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

== Origins of the conflict ==

=== Earps versus Cowboys ===
[[File:VirgilEarp.jpg|thumb|165px|Virgil Earp, wounded during the gunfight, was later ambushed by the Cowboys]]
[[File:Wyatt Earp portrait.png|thumb|165px|Wyatt Earp took matters into his own hands when the Cowboys who ambushed Virgil and murdered Morgan went free]]
The interpersonal conflicts and [[feud]]s leading to the gunfight were complex. Each side had strong family ties. The brothers James, Virgil, Wyatt, [[Morgan Earp|Morgan]], and [[Warren Earp]] were a tight-knit family, working together as lawmen, [[pimps]], and saloon owners in several frontier towns, among other occupations, and had moved together from one town to another. Virgil served in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]] and in 1877 became a police officer in [[Prescott, Arizona|Prescott, Arizona Territory]]. He followed that with a job as a night watchman before he became a constable. Wyatt had held jobs as either a guard or police officer in the cattle-drive towns of [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]] and [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]], 
[[Kansas]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wyatt-earp-dropped-from-wichita-police-force|title=Wyatt Earp dropped from Wichita police force|website=HISTORY}}</ref>

James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp, together with their wives, arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879, during the early period of rapid growth associated with mining, when there were only a few hundred residents.<ref name=linder2005>{{cite journal |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earpaccount.html |editor-first=Douglas |editor-last=Linder |year=2007 |title=The Earp-Holliday Trial: An Account |access-date=April 14, 2011 |publisher=University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1023000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113175200/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earpaccount.html |archive-date=January 13, 2011 }}</ref> Virgil was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal shortly before he arrived in town. In the summer of 1880, Morgan and Warren Earp also moved to Tombstone. Wyatt arrived hoping he could leave "lawing" behind. He bought a [[stagecoach]], only to find the business was already very competitive. The Earps invested together in several mining claims and water rights.<ref name=burns/>{{rp|180|date=November 2012}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyattearp.net/arrival.html |title=Wyatt Earp History Page |access-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112064055/http://www.wyattearp.net/arrival.html |archive-date=January 12, 2014 }}</ref> The Earps were [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and [[Northern United States|Northerners]] who had never worked as cowmen or ranchers.

The Earps quickly came into conflict with [[Frank McLaury|Frank]] and [[Tom McLaury]], [[Billy Clanton|Billy]] and [[Ike Clanton]], [[Johnny Ringo]], and William "Curly Bill" Brocius, among others. They were part of a large, loose association of cattle smugglers and [[horse thief|horse thieves]] known as the Cowboys, outlaws who had been implicated in various crimes. Ike Clanton was prone to drinking heavily and threatened the Earp brothers numerous times.<ref>{{cite book |first=Wilcox |last= Victoria |title= The World of Doc Holliday: History and Historic Images |location= United States |publisher= TwoDot |year= 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1cBEAAAQBAJ |page=120|isbn= 9781493048298 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earpaccount.html|title=An account of the events leading up to, and including, the trial (preliminary hearing) of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday for their roles in the 1881 shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.|website=law2.umkc.edu}}</ref>

Tombstone resident George Parson wrote in his diary, "A Cowboy is a rustler at times, and a rustler is a synonym for [[Outlaw|desperado]]—[[bandit]], outlaw, and horse thief." The ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys [are] the most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country ... infinitely worse than the ordinary robber."<ref name=linder2005/> During the 1880s in Cochise County, it was an insult to call a legitimate [[cattleman]] a "Cowboy".<ref name="stone"/> The Cowboys teamed up for various crimes and came to each other's aid. Virgil thought that some of the Cowboys had met at [[Charleston, Arizona|Charleston]] and taken "an oath over blood drawn from the arm of Johnny Ringo, the leader, that they would kill us."<ref name="historynet"/>

