Unearthed (2016–…): Season 6, Episode 8 - Ghosts of the Wild West - full transcript
The gunfight at Tombstone's OK Corral turned Wyatt Earp into an American folk hero, and to find what really happened here, experts use the newest tech to discover what caused the fatal ...
Tombstone, arizona.
Site of the legendary
shootout at the o.K. Corral.
Today, this is a quiet
law-abiding town...
With few surface signs
of what makes tombstone
So notorious
in wild west history.
What really happens here
140 years ago, and why?
Everything you've seen
about the city of tombstone
In the movies and on television
is completely wrong.
Now new evidence
from secret tunnels
Can reveal what triggers
The spectacular rise
and catastrophic fall
Of the ultimate frontier town.
We're down 100 feet right now
below the surface.
And modern-day weapons
analysis can expose the truth
Behind the wild west's
most famous gunfight.
With all those 30 rounds
shot in 28 or so seconds,
Why only three people killed?
To solve tombstone's mysteries,
We'll deconstruct the streets
of this wild west town
To uncover hidden fortunes
And break down
the o.K. Corral gunfight
Second by second,
shot by shot...
To unearth the true story
Of this frontier outpost's
most famous moment.
UNEARTHED - SEASON 6
EP - 8 - Ghosts of the Wild West
In the heart of
arizona's high desert
Sits the ultimate
wild west town...
Tombstone.
It's the site of the most famous
gunfight in cowboy history...
The shootout at the o.K. Corral.
But what's the truth
behind the tale?
Today, investigators
Are examining new facts
behind the legend
And how it affects the fortunes
of this frontier town.
For 140 years,
the legend of tombstone
Has overshadowed the true facts
and the true story.
To be quite honest,
that true story
Is so much more interesting
Than anything hollywood
has put out to date.
The story of tombstone
begins in 1877,
As pioneering settlers push
forward the american frontier.
In only three years,
They turn a barren plateau
into a boom town...
...That boasts grand theaters,
a bowling alley,
14 churches
and gambling halls...
And over 100 saloons.
A horse stable
called the o.K. Corral
Becomes the site
of the most famous shootout
In the wild west.
The deadly duel catapults
tombstone to instant fame
That lasts to this day.
But nearly a century and a half
since the bloodshed,
What's the truth
behind the legend?
City historian don taylor
wants to find out.
But finding tombstone's
original locations
Requires detective work...
Because two major fires
Destroyed most of the town's
earliest buildings.
The fire in 1881
Actually started
right across the street here.
It started when a bartender
Went to check
a barrel of whiskey
To see if it had soured.
He stuck his head in there
with a lit cigar in his mouth,
And... Boom.
The o.K. Corral
Is just one of the businesses
that burns,
So is there any hope of finding
this legendary location today?
Luckily, one crucial remnant
of pre-fire tombstone
Still remains...
The street plan.
What you see today
is exactly the same layout
That was here when
wyatt earp and doc holliday
Were here in the 1880s.
You're walking the same streets
That all these famous men
walked on.
Don uses an original map
To match up 1880s tombstone
with today's buildings,
Searching for the site
of the o.K. Corral.
You've got
the oriental saloon here,
The crystal palace saloon here,
Different saloons
and restaurants and stores
Right along here.
The hardware store here.
And as we head down
allen street,
Here is the o.K. Corral
on the map,
Which is right across the street
from where I'm sitting now.
When a visitor
would come to tombstone,
They would check their horse,
if you will.
Stables and corrals were
the parking lots of the day.
They would take their horses
and put them in here.
According to legend,
The infamous gunfight
unfolds on allen street,
Outside the o.K. Corral.
But no guns are fired here.
Inside the corral,
The open space is perfect
for a shootout.
But no shots
are fired here, either.
The true location
of the gunfight
Is behind the corral
in a narrow, vacant lot.
Here, lawmen and outlaws
are poised barely 10 feet apart
For the most famous 30 seconds
in wild west history.
But if the gunfight didn't
even take place in the corral,
What else might be myth?
To find out, researchers
need to start at the beginning,
To unearth what triggers
the town's notorious shootout.
Nancy sosa examines
the town's newspapers
In search of answers.
Her research overturns
one big hollywood myth...
That gunfights
are a constant feature
Of tombstone's early days.
People think of tombstone,
And they think that we were
a violent community
And there was a death every day.
One of the most famous sayings
Is tombstone had a man
for breakfast every morning.
Well, if that was the case,
Then we wouldn't
have had a population.
Innocent people were not
being killed every day.
But nancy's analysis
of newspaper obituaries
Shows that there is
a marked spike in violent deaths
In tombstone
in a two-year period,
Coinciding with when
the o.K. Corral gunfight
Claims its three victims.
There's approximately 27 people
Who died from gunshot wounds
Or knife wounds or murder...
27 to 30 people
That die by interesting means
in that short period of time.
This spike in violence
Causes panic
among the law-abiding
Businesspeople of tombstone.
And they couldn't have chaos.
They couldn't have
what was going on.
The city records
reveal that around this time,
Virgil earp, a member
of one of the most famous
Families in wild west history,
Is appointed
tombstone's marshal.
The five earp brothers are born
Into a farming family
in the midwest.
Like many americans at the time,
They leave home
and follow their fortunes,
Chasing money
and the expanding frontier.
By 1880, the earp brothers
reach tombstone.
They make money running saloons
and dealing cards.
But three of the brothers
have higher aspirations...
To become men of the law.
The men who hire the earps
Are desperate to restore calm
to tombstone's streets.
The scene is set
for the most famous gunfight
In wild west history.
The earps' backers are the
town's biggest business owners.
They were the ones
that were responsible
For tombstone's lifeblood...
Silver.
What role does silver play
In tombstone's
legendary gunfight?
And what could a hidden tunnel
beneath the town's grand hotel
Reveal about tombstone's
rapid rise from the desert?
Tombstone is
the ultimate wild west town.
The legendary location
of a 30-second shootout...
The gunfight
at the o.K. Corral...
