Editing Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (section)

== The gunfight ==
{{wikisource|A Fierce Fight}}
{{wikisource|A Desperate Street Fight (Daily Nugget)}}

[[File:Tombstone lithograph map shootout.png|thumb|upright|Annotated 1886 fire map of Tombstone indicating the actual shootout location (in green) and the O.K. Corral (in yellow) on the other side of the block]]
[[File:Tombstone1909.jpg|thumb|left|Third St. in Tombstone, Arizona in 1909 from the roof of the Cochise County Courthouse. The O.K. Corral was located on Allen St., the first right turn off Third St. The white building at the center right is Schiefflin Hall on Fremont St. The gunfight took place on Fremont St. between C.S.Fly's photo studio & the Harwood House. Fly's is the first visible structure after the right turn on Fremont St. and the vacant lot where the fight commenced is visible.]]

Martha J. King was in Bauer's butcher shop located on Fremont Street.<ref name=Bauertestimony/> She testified that when the Earp party passed by her location, one of the Earps on the outside of the group looked across and said to Doc Holliday nearest the store, "... let them have it!" to which Holliday replied, "All right."<ref name=turner>{{cite book|author=Turner, Alford E.|title=The OK Corral Inquest|location=College Station, Texas|publisher=Creative Publishing company|year=1981|isbn=0-932702-16-3}}</ref>{{rp|66–68|date=November 2012}}<ref name="kingtestimony">{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/kingtestimony.html|title=Testimony of Martha King in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case|access-date=February 7, 2011|year=2005|editor-first=Douglas|editor-last=Linder|work=Famous Trials: The O. K. Corral Trial|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215162419/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/kingtestimony.html|archive-date=December 15, 2010}} From Turner, Alford (Ed.), ''The O. K. Corral Inquest'' (1992)</ref>

=== Physical proximity ===
When the Earps approached the lot, the four lawmen initially faced six Cowboys: Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, Wes Fuller, and Ike Clanton.<ref name=fraser/><ref name=hornung/>{{rp|88}} When the Cowboys saw the officers, they stepped away from the Harwood house.

In testimony given by witnesses afterward, they disagreed about the precise location of the men before, during and after the gunfight.<ref name=knuthco1>{{cite web |url=http://home.earthlink.net/~knuthco1/recent/TheStreetfight.htm |title=The Streetfight by Jeff Morey – Tombstone History Archives |access-date=March 2, 2011 |first=Jeffrey J. |last=Morey |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628181800/http://home.earthlink.net/~knuthco1/recent/TheStreetfight.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2011 }}</ref> The coroner's inquest and the [[O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath|Spicer hearing]] produced a sketch showing the Cowboys standing, from left to right facing Fremont Street, with Billy Clanton and then Frank McLaury near the Harwood house and Tom McLaury and Ike Clanton roughly in the middle of the lot. Opposite them and initially only about {{convert|6|to|10|ft|m}} away, Virgil Earp was on the left end of the Earp party, standing a few feet inside the vacant lot and nearest Ike Clanton. Behind him a few feet near the corner of [[C. S. Fly]]'s boarding house was Wyatt. Morgan Earp was standing on Fremont Street to Wyatt's right, and Doc Holliday anchored the end of their line in Fremont Street, a few feet to Morgan's right.<ref name=knuthco1/>

Wyatt Earp drew a sketch in 1924 and another with [[John H. Flood, Jr.|John Flood]] on September 15, 1926, that depicted [[Billy Clanton]] near the middle of the lot, close to the Harwood house. Tom and Frank McLaury stood deeper in the lot. Frank was in the center between the two buildings, holding the reins of his horse. Tom was closer to C. S. Fly's boarding house. According to Wyatt's sketches, Morgan was on the right of the lawmen, close to the Harwood house, opposite Billy Clanton near the Harwood house and close to Fremont St. Virgil was deeper in the lot, opposite Frank and Ike Clanton. Wyatt was to Virgil's left, opposite Tom. Doc Holliday hung back a step or two on Fremont Street.<ref name=turner/>{{rp|145|date=November 2012}}<ref name=johns>{{cite web |url=http://johnswesterngallery.com/pdf/Catalogue12.pdf |title=The Gilchriese Collections |publisher=Johns' Western Gallery |location=San Francisco |access-date=April 14, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713114345/http://johnswesterngallery.com/pdf/Catalogue12.pdf |archive-date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref> Neither of Wyatt's sketches included Ike Clanton or Billy Claiborne, who ran from the fight.<ref name="lubet"/>

