Wyatt Earp

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Wyatt Earp (disambiguation) .

Wyatt Earp about 1881

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (born March 19, 1848 in Monmouth , Illinois , † January 13, 1929 in Los Angeles , California ; also: Wyatt Erpe ) was a North American gunslinger , who in his life also worked as a farmer, transporter, buffalo hunter, law enforcer ( Marshal ) has worked in various cities in the western United States , gambling, saloon owner, and miner. He became known for his involvement in the OK Corral shooting with Doc Holliday and his two brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp . Wyatt Earp became a US legend, not least through a large number of films, biographies and novels.

Early years

On 30 July 1840, the widower Nicholas Porter Earp married in Hartford ( Kentucky ) Virginia Ann Cooksey. He had eight children with her. The family moved to Monmouth, Illinois, where Wyatt was born the fourth child on March 19, 1848. Nicholas Earp named him after his Mexican-American War commander , Captain Wyatt Berry Stapp of the Illinois Mounted Volunteers. In March 1850, the Earps left Monmouth to move to California, but then settled in Iowa . They ran a farm there about 50 acres, 10 kilometers northeast of Pella , Iowa.

On March 4, 1856, Nicholas Earp sold his farm and returned to Monmouth, Illinois. But he found work there neither as a cooper nor as a farmer. Since there was no other way to look after his family, he took over the post of policeman for three years. He is reported to have had a second source of income from the sale of alcoholic beverages, which brought him into conflict with the local abstinence movement .

In 1859 he was charged and convicted of smuggling. Unable to pay the court-imposed fine, the family property was auctioned off. Two days later, the Earps again left town and moved back to Pella, Iowa. Nicholas returned to Monmouth several times in 1860, on the one hand to complete the sale of his property there and on the other hand because of various lawsuits due to his debts and tax evasion.

During this second stay in Pella the American Civil War broke out. Wyatt's three older brothers Newton, James and Virgil Earp joined the Union Army on November 11, 1861 . Wyatt himself was only 13 years old at the time and thus too young for the army. He later tore out several times and tried anyway. However, his father found him every time and brought him back. While his father was busy training local companies , Wyatt and his two younger brothers Morgan and Warren had to work 25 acres of corn fields. James Earp returned from the war in the summer of 1863 after being badly wounded near Fredericktown , Missouri . Newton and Virgil Earp fought in several battles in the east and did not return home until the end of the war.

On May 12, 1864, the Earp family joined a trek to California . It is said to have fought with Indians near Fort Laramie , and when the trek stopped at Fort Bridger , Wyatt Earp is said to have taken the opportunity to go buffalo hunting with Jim Bridger . The writer Stuart N. Lake described these events in his book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal , which is based on Wyatt's own accounts. It is not certain that he decorated the story, but various researchers suspect that no documents have been found to support these stories.

California

In the late summer of 1865, Wyatt and Virgil Earp were employed as stagecoach drivers for Phineas Banning and his "Bannings Stage Line" in the Imperial Valley in California. This was also the time when Wyatt got his first experience with whiskey. But afterwards he felt so sick that he didn't touch a drop for the next 20 years. In the spring of 1866, Wyatt was working as a haulier for Chris Taylor's company on the route from Wilmington , California to Prescott , Arizona . The second route he took was from San Bernardino via Las Vegas , Nevada to Salt Lake City . In the spring of 1868, Wyatt was commissioned by Charles Chrisman to deliver supplies for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad . It was at this time that he also started gambling and boxing. For example, he appeared as a referee in the boxing match between John Shanssey and Mike Donovan.

Law enforcement

Wyatt Earp about 1869

The entire Earp family had moved to Lamar, and father Nicholas was a police officer there again. When he was offered the position of Justice of the Peace on November 17, he agreed and Wyatt took over the vacant police post. On January 10, 1870, he married his first wife, Urilla Sutherland (1849-1870), the daughter of William and Permelia Sutherland of New York City . But she died within the next few months. Whether it was typhoid or in childbed is not certain. In August of that year, Wyatt bought a house and land for $ 50, but sold it for $ 75 in November, probably because his wife had died. In the same month, he was re-elected police chief, and Wyatt prevailed in this election with 137-108 votes against his brother Newton.

