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On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, Town Marshal Virgil Earp strode through Tombstone, Arizona, leading the way toward Fremont Street. His brother Wyatt flanked him on the left, his brother Morgan and their friend Doc Holliday to the right. Each man held a pistol, and Holliday gripped a shotgun. Holliday had intended to hide the shotgun beneath his long coat, but whenever the wind kicked up, his coat fluttered open. This line of armed men made for an ominous sight to residents watching from the windows. Only a few moments earlier, a local man had entered Halford's Saloon, where the Earp brothers were gathered nursing drinks. He told Virgil that the cowboys had left the OK Corral Saloon and were now loitering in a vacant lot near Fremont street and that they were still armed. Virgil's face flushed with anger. He had been willing to let The Clantons and McClorys spout off inside the OK Corral, but now that they were moving through town openly armed, Virgil felt like his credibility was on the line. So he rushed outside along with his brothers and Doc Holliday. When this quartet were a block away from the vacant lot, County Sheriff Johnny Behan spotted them and ran up. Behan begged them to turn around, but they pushed past him, unwilling to back down. As they strode toward the lot, Behan shouted after them. His next words were later disputed. Wyatt and Virgil would swear that he said the cowboys were already disarmed, but Behan insisted he only said he was about to disarm them them. Either way, Wyatt and Virgil believed the outlaws were disarmed. Confident they wouldn't be fired upon, they relaxed and slipped their pistols into their pockets. They then continued walking forward to confront the cowboys and assert control, making sure the situation didn't spiral further out of hand. Their brother Morgan lingered a few steps behind while Doc Holliday posted himself in the street, ready to fire the shotgun if any other cowboys appeared. Wyatt and Virgil then entered the narrow lot, which sat a few doors down from the OK Corral Saloon. It was a small dirt plot, only 15ft wide, flanked by wooden buildings on either side. There, Ike Clanton stood alone, still drunk and swaying unsteadily. The McLaury brothers, Billy Clanton and another cowboy, were gathered near two horses at the far side of the lot. Virgil and Wyatt quickly realized that their adversaries were still armed with pistols and had rifles secured to the saddles of their horses. So Virgil shouted for the cowboys to throw down their guns. Frank McLaury said they would, but at the same time, he grabbed for his pistol. A chain reaction followed, and every man quickly drew a gun and cocked it. Virgil shouted, hold. But no one did. According to most accounts, Wyatt fired first, yanking his pistol from his pocket and aiming at the man he considered Most dangerous, Frank McLaury. Wyatt plugged him in the stomach, and McClory dropped to the ground. A split second later, Billy Clanton fired at Wyatt and missed. Virgil was slow to fire, and it cost him. From the ground, the wounded Frank fired on Virgil and struck him in the calf. Virgil crumpled in pain. In a panic, Ike Clanton rushed toward Wyatt and begged him not to shoot. The two began to wrestle instead. Meanwhile, Morgan, still back on the sidewalk, fired a shot at Billy Clanton, hitting him in the torso. Billy staggered back against the wooden wall, but still managed to fire at Wyatt. This bullet strayed wide, merely tearing a hole in Wyatt's coat. Wyatt was still grappling with Ike, who clawed at Wyatt's pistol until it accidentally went off. Meanwhile, the injured Virgil kept firing from the ground. That's when Morgan cried out. A bullet had gone clean through his shoulder. It may have come from one of the outlaws, but it's just as likely it was friendly fire from Wyatt or Virgil. And it was shortly after Morgan was hit that Wyatt finally threw Ike off. Ike sprinted down the street, getting as far from the firefight as he could. But all this time, Tom McClory had been hiding behind his horse on the side of the lot. Wyatt, free at last, took aim, but his shot grazed the animal instead. The horse bolted, leaving Tom exposed. That's when Doc Holliday took advantage and blasted Tom with the shotgun, striking him under his right armpit. Tom staggered down the street, badly wounded and stumbled into a telegraph pole. But Billy Clanton, bleeding badly from the wounded in his torso, was still trying to fire at the Earps. Either Wyatt or Virgil hit him again, this time in his right wrist, his shooting hand. Billy slumped to the ground and gamely tried to keep shooting with his left hand, but his shots went wild. This left Frank McLaury as the only real danger. He'd already been shot in the stomach and had taken cover behind a second horse. But now, as he fired at Morgan, this horse spooked and tore off. Frank was left kneeling in the street, exposed. Doc Holliday rushed forward. He had discarded the shotgun and pulled out his pistol with its distinctive nickel plating. He leveled it at Frank. Despite his grave injury, Frank raised his own gun. At the same time, the two men froze, pistols trained on each other. Frank roared, I've got you now. And Holliday responded. You're a daisy if you have blaze away. Both men fired. Frank's bullet grazed Holliday's hip. Holliday's bullet slammed into Frank's chest and he toppled sideways. A heavy silence, then fell over the lot. After 30 bullets in just as many seconds, the fight was over. On the lawman's side, Virgil had been shot in the calf and Morgan in the shoulder. A bullet had grazed Doc Holliday's hip and Wyatt was left untouched. Aside from several holes in his coat, the cowboys had suffered far worse. Frank McLaury was dead. Bystanders dragged Tom McLory and Billy Clanton into a nearby home and summoned two doctors to help them. But he was already too late. Tom lay quietly bleeding out until his ragged breathing stopped. Billy, just 19, screamed in agony for 15 minutes