[Hugh O'Brien]
Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave, courageous and bold
Long live his fame, long live his glory
And long may his story be told.
I'll tell you a story, a real life true story,
A tale of the Western frontier:
The West it was lawless
But one man was flawless
And his is the story you'll hear.
Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
Brave, courageous and bold
Long live his fame, long live his glory
And long may his story be told.
He cleaned up the country,
The old Wild West country,
He made law and order prevail.
And none can deny it,
The legend of Wyatt
Foreve will live on the trail.
Wyatt Earp,
Wyatt Earp,
Brave, courageous and bold.
Long live his fame,
Long live his glory,
And long may his story be told.
After the famous O.K. Corral shootout, Wyatt was tried and acquitted of murder. I have seen some of the depositions that were taken at the time of the inquests and subsequent trial. I found it interesting that a couple of Tombstone residents, one a businessman (so, obviously not just a transient), saw the men (Wyatt, his brothers, and Doc Holiday) as they walked down toward the O.K. Corral, but... only found out later who they were. In other words, the idea that Wyatt Earp was ultra famous in the territory, let alone the community he sometimes helped to police, seems to have been overstated.
Wyatt and Doc Holliday left Arizona Territory one jump ahead of the law. If it hadn't been for the fact that extradition papers were incorrectly prepared or processed -- twice -- Arizona might have been successful in extraditing both men to stand trial for yet another killing. Who knows how that might have changed the course of history?
The television series left us with the idea that everyone knew and loved (or despised) Wyatt, an honorable man who ran Tombstone in a scrupulously law-abiding fashion. The facts of history tell us something different. But, as I have said before, we need our legends. As long as we know that's what they are, we're ok.