Despite his police work, Wyatt also came into conflict with the law. On March 14, 1871, the Barton County , Missouri administration filed a lawsuit against him for embezzling public funds originally raised for the establishment of schools. Wyatt and his father escaped punishment by leaving the state.

On March 31, a James Cromwell accused him of taking money that Cromwell had previously given him as a fine. After that, Wyatt is said to have forged the court documents. The outcome of this process is unknown.

On April 1, Wyatt was accused of horse theft along with an Edward Kennedy and a John Shown . They were believed to have stolen two horses worth $ 100 each from a William Keys in Indian Land on March 28th. On April 6, Wyatt was arrested by Deputy United States Marshal JG Owens.

On April 14, Wyatt was released on bail of $ 500. John Shown's wife went to court and alleged that Kennedy and Wyatt had made their husband drunk and threatened with death in order for him to participate in the horse theft. Still, Kennedy was acquitted in his trial, while the charges against Wyatt and Shown remained. With two civil lawsuits and one criminal trial pending against Wyatt, he decided to flee Missouri. As a result, an arrest warrant was issued against him. At one point the proceedings were dropped because Earp was no longer present. It is not known whether sufficient evidence was lacking. However, since one of his co-defendants was acquitted, this may have led to the authorities losing interest in the cases.

The return

Little is known of Wyatt Earp's whereabouts between 1871 and October 28, 1874. That day, however, he reappeared in Wichita , Kansas . He himself states that he has since worked as a buffalo hunter in the Great Plains . However, based on documents, it was revealed that he was in the Peoria , Illinois area in 1872 . There he was listed in the list of residents as a roommate of a brothel owner Jane Haspel, who carried out this activity in her house. In February 1872, four women and three men were found in a police raid on the brothel. These were Wyatt and Morgan Earp and George Randall. Wyatt and the others were fined $ 20 for "staying in a house of bad repute". Two further arrests for the same offense were recorded in Peoria in 1872. Wyatt may have been actively working in the red light district of Peoria at the time.

Wyatt claims to have met such famous people as Wild Bill Hickok while hunting buffalo in Kansas and to have arrested the gunslinger Ben Thompson in Ellsworth , Kansas. At least as far as the arrest of Thompson is concerned, research has shown that this information cannot be correct for Earps. It is known, however, that he met his future close friend Bat Masterson at the Salt Fork of Arkansas during this time .

According to an alleged testimony, Wyatt arrested Earp Ben Thompson on August 18, 1873.

Wichita

Just like Ellsworth, Wichita was a train station and thus the end point of the cattle trucks from Texas . These booming cattle towns along the border were noisy places full of drunk, armed cowboys celebrating the end of their cattle drives. After Mike Meagher was elected Marshal (police chief) of the city, Wyatt Earp joined his office. Earp received numerous public praise during his time in Wichita. He recognized a wanted horse thief and arrested him after firing a warning shot. He later arrested a group of car thieves.

In 1876, Wyatt was lucky when the revolver fell out of its holster while sitting and a shot went off, but it only perforated his jacket and hit the ceiling.

A hairy situation in Wichita is mentioned both in his biography and in the memoirs of Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Cairns. Wyatt got into trouble with some angry drovers over money to pay for a piano in a brothel. After he forced them to collect the money, a group of nearly 50 armed drovers gathered in Delano and threatened to "clean up" Wichita. Citizens and law enforcement officials gathered in Wichita to confront the cowboys. Wyatt Earp stood in the middle of the defenders on the bridge that spanned the river between Delano and Wichita. He spoke to the angry cowboys and was finally able to convince them to turn back without using force.

