Was Doc Holliday An Outlaw

(and probably doesn't)

by Susan Ballard

From the March 2006 issue of Tombstone Times

Facts any good Doc Holliday aficionado should know

(and probably doesn't)
by Susan Ballard

1. 1875 Single Action Army Outlaw This is a near exact replica of the 1875 Remington carried by famous outlaw Frank James, brother to Jesse James. The original, which was surrendered to Governor Crittenden in 1882, now resides in the Autry museum in California. Doc Holliday is one of the most beloved dandy-gamblers in American lore, who.
2. And the truth of Doc Holliday’s life is even more intriguing than the legend. As his cousin Mattie said, “He was a much different man than the one of Western legend.” The real Doc Holliday is waiting to be found, but to find him we have to look beyond the legends – and the ghost of Ed Bailey.

Doc Holliday was a gambler, vagabond, gentleman, and gunfighter. A friend to Wyatt Earp, he was deputized in Tombstone, Arizona before the famous gunfight at the O.K.

From the March 2006 issue of Tombstone Times

'A shiftless, bagged-legged character - a killer and professional cut-throat and not a wit too refined to rob stages or even steal sheep.' The Las Vegas Optic.

'Without question a stone killer, an alcoholic and a whoremonger. He was known to cheat at cards.' Doc O'Meara, Guns of the Gunfighters, Krause Publications, 2003.

'Few men of his character had more friends or stronger champions.' Denver Republican, November 10th, 1887.

'He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit...' Wyatt Earp as told to Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931.

'Doc had but three redeeming traits. One was his courage; he was afraid of nothing on Earth. The second was the one commendable principal in his code of life, sterling loyalty to friends. The third was his affection for Wyatt Earp.' Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931, Stuart N. Lake.

What hasn't been said about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday? Depending on your point of view, whether you see the man as unjustly maligned or just getting his comeuppance, either too much or not enough. Was he good, bad or perhaps something in between, something more human? Let's take a look and hopefully along the way set the record just a bit straighter.

John Henry Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. Even Doc's best friend, Wyatt Earp, got Holliday's state of birth wrong. In a eulogy written in 1896 Wyatt states, 'He was a Virginian, but preferred to be a frontiersman and a vagabond.'

Holliday was born August 14th, 1851, not 1852 as was credited on an erroneous tombstone which rested in the Linwood Cemetery, Glenwood Springs, Colorado for many years. That stone was replaced on October 17th, 2004 by a monument more suited to the era in which Doc lived and died and which, thankfully, corrects the error of his birth date.

John Henry was born with a serious birth defect, a cleft palate. His mother, Alice, using a spoon, an eye-dropper and a small cup fed her newly born child who could not nurse due to the nature of his defect.

Doc's uncle, Doctor John Stiles Holliday, operated on the infant and repaired the cleft palate. In his honor the baby was named John with his father's name, Henry, secondary.

In all probability, John Henry retained a slight speech impediment due to the cleft palate.

Doc was the second child born to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. His only sibling, a sister named Martha Eleanora Holliday, was born December 3rd, 1849 and died a scant six months later.

As mentioned, Doc's sister died as an infant. Therefore any mention of Holliday leaving his pistols to a nephew upon his death, a story repeated many times in print, is totally erroneous.

Doc's mother, Alice McKey Holliday, died of consumption when John Henry was 15 years old. Sadly, in all likelihood he contracted the fatal disease from her.

Doc's father, Henry Burroughs Holliday, served in the George Volunteer Infantry as assistant quartermaster of the Twenty-seventh Regiment during the War Between the States, attaining the rank of major.

Reports that a youthful John Henry killed anywhere from one to six black children he caught frolicking in the family swimming hole in Georgia is without merit. He did, however, shoot over the boys' heads. Through the years this relatively minor incident has been blown way out of proportion.

Sophie Walton, a young mulatto woman, a retainer in the household of John Stiles Holliday, taught Doc how to play cards. Among the games Sophie taught to John Henry and his cousins was 'Skinning,' the original rules of which were adapted from faro! It seems young John Henry was quite adept at this - a portent of things to come?

