What REALLY happened at The OK Corral? | A chat with the Gunfighters

if you're a human living on planet Earth you're probably familiar with the story of the gunfight at the okay Corral classic Old West showdown often portrayed in Hollywood films by actors who look nothing like the real thing Hollywood has taken a few liberties with the story of the OK Corral and what actually happened on that early afternoon October 26 1881 at best what you see in Hollywood films is only partially accurate case in point there are no saguaros in Tombstone today's okay Corral actors definitely look the part and they're not just actors they know a great deal of history about what actually went down here today we're here in Tombstone at the OK Corral to separate the facts from the fiction [Music] Montgomery and Benson's okay Corrals one of several Stables that served tombstone in the 1880s at Wagon Shed stables and stalls and was two lots wide on Allen Street with a narrow entrance on Fremont Street it has gained great notoriety due to countless books Publications and movies about the gunfight between the earth Brothers Doc Holliday and the clintons and mcclarys this incident lasted for mere seconds and left three dead and three wounded but the OK Corral was in business years after the gunfight with the influx of automobiles used to climb by 1907 deterioration caused the Adobe structure in the annexed to collapse killing three horses this deterioration continued and by 1951 restoration efforts began in 1958 the Adobe building 150 feet of stables and wagon sheds were rebuilt using the original plans to restore it the current complex contains the gunfight site as well as replicas of many of the original buildings [Music] there are also a few museum style exhibits in the OK Corral which you won't see in this video but be sure to check them out when you come here the OK Corral still has a blacksmith and this is Jesse blacksmith of the OK Corral and he's going to show us how to make a bottle opener [Music] foreign [Music] these bottle openers and other handmade items are available for purchase if you want to take home a really cool souvenir [Music] everybody in town was pleased with the outcome of the gunfight at the OK Corral in fact many believe that the mcclearys and Billy Clinton were murdered in the streets of Tombstone in fact depending on who's telling you the story it could be a little different one o'clock y'all one o'clock next okay Corral gun fighting today watch three log dogs and a longer taking Hot Shots at some cowboys that's right y'all get your tickets for these double wrecked doors the highlights of the OK Corral are of course the gunfight site where the battle actually happened and just a few feet away from there you can witness a very good reenactment of the events of that day we'll take a little bit of a look at the show here before we talk to the actors folks ready for a gun fight are you ready for a killing yeah you've lost it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] gonna be fun friends [Music] doctor something I need to talk to you about go home it's like Clanton he's on the war path and this time he's gunning for you if I plant comes my way it becomes my business Wyatt and you and I both know I handle my business the proper way I reckon he's going to go out in town and do what spread some more of the eyes about me Doc I do believe my Bethel so truth about you [Music] that kid is scarier than the rest of you let me tell you something about that share it you see he's a smart man because he leaves us Cowboys alone that sure is a lot of tough talk Wyatt you know it really is just a shame that's coming out of the dead man you boys you had your chance to run us out of this town but this is our home we ain't leaving now you've got it up here in his voice we're here in front of your guns all the seven alive day Tom McLeod dead 19 year old Billy plant dead that's it it's all fall at the start and that folks is our show we hope you enjoyed it [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come on down to the set get some pictures with the actors we invite you to do so this is as good as we're gonna look all day if you have any questions about the history at the time or anything you just saw feel free to come on down and ask us we are a lot more reliable than this that'll kill my person I keep hearing about these guys put on a great show I highly recommend it if you come to Tombstone but after all the people leave here we'll have a little chat about what the actors know about what happened here by the way how close were you to Frank McClary when it all went down to reached out and touched him it was Point Blank for as far as Simba goes that doesn't look as impressive right the movie they're like 30 feet apart yeah that looks better um certainly we have to uh keep uh space between us for safety concessions but they in a movie they they could have shown it the right way they could have had the snow on the ground in them at Point Blank Range yeah even though it was cartridge uh era the uh the bullets had black powder in them so that added to the poor visibility when they