=== Gun battle begins ===
[[File:Earp83.JPG|right|thumb|Wyatt Earp 19 months after the famous gunfight, during the bloodless [[Dodge City War]]]]
Virgil Earp was not expecting a fight. After Behan said that he had disarmed the Cowboys, Virgil and Wyatt put the pistols they had been holding in their waistband<ref name="virgiltestimony"/> or overcoat pocket. Holliday had a short coach gun concealed under his long jacket.<ref name="wyatttestimony"/>

Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury wore revolvers in [[handgun holster|holsters]] on their belts and stood alongside their saddled horses with rifles in their [[scabbard]]s conversing with a unknown man, purported to be [[Calico Jones]], possibly in violation of the city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town.<ref name="historynet"/><ref name=johns/>

When Virgil saw the Cowboys, he testified, he immediately commanded the Cowboys to "Throw up your hands, I want your guns!"<ref name="virgiltestimony"/> Wyatt said Virgil told the Cowboys, "Throw up your hands; I have come to disarm you!"<ref name="wyatttestimony"/> Virgil and Wyatt both testified they saw Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton draw and cock their single action six shot revolvers as [[Calico Jones]] escaped down an adjacent alley back towards [[The O.K. Corral]].<ref name="virgiltestimony"/> Virgil yelled: "Hold! I don't mean that!"<ref name=turner/>{{rp|172–173|date=November 2012}} or "Hold on, I don't want that!"<ref name="virgiltestimony"/>

Jeff Morey, who served as the historical consultant on the film ''[[Tombstone (film)|Tombstone]]'', compared testimony by partisan and neutral witnesses and came to the conclusion that the Earps described the situation accurately.<ref name=knuthco1/><ref name="orteta24Dec">{{cite web |last=Ortega |first=Tony |date=December 24, 1998 |title=Who Shot First? |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/who-shot-first-6421532 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916041212/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1998-12-24/news/who-shot-first/ |archive-date=September 16, 2014 |access-date=April 19, 2013 |website=Phoenix New Times}}</ref>

Who started shooting first is not certain; accounts by both participants and eyewitnesses are contradictory.<ref name=waldman>{{cite book|last=Waldman|first=Scott P.|title=Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Wyatt Earp Upholds the Law|year=2003|page=24|publisher=Rosen Central Primary Sources |isbn=978-0-8239-4393-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErqLajyt0DkC&pg=PA24|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521113444/https://books.google.com/books?id=ErqLajyt0DkC&pg=PA24|archive-date=May 21, 2016}}</ref> The smoke from the [[gunpowder|black powder]] used in the weapons added to the confusion of the gunfight in the narrow space.<ref name=historynetgun>{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/gunfight-at-the-ok-corral-did-tom-mclaury-have-a-gun.htm/2 |title=Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Did Tom McLaury Have a Gun |publisher=HistoryNet |date=September 5, 2006 |access-date=January 15, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314014055/http://www.historynet.com/gunfight-at-the-ok-corral-did-tom-mclaury-have-a-gun.htm/2 |archive-date=March 14, 2011 }}</ref> Those loyal to one side or the other told conflicting stories, and independent eyewitnesses who did not know the participants by sight were unable to say for certain who shot first. The six or seven men with guns fired about 30 shots in around 30 seconds.<ref name=historychannel/><ref name=guinn/>{{rp|230}}

; First two shots
Virgil Earp reported afterward, "Two shots went off right together. Billy Clanton's was one of them."<ref name="virgiltestimony"/> Wyatt testified, "Billy Clanton leveled his pistol at me, but I did not aim at him. I knew that Frank McLaury had the reputation of being a good shot and a dangerous man, and I aimed at Frank McLaury." He said he shot Frank McLaury after both he and Billy Clanton went for their revolvers: "The first two shots were fired by Billy Clanton and myself, he shooting at me, and I shooting at Frank McLaury."<ref name="wyatttestimony"/> Morey agreed that Billy Clanton and Wyatt Earp fired first. Clanton missed, but Earp shot Frank McLaury in the stomach.<ref name=orteta24Dec/>