Doc was a dentist, not a physician as portrayed in more than one Hollywood film. Even John Ford, whose advisor on the director's celluloid version of the Tombstone gunfight, 'My Darling Clementine' was none other than Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp's biographer, chose to ignore the facts. Ford's Doc Holliday is a surgeon, from Boston no less, who dies at the end of the gunfight.

Doc graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery on March 1st, 1872, not the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, an error mistakenly repeated by many authors. John H. Holliday's thesis was titled 'Diseases of the Teeth.'

Doc's cousin, Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, who in later life joined the Order of the Sisters of Mercy to become Sister Mary Melanie, was said to be the model for the saintly Miss Melanie in 'Gone With the Wind.' This is certainly not as far-fetched as it sounds. Philip Fitzgerald, the uncle-in-law of Robert Kennedy Holliday (one of Doc's uncles) was the great-grandfather of 'Gone With the Wind' author Margaret Mitchell, but wait - it gets better. Of the eight children born to Robert Kennedy Holliday and his wife was one Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, Sister Mary Melanie.

Doc, like most of his male Holliday cousins, stood nearly 6 feet tall.

Doc was fair-haired, a platinum blond so said Virgil's wife, Allie, upon meeting him for the first time, not dark-haired as most surviving and probably doctored photos show. Wyatt described him as 'long, lean and ash blond.'

Doc's weapon of choice early in his western career was an 1851 Colt Navy revolver given him by his uncle, one of four. The remaining three pistols were given by Uncle John to his own sons. Later Doc carried a nickel-plated .41 caliber Colt Thunderer or the .38 caliber Colt Lightening, both double action pistols. Never was Holliday's weapon of choice a shotgun, let alone the .10 gauge Meteor 'whipit' (a double-barreled shotgun cut down to a mere 20') with which he was often credited. He used a shotgun at the Tombstone gunfight because Virgil handed it to him. Being slightly built and not in robust health, the idea of Holliday's weapon of choice being a shotgun with its wicked kick is ludicrous. In Stuart Lake's Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, Wyatt states, 'Doc Holliday never carried a sawed-off shotgun into a fight but once in his life and upon this one occasion (the Tombstone gunfight) he threw the gun down in disgust after firing one shot and jerked the nickel-plated Colt's which was for years his favorite weapon.'

Doc was an award-winning dentist. Exhibits John Henry prepared for dental school were entered at the Annual Fair of the North Texas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Blood Stock Association at the Dallas County Fair by Holliday and his dental partner Doctor John A. Seegar. Holliday took all three awards - 'best set of teeth in gold,' 'the best in Vulcanized rubber' and 'the best set of artificial teeth and dental ware.' The prizes, a plate and five dollars for each display, were quite a tidy stipend for 1873.

While on the trail of outlaw Dave Rudabaugh, Wyatt Earp crossed Doc's path for the first time in Fort Griffin, Texas in 1877. Upon visiting an old acquaintance of his, saloon owner John Shanssey, Wyatt is introduced to Doc Holliday. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is also in Fort Griffin that Doc meets the only woman who will feature prominently in his life from that point on, Mary Katherine Harony (or Haroney), aka Big Nose Kate, aka Kate Fisher, aka Kate Elder, aka Kate Holliday. The couple remains together, off and on, until Doc's death ten year later.

Doc did not engage in violent behavior against his live-in love, Kate. This supposed truth was promulgated by an author, he who shall not be named, whose works were published under the guise of being non-fiction; it turns out this was a hoax. However, much of this fiction lives on, unfortunately for Doc's reputation.

Big Nose Kate was well-educated and came from a fine Hungarian family; her father was a physician. Doc must have found her to be as pleasant a surprise in the often crude surroundings he was forced to endure as she did him.

Although Kate stated on more than one occasion that she and Doc were legally married, no license exists.