Cairns later wrote of Earp:

“Wyatt Earp was a wonderful officer. He was dutiful to the tips of his hair and apparently wasn't afraid of anything. The cowboys all respected him and remembered his superiority and authority on occasions when he had to use them. "

- Jimmy Cairns

Wyatt's tenure as deputy came to a surprising end on April 2, 1876, when he tried to run himself for election to marshal. Former Marshal Bill Smith accused him of abusing his position to turn his brothers into law enforcement as well. After a fight between Wyatt and Bill Smith, Marshal Meager was forced to fire Wyatt and imprison him. This was the end of a career that the local press described as "flawless". After Marshal Meager won the next election, the council was divided on whether to reinstate Wyatt. With the cattle trade stagnating in Wichita, Wyatt Earp was already on his way to the next booming city, Dodge City , Kansas.

Dodge City

Dodge City became the main hub for cattle driving from Texas along the Chisholm Trail after 1875 . Wyatt Earp became Deputy Marshal in Dodge City in 1876, behind Marshal Larry Deger. He stayed there until well into 1877. After that, he settled privately in Dodge City, with incidents that repeatedly resulted in which he had to appear in court. He was once given the minimum fine of $ 1 for beating a prostitute after being provoked.

Doc Holliday in Tombstone, around 1882

In October 1877 he left Dodge City for a while and gambled through Texas to Fort Griffin, where he met a card-playing dentist who became known as Doc Holliday . Earp returned to Dodge City in 1878 and became deputy marshal again, this time under Marshal Charlie Basset. In July of the same year, Doc Holliday came to Dodge City and saved Wyatt's life in August. During a bar fight, a cowboy pointed his gun at Earp from behind. Doc Holliday warned Wyatt and threatened the cowboy with his revolver at the same time, whereupon the cowboy lowered the gun.

On July 26, 1878, there was a shooting between Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson and a few others at a variety show. Cowboy George Hoy had come back with several friends after an argument with Wyatt and opened fire. While no one from Wyatt Earp's group was injured, they returned fire and injured George Hoy so badly that he died just under four weeks later on August 21, 1878. Wyatt claimed to have fired the fatal shot. However, there was a possibility that cop James ( Jim ) P. Masterson fired the fatal shot.

"Buntline Special"

It is reported that Earp carried a particularly long-barreled weapon, the so-called " Buntline Special". The story of this weapon begins with the murder of actress Dora Hand in 1878. Hand was shot by a man who tried to kill the Mayor of Dodge City, James H. "Dog" Kelly. Dora, who was a guest at Kelly's house, slept in James Kelly's bed in the absence of the Kellys and was held for him by the murderer. She was a celebrity at the time, and hence her assassination became known nationwide. Wyatt Earp took up the pursuit of the killer with a contingent and was finally able to catch him. The story of this persecution appeared in every newspaper from California to New York. There were five people chasing the killer: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, the very young Bill Tilghman, Charlie Basset and William Duffy. Earp shot the escaping James "Spike" Kennedy's horse and Masterson wounded him himself. The Dodge City Times described the group as the "most intrepid contingent ever pulled the trigger."

The newspaper man Ned Buntline is said to have donated the "Buntline Specials" for the law enforcement officers involved, in return for some exclusive information for a story. However, a story about Wyatt Earp written by Buntline did not become known. The weapon is said to have been a Colt Single Action, with a 30 cm long barrel and wooden handle scales in which the name "Ned" was engraved. Earp was probably the only one who used the weapon in its original condition; the others shortened the barrel so that they could be hidden more easily.

Tombstone

Virgil Earp

Wyatt and his older brothers James (Jim) and Virgil moved to Tombstone , Arizona in December 1879 , which was growing steadily with silver discoveries. Wyatt bought a covered wagon that he wanted to convert into a stagecoach. When they got to Tombstone, however, there were already two stagecoach lines there. Jim then worked as a bartender and Virgil became a US Marshal. CP Dake was the US Marshal for Arizona and was based in Prescott , about 450 km away, so that the Deputy Marshal in Tombstone was solely responsible for southwest Arizona. In Tombstone, the Earps also staked out rights to some mines and Wyatt worked for the Wells Fargo stagecoach company as a guard when they transported valuables.

