The McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona: An O.K. Corral Obituary

Chapter 31: “They Would Shoot a Fellow to See Him Fall”

279 An O.K. Corral Obituary In the aftermath of Judge Spicer’s decision to exonerate the Earps and Holliday, the feud between factions in Cochise County see-sawed back and forth: * Threatening letters were sent to a number of city and county officials. * The grand jury failed to indict the Earps and Holliday for murder. * There was a nighttime shooting at a stage carrying Mayor Clum. * Virgil Earp was shot and critically wounded. * Lou Rickabaugh and Wyatt Earp sold out of the Oriental Saloon. * Tombstone municipal elections went heavily against the Earps’ faction. * Two stages were held up—one in broad daylight. * A grim showdown was narrowly avoided in the streets of Tombstone between Doc Holliday and John Ringo. Fighting broke out between other partisans. * Wyatt Earp, deputized in his own right as deputy U.S. marshal, went on a devastating and unsuccessful manhunt. His effectiveness was undermined because — * Earp’s quarry had, for the most part, turned themselves over to the county sheriff. * One member of Earp’s posse, McMaster, was himself arrested. * The Earps resigned their federal commissions, but the resignations were ignored by Marshal Dake. * Sheriff Behan was accused of malfeasance of office and the charge was dismissed. * The Clanton brothers were cleared of attempted murder. * McMaster was cleared of horse theft. * The Earps were re-arrested for murder and discharged. * Wyatt Earp and his posse rode out, returning unsuccessfully again. This time-line lacks the dozens of minor incidents, near misses and failed “They Would Shoot a Fellow to See Him Fall” Thirty-One 280 The McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona attempts that also took place from December 1881 to March 1882. The winds of political change were again altering the backdrop of events. There was a new city administration; Tombstone voters had elected a distinctly anti-Earp ticket. John P. Clum, who had gone to Washington to “visit with family,” was unsuccessful in his quest to be appointed Indian agent at San Carlos. When it came down to brass tacks, Colonel Tiffany had the backing of the Southern Pacific Railroad which still had its eye on the Deer Creek coal fields. When he returned to Tombstone, Clum found himself no longer its postmaster, either. He claimed not to have resigned, but Tombstone residents clearly had little regard for an absentee postmaster seeking a new government post, so they had sought an appointment for Frederick Brooks. Clum, who was Brooks’ personal friend, had to re-petition Congress to assert his appointment while the affable Brooks found employment at the Grand Hotel.1 Clum’s newspaper, the Epitaph, was hitting hard times. The support it gave in January to the politicians championing the Earps’ cause came back to injure the newspaper’s finances in the advertising columns. It had a contract with the Associated Press and was still a strong voice in the community, but with less effect. And while Clum wanted to retain the office of postmaster, he was soon willing to sell off the Epitaph. The rival newspaper, the Nugget, changed hands in February. The previous editor, Harry Woods, was a Democrat who staunchly defended the cowboys, especially in the aftermath of the Spicer hearing. Woods’ political connections had gained him a position as under-sheriff, but all that was quickly coming to an end. At the newspaper, Woods was replaced by Richard Rule, who, having worked as city editor for the Nugget, was now elevated to editor-in-chief. Rule was also making headway in the political arena as clerk of the Board of Supervisors.2 The newly appointed governor, Frederick A. Tritle, was a mining man who had many years’ experience in Virginia City, Nevada, before going to Tombstone as a mining agent and stock broker. It was a great boon to Tombstone to have someone from their community appointed Governor of the Territory, even if the new Governor had been in Arizona less than a year. 31. “They Would Shoot a Fellow to See Him Fall” 281 An O.K. Corral Obituary In early March, Sheriff Behan accompanied a sick man to Tucson, then extended the trip to San Francisco. The worst seemed to be over for the violent feud between the Earps and the cowboys. For their part, the Earps cut back their participation in much of Tombstone’s doings. Wyatt maintained a gambling concession at the Bank Exchange saloon, diagonally across from the Oriental and next door to...