Tombstone's Death Corner

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Pioneer Describes Desperados Of Early Tombstone, Branding Most Of Them Arrant Cowards. Written by Robert A. Lewis in 1929...(partial writings edited)

"Mike Joice (Milt Joyce) ran the swellist saloon in town upon death corner. Mike was a square shooter and a game bird. When he opened up his Oriental saloon, he announced to the "bad men" as well as the good: "That his place was to be run for gentlemen, and that he wanted every man who came in there to be a gentleman at least while he was in there, and that all "gun men" must pull their guns out on the sidewalk - That any caught breaking this rule, would be fit for the undertaker, as he had a set of tools himself inside that would fix the "unruly birds" so this is perhaps the reason so many bad men were shot up outside on the corner. Mike was afterwards one of the greatest saloon men in San Francisco --well fellows can show them the "bird cage" and such spots. My memory is a little blurred on this line, being as I am 71 past. 

I may as well let out what I know about that celebrated so-called fight between the Earps and Doc Holliday gang and the Cow-boys-which took place on Fremont street, just back of old Jerseys Livery Stable. As I was an eye witness, and also my father, as our office at that time was right across the street. To be plain, it was simply cold blooded murder. But as it was simply the parting of a bunch of stage robbers and gettting rid of a lot of bad eggs on both sides. The good citizens said nothing and let it go on.

Morgan Earp was a Wells Fargo stage messenger in charge of Express box, and supposed to be in guard of it. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were at the head of the gang, with Ike Clanton and a bunch of cowboys to do the stage hold-up just below the town of Contention. When ever they were tipped off that the valuables would be thrown out, and nobody hurt. "Wells Fargo" tired of all this sent down from California a trusty agent, Robert Paul to put this business out of existence. So it seems the Clanton crowd got tipped to shoot up the stage one night and get Bob Paul. But it being a cold sleety rainy night, the stage driver, Bud Philpot, a good lad, exchanged his seat with Bob Paul in order to warm his hands. So when the hold-up came, Philpot was killed instead of Bob Paul. This started the war between the Earps and Clanton cowboy crowd.

I never did believe the McLowery boys were mixed up in the stage robbing but they were great friends of the Clantons.

So on the day of the so-called fight took place it was tipped around town for good citizens to kindly keep off the streets as the Earps were going to do business with the Cowboys. Well about noon I think, I was sitting at my desk writing, facing two windows out onto the street, my father was reading a newspaper when I saw standing in the street near Jerseys back of corral gate, Ike Clanton and the two McLowery boys talking when up rode Billy Clanton (19 year-old). It seems the city marshal had given orders to the stable keepers to tell the cowboys when they came into town they must take off their six shooters and put them in the stable keepers desk. While they were in town, Ike Clanton and the McLowery brothers had done this and stood there un-armed. But as Billy came to the back street, he got off his horse and gave him a slap and put him into the stable. While he stopped to talk to his brother, and while this was going on, who comes down the Fremont street with thier guns out, and dodging back of any signs they could, the Earps, Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil, Doc Holliday and two or three more of their gang. I called my father's attention to what looked like a shooting was to come off. Ike Clanton stood facing up the street and as he saw the Earp crowd coming he ducked behind the gate and ran into Jerseys corral. The Earps leveled their guns and called out hands-up: the two McLowery boys and Billy Clanton put their hands above their heads and the Earp crowd shot into them the McLowery fell the first fire, Billy Clanton was shot throught the right wrist. I saw his hand fall limp and backwards, on next fire he fell to the ground and as he did he reached over with his left hand pulled out his six-shooter and started firing back at the Earps, he fired three shots at them and afterwards I was told he wounded Wyatt Earp in the hip and Morgan in the rear ribs and one other in of the party in the leg. His 4th shot went off in the air as he fell over dead in the street. The whole crowd of the Earps were on the run backing up as they sure seemed surprised to find any of the cowboys were armed except Virgil Earp, who backed up beside the big gate of the stable and kept shooting away at the fallen boys, who died as game as a man as I ever saw die in a shooting scrape. My father was wild over what he saw, and cried out cold blooded murder. He wanted to take his shotgun and go into the scrape. When I said, no father, this is nothing but a bunch of stage robbers splitting and killing one another to keep any evidence fron getting out. Jim Earp never seemed to mix in any of the killings of the Earp gang and had a good reputation among the gamblers as a square gambler. Virgil Earp I never believed was in on any of the stage robbing business, but when it came to the war fued, he of course joined Wyatt Earp and was the gazest (?) man of the whole lot. Doc Holliday was a dope fiend and after he had to get out of Arizona.

If there was any body due the credit of cleaning up Arizona of this low bunch of stage robbers, it was Bob Paul, who never said nothing but kept on the trail of this business until nearly all of them were killed off or ran out of the country. There was only one man who was supposed to be mixed up with the Earps in this business and he was Marshal Williams, who was Wells Fargo and company's agent in Tombstone during this racket. No one ever knew as far as we could ever learn what became of him: He either traveled, quit or sure put out of existence for what he knew. Ike Clanton  informed me that Billy Stillwell rode in one night (by relay of horses) from Tucson to Tombstone: killed Morgan Earp and wounded Virgil Earp and rode back to Tucson for breakfast, and two or three boys later shot Stillwell near the R.R. in Tucson when he was waiting to get a shot at some of the Earp crowd as the train was to pull out. On this occasion Ike Clanton ran away, and forgot to give Stillwell the signal of the Earps approach: just as he did in Tombstone. 

Yours truly, Robert A. Lewis 1929    

Note from G.S. McLelland...no matter who wrote it, don't believe "everything" you read...

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