There are many famous stories of the Old West about lawmen versus outlaws. As history goes, sometimes they were both. A lawman turned outlaw. An outlaw working for the Sheriff. I wonder why this happened so often in the 1870's and 1880's in particular.

Those of us who love its history have our heroes. We choose who is 'good' and who is 'bad.' We share their glory and their failures. But I have learned, as I think many of us have, that there is a thin line between who was good and who was evil. . .who was right and who was wrong. Those I like had a dark past and those I distain had times of great compassion, and their love of family continues in their descendants today.

The OK Corral shoot-out was more than just a piece of history. It vividly drew a line not only between the Earps with Holliday versus the Cowboys and swiftly brought much of Tombstone's unruly days to a close. There seemed to be a correlation between what happened at the OK Corral and an end to its short but violent years. In 1882 the Earps left Tombstone and before the turn of the century, Ed Schieffelin, (the man who gave Tombstone its name) passed away. . .

And so, Tombstone slept, until it woke to a modern century of thrill seekers and attraction-goers knowing it could once again, be "The Town Too Tough To Die." - Cheryl Taul

This is the hearse that carried the body of Billy Clanton, the first in the procession. . . .

"The funeral of the McLowry [McLaury] 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 Eyan. The procession headed by the Tombstone brass band, moved down Allen street and thence to the cemetery. The sidewalks were densely packed for three or four 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."

(Tombstone Epitaph, October 28, 1881)

I wonder who these saddles really belonged to.

Dressed for the past.

How it used to be. Well, minus the telephone poles and the cement wall in the back, of course!

Inside the corral are modern displays in this section to give the public a feeling of stepping into the past and what things looked like back then. I like this idea because sometimes it's hard to see the reality of it when I stare at the original wagons so old and shabby from its age. From this perspective, the corral  was an interesting place to see.

The Original Gunfight Site

Models are used to show the positions of the Earps, the Clanton's, Holliday and the McLowry's. I was surprised to see how close they were to each other at the time of the shooting. I can't believe all of them weren't killed and that some bullets missed. But they were moving quickly, ot just standing there shooting.

The McLowry's and Clanton's on the left. Holliday and Earp's on the
right. And of course, it shows Doc Holliday with his famous cane.

The shooting begins.

The Show

Just across from the gunfight site is a show that is acted out between the Clanton's and McLowry's and the Earp's and Holliday that led up to the shoot-out. The show begins at the Oriental Saloon and plays out the arguments and threats until the time of the shoot-out in the lot by the corral. Of course, what led up to the OK Corral shoot-out ties back much further than that. The newspaper articles about the shoot-out and the
trials after the shooting are very interesting.

The show begins at the Oriental Saloon where threats
were made and tempers rose.

The audience watches and listens to the narrative.

Slammed in the head and carted off to jail.

Wyatt had a habit of slamming his gun over people's heads and also slapping others in the face. He was even fined once for slapping a woman across the face. She was being unruly, foul-mouthed and he apparently got tired of her head-games. I think the reason he slapped people instead of punching them out is because a slap is demoralizing....humiliating. A punch just pisses people off, whereas a slap is a more degrading consequence for the perpetrator.

             The men who played the Clanton's and McLowry's.

The men who played Holliday and the Earp's.         

The Outlaws who fought and killed were:
Frank McLaury
Billy Clanton
Tom McLaury

The Lawmen who fought were:
Doc Holliday
Morgan Earp
Wyatt Earp
Virgil Earp
 

For me, Tombstone was fascinating. It wasn't just the people themselves, but the events that tied it all together in such a way that no other time in our history has been quite like it, nor ever will be again.

Now we'll head over to the famous "Bird Cage Theatre."