All witnesses generally agreed that the first two shots were almost indistinguishable from each other. General firing immediately broke out. Virgil and Wyatt thought Tom was armed. When the shooting started, the horse that [[Tom McLaury]] held jumped to one side. Wyatt said he also saw Tom throw his hand to his right hip. Virgil said Tom followed the horse's movement, hiding behind it, and fired once or twice over the horse's back.<ref name="virgiltestimony"/>

; Holliday shoots Tom
According to one witness, Holliday drew a "large bronze pistol" (interpreted by some as Virgil's [[coach gun]]) from under his long coat, stepped around Tom McLaury's horse,<ref name=waldman/> and shot him with the double-barreled shotgun in the chest at close range.<ref name=autogenerated7>{{Cite book | last1 = Weir | first1 = William | title = History's Greatest Lies: the Startling Truths Behind World Events our History Books Got Wrong | year = 2009 | publisher = Fair Winds Press | location = Beverly, MA | isbn = 978-1-59233-336-3 | page =288}}</ref>{{rp|185|date=November 2012}}

Witness C. H. "Ham" Light saw Tom running or stumbling westward on Fremont Street towards Third Street, away from the gunfight, while Frank and Billy were still standing and shooting. Light testified that Tom fell at the foot of a telegraph pole on the corner of Fremont and 3rd Street and lay there, without moving, through the duration of the fight.<ref name=gattoinquest>{{cite web|last=Gatto|first=Steve|title=Inquest|url=http://tombstonehistory.tripod.com/inquest1.html|access-date=April 18, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831071538/http://tombstonehistory.tripod.com/inquest1.html|archive-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref> Fallehy also saw Tom stagger across the street until he fell on his back.<ref name=fallehytestimony/> After shooting Tom, Holliday tossed the empty shotgun aside, pulled out his nickel-plated revolver, and continued to fire at Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton.<ref name="behantestimony"/>

; Cowboys run

[[Ike Clanton]] had been publicly threatening to kill the Earps for several months, including very loud threats on the day before.<ref name="lubet"/> Wyatt told the court afterward that Clanton had bragged that he would kill the Earps or Doc Holliday at his first opportunity. However, when the gunfight broke out, Clanton ran forward and grabbed Wyatt, exclaiming that he was unarmed and did not want a fight. To this protest Wyatt said he responded, "Go to fighting or get away!"<ref name=turner/>{{rp|164|date=November 2012}} Clanton ran through the front door of Fly's boarding house and escaped, unwounded. Other accounts say that Ike drew a hidden pistol and fired at the Earps before disappearing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-wyattearp5.html |title=Wyatt Earp – Frontier Lawman of the American West|page= 5 |work=legendsofamerica.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316165430/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-wyattearp5.html |archive-date=March 16, 2015 }}</ref> Like Ike, [[Billy Claiborne]] was unarmed. He and Cowboy Wes Fuller, who had been at the rear of the lot, also ran from the fight as soon as the shooting began.<ref name="lubet"/><ref name=hornung/>{{rp|88}}