In the summer of 1880 the two younger brothers Morgan and Warren Earp also moved to Tombstone and in September Doc Holliday arrived in town.

On July 25, 1880, Marshal Virgil Earp accused cowboy Frank McLaury of stealing six mules from Camp Rucker from the army. Earp was in charge of this because US Army animal theft was a federal matter. The McLaurys were surprised by Army personnel and Earp when they tried to change the "US" brand to a "D 8". To avoid a fight and after promising to bring the mules back, Earp withdrew with his men. However, the animals were not returned. The army officer then made the matter public and Frank McLaury's reputation suffered. This incident marked the start of hostilities between the McLaurys and the Earps.

At the same time Wyatt Earp was deputy sheriff for three months in Pima County, which also includes Tombstone. On October 28, 1880, Tombstone City Marshal Fred White wanted to disperse a group of night owls on Allen Street who were busy shooting at the moon. When White tried to snatch the gun from one of the troublemakers, "Curly Bill" Brocius (often spelled "Brocious"), he was shot in the groin. Morgan and Wyatt Earp, along with Wells Fargo clerk Fred Dodge, came to the aid of White. Still, he died two days later. Wyatt and a deputy arrested Brocius and took him to Tucson the next day to prevent Brocius from being lynched. There he was charged with murder. Not least because of Wyatt Earp's statement that it was an accident, he was acquitted. Even so, Brocius remained a friend of the McLaurys and an enemy of the Earps.

Shortly thereafter, on November 9, 1880, Wyatt resigned as deputy because he got problems with his boss Charlie Shibell, the sheriff of Pima, because he wanted to support his opponent in the upcoming election. Several months later, Pima County reformed and Cochise County was established. When the position of sheriff was advertised there, Wyatt applied. His opponent Behan agreed with Earp that he would make him deputy if Earp withdrew his candidacy, which he did. Behan did not stick to the agreement and hired Harry Woods. Wyatt was now out of work.

In the meantime, the mining rights that the Earps had acquired paid off financially for them, so that a steady income was available.

Ike Clanton in Tombstone in 1881

When Wyatt arrived in Tombstone in 1879, a horse had been stolen from him. At the turn of the year 1880/1881 he heard that this horse was owned by Ike and Billy Clanton, who had a ranch near Charleston . Wyatt and Doc Holliday rode to the ranch and retrieved the horse without resistance. This was the first contact between the Clantons and Wyatt, which would later escalate.

In January 1881 Wyatt acquired together with Lou Rickabaugh and others the concession to open a gaming room, the Oriental Saloon. During this time he kept getting into trouble with competing saloon owners who sent aggressive players into the saloon to drive away the customers.

In the course of the year, after several stagecoach robberies, tensions increased between the Earps and Doc Holliday on the one hand and the Clantons and McLaurys on the other, who finally threatened to kill the Earps. As a result, there was the shooting at OK Corral in October .

Graves of the dead from OK Corral

As a result of the shooting, Ike Clanton charged the Earps and Doc Holliday of the murder on October 30, and Wyatt and Holliday were arrested and brought before the justice of the peace. Morgan and Virgil Earp were still recovering from their injuries from the shooting. Wyatt and Doc Holliday were released on bail of $ 10,000. At the trial that followed, some witnesses who testified against the Earps and Holliday appeared that threatened their conviction. Then they accidentally got help from Ike Clanton. During his testimony in the cross-examination of the court, he got so involved in contradictions that doubts arose as to the guilt of the accused. After Wyatt Earp was allowed to deliver a defense speech due to the prevailing judicial system without being cross-examined, the Justice of the Peace found it proven that the Earps had not broken any law and released them. Even an appeal hearing did not produce a different result.

Despite this acquittal, their reputation was ruined because the population continued to view them as robbers and murderers.

