Frank and Billy Help Out

Like everything else about the Gunfight at the OK Corral, there's at least two mutually exclusive versions why Billy and Frank came into Tombstone on October 26, 1881.  One story has it that after Ike and Tom got buffaloed they sent a telegram to Billy and Frank telling them to come on into town.  With the sides evened up the cowboys could now clean up the Earps and Doc with no trouble.

It doesn't take much figuring to realize that's not very likely.  After all, Western Union didn't have direct access to the Clanton and McLaury ranches back in 1881.  And since Billy and Frank showed up just an hour or so after Ike and Tom got clobbered, there just wasn't the time for the telegrams to go flying out from Tombstone to summon Billy and Frank.  Even with an added surcharge it's unlikely Western Union could have sent two of its employees to chase them down before they got into town.  So when Billy and Frank checked into the Grand Hotel, they certainly had no idea what was going on.

Actually Frank (like Tom) had some business to transact, and Billy probably came in to help Ike haul back the supplies.  And no doubt they figured if Tom and Ike were in town having a good time, drinking, gambling, and visiting the sporting ladies, so could they.  Of course, by this time Tom and Ike weren't really having such a good time.

As luck would have it, the first thing Frank and Billy did was bump into Doc Holliday.  You should know by now that Doc would immediately start cussin' Billy and Frank out, call them sons-of-[guns] of cowboys, and tell them to get out their guns and go to work.

Nope, not this time.  All Doc did was walk up to Billy and in a most friendly manner shake his hand.

"How are you?" asked the world's most inexplicable gun-toting dentist with a cheery smile.

Finding Doc Holliday acting pleasant must have really shaken Frank up.  He decided to have a drink.

As Frank stepped to the bar, a young cowboy named Billy Allen sidled up.  He asked Frank if he had heard about the trouble his brother and Ike were having and added that Tom had gotten smacked on the head by Wyatt Earp.

"What did he hit Tom for?" Frank asked.

Billy said he didn't know.

"I will get the boys out of town," Frank said.  "We won't drink."

At least that's the way Billy Allen told it.  Earp Champions are quick to label him as a cowboy "partisan", and are convinced the story of a subdued Frank wanting to avoid trouble is a dastardly lie from beginning to end.  The Earp Detractors point out the story was delivered under oath and is proof that Frank, Tom, Billy, and Ike were doing everything they could to avoid a confrontation with the bullying, arrogant, and murderous Earps.

So why, the Earp Champions ask smugly, did Frank and Billy immediately troop over to a gun shop and begin to stock up on cartridges?  That was a funny thing to do if they wanting to get out of town in a hurry.  But apparently that's what they did, and a lot of people saw them.

Normally a group of cowboys in a gun shop wouldn't attract much attention (Tom and Ike had joined them by then).  But people tend to pay more attention to such things when two of the men had been slapped upside the head by the city law officers.  And when one had been wandering around all morning rather ineffectually looking to "open the ball" with half the city police force, people really sit up and take notice.

And remember, despite what you see on movies and television, most people did not, repeat NOT, walk around the western towns visibly armed.  So a pretty good crowd developed as Billy and Frank stuffed bullets into their gunbelts. Included were not only the sundry worthies and loafers about town, but also Frank McLaury's horse who with all the others had walked up on the sidewalk to have a peek.

On a television show what would happen now is one of the guys on the "other side" would walk up and try to start a fight.  Or at least try to get the other fellows goat.  That shouldn't happen in real life, but it did happen here:  Wyatt Earp came walking by.

And what he saw riled lawmen's instincts to the core.  Flagrant violation of the city ordinances!  Sheer effrontery on the part of the lawless cowboys who should have been spending their time at his faro game rather than thumbing their nose at the law of the land! As a lawman whose jurisdiction included the whole of the Oriental Saloon, he had to take action.

But he didn't walk up and buffalo Tom and Billy and haul them in for carrying firearms in town (which he could have done).  Instead he saw there was a far more heinous crime in progress.

That is, Frank's horse was standing on the sidewalk.  This was sort of a nineteenth century equivalent to double parking.   His law and order instincts taxed to the utmost (and also to irritate Frank a little), Wyatt took hold of Frank's horse and led him back to the street.

Saloonkeeper Robert Hatch had seen Wyatt go to the gunshop.  He knew the McLaurys and the Clantons were there too and hurried away to find Virgil.  The townspeople were no longer amused at what was going on and were getting decidedly nervous.

"For [gosh] sake," Hatch said when he found Virgil.  "Hurry down there to the gunshop, for they are all down there, and Wyatt is all alone!  They are liable to kill him before you get there!"

But all that happened was Frank came out and told Wyatt to leave his horse alone.

"You will have to get this horse off the sidewalk," replied Wyatt.  "It's against the ordinances."  And having made his point (whatever that was), he went on his way.

After the Clantons and McLaurys left the shop, they walked down the street and over to the OK Corral.  Depending whose side you're on, you can either believe they were plotting to ambush the Earps or doing their best to quietly leave town.  As a legal ruling was later to state, "witnesses of credibility" would swear to both.

