Shootout at the O.K. Corral | The Road to Tombstone | 1

0:00American History Tellers:Hello, American History Teller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you. This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music, with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America. And they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows July 4th, 1776. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year. But there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to AmericanHistoryLive.com.

0:34American History Tellers:That's AmericanHistoryLive.com. Come see my Days That Made America tour live on stage. Go to AmericanHistoryLive.com.

0:56American History Tellers:Imagine it's October 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona. It's a cold, windy afternoon, and you're shopping for groceries in a general store downtown with your daughter, Geraldine. It's her birthday soon, so you grab sugar, flour, and molasses from the shelves to make a shoofly pie her favorite. She doesn't much care for shopping, though, so you've left her outside on the street to play. You're about to pay for your purchases when the door flies open and your friend Alice hurries inside. She looks upset as she runs up to you. Alice, what's the matter? There's trouble brewing outside across the street.

1:32American History Tellers:Look. She points to the window. Are those the Earp brothers? Yeah, and Doc Holliday too. What's the sheriff doing with them? Oh, some of those hooligan cowboys rode in last night and went on a rampage. They've been drinking whiskey for a day straight. One of them even tried to pick a fight with all three of the Earp brothers. Good Lord, why don't they just arrest him? Well, they did, but the judge just fined him, sent him right back onto the street. Now the Earps are on the warpath, and the sheriff's trying to calm him down, I guess. Where are the cowboys now? Well, they're just down the street in an empty lot.

2:03American History Tellers:I saw what was coming and realized I was caught right in the middle, so I came in here. A flood of others comes into the shop, too, each anxious to escape whatever trouble was brewing outside. You look out the window again. The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday push past the sheriff, kicking up dust as they head down the street in the direction of the cowboys. A cold wind then blows, and the dust disappears like smoke, but it also flutters Holiday's long overcoat, revealing a shotgun. Oh my god. Geraldine, I have to go get her. Your heart pounds with panic as you push past the others, heading out into the street to find your daughter.

2:42American History Tellers:Brawling in Tombstone is one thing. That happens all the time. But today, it looks like there's going to be a shootout.

3:16www.armandhammer.com Simple, powerful, clean. I'm Raza Jafri, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we go back in time to meet Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. As America fights for freedom from Britain, Arnold emerges as one of the rebel's greatest generals. But when his loyalty is pushed to the limit, he turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the rebellion and make George Washington a prisoner. Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Betrayed the American Revolution, early and ad-free on Audible.

3:57American History Tellers:From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers, our history, your story.

4:18American History Tellers:On our show, we'll take you to the events, the times, and the people that shaped America and Americans. Our values, our struggles, and our dreams. We'll put you in the shoes of everyday people as history was being made. And we'll show you how the events of the times affected them, their families, and affects you now. By the 1880s, after years of westward expansion, the American frontier was shrinking. Americans had settled most of the Midwest and West Coast, and with every passing year, fewer tracts of open territory existed. One of the last pockets of the traditional Wild West lay in the Arizona territory that bordered Mexico.

4:55American History Tellers:It was this area, dominated by dry scrubland and desert, that attracted cowboys, ranchers, and miners with a strong independent streak who resented government interference in their lives. That was especially true around the now-legendary city of Tombstone, a silver boom town packed with saloons, brothels, and casinos. But change was coming for Tombstone. As more businesses moved in, city leaders began to push for law and order. They empowered sheriffs and marshals to get tough on crime. And the most famous of these lawmen were the Earps, a fiercely loyal tribe of brothers bound by blood and determined to clean up Tombstone.

5:34American History Tellers:And their battle against the town's outlaws would culminate in the most famous gunfight in American history. This is episode one of our four-part series on the shootout at the O.K. Corral, The Road to Tombstone.

5:51American History Tellers:In the fall of 1877, 29-year-old Wyatt Earp found himself rattling south in a train toward Texas. He was hunting for two railroad bandits who'd recently fled Dodge City in Kansas, where Earp was the assistant city marshal. But Earp knew he had his hands full tracking down these bandits. They had a head start of several days, and Texas was a huge state. From the window of his train, he saw flat scrubland extending to the horizon and cowboys driving cattle along the trails amid huge clouds of dust. Earp knew he could have easily fallen into the cowboy life himself, given his family history and inclination for the wandering life.

6:30American History Tellers:Born in 1848, Wyatt was the sixth of ten children, including eight brothers. Though they spent their childhoods mostly in Kentucky and Iowa, the family moved around a lot. Wyatt's father worked several jobs, including shopkeeper and bartender, and his boys would inherit his restless spirit. So most of them, Wyatt and his younger brother Morgan included, would grow up to be fiercely independent and stubborn adults, while Virgil, the second oldest brother, had a sunnier disposition. As a 13-year-old during the Civil War, Wyatt attempted to enlist in the Union Army like his brothers, but he was rejected.