A photograph showing a heavy set, coarse-featured woman with wavy hair is often ascribed to as being the likeness of Big Nose Kate. It is not Kate Elder, but a prostitute known as Nosey Kate.

Doc actively practiced dentistry in Dodge City taking out this ad in the local newspaper. 'J.H. Holliday, Dentist, very respectfully offers his professional services to the citizens of Dodge City and surrounding country during the summer. Office at room No. 24, Dodge House. Where satisfaction is not given money will be refunded.'

Doc was not the prolific killer myth has alleged. Proof points to the fact he killed only one man for sure, Tom McLaury at the Tombstone gunfight near the O.K. Corral. However, by his own admission to Ike Clanton, whether the truth or just a ploy to goad Ike to action, Doc also killed Newman Haynes 'Old Man' Clanton while a member of Wyatt Earp's federal posse in Guadalupe Canyon in August of 1881 while in pursuit of cattle rustlers.

When confronted by Frank McLaury at the gunfight Doc's reply to McLaury's challenge, 'I've got you now,' really was 'Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have!'

Doc was wounded by Frank McLaury. Years later Wyatt gave this account of the matter. 'Morgan wheeled around and in doing so fell on his side. While in that position he caught sight of Doc Holliday and Frank McLaury aiming at each other. With a quick drop he shot McLaury in the head. At the same instant McLaury's gun flashed and Doc Holliday was shot in the hip.' Fortunately for Doc, the wound is a superficial graze.

Doc spent two plus weeks in a Tombstone jail in the company of Wyatt while both awaited a hearing pertaining to the October 26th, 1881 gunfight. They, as well as Virgil and Morgan Earp, were acquitted. According to the statement of presiding Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer,' I cannot resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in committing these homicides, that it is a necessary act done in the discharge of official duty.'

Doc Holliday's last shootout occurred in Leadville, Colorado on August 19th, 1884 when Doc shoots Billy Allen in Manny Hyman's saloon, wounding Allen. Doc, having fallen on hard times, had borrowed five dollars from Allen. Allen then threatened the physically frail Holliday with a severe beating, at the very least, if the fiver wasn't paid back by the 19th. Due to corroborating witnesses and Doc's own impassioned plea, 'I knew that I would be as a child in his hands if he got hold of me; I weight 122 pounds; I think Allen weights 170. I have had pneumonia three or four times; I don't think I was able to protect myself against him,' the final verdict was 'not guilty.'

Doc arrived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado via stagecoach in May of 1887, not by train as is often alleged. The Denver and Rio Grande pulled into Glenwood Springs for the first time on October 5th, 1887.

On November 8th, 1887, John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, D.D.S. died in The Hotel Glenwood, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He did not die in a sanitarium. Doc was just barely into his 36th year, but lived an amazing 14 years after being diagnosed with consumption. For a man who many claimed had a 'death wish,' Doc's ability to cling to life with a tenacity second to none puts those claimants to shame.

Among the many books available to those interested in reading more about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, these are three of the best.

The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday by Bob Boze Bell is a witty, slightly irreverent chronology of John Henry Holliday's life from birth to death and beyond. Illustrated beautifully throughout with BBB's original artwork, this book also boasts excellent photographs, maps and sketches. Sprinkled among the pages are a host of highly entertaining topics such as 'There's Nothing New Under the Sun,' 'How to Play Doc's Favorite Game' and 'Was Doc Holliday a Lousy Shot?' Although, at first glance, The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday might appear as eye candy, (which it most assuredly is with its wonderfully colorful Bell illustrations) it also contains a wealth of well-researched, accurate information in an easy to follow format. For the Doc Holliday buff or just the casual reader of history, this book is definitely a 'daisy!' Pick one up today!

Doc Holliday, A Family Portrait by Karen Holliday Tanner is an in depth look at John Henry Holliday as seen through the eyes of his family, past and present. Packed with information and rare photographs, A Family Portrait manages to entertain as well as inform. Especially interesting is the section on Holliday genealogy. A Family Portrait is a must have addition to any 'Doc' library.

