John Ringo, King of the Cowboys: His Life and Times from the Hoo Doo War to Tombstone, Second Edition

Chapter 21. “we have seen that he lied”

216 21 C H A P T E R “we have seen that he lied” MORE THAN ONE ANALYST DOUBTED that Wyatt told the truth in his testimony.1 The reaction of the citizens is telling. The bodies of dead men lay on display in a store window until their funeral. The Epitaph summed up the feelings of the community. The funeral of the McLowry brothers and Clanton yesterday was numerically one of the largest ever witnessed in Tombstone. It took place at 3:30 from the undertaking rooms of Messrs. Ritter and Ryan. The procession headed by the Tombstone brass band, moved down Allen Street and thence to the cemetery. The sidewalks were densely packed for two or three blocks. The body of Clanton was in the first hearse and those of the two McLowry brothers in the second, side by side, and were interred in the same grave. It was a most impressive and saddening sight and such a one as it is to be hoped may never occur again in this community.2 Nearly 2,000 people attended the funeral, a testimonial hardly expected for three outlaws. Clum did not recognize the seriousness of the Earps’ position, but his ignorance was short-lived. Elections were two months away, and the political climate swung dramatically away from the Earps and their supporters. “we have seen that he lied” 217 Ringo arrived in Tombstone in early November, the Nugget of November 8 noting “John Ringo, New Mexico” had arrived at the Grand Hotel. Ringo also missed the coroner’s inquest whose verdict “did not seem to meet with general approval.”3 The Nugget was scathing:. The people of this community are deeply indebted to the twelve intelligent men who composed the coroner[’]s jury for the valuable information that the three persons who were killed last Wednesday were shot. Some thirty or forty shots were fired, and the whole affair was witnessed by probably a dozen people, and we have a faint recollection of hearing some one say the dead men were shot, but people are liable to be mistaken, and the verdict reassures us. We might have thought they had been struck by lightning or stung to death by hornets , and we never could have told whether they were in the way of the lightning or the lightning was in their way.4 Wyatt Earp taken from the Moab Utah GrandValley Times, February 12, 1897. Courtesy author’s collection. 218 JOHN RINGO, KING OF THE COWBOYS It appears Ringo had come to Tombstone over legal issues in the August poker game robbery.5 Here Ringo learned the version of the gunfight he believed: Ike Clanton’s. Like Scott Cooley, Ringo remained for the legal hearing being held to determine if the Earps would be tried for murder, or at least part of it. Ike Clanton now looked to Ringo for support and leadership. Ringo left for the San Simon to meet with Joe Olney. On November 25, “Joe Hill, San Simon” registered in the Grand Hotel, along with W. H. Miller of Camp Thomas.6 Three days later “J. Ringgold, San Simon” registered at the Grand.7 The following day Joe’s brother, George, checked in from the San Simon.8 Why Ringo went to get Olney is unknown. One analyst believes that Hill “could have been called as a surprise rebuttal witness for the prosecution.” This was a hearing however, not a trial, where facts are gathered to determine if there is rationale to bring the case to trial.9 Hill was miles away at the time of the fight and could offer no firsthand testimony. When he finally arrived in Tombstone, the hearing was nearly concluded. The Spicer hearing into the deaths of Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers has been analyzed repeatedly. Earp proponents overlook Spicer’s conflict of interest. He had been the attorney for Kate Holliday and had connections to the Earps. Spicer should have disqualified himself, thus ensuring the accusation of predetermined bias would not taint any decision in the hearing. His subsequent decisions and actions went far beyond unusual.10 In one of these “unusual” proceedings Spicer “took the extraordinary step of visiting the witness at home,” to interview Addie Bourland, he said, though he could as easily have coached or intimidated her.11 It was a move calculably supportive of the Earps. Another witness called...