PROFILES OF THE "COWBOYS"
IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE FIGHT...
The Cowboys were a loosely organized gang of
outlaws who operated along the Mexican border and
frequented towns like Tombstone. They stole cattle from
Americans and sold them in Mexico, and vice versa. Stage
coach robbery, ambushing teamsters, and all other sorts of
mischievous activities were partaken by the Cowboys.
 "Old
Man" Clanton provided a place for the Cowboys to hang
out and fence their stolen cattle or goods. Many of the
outlaws operated jointly in their efforts, and would band
together when it was profitable. Marshal Virgil Earp
began to come down hard on the Cowboys when he was
elected, with the help of his brothers and Doc Holliday.
The result was the famous gunfight at the OK Corral, but
the real death toll did not begin until after the fight
when both sides began to assassinate key members of the
opposing factions.
Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton was born in
Tennessee in 1816. He married Mariah Kelso in Missouri on
January 5, 1840. Newman went to California in 1849-50 for
the gold rush, but eventually moved to Texas. In March of
1862, Newman and his oldest two sons John and Phineas,
joined the Confederate Army. Newman was discharged July 6,
1862, and his sons in March of 1863. The Clanton family
appeared in California in 1866, then in the Arizona
Territory in 1873. They lived by Camp Thomas, trying to
make a living off of the military post. By 1877, they had
moved down the San Pedro, a few miles from where Tombstone
would be built the next year. They built a ranch house,
and did some freighting and ranching. Things were looking
up for the Clanton family.
 The
McLaury brothers moved in next door to the Clantons,
and soon they were all good friends. In 1880, Newman gave
the ranch to his boys and moved to New Mexico. As the
unofficial leader of the Cowboys, who were engaged in
robbery and rustling on both sides of the border, he now
had full control of the territory from Tombstone to Animas
Valley. "Old Man" Clanton was killed in August 1881, in an
ambush while driving a stolen herd of cattle. The death
was blamed on Mexican soldiers, but many believe that an
Earp posse that was in the area was just as suspect.
Joseph Isaac "Ike" Clanton (pictured right) was
born in Missouri in 1847. Ike traveled with the family and
eventually ended up in Tombstone with them. He took part
in the rustling of cattle and robbery, and in 1878, he
even opened a restaurant. Ike is most famous for his
involvement in the gunfight at the OK Corral. He was
initially the one to instigate the fight, but arrived
unarmed. He was not harmed in the battle. After the
gunfight, he filed three separate suits against the Earps
for the murder of his brother Billy. The Earps were
released on a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Ike and his brother
Phin moved from Tombstone to Apache County in 1883. By
July, they were indicted on five counts of improper
marking and branding of calves. In 1886, they jumped the
ranch of a friend, killing him in the process. In 1887,
J.V. "Rawhide Jake" Brighton and a Deputy Sheriff came to
arrest Phin and Ike. Ike saw the lawmen coming, tried to
run, and was killed instantly. He was buried near where he
fell.
  Robert
Findley "Frank" McLaury (photo right) and Thomas
Clark McLaury (photo left) came from a respected
family in Korthright, New York. Their father was a lawyer
who moved the family to Iowa in 1855, and then to South
Dakota after the Civil War. Frank and Tom passed through
Fort Worth in 1878 on their way to Arizona Territory. They
picked a spot to build a cattle ranch, and it just
happened to be next to the Clantons. Before long, they
were involved in the Clantons illegal activities. The
McLaury brothers sold their ranch late in 1880 and moved
to Soldiers Hole in Sulphur Springs Valley to help close
the net the Clantons were making to catch cattle herds
crossing the border in either direction. The McLaurys were
involved in many of the events that lead up to the
gunfight at the OK Corral. Both brothers were killed at
the gunfight at the OK Corral, on October 26, 1881.
William Brocius "Curley Bill" Graham was an outlaw
from Texas, wanted for rustling, robbery, and murder.
Fleeing to Arizona, he eventually ends up in Tombstone.
