Excerpt From Spirits of the Old West

Please enjoy this excerpt from my latest book in the True Tales of Ghostly Experiences Series, Spirits of the Old West!

Wyatt Earp

    There were five brothers who set out together to become lawmen and serve the west in a way that would forever change the world. Of these brothers, one stood out as the leader and overall brains of the group. Wyatt Earp was not the oldest but he was the most cunning and the most determined and his brother's followed his lead without question or hesitation. Wyatt was determined to bring law and order to the Wild West, and he convinced his brothers that it was their civic duty to do so as well. They traveled around various states in an attempt to organize the chaos that was commonplace at the time. They focused their attention on cowboys (a word synonymous with outlaw at the time), cattle rustlers, murders, thieves, and miners who did not respect the laws or the boundaries set by claims and mining rights. Although the Earp's did occasionally break the law themselves, they primarily sought to uphold it and to protect the innocent.

    The Earp's got their true start in law enforcement during their time in Kansas. Wyatt Earp had worked for a time as a cattle herder and he discovered that the men who were in this profession were always looking for a good time after a long, arduous cattle drive. Generally speaking the men who did this kind of work were single and under the age of twenty-two or twenty-three. This demographic of young, single men with money inspired certain businesses to set up shop in Kansas because this is where most of the cattle drives ended. So gambling, prostitution, saloons and various similar ways to show a young man a good time became big business.

    Wyatt Earp was also looking to cash in on this trend. Wyatt and his brothers got jobs as policemen in Wichita but they also made a little money on the side by brokering out young women for the night, including their own women. James Earp's wife for example, was arrested for prostitution on several occasions. The Earp's were also avid gamblers and they embarked on various other activities throughout the years that were borderline illegal or that crossed that line but somehow went away in the eyes of the law. After awhile, the Earp's outgrew their time in Wichita, either by making too many enemies or simply by exhausting their resources. So eventually Wyatt and James moved on to Dodge City, where they took positions as US Marshalls. Morgan later moved to Dodge City as well to join his brothers. It was in Dodge City that the Earp brothers formed some of their strongest friendships and social bonds. The two most significant of these relationships were those with Bat Masterson, a well known deputy and Doc Holliday, the infamous dentist of death. After awhile, Doc and Bat both moved on and eventually the Earp brothers started to seek prospects outside of Dodge. Wyatt was the last to leave and the townspeople were sorry to see him go. He had served them well in terms of both law enforcement and in procuring certain products and services for the locals and the cattle ranchers. But Wyatt had a tendency to get restless after awhile. Perhaps this is because his family never stayed in one place for too long when he was growing up. Maybe he just felt that his time in Dodge City had run its course. So he joined his brothers in Prescott, Arizona where he was joined by Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate.

     Prescott was a nice mountain town but the rumors of silver and wild times brought Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holiday to Tombstone. The other Earp brothers, James and Warren soon joined them, bringing the family together to pursue riches and business opportunities as well as establishing their reputation as lawmen in the otherwise lawless town. It did not take long for Wyatt and Virgil to find jobs as Marshalls in a town that desperately needed some sense of order. At the time, the only real law was the sheriff of Cochise County, a man name Johnny Behan. Behan was more of a lawman in name than he was in action. The truth is that Behan only arrested people who irritated him and for the most part he caused more trouble than he averted. Needless to say, the more well-to-do people of the town welcomed the presence of the Earp's. They at least had a reputation for upholding the law and protecting citizens.

   The two biggest challenges that the Earp's faced as lawmen were run-ins with the local cowboys and cattle rustlers and also with political rivals that favored the sheriff's department. Behan was not thrilled about the Earp's presence and he set out to send trouble their way whenever he could. He had friends that were outlaws and those that were the political influences of the area. He made it a point to create a conflict with the Earp's using these resources on a fairly regular basis. This led to a significant increase of small time crime and slander by the politician's for the Earp's lack of ability to keep things under control. On several occasions the rivalry between both demographics led to contradictory newspaper reports and public opinions, as each side had reporters and public figures in their corners who would print biased accounts of altercations.