How Fast Was Doc Holliday

John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) by Tombstone historian, Ben T. Traywick is chockfull of facts all backed up by extensive research and illustrated with copies of rare original letters, documents and photographs. Traywick smashes through the lies and misconceptions to present an honest straightforward look into John Henry Holliday, the man behind the legend. Do yourself a favor - make John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) the cornerstone of your history collection.

'A shiftless, bagged-legged character - a killer and professional cut-throat and not a wit too refined to rob stages or even steal sheep.' The Las Vegas Optic.

'Without question a stone killer, an alcoholic and a whoremonger. He was known to cheat at cards.' Doc O'Meara, Guns of the Gunfighters, Krause Publications, 2003.

'Few men of his character had more friends or stronger champions.' Denver Republican, November 10th, 1887.

'He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit...' Wyatt Earp as told to Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931.

'Doc had but three redeeming traits. One was his courage; he was afraid of nothing on Earth. The second was the one commendable principal in his code of life, sterling loyalty to friends. The third was his affection for Wyatt Earp.' Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931, Stuart N. Lake.

What hasn't been said about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday? Depending on your point of view, whether you see the man as unjustly maligned or just getting his comeuppance, either too much or not enough. Was he good, bad or perhaps something in between, something more human? Let's take a look and hopefully along the way set the record just a bit straighter.

John Henry Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. Even Doc's best friend, Wyatt Earp, got Holliday's state of birth wrong. In a eulogy written in 1896 Wyatt states, 'He was a Virginian, but preferred to be a frontiersman and a vagabond.'

Holliday was born August 14th, 1851, not 1852 as was credited on an erroneous tombstone which rested in the Linwood Cemetery, Glenwood Springs, Colorado for many years. That stone was replaced on October 17th, 2004 by a monument more suited to the era in which Doc lived and died and which, thankfully, corrects the error of his birth date.

John Henry was born with a serious birth defect, a cleft palate. His mother, Alice, using a spoon, an eye-dropper and a small cup fed her newly born child who could not nurse due to the nature of his defect.

Doc's uncle, Doctor John Stiles Holliday, operated on the infant and repaired the cleft palate. In his honor the baby was named John with his father's name, Henry, secondary.

In all probability, John Henry retained a slight speech impediment due to the cleft palate.

Doc was the second child born to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. His only sibling, a sister named Martha Eleanora Holliday, was born December 3rd, 1849 and died a scant six months later.

As mentioned, Doc's sister died as an infant. Therefore any mention of Holliday leaving his pistols to a nephew upon his death, a story repeated many times in print, is totally erroneous.

Doc's mother, Alice McKey Holliday, died of consumption when John Henry was 15 years old. Sadly, in all likelihood he contracted the fatal disease from her.

Doc's father, Henry Burroughs Holliday, served in the George Volunteer Infantry as assistant quartermaster of the Twenty-seventh Regiment during the War Between the States, attaining the rank of major.

Reports that a youthful John Henry killed anywhere from one to six black children he caught frolicking in the family swimming hole in Georgia is without merit. He did, however, shoot over the boys' heads. Through the years this relatively minor incident has been blown way out of proportion.

Sophie Walton, a young mulatto woman, a retainer in the household of John Stiles Holliday, taught Doc how to play cards. Among the games Sophie taught to John Henry and his cousins was 'Skinning,' the original rules of which were adapted from faro! It seems young John Henry was quite adept at this - a portent of things to come?

Doc was a dentist, not a physician as portrayed in more than one Hollywood film. Even John Ford, whose advisor on the director's celluloid version of the Tombstone gunfight, 'My Darling Clementine' was none other than Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp's biographer, chose to ignore the facts. Ford's Doc Holliday is a surgeon, from Boston no less, who dies at the end of the gunfight.

Doc graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery on March 1st, 1872, not the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, an error mistakenly repeated by many authors. John H. Holliday's thesis was titled 'Diseases of the Teeth.'

