1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck, 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: there's Jerry. Let's get to it. Giddy up, draw that's 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: pretty good, little pea shooter laser. That's right. So we're 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: talking about the gunfight at the Okay Corral. I've been there? 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: Have you ever been there? No, you've been there. What's 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: it like? Dusty? I'll bet I was gonna say dusty hot? 7 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: Were there? Tumbleweeds sure everywhere? Varmints, you wouldn't believe the varmints, wraps, gallions, 8 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,639 Speaker 1: that's barilla, Yeah, all that good stuff. Have you ever 9 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 1: tasted sasaparilla? Sure, it's kind of like roop here. That's 10 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: what I've always thought. But I don't I don't know. 11 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I think I had one back then, 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: but I don't remember that that when I was a child. 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: But we are talking about the gunfight at the Okay Corral, 14 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: the very excuse me, famous gunfight between the the Earps 15 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: and Doc Holiday and the cowboys. A very simplistic way 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: to look at this, which was in the um. Otherwise, 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: pretty good. How stuff works short article is, you know 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: the Earths were the good guys. The bad guys were 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: the other guys wrong. But there's some nuance there because 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: the earps and I think, like most lawman of the 21 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,559 Speaker 1: time out west, you know, there were criminals too sometimes 22 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: they were. The thing that differentiated them was the badge 23 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: and the fact that they were able to enforce the law. Yeah, 24 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: and not to say that they were all awful people 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: and they were horse thieves and you know, no good cusses, 26 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: as this article says for the bad guys, but that 27 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: was definitely, Um, I think it was kind of few 28 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: and far between where you had a truly just and 29 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: righteous lawman. Well so why at A he had been 30 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: run out of California for horse thieving, so he was 31 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: an actual horse thief. He moved to Wichita and he 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: was a marshal there for three years before he was 33 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: run out of which atall for corruption. And then he 34 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: ended up in Tombstone where his brother Virgil was the 35 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: marshal there. And then Wyatt and his brother Morgan became 36 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: basically deputy marshals under their brother and they kind of 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,119 Speaker 1: selectively enforced the law. But when it came to those cowboys, 38 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: the Clanton gang is another way to put it, Um, 39 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: they enforced the law extra judiciously, very frequently. Yeah. They 40 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: also had a buddy named John Henry Holiday. He's from Griffin, 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: went by the name of doc was he, Yeah, dent. 42 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: His dental office is still in Griffin. I think it's 43 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: like your museum now. So he was a he was 44 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: good with a gun and not shy with a trigger finger. 45 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: And we should mention the bad guys, he said. The 46 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: Clanton Gang was a man named Billy Claiborne, and then 47 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: I can Billy Clanton and then Frank and Tom McLaury. 48 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 1: And they weren't just like you know, low life cowboys. 49 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: They were actually from wealthy ranching families from what I understand. Yeah, 50 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: but you know it was sort of a thing back 51 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: in the day, which I guess you could still be 52 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: a rich low life really, yeah, kidding me. They're they're everywhere. Uh, 53 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,839 Speaker 1: These these two groups of men did not like each 54 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: other though, um for a full year. Uh in Tombstone, 55 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: they really went through a population explosion when someone found 56 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: not gold in them dar Hills, but silver good enough, 57 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: good enough at the time, and uh, they said, we 58 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: need some law enforcement. And it was literally the wild 59 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: West out there at the time. I know that that 60 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: word has used a lot like it's the Wild West 61 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: and podcasting. Yea, with all these shootouts. You know who's 62 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: quick on the draw is that Roman mars Man. That 63 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: guy's good. But they went to the town leaders, and 64 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: they had a lot of the town leaders on their side. 65 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: They went to Verge and white ear It's like, you guys, 66 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: are you know good enough? I guess yeah, you've done 67 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: it before and you're not afraid to shoot someone in 68 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: the face, right, So go shoot him in the face. Boys. So, um, 69 