started firing yeah and the movie Ike runs into this building and starts shooting out the window did that happen what no um after the gunfight Because the actual back entrance to the okay Corral would be where the current Marshall parking lot is so when I cut tail and ran it basically ran through the back entrance out through the front entrance and based off what I read across the street which is now like a parking lot like Dexter delivery he was arrested about two hours after the gunfight kind of in that general area yeah um there is Ike he didn't have anything to do with the like after effect like after effects for the days he said he wasn't even around this area he refused to like come by this section of the street for days afterwards like during the whole trial process and everything but also I heard bodies on the good like days afterwards I heard uh and I believe it was right I could be wrong but Frank staggered across the street uh Tom excuse me not Frank Tom staggered up uh across the street Fremont Street leaning backwards against the building slumped down in a sitting position and he was there facing today a school boy saw him uh there propped up and reported it to somebody but apparently uh for whatever reason I think we covered in snow maybe that's why maybe that's why covered in snow but uh he wasn't found until uh as you said later which is kind of creepy yeah he was also when he was found he had what is it he had seven hundred dollars like and I mean 1881 she had seven hundred dollars cash on him and almost three thousand dollars worth of bonds also in his pockets from from a trade that he had been making earlier in the day would like with the butcher in time just so happened to be the same one who watched stolen beef I give Buffalo or watched tongue get Buffalo but the same butcher that he had made a deal with earlier watched I think it was Tom yeah get whipped by Wyatt outside the courthouse not not long before the gunfight yeah and actually it wasn't outside the courthouse because the courthouse wasn't built yet um it was actually right here in the middle of Fourth Street across the street from about where puny Jones is that's right that's right yeah and then that's pretty much what ignited later on it was it was right after the hearing of for Ike when Ike was getting thrown out right so a showing called but in that same hearing wasn't that the part where Morgan has his little to do with Ike takes his gun out tries to give it to him in the courtroom or something I heard that he should say all right you want to fight come on let's do it yeah there's a lot of different variations and if you look back in history everybody that claimed they've witnessed the gunfight they're stories are all different thing I did learn about um was at shuffling Hall upstairs where the Mason Masons have their Lodge the one side window that looks out Connor Fremont in this direction it's still the original glass the creepy part is there was actually two young men that witnessed the whole thing from that window I made the question as well why didn't they come forward and give their actual accounts the answer I got back was they weren't supposed to be in the building so basically it was to kind of protect their own tails they just kept their mouth shut if there were people that actually didn't witness it but I think because of retaliation just the time period to not knowing a lot of people just kind of kept their mouth shut so you know I think the description that Wyatt gave is probably going to be one of the closest um but even the paper that you can get from the upper half of the whole trial kind of gives you an Insight of you know probably the closest honest you know yeah account of what actually took place there is there is online Library resource actually that you can find that has all of the original documents that they've resurfaced from digging around and recovering them but they have a they have a lot of original testimonies that were handwritten from the date the trial dates that were I think Ike's testimony is intact Johnny behan's testimony is intact there's Billy claibornes and a couple others that are a little scattered um but they still have remains of them and if you read them all together it paints an interesting picture of some of the truths quiet Wyatt in white my understanding of belief didn't have a whole lot to gain by lying or fabricating anything because they were wearing the badges number two Wyatt did draw a map of the exact spot where the gunfight happened and everything leading up to it happened once again I don't see why especially if there were Witnesses I don't see why he would be motivated to spread falsehoods about what happened that day I don't think he would have had anything to gain by that there's there's yeah because I know if you if you look at a lot of the resources that are available it's widely assumed and kind of stated at this point that be him witnessed the gunfight from backer flies no doubt that he was there and he witnessed around the corner kind of watched because so he wasn't in the building like in the movie no right I didn't think so what I