Doc's cousin, Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, who in later life joined the Order of the Sisters of Mercy to become Sister Mary Melanie, was said to be the model for the saintly Miss Melanie in 'Gone With the Wind.' This is certainly not as far-fetched as it sounds. Philip Fitzgerald, the uncle-in-law of Robert Kennedy Holliday (one of Doc's uncles) was the great-grandfather of 'Gone With the Wind' author Margaret Mitchell, but wait - it gets better. Of the eight children born to Robert Kennedy Holliday and his wife was one Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, Sister Mary Melanie.

Doc, like most of his male Holliday cousins, stood nearly 6 feet tall.

Doc was fair-haired, a platinum blond so said Virgil's wife, Allie, upon meeting him for the first time, not dark-haired as most surviving and probably doctored photos show. Wyatt described him as 'long, lean and ash blond.'

Doc's weapon of choice early in his western career was an 1851 Colt Navy revolver given him by his uncle, one of four. The remaining three pistols were given by Uncle John to his own sons. Later Doc carried a nickel-plated .41 caliber Colt Thunderer or the .38 caliber Colt Lightening, both double action pistols. Never was Holliday's weapon of choice a shotgun, let alone the .10 gauge Meteor 'whipit' (a double-barreled shotgun cut down to a mere 20') with which he was often credited. He used a shotgun at the Tombstone gunfight because Virgil handed it to him. Being slightly built and not in robust health, the idea of Holliday's weapon of choice being a shotgun with its wicked kick is ludicrous. In Stuart Lake's Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, Wyatt states, 'Doc Holliday never carried a sawed-off shotgun into a fight but once in his life and upon this one occasion (the Tombstone gunfight) he threw the gun down in disgust after firing one shot and jerked the nickel-plated Colt's which was for years his favorite weapon.'

Doc was an award-winning dentist. Exhibits John Henry prepared for dental school were entered at the Annual Fair of the North Texas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Blood Stock Association at the Dallas County Fair by Holliday and his dental partner Doctor John A. Seegar. Holliday took all three awards - 'best set of teeth in gold,' 'the best in Vulcanized rubber' and 'the best set of artificial teeth and dental ware.' The prizes, a plate and five dollars for each display, were quite a tidy stipend for 1873.

While on the trail of outlaw Dave Rudabaugh, Wyatt Earp crossed Doc's path for the first time in Fort Griffin, Texas in 1877. Upon visiting an old acquaintance of his, saloon owner John Shanssey, Wyatt is introduced to Doc Holliday. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is also in Fort Griffin that Doc meets the only woman who will feature prominently in his life from that point on, Mary Katherine Harony (or Haroney), aka Big Nose Kate, aka Kate Fisher, aka Kate Elder, aka Kate Holliday. The couple remains together, off and on, until Doc's death ten year later.

Doc did not engage in violent behavior against his live-in love, Kate. This supposed truth was promulgated by an author, he who shall not be named, whose works were published under the guise of being non-fiction; it turns out this was a hoax. However, much of this fiction lives on, unfortunately for Doc's reputation.

Big Nose Kate was well-educated and came from a fine Hungarian family; her father was a physician. Doc must have found her to be as pleasant a surprise in the often crude surroundings he was forced to endure as she did him.

Although Kate stated on more than one occasion that she and Doc were legally married, no license exists.

A photograph showing a heavy set, coarse-featured woman with wavy hair is often ascribed to as being the likeness of Big Nose Kate. It is not Kate Elder, but a prostitute known as Nosey Kate.

Doc actively practiced dentistry in Dodge City taking out this ad in the local newspaper. 'J.H. Holliday, Dentist, very respectfully offers his professional services to the citizens of Dodge City and surrounding country during the summer. Office at room No. 24, Dodge House. Where satisfaction is not given money will be refunded.'

Doc was not the prolific killer myth has alleged. Proof points to the fact he killed only one man for sure, Tom McLaury at the Tombstone gunfight near the O.K. Corral. However, by his own admission to Ike Clanton, whether the truth or just a ploy to goad Ike to action, Doc also killed Newman Haynes 'Old Man' Clanton while a member of Wyatt Earp's federal posse in Guadalupe Canyon in August of 1881 while in pursuit of cattle rustlers.