...The most notorious incident
in an outbreak of violent deaths
In and around the town.
But what triggers this carnage?
A big clue lies buried
beneath the town's main street.
Beneath big nose kate's saloon
Is the basement
of the old grand hotel,
Sitting on the entrance
to a mysterious tunnel
That burrows
deep into the bedrock.
It's only one of
the many passageways
Crisscrossing 300 miles
under tombstone.
Their purpose?
To access tons of precious
silver buried beneath the town.
How does tombstone turn
hard rock into hard cash?
Historical mining expert
robert davenport
Investigates the silver rush
That transforms
the barren plateau
Into a boom town.
It all starts with
prospector ed schieffelin
In 1877.
He decides to survey for silver
in dangerous apache territory,
Sparking a warning from locals.
They told him, "the only stone
You're ever gonna find out there
is your own tombstone."
Well, that's what he named his
first claim when he found it.
Some of the rocks
he probably found
On the surface
were the chrysocolla.
Chrysocolla
is usually an indicator
Of copper, lead, zinc,
silver, and gold.
So this is probably
what ed was looking for.
Once ed confirms
the rocks contain silver,
He digs tombstone's first mine.
Okay. This is the silver
that they were looking for.
What they would do is they
would follow the ore bodies.
Using basic tools,
Miners chase the seams of ore
wherever they lead.
Back in the day when
ed schieffelin was down here,
This was before
they had hardhats,
Before they had lamps,
so what they would do
Is they would use
a candlestick holder,
Put it into the wall,
put the candle in,
And these are the tools
of the trade back in the day.
This is a drill steel...
130 years old...
And a 4-pound sledgehammer.
So it was a major process
getting this done.
Tombstone's miners
work 10-hour shifts.
They chisel holes
in the tunnel walls
Then fill them with dynamite.
After the blasting...
...It takes a couple of hours
for the dust to settle
Before the next crew
clear away the ore.
They load the ore into carts
And run it back up to
the surface for processing.
Massive silver mills
then refine the ore
Into giant 180-pound ingots,
Impossible for thieves
to easily snatch.
Everything in this mine
that you walk through,
You go through, that's void,
was silver.
Tombstone's
rich ore-bearing rocks
Produce over 1,000 tons
of pure silver.
Some of it was so dense,
It actually assayed out at over
$8,000 to the ton of silver.
So it made it some of the
richest in the united states.
Why does the silver
spark the trouble
That culminates
in the o.K. Corral gunfight?
Metal worker spencer edgerton
is an expert in silver...
And why there is so much demand
for the metal
At this particular time.
It is relatively rare,
and it was valued worldwide,
And, of course,
it can be polished to a really high luster.
So those made it valuable
in jewelry.
Spencer demonstrates
What makes silver
so sought after.
What we're doing today
is casting silver
Using the sand-casting
method of casting.
Inside of this container
is silver.
We're gonna be heating it up to
probably close to 2,000 degrees
And pouring it into this mold.
Like gold, silver
is a relatively inert metal.
You can see it's already
starting to melt.
It doesn't corrode quickly,
Making it perfect
to turn into coins.
At this time, silver forms
the basis of the u.S. Currency,
So demand for these
silver dollars is huge.
In just four years,
tombstone's mines produce silver
Worth the equivalent of nearly
a billion dollars today.
A dusty desert town
Becomes a rich,
sophisticated metropolis.
But the wealth and prosperity
Also attracts troublemaking
outlaws to the frontier town...
...Sparking conflict
with mine owners
Determined to protect
their untapped fortunes.
Buried underground
Is the ultimate result
of this conflict...
The victims of the carnage
at the o.K. Corral.
Tombstone, arizona,
Booms on the back
of its silver mines.
But the town's fame today
Comes from the legendary
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
Can evidence
hidden in this graveyard
Reveal who was actually fighting
and why?
This was tombstone's
first city cemetery,
And it started in 1880.
By 1884, it was full.
This is boothill cemetery,
So-called because many buried
here die with their boots on.
Historian don taylor
investigates what this place
Can reveal about the true
story of the o.K. Corral.
This cemetery fell
into complete disrepair.
In fact, at one point in time,
this was the garbage dump.
We have no records
of who's buried really where.
On the surface,
the cemetery holds few clues,
But the story belowground
is very different.
Tombstone's legendary boothill
is the resting place
For more than 250
of the town's dead.
Many are killed in cold blood,
Murdered in acts of revenge,
Or victims of affairs
that turn sour.
Among the dead, three cowboys...
28-year-old tom mclaury...
32-year-old frank mclaury...
And 19-year-old billy clanton...
The three victims of the
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
But who are they,
and how do they end up
Dying on the streets
of tombstone?
Don taylor searches for answers
in cochise county,
The vast scrubland
that surrounds the city.
In the 1880s, it's the lair
Of a particular breed of men...
The cowboys.
Although mining was
the primary economic factor
In cochise county
back in the day,
As you can see, with the wide
open land that we have here,
Ranching also played
a key factor.
Today I'm outside of tombstone
And looking at the different
types of country
Where the cowboy ranches
would have been back then.
The word "cowboy" today
Means almost anyone associated
with cattle in the wild west,
But in this part of arizona,
It refers to members
of a very specific gang
Indelibly associated with
the o.K. Corral gunfight.
The word "cowboy" in
cochise county in the 1880s
Meant an outlaw.
The cowboys specialize
in one particular crime...
International cattle theft.
They form raiding parties
And sneak across
the mexican border
25 miles south of tombstone.
Under cover of darkness,
they drive cattle
Back across the border,
avoiding stiff import taxes.
The cowboys fatten up
their illicit herds
On the grasslands
around tombstone
And sell them
for a hefty profit.
Much of the meat
ends up in tombstone.
The butchers and restaurants
don't ask questions
About the source
of their steaks.
And as the town
of tombstone grows,
There's an insatiable demand
for the cowboys' stolen beef.
The demand for beef
in tombstone was growing
As exponentially
as the population.