    The events that lead up the gunfight at the OK Corral were a stunning example of this issue, as the papers of the time depict what happened in startling different ways. Some say that Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers had asked the cowboys to set down their arms and obey the law, to which the cowboys opened fire. Other reports say that the cowboys laid their weapons down and surrendered but that Doc Holliday started shooting anyway. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

    On the day of the most infamous gunfight in history, the cowboys had been spouting off that they were going to kill the Earp's and rid Tombstone of any would be officers of the law. Several reports on both sides indicate that Billy Clanton was going all over town telling everyone that he was fed up with Doc Holliday because of an altercation the two men had over a card game. Holliday was a bad tempered man who had little to no regard for the consequences of his actions, and so Clanton running his mouth was no doubt like throwing fuel on Doc's already fiery temper. The Earp's were also making public comments that probably added to the problem. They stated that they would no longer allow firearms in the town and that those who refused to relinquish their weapons would be arrested or hung if necessary.

   When the two groups met to face each other at the OK Corral, everyone was already hot tempered and angry with each other. They stood nearly face to face during the conflict. This was unheard of in terms of a gunfight. It was considered ungentlemanly to open fire without giving the other man the proper chance to defend, include adequate space to fight. However Doc Holliday started the battle and there was no arguing or reasoning once the doctor decided that he was going to kill someone. According to the majority of the papers and recorded reports, Virgil Earp commanded that the cowboy's lay down their arms and surrender only to say a few seconds later, "I don't mean that." Supporters of the cowboys stated that this last comment was construed to mean that the cowboys had no chance for surrender, because right before Virgil spoke, one of the other Earp's told the cowboys to get ready to fight. It was later determined that Virgil's final words in the statement were directed toward Doc Holliday, who cocked and raised his gun as Virgil demanded surrender. Whether Virgil was talking to Holliday or to the Clanton's didn't matter much in terms of what happened next, because a split second later Doc shot a hole right through Billy Clanton's chest. Frank McLaury drew his gun in response, but Wyatt Earp was faster and Frank's body dropped almost instantly. Billy Claiborne and Ike Clanton knew this gunfight would be their last and they ran away. The remaining men did not waste time. Every man still standing fired his weapon at about the same time. Thirty seconds later Tom McLaury lay dead next to his brother's body and Billy Clanton was bleeding out from his shotgun wound. Morgan and Virgil had both been shot as well, but they would survive these wounds.

    After the battle was over, the fight had made news nationwide. Hundreds of different accounts were published in newspapers all over the United States. However, because the accounts of the incident were all so different and the fight itself had been over so quickly, no one really knew what happened. Supporters for the Clanton's and the McLaury's stated that they had laid down their arms only to be shot at by Holliday first and then the Earp's. However Wyatt Earp argued that if the cowboys were unarmed, how did Morgan and Virgil get shot? Needless to say though, there were those who felt that gunning down three men in the street was not the appropriate actions that Marshalls should take. So the Earp's and Doc Holliday faced trial for the deaths of Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. Like everything else though, this was a biased trial as the judge was friends with the Earp's. Their actions were ruled as justifiable homicides and the public statement was that they had been acting under the terms of the law.

     The verdict did not sit well with the Clanton family. They vowed to get revenge as they felt that their friends and family had been murdered and that justice was impossible due to connects of the Earp family. They decided to take the matter into their own hands and they announced that they would kill the Earp brothers, Holliday and anyone else that they felt was influential during the trial. This included the judge as well as known politicians, lawmen and wealthy citizens that openly supported the Earp's. Shortly after these threats went public, several men ambushed Virgil Earp outside of the Crystal Palace. He was shot in the back and in the arm. Virgil survived, but his wounds were permanent. He lost use of his hand and he retired as a lawman because he could no longer hold a gun. He eventually went back home to live with his parents. A few months later, Morgan Earp was shot through a window of a local saloon. He died on the billiard table where he had been playing with his brothers.