When confronted by Frank McLaury at the gunfight Doc's reply to McLaury's challenge, 'I've got you now,' really was 'Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have!'

Doc was wounded by Frank McLaury. Years later Wyatt gave this account of the matter. 'Morgan wheeled around and in doing so fell on his side. While in that position he caught sight of Doc Holliday and Frank McLaury aiming at each other. With a quick drop he shot McLaury in the head. At the same instant McLaury's gun flashed and Doc Holliday was shot in the hip.' Fortunately for Doc, the wound is a superficial graze.

Doc spent two plus weeks in a Tombstone jail in the company of Wyatt while both awaited a hearing pertaining to the October 26th, 1881 gunfight. They, as well as Virgil and Morgan Earp, were acquitted. According to the statement of presiding Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer,' I cannot resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in committing these homicides, that it is a necessary act done in the discharge of official duty.'

Doc Holliday's last shootout occurred in Leadville, Colorado on August 19th, 1884 when Doc shoots Billy Allen in Manny Hyman's saloon, wounding Allen. Doc, having fallen on hard times, had borrowed five dollars from Allen. Allen then threatened the physically frail Holliday with a severe beating, at the very least, if the fiver wasn't paid back by the 19th. Due to corroborating witnesses and Doc's own impassioned plea, 'I knew that I would be as a child in his hands if he got hold of me; I weight 122 pounds; I think Allen weights 170. I have had pneumonia three or four times; I don't think I was able to protect myself against him,' the final verdict was 'not guilty.'

Doc arrived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado via stagecoach in May of 1887, not by train as is often alleged. The Denver and Rio Grande pulled into Glenwood Springs for the first time on October 5th, 1887.

On November 8th, 1887, John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, D.D.S. died in The Hotel Glenwood, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He did not die in a sanitarium. Doc was just barely into his 36th year, but lived an amazing 14 years after being diagnosed with consumption. For a man who many claimed had a 'death wish,' Doc's ability to cling to life with a tenacity second to none puts those claimants to shame.

Info On Doc Holliday

Among the many books available to those interested in reading more about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, these are three of the best.

The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday by Bob Boze Bell is a witty, slightly irreverent chronology of John Henry Holliday's life from birth to death and beyond. Illustrated beautifully throughout with BBB's original artwork, this book also boasts excellent photographs, maps and sketches. Sprinkled among the pages are a host of highly entertaining topics such as 'There's Nothing New Under the Sun,' 'How to Play Doc's Favorite Game' and 'Was Doc Holliday a Lousy Shot?' Although, at first glance, The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday might appear as eye candy, (which it most assuredly is with its wonderfully colorful Bell illustrations) it also contains a wealth of well-researched, accurate information in an easy to follow format. For the Doc Holliday buff or just the casual reader of history, this book is definitely a 'daisy!' Pick one up today!

Doc Holliday, A Family Portrait by Karen Holliday Tanner is an in depth look at John Henry Holliday as seen through the eyes of his family, past and present. Packed with information and rare photographs, A Family Portrait manages to entertain as well as inform. Especially interesting is the section on Holliday genealogy. A Family Portrait is a must have addition to any 'Doc' library.

John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) by Tombstone historian, Ben T. Traywick is chockfull of facts all backed up by extensive research and illustrated with copies of rare original letters, documents and photographs. Traywick smashes through the lies and misconceptions to present an honest straightforward look into John Henry Holliday, the man behind the legend. Do yourself a favor - make John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) the cornerstone of your history collection.

In the opening scenes of the movie “Tombstone,” Wyatt Earp asks his brother Virgil if he happened to see anything of Doc Holliday while he was in Prescott on his way to Tombstone. Virgil replies, “Yeah. He had a streak when we left, him and Kate.” The scene soon cuts away to show Holliday sitting at cards in a saloon, with a monumental painting of a nude woman on the wall behind him and his elegantly dressed Hungarian mistress, Kate Elder, at his side. On the green baize table in front of him are the scattered paraphernalia of poker: paperboards, poker chips and silver coins, a gold pocket watch. And across the table, his anger seething, sits gambler Ed Bailey who is clearly losing this hand.