Curly Bill started one of the first Cowboy-Earp clashes
when he killed the Town Marshal Fred White on January 6,
1880. Wyatt Earp pistol whipped him in the street after
the killing and sent him to jail. The Marshal declared the
shooting an accident, and Curly Bill was released.Some of
Curly Bills wilder escapades include holding a Reverend at
gunpoint and forcing him to give them religious services,
capturing and stuffing the ballot box at San Simon to make
sure that Bob Paul did not get elected Sheriff, and
ambushing a mule train of silver coming from Mexico. Curly
Bill was the wildest and most reckless of the Cowboys. On
March 24, 1882, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were on their
trail of vengeance, to avenge the crippling of Virgil and
the murder of Morgan. Curly Bill was killed by their
posse, near Iron Springs, shot with two blasts from Wyatt
Earps shotgun.
"... and his word was as good as
his bond." - Said of Johnny Ringo in the Tombstone Epitaph
July 22, 1882
 John
Peters Ringo (photo left) was born on March 3, 1850 in
Green Fork, Indiana. Despite many myths about him, he did
not come from a wealthy aristocratic family, he did not
attend any college, and he was not related to Coleman
Younger who rode with Jesse James. Ringo came to San Jose,
California with his family when he was 14. By 1869, he was
a drunk and a grade school dropout, and returned to
Indiana. In 1874, Ringo was in Texas, and fought in the
"Hoodoo War", a family feud between Union and Confederate
sympathizers. He fought with the Cooley gang that sided
with the Confederate family when it suited their purposes.
Ringo was involved in numerous criminal activities in
Texas, served a few sentences, and eventually headed for
Arizona Territory, where he quickly became involved in the
Cowboy's activities. He rustled cattle and committed
robbery. Strangely enough, he was not involved in the
gunfight at the OK Corral, but did participate in the
murders and attempted murders of Morgan, Virgil, and other
Earp sympathizers afterward. However, Ringo fled to Mexico
when Wyatt and Doc Holliday began their trail of
vengeance. On July 14, 1882, John Ringo was found dead,
sitting in the branches of an old oak tree. He had been
shot in the head. His boots, horse, and coat were missing,
and his undershirt was bound around his feet, clean and
dry. To this day, many historians have attempted to solve
the mystery of Ringo's death. These theories have been
proposed: 1) Ringo committed suicide, 2) Ringo was killed
by the gunfighter "Buckskin Frank" Leslie, 3) Ringo was
killed by "Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce" O'Rourke, and 4) Ringo
was killed by Wyatt Earp. Tombstone historian Ben T.
Traywick suggests that only Wyatt had sufficient motive,
was supposedly in the area at the time, and admitted to
the killing before his death.
FRIENDS AND ALLIES OF THE COWBOYS
IN TOMBSTONE
 Pete
Spence, or Peter Spencer was born in Louisiana as
Elliot Larkin Ferguson in 1850, but little is known about
his early life. On June 29, 1874 Ferguson joined the
Frontier Company of Texas Rangers commanded by Captain
Warren Wallace. He was given a commission as a second
lieutenant. He was known to have shot a man in the line of
duty, but the wound was not serious and the man recovered.
Sometime after leaving the Texas Rangers, is when he
showed up in southern Arizona using the name Peter M.
Spencer (Pete Spence). He became friends with the Clantons
as well as other members of the so-called cowboy element.
When Morgan Earp was killed in 1882, many believed that
Spence was the killer. After the Earps had left Arizona,
Spence served as a lawman on several occasions. He was
known to have killed at least four men. For one of the
killings he was sentenced to five years in Yuma Prison,
with the sentence to begin June 10, 1893. When he entered
Yuma Prison, the "scary looking" photo to the left was
taken and he gave his occupation as "teamster" listing his
nearest relative, Mollie E. Spencer of Los Angeles,
California. On November 29, 1894, Spence was given a full
pardon by L.C. Hughes, governor of Arizona.
Not pictured:Sheriff Johnny Behan, Phineas Fray "Phin"
Clanton, William Harrison, "Billy" Clanton, Alex Arnett,
Jake Gauze, Milt Hicks, Bud Snow, John McGill, Jake
McKenzie, Dick Gray, Harry Ernshaw, Pony Deal, Tall Bell,
Joe Hill, Charlie Green, Charlie Thomas, John Greene, Jim
Crane, Harry Head, Billy Lang, Jim Hughs, "Rattlesnake
Bill", Johnny Barnes.
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