=== The Earps as lawmen ===
Among the lawmen involved in the O.K. Corral shooting, only Virgil had any real experience in combat. Virgil had been [[Constables in the United States|constable]] in Prescott and was the [[United States Marshals Service|deputy United States Marshal]] in Tombstone. He was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County by U.S. Marshal [[Crawley P. Dake|Crawley Dake]], on November 27, 1879, before the Earps arrived in Tombstone on December 1. He was appointed as Tombstone's acting town marshal on September 30, 1880, after popular Tombstone town marshal [[Fred White (marshal)|Fred White]] was accidentally shot and killed by Brocius. Wyatt had been a deputy city marshal in Kansas, as well as deputy sheriff in Tombstone.<ref name=ashford/><ref name=adams>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=Ramon F. Jr.|title=Burs Under the saddle: A Second Look at Books and Histories of the West|date=1989|publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]]|location=Norman, OK|isbn=978-0-8061-2170-3|page=330|edition=First}}</ref>

Only six weeks later, Virgil ran for the office on November 12, 1880, but lost to [[Ben Sippy]]. However, on June 6, 1881, Sippy asked for a two-week [[leave of absence]]. The city soon discovered $3,000 ({{Inflation|US|3000|1881|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) in financial improprieties in Sippy's records. A few days later Virgil was appointed as town marshal in his place.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virgil Earp – Upholding the Law of the West|url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-virgilearp.html|access-date=March 24, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324191501/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-virgilearp.html|archive-date=March 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wyatt Earp |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-wyattearp5.html |publisher=Legends of America |access-date=March 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316165430/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-wyattearp5.html |archive-date=March 16, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=guinn>{{cite book|last=Guinn|first=Jeff|title=The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral and How it Changed the American West|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4391-5424-3|edition=First hardcover|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yOCfoJu6a0C|year=2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109162703/https://books.google.com/books?id=6yOCfoJu6a0C|archive-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> At the time of the gunfight, Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and town marshal. The city suspended him as town marshal after Ike Clanton filed murder charges.<ref name=roberts>{{Cite book |last1 = Roberts | first1 = Gary L. | title = Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend | year = 2007 | publisher = Wiley, J | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-470-12822-0}}</ref>{{rp|238}}

After Wyatt first arrived in Tombstone, his business efforts yielded little profit, and he took a job as a stagecoach [[shotgun messenger]] for [[Wells Fargo]], guarding shipments of silver bullion. On July 28, 1880, Wyatt was appointed Pima County [[Deputy Sheriff]]. He held this position for only three months, until after the election of November 9, 1880, when he resigned.<ref name=wgbh>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/wyatt-transcript/ |title=WGBH American Experience: Wyatt Earp, Complete Program Transcript |date=January 25, 2010 |series=22 |number=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130081133/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/wyatt-transcript/ |archive-date=January 30, 2017 }}</ref> When Virgil was maimed by an assassination attempt, Wyatt was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal in his place. He held that position until he left Cochise County in April 1882.

