hoping to join the Union Army during the Civil War. With multiple Earp brothers already in the fray, his concerned father dragged home young Wyatt each time. While helping on the family farm, Wyatt watched his dad work various odd jobs. He quickly surmised that peacekeeping and bootlegging looked a hell of a lot better than farming.
Once out on his own, Wyatt earned his education gambling, boxing, and other bohemian pursuits while hauling freight across the western states. Earp also graded track for Union Pacific Railroad before rejoining the family in Missouri.
Doc Holliday, Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp. pinterest
Tragedy Leads To Crime
Shortly after returning home Earp married Urilla Sutherland, who tragically passed within a year due to typhus and complications during childbirth. Her death sent Wyatt into a years-long spiral of drinking, gambling, and evading authorities for numerous infractions, including stealing horses. Ironically, what pulled the future lawman out of that pattern of self-destruction was helping a Kansas police officer track down a fellow horse thief.
His work with law enforcement gained public approval and, more importantly, a job moving forward keeping rowdy cowboys in line. Earp worked the cattle season in what became known as the “Wickedest Little City in the West,” Dodge City, Kansas. The rest of the year he spent gambling in Texas and New Mexico where he met fellow cardsharp “Doc” Holliday.
"That nothing's so sacred as honor and nothing's so loyal as love." ~ Wyatt Earp
A Fated Silver Strike
A few years later, Wyatt’s brother Virgil urged him to Tombstone, an Arizona territory, with news of a huge silver strike. In Wyatt’s own rather prophetic words, "Destiny is that which we are drawn towards and Fate is that which we run into." Unfortunately, Wyatt and Holliday arrived too late to profit off the literal spring of money.
However, along with his two brothers, Virgil and Morgan, the foursome found work as law officers. Their war against the local cowboys eventually became immortalized in multiple Hollywood movies. It all began with the theft of a stagecoach and the murder of its driver…
The "Dodge City Peace Commission," 1883. Wyatt Earp is seated, second from left.
The Shootout At The OK Corral
Wyatt and his posse ultimately tracked down one of the cowboys, Luther King, but his compatriots Bill Leonard, Harry Head, and Jim Crane all escaped capture. Earp then enlisted the help of local Ike Clanton to find his fellow cowboys, incentivizing the rancher with a $6000 reward.
Regrettably, that gambit failed, which led to the Earps, along with Doc Holliday finding themselves in a bloodbath shootout against Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury. Only Ike survived, while Morgan, Virgil, and Holliday all suffered injuries but lived. Later, the bereaved Clanton filed murder charges which are ultimately dismissed. However, that is far from the closed book on the famous firefight…
Earp died in Los Angeles, possibly of chronic cystitis, on January 13, 1929, at age 80. True West magazine archives
“Hell Is Coming With Me”
The Earps expected a retaliation, suffering from a pair of attacks that left Morgan dead and Virgil with a paralyzed arm. Vowing vengeance, Wyatt gathered a posse and gunned down Frank Stilwell, Florentino “Indian Charlie” Cruz, Curley Bill Brocius, and likely many more. Wyatt and company left after the carnage, settling in California.
Over the course of his crazy life, Earp learned two indelible lessons from the Wild West: "The most important lesson I learned...was that the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time.” And "No wise man ever took a handgun to a gunfight."
