Wyatt_Earp

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Earp was a legendary and historical man of the wild west. He is perhaps one of the most known lawmen, even though he was only one for six of his eighty years that he lived (America...,1). He is most noted for the famous gunfight at the O.K. Coral, where with his two brothers, Virgil and Morgan and Doc Holliday, had a run in with the Clantons and the McLaury brothers....two families that did not like the Earps. This incident is what many think of when they hear ‘Wyatt Earp,' and regard him as a cold-blooded killer, however, that is not entirely true. Wyatt Barry Strap Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois on March 19, 1848 to the parents of Nicholas and Virginia Earp. He had four brothers, Virgil, Morgan, Warren, and James, one sister, Adelia, and a half brother, Newton (there could be more sisters, but their names and their birthdays are widely disputed). Wyatt's mother was known for her impeccable fearlessness. It was said that her fearless initiative equaled and excelled that of any man in her company at the time (Lake, 5). Of all of Wyatt's brothers, he was the closest to Virgil and Morgan. It was said to be, that with their boots off, they were no more than just a quarter inch apart in height; They were all just over six feet tall. Also, there was only a three-pound difference in their weight, with none of them being more than one hundred and fifty-eight. The three of them made up the famous trio called the "Fearless Earps." The reason why James wasn't along with his brothers was because of a wound he received during the Civil War. Their other brother Warren was just too young (Lake,6). In 1870, Wyatt ran against his brother Newton to be constable in Lamar Missouri. This was his first job related to the law. Many people think that the only reason Wyatt and Newton ran against each other was to make sure that someone in the family got the job (Nicks,1). He didn't stay in town for long, and left Lamar in 1871, after the death of his first wife, Urilla, who died of typhoid fever. A few years later, he traveled to what is now Oklahoma, where he was arrested as a horse thief (Peterson, 2). Other jobs that Wyatt had that were law related, were as a policeman in Wichita, Kansas in 1875, and as an assistant city marshal in Dodge City, Kansas in 1878. He was in Dodge City when he met John "Doc" Holliday, and Bat Masterson (America...,1). Bat described Wyatt as "one of the few men I personally knew in the West in the early days whom I regarded as absolutely destitute of physical fear...a quiet unassuming man, not given to brag or bluster, but at all times and under all circumstances, a loyal friend and an equally dangerous enemy" (America..., 1). Wyatt was always known as a quiet, reserved, private, and undemonstrative man. He was also a calm and controlled person that could handle hostile encounters with his intimidating icy glare (Peterson, 2). Along with his second wife, Cecelia "Mattie" Blaylock, Wyatt went to Tombstone, Arizona in 1879. At this time, Tombstone was a booming mine town. In the following year, his brother Virgil was appointed town marshal, and Wyatt worked at the Oriental Saloon. He also filled in as Virgil's deputy (America...,2). There were many people who didn't like the Earp family, for one reason or another. The Clantons and the McLaury's were two families that just resented the Earps. Both of these families were also involved in the gunfight at the O.K. Coral. One reason the Clantons hated the Earps was because of Wyatt's involvement with Josephine Marcus, who was a San Francisco actress. She ran away from home at nineteen, and traveled with a Pinafore dance troop. She was the girlfriend of the pro-Clanton sheriff, Johnny Behan (Peterson, 2). Wyatt and Josephine got close while Wyatt and his wife, Mattie, were still married. Then, whenever she died, Josie and Wyatt married (America..., 2). In 1881, the feud between the Clantons and the Earps escalated to the famous gunfight at the O.K. Coral. However, it wasn't really all good guys vs. all bad guys. The Earps weren't the most trusted people alive, and the Clantons weren't the most evil people alive either. It pretty much boiled down to politics - Republicans against the Democrats, which were both fighting for a newly formed state. Ranchers and cattlemen like the McLaurys and the Clantons were mostly Democrats who sympathized with the southerners. The others such as police officers, townspeople, and gamblers, like the Earps, were mostly Republicans and sympathized with the northerners. This is probably best explained by professor Paula Mitchell Marks, author of And Die in the West. "The shootist (people like the Earps), whatever side of the law they happened to fall upon, all showed a tough pride, even arrogance, and a certain disregard for life, expressed in a common tendency to ‘kill when provoked.' Two gamblers might resort to gun play, as might two drunken cowboys. But ominously, and increasingly, a line of enmity was drawn in both Dodge and Tombstone between the men who spent much of their lives in the saddle-gun-toting ranchers and cowboys with southern roots and allegiances-and the town-dwelling peace officers and gamblers, who usually hailed from the northern states"(Nicks, 4). The gunfight at the O.K. Coral occurred on October 26, 1881. The brawl was between the Clantons, which consisted of "Old Man Clanton" or Newman, and his three sons, Billy, Ike, and Phin, along with the McLaury brothers, Tom and Frank, against the Earp boys (America...,2). In the end, three cowboys lay dead, and for the Earps, Morgan was shot in the back, Virgil in the eye, and Doc Holliday was just grazed on the hip. Wyatt was the only one who left without being injured (Nicks, 6). A few years after this incident, Wyatt and Josie moved to San Diego, where he gambled, invested, and rented or leased saloons and gambling halls. Wyatt and Josie never stayed in one place for long, and they moved to Alaska and set up some gambling interests there. Wyatt used his final years working in mines and mining claims in the Mojave Desert. Josie and he spent their summers in Los Angeles where he met and became friends with Hollywood actors and continued to live off real estate and his investments in mining. Wyatt Earp died in Los Angeles on January 13, 1929 at 80 years of age. (Peterson, 3). Wyatt may not have been the most law-abiding man to walk the face of the earth, but most of what he did was for the good of the people. He did not draw his gun for any reason, he did so only if he was provoked. For the most part, he was a quiet, reserved, and private man, but if you got on his bad side, you better watch out. Bibliography: "America..:Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Willa Cather, The Alamo, Daniel Boon" Des. CyberSoup.com 1996-2002 http://www.thewildwest.org/cowboys/badmen/earp.html Lake, Stuart Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshall Cambridge: The Riverside Press. 1931 Peterson, Roger S. "Wyatt Earp" American History Jul/Aug 1994 Vol 29 Issue 3, pg 54 "Wyatt Earp, The Early Years" Steve Nicks, http://users.techline.com/nicks/early.htm