The butchers
would buy their beef
For less than market value
Because, obviously, the cowboys
had nothing invested in it
Other than a few days
of rustling.
But mexican ranchers
start to shoot cowboys on sight.
So the outlaws are forced
To steal cattle
closer to tombstone,
Setting them on a path
that will eventually
Trigger the gunfight
at the o.K. Corral.
But the cowboys face a problem.
A brand marks each cow
That shows which specific ranch
they belong to.
So to steal cattle successfully,
The cowboys have to create
a top-secret tool,
A way to change one brand
into another.
Metal worker pete brown
is going to forge
This illicit instrument
known as a running iron.
They were very dangerous
tools to carry around
If you were a rustler
because it's obvious
What you were up to...
Stealing cattle...
And being caught in possession
of a running iron
Might lead to you
hanging from a tree.
It's a delicate operation.
The tool has to be small enough
to conceal from lawmen...
...Yet versatile enough
To change almost any brand
into another existing brand.
I'm making the business end
of the running iron.
This has to be slightly thinner
So that it matches the existing
brand on the cattle.
And that's a completed
running iron.
Now pete puts his
finished tool to the test.
First he brands a piece of wood
with an original "u" brand.
Next, he uses the running iron
To create a modified
"7-up" brand.
First thing I'm gonna do
is put the wings on the "u"
To make it into
a flying "u" brand.
Now I'm gonna adapt
the flying "u" into a "7-up."
If I was doing that
on the cattle,
Nobody would ever know
where those cattle came from.
Cowboys use
running irons just like this
To disguise stolen cattle
as non-local brands.
But when they come to tombstone
to sell their illicit meat,
They bring trouble...
...Spending ill-gotten gains
In brothels, bars,
and gambling dens...
...Sparking much of
the violent behavior
That threatens the prosperity
of the silver mines.
Don taylor believes tensions
Between rich mine owners
and the out-of-town cowboys
Boil over on October 26, 1881.
A group of cowboys
gather in a vacant lot
Behind the o.K. Corral.
They're openly carrying weapons,
in violation of local law.
In accordance to
city ordinance number 9,
It was illegal to carry guns
in tombstone back then.
Marshal virgil earp
confronts the cowboys.
Alongside him
are three deputies...
His brothers
morgan and wyatt earp...
And legendary gunslinger
doc holliday.
People saw
they had guns in their hands,
And they knew something
was about to happen.
What triggers the first shot?
And once the carnage begins...
...How does anyone escape alive?
Tombstone's legendary
gunfight at the o.K. Corral
Is the most famous 30 seconds
in wild west history.
But what really happens
during this iconic shootout?
Local historian don taylor
Wants to separate fact
from fiction.
In hollywood, it's
always a beautiful sunny day.
That day, it was cloudy, cold,
blowing rain and snow.
The lawmen...
Three earp brothers,
plus doc holliday...
Spot six outlaws...
Billy clanton and his brother...
Two mclaury brothers...
And two other members
of the cowboy gang...
In an 18-foot-wide vacant lot.
The lawmen confront
the armed outlaws.
Initially there were 10 men
and 2 horses in this space.
Virgil said, "throw up your
hands, boys. I want your guns."
And then all hell broke loose.
As they square off,
Cowboys outnumber lawmen
six to four...
And virgil earp is armed
only with a walking stick.
Before a shot is fired,
two cowboys flee.
Virgil swaps his walking stick
for a hidden pistol,
Evening the odds.
As shots start to fly,
a third cowboy escapes.
Cowboy tom mclaury
can't reach his rifle,
Making it four against two.
28 seconds later,
three men are dead.
But how do four people manage
to survive the carnage?
At this shooting range
near phoenix,
Historic weapons expert win ames
Investigates how
most of the gunfighters
Escape with their lives.
What does come to mind is,
With all those 30 rounds
shot in 28 or so seconds,
Why only three people killed?
Win believes
the gunfighters' shooting style
May hold a clue.
With all the lead flying around
and all the activity going on
And the fear of death
at any second,
I don't believe anyone really
took the time to aim and fire.
They were grabbing their
pistols, and they were shooting.
Pull pistol, shoot.
You're pointing it
at the target.
You're not aiming it
at the target.
That's the big difference.
The shooters
are going to investigate
The difference in accuracy
Between point firing
and aimed firing.
First, the shooter
fires five shots
Pointing at the target
from waist height.
He hit once out of five shots.
Now, if someone
was shooting back at him,
Like they had
at the o.K. Corral,
He wouldn't have hit even once.
Next, the shooter
uses the gun's sight
To line up his target.
He hit the target
five out of five shots.
In the rush to return fire,
It's likely no one takes
the time to aim properly.
And win believes basic chemistry
Can shed more light
on why so many shots miss.
In 1881, the only powder
available was gunpowder,
Or what we call today
black powder.
Until the beginning
of the 20th century,
Most pistols use
this chemical mixture.
This is black powder.
This is an explosive.
What we want to show you
is what happens
By pouring a little gunpowder
on this steel plate
And lighting it.
- Okay, guys. Ready?
- Ready.
One, two, three, go.
That was 30 shots
In I'm gonna guess
less than 28 seconds.
Got a little smoke
on that one, didn't it?
The shootout takes
place in a cloud of smoke.
Accurate aiming
is extremely difficult.
It's no longer a surprise
That four out of seven shooters
survived the short-range battle.
But it's the three cowboys
who die...
And the lawmen who emerge
as gunfighting heroes.
They all survive.
Do the earps deserve
their legendary reputation?
Or do they just get lucky?
Tombstone's
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
Four lawmen, including
wyatt earp and doc holliday,
Shoot it out with six outlaws
from the cowboy gang.
Three die... all cowboys.
Do the lawmen
deserve their reputation
As legendary gunslingers?
Of the 30 shots fired
in the vacant lot,
Up to 7 hit the cowboys.
Three bullets strike
billy clanton.
They hit his wrist...
His stomach...
And, fatally, his heart.
Frank mclaury reportedly
gets hit in the stomach...
The chest...
And with a lethal shot
to the brain.
