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N0KFQ > TODAY 26.10.16 12:45l 64 Lines 2871 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 11415_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Oct 26
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 161026/1135Z 11415@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.13
1881
Shootout at the OK Corral
On this day in 1881, the Earp brothers face off against the
Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the OK Corral in
Tombstone, Arizona.
After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly
grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest. Wyatt
Earp, a former Kansas police officer working as a bank security
guard, and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, the town marshal,
represented "law and order" in Tombstone, though they also had
reputations as being power-hungry and ruthless. The Clantons and
McLaurys were cowboys who lived on a ranch outside of town and
sidelined as cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. In October
1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of
Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the
OK Corral.
On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury came
into Tombstone for supplies. Over the next 24 hours, the two men
had several violent run-ins with the Earps and their friend Doc
Holliday. Around 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike's brother Billy
rode into town to join them, along with Frank McLaury and Billy
Claiborne. The first person they met in the local saloon was
Holliday, who was delighted to inform them that their brothers
had both been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Frank and Billy
immediately left the saloon, vowing revenge.
Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of
the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at
the end of Fremont Street. The famous gunfight that ensued lasted
all of 30 seconds, and around 30 shots were fired. Though it's
still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the
shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot
Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired
a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury's chest. Though Wyatt Earp wounded
Frank McLaury with a shot in the stomach, Frank managed to get
off a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. When the
dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead,
and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. Ike
Clanton and Claiborne had run for the hills.
Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County, who witnessed the shootout,
charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. A month later,
however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that
they were "fully justified in committing these homicides." The
famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including
Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957),
Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994).
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
E-Mail : kohiggs@gmail.com
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73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
E-Mail : kohiggs@gmail.com
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