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: you've got like this this uh history of of run 70 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 1: ins between the herbs and the cowboys. There was bad 71 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: blood between them. Um. I read elsewhere that Wyatt Earp 72 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: had designs on becoming sheriff of a neighboring town or 73 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: neighboring county, and so he wanted to make his name 74 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: by bringing the Clanton gang down. So he actually went 75 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:37,840 Speaker 1: to Ike Clanton and said, hey, why don't you turn 76 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: on your brother and the rest of the gang members 77 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: and I'll make sure that you get off, you know, 78 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: Scott free. And apparently apparently Ike was thinking about it. 79 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: That was a great cattle wrestler, I think, but Ike 80 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: was thinking about it, But he ended up not doing it. 81 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: So why it realized that he was in a bit 82 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: of a pickle here because it would harm his reputation 83 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: if it was found out that he was making chunder 84 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: the table deals with bandits Um. And so he decided 85 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: that I needed to go the evidence against him. I 86 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: needed to be rubbed out. So that's basically from what 87 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: I saw that actually led to this gunfight at the 88 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: Okay Corral. That the earth Boys were spoiling for a fight. 89 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: They were actually stalking the Clanton gang that day. All right, well, 90 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: let's take a break and we'll come back and talk 91 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: about what happened. Not high noon, but about three o'clock. 92 00:05:34,600 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: I guess it was high noon somewhere on October. All right, 93 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: so here's the deal. In Tombstone. It was against the 94 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: law to carry weapons in Tombstone, which is shocking. Yeah, 95 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: don't they know about the Second Amendment? I don't know. 96 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: So Virgil Earp and Virgil was the he was the 97 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: marshal at the time. He said, cowboys, you know, you're 98 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: not supposed to have your guns. And there was some 99 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: other run ins that day. There were a couple of 100 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: violent pistol whippings. H and Tom I Clanton and Tom 101 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: McClary were kind of beat down by the RBS earlier 102 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: in the day. Yeah, I didn't. I didn't see anything 103 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: about that elsewhere. But well, it basically came to a 104 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: head at about three o'clock on October. And this is 105 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: crazy to think about, but the gunfight at the Okay 106 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: Corral lasted about thirty seconds. There were about thirty to 107 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 1: forty shots fired between. Mean, how many guys? Was it six? No? 108 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: I think it was more like eight or nine. But 109 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: estimates say that they were about six ft apart from 110 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: one another. Can you imagine they were just in a 111 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: little circle. Basically, he'd just be like shooting at each other. 112 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: Stop quick stop. I'm surprised they all didn't end up 113 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: dead A couple of them did. Um, I know that 114 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: both of I think both of the Clanton brothers ended 115 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: up dead, right, Billy Clanton died and then both mcclari brothers. 116 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: So three of the cowboys died. Um, none of the 117 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: herbs died. But Whyatt got off scott free? He had 118 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: no scratches on him. Virgil almost died. He got shot 119 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: through the back and just narrowly missed his spine. Right now, 120 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: that was Morgan. Virgil got hit in the leg. But yeah, Morgan, 121 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: it just was like a through shot. But I mean, 122 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: I know, I'm sure that felt great. Dot got a 123 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: little scrape and I think he said, like, why you 124 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: know this is Kevin Costner. But yeah, that's some pretty 125 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: terrible shooting right there from six right. So um, yeah, 126 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: that's that's basically like closing your eyes and just firing 127 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: like in a direction that level of of contact. Yeah, 128 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: you would have seen my boot spurs running in the 129 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: other direction in a zig zaggie pattern. So um. The 130 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: shootout of the Okay Corral lasted thirty seconds. It was 131 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: not at high noon, and another little known fact is 132 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: that it wasn't even at the Okay Corral. It was 133 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: in a vacant lot behind the corral, between a boarding 134 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: house and a photo studio. Oh really, yeah, I don't 135 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: think I knew that it's true. It was in an 136 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: Olen mills. Afterwards, Doc Holiday went and got