Tom mclaury ends up
on the wrong end
Of doc holliday's shotgun.
The buckshot blows
a hand-sized hole in his chest,
Killing him instantly.
All the lawmen survive.
Is this due to luck
or great gunfighting?
At this shooting range
near phoenix,
Win ames investigates
whether the lawmen deserve
Their great reputation.
A key factor in their favor
is their choice of weapon.
Initially concealed
in his long coat,
Doc holliday
is carrying a shotgun.
Let's look at the difference
in patterns.
This is a shotgun blast.
This is also a shotgun blast.
Now, if we move over here
to these other target,
These are revolver blasts.
That's why a lot of lawmen
carried shotguns...
Primarily because
you can barely point it
In the right direction,
And the chances of hitting
your target are excellent.
His choice of weapon
means doc holliday
Instantly kills
cowboy tom mclaury.
At the o.K. Corral,
it was very tight quarters,
So a shotgun
was an excellent choice.
Three of the lawmen
are also shot,
But could the position
of their wounds be evidence
Of superior gunfighting skill?
Morgan earp,
for example, took a shot
That went between his
shoulder blade and the skin,
Past across his back,
and out the other side.
Morgan's unusual injury...
A single bullet through
both shoulder blades...
May be the result of
a deliberate shooting posture.
He would have had
his pistol forward...
And he would have had his
right foot forward, as well,
Which turns his body.
Now, at this point, his body
is gonna be at an angle
In such the bullet
would be at a straight angle
To come straight
across his back.
A sideways stance
presents a smaller target,
Protecting vital organs.
Thanks to a potentially
superior stance
And their better weapon choice,
the lawmen emerge victorious.
A month-long hearing
before a judge
Clears the earps
of any wrongdoing.
But the cowboy gang
want revenge.
In December 1881,
They set up an ambush
to kill virgil earp...
...Who, miraculously,
survives his injuries.
In March 1882,
They shoot morgan earp
in a tombstone saloon.
Despite efforts to save him,
he dies that evening.
Enraged by the shootings,
Wyatt earp kills
four cowboys in vengeance.
He then flees tombstone,
never to return.
But does this end
the violence in tombstone
And swap chaos for the stability
the silver mine owners crave?
Researcher nancy sosa
Investigates what happens
immediately afterwards.
After wyatt's vendetta
ride for the assassination
Of his brother morgan,
The town needed
to get back to normal.
They needed to represent
That they were a metropolis
in the desert.
They needed the silver investors
for the silver mines.
This is
the cochise county courthouse.
Its construction starts
10 months after the gunfight.
The grand brick structure
is a deliberate copy
Of imposing
east coast buildings.
The courthouse is
synonymous with law and order.
It showed how far
tombstone came as a community.
We went from being a village
of shacks and tents
To being adobe structures and
subsequently brick buildings.
The courthouse
symbolizes the end of an era.
Justice no longer comes
from the barrel of a gun.
The cowboy gang breaks up.
Tombstone regains
stability and prosperity.
But can the town survive
A greater threat
to its survival...
One that imperils the
money-making mines themselves?
Tombstone, arizona.
The gunfight
behind the o.K. Corral
Triggers the downfall
of the outlaw cowboy gang.
The town's silver industry
thrives in the aftermath.
But tombstone's population today
Is a fraction
of its early years.
Why?
Mining historian
robert davenport
Searches for clues
in the old silver-mining area
South of the town.
What we're doing now
is we're opening up
Several of the other mines.
It's pretty neat being
down here and seeing things
That people haven't seen
for decades
And in places where people
haven't been in decades.
In the same year
as the o.K. Corral gunfight,
Miners make
a surprising discovery
In one of the deeper
mine shafts.
Matter of fact,
they were clear down
To the 520-foot level.
They actually started
hitting water.
It starts as a trickle of water.
It's fantastic news, at first.
Water softens the rock,
making it easier to mine.
But a trickle
turns into a flood.
Water starts slowly coming up.
Well, then they realize that
they had hit a water table
And they were gonna
have to do something with it.
To keep the money flowing,
Mine owners order
two giant pumps.
Each extracts half a million
gallons of water every day.
The pumps work 24/7,
keeping tombstone's mines dry...
...And allowing miners
to dig deeper and deeper.
The mine owners even find a way
To turn the water
into greater profit.
North of tombstone
lies superstition mountain,
Home to an historic
mega machine.
This is a 20-stamp mill.
The purpose of a stamp mill
is to crush ore
So that we can get at
the precious minerals
Trapped inside that ore,
to refine it further.
Everything on here
is heavy and dangerous.
Ken grieger's team
has rebuilt this mill
To a working state.
He knows how vital water is
to this monster machine.
As soon as the mill
is up and running,
Water flushes over silver ore
as it's being crushed.
The stamp will
crush it until it's ready,
And then the water will push it
out of the mortar box
Into our collection trough.
After the stamps,
chemicals and heat
Separate out
the precious silver.
Water was very important,
Not only in operating
the machine,
But in operating
the power source,
Which was a wood-fired
steam engine.
They needed water to,
of course, feed the boiler
To keep this machine running.
Processing a ton of ore
Requires over 1,000 gallons
of water.
So, when water
is discovered in tombstone,
Plans are made to build stamp
mills right beside the mines.
But disaster strikes.
In may 1886,
a fire starts above a mineshaft.
It quickly spreads,
Setting alight
a steam engine and hoist
And destroying
the huge water pump.
With the city
illuminated by flame,
The residents of tombstone
can only watch
As fire consumes the most
productive mine in the area.
But then another disaster.
In 1900, the u.S. Government
Stops using silver
as a form of currency.
The metal's value plummets.
Thousands leave the boom town.
They had to shut down the mines,
And that pretty much
shut down tombstone.
To this day,
the mines lie dormant,
But current estimates suggest
Two-thirds of tombstone's silver
Still lies untapped
beneath the ground.
Tombstone
is still sitting on silver.
Silver was used for a lot
of things back in the day,
But today it's used for
electronics, used for medicine,
Used for many different things.