That's one of the problems with the Gunfight at the OK Corral:  there were few objective and impartial witnesses.  Most everyone involved had an ax to grind and would have done almost anything to get the other fellows over a barrel.  This is a tradition, by the way, that is maintained to this day by modern Western historians and writers, especially if they write about the Earps.  Those boys (and gals) can get downright nasty with each other.  So who do you believe?

What we need here is someone who had never met nor heard of any of the Earps, the Clantons, or the McLaurys, but who nevertheless had overheard important and incriminating discussions of those involved.  You'd also want this same person to be an eyewitness to the whole shebang that followed.  Naturally, you would also prefer someone who would have absolutely no motive to tell anything except the whole unvarnished truth about what he saw and heard.

Now if you guess that that would mean we have to find someone who didn't even live in Tombstone and who would by some amazing stroke of luck just happen to stroll by when people were talking about blasting the other guys away, you'd be perfectly correct.  But if you feel that you might as well wish for a million tax free dollars while you're at it, oddly enough you'd be wrong.  There was, in fact, someone who fit this bill perfectly.

His name was H. F. Sills and he was a railroad engineer who was stopping over at Tombstone.  He had never met nor even knew of the Earps, the Clantons or the McLaurys.  He knew nothing of any of the political bickering and factionalism or about the "cowboy" or "tin-horn gambler" threats and probably couldn't have cared less.

After getting into town, he headed down Allen Street and passed the OK Corral.   As he walked by he saw a bunch of men standing off to the side and talking rather loudly.  Normally, he wouldn't have thought much of it except he heard them say they were going to get someone named Virgil Earp and kill him on sight.

Mr. Sills walked on and asked a bystander who Virgil Earp was.  He was told he was the town marshal.  In fact he happened to be standing just a ways off and was pointed out.  Sills walked up to him.

"Is your name Earp?" he asked.

Virgil said it was.

"Are you the marshal?" Sills again asked.

Virgil said he was.

Mr. Sills then told Virgil what he had heard and repeated that the cowboys said they would "Kill them all."

If Virgil thought that all had to deal with was Ike shooting off his mouth, he now began to think the situation was a bit more serious.  So he went to the Wells Fargo office and picked up a shotgun.  About this time a number of other people had approached Virgil and offered to help.

By now the cowboys had walked on through the OK Corral, using it as a shortcut from Allen to Fremont street. The next we hear of them they were all standing in the vacant lot between Fly's boarding house and another boarding house owned by William Harwood.  Fly's boarding house, of course, was where Doc Holliday lived.

What can you conclude when you have a group of men who had just been overheard plotting to kill the city marshal and were now waiting by the abode of the man who they think started it all?  It would seem pretty clear now that by this time the Clantons and McLaurys had decided to postpone their return trip home and really had decided to blast Doc and the Earps.

With the motives and intentions now so evident and the good guys and bad guys at last so clearly identified, its a shame to have to muddy everything up again.   Actually, it appears that rather than lay in wait for the Earps and Doc, Frank simply turned right and walked two doors to Bauer's Meat Market.  He started talking with the butcher on duty, James Kehoe, about some money he owed the firm. Which was why Frank came to town in the first place.  

And to REALLY muddy things up, now Johnny Behan decided to help out.  Remember Johnny Behan?   The sheriff of the county who had tried to nail Doc for stage robbery by getting his girl friend plastered?  The Johnny Behan who couldn't stand Wyatt, not only because Wyatt was about ten times the lawman Johnny was, but also because Wyatt had snitched Johnny's girlfriend?

Yep, that's the Johnny Behan we're talking about.

Somehow, the same Johnny Behan - good old affable, smooth talking, philandering Johnny - had managed somehow to have absolutely no idea what was going on.  He had remained blissfully ignorant of Doc and Ike's altercation the night before, Ike trooping around town all morning with a rifle and pistol, not to mention Ike getting buffaloed by Virgil and hauled into court.  And of course, Johnny had completely missed any news of Tom getting his head thumped by Wyatt.  To miss all this in a town the size of Tombstone takes rare skill.

Finally despite his best efforts, Johnny heard something about what everyone else had been talking about for the last eight to twelve hours.  He was in the barber shop getting a shave when someone came in and said there was trouble brewing between the Earps and the cowboys.  Johnny asked the barber to hurry along.

Johnny's version (of course) tends to paint the Earps a bit different from the upstanding law officers intent on preserving the peace.  According to Johnny, he found Virgil on the street and asked what was going on.  Virgil (again so says Johnny) replied that there were a lots of sons-of-[guns] around town that were looking for a fight.  Johnny told Virgil (so he claimed) he should disarm them.  Virgil replied (once again according to Johnny) that he wouldn't do that.  He'd kill them on sight.

Virgil in HIS version of the conversation said that he was going to disarm them and asked Johnny to help him.  He said Johnny refused, saying they'd get killed.  

So it's easy to blow Johnny's tale off as just another Johnny-I -hate-the-Earps story.  Unfortunately (for Virgil) a by-stander, P. H. Fellehy, overheard heard Johnny and Virgil talking.

