After the Gunfight As Reported by the News Reporters

After the October 26, 1881, shooting in Tombstone, the story moved from the street into the legal proceedings. There were arrests, a coroner’s inquest, and an examination before Justice Wells Spicer. Newspapers carried the developments to readers outside town.

We can follow those reports as they appeared, without treating every claim as a settled fact. This account stops at the reported confinement without bail, when the defense had not yet been heard.

Arrest Warrants and Bail

Under the heading “Arrested,” the Arizona Weekly Citizen of November 6, 1881, reproduced an account attributed to the Tombstone Nugget.

The report stated that warrants for Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp and J. H. “Doc” Holliday had been placed in the sheriff’s hands. Virgil and Morgan, it said, were confined to their beds by wounds received in the shooting. Their warrants were not served, and only Wyatt and Holliday were placed under arrest.

The two were taken before Justice Spicer. According to the newspaper, he initially denied bail as a matter of right, but granted it after facts were presented through affidavits. Bail was fixed at $10,000 each.

The newspaper also named the men sworn as bondsmen and listed their individual commitments. Those names are part of the story. They show who stepped forward to provide financial backing while the circumstances of the shooting were still being examined.

Doc Holliday’s Bondsmen

Name as printed	Amount listed
O. C. Smith	$1,000
Fred J. Dodge	$500
R. J. Winders	$1,000
James C. Earp	$2,500
Wyatt Earp	$7,000
W. H. Savage	$1,000
Dan O’Toole	$1,000
William J. Hutchinson	$500

Wyatt’s $7,000 commitment was the largest individual amount listed for Holliday.

There is a discrepancy in the printed figures. The newspaper gave Holliday’s total as $15,500, but the individual amounts listed above add to $14,500. We retain the figures as reported and note the difference rather than assume an amount was wrong or a name was omitted.

Wyatt Earp’s Bondsmen

Name as printed	Amount listed
O. C. Smith	$1,000
James C. Earp	$2,500
L. Rickabaugh	$5,000
J. M. Nichols	$2,000
F. J. Dodge	$500
R. J. Winders	$1,000
W. H. Savage	$2,000
Chas. R. Brown	$2,000
A. C. Bilicke	$1,000
Thos. Fitch	$10,000

The newspaper gave Wyatt’s total as $27,000, which agrees with the individual entries. The largest commitment was the $10,000 listed for Thos. Fitch.

Several names appear on both lists. The newspaper used “Fred J. Dodge” for Holliday and “F. J. Dodge” for Wyatt; those forms are retained here.

These are the amounts for which the men were reported sworn as bondsmen, rather than a record of cash paid to the court. Agreeing to back someone’s release does not, by itself, tell us what a bondsman believed about the shooting.

The article printed a combined total of $42,500. Because of the discrepancy in Holliday’s list, the individual entries instead total $41,500.

The Coroner’s Findings

The same November 6 issue carried an item headed “The Verdict.” It attributed the text to the October 30 Tombstone Nugget and reproduced a coroner’s jury finding dated October 29.

The finding named Frank McLowry as the deceased and stated that he died from pistol and gunshot wounds inflicted by Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Wyatt Earp, and Holliday. The newspaper said corresponding findings were returned for William Clanton and Thomas McLowry, with their names and ages substituted.

The heading could easily be read as a final decision about the shooting. But this was the coroner’s jury’s finding concerning the deaths. It named those responsible for the fatal wounds without settling whether the killings were legally justified. That question remained for examination.

A Request for Military Protection

Another notice in the November 6 Citizen reported that “Marshal Earp” had asked the Department Commander for troops to protect Tombstone from a threatened danger at the hands of outlaws.

According to the notice, General Willcox telegraphed the application to Acting Governor Gosper. The governor was expected to proceed to Tombstone. If circumstances justified the request, authority would be sought to move a company stationed at Camp Huachuca into town.

The notice tells us that a request and a possible response were being reported. It does not establish that troops were dispatched, and it does not name the people said to pose the threat.

Confined Without Bail

A further clipping, headed “Confined Without Bail,” reported that the defendants’ situation had changed as the examination proceeded.

Presented as a Tombstone dispatch, it summarized evidence unfavorable to the Earp party. According to the account, the men who were killed had been preparing to leave town when the Earps and Holliday approached them under the appearance of performing official duties.

The dispatch reported that one member of the Earp party issued a challenge and another ordered the men to raise their hands. It described Tom McLowry opening his coat and declaring that he had no arms. Billy Clanton, it said, raised his hands and asked not to be shot.

It also claimed that Billy drew and fired his pistol after he had been wounded and fallen, and that Frank McLowry began shooting only after the opposing party had fired several shots.

These were the claims carried in the dispatch’s summary. The clipping does not identify which witness supplied each detail, so we cannot assign those statements to particular witnesses from this report alone.

The dispatch then turned to custody. It stated that the earlier bail order had been set aside during the examination and that the defendants had been committed to the sheriff’s custody.

According to the same report, a writ of habeas corpus was obtained and the matter brought before Judge Lucas. Following that hearing, they were remanded to the sheriff and confined in jail.

The clipping also said the prosecution had requested confinement in the county jail, that Justice Spicer granted the motion, and that a strong posse was guarding the jail that night.

The account portrayed the evidence as conclusive against the accused. It claimed that public opinion had changed materially and that the whole community wanted justice done. That is how the dispatch described the town’s response; it does not establish that everyone in Tombstone shared that view.

Near the end, however, came a qualification that matters to everything preceding it: the defense had not yet been heard.

That is where this portion of the story stops. Readers had been told of arrests, bail, the coroner’s findings, a request for troops, and confinement without bail. A strongly unfavorable account was in circulation, while the defense remained to be presented.

Sources and Record Notes

Arizona Weekly Citizen, November 6, 1881, page 4: “Arrested,” reproducing a report attributed to the Tombstone Nugget and listing the bondsmen and amounts;

“The Verdict,” citing the October 30 Nugget and reproducing findings dated October 29; and the notice concerning “Marshal Earp’s” request for troops.

“Confined Without Bail,” supplied newspaper clipping. Arizona Weekly Citizen Sun, Nov 06, 1881 ·Page 4

Names in the bondsmen tables follow the supplied clipping. The discrepancy between Holliday’s individual entries and the printed total is preserved and identified.

November 6 is the Citizen’s publication date, not the event date for every item. Further reporting and testimony will be compared with these accounts as the story continues.