before a doctor finally took mercy on him and ended his suffering with a lethal shot of morph. Meanwhile, the main instigator, Ike Clanton, was cowering on a street corner two blocks away. Sheriff Johnny Behan arrested him and took him into protective custody. Rumors were swirling that vigilantes wanted to lynch Ike, so Behan assigned 10 men to guard him that night in his cell, Behan also tried to arrest Wyatt Earp for firing first. The sheriff had a long standing grudge against Wyatt ever since Wyatt dated his ex fiance and saw him as a political rival. But Wyatt wouldn't back down. He told Behan to go to hell and vowed to stay in town and face any negative reaction from the public for what he'd done. So Behan relented and despite his hostility toward Wyatt, he then visited Virgil at his home that night and promised to support him in the investigation to come. The Earps, bruised and bloodied, were proud of what they had done. But if they had expected to be hailed as heroes, they were about to be disappointed. Imagine it's October 27, 1881. You're a deputy undertaker in Tombstone and you're dressing the third and final body on the wide table in front of you. This time it's 19 year old Billy Clanton. You slide his arms into a white shirt and start buttoning it. Then you lift his heavy head and loop a necktie under the collar. You try not to look too closely at his face because he still looks like a boy. A moment later, your boss enters and sets a rectangular parcel down on a small table. Then he pulls the bag from his pocket and hands it to you. Here, put these on instead. You open the bag to find three ties. Are these Silk they are. The tailor donated them. But why? Because they're of the same mind on this. These men deserve to go into the ground looking respectful. They died like heroes. Heroes? They got into a gunfight. Yes, a gunfight. Standing up to those Earp thugs and that scoundrel Doc Holliday. You're taken aback. You knew your boss was a Democrat and sympathized with the ranchers and cowboys. But this vehemence surprises you? Well, I heard Ike Clanton provoked them. No, that's not what I heard. I. Clanton is the biggest coward in Arizona. You really think he'd provoke armed lawmen like that? Well, maybe if he was drunk. No, not a chance. And what about Wyatt Earp pistol whipping Tom McClory for no reason? Look at that bruise on Tom's body. If someone had attacked my brother, I'd have shot him too. But don't they all run with Curly Bill Brocius and the worst of the outlaws? Yeah, and some of them steal cattle from the Mexicans too. But what do I care? Besides, the outlaws aren't the point. Look at this face right here. Your boss points to Billy Clanton. He brushes some hair away from the young man's forehead. This here's a child. You wouldn't think he was even 15. I've got a son this age, you know. And for one mistake, for sticking up for his brother. Now he's dead. You think that's fair? You think that's justice? I don't know. Well, I know it's not. Now get them in the silk ties. You do as your boss says. But when you finish, he has another surprise for you. In the front of the shop sits three handsome cherry wood coffins. The most expensive ones in stock. Each one has a dummy inside with wax heads and bodies stuffed with straw. Your boss points to them in the window. Alright, now pull those dummies out of the coffins. Why? Because we're going to put these bodies in the window instead. I want the whole world to see what the Earps did. The idea unsettles you, but you can tell your boss is serious. Because as you prepare the bodies, he's radiating a hand painted sign that reads Murdered in the streets of Tombstone. As he places the sign in the shop window, a chill runs down your spine. The events of yesterday shocked everyone. But now you're realizing that with people's blood running so hot, the wave of violence might not be over. After the shootout on October 26, the Earp brothers were confident that the majority of Tombstone stood behind them. Even the two newspapers in town, which normally couldn't agree on what day of the week it was, ran stories stating that the brothers actions, however regrettable, were justified. But many people in Tombstone had a different opinion. The local undertaker put the cowboys bodies on display in the window of his funeral parlor next to a sign accusing the Earps of murder. Other local business owners donated clothing and flowers and the dead trio were placed in expensive caskets, each with a silver nameplate. Then came the funeral. On October 28, two hearses solemnly rolled through town with the bodies inside. Ike Clanton and his older brother followed in another hearse. Like dignitaries, a brass band played somber dirges and 300 cowboys lined the streets, hats in hand. They were all there to pay their respects and to make a show of force. The Earps may have believed that they had put an end to Tombstone's troubles, but in truth, their troubles were about to get much, much worse. Next on American History Tellers. The shootout at the OK Corral sparks a series of assassination attempts on the Earp brothers and their allies, who finally have to go rogue to eliminate their enemies once and for all. If you like American Historytellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondery.com survey from Wander Eat. This is episode three of our four part series on the shootout at the OK Corral from American Historytellers. If you'd like to learn more about the shootout at Tombstone, we recommend the Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn, Tombstone by Tom Clavett and Ride the Devil's Herd by John Bozenecker. American Historytellers is hosted, edited and produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship Audio editing by Mohammed Shazib Sound design by Molly Bach Music by Thrum this episode is written by Sam Keane Edited by Dorian Marina Produced by Alida Rozanski Managing Producer Desi Blaylock Senior Producer Ginny Blume Executive Producers are Jenny Lauer, Beckman, Marcia Louie and Erin O' Flaherty for Wondery.