And what can it be used for
in the future?
We don't know, but tombstone's
sitting on the silver.
This sleepy town
lies waiting for a chance
To recapture the wealth and buzz
of its wild west days.
Until then, tombstone,
the town too tough to die,
Holds a powerful place
in america's history...
A boom town built on silver
And home of the shootout
at the o.K. Corral,
The most famous 30 seconds
in the wild west.
Site of the legendary
shootout at the o.K. Corral.
Today, this is a quiet
law-abiding town...
With few surface signs
of what makes tombstone
So notorious
in wild west history.
What really happens here
140 years ago, and why?
Everything you've seen
about the city of tombstone
In the movies and on television
is completely wrong.
Now new evidence
from secret tunnels
Can reveal what triggers
The spectacular rise
and catastrophic fall
Of the ultimate frontier town.
We're down 100 feet right now
below the surface.
And modern-day weapons
analysis can expose the truth
Behind the wild west's
most famous gunfight.
With all those 30 rounds
shot in 28 or so seconds,
Why only three people killed?
To solve tombstone's mysteries,
We'll deconstruct the streets
of this wild west town
To uncover hidden fortunes
And break down
the o.K. Corral gunfight
Second by second,
shot by shot...
To unearth the true story
Of this frontier outpost's
most famous moment.
UNEARTHED - SEASON 6
EP - 8 - Ghosts of the Wild West
In the heart of
arizona's high desert
Sits the ultimate
wild west town...
Tombstone.
It's the site of the most famous
gunfight in cowboy history...
The shootout at the o.K. Corral.
But what's the truth
behind the tale?
Today, investigators
Are examining new facts
behind the legend
And how it affects the fortunes
of this frontier town.
For 140 years,
the legend of tombstone
Has overshadowed the true facts
and the true story.
To be quite honest,
that true story
Is so much more interesting
Than anything hollywood
has put out to date.
The story of tombstone
begins in 1877,
As pioneering settlers push
forward the american frontier.
In only three years,
They turn a barren plateau
into a boom town...
...That boasts grand theaters,
a bowling alley,
14 churches
and gambling halls...
And over 100 saloons.
A horse stable
called the o.K. Corral
Becomes the site
of the most famous shootout
In the wild west.
The deadly duel catapults
tombstone to instant fame
That lasts to this day.
But nearly a century and a half
since the bloodshed,
What's the truth
behind the legend?
City historian don taylor
wants to find out.
But finding tombstone's
original locations
Requires detective work...
Because two major fires
Destroyed most of the town's
earliest buildings.
The fire in 1881
Actually started
right across the street here.
It started when a bartender
Went to check
a barrel of whiskey
To see if it had soured.
He stuck his head in there
with a lit cigar in his mouth,
And... Boom.
The o.K. Corral
Is just one of the businesses
that burns,
So is there any hope of finding
this legendary location today?
Luckily, one crucial remnant
of pre-fire tombstone
Still remains...
The street plan.
What you see today
is exactly the same layout
That was here when
wyatt earp and doc holliday
Were here in the 1880s.
You're walking the same streets
That all these famous men
walked on.
Don uses an original map
To match up 1880s tombstone
with today's buildings,
Searching for the site
of the o.K. Corral.
You've got
the oriental saloon here,
The crystal palace saloon here,
Different saloons
and restaurants and stores
Right along here.
The hardware store here.
And as we head down
allen street,
Here is the o.K. Corral
on the map,
Which is right across the street
from where I'm sitting now.
When a visitor
would come to tombstone,
They would check their horse,
if you will.
Stables and corrals were
the parking lots of the day.
They would take their horses
and put them in here.
According to legend,
The infamous gunfight
unfolds on allen street,
Outside the o.K. Corral.
But no guns are fired here.
Inside the corral,
The open space is perfect
for a shootout.
But no shots
are fired here, either.
The true location
of the gunfight
Is behind the corral
in a narrow, vacant lot.
Here, lawmen and outlaws
are poised barely 10 feet apart
For the most famous 30 seconds
in wild west history.
But if the gunfight didn't
even take place in the corral,
What else might be myth?
To find out, researchers
need to start at the beginning,
To unearth what triggers
the town's notorious shootout.
Nancy sosa examines
the town's newspapers
In search of answers.
Her research overturns
one big hollywood myth...
That gunfights
are a constant feature
Of tombstone's early days.
People think of tombstone,
And they think that we were
a violent community
And there was a death every day.
One of the most famous sayings
Is tombstone had a man
for breakfast every morning.
Well, if that was the case,
Then we wouldn't
have had a population.
Innocent people were not
being killed every day.
But nancy's analysis
of newspaper obituaries
Shows that there is
a marked spike in violent deaths
In tombstone
in a two-year period,
Coinciding with when
the o.K. Corral gunfight
Claims its three victims.
There's approximately 27 people
Who died from gunshot wounds
Or knife wounds or murder...
27 to 30 people
That die by interesting means
in that short period of time.
This spike in violence
Causes panic
among the law-abiding
Businesspeople of tombstone.
And they couldn't have chaos.
They couldn't have
what was going on.
The city records
reveal that around this time,
Virgil earp, a member
of one of the most famous
Families in wild west history,
Is appointed
tombstone's marshal.
The five earp brothers are born
Into a farming family
in the midwest.
Like many americans at the time,
They leave home
and follow their fortunes,
Chasing money
and the expanding frontier.
By 1880, the earp brothers
reach tombstone.
They make money running saloons
and dealing cards.
But three of the brothers
have higher aspirations...
To become men of the law.
The men who hire the earps
Are desperate to restore calm
to tombstone's streets.
The scene is set
for the most famous gunfight
In wild west history.
The earps' backers are the
town's biggest business owners.
They were the ones
that were responsible
For tombstone's lifeblood...
Silver.
What role does silver play
In tombstone's
legendary gunfight?
And what could a hidden tunnel
beneath the town's grand hotel
Reveal about tombstone's
rapid rise from the desert?
Tombstone is
the ultimate wild west town.
