Will rediscovered Tombstone document solve mystery of Wyatt Earp?Nicholas R. Cataldo, Correspondent
Posted: 04/27/2010 03:15:19 PM PDT
Of all the giants of Western lore - including men like Jesse James and Geronimo and women like Calamity Jane - no one has been as controversial as Wyatt Earp, the legendary lawman who spent much of his life in San Bernardino County.
In one often-questioned biography of Earp, author Stuart N. Lake depicted him as a knight on a white horse, battling the enemies of law and order. This "paladin" image soon inspired numerous movies and even a TV show.
On the other hand, Frank Waters, in rewriting the memoirs of Earp's sister-in-law, portrayed him as a cold-blooded killer and a liar.
Who was Wyatt Earp? Was he an outlaw as well as a lawman? Were he and his brothers simply defending themselves or did they instigate the legendary "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in Tombstone, Ariz., on October 26, 1881?
It's an oft-asked question. And now we have a long-missing handwritten transcript from a coroner's inquest regarding the O.K. Corral confrontation that has just turned up.
The document resurfaced when court clerks stumbled upon a dusty box while reorganizing files in an old jail storage room in Bisbee, about 20 miles south of Tombstone. Stuffed inside was a modern manila envelope marked "keep" with the date 1881.
Court officials turned the document over to state archivists last week. The pages reportedly include verbatim testimony from eyewitnesses to the shootout. Experts now will begin the process of analyzing and preserving the document.
The inquest was performed on the same day Wyatt Earp, his two brothers Virgil and Morgan, and good friend Doc Holliday, confronted a gang of cowboys, sparking a 30-second gun battle in the streets of Tombstone that killed Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton.
Virgil Earp was wounded in the shootout, then wounded again, and more seriously, in a revenge-motivated assassination attempt. He survived, however, and eventually moved to Colton, where the Earp brothers'
parents lived. He became town marshal.
Morgan Earp was unhurt in the O.K. Corral incident but later was murdered in a revenge shooting. His body was transported to Colton, where he was buried first at Mt. Slover and eventually at Hermosa Cemetery.
Wyatt, unscathed at the O.K. Corral, made many trips to the Inland Empire during the rest of his life. Colton was his family home, after all, and he had gained his first job driving a stagecoach out of San Bernardino. He also spent many of his last years prospecting in the deserts of east San Bernardino County. The town of Earp, near the Colorado River, is named after him.
Many Earp family descendents, including family archivist W. Don Earp, still live in the Inland Empire.
Whether or not the resurfaced Tombstone document presents new facts or changes one's opinions of Wyatt Earp remains to be seen. In the meantime, the question still will be asked: Was he a hero or a villain?
During an interview in 1989, San Bernardino resident Grace (Welsh) Spolidoro (1901-1999), recalled her memories of Wyatt while she and her family lived in Needles.
"Oh, he was no saint!" she said. "But he was a good man and a good friend of the family."
Spolidoro mentioned that her father, Charles Courtney "Charlie" Welsh, was a close friend of Wyatt and she had been well acquainted with Earp while she and her family lived in Needles. He frequently visited with the Welshes and was treated as a member of the family.
Affectionately nicknamed "little Sister" by Wyatt, Spolidoro even spent a vacation with Wyatt and his wife, Sadie, in San Diego one year and stayed at the Hotel del Coronado.
Spolidoro recalled hearing many stories regarding Wyatt's past as frontier marshal, gambler, undercover agent for Wells Fargo, stage coach driver, freighter, and saloon keeper - many of which were not true. She insisted that Wyatt detested all the lies that had been written by dime novelists who portrayed him as a folk hero, as well as those who made him out to be nothing more than an outlaw.
Remembered as tall, erect, with steely blue eyes that "could stare right through you," Wyatt was admired by the Welsh family as a gentleman who never acted disrespectfully. He was also remembered as a man who would not tolerate anyone else showing disrespect, especially in front of women.
Spolidoro recalled one evening when several family members and friends were socializing at the Welsh home, and a man who obviously had too much to drink was speaking obnoxiously to her niece. It didn't take long for Wyatt to put an end to the loudmouth's shenanigans. Without showing a hint of his intention, he suddenly stood up from his chair and with those piercing eyes and that low, deep voice that seemed to break off his words, said to the man, "You don't talk to a lady like that."
The man didn't make another sound.
Nicholas R. Cataldo writes a history column for The Sun. He is the author of "The Earp Clan: The Southern California Years" (Back Roads Press, $19.95), available locally at Barnes & Noble, San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society, San Bernardino County Museum, Colton Area Museum, Mojave River Valley Museum and from the author. Contact him at
yankeenut@excite.com.
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