Wyatt was an imposing, handsome man: blond, {{convert|6|ft|m}} tall, weighing {{convert|165|to|170|lb}}, broad-shouldered, long-armed, and muscular. He had been a boxer and was reputed to be an expert with a [[pistol]]. According to author Leo Silva, Earp showed no fear of any man.<ref name="silva">{{cite journal |author=Leo Silva |title=Was Wyatt Earp a good guy who was both a gambler and a lawman by profession? Or was he a bad guy who wore a badge merely to protect his crooked gambling interests? |journal=American Cowboy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cuoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83 |date=Jan–Feb 2003 |page=106 |volume=9 |issn=1079-3690 |publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc. |issue=5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425062335/https://books.google.com/books?id=cuoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83 |archive-date=April 25, 2016 }}</ref>{{rp|83|date=November 2012}} Wyatt had been an assistant marshal when he and policeman [[James Masterson]], along with a few other citizens, fired their pistols at several cowboys who were fleeing town after shooting up a theater. A member of the group, George Hoyt (sometimes spelled Hoy), was shot in the arm and died of his wound a month later. Wyatt always claimed to have been the one to shoot Hoyt, although it could have been anyone among the lawmen.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Nyle H.|last2=Snell|first2=Joseph W.|title=Why the West Was Wild: A Contemporary Look at the Antics of Some Highly Publicized Kansas Cowtown Personalities|date=2003|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|location=Norman|isbn=978-0806135267|page=666|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9jm6-5LvckC&pg=PA666|access-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505201058/https://books.google.com/books?id=s9jm6-5LvckC&pg=PA666|archive-date=May 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=Ramon F.|title=Burs Under the Saddle: A Second Look at Books and Histories of the West|date=1989|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|location=Norman|isbn=978-0806121703|page=329|edition=First paperback|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCTBZt_WyScC&pg=PA329|access-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603072131/https://books.google.com/books?id=qCTBZt_WyScC&pg=PA329|archive-date=June 3, 2016}}</ref> Wyatt had developed a reputation as a no-nonsense, hard-nosed lawman, but prior to the gunfight he had been involved in only one other shooting, in Dodge City, Kansas, during the summer of 1878.<ref name=ashford/>

The 1931 book ''[[Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal]]'' was a best-selling biography by [[Stuart N. Lake]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lake|first=Stuart N.|title=Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal|year=1994|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York|isbn=9780671885373}}</ref> It established Wyatt Earp's role as a fearless lawman in the [[American Old West]] and the legend of the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in the public consciousness.<ref name=miller1988>{{cite book|first=Paul I.|last=Wellman|others=illustrated by F. Miller|title=The Trampling Herd: The Story of the Cattle Range in America|year=1988|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=978-0-8032-9723-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uICOZkfaoZcC|edition=reprint. Philadelphia 1939.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617104155/https://books.google.com/books?id=uICOZkfaoZcC|archive-date=June 17, 2016}}</ref>{{rp|36}} But Lake and many others in the popular media wildly exaggerated Wyatt's role as the central figure in the gunfight.<ref name=miller1988/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/photo-gallery/wyatt/ |title=Wyatt Earp in Popular Culture |publisher=American Experience |access-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017134111/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/photo-gallery/wyatt/ |archive-date=October 17, 2010 }}</ref> It was only discovered much later that ''Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'', based on eight interviews with Earp, was largely fictional.<ref name=miller1988/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/reels/films/list/0_34_9 |title=Wyatt Earp (1994) |access-date=April 16, 2013 |first=Dan |last=Gibbs |date=November 1999 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224100336/http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/reels/films/list/0_34_9 |archive-date=December 24, 2013 }}</ref> The book and later Hollywood portrayals embellished Wyatt's reputation and magnified his mystique as a western lawman.<ref name=ashford>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film—first-action-hero-wyatt-earp-was-an-elderly-movie-groupie-who-failed-to-make-it-as-an-extra-then-stuart-n-lake-wrote-his-spurious-biography-and-the-starspangled-hero-of-the-o-k-corral-was-born-as-two-new-films-strip-the-myth-to-its-bones-david-ashford-charts-the-making-of-a-hollywood-cowboy-1446479.html |title=First action hero: Wyatt Earp was an elderly movie groupie who failed to make it as an extra ...|access-date=January 10, 2011 |first=David |last=Ashford|date=September 3, 1994 |location=London |work=The Independent}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Morgan Earp had been a police officer in [[Montana]], but had no known experience with gunfighting prior to their arrival in Tombstone. While Wyatt was Pima County Deputy Sheriff on July 27, 1880, Morgan Earp took over his job as shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo. Morgan also occasionally assisted Virgil and at the time of the gunfight was a special deputy policeman and drawing pay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/WWearpM.htm|title=Morgan Earp|website=Spartacus Educational}}</ref>