a picture 137 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: where it's like face on and then up in the 138 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: corner he like looking off into the into the moon. 139 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: So here's how it apparently went down. It's like I said, 140 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,839 Speaker 1: those brothers are mclarie and Clinton had been pistol whipped 141 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: earlier in the day. Um, the cowboys came into town 142 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: pretty ticked off about this and kind of looking for 143 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: a fight. So posedly, but also supposedly the RBS were 144 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: just like waiting to start a fight with these guys. Yeah. 145 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: Actually the um earps were almost charged with murder for 146 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: a second there, I think Ike, you said Ike survived, right? Uh? Yes, 147 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: Ike Clanton a couple of days later formally accused the 148 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: Herbs of murder, basically saying that they had ambushed the cowboys. 149 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: That's right. There were a lot of eye witnesses, but 150 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,559 Speaker 1: there was one kind of apparently really important eye witness 151 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: uh named Addie Borland, and she said, uh, quote, I 152 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: didn't see anyone holding up their hands. They all seemed 153 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: to be firing in general, on both sides. They were 154 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: firing on both sides at each other. Right. So, what 155 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: the historians think actually happened is that the RBS came 156 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: upon the Clantons, who were caught by surprise, and the 157 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: Herbs said drop your weapons or we'll start firing, right. 158 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: They actually said it out loud, but then started firing 159 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: before they even had a chance to drop their weapons. 160 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:03,199 Speaker 1: The Clanton gang star, it's firing back. But again they 161 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: were ambushed, they were caught by surprise, and they weren't 162 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: given a chance to actually surrender. Um. And so there 163 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: were kind of some things in there in the favor 164 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: of a case of murder against the herbs. But the 165 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: thing that got them off is that earlier witnesses had 166 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: overheard the Clanton saying that they were going to kill 167 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: the earps. So the RBS are like, see, this is 168 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: all just self defense. Yeah, And there wasn't actual hearing 169 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: because of that, um that call for murder old timing 170 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: name please, justice of the piece. Well, Spicer had a 171 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: hearing and he basically said, uh no, you know what, 172 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: it seems to me like they were well within their 173 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: rights as marshals and what they called special policemen to 174 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: do their duty. And because of Addie Borland's testimony, um, 175 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: and you know, I Clanton came out and he had 176 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: his own testimony, but it looks like they just you know, 177 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 1: it's frontier justice. They sided on the quote unquote law. Yeah. 178 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: I think I Clinton said that he and his brother 179 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: and gang members had their hands up and we're still 180 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: fired upon and at least one of them might not 181 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: have had a weapon, depending on who you asked on 182 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: the cowboys side. So that's how it went down. The 183 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: gunfight at the Ok Corral in a vacant lot at 184 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: three pm, that's right. And later on there was an 185 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 1: attempt assassination attempt on Virgil Earth in December of that 186 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: same year. Morgan Earp was murdered and a billiard club 187 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: in early eighty two, and everyone is cycle this is 188 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: clearly the work of Clanton, although who knows, because it's 189 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: frontier justice, it could have been anything. He could have 190 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: snored too loud. I'm sure the brothers had more more 191 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: enemies than just I Clanton, but people still suspect that 192 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: it was him. And as for Clanton, he was killed 193 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: and seven in the Arizona Territory by a detective and 194 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 1: Wyatt Earp lived until eighteen to the ripled age of 195 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,200 Speaker 1: eighty where he died. Where else Los Angeles, where he 196 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:12,439 Speaker 1: was a DJ and a sometime music producer. That's funny. 197 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,839 Speaker 1: That's it for Short Stuff, everybody. If you want to 198 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: get in touch with the send us an email, you 199 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,319 Speaker 1: have to go listen to the regular episodes to find 200 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 1: out where to send it to. Short Stuff is Out. 201 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeart Radios 202 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 203 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 204 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.