just said I almost get the feeling other than Virgil because Virgil was a blue collar stand-up long man he fully expected those cowboys to render their guns up on his command because ordinance number nine was only a misdemeanor it wasn't worth risk of risking getting killed for I I almost feel like Wyatt maybe Morgan and certainly doc were almost kind of proud in kind of a macho way of what they did and what went down I think they were almost like that's why I don't really feel like they were hiding anything you know they were wearing the badges and I think it was it as I said kind of a macho thing like they asked for it right you know yeah and that's what happened yeah you know that's the feeling I give yeah it's the and there's a handful of eyewitnesses and ear witnesses to the effect of Morgan and Doc having this conversation leading up to the gunfighters or walking down the alleyway saying Morgan turns to Doc as Virgil and Wyatt are open front Morgan and Dockers trailing behind and Morgan turns to Doc with the shotgun and says give them both barrels to Doc replying all right and I've heard that too um and then the also there's plenty of the agreeable testimony that says Doc Holliday was one of the first people to kick back Becky took a couple steps back towards the outside of the Harwood house into Fremont Street waited kind of right next to Tom McClary with a shotgun and then cocked the Hammers back and that's kind of what ignited everyone to whoa nobody knows that shot but certainly doc was itching to shoot somebody and the fact that he clicked that 10 gauge shotgun I'm sure the Cowboys thought this this SOB is going to kill us it's just got stupid yeah he's going to do it legally because he's with the guys with the badges he was was not wearing a badge but he was with the Lawman and he probably felt this is your day and it's coming because and I'm going to get away with it and by God he did he was acquitted at the trial so and there's a lot of the here she'll say that Tom and uh Wyatt fired simultaneously that's why they don't know who fired the first shot right but Tom fired or Wyatt fired Wyatt was actually Amy for Frank but Frank was a better gunman correct and that story in and of itself is interesting because recently I found out that really basically the only understanding of Frank McClary being any kind of good gun oh this comes from a week before the gun fight there was a there was an article put out in the Nugget that Frank McClary walked into town and visited a few of the saloons wearing a brand new beaded Buckskin coat that he had got from an Apache medicine man while they were raiding his house they were circling his house out there in the Sulfur Springs Valley he walks out and loaded just drunk and grabs his rifle props it up on his elbow and just one shot knocks the medicine man off his horse walks out there grabs his jacket and pins it up on his front lawn for the next week for anybody to come by and see and then he wore it into town a week before the gunfight and was bragging about it and that's that's about the only account of Frank McClary which would explain why why it would have been for Frank first sure because eliminate your biggest threat absolutely absolutely but the throttle back where'd that money that Tom had well you know of course the Cowboys were well known to be going down to Mexico stealing Mexican cattle bringing it back here and selling it for a big profit and then taking them back yep they doubled they would double dip and take them back from the Army or whoever they sold them to go back to the Mexicans and say hey we found your cattle we'll get it right for a price right here you go here you go and not to mention reports of stages being held up and loot taken that way well the Modoc was that stage that came from here with the Miley held up stage was the Mohawk it was took like 20 passengers I think so yeah I mean that's really not even that many when you think about it but certainly you know a lot of those visitors had had jewelry they had cash they had uh silver who knows I mean you also have to think too it's a Boom Town in the western town just in town the lack of resources is very real in that time so anything goes for high levels so I have came across this story here about the like the term for a shot of whiskey is it came from here because this is the height it was equal to a bowl because they wouldn't be able the miners wouldn't get any silver because they would put the silver ore out but then the silver coin coming back would get robbed right so they couldn't pay the miners the miners would turn in first shot of whiskey it's a shot and that's where and they would turn this in and get a shot of whiskey back yeah okay and that's where they would say that the height of a 45 Long coal you had set it on the bar and then this is the pour that you get of whisk you get enough whiskey here to shots work and it just ended up becoming about an ounce when weigh it out but yeah that's that's what I heard yeah it was about the price of a bullet too yeah they were turning the bullet for the shot yeah the cost of one round was equivalent to correct