[[Doc Holliday]] had a reputation as a gunman and had reportedly been in nine shootouts during his life, although it has only been verified that he killed three men.<ref name="LegendsofAmerica">{{cite web|url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-docholliday.html|title=Legends of America: Doc Holliday|access-date=November 7, 2011|publisher=Legends of America|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024013210/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-docholliday.html|archive-date=October 24, 2011}}</ref> One well-documented episode occurred on July 19, 1879, when Holliday and his business partner, former deputy marshal [[John Joshua Webb]], were seated in their saloon in [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]. Former [[U.S. Army]] [[Reconnaissance|scout]] Mike Gordon got into a loud argument with one of the saloon girls whom he wanted to take with him. Gordon stormed from the saloon and began firing his revolver into the building. Before Gordon could get off his second shot, Holliday killed him. Holliday was tried for murder but acquitted, mostly based on the testimony of Webb.<ref name="webb">{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-JJWebb.html |publisher=Legends of America |title=John Joshua Webb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060325232427/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-JJWebb.html |archive-date=March 25, 2006 |access-date=February 7, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/doc-holliday-kills-for-the-first-time|title=Doc Holliday Kills for the First Time|access-date=February 7, 2011|author=History.com|work=This Day in History|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308032639/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/doc-holliday-kills-for-the-first-time|archive-date=March 8, 2010}}</ref>

Holliday had saved Wyatt Earp's life at one time and had become a close friend. He had been living in Prescott, Arizona Territory and making a living as a gambler since late 1879. There, he first met future Tombstone sheriff [[Johnny Behan]], a sometime gambler and saloon owner. In late September 1880, Holliday followed the Earps to Tombstone.<ref name="historynetgambler">{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/the-gamblers-war-in-tombstone.htm |title=The Gamblers' War in Tombstone |access-date=February 7, 2011 |work=June 12, 2006 |date=June 12, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406012619/http://www.historynet.com/the-gamblers-war-in-tombstone.htm |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}</ref>

=== Rural Cowboys vs. Tombstone interests ===
{{further|Cochise County Cowboys|Cochise County in the Old West}}
[[File:IkeClanton1881.jpg|thumb|upright|Ike Clanton swore multiple times he would kill the Earps but ran from the gunfight]]
The [[ranch]] owned by [[Newman Haynes Clanton]] near [[Charleston, Arizona]] was believed to be the local center for the Cowboys' illegal activities. [[Tom McLaury|Tom]] and [[Frank McLaury]] worked with the rustlers buying and selling stolen cattle.<ref name="linder2005"/>

Many of the rural [[ranch]]ers and [[The Cowboys (Cochise County)|Cowboys]] resented the growing influence of the city residents over county politics and law enforcement. The ranchers largely maintained control of the country outside Tombstone, due in large part to the sympathetic support of [[Cochise County]] [[Sheriff]] [[Johnny Behan]], who favored the Cowboys and rural ranchers,<ref name="swansburg">{{cite web|url=http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/November-December-2004/review_swansburg_novdec04.msp|title=Wyatt Earp Takes the Stand|first=John|last=Swansburg|date=November–December 2004|publisher=LegalAffairs.com|access-date=March 3, 2011|archive-date=June 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608010034/http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/November-December-2004/review_swansburg_novdec04.msp|url-status=dead}}</ref> and who also grew to intensely dislike the Earps. Behan tended to ignore the Earps' complaints about the McLaurys' and Clantons' horse thieving and cattle rustling. The Earps were known to bend the law in their favor when it affected their [[gambling]] and saloon interests, which earned them further enmity with the Cowboy faction.<ref name="history-com"/>

=== Relevant law in Tombstone ===
To reduce crime in Tombstone, on April 19, 1881, the city council passed [[The Cowboys (Cochise County)#Cowboys and the law|ordinance 9]], requiring anyone carrying a [[bowie knife]], [[dirk]], pistol or rifle<ref>{{cite web|title=The Law in Tombstone|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/ordinances.html/|access-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213174105/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/ordinances.html|archive-date=December 13, 2013}}</ref><ref name=johnson/> to deposit their weapons at a [[livery stable|livery]] or saloon soon after entering town.

