The town is generally
associated with its most notorious event, the “Gunfight at the OK Corral”. Tombstone
was more than that; it was a genuine Wild West town, established in 1877 in the
empty uplands of the Sonoran Desert.
Its founder was a
soldier called Ed Schieffelin from nearby Fort Huachuca. The fort kept an eye
on the warlike Apaches whose territory it was. Ed used to wander the desert wilderness
“looking for stones”, as he told his fellow soldiers. Their comment was, “the
only stone you’ll find is your tombstone”.
But Ed was really
looking for silver deposits, and he found them in 1877 in abundance. Word
spread rapidly, and fortune seekers followed by service providers soon founded
a settlement that Ed named Tombstone after his soldier comrades’ joke. This is
a photo of the mining early on. The pack mules are pulling ore drams down the
hill.
Today the general
appearance of Tombstone the town is much as it would have been in the mid 1880’s,
with some reconstruction following fires and decay. Yes, it’s a tourist town,
but with a high level of authenticity.
It was a rough,
tough mining town, with drinking, gambling and prostitution amply provided. All
were perfectly legal. In fact, the one building that claims to be 100% unaltered
from that time supplied all those services and entertainment as well: the
Birdcage Theatre. This is the original bar with an original bullet hole in the
bar front wooden column about half way down.
The photo shows the
theatre auditorium, with the stage on the left. The theatre boxes on the upper
level were furnished with curtains so that customer services could be discretely
provided while the performance was in session.
Gambling was laid
on in the basement that was so well patronised that the tables ran continuously,
24/7. It you wanted to play, you put your name down and were given a slot. It
still holds the world record for the longest continuous poker game in history:
8 years, 5 months and 3 days. This is where it was played. The furniture is
original.
The town sheriff had
the impossible task of keeping order. He was backed up by the marshal, a
government law officer. The sheriff was locally elected so was often tempted to
overlook misdemeanours for reasons of personal patronage. The sheriff here allowed
a wild bunch called the Clantons a free rein. The marshal, Virgil Earp, had had
enough of this and forced a showdown, backed by brother deputies Wyatt and
Morgan Earp, together gambling friend ex-dentist ‘doc’ Holliday.
The result was the
famous gunfight at the OK Corral, a livery stable in the town at the rear of
which the confrontation happened to occur. Three of the Clanton gang were
killed, and the rest suffered gunshot wounds apart from Wyatt. The shootout is
reconstructed several times a day in the grounds of the OK Corral not far from
the actual spot. It’s a bit cheesy, but very professionally presented and
acted. I guess they get enough practice.
Next to the OK
Corral is photographer C S Fly’s premises. He was a real photographer who
actively recorded the events of the time, and the exhibition of his photographs
told a fascinating story. He took the very first picture of Geronimo, the
Apache chief. His second photo didn’t come out because an arrow broke the lens.
He recorded a
variety of scenes from Apache life, like the following photo of an Apache crib
and then, beneath it, Apache dwellings called “wickiups”. We aren’t told if
these are the ordinary or luxury version.
On the edge of town, the head posts at Boot hill graveyard reinforce the
violent nature of many citizens demise.
And if our friend Paul Rook from Bradford reads this, my advice would
be, “don’t upset any Chinamen”!
It was a much more
interesting day than we expected, and we felt that it had given us a real insight
into life in those tough times.
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