Description:

WYATT EARP'S SKETCH OF HIS KILLING "CURLY BILL" BROCIUS
WYATT S. EARP (1848 - 1929) American frontier lawman and gunfighter, with two of his brothers and Doc Holliday fought the legendary gun battle with the Clanton and McLaury brothers at the OK Corral on October 26, 1881. Extraordinary original pencil drawing by Wyatt Earp showing his killing of William "Curly Bill" Brocius in revenge for the murder of Earp's brother Morgan only weeks earlier. Five months after the historic gunfight on Fremont Street in Tombstone, Wyatt and Morgan Earp were enjoying a casual game of pool at the Campbell & Hatch Billiard Parlor when a rifle shot burst through the window, mortally wounding Morgan. Earp vowed revenge and embarked on a bloody three-week vendetta to seek out the killers and conspirators. A posse was in turn sent after the Earps, which included corrupt Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan and the newly-deputized outlaws Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo, both of whom Earp knew hated him and his brothers and whom he suspected were involved in Morgan's murder. Riding with Doc Holliday and other Earp allies, Wyatt caught up with Curly Bill on March 24, 1882, at Iron Springs (present-day Mescal Springs). Brocius was caught outside his tent while in the act of cooking a pot of stew for himself and nearly two dozen other cowboys at a campfire. In the gunfight that followed, Wyatt killed Brocius with a double shotgun blast to the chest from a range of about 50 feet. Earp's sketch appears on a single side of a quarto sheet, Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 1926, depicting an aerial view of the region in which he pursued and killed Curly Bill. It was drawn over the course 4 1/2 hours as he discussed the ambush in a lengthy face-to-face meeting with his close friend and personal secretary John Flood. The drawing, which was labeled and captioned by Flood, is incredibly detailed, especially in the area of the shootout which shows the exact location of Brocius, his tent and gun, the cooking fire and spring, Earp, and cover such as a wash and willow trees. It also shows towns, ranches and geographic features, including: "Tombstone...Frank Patterson's Ranch...Mustang Mountains...Whetstone Mountains...Kinnear's...Road to Iron Springs...Tucson...Met Dick Wright on morning after fight...Jack Vermillion's horse...". Earp must have been quite emphatic during the interview, as there appear about 30-40 pencil "dots" at the site of the shooting and along the route to it, making it easy to imagine the aged gunslinger recounting his tale as he pointedly tapped the paper with his pencil. In his later years, Earp (and to a lesser extent, wife Josie) formed a close relationship with the young John Flood. While he started out as Earp's personal secretary, Flood ultimately became the son Wyatt never had, and to whom the ageing gunfighter revealed his life story in full detail. Before his death in 1929, Earp also gave many of his personal possessions to Flood. Likewise, prior to his own death in 1958, Flood turned over most of his Earp material to his confidant, researcher and collector John Gilchriese from whose collection this item emanates. In a monograph which was printed when this sketch was sold years ago, Gilchriese related Flood's description of his interview with Earp when this drawing was accomplished. It describes how Earp, Doc Holliday, Texas Jack Vermillion and their allies caught up with Curly Bill who was out of reach of his own shotgun when Earp slid off his horse and emptied both barrels at his adversary. He immediately jumped back on his horse and they all fled, with Jack Vermillion's horse the only victim of the fusillade which followed as Brocius' accomplices emptied their guns at Earp and company. The verso of the document is equally enthralling - Flood's interview notes on Earp's first meeting with Doc Holliday! In part: "...Met Doc Holliday first in the winter of 1877 at Fort Griffin. Was at Fort Griffin about a month...Holliday came to Dodge in the Spring of 1878...shortly after he shot (wounded) Kid Dalton, a gambler in an argument...went to Denver shortly after. Got into a quarrel with Bud Ryan, a gambler, cut him with a knife in the face...left for Las Vegas, N.M....got into an argument with Mike Gordon, shot and killed...started on Earp's trail overtaking him at Trail City...continued with Wyatt and Jim and Jim's wife & daughter...stopped off at Prescott while Virgil Earp joined his brothers and went to Tombstone. Holliday went to Tombstone several months later...". Two files holes in blank margin, else fine condition. A real piece of western history in the hand of a man who made it happen!

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October 9, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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