The revenge of the cowboys

Morgan Earp

In December 1881 Ike Clanton accused the Earps and Holliday again into the murder of Billy Clanton and the McLaurys, this time in contention, a small, booming, a few years existing (ca. 1879-1888) silver mining settlement, near Tombstone and Fairbank on San Pedro River . They were brought to Contention under strong personal protection because it was suspected that they might be attacked by cowboys while riding in revenge. In contention, the new process ended again with an acquittal, not least due to the judge's legal inexperience. Until there was no new evidence, the judge did not want to start any further proceedings.

As a result, Virgil Earp was shot by an unknown shooter on December 28th while walking on Allen Street in Tombstone. His shoulder was injured. Ike Clanton's hat was found at the location of the shooter. Wyatt Earp then telegraphed the US Marshal Crawley Drake and asked him to be appointed Deputy Marshal, which he then did. When Wyatt's associate sold his stake in the Oriental Saloon to someone with whom Wyatt had differences, he also sold his gaming license. The constant public pressure on the Earps eventually led them to resign themselves and decided to return their deputy positions, which the US Marshal refused. At the same time Wyatt asked Ike Clanton if the disputes could not be settled. But Clanton refused. At the same time, Clanton was acquitted in a lawsuit over the shooting of Virgil Earp for bringing multiple witnesses who said he was in Charleston at the time of the shooting.

On March 18, 1882, after attending a theatrical performance, Morgan was shot while playing pool in Campbell & Hatch's Saloon. The shot was fired through a window in the door, injuring his spine and internal organs. Morgan died forty minutes later. The riflemen escaped in the dark without being recognized.

vendetta

Investigations into the shooters then led to Pete Spence, who also made a confession. He stated that he shot Morgan Earp with Frederick Bode, Frank Stillwell and Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz. Spence was then jailed.

On Sunday March 19, Wyatt, his brother James, and some friends sent Morgan's body by rail from Benson to Colton , California , where Morgan's wife lived.

The still injured Virgil Earp was put on a train with his wife in Benson. From there he was to be brought to safety via Tucson . Having heard that his opponents were controlling trains in Tucson, Wyatt also boarded the train with his brother Warren, Doc Holliday, Turkey Creek Jack Johnson and Sherman McMasters to protect Virgil and his wife. When the train later left Tucson in the dark, gunshots could be heard near the tracks. The next morning, Frank Stilwell's body was found on the tracks. Why Stilwell was there could never be clarified beyond doubt. Ike Clanton said he was in Tucson with Stilwell because he wanted to solve his legal problems. Then they would have heard that the Earps were going to Tucson to kill them. Stilwell then left the hotel. He was later found on the tracks. Wyatt Earp described the story as having seen Clanton and Stilwell on the tracks threatening them with their guns. He then shot Stilwell. After sending the train safely on its way, Wyatt's group returned to Tombstone via Benson and Contention. Arrest warrants had now been issued against the five members of Earp's group and they had to leave Tombstone that evening. Texas Jack Vermillion joined the group.

On March 22nd, they arrived at a logging camp where they suspected Pete Spence, who they knew had already admitted to the murder of Morgan. However, Spence was still in jail. However, they met Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz. Cruz was interviewed and admitted to paying attention while Stilwell, Hank Swilling, “Curly Bill” killed Brocius and Ringo Morgan. After his confession, Cruz was shot dead by Wyatt's group.

Two days later there was a meeting with "Curly Bill" Brocius in Iron Springs, Arizona. He was preparing food for a group of cowboys when Wyatt appeared with his men. Brocius was fatally wounded in an exchange of fire and another cowboy was seriously injured. Wyatt emerged from the shootout unharmed.

For the next time the group stayed in the Tombstone area, but finally came to the realization that they could not return to Tombstone, and then left Arizona in April 1882.

