On the morning of October 26, 1881, in the dusty mining town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Wyatt Earp rose from bed to learn that Ike Clanton was hunting for him. A saloon keeper and former deputy sheriff, Earp had been acting as a stand-in for his brother Virgil, the city marshal. Word had spread along Allen Street that Clanton, armed with a Winchester rifle and a six-shooter, had declared the fight would begin as soon as the Earps appeared. The threats were not new.
For months, the Clanton and McLaury families had been waging a campaign of intimidation against the Earp brothers, and the tension was about to reach its breaking point. The feud had deep roots. Wyatt Earp had come to Tombstone in December 1879, arriving directly from Dodge City, Kansas, where he had served as city marshal since 1876. Before that, he had been on the police force in Wichita from 1874.
But the trouble that would culminate in the famous gunfight at the O. K. Corral began more than a year before that October morning, with a theft of government property. The difficulty that ultimately resulted in the deaths of William Clanton and Frank McLaury started the previous spring.
Wyatt, along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan, Captain Hurst, and several soldiers, had tracked six government mules stolen from Camp Rucker. Their trail led them to the McLaury brothers’ ranch. Along the way, a man named Dave Estus told Wyatt he had seen the mules there the day before, being branded. The brand was being turned into a “DS” out of a “D.
” The tracking party followed the mules right up to the ranch and found the branding iron. Captain Hurst reached a compromise with a man named Frank Patterson, who promised the mules would be returned. Hurst convinced the Earp brothers to return to Tombstone, telling them two or three weeks later that the men refused to give up the mules, admitting they had only wanted to get the Earps away so they could stand off the soldiers. After that, the threats began.
About a month after the mule incident, Wyatt met Frank and Tom McLaury in Charleston, where they tried to provoke a quarrel and warned of dire consequences if the Earps ever pursued them as closely again. The situation escalated when Bud Philpot was killed during an attempted robbery of the Benson stage. Wyatt, working as a detective for Wells Fargo & Co. , became convinced that Billy Leonard, Harry Head, and James Crane were the robbers.
He knew these men were friends of the Clantons and McLaurys, who frequently visited their ranches. Among those familiar with criminal affairs, it was widely acknowledged that Ike Clanton played a leading role among the Cowboys, as the local outlaws were known, and that their ranches served as meeting points and shelter for the gang. Wyatt had ambitions of becoming sheriff in the upcoming county election. He believed that capturing Philpot’s killers would greatly enhance his standing with the public and local businessmen.
Rewards totaling approximately $3,600 were offered for the capture of the robbers. Hoping to entice Ike Clanton and Frank McLaury into revealing the whereabouts of Leonard, Head, and Crane, Wyatt met with them in the backyard of the Oriental Saloon. He proposed that if they provided information leading to the capture, they would receive the full reward and remain anonymous. Ike Clanton was interested, citing a dispute over a ranch claimed by both him and Leonard.
He also warned that the men would likely resist capture and insisted Wyatt confirm whether the reward applied even if they were taken dead or alive. Wyatt contacted Marshall Williams, the local Wells Fargo agent, who telegraphed the company’s San Francisco superintendent in June 1881. The response confirmed the reward would be paid regardless of whether the robbers were captured dead or alive. Wyatt presented the dispatch to Clanton and Joe Hill, who was designated to travel to the location near Ike, New Mexico, where Leonard, Head, and Crane were hiding.
His task was to lure them toward the McLaury ranch near Soldier’s Hole, thirty miles from Tombstone, where Wyatt would be waiting with a posse. The plan was to tell the robbers that a paymaster would be traveling from Tombstone to Bisbee to pay off miners, and that they should come in and rob him. Joe Hill left on the mission, handing over his watch chain and a sum of between two and three hundred dollars to Virgil Earp for safekeeping. About ten days later, he returned with bad news.
He had arrived a day too late. Leonard and Harry Head had already been killed by horse thieves the day before he reached their location. Later, Wyatt learned those horse thieves had themselves been slain by members of the Clanton and McLaury gang. The scheme had collapsed, and Ike Clanton and Frank McLaury began claiming that Wyatt had turned them over to Marshall Williams and Doc Holliday.
When they entered town, they avoided the Earps, and the threats against Wyatt, his brothers, and Holliday grew louder. Wyatt’s connection with Doc Holliday went back to his time as city marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, where Holliday had come to his aid and saved his life when Wyatt was surrounded by outlaws. In October 1881, about a month before the gunfight, Morgan Earp and Wyatt had assisted in the arrest of Stilwell and Spence for robbing the Bisbee stage. The McLaurys and Clantons were close friends of the two men and blamed the Earps for their arrest, despite the fact that the Earps were serving as a sheriff’s posse.
When Spence and Stilwell were brought into town, Frank McLaury confronted Morgan in front of the Alhambra saloon. Frank told Morgan that if he ever came after him, he would never take him. Morgan replied that if the need arose, he would indeed make an arrest. Frank then declared he had previously threatened the Earps’ lives and taken it back, but that since this arrest, the threat now stood.
Morgan walked away in silence. The threats continued to mount. Marshall Williams, farmer Daly, Ed Barnes, old man Ides, Charlie Smith, and several others warned the Earps at various times of threats to their lives from Ike Clanton, Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Joe Hill, and John Ringo. Wyatt was well aware these men were dangerous and desperate, connected as they were to outlaw bands, cattle thieves, robbers, and murderers.
He knew of the McLaurys’ involvement in stealing the six government mules and cattle, and he had heard accounts of John Ringo cold-bloodedly shooting a man near Camp Thomas. He was also convinced that Frank and Tom McLaury had committed robbery and murder against Mexicans in Skeleton Canyon some three or four months earlier. Determined not to let any of the gang catch him off guard, Wyatt remained vigilant. About five or six weeks before the final confrontation, Ike Clanton confronted Wyatt at the Alhambra, accusing him of divulging information about the planned capture to Holliday.
Wyatt denied it and promised to prove his innocence when Holliday returned from Tucson. When Holliday did return, Wyatt asked him about the accusation. On the night of October 25, Holliday met Ike Clanton in the Alhambra and asked him about it. Clanton vehemently denied making such a claim, and a heated three- or four-minute quarrel erupted, with Holliday calling Clanton a liar.
Wyatt was seated at the lunch counter, and Morgan, aware of his role as an officer, climbed over the counter and escorted Holliday outside. Virgil arrived and warned both men he would arrest them if they did not stop. They dispersed. Later that night, Ike Clanton asked Wyatt to walk with him.
He declared his readiness for a one-on-one confrontation the next morning, citing the long history of talk. Wyatt conveyed his reluctance to fight, emphasizing there was no financial gain in it. Clanton walked away, saying, “I will be ready for you in the morning. ” Wyatt retired for the night.
The next day, October 26, Wyatt rose around noon. Before he could get up, Ned Boyle informed him that Ike Clanton, armed, was near the telegraph office, declaring the fight would commence as soon as the Earps appeared on the street. Wyatt went to the Oriental Saloon, where Harry Jones told him Clanton was actively seeking them with a Winchester and a six-shooter. Leaving the saloon, Wyatt met Virgil, who was investigating the pursuit.
Virgil found Ike Clanton on Fourth Street near Fremont, positioned at the entrance of an alleyway. Wyatt approached, saying he heard Clanton was hunting for some of them. Clanton swung his rifle toward Virgil, who seized it and struck Clanton with his six-shooter, knocking him down. Virgil and Morgan took Clanton’s weapons, and Wyatt brought him before Justice Wallace for proceedings.
Inside the courtroom, Ike Clanton glared at Wyatt and declared he would get even with all of them. When Morgan offered him his own six-shooter, Clanton began to rise to accept it, but Deputy Sheriff Campbell intervened, pushing him back into his seat. Fed up with the constant threats and perceiving the gang’s intention to assassinate him, Wyatt decided that if he had to defend his life, it would be on his own terms. He addressed Clanton directly as a damn dirty cow thief who had been threatening their lives, saying he would be justified in shooting him anywhere they met, and that if Clanton was anxious for a fight, Wyatt would meet him anywhere on earth.
Clanton replied he would see Wyatt after he got through there, claiming he only wanted four feet of ground to fight on. Wyatt exited the courtroom and encountered Tom McLaury, who suggested he would make a fight with Wyatt anywhere. Aware of McLaury’s previous threats and wanting a fair chance to defend himself, Wyatt agreed, slapping McLaury in the face and drawing his pistol. McLaury, despite having a pistol visible on his right hip, made no move to draw it.
