Description:

WYATT EARP'S SKETCH OF HIS KILLING OF OUTLAW JOHNNY RINGO
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. Historic original pencil drawing by Wyatt Earp which may settle for all time the mystery of the death of cowboy gunfighter and Earp nemesis, Johnny Ringo! 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 rocketed 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 Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan and the newly-deputized Johnny Ringo, both of whom were suspected by the Earps of having had anti-Earp "cowboy" sympathies and involvement in Morgan's murder. On July 14, 1882, Johnny Ringo was found dead in the crotch of a large tree in West Turkey Creek Valley with a bullet hole in his right temple and an exit at the back of his head. Ringo's revolver, one round expended, was found hanging from a finger of his hand. According to the coroner's report, Ringo committed suicide: his friends were either dead or gone, his family had rejected him, and his horse had run off with his boots. Here, Wyatt Earp describes a different end for Ringo, one that true or not more fittingly satisfied Earp and the history books. The sketch appears on a single side of a quarto sheet, [n.p., n.d., but undoubtedly Los Angeles, ca. Sep. 15-17, 1926], entirely in Earp's hand depicting an aerial view of the region in which he pursued and allegedly killed Johnny Ringo. The sketch was drawn by Earp as he discussed the famous shooting in a lengthy face-to-face meeting with his close friend and personal secretary John Flood. It depicts many geographic locations, such as: "Hooker Ranch...Sulpher Springs Valley...Swiss Elm Mountains [sic]...Dragoon Mountains...McLaury's Ranch...Soldier's Hole...Tombston...", as well as the location of Ringo's body. Flood added the written descriptions of the locations, so noting at bottom, as well as the date Earp recalled shooting Ringo "May 10, 1882". Of particular interest are several small pencil "dots" placed by Earp at the location of Ringo's body as he discussed the shooting with Flood. 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 and their posse were tipped-off to Ringo's hideout in the mountains. When they sighted Ringo, the cowboy started shooting. As the posse returned fire, Earp crept behind Ringo for several hundred yards, took aim, and called out: "Here I am!". As Ringo turned, Earp put a bullet in his head, then propped his body against a tree. Flood also recalled Earp telling a slightly different variation of the story, with the same ending for Ringo. The verso bears a pencil diagram drawn by Flood and undoubtedly supervised by Earp, done at the same place and time, depicting Earp's mining claim above Tombstone which held a reservoir from which was piped fresh water for the town's use. Interestingly, the above-ground water line is also shown crossing Fremont Street, scene of the O.K. Corral gunfight. During the shootout, Morgan Earp stumbled over the pipeline - a trip that likely saved his life! Two files holes in blank margin, else fine condition.

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

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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