7:05American History Tellers:After the war, the family moved to California for a few years, and took up farming. Wyatt hated the work and rebelled against his overbearing father. He finally left home at 16 and took work driving a stagecoach and building railroads. Meanwhile, his family soon left California and moved to Lamar, Missouri. Despite being a newcomer there, Wyatt's father quickly gained influence in Lamar and was appointed constable. Soon after, he was promoted to Justice of the Peace. Shortly after, in 1869, Wyatt rejoined the family in Lamar, and in November, he took over his father's old position as town constable, getting his first taste of being a law officer.

7:44American History Tellers:Wyatt had never considered a career as a lawman. He was more intent on making his fortune. But he liked the prestige and respect that came with a job. Like all frontier lawmen, Wyatt carried a gun, but he rarely fired it. He was much more likely to pistol whip a criminal. Also while in Lamar, Wyatt married a woman named Arilla, whose family ran a hotel in town. But less than a year later, she and their newborn child tragically died, either in childbirth or from disease. In his grief, Wyatt's life spiraled out of control. He had to flee Lamar after he was accused of stealing public funds, and soon after he was accused of several more crimes, including stealing horses in Illinois and Arkansas.

8:26American History Tellers:But Wyatt really made his living by gambling in saloons. He was an excellent card player and especially excelled at the fast-paced game of Faro. But unlike most of his acquaintances, Wyatt rarely drank alcohol, not even beer. He said it made him feel ill. And it was in the summer of 1873, dealing cards for a saloon in Ellsworth, Kansas, when Wyatt's life took another turn. One day, an argument broke out over a game of poker. The county sheriff intervened but was shot dead. The town marshal refused to arrest a perpetrator out of fear for his own life, so Wyatt jumped in. He strapped on two guns and found the shooter in the street outside on his horse.

9:06American History Tellers:Rather than open fire, though, Wyatt spoke to him, firmly but calmly, cautioning him against doing anything rash. Within minutes, he talked the man into dropping his guns and submitting to arrest. Witnesses marveled at Wyatt's coolness in the face of danger. After this incident, Wyatt decided to go back to law enforcement. He yearned to make something of himself and worried that he was wasting his life gambling and running after women. He also missed the prestige that came with being a public official, so he moved to Wichita and became a police officer there. But Wyatt soon found that many of the duties of a police officer were far from glamorous.

9:42American History Tellers:He collected debts, chased after stray dogs, and fined people for negligent chimneys. Still, he liked wearing a badge. A newspaper in Wichita even singled him out for his honesty after he arrested a man for public drunkenness. The man had$500 in his pocket, and the newspaper marveled that Wyatt didn't steal it. It seems honest lawmen were rare out West. And yet, even as Wyatt got his life together, trouble continued to dog him. He was slow to anger, but once provoked, his temper could be ferocious, as in April 1876, when Wichita held an election for Marshall. The incumbent was Wyatt's boss, and during the election, the Marshall's challenger said something insulting.

10:23American History Tellers:In response, Once, Wyatt beat the man bloody. It cost him his job, and he quickly left town. After that, Wyatt moved around to various cities, including Deadwood, South Dakota, before settling in Dodge City. It was a roughneck Kansas boomtown that sat at the center of the cattle trade. There, Wyatt became an assistant marshal while moonlighting as a bounty hunter. Then, in the summer of 1877, two bandits robbed a train near Dodge City and fled town. Rumors filtered in, placing the men in Griffin, Texas, so the railroad hired Wyatt to track them down. This pursuit would lead Wyatt to a chance encounter that would change the course of his life.

11:02American History Tellers:While Wyatt never caught the bandits, during his investigation, a bartender suggested that he question a local gambler who had recently played cards with the fugitives. The poker player's name was Doc Holliday. Holliday was born in Georgia in 1851, the son of a pharmacist. His mother came from a wealthy plantation family, and she instilled in him a southern code of gentlemanly honor. This required him to fight every supposed insult to his dignity, whether real or imagined. Unfortunately, his mother also suffered from tuberculosis, and she passed along the deadly chronic disease to her son. It would afflict him the rest of his life.

11:40American History Tellers:Holiday was frequently sick, constantly wheezing and coughing. His pale face, thick mustache, and dark hooded eyes gave him a haunted look. And hopeful that a warmer climate would help his lungs, Holliday left a promising dentistry career in Philadelphia to relocate to Texas. But before long, he quit dentistry altogether to drink and gamble. He figured that tuberculosis was going to kill him soon enough, so he might as well enjoy the time he had left. And it was there, living in Griffin, Texas, when Holliday met Wyatt Earp, who arrived in town looking for bandits. Holliday didn't prove much help with Wyatt's investigation.

12:18American History Tellers:In fact, he was something of an outlaw himself. Still, the two men hit it off right away, and as avid card players, they had plenty to talk about. Upon parting, Wyatt told Holiday to look him up if he ever visited Dodge City. Holiday soon took up that offer a few months later when he traveled up to Kansas to gamble there. Once he arrived, the two men quickly forged a lifelong bond over cards and when Holiday aided Earp during an ambush. One night in July 1877, two drunken belligerent Texans started shooting at the facade of a theater with a packed audience inside. Wyatt and another assistant marshal ran over to confront them.

12:56American History Tellers:Wyatt had never shot his gun in the line of duty before, but he did that night, hitting one of the men who later died of his wounds. But the dead man's friends were furious and began plotting revenge. Three or four of them finally ambushed Wyatt outside a store one night, drawing their guns before he could. But Holiday happened to be playing cards next door and saw the situation unfold through a window. He turned to the dealer and asked to borrow a six-shooter, then sprang through the door, startling the ambushers and yelling in his southern drawl, throw up your hands. In the confusion, Wyatt was able to draw his own guns.

13:32American History Tellers:Suddenly, surrounded on two sides, the Texans lost heart and Wyatt was able to arrest them. He always credited Holiday with saving his life. Still, despite the respect that usually came with his job, Wyatt was starting to have second thoughts about law enforcement. He longed to strike it rich in some business venture, and he was growing cynical about being a lawman. Because even when the worst sort of violence struck Dodge City, he struggled to deliver real justice.

14:02American History Tellers:Imagine it's August 1878 in Dodge City, Kansas. You're an actress in a touring company that's putting on musicals across the West. and you've stopped in Dodge City for a month-long run. You're lounging around with a fellow actress after a show one night, having some cocktails. Normally on the road, you stay in dingy hotels. But tonight, the city's mayor, James Kelly, has offered to let you and your roommate stay at his empty house while he's out of town. The offer was generous of him, but you suspect Kelly has an ulterior motive. He's trying to butter you up, probably to seduce your roommate. You decide to press her on some details.

14:38American History Tellers:So where'd you meet this Mayor James? He was waiting for me after a show. He said he was a big fan. I bet he says that to all the actresses who come through. Well, maybe, but does he give them all one of these? Your roommate rummages through her bag and pulls out an emerald pendant. Even in the dim gaslight, it sparkles. Oh my, he gave you this? He sure did, and he knows how to protect a lady. What do you mean by that? Well, last week, one of those dirty cowboys was harassing me, some Texan. and he tried to buy a night with me like I'm a common prostitute. Oh, the nerve. Anyway, when I told James, he tracked the guy down and socked him.

15:13American History Tellers:Broke his jaw. You realize you recall hearing this story, the mayor punching a cowboy, but you didn't know your roommate was the cause of the dispute. Suddenly you jump to hear banging at the door. Your roommate frowns. Are you expecting anyone? No, are you? She shakes her head. Then you hear a man's voice loud and slurred. What is he saying? I think he says he wants to see the mayor. You peek out the window through the curtains and see a scruffy cowboy at the door swaying drunkenly. Your stomach drops and you motion for your roommate. Hey, come over here. Take a look at this guy. He's not the one that propositioned you, right?

15:48American History Tellers:The Texan? Oh my God, it is. What do we do? I don't know. We tell him the mayor's not here? Well, you're going to have to do it. I don't want him to know I'm here. You slowly replace the window's curtain and approach the door. The mayor's not home. You'll have to come back later. You pause and listen, hopeful in the silence that he'll leave. Instead, the man starts kicking the door. The violence shocks you. You can see the hinges straining. Then he starts shooting out the window. You throw yourself on the floor, cowering. And after 12 shots, you finally hear the cowboy running away. You wait until your breathing slows and then call out to your roommate.

16:29American History Tellers:But she doesn't answer. You call out again and finally risk raising your head. That's when you see her sprawl on the floor, in front of her dress stained crimson.