Wyatt struck him on the head with his six-shooter and walked away. Shortly after, Wyatt saw Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and William Clanton proceed down Fourth Street toward the gunsmith shop. Acting in his capacity as deputy city marshal, Wyatt followed. When he found Frank McLaury’s horse on the sidewalk, he began to back it off, insisting it be moved.
Ike Clanton joined the group, and they all entered the shop, where Wyatt observed them loading cartridges into their belts. They exited and headed toward Dunbar’s Corral. Virgil, the city marshal, and Morgan, serving as a special policeman, were joined by Doc Holliday and Wyatt on the corner of Fourth and Allen streets. Recognizing his duty to disarm the armed men, and anticipating trouble given their threats, Wyatt prepared to assist.
A man named Coleman warned Virgil that the men meant trouble, that they had moved from Dunbar’s Corral into the O. K. Corral, all armed, and advised him to go disarm them. Virgil turned to Holliday, Morgan, and Wyatt, instructing them to join him.
Morgan suggested getting horses in case of a running fight. Wyatt replied that if they tried to run, they could kill their horses and then capture them. The four men proceeded through Fourth to Fremont Street. As they turned the corner, they spotted Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Clanton, and Sheriff Behan in the vicinity.
Behan left the group and approached them, cautioning Virgil that they would be murdered if they went down there. Virgil replied he was going to disarm them. When Morgan and Wyatt reached Behan, he told them he had already disarmed the men. Hearing this, Wyatt discreetly placed his pistol into his overcoat pocket.
The Earps and Holliday continued down the street. They found Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, and Billy Clanton aligned along the east side of the building opposite the vacant space west of Fly’s Photography Gallery. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and an unidentified man stood in the vacant space. Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton openly carried their six-shooters.
Virgil commanded, “Throw up your hands, I have come to disarm you. ” Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury placed their hands on their six-shooters instead. Virgil clarified, “Hold, I don’t mean that, I have come to disarm you. ” Despite this, Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury began to draw their pistols simultaneously.
Tom McLaury moved his hand to his right hip and jumped behind his horse. Wyatt drew his pistol from his overcoat pocket. Billy Clanton aimed his pistol at Wyatt, but Wyatt, aware of Frank McLaury’s reputation as a skilled and dangerous shooter, aimed at him instead. The first shots were exchanged between Billy Clanton and Wyatt, both firing almost simultaneously, leading to a general exchange of gunfire.
Approximately four shots into the altercation, Ike Clanton approached and grabbed Wyatt’s left arm. Wyatt, perceiving no weapon in his hand, urged him to either join the fight or retreat, pushing him away. Ike ran down the side of the building and disappeared. Wyatt’s first shot struck Frank McLaury in the abdomen, causing him to stagger onto the sidewalk but not before he fired a shot in Wyatt’s direction.
Holliday, armed with a shotgun, fired and fatally wounded Tom McLaury. Billy Clanton, hit in the exchange, was mortally wounded. The gunfight lasted only about thirty seconds. In his sworn testimony, Wyatt insisted he had not drawn his pistol or made any threatening gesture until after Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury drew their weapons.
He had believed Tom McLaury was armed and had fired shots at the Earps’ party. He did not shoot at Ike Clanton because he believed the man was unarmed. He maintained that based on the actions, threats, and conspiratorial intentions of the McLaury brothers and Ike Clanton, he firmly believed these men had conspired to murder his brothers, Doc Holliday, and himself. Though he believed he had legal and moral justification to shoot any of them on sight, he did not take such action.
When he assumed the role of deputy marshal to assist in disarming and arresting them, he did so as part of his duty. His intention was not to engage in a fight unless it became necessary for self-defense. Once Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury drew their pistols, he recognized it as a fight for their lives and drew his weapon in defense of himself, his brothers, and Doc Holliday. The consequences were immediate and lasting.
Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury died on the street. Billy Clanton, mortally wounded, died later that afternoon. Morgan and Virgil Earp were wounded but survived. Wyatt emerged unharmed.
Ike Clanton, who had fled the scene, later brought charges against the Earps, but the testimony, including Wyatt’s lengthy sworn statement, led to their exoneration. The gunfight at the O. K. Corral, though lasting less than a minute, became the defining moment of the Earp brothers’ time in Tombstone, and the feud with the Cowboys did not end with the deaths of the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton.
But on that October afternoon, the Earps had survived the confrontation that the Clantons and McLaurys had been building toward for the better part of a year.