The legendary location
of a 30-second shootout...
The gunfight
at the o.K. Corral...
...The most notorious incident
in an outbreak of violent deaths
In and around the town.
But what triggers this carnage?
A big clue lies buried
beneath the town's main street.
Beneath big nose kate's saloon
Is the basement
of the old grand hotel,
Sitting on the entrance
to a mysterious tunnel
That burrows
deep into the bedrock.
It's only one of
the many passageways
Crisscrossing 300 miles
under tombstone.
Their purpose?
To access tons of precious
silver buried beneath the town.
How does tombstone turn
hard rock into hard cash?
Historical mining expert
robert davenport
Investigates the silver rush
That transforms
the barren plateau
Into a boom town.
It all starts with
prospector ed schieffelin
In 1877.
He decides to survey for silver
in dangerous apache territory,
Sparking a warning from locals.
They told him, "the only stone
You're ever gonna find out there
is your own tombstone."
Well, that's what he named his
first claim when he found it.
Some of the rocks
he probably found
On the surface
were the chrysocolla.
Chrysocolla
is usually an indicator
Of copper, lead, zinc,
silver, and gold.
So this is probably
what ed was looking for.
Once ed confirms
the rocks contain silver,
He digs tombstone's first mine.
Okay. This is the silver
that they were looking for.
What they would do is they
would follow the ore bodies.
Using basic tools,
Miners chase the seams of ore
wherever they lead.
Back in the day when
ed schieffelin was down here,
This was before
they had hardhats,
Before they had lamps,
so what they would do
Is they would use
a candlestick holder,
Put it into the wall,
put the candle in,
And these are the tools
of the trade back in the day.
This is a drill steel...
130 years old...
And a 4-pound sledgehammer.
So it was a major process
getting this done.
Tombstone's miners
work 10-hour shifts.
They chisel holes
in the tunnel walls
Then fill them with dynamite.
After the blasting...
...It takes a couple of hours
for the dust to settle
Before the next crew
clear away the ore.
They load the ore into carts
And run it back up to
the surface for processing.
Massive silver mills
then refine the ore
Into giant 180-pound ingots,
Impossible for thieves
to easily snatch.
Everything in this mine
that you walk through,
You go through, that's void,
was silver.
Tombstone's
rich ore-bearing rocks
Produce over 1,000 tons
of pure silver.
Some of it was so dense,
It actually assayed out at over
$8,000 to the ton of silver.
So it made it some of the
richest in the united states.
Why does the silver
spark the trouble
That culminates
in the o.K. Corral gunfight?
Metal worker spencer edgerton
is an expert in silver...
And why there is so much demand
for the metal
At this particular time.
It is relatively rare,
and it was valued worldwide,
And, of course,
it can be polished to a really high luster.
So those made it valuable
in jewelry.
Spencer demonstrates
What makes silver
so sought after.
What we're doing today
is casting silver
Using the sand-casting
method of casting.
Inside of this container
is silver.
We're gonna be heating it up to
probably close to 2,000 degrees
And pouring it into this mold.
Like gold, silver
is a relatively inert metal.
You can see it's already
starting to melt.
It doesn't corrode quickly,
Making it perfect
to turn into coins.
At this time, silver forms
the basis of the u.S. Currency,
So demand for these
silver dollars is huge.
In just four years,
tombstone's mines produce silver
Worth the equivalent of nearly
a billion dollars today.
A dusty desert town
Becomes a rich,
sophisticated metropolis.
But the wealth and prosperity
Also attracts troublemaking
outlaws to the frontier town...
...Sparking conflict
with mine owners
Determined to protect
their untapped fortunes.
Buried underground
Is the ultimate result
of this conflict...
The victims of the carnage
at the o.K. Corral.
Tombstone, arizona,
Booms on the back
of its silver mines.
But the town's fame today
Comes from the legendary
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
Can evidence
hidden in this graveyard
Reveal who was actually fighting
and why?
This was tombstone's
first city cemetery,
And it started in 1880.
By 1884, it was full.
This is boothill cemetery,
So-called because many buried
here die with their boots on.
Historian don taylor
investigates what this place
Can reveal about the true
story of the o.K. Corral.
This cemetery fell
into complete disrepair.
In fact, at one point in time,
this was the garbage dump.
We have no records
of who's buried really where.
On the surface,
the cemetery holds few clues,
But the story belowground
is very different.
Tombstone's legendary boothill
is the resting place
For more than 250
of the town's dead.
Many are killed in cold blood,
Murdered in acts of revenge,
Or victims of affairs
that turn sour.
Among the dead, three cowboys...
28-year-old tom mclaury...
32-year-old frank mclaury...
And 19-year-old billy clanton...
The three victims of the
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
But who are they,
and how do they end up
Dying on the streets
of tombstone?
Don taylor searches for answers
in cochise county,
The vast scrubland
that surrounds the city.
In the 1880s, it's the lair
Of a particular breed of men...
The cowboys.
Although mining was
the primary economic factor
In cochise county
back in the day,
As you can see, with the wide
open land that we have here,
Ranching also played
a key factor.
Today I'm outside of tombstone
And looking at the different
types of country
Where the cowboy ranches
would have been back then.
The word "cowboy" today
Means almost anyone associated
with cattle in the wild west,
But in this part of arizona,
It refers to members
of a very specific gang
Indelibly associated with
the o.K. Corral gunfight.
The word "cowboy" in
cochise county in the 1880s
Meant an outlaw.
The cowboys specialize
in one particular crime...
International cattle theft.
They form raiding parties
And sneak across
the mexican border
25 miles south of tombstone.
Under cover of darkness,
they drive cattle
Back across the border,
avoiding stiff import taxes.
The cowboys fatten up
their illicit herds
On the grasslands
around tombstone
And sell them
for a hefty profit.
Much of the meat
ends up in tombstone.
The butchers and restaurants
don't ask questions
About the source
of their steaks.
And as the town
of tombstone grows,
There's an insatiable demand
for the cowboys' stolen beef.