like and by the way back in those days there was no automatic so they weren't called long back then it was just Colt 45 we had a 44 Colt you had a 45 cold even Virgil War 44 Russian he had his explosion he had his special mate apparently yeah and interesting Smith there was out of the six people that were reported in the gunfight to have had guns the four herbs and the two Cowboys Billy and Frank there was only two guns ever recovered from that entire incident and documented and that was Billy and Frank's gun and they were documented to the serial numbers they were recovered to Colt 45 Frontier Model seven and a half inch barrels by the early 1980s uh nobody else 45s as you say we're readily available the first five years after 1873 when they were first released the Army was grabbing most of them up so it wasn't until about 1878 that the model P was in abundant numbers to be had and by the way you know the conversion era most guys had conversions for that 10 years between the early 70s and early 80s because the model P's cost 15 to 20 dollars brand new you could get a brand new conversion from colts for five dollars five to seven dollars so there's no doubt in my mind there might have been some cult or Remy Colt or Remington conversion or open tops besides the model keys that were found single action armies that were found yeah yeah it's a it's a really it's a really interesting thing and it it really comes down to lack of evidence and lack of documentation right is the reason why the gunfight happened the way that it happened because there was no for instance even just the name the gunfight at the OK Corral was just because of proximity yeah proximity and it rang better when it got to Hollywood and that's what it is because you look the lot's right there yeah the gunfight didn't happen the back the back entrance of the Corral is over here so you've got look at that space you got a long Alleyway and most of a vacant lot and um it's interesting because some folks right off the bat called it the fight on Fremont Street others like the Epitaph day after they're already calling the gunfight at the okay Corel they're already so it wasn't really Hollywood then no not just Hollywood just the choice just a choice the ones that called it Fremont Street and the Epitaph called it at the okay correct correct yeah and then the Hollywood ran with the okay Corral just sounded better and uh yeah a lot of people yeah you know feel like they have to make it known that it didn't really happen there nobody says it actually happened at the okay Corel Stables nobody says that it's just the name it was given also once again proximity I feel I feel like David okay coroncos gunfight on Fremont Street that's not very specific frequency sure it's a reference point okay wow there's only it's here that just narrows it down and yeah like you're saying is they do the same thing even today if something major happens they're going to give you kind of a landmark sure you know for here the landmark sure for this area is going to be the Crowley church was on Allen and you had the back entrance right but you know that's just a reference point in the show we do reference the exact spot where it took place right yeah it's and even more so too and it's the the whole event was nothing like how Hollywood portrayed it to be you know with this Grand even like you've seen Tombstone and they're all 30 feet apart you know I was shooting out the Flies window Doc Holliday has a never-ending revolver but you know like all of these things and and in reality when it happens they were this close yeah yeah it's 30 rounds 36. once again why was that how close were you to Franklin how are you when the gun probably went down he said I could have reached out and touched them and if your Law Officers apprehending suspects you're not 30 40 50 feet apart you are up close and personal yeah and they just don't show that yeah they had Cowboys backs against them literally backs against the wall they had the Cowboys were standing in a way that their backs were cornered in this small lot already filled with Lumber and extra just garbage from the hardware house two horses two horses four Cowboys and four are standing in this narrow water and the Cowboys are all pressed up against the wall here have four cops in front of them who were asking for their guns within this distance sure and then all of a sudden the crazy one that's loaded on the bottom and alcohol Cox's hammers on the side of you three everyone's gonna get real itchy at that point when you're Corner yeah did you well if you look at the look at the gunfight site here this black iron fence on the left hand side is about where the Harwood house was right so it really was that narrow it was in a tight narrow Alleyway and a lot was longer yeah the rest of the lot was vacant yeah um could you look at the back of City Hall give or take That's How Deep The watts are right yeah yeah because the alleyway would be about where our pathway is to go yeah into the back so and it was now once again I think you guys somebody mentioned there were six Cowboys had ran right before the Arabs got there