16:42American History Tellers:In the summer of 1878, a tragic mix-up in Dodge City led to the death of an actress named Dora Hand. A belligerent cowboy tried to assassinate the mayor by shooting into his home, but he didn't realize that the mayor had left town. It was the actress Hand who caught a bullet instead. After the fugitive fled, a posse led by Wyatt Earp tracked him down. While in pursuit, Wyatt shot the horse out from beneath him, before another deputy shot him in the shoulder. Wyatt then arrested the man who stood trial two weeks later. But the cowboy had a powerful cattle-baron father, and as a result, no witnesses came forward to testify against the man, not even Dora Hand's roommate, who was in the same house when she got shot.

17:24American History Tellers:They all feared retaliation if they testified, and as a result, the judge dismissed the case. The whole incident disgusted Wyatt. Then, shortly after these events, the city council insulted Wyatt by cutting his salary. His friend Doc Holliday had moved away as well to New Mexico, so Wyatt decided he didn't have much keeping him in Dodge City. It was time to move on, but at first he didn't know where. Then, his brother Virgil came through with a golden opportunity.

18:01The End

18:24They were in it, and if you don't listen to them, then I will cut off your tongue, then cut off your head, and then put the tongue in the head hole. Aw, you tried. Listen now exclusively on Audible and Dental, the Audible app today, or off with your head! I'm kidding.

18:47As Americans, we're constantly grappling with the fundamental question. Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we strive to create the world as it should be? Our answers tend to ebb and flow through the decades. But once, just after a war that nearly tore us apart, we came as close as we've come to answering it. And it's a story worth a closer look. I'm Michelle Obama, and I'm proud to announce Higher Ground's new podcast, Reconstruction, The Unfinished Promise. Guided by best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell and featuring my husband Barack Obama, this limited series uncovers the untold stories of Reconstruction, what they mean for us today, and how our past can shape the future we choose to build.

19:38Reconstruction, the Unfinished Promise, is available now on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts.

19:53American History Tellers:From the moment Virgil Earp first heard of Tombstone, Arizona in 1879, he was smitten. Stories of its boomtown wealth and glittering buildings captivated him. So Virgil lost no time writing letters to his brothers, trying to convince them to move to Tombstone with him. He wanted them all to get in on the boom early. In 1879, Virgil was 36 years old, five years older than Wyatt and the second-oldest Earp brother overall. He was also the most easygoing brother and the quickest to make friends. And unlike Wyatt, he was a straight arrow who never got into trouble with the law himself. Virgil had come to Arizona from the north.

20:33American History Tellers:Two years earlier, in the summer of 1877, he and his wife Allie joined a wagon train from Nebraska to California, but along the way, they decided to try their luck elsewhere. On a whim, they headed south to the Arizona Territory and ended up in the then capital of Prescott, where Virgil began working in a sawmill. There, the congenial and chatty Virgil befriended several business leaders in town. He also impressed local law officials with his bravery and soon joined the ranks of lawmen himself. But the world of law enforcement in the West that Virgil entered was loose and the hierarchies differed from place to place.

21:09American History Tellers:Generally, constables, police officers, and town marshals each had a jurisdiction within a city, while sheriffs had jurisdiction over a county. Finally, federal marshals had jurisdiction across a whole state or territory, a prestigious office that Virgil had his eye on. And in October 1877, he got a chance to prove himself. Two outlaws from Texas had drifted into Prescott, Arizona, and started raising hell. Drawing attention to themselves proved unwise, though, since one of the men was wanted for murder elsewhere. Someone soon recognized him and reported him to the town constable. The outlaws caught wind that they'd been identified, though, so they fled town, shooting at passersby on their way out.

21:50American History Tellers:Virgil happened to be on the scene, chatting with the county sheriff and U.S. Marshal. Seeing the commotion, the sheriff and marshal seized their guns and sprinted off for a carriage to run the outlaws down. Virgil grabbed a gun as well and pursued the men on foot. Then he stopped, raised his rifle, and shot them both down in the street. This exploit turned Virgil into a local hero. The sheriff and marshal were so impressed that they hired Virgil as a driver on local stagecoaches to protect their freight from bandits. And from there, Virgil continued making friends, including the secretary of the territory, the second-ranking man in Arizona.

22:27American History Tellers:Soon after, Virgil convinced the city council to appoint him night watchman, and then in November 1878, he was elected town constable. And unlike his brother Wyatt, Virgil found that he genuinely enjoyed law enforcement. All in all, Virgil seemed to have a bright future in Prescott. But he couldn't suppress the old Earp family restlessness. And in 1879, over his wife's objections, Virgil got itchy to move on. He was especially intrigued by what he'd heard of a fast-growing town in southern Arizona with the ominous name of Tombstone. A study in contradictions, Tombstone sprung up in 1877 after prospectors discovered a huge load of silver near a mesa 30 miles north of the Mexican border.