{{blockquote|To Provide against Carrying of Deadly Weapons

'''Section 1'''. It is hereby declared unlawful to carry in the hand or upon the person or otherwise any deadly weapon within the limits of said city of Tombstone, without first obtaining a permit in writing.

'''Section 2''': This prohibition does not extend to persons immediately leaving or entering the city, who, with good faith, and within reasonable time are proceeding to deposit, or take from the place of deposit such deadly weapon.

'''Section 3''': All fire-arms of every description, and bowie knives and dirks, are included within the prohibition of this ordinance.|Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9 Effective April 19, 1881|<ref>{{cite web|title=Tombstone's Ordinance No.9 Was Neither Fair Nor Equally Enforced |url=http://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2014/08/tombstones-ordinance-no9-was-neither.html |date=August 8, 2014|access-date=June 10, 2018}}</ref>}}

The ordinance was the legal basis for City Marshal Virgil Earp's decision to confront the Cowboys on the day of the shootout.<ref name="ordinance">{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/ordinances.html|title=Ordinances Enforced by the Earps in the OK Corral Shoot-out|access-date=February 6, 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/20110203135216/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/ordinances.html|archive-date=February 3, 2011}} From Turner, Alford (ed.) (1992), ''The O. K. Corral Inquest''.</ref>

=== Smuggling and stock thefts ===
{{further|topic=the ambush and murder of outlaw Cowboys|Guadalupe Canyon Massacre}}
In the borderlands south of Tombstone there was only one passable route between [[Arizona]] and [[Mexico]], a passage known as Guadalupe Canyon.<ref name="stone"/> In August 1881, 15 [[Mexicans]] carrying gold, coins and [[bullion]] to make their purchases were ambushed and killed in [[Skeleton Canyon Massacre|Skeleton Canyon]]. The next month Mexican [[Commandant]] Felipe Neri dispatched troops to the border,<ref name=Tefertiller>{{cite book|author=Casey Tefertiller|title=Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend|location=New York|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=1997|isbn=0-471-18967-7|url=https://archive.org/details/wyattearplifebeh00tefe_0}}</ref>{{rp|110|date=November 2012}} where they killed five Cowboys, including [[Newman Haynes Clanton|Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton]], in [[Guadalupe Canyon Massacre|Guadalupe Canyon]].<ref name="marks"/> The Earps knew that the McLaurys and Clantons were reputed to be mixed up in the robbery and murder in Skeleton Canyon. Wyatt Earp said in his testimony after the shootout, "I naturally kept my eyes open and did not intend that any of the gang should get the drop on me if I could help it."<ref name="wyatttestimony"/>

=== Earp loses sheriff's office to Behan ===
{{further|topic=his service as a lawman in Tombstone|Johnny Behan}}
[[File:Charles a shibell 2.jpg|thumb|Pima County Sheriff [[Charles A. Shibell]] appointed Wyatt Earp as deputy sheriff over eastern Pima County.]]
On July 27, 1880, [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]] [[Sheriff]] [[Charles A. Shibell]], whose offices were in the county seat of Tucson, appointed Wyatt Earp as [[deputy sheriff]]. On October 28, 1880, Tombstone Marshal [[Fred White (marshal)|Fred White]] attempted to disarm some late-night revelers who were shooting their pistols in the air. When he attempted to disarm Curly Bill Brocius, the gun discharged, striking White in the abdomen. Wyatt saw the shooting and [[pistol-whipping|pistol-whipped]] Brocius, knocking him unconscious, and arrested him. Wyatt later told his biographer [[John H. Flood, Jr.|John Flood]] that he thought Brocius was still armed at the time, and did not see Brocius' pistol on the ground.<ref>John H. Flood Manuscript, 1926, p.85</ref>