; Frank McLaury shot
According to ''The Tombstone Epitaph'', "Wyatt Earp stood up and fired in rapid succession, as cool as a cucumber, and was not hit." Morgan Earp fired almost immediately, as [[Billy Clanton]] drew his gun right-handed. Morgan's shot hit Billy in the right wrist, disabling his hand. Forced to shift the revolver to his left hand, Clanton continued shooting until he emptied the gun.<ref name=turner/>{{rp|154|date=November 2012}} Virgil and Wyatt were now firing. Morgan Earp tripped and fell over a newly buried waterline and fired from the ground.<ref name="historynet" /> Wyatt shot Frank McLaury in the abdomen, and Frank took his horse by its reins and struggled across Fremont Street. He tried and failed to grab his rifle from the scabbard but lost control of the horse. Frank crossed Fremont Street firing his revolver instead. Frank and Holliday exchanged shots as Frank moved across Fremont Street, and Frank hit Holliday in his pistol pocket, grazing him. Holliday followed him, exclaiming, "That son of a bitch has shot me and I am going to kill him." Morgan Earp picked himself up and also fired at Frank.<ref name="morey">{{cite web|last=Morey|first=Jeff|title=Blaze Away|url=http://home.earthlink.net/~knuthco1/Itemsofinterest4/blazeawaysource.htm|access-date=April 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821123613/http://home.earthlink.net/~knuthco1/Itemsofinterest4/blazeawaysource.htm|archive-date=August 21, 2011}}</ref> Frank fell to the sidewalk on the east side of Fremont Street.

A number of witnesses observed a man leading a horse into the street and firing near it and Wyatt in his testimony thought this was Tom McLaury. Claiborne said only one man had a horse in the fight, and that this man was Frank, holding his own horse by the reins, then losing it and its cover, in the middle of the street.<ref name="claibornetestimony">{{cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/claibornetestimony.html |title=Testimony of William F. Claiborne |date=November 7, 1881 |access-date=February 11, 2011 |editor-first=Douglas |editor-last=Linder |work=Famous Trials: The O. K. Corral Trial |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215162348/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/claibornetestimony.html |archive-date=December 15, 2010 }} From Turner, Alford (Ed.), ''The O. K. Corral Inquest'' (1992)</ref> Wes Fuller also identified Frank as the man in the street leading the horse.<ref name="fullertestimony">{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/fullertestimony.html|title=Testimony of Wesley Fuller|date=November 7, 1881|access-date=February 11, 2011|editor-first=Douglas|editor-last=Linder|work=Famous Trials: The O. K. Corral Trial|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203141949/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/fullertestimony.html|archive-date=February 3, 2011}} From Turner, Alford (Ed.), ''The O. K. Corral Inquest'' (1992)</ref>

;Morgan Earp wounded
Though wounded, Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury kept shooting. One of them, perhaps Billy, shot Morgan Earp across the back in a wound that struck both shoulder blades and a vertebra. Morgan went down for a minute before picking himself up. Either Frank or Billy shot Virgil Earp in the calf (Virgil thought it was Billy). Virgil, though hit, fired his next shot at Billy Clanton.<ref name=morey/>

Frank, now entirely across Fremont street and still walking at a good pace according to Claiborne's testimony, fired twice more before he was shot in the head under his right ear. Both Morgan and Holliday apparently thought they had fired the shot that killed Frank, but since neither of them testified at the hearing, this information is only from second-hand accounts. A passerby testified to having stopped to help Frank, and saw Frank try to speak, but he died where he fell, before he could be moved.<ref name="matthewtestimony"/>

Billy Clanton was shot in the wrist, chest and abdomen, and after a minute or two slumped to a sitting position near his original position at the corner of the Harwood house in the lot between the house and Fly's Lodging House. Claiborne said Clanton was supported by a window initially after he was shot, and fired some shots after sitting, with the pistol supported on his leg. After he ran out of ammunition, he called for more cartridges, but [[C. S. Fly]] took his pistol at about the time the general shooting ended.<ref name=turner/>{{rp|174|date=November 2012}}

A few moments later, Tom McLaury was carried from the corner of Fremont and Third into the Harwood house on that corner, where he died without speaking.<ref name="marks"/>{{rp|234|date=November 2012}}<ref name="oldwest"/> Passersby carried Billy Clanton to the Harwood house, where Tom had been taken. Billy was in considerable pain and asked for a doctor and some [[morphine]]. He told those near him, "They have murdered me. I have been murdered. Chase the crowd away and from the door and give me air." Billy gasped for air, and someone else heard him say, "Go away and let me die."<ref name="marks" />{{rp|234|date=November 2012}} Ike Clanton, who had repeatedly threatened the Earps with death, was still running. William Cuddy testified that Ike passed him on Allen Street and Johnny Behan saw him a few minutes later on Toughnut Street.<ref name="marks" />{{rp|236|date=November 2012}}