Life after Tombstone

Wyatt Earp (l.) And Bat Masterson (1876)

Wyatt Earp (seated 2nd from left) and his group in the Dodge City War (1883)

After a ride through Colorado and a stay in Albuquerque , New Mexico , the group broke up and the Earps moved on to Pueblo and Denver . Eventually they settled near Gunnison , Colorado. They went unnoticed and rarely went into town to buy supplies. Wyatt occasionally played Faro in the saloon there. The Earps' estate in Tombstone was auctioned off to meet tax debts and the fortune melted away.

In late 1882, Wyatt and his brother Warren moved to Virgil in San Francisco . There he met Josie Marcus , who became his life partner for the next 46 years. It is not known whether they married, but she was named Josephine Earp. Wyatt moved with her back to Gunnison in 1883, where he settled and made a living from playing Faro.

In the same year he was involved in the so-called "Dodge City War". This began when the Mayor of Dodge City tried to drive Luke Short out of business and later out of town. Short reached out to Bat Masterson, who asked his friend Wyatt Earp if he could support him. Wyatt then appeared with Johnny Millsap, Shotgun Collins, Texas Jack Vermillion and Johnny Green. They were met at Shorts Saloon in Dodge City by Prairie Dog Chief Dave Marrow, who made them deputies. The city council then offered that Short could return to the city for ten days so he could do his business. Wyatt Earp turned down this compromise offer. When Short finally returned there was no one to stand against, and he reopened his saloon. This ended the Dodge City War without a single shot.

Wyatt spent the next ten years running saloons and gambling. He invested his money in mines in Colorado and Idaho.

In 1886, Wyatt and his partner moved to San Diego and stayed there for four years. Here, too, he operated several gambling houses and speculated on land during the economic boom there. From time to time he also held boxing matches and horse races.

During the 1890s, the Earps moved to San Francisco so Josie could live closer to her family and Wyatt closer to his place of work. He ran a stable in Santa Rosa .

During the summer, Wyatt wrote his memoirs with the help of ghostwriter John H. Flood.

On December 3, 1896, Wyatt was a referee in the World Championship boxing match between Tom Sharkey and Bob Fitzsimmons. After declaring Sharkey the winner after an alleged illicit blow from Fitzsimmons, he was charged with fraud. Fitzsimmons obtained an injunction against the payment of the prize money, but the judge ruled that he would not make a decision on the winner as boxing for money was illegal in San Francisco. So this decision did not clarify Wyatt's decision.

In the fall of 1897, Wyatt and Josie were caught in the Alaska gold rush and moved to Nome , where Earp ran several saloons and gambling houses in the years that followed. The recurring rumors of a friendship between Wyatt Earp and the writer Jack London in Alaska seem dubious because London participated in the Klondike Gold Rush , while the Nome Gold Rush took place a few years later, when London was already living elsewhere.

Wyatt Earps burial site

Wyatt kept coming into conflict with the law in Alaska for minor offenses and eventually moved to Hollywood , where he made the acquaintance of several famous actors while filming. During one of these shootings, he met a young actor who would later become known as John Wayne . Wayne later stated that he got his western image from this meeting with Earp. Another friend of Earp's was well-known western actor William S. Hart .

In the early 1920s, Wyatt Earp took over a sheriff's post in San Bernardino County , California, but where he had mainly representative duties.

On January 13, 1929, Wyatt Earp died of chronic cystitis at the age of 80 in his small apartment at 4004 W 17th Street, Los Angeles ; other sources cite prostate cancer as the cause. Western actors William S. Hart and Tom Mix were pallbearers at his funeral. His partner Josie was sadly unable to attend the funeral. She had Wyatt's body cremated and buried his ashes in the Marcus family crypt in the "Hills of Eternity," a Jewish (Josie was Jewish) cemetery in Colma , California. When she died in 1944, her ashes were buried next to her significant other. The original tombstone was stolen in 1957 and replaced with a new one.

Media reception

Films and series

Numerous films have been made about Wyatt Earp. Even today, the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral is re-enacted for tourists on the first and third Sunday of the month in Tombstone . The series Wyatt Earp intervenes ( The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ) with 227 episodes was also broadcast from 1955 to 1961 . Hugh O'Brian took on the leading role .