“Why, Ed Bailey,” says Doc in his best gentlemanly Southern drawl while he gives a tap to the pearl-handled pistol in his pocket, “are we cross?”

“Them guns don’t scare me,” replies Ed Bailey darkly. “‘Cause without them guns you ain’t nothin’ but a skinny lunger.”

“Ed, what an ugly thing to say. I abhor ugliness. Does this mean we’re not friends anymore? You know, Ed, if I thought you weren’t my friend, I just don’t think I could bear it.” And to show his cordial intent, Doc pulls out his pistols and lays them down on the table with the coins and the poker chips. “There. Now we can be friends again.”

Ed Bailey knifing scene from the movie “Gunfight at the OK Corral”

Was Doc Holliday An Outlaw Trailer

But the words only enrage Ed Bailey, who lunges across the table at Doc – and gets a knife slid into his side by the smiling doctor while Kate pulls a derringer to cover their retreat. It’s one of the classic scenes from the legend of Doc Holliday: the knifing of Ed Bailey in a Fort Griffin, Texas, saloon – only this time set in the Arizona Territory capital of Prescott. The change of venue was just a convenience for the sake of the film, letting the audience know two important things in this opening scene of Doc Holliday: he was a cold-blooded killer and he passed through Prescott on his way to Tombstone. And as long as those two things are true, does it really matter where the knifing happened?

What matters is that the knifing of Ed Bailey likely didn’t happen anywhere – not in Fort Griffin, Texas, nor in Prescott, Arizona, nor any of the other towns Holliday visited in his Western travels. In fact, the story of the Ed Bailey knifing was never even told during Holliday’s lifetime. The first appearance of that story comes nine years after Doc Holliday’s death, in an 1896 article in the San Francisco Enquirer. The article claims to be an interview with Wyatt Earp, who was in San Francisco at the time, and tells a gory tale about Doc slicing up Ed Bailey and leaving him for dead. Problem is, the story as told is so flowery and wildly descriptive that it’s hard to believe it came from the famously laconic and spare-on-words Wyatt Earp. And it may have been this very article that Wyatt was referencing years later, when he said:

“Of all the nonsensical guff which has been written around my life, there has been none more inaccurate or farfetched than that which has dealt with Doc Holliday. After Holliday died, I gave a San Francisco newspaper reporter a short sketch of his life. Apparently the reporter was not satisfied. The sketch appeared in print with a lot of things added that never existed outside the reporter’s imagination…”

Was the Ed Bailey knifing one of those imaginary incidents? As far as researchers can determine, poor Ed Bailey himself never existed, as his name appears nowhere in historical record. And how did Doc Holliday manage to kill a man who didn’t exist?

Was Doc Holliday An Outlaw

“Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal”: Some truth, lots of legend

Was Doc Holliday An Outlaw Josey

But although the Ed Bailey story is likely just the imaginings of a reporter looking for a good story, when author Stuart Lake included it in his 1931 historical novel, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, the story became legend. Now it’s one of the pillars of the Doc Holliday myth, and even though the pillars are sunk into very shallow ground the incident is used to show how Holliday had turned from a gentleman to a killer. It’s a convenient example – but not real history.

The problem with legends is that if we believe they’re true, we stop looking for the truth. And the truth of Doc Holliday’s life is even more intriguing than the legend. As his cousin Mattie said, “He was a much different man than the one of Western legend.” The real Doc Holliday is waiting to be found, but to find him we have to look beyond the legends – and the ghost of Ed Bailey.

Fun Links:
“Tombstone” Movie Trailer
“Tombstone” The Knifing of Ed Bailey
Prescott’s Whiskey Row
Fort Griffin, Texas
Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal

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