The demand for beef
in tombstone was growing
As exponentially
as the population.
The butchers
would buy their beef
For less than market value
Because, obviously, the cowboys
had nothing invested in it
Other than a few days
of rustling.
But mexican ranchers
start to shoot cowboys on sight.
So the outlaws are forced
To steal cattle
closer to tombstone,
Setting them on a path
that will eventually
Trigger the gunfight
at the o.K. Corral.
But the cowboys face a problem.
A brand marks each cow
That shows which specific ranch
they belong to.
So to steal cattle successfully,
The cowboys have to create
a top-secret tool,
A way to change one brand
into another.
Metal worker pete brown
is going to forge
This illicit instrument
known as a running iron.
They were very dangerous
tools to carry around
If you were a rustler
because it's obvious
What you were up to...
Stealing cattle...
And being caught in possession
of a running iron
Might lead to you
hanging from a tree.
It's a delicate operation.
The tool has to be small enough
to conceal from lawmen...
...Yet versatile enough
To change almost any brand
into another existing brand.
I'm making the business end
of the running iron.
This has to be slightly thinner
So that it matches the existing
brand on the cattle.
And that's a completed
running iron.
Now pete puts his
finished tool to the test.
First he brands a piece of wood
with an original "u" brand.
Next, he uses the running iron
To create a modified
"7-up" brand.
First thing I'm gonna do
is put the wings on the "u"
To make it into
a flying "u" brand.
Now I'm gonna adapt
the flying "u" into a "7-up."
If I was doing that
on the cattle,
Nobody would ever know
where those cattle came from.
Cowboys use
running irons just like this
To disguise stolen cattle
as non-local brands.
But when they come to tombstone
to sell their illicit meat,
They bring trouble...
...Spending ill-gotten gains
In brothels, bars,
and gambling dens...
...Sparking much of
the violent behavior
That threatens the prosperity
of the silver mines.
Don taylor believes tensions
Between rich mine owners
and the out-of-town cowboys
Boil over on October 26, 1881.
A group of cowboys
gather in a vacant lot
Behind the o.K. Corral.
They're openly carrying weapons,
in violation of local law.
In accordance to
city ordinance number 9,
It was illegal to carry guns
in tombstone back then.
Marshal virgil earp
confronts the cowboys.
Alongside him
are three deputies...
His brothers
morgan and wyatt earp...
And legendary gunslinger
doc holliday.
People saw
they had guns in their hands,
And they knew something
was about to happen.
What triggers the first shot?
And once the carnage begins...
...How does anyone escape alive?
Tombstone's legendary
gunfight at the o.K. Corral
Is the most famous 30 seconds
in wild west history.
But what really happens
during this iconic shootout?
Local historian don taylor
Wants to separate fact
from fiction.
In hollywood, it's
always a beautiful sunny day.
That day, it was cloudy, cold,
blowing rain and snow.
The lawmen...
Three earp brothers,
plus doc holliday...
Spot six outlaws...
Billy clanton and his brother...
Two mclaury brothers...
And two other members
of the cowboy gang...
In an 18-foot-wide vacant lot.
The lawmen confront
the armed outlaws.
Initially there were 10 men
and 2 horses in this space.
Virgil said, "throw up your
hands, boys. I want your guns."
And then all hell broke loose.
As they square off,
Cowboys outnumber lawmen
six to four...
And virgil earp is armed
only with a walking stick.
Before a shot is fired,
two cowboys flee.
Virgil swaps his walking stick
for a hidden pistol,
Evening the odds.
As shots start to fly,
a third cowboy escapes.
Cowboy tom mclaury
can't reach his rifle,
Making it four against two.
28 seconds later,
three men are dead.
But how do four people manage
to survive the carnage?
At this shooting range
near phoenix,
Historic weapons expert win ames
Investigates how
most of the gunfighters
Escape with their lives.
What does come to mind is,
With all those 30 rounds
shot in 28 or so seconds,
Why only three people killed?
Win believes
the gunfighters' shooting style
May hold a clue.
With all the lead flying around
and all the activity going on
And the fear of death
at any second,
I don't believe anyone really
took the time to aim and fire.
They were grabbing their
pistols, and they were shooting.
Pull pistol, shoot.
You're pointing it
at the target.
You're not aiming it
at the target.
That's the big difference.
The shooters
are going to investigate
The difference in accuracy
Between point firing
and aimed firing.
First, the shooter
fires five shots
Pointing at the target
from waist height.
He hit once out of five shots.
Now, if someone
was shooting back at him,
Like they had
at the o.K. Corral,
He wouldn't have hit even once.
Next, the shooter
uses the gun's sight
To line up his target.
He hit the target
five out of five shots.
In the rush to return fire,
It's likely no one takes
the time to aim properly.
And win believes basic chemistry
Can shed more light
on why so many shots miss.
In 1881, the only powder
available was gunpowder,
Or what we call today
black powder.
Until the beginning
of the 20th century,
Most pistols use
this chemical mixture.
This is black powder.
This is an explosive.
What we want to show you
is what happens
By pouring a little gunpowder
on this steel plate
And lighting it.
- Okay, guys. Ready?
- Ready.
One, two, three, go.
That was 30 shots
In I'm gonna guess
less than 28 seconds.
Got a little smoke
on that one, didn't it?
The shootout takes
place in a cloud of smoke.
Accurate aiming
is extremely difficult.
It's no longer a surprise
That four out of seven shooters
survived the short-range battle.
But it's the three cowboys
who die...
And the lawmen who emerge
as gunfighting heroes.
They all survive.
Do the earps deserve
their legendary reputation?
Or do they just get lucky?
Tombstone's
gunfight at the o.K. Corral.
Four lawmen, including
wyatt earp and doc holliday,
Shoot it out with six outlaws
from the cowboy gang.
Three die... all cowboys.
Do the lawmen
deserve their reputation
As legendary gunslingers?
Of the 30 shots fired
in the vacant lot,
Up to 7 hit the cowboys.
Three bullets strike
billy clanton.
They hit his wrist...
His stomach...