The OK Corral shooting was also the subject of an episode of the original Star Trek series .

Films about Wyatt Earp

• 1946 My Darling Clementine ( My Darling Clementine ) - Director: John Ford
• 1955 Wichita - Director: Jacques Tourneur
• 1957 Two accounts - Director: John Sturges
• 1964 Cheyenne - Director: John Ford
• 1967 The Five Outlaws (Hour of the Gun) - Director: John Sturges
• 1971 Doc - Directed by Frank Perry
• 1987 Sunset - Twilight in Hollywood - Director: Blake Edwards
• 1993 Tombstone - Directed by George Pan Cosmatos
• 1994 Wyatt Earp - The Life of a Legend - Director: Lawrence Kasdan
• 1994 The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones - Double episode: Indiana Jones and the Madnesses of Hollywood
• 2012 Wyatt Earp's Revenge - Director: Michael Feifer
• 2012 Hannah's Law - Director: Rachel Talalay

literature

• Jens Kiecksee: The Wyatt Earp Story. (Life and Legend), American Studies Publishing House, 1991, ISBN 3-9246-9662-4
• Adam Woog: Wyatt Earp (Legends of the Wild West), Chelsea House Publ., 2010, ISBN 1-6041-3597-2 (Engl.)
• Morris, Fauche, Adam: OK Corral (Lucky Luke album), Ehapa, 2009

Novels

There are also numerous novels starring Wyatt Earp as the main character. A list can be found under Wyatt Earp (novels) .

music

Earp's life became the content of the concept album The Legend and the Truth by the band Dezperadoz .

literature

• Dietmar Kügler: You died in your boots . Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1994, ISBN 3-8112-1250-8 .
• Barra, Allen (1998): Inventing Wyatt Earp: His Life and Many Legends. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-0685-6 .
• Earp, Josephine Sarah Marcus (1976): I Married Wyatt Earp: The Memories of Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp. University of Arizona Pr. ISBN 0-8165-0583-7 .
• Gatto, Steve (2000): The Real Wyatt Earp: A Documented Biography. Silver City: High-Lonesome Books. ISBN 0-944383-50-5 .
• Lake, Start N. (1994): Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal Pocket. ISBN 0-671-88537-5 .
• Marks, Paula Mitchell (1989): And Die in the West: The Story of the OK Corral Shootout. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-671-70614-4 .
• Tefertilla, Casey (1997): Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-18967-7 .
• Jens Kiecksee: The Wyatt Earp Story ; Life and Legend, TRAIL BOOKS, ISBN 3-924696-62-4 .

Web links

Commons : Wyatt Earp  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Wyatt Earp in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Literature by and about Wyatt Earp in the catalog of the German National Library
• Wyatt Earps burial site
• Tombstone, Arizona Monument Gallery
• Wyatt Earp History Page
• Wyatt Earp: Tombstonian by Tim Fattig
• An article about his father and his landed property
• A family history summary about him .
• Wyatt Earp's family history
• A description of his life in Lamar
• A report on Benjamin Thompson allegedly arrested by Wyatt.
• A chapter from Wyatt Earp's autobiographical essay by John H. Flood, Jr. (1926)
• Gunslingers from Kansas
• Wyatt Earp: Desert Lawman & Adventurer (DesertUSA.com)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Fred Larsen: In the Name of the Law. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1957, pp. 17-29.
2. ↑ Wild West History Association via George Hoy (t)
3. ↑ James "Jim" Masterson (1855-1895) in "Legends of America"
4. ^ Nyle H. Miller , Joseph W. Snell : Why the West Was Wild: A Contemporary Look at the Antics of Some Highly Publicized Kansas Cowtown Personalities. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1963, p. 307. Quotation: "There is an even chance that it was Jim Masterson and not Wyatt Earp who shot George Hoy that night."
5. ↑ San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area / Bureau of Land Management ( Memento from January 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )