Things were coming to a head. Everyone in Tombstone realized the Earps and the cowboys would end up in a showdown sooner or later. What is remarkable about later testimony about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral is that while everyone was shocked, few were very much surprised.
There was no grand strategy or overall plan. This was by no means a military operation, even though several of the people involved were veterans. While everyone knew a fight was brewing, nobody knew exactly when it would happen. This is not to say that Wyatt Earp and his followers were unprepared. The Earps had come to Tombstone to settle and grow rich. They established themselves in positions of influence. As tensions with the cowboys mounted, they were careful to create strong ties with those who could help them.
The strongest ties were with an unlikely source – the drinkers and gamblers who frequented the Oriental. In her memoirs, Allie Earp said the Oriental had a bad reputation and that was certainly true. It was considered a rough place and there was no shortage of fights there. The men who lounged around the faro tables were hotheaded, opinionated, and loyal to their friends. These were exactly the kind of people the Earps needed. Some of them, such as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, Texas Jack Vermillion, and Charlie Smith, were old friends. Some had been called up for work as special deputies. The Earps were careful to foster relationships with these people, helping them out in business and with their frequent run-ins with the law.
The Earp faction was not the only group to frequent the Oriental. It was a cowboy hangout as well. It is remarkable that both factions frequently played cards together, even on the night before the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. To many observers, there was little difference between the two groups. One eyewitness to the famous gunfight told his father, “This is nothing but a bunch of stage-robbers splitting, and killing one another to keep any evidence from getting out.”
Fictional narratives of the Old West tend to focus on the six-shooter revolver, that universal symbol of manhood on the Frontier. In the O.K. Corral and subsequent Vendetta Ride, however, shotguns and rifles were used just as much.
Two rifles are mentioned frequently in the source material – the Henry and the Winchester. The Henry rifle was a lever-action, breech-loading rifle that fired .44-caliber rimfire cartridges. Produced by the New Haven Arms Company starting in 1860, it saw widespread use by Union soldiers during the Civil War. It had a 16-round tube magazine and thus offered much more firepower than the muzzleloaders issued by the armies of both sides. Production stopped in 1866 when the company came out with the Winchester Model 1866. In that year the company changed its name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. While there are frequent mentions of Henry rifles in the accounts of the Arizona War, these must be treated with caution. By the 1880s most Henry rifles would have been replaced by the newer and better Winchesters, especially considering that the men on both sides were relatively well off and relied on their guns for their livelihood. It may be that the old name for the rifle stuck, and that when some people said “Henry rifle,” they were in fact referring to later Winchesters.
The Winchester Model 1866 was an improvement on the Henry rifle, but kept the same basic design. Improvements included a redesigned magazine to keep out dirt and a wooden forearm stock to prevent powder burns. Instead of loading from the rear as with the Henry rifle, loading was done from the side. The Winchester Model 1873 switched to a more powerful .44-40 centerfire cartridge. Variants could take .32-20 or .38-40 ammunition. All three were popular handgun calibers and thus a man could carry the same ammunition for both his rifle and his pistol. Both models had a 15-round tube magazine. The Model 1873 was produced as a rifle, carbine, and more rarely a smoothbore. The Model 1873 was hugely popular on the Frontier, especially the carbine, which came with a shorter barrel and proved easier to handle on horseback. Another rifle was the Winchester Model 1876, which used full-power centerfire cartridges of various calibers but larger than the standard pistol ammunition used by the Model 1873. The Model 1876 was popular with buffalo hunters for its stopping power.
Shotguns came in various makes and models in the 1880s. They were generally double-barreled and loaded with buckshot. As would be proven with the attempted murder of Virgil Earp and the gunfight at Iron Springs, they were effective even from medium range and the spray of pellets proved a handy remedy to the notorious inaccuracy of the revolvers of the period.
As for revolvers, the most popular at this time was the Colt Frontier Six-Shooter, also called “the Peacemaker.” The Model 1873 was 11in. long with a 5.5in. barrel, or 13in. long with a 7.5in. barrel. It used a .44-40 centerfire cartridge interchangeable with the Winchester rifle model that came out that same year. Another popular model was the Colt Single Action Army, which fired a .45-caliber bullet. Wyatt Earp is also known to have owned a .44-caliber 1869 American model Smith & Wesson, given to him by Epitaph editor John Clum.
Virgil Earp in a photograph said to have been taken c. 1881 when he was a lawman in Tombstone. The oldest of the three Earp brothers active in law enforcement, Virgil would have been approaching 40 at the time this photograph was taken. (Arizona Historical Society, photo #1444)
Pistols made for handy non-lethal weapons through the frequent practice of pistol-whipping, called “buffaloing” in the slang of the time as mentioned earlier. This could be done either by cracking someone over the head with a downward motion, bringing the sharp lower end of the grip down on the top of the skull, or by the more common method of slapping someone upside the head with the pistol barrel. While some researchers assert that Wyatt Earp used his Model 1869 S&W at the O.K. Corral, others point out that earlier in the day he hit Tom McLaury across the face with his pistol. The cylinder of the Model 1869 can pop out if it is given a sharp shock to the side. Thus it is unlikely that Wyatt would have buffaloed Tom with a Smith & Wesson.
Popular accounts have long said that Wyatt Earp carried a pistol called a Colt Buntline Special. This specially made .45 single-action revolver had a 12in. barrel and a shoulder stock, thus converting it into a carbine. It was supposedly created by the Colt company in a limited edition of five, ordered by dime novelist Ned Buntline and presented to Wyatt Earp and four other Dodge City lawmen in the summer of 1876. Modestly, the writer named this gun the “Buntline Special” after himself. The story was originally told in the oft-cited but error-ridden Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal by Stuart Lake. The problem is, there is no evidence that it ever happened. No contemporary account mentions this remarkable weapon and Colt has no record of such a sale. Also, Ned Buntline was not even in Kansas that year. The story appears to have been one of the many made up by Stuart Lake.
Frontiersmen spared their horses by keeping their equipment to a minimum. Besides their weapons, they would carry only a large canteen, bedroll, basic provisions, and a mess kit. Cowboys would, of course, carry a lariat for catching steers, but during the Vendetta Ride there would have been no use for this.
People could travel light because they could rely on the locals. The Arizona countryside was not empty. In the valleys were scattered ranches and in the hills were mining and timber camps. Hospitality was universal. A traveler would think nothing of knocking on a stranger’s door and asking for food and shelter. The homeowner would rarely turn someone away, although it was considered polite for the guest to offer some work or some small payment. Using a rancher’s well did not even require asking permission.
Some sources state that Charlie Smith drove a wagon full of supplies during the Vendetta Ride. This would have proven useful if the men wanted to stay out in the wilderness for long periods of time. News traveled fast on the Frontier, and the law was after Wyatt and his friends. While they availed themselves of local hospitality from time to time, it also made sense to keep their contact with the public to a minimum.
Some assert that Wyatt Earp owned a bulletproof vest and wore it at the gunfight at Iron Springs. This was relayed by a few sources, including Big-Nose Kate and two cowboys who claimed to have been at the fight. Wyatt vigorously denied that he ever owned one and in fact it makes little sense. This author has spent many a hot day hiking and riding around southern Arizona and can testify that the idea of wearing a bulletproof vest, especially of the clunky 19th-century variety, is unthinkable. The danger of heat prostration would offset any sort of safety it might provide. It is important to note that all parties to the battle said that the fight came as a complete surprise to everyone. Wyatt was not expecting a gunfight, and would not have been wearing a bulletproof vest all day even if he owned one.