right and then West Fuller or not West Floor really if they were left right when they got right when they got there so really it was six against four if they would have stuck around but they took off then it became roughly four on four but Ike wasn't armed so it was really cool it's just like you say James Earp was right down the street another thing they did I saw an interesting um documentary on TV not too far long ago but uh it was interesting uh for several reasons why the herbs and holidays seem to have the advantage uh and that's because they they came to the conclusion that the Earth and holiday were better gunmen than the Cowboys the Cowboys all stood straight like this Maybe by surprise but they were firing straight on whereas the herbs and holiday all went sideways made the target smaller so they said they were better gunmen the fact that Morgan gets shot through the shoulders may have something to do with his stance uh taking the bullet now some people said why it might have actually shot his home brother either way certainly they were they were sideways with the guns out of seven squared up like this like the Cowboys yeah you know and then the fact that Ike in and of itself ran through gunfire through smoke and grabs Wyatt begging but not only that but he grabs him and they tie up like this for a second the fact that in all of that chaos why it didn't just even accidentally discharge and shoot him sure you know what I mean in the middle of all this gunfire you don't know if he has a gun or knife the fact that holy and tell him get to fighting or get away any kind of response at that point is insane the amount of Justice yeah it didn't move he's the only one that didn't move from his original spot and of course he was the only participant in the gunfight that didn't get shot he stood his ground apparently he didn't move one step he stood right in the spot when the gunfight starts I think in a way that's kind of where why it showed using one uh restraint but also common sense because when the fighting started why I didn't see icewood again so when white or when I came to Wyatt and basically he says don't shoot yeah he didn't shoot there's a lot of speculation that that's probably why Wyatt didn't get shot was because they'd be shooting right in the back his own voice um so it was almost like Ike was protecting one um but also Wyatt I think had a good sense that Ike was not armed because had Wyatt shot Ike coming at him yeah would have had a totally different outcome oh yeah oh yeah because he just shot it on man yeah and obviously unarmed man that you so I think that kind of shows the calm up restraint I want it to know who to shoot who not to I mean he wasn't just genuinely had zero fear like he's just there's just there's no way you have anything don't shoot itself Fearless the doctors didn't care so yeah he was well he was dying anyways he was his whole life to a doctor and I got taken for him yeah he was dying he was wishing for it yeah that's it's insane yeah but I think also of course we need to get I mean it's a it's a very well-known fact that the Cowboys ate a dock and Doc hated the Cowboys yeah and I think he took this as an opportunity to what the hell boys happen yes you know he already had the badges he had a reputation at just everywhere you know he made a reputation for himself out in Texas and he had to run from the law because he he stabbed someone in a bar fight and repeatedly stabbed someone in a bar fight over gambling and then on the run from Texas he met up with Wyatt in Dodge City where he was where Wyatt was actually getting himself and she had almost got himself killed yeah and Doc supposedly kind of helped him in like basically getting him out of that situation doc had a reputation of being really good as a pistolero good with a gun that's not necessarily true doc was very good with a knife and they kind of showed that in the movie Tombstone which I love but doc did nothing to uh stamp out that rumor that he was good with a gun of course you can use that in your favor but actually he was much better with a knife than a gun and uh that kind of adds to maybe they said he was decent doc was decent for the gun when he was sober but how often was he sober so there's really nowhere to go and the thing is too dark also had a one-up uh if you ask me personally doc he had two guns which was he was known to carry one for each year um he carried his Thunder and his lightning and the the lightning I believe the smaller one was a double action so he already had a leg up having a double action pistol in the single action so he had no time to waste just click click done and I mean you know very close range he gets into town he shoots melt Joyce's finger off you know he's already establishing he's right he's known which was why he was banned from the Oriental right and also you know I mean sure no one might know if he's a good gun or not but I wouldn't bet my life on it yeah a gunman a pistol level and that certainly uh uh aided him in any situation that uh there was going to be gun play people were afraid to take him on because for that reason whatever works