Brocius waived the preliminary hearing so he and his case could be immediately transferred to [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]. Wyatt and a deputy took Brocius in a wagon the next day to Tucson to stand trial, possibly saving him from being [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]]. Wyatt testified that he thought the shooting was accidental. It was also demonstrated that Brocius's pistol could be fired from [[half-cock]]. Fred White left a statement before he died two days later that the shooting was not intentional. Based on the evidence presented, Brocius was not charged with White's death.<ref name="lubet"/>{{rp|30–31}}

The Tombstone council convened and appointed Virgil Earp as "temporary assistant city marshal" to replace White for a salary of $100 per month ({{Inflation|US|100|1880|r=-2|fmt=eq}}) until an election could be held on November 12. For the next few weeks, Virgil represented federal and local law enforcement and Wyatt represented Pima County.<ref name=guinn/>{{rp|122–123}}

In the November 2, 1880, election for Pima County sheriff, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] Shibell ran against Republican [[Robert H. Paul|Bob Paul]], who was expected to win. Votes arrived as late as November 7, and Shibell was unexpectedly re-elected. He immediately appointed [[Johnny Behan]] as the new deputy sheriff for eastern Pima County, a job that Wyatt wanted. A controversy ensued when Paul uncovered [[ballot-stuffing]] by Cowboys and he sued to overturn the election. While San Simeon precinct, east of Tombstone, only had 10 registered voters, Shibell won that precinct with 103 votes to 1. Ike Clanton was the election inspector and Johnny Ringo was one of the election judges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-outlaw-king-of-galeyville/|title=The Outlaw King of Galeyville|first=Marshall|last=Trimble}}</ref>

Paul finally became sheriff in April 1881, but it was too late to re-appoint Wyatt Earp as [[deputy sheriff]] because on February 1, 1881, the eastern portion of Pima County containing Tombstone had been split off into the new [[Cochise County]], which would need its own sheriff, based in the county's largest city, Tombstone.<ref name="CC">{{cite web | title =Cochise County Arizona | work =County Website | publisher =Cochise County | year =2009 | url =http://www.cochise.az.gov/Default.aspx?id=4104 | access-date =September 25, 2009 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120817152024/http://www.cochise.az.gov/Default.aspx?id=4104 | archive-date =August 17, 2012 }}</ref> This position was filled by a political appointment from the governor, and Wyatt and Behan both wanted the job. The Cochise County sheriff's position was worth more than $40,000 a year (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.04|1881|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) because the office holder was also county assessor and tax collector, and the board of supervisors allowed him to keep ten percent of the amounts paid.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O-LPR9U64ngC&pg=PA157 | last1 = Breakenridge | first1 = William M. | last2 = Brown | first2 = Richard Maxwell. | title = Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite | year = 1992 | publisher = University of Nebraska Press | location = Lincoln| isbn = 978-0-8032-6100-6 | page = 448 | access-date = April 14, 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140617202000/http://books.google.com/books?id=O-LPR9U64ngC&pg=PA157 | archive-date = June 17, 2014 }}</ref>{{rp|157|date=November 2012}}

Behan used his existing position and his superior political connections to successfully [[lobbying|lobby]] for the position. He also promised Wyatt a position as his [[undersheriff]] if he was appointed over Wyatt. Wyatt withdrew from the political contest and the governor and legislature appointed Behan to the job of Cochise County sheriff on February 10, 1881.<ref name="oldwest"/> Behan reneged on his deal with Earp and appointed Harry Woods as undersheriff instead. Behan said he broke his promise to appoint Earp because Wyatt Earp used Behan's name to threaten Ike Clanton when Wyatt recovered his stolen horse from Clanton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clantongang.com/oldwest/billy_history.html |access-date=March 11, 2011 |title=The Life and Times of Billy Clanton 1862–1881 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420080333/http://www.clantongang.com/oldwest/billy_history.html |archive-date=April 20, 2011 }}</ref>