The early days of Wyatt Earp

The Lamar Republican had hopes for its new constable. Perhaps now someone would get the public square straightened out.

In March 1870, the Missouri newspaper announced Wyatt Earp’s appointment and called it a good choice. Once the town’s officials got things running, the writer warned, lawbreakers had better look out.

Wyatt’s name was still a local one. Readers were learning who would help keep order in their town, and the newspaper expected him to earn his keep.

That November, he won an election with 137 votes. His closest opponent received 108.

The opponent was his older half brother, Newton Jasper Earp.

The Republican printed the results without much ceremony

Wyatt first, Newton second, followed by B. Yard and Josiah Hartman. Whatever the brothers thought of running against each other, the notice left that between them. Wyatt had won by 29 votes.

Five years later, his name appeared in the proceedings of another town’s city council.

On April 29, 1875, Wichita’s Weekly Eagle reported the appointment of Wyatt Earp, Jinny Cairns, and John Martin as policemen. John Behrns was appointed deputy city marshal.

It was ordinary city business, appearing alongside appointments for the clerk, assessor, and street commissioner. Wichita had jobs to fill, and Wyatt had landed one on the police force.

By October 1876, he was working in Dodge City. The Dodge City Times listed L. E. Deger as marshal and Wyatt as deputy marshal.

Before long, the paper had more to say about him than his title.

In July 1877, Wyatt returned to Dodge after an absence. The Times welcomed the news and hoped he would join the force again. Its writer remembered how he had handled arrests the previous summer, praising his “quiet way” of bringing difficult men into custody.

The paper also offered some advice to anyone thinking of drawing a gun on him. Such a man had better already have the advantage and intend to shoot without preliminary talk.

It was a favorable introduction to a returning officer. Two weeks later, readers learned that Wyatt had been in trouble himself.

Frankie Bell had directed a string of insults at him, and he slapped her.

The Times was firmly on Wyatt’s side. It mocked Bell and described him as “unoffending,” but its account still recorded the slap and what followed. Bell spent a night in jail and appeared in police court the next morning. Her expenses came to about $20.

Wyatt was assessed one dollar, the lowest amount allowed by law.

The paper called him an ex-officer. At that point, its hope that he would return to police work had apparently remained a hope.

By the next spring, Dodge was ready to employ him again.

The May 11, 1878, Times reported that Wyatt had arrived from Texas the previous Wednesday. The writer recalled his earlier service with approval and expected the town would need him that summer.

Three days later, the Dodge City Globe announced that he had returned from Fort Worth and had immediately been appointed assistant marshal. The paper called him one of the most efficient officers Dodge had ever had.

Back in Wichita, the Weekly Eagle also carried the news. Wyatt was well known there from his time on the police force, and the paper reported that Dodge had offered him $200 a month to return.

Dodge’s council formally confirmed his appointment on June 4. Mayor James H. Kelley had selected him as assistant city marshal, and councilman John Newton moved to approve the choice. At the same meeting, the council allowed a $75 salary bill for Wyatt.

Charles E. Bassett was marshal. Wyatt would serve under him.

The newspapers continued to speak well of his work. On June 18, the Globe reported that he was performing his duties creditably and adding to his record every day.

Some of that work took him beyond the streets of Dodge.

During a period of alarm over reports of Cheyenne attacks, messengers arrived with news from the surrounding country. The fire bell summoned citizens, and a request went to the governor for arms.

Then flames were seen at Harrison Berry’s house, about four miles west of town.

A rumor spread that Cheyennes had set it on fire.

A locomotive carried citizens out to the scene. Among the men who helped put out the flames were P. L. Beatty, Chalk Beeson, Wyatt Earp, and S. E. Isaacson. The newspaper credited them with taking leading roles in the effort to save the haystacks and stock as well.

As the report continued, the accusation of arson became less certain. Berry’s family had left a fire in the stove before fleeing to Dodge, and the writer thought it might have spread to the house.

Amid the alarm and rumors, Wyatt had helped with the immediate task: getting the fire out.

Another call took him into a pursuit across the Kansas country.

Dora Hand, also known as Fannie Keenan, had been killed, and James Kennedy was suspected of shooting her.

The pursuing party included Sheriff Masterson, Marshal Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Deputy Duffy, and William Tilghman. They left Dodge in the afternoon, followed the river road, and then turned south.

A heavy storm slowed the chase. It also delayed Kennedy.

Near Meade City, the officers settled in to wait. Their horses were unsaddled and grazing, and the party tried to look less like a posse than a group of travelers stopped on the plains.

Late in the afternoon, a lone rider appeared in the distance.

It was Kennedy.

He approached cautiously, then stopped several hundred yards away. The officers had heard that he was asking about mounted men in the area, and his reluctance to come closer suggested that he suspected the camp.

They ordered him to raise his hands.

According to the newspaper account, Kennedy raised his arm as though to strike his horse with the quirt he held.

Several officers fired.

Kennedy was wounded in the left shoulder. His horse was killed beneath him. The posse arrested him with two revolvers and a knife and brought him back to Dodge, where he received medical attention in jail.

Wyatt was one of the men in that encounter. The report did not name the officer whose shot struck Kennedy.

By September 1879, Wyatt was leaving Dodge again.

The September 9 Globe announced that he had resigned from the police force the previous week and departed for Las Vegas, New Mexico. Two weeks later, it reported that Al. Updegraff had been appointed in his place.

The vacancy had been filled. Wyatt had moved on.

The notices offered no farewell speech and little explanation. They gave readers the practical news: a familiar officer had quit, another man had taken his position, and the former assistant marshal was headed for New Mexico.

For someone following Wyatt’s life through the newspapers, that departure marks a useful stopping point.

He had been a constable in Lamar, where he won an election against his half brother. He had joined Wichita’s police force and served under Dodge City’s marshals. Papers praised his handling of arrests, while one also reported the penalty he received for striking Frankie Bell. He had helped fight a fire outside town and ridden with a posse after a suspected killer.

These were the jobs and incidents that had already put his name into print.

Now he was bound for Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Tombstone was still ahead.

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Sources

The Lamar Republican (Lamar, Missouri), March 3, 1870, p. 3; November 17, 1870, p. 2. Constable appointment and election results.

The Weekly Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), April 29, 1875, p. 3; May 16, 1878, p. 3. Wichita police appointment and reported offer to return to Dodge City.

Dodge City Times (Dodge City, Kansas), October 14, 1876, p. 1. Official directory listing Wyatt as deputy marshal.

Dodge City Times, July 7, 1877, p. 4; July 21, 1877, p. 4. Return to Dodge City and the Frankie Bell incident.

Dodge City Times, May 11, 1878, p. 2; June 8, 1878, p. 3. Return from Texas and council proceedings for the June 4 meeting, including appointment confirmation and salary bills.

The Dodge City Globe (Dodge City, Kansas), May 14, 1878, p. 3; June 18, 1878, p. 3. Assistant marshal appointment and comments on his service.

The Leavenworth Press (Leavenworth, Kansas), September 23, 1878, p. 2. Report credited to the Dodge City Times describing the fire at Harrison Berry’s house.

Dodge City Times, October 12, 1878, p. 2. “The Capture of Jim Kennedy,” reporting the pursuit and arrest following Dora Hand’s killing.

The Dodge City Globe, September 9, 1879, p. 3; September 23, 1879, p. 3. Resignation, departure for Las Vegas, New Mexico, and appointment of his replacement.

Contemporary newspaper reports are cited as published accounts; their claims are attributed where appropriate.