right yeah at Virgil you know when doc one and you know what's going on what's going on I hear those cowboys you know Virgil didn't want him to come Virgil didn't care for Doc Virgil pretty much viewed daca's trouble and he thought well wait a sec maybe if I give him the 10 gauge that I just picked up from Wells Fargo and the fact that the Cowboys hate Doc and he hates the Cowboys surely there'll be no trouble it's only a misdemeanor so you know yeah I'll give you the 10 gauge Dock and there'll be no trouble well that backfired the whole thing backfired because doc was looking to shoot somebody I think I think the idea that Virgil was having was called the Cowboys Bluff yeah like you know it might be easier for the cowboy to Bluff out you know Virgil sure Virgil's not going to shoot me your dog's cold in the shotgun they might be a little a little less quick to pull their guns in absolutely but then when doctor shoots them anyways it doesn't matter not get his own agenda I think that's a good way to skate it like Virgo is there before the gunfighter Calder Bluff yeah was because if the Cowboys pulled first then it makes the fight Justified absolutely better pulled so okay now gloves are off and it's self-defense some historians say virtual should have been is the unsung hero of that gunfight because he had good intentions he had the correct intentions being a man of the law and he really thought he was going to uh have those cowboys surrender their arms over it's obvious when you see the physical just the physical side of it in general you don't stand two feet close to somebody with an armed weapon that you know hates you if you don't expect them to fall sure like you just don't do this especially as a career alone and you just you're expecting them to give up and that's kind of why this gunfight was such a big deal because it never happened before sure it shouldn't have gotten that close you gave your Gala that's where is it for a misdemeanor you throw in dog is borderline suffering from Mania probably sure I'm sure you know what I mean you throw that into the mix and then you got the rest of the Cowboys it's it's been getting their ass back Wyatt for like a week right a lot of tension there yep you know when you hear of other gun fights in Old West history but it was that one that was USA special that made it to the history book and it was also it was also one of the gunfights in one of the few very few and we got like gunfight history yeah that was unwarranted it was it was not a duel it was not you disrespected me meet me out in the street with your gun it was not it was just it happened political socio-economic coming to a head between two different factions and it came to a head the outcome was violent terrible that was not the intention but that's how it ended up and a statement was made yeah we're wearing the badges you're going to do what I say they didn't the rest is history and well Tombstone was so was yes I mean those controlling the biggest city between here and there's a lot of issues besides San Francisco I think it was San Francisco here supposedly uh the biggest town east of San Francisco and west of the Mississippi at that time they did whatever they wanted here yep making huge profits and uh and then all of a sudden the herbs came in and put their foot down yeah um it really became to who and that's essentially why the Earth got ran out of town because all the locals like the Cowboys yeah and then the herbs made sure there were no more Cowboys right yeah yeah Cowboys were good for business like this yeah it was the last one to leave town we left in April of 82 on his Vendetta ride never came back right and actually he was wanted by the it's once but a local police right for uh before because of um and the reason why he kind of went on his Vendetta ride was because when after Morgan was killed he went to try to get warrants out for the Cowboys and the judge looked at him and said basic Point Blank why you know if you apprehend him and bring him in they're just going to get a slap on the wrist and be let go you know if you want to Justice you leave them in the bushes yeah that was from the judge yeah nice perfect man I appreciate it anytime you guys are a wealth of knowledge on the stuff I definitely appreciate your info of course and uh we'll see you again all right guys so that was our look at the okay Corral I want to give a big thanks to all the guys at the okay Corral uh Todd Dave Nathan Roman uh all of them they were such good guys to take some time out and actually talk to us about the history of the okay Corral and things that probably a lot of people don't know so I hope you found the video enjoyable and if you did do me a favor hit that subscribe button hit that like button helps our content be seen by more people and that really helps us out so from Tombstone until next time everybody see you down the road

Channel: Desert Sky Adventures

Views: 20,740

Keywords: OK Corral, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Tombstone, OK Corral Tombstone

Id: 3z3UkFuShBo

Length: 34min 34sec (2074 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2022