And, fatally, his heart.
Frank mclaury reportedly
gets hit in the stomach...
The chest...
And with a lethal shot
to the brain.
Tom mclaury ends up
on the wrong end
Of doc holliday's shotgun.
The buckshot blows
a hand-sized hole in his chest,
Killing him instantly.
All the lawmen survive.
Is this due to luck
or great gunfighting?
At this shooting range
near phoenix,
Win ames investigates
whether the lawmen deserve
Their great reputation.
A key factor in their favor
is their choice of weapon.
Initially concealed
in his long coat,
Doc holliday
is carrying a shotgun.
Let's look at the difference
in patterns.
This is a shotgun blast.
This is also a shotgun blast.
Now, if we move over here
to these other target,
These are revolver blasts.
That's why a lot of lawmen
carried shotguns...
Primarily because
you can barely point it
In the right direction,
And the chances of hitting
your target are excellent.
His choice of weapon
means doc holliday
Instantly kills
cowboy tom mclaury.
At the o.K. Corral,
it was very tight quarters,
So a shotgun
was an excellent choice.
Three of the lawmen
are also shot,
But could the position
of their wounds be evidence
Of superior gunfighting skill?
Morgan earp,
for example, took a shot
That went between his
shoulder blade and the skin,
Past across his back,
and out the other side.
Morgan's unusual injury...
A single bullet through
both shoulder blades...
May be the result of
a deliberate shooting posture.
He would have had
his pistol forward...
And he would have had his
right foot forward, as well,
Which turns his body.
Now, at this point, his body
is gonna be at an angle
In such the bullet
would be at a straight angle
To come straight
across his back.
A sideways stance
presents a smaller target,
Protecting vital organs.
Thanks to a potentially
superior stance
And their better weapon choice,
the lawmen emerge victorious.
A month-long hearing
before a judge
Clears the earps
of any wrongdoing.
But the cowboy gang
want revenge.
In December 1881,
They set up an ambush
to kill virgil earp...
...Who, miraculously,
survives his injuries.
In March 1882,
They shoot morgan earp
in a tombstone saloon.
Despite efforts to save him,
he dies that evening.
Enraged by the shootings,
Wyatt earp kills
four cowboys in vengeance.
He then flees tombstone,
never to return.
But does this end
the violence in tombstone
And swap chaos for the stability
the silver mine owners crave?
Researcher nancy sosa
Investigates what happens
immediately afterwards.
After wyatt's vendetta
ride for the assassination
Of his brother morgan,
The town needed
to get back to normal.
They needed to represent
That they were a metropolis
in the desert.
They needed the silver investors
for the silver mines.
This is
the cochise county courthouse.
Its construction starts
10 months after the gunfight.
The grand brick structure
is a deliberate copy
Of imposing
east coast buildings.
The courthouse is
synonymous with law and order.
It showed how far
tombstone came as a community.
We went from being a village
of shacks and tents
To being adobe structures and
subsequently brick buildings.
The courthouse
symbolizes the end of an era.
Justice no longer comes
from the barrel of a gun.
The cowboy gang breaks up.
Tombstone regains
stability and prosperity.
But can the town survive
A greater threat
to its survival...
One that imperils the
money-making mines themselves?
Tombstone, arizona.
The gunfight
behind the o.K. Corral
Triggers the downfall
of the outlaw cowboy gang.
The town's silver industry
thrives in the aftermath.
But tombstone's population today
Is a fraction
of its early years.
Why?
Mining historian
robert davenport
Searches for clues
in the old silver-mining area
South of the town.
What we're doing now
is we're opening up
Several of the other mines.
It's pretty neat being
down here and seeing things
That people haven't seen
for decades
And in places where people
haven't been in decades.
In the same year
as the o.K. Corral gunfight,
Miners make
a surprising discovery
In one of the deeper
mine shafts.
Matter of fact,
they were clear down
To the 520-foot level.
They actually started
hitting water.
It starts as a trickle of water.
It's fantastic news, at first.
Water softens the rock,
making it easier to mine.
But a trickle
turns into a flood.
Water starts slowly coming up.
Well, then they realize that
they had hit a water table
And they were gonna
have to do something with it.
To keep the money flowing,
Mine owners order
two giant pumps.
Each extracts half a million
gallons of water every day.
The pumps work 24/7,
keeping tombstone's mines dry...
...And allowing miners
to dig deeper and deeper.
The mine owners even find a way
To turn the water
into greater profit.
North of tombstone
lies superstition mountain,
Home to an historic
mega machine.
This is a 20-stamp mill.
The purpose of a stamp mill
is to crush ore
So that we can get at
the precious minerals
Trapped inside that ore,
to refine it further.
Everything on here
is heavy and dangerous.
Ken grieger's team
has rebuilt this mill
To a working state.
He knows how vital water is
to this monster machine.
As soon as the mill
is up and running,
Water flushes over silver ore
as it's being crushed.
The stamp will
crush it until it's ready,
And then the water will push it
out of the mortar box
Into our collection trough.
After the stamps,
chemicals and heat
Separate out
the precious silver.
Water was very important,
Not only in operating
the machine,
But in operating
the power source,
Which was a wood-fired
steam engine.
They needed water to,
of course, feed the boiler
To keep this machine running.
Processing a ton of ore
Requires over 1,000 gallons
of water.
So, when water
is discovered in tombstone,
Plans are made to build stamp
mills right beside the mines.
But disaster strikes.
In may 1886,
a fire starts above a mineshaft.
It quickly spreads,
Setting alight
a steam engine and hoist
And destroying
the huge water pump.
With the city
illuminated by flame,
The residents of tombstone
can only watch
As fire consumes the most
productive mine in the area.
But then another disaster.
In 1900, the u.S. Government
Stops using silver
as a form of currency.
The metal's value plummets.
Thousands leave the boom town.
They had to shut down the mines,
And that pretty much
shut down tombstone.
To this day,
the mines lie dormant,
But current estimates suggest
Two-thirds of tombstone's silver
Still lies untapped
beneath the ground.