How did Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp become best friends, if Wyatt was a cop?

Question

How did Doc and Wyatt, the two fastest gunman in all of history, become best friends with each other, if Doc Holiday was running from the cops and Wyatt was a cop, during the Old West days?

Thanks everyone for responding to my post. Now, I know a little bit more about my mom's family's history than I did before. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi,

Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp were NOT considered to be 'the fastest gunmen in history'.

Doc Holiday was a professional gambler, and probably not above 'bending' the law. He was also a killer who would shoot his opponents when they cheated (a common practice in the 1880's) or when he was accused of cheating. He was not wanted by the law, as these were considered 'legal' killings. Two of his killings were made, not by a quick draw, but by firing his pistol from under the table.

Wyatt Earp was a lawman, latterly, but was more of an outlaw than Doc. He wasn't credited with having a 'fast' draw (except in films) but he was a pretty ruthless 'shoot to kill' lawman. He was successful partly because his pistol (Buntline special) had a longer barrel, which gave better accuracy and was therefore capable of killing at a greater distance. A property that was very useful to him at the O.K. corral.

It has been suggested that Wyatt Earp was far from the hero he has been portayed as being in several films. The incident at the O.K. corral, for instance, (allegedly) was a deliberate attempt to get rid of the Clanceys at any cost.

Apparently they (Wyatt and Doc) met in Dodge City and became friends several years earlier (around 1876). As they were both 'fringing' the letter of the law and supported each other, they were greatly feared.

Hope that helps.

BobSpain

Answer 2

Doc Holliday And Wyatt Earp

Answer 3

Wyatt Earp And Doc Holliday

Answer 4

There wasn't a lot of "law" as such in the West at that time, and one strategy for keeping the peace (i.e. limiting the amount of larceny & mayhem to what was considered tolerable) was to look for the baddest guy around and pay him to knock the fear of God or retribution into the lesser villains.

This seemed like a pretty good deal to some gunfighters, particularly when they got a little older and slower on the draw, or when they wanted to settle down in one place, marry & raise a family. Many men seem to have gone back and forth between "outlaw" and "lawman" depending on their location, the time & the circumstances.

Also, in some of the larger conflicts over land and its use, a wealthy rancher or businessman might control a particular town or area: he could hire a gunfighter as sheriff to represent his interests, and someone else with an opposing viewpoint and the same deep pockets might hire another outlaw as his lawman in the next town. It was essentially a kind of gang warfare.

Another advantage to hiring someone with experience on the wrong side of the law was that these men had greater knowledge of the other desperados' strengths and weaknesses, where they tended to hang out and so on. Supposedly that was a large factor in Pat Garrett's killing of Billy the Kid, although some say the main advantage was that Garrett shot the Kid in his sleep.

In the case of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday, the fact that Holliday was (or may have been) wanted somewhere back East wouldn't have been a reason for Earp to arrest him if he wasn't a danger to public safety in Tombstone. Even today, the police won't necessarily arrest someone in a jurisdiction where there are no warrants on him, unless there's a fugitive warrant or the police seeking him contact the authorities where he's living and ask for their help.

Furthermore, Arizona didn't become a state until the 20th century, so authorities there prior to statehood didn't always respect the laws of the state where Holliday's crime(s) may have been comitted. The attitude was pretty much like the old song that goes:

Oh, what was your name in the States?
Was it Thompson or Johnson or Bates?
Did you murder your wife and flee for your life?
Oh, what was your name in the States?

Answer 5

The lines between lawman and badman were pretty blurred in the 1880's. To this day, you can get a very heated argument going about The Earps and the Clantons and the shoot-out at OK corral.

Most cowboys ( Clantons) and Lawmen ( Earps) went to both sides of the law. I believe Earp had been arrested several times. So had Doc Holiday. The Clantons' had some nasty folks with them also.

Even the two newspapers in town at the time of the shootout, took different sides. The editor of the tombstone epitaph was one of Wyatt Earps friends, John Clum.

I think the good and bad had more in common then compared to Police and bad guys now.

Earp had no children and died in 1929 having never even been wounded. He spent his last 40 years with Josie, the dance hall gal he took up with.

Answer 6

Not sure of the facts, but as I understand it a group of cattlemen had the drop on Wyatt in a saloon in Kansas and were threatening to kill him when Doc Holiday intervened. Wyatt credited him with saving his life that night and never forgot it.

Answer 7

Doc was not your typical outlaw, he was a gambler. I think they met in Dodge city when Wyatt was marshall there. i don't think Wyatt was a fast gunmen he was just not afraid to shoot it out with the bad guys.