The Gunfight at the OK Corral

I spent a day in Tombstone. The Old Courthouse houses a museum of the town, with history of the gunfight at the OK Corral. I was there 43 years ago, but didn't remember anything about the happenings on October 26,1881. I guess I always thought it was clear at the OK Corral as to who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. But not so. It was over pretty quickly (30 seconds?), with the end results of 3 dead and 3 wounded. Wyatt Earp was the only one with no injuries or death. I can hardly lift a glass of wine to my mouth in 30 seconds, let alone fire a gun at people. One thing that bothered me was that they were using their horses as shields. Where was PETA? They should have been johnny-on-the-spot there. One place, I saw a poster looking for the Earp brothers for information about the fight. I also heard that there was a trial for the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. I guess there are still questions about the fight. I mean, how could anyone tell what happened in what sequence, in 30 seconds, even if there were eye witnesses. I bought a book about Doc Holliday, written by one of his descendants. And we know that family members always get the facts right. So, I'll learn more.

I still love the shoot-em-up stuff. I remember in El Paso a gunfight which lasted 4 minutes resulted in 5 deaths. I got a kick out of the tour guide, who mentioned a man died from lead poisoning - from a 45.
 

At the courthouse, was a short blurb on Nellie Cashman. I started reading it and thought, "I know this woman." Nellie came from Ireland, and found her niche in the mining camps. She mined, but also cooked, provided boarding, and developed other small businesses as they were needed. She established a restaurant in Tombstone. She followed the gold rush to Alaska, and, again, was able to develop businesses to service the miners, as well as mine her own claim. One story is told that many miners were dying of scurvy. Nellie organized a group to get fruit (mostly limes?) to the miners. She also developed schools, hospitals, etc in the areas she mined. In 2006 Nellie was inducted into the Alaska Mining Hall of Fame. I've run into stories of Nellie in many places I've toured. In Seward, Alaska we ate at Nellie's Roadhouse, and I bought a book about the woman. I've always told people it's okay if I read a book I've already read, or take a tour I've already taken, because I can never remember things, so it's all new again.  ...But this time, the old memory actually worked. Of course I had to look up the town of the cafe and a few other things.

 
I toured Tombstone, and went to Boot Hill. I didn't see any gunfights, since they were all inside buildings and cost money. I guess on the weekends they shoot each other on the streets. But browsing Boot Hill confirmed life was violent. A lot of graves were unknown, but there has been research of town and family records, so a number are identified. People would get shot for ridiculous reasons. Two guys fought over whether you should drive the cattle fast or slow. One lost. Another two guys argued over the fastest way to draw. Again, one lost. Other reasons included mine claims, women, men, the color of your shirt, etc. I thought there was a gravestone on Boot Hill which said "He died with his boots on," but I guess not. A little folklore that was untrue, or I made it up.

 

 

Frank Leslie killed Killeen and then married his widow.

 

I had lunch at Big Nose Kate's. That was lots of fun. They had entertainment, staff in costume (as was most of Tombstone), and good food. Big Nosed Kate was Doc Holliday's girlfriend. Her nose was not big in size, but always shoved into other people's business.