Tombstone

Tombstone, probably the most famous wild west town, started because the hills were full of silver and hundreds of claims produced millions of dollars. The town boomed and attracted gamblers, ne'er do wells and fallen doves. Along the street behind me are numerous plaques showing where persons were shot. In front of one building 6 people died in 2 years. In my last blog we saw that we could kill millions from afar. This takes us back to a simpler time when you had to kill face to face.
With thousands of miners looking for entertainment the Bird Cage theatre was packed every night. Acts from around the world were brought in and some of the biggest names of the time played here. Raucious, and probably inebriated crowds loved to fire off their guns in appreciation of a good show. You can now go in and try to count all the bullet holes in the ceiling. This was one of the reasons the town initiated a law requiring guns to be turned in upon arrival which indirectly helped provoke the gunfight at the OK corral.
The gunfight at the OK corral is the most famous gunfight of the wild west. Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Halliday had been feuding with the McLaury bunch for a long time and it all came to a head when the Earps, deputised by Virgil Earp, the marshal, went to find the McLaurys and to disarm them. Even today in Tombstone, some say the Earps were just upholding the law and some say they used the law to attack the McLaurys. This reenactment shows the actual location and positions of each man as the gunfight started. Notice how close they are. Nearly 30 bullets were fired. 3 of the 4 McLaury gang was killed and both Virgil and Morgan Earp were wounded.
The live reenactment was excellent because they showed events and attitudes which led up to the fight. It was very sobering and everyone left quietly afterwards. 30 shots in under 30 seconds is almost overwhelming. This didn't end the feud and Virgil Earp was shot and lost the use of his left arm a few weeks later. Morgan Earp was shot and killed shortly after that. Wyatt was never shot and lived into the 1920s.
The 3 men who died at the OK corral were buried at Boot Hill, probably the most famous cemetery in the west. The cemetery was only used for a few years but a lot of graves are here and most died a violent death. Lots of murder and accident victims.
Frontier justice could be swift but not necessarily accurate. This guy bought a stolen horse by accident and by the time his story was proven correct he had already been hanged.
This is probably the most famous headstone in Boot Hill. It shows they had a sense of humour even in Tombstone.
This is the saloon in the Crystal Palace hotel. The Earps hung out here and Wyatt got a portion of all the gambling because he owned some tables. Gambling went on in the back while ladies entertained in rooms above. Across the street was an opium den for the thousands of chinese who worked in the mines. Something for everyone it appears.
Although the stores are mostly for tourists now, the buildings and most of their contents are authentic to the 1880's. The town is a national historic site and walking the streets does give you a feeling of what it must have been like back then. A great town to visit.