"Those men have made their threats," Fellehy remembered Virgil saying.  "I will not arrest them, but kill them on sight."  Some think this proves Fellehy was a member of the cowboy faction.  Actually he ran a laundry.

So the best guess is Virgil probably did make this (for him) most uncharacteristic reply. But by this time Virgil was so fed up with Ike and his friends that he probably would have liked to plug them all, if for no other reason just to shut them up.  But as you'll see, Virgil was still a lawman, and his rhetoric here was a more extreme than his actions.

Johnny hadn't quite given up, though.  After all, he was the sheriff.  Since he was more friendly with the McLaurys and Clantons than the Earps, he thought maybe he could make things simmer down if he talked to them alone.  So he headed off to find the cowboys.

But Virgil had finally decided enough was enough.  He managed to collect Morgan and Wyatt and decided to go arrest the Clantons and McLaurys.  He probably wouldn't have been too sorry to throw in a few more buffaloings either.

As luck would have it after they started down the street Doc came up.  With the weather so cold and windy, his tuberculosis was acting up and he was walking with a cane.

"Doc, this is our fight," Virgil said.  Doc really had no business mixing in here but as usual he managed to make trouble.

"That's a [heck] of a thing to say to me," Doc grumbled.

Virgil later claimed he deputized Doc on the spot.  This wasn't a smart move on Virgil's part, but maybe he just realized that Doc, being Doc, wasn't going to go away if asked.  However it was done, Virgil let Doc come along.  He handed his shotgun to Doc and took Doc's cane.  Doc stuck the gun under his overcoat.

The Earps headed up Fourth Street and turned the corner at Fremont.  There they saw Johnny with the cowboys.  They headed on down the street.

Back by Fly's boarding house, Johnny had been trying rather ineffectually to arrest the whole bunch.  He told Tom and Frank they had to give up their arms or get out of town.  Tom said he was unarmed.  Johnny checked him out (but not thoroughly he would later admit) and found nothing.  Well, he couldn't very well arrest a man for carrying arms when he wasn't carrying any, could he?  Chalk up this victory to Tom.

He said the same thing to Billy Clanton.  Billy said he was just leaving town.

Dang!  That really threw a monkey wrench into things.  You were allowed to carry guns if "in good faith" you were entering or leaving town.  So what could Johnny do?

"Well, if your leaving town, all right," said the ever firm and in command Johnny.

He told Ike to give up his guns.  Ike also said he was unarmed.  Johnny checked out Ike.  Again, no guns.

Frank was still talking to James Kehoe in front of Bauer's Meat Market.

"Frank, I want you to lay off your arms while you're in town,"  Johnny said.

"Johnny," Frank replied, "as long as people in town act so, I will not give up my arms."

"Well, I want you to go up to the Sheriff's Office and lay off your arms."

"You need not take me," said Frank, "I'll go."  Johnny was probably surprised at his effectiveness.

Just then someone called out, "Here comes the Earp boys!"  Johnny turned and saw them heading his way.  He told Frank and his friends to stay put.

He headed on to meet the Earps.

In Bauer's Market at this time, Martha King had been trying to get the clerk to wait on her but everyone was standing looking out the windows.  She didn't know the Earps but she did know Doc (whom she called Mr. Holliday).  As the group walked by on the sidewalk she heard one of the Earps (Morgan, actually) speak to Doc.

"Let them have it," Morgan said.

"All right," answered Doc.

Mrs. King, showing quite a bit more sense than the men, hurried toward the back of the store.

Johnny had now walked up to meet the Earps and told them not to go any further.  That he was there for disarming the group.  Fed up with Johnny as well, Virgil didn't say anything and just kept going.

Both Wyatt and Virgil would remember that Johnny had said he had ALREADY disarmed everyone.  So Wyatt putt his gun back in his pocket.  Virgil's gun was also out of sight and he only held Doc's cane.

Morgan though had his gun in his hand and Doc was holding Virgil's shotgun under his coat.

Johnny Behan was no Wyatt Earp.  If it had been Wyatt trying to handle things, everyone would have been lying with sore noggins on the streets or would have been hauled off to jail by the scruff of the neck .  As it is Johnny just called out:

"For [gosh] sake, don't go down there or you will be killed!"

The Earps moved on.  Johnny kept following telling them to stop. "Expostulating" with them, was the way Johnny put it.

Whatever Johnny did say, both Virgil and Wyatt were expecting to see the cowboys without guns.  But instead when they got to the vacant lot, Frank and Billy still had their pistols and Frank and Tom had rifles in the scabbards of their saddles.

Doc walked up to Frank and put his gun to Frank's stomach.  He then stepped back a foot or two.

Wyatt looked at the group and shouted, "You sons-of-[guns] have been looking for a fight and now you shall have it."

Virgil called out, "I have come to arrest and disarm you!"

Then finally, at last, something happened that everyone present would all swear actually happened: Virgil barked out one final command.

"Throw up your hands!"