The Old West's most famous
gunbattle lasted all of about thirty
seconds, but it left three men dead, three other men shot, and enough
questions to occupy historians for more than a century. The
gunfight
also led to criminal charges being filed against the three Earp
brothers (Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan) and Doc Holliday who, near the O.
K. Corral on October 26, 1881, decided to enforce the law against four
notorious "cowboys." The hearing that followed the shoot-out
considered the question of whether the Earps and Hollidays killed out
of a justifiable fear for their own lives or simply to rid themselves
of troublemakers and personal enemies. After listening to weeks
of
testimony, Judge Spicer gave his answer--but whether his answer was the
right one remained a subject of considerable debate long after the
silver mines that gave birth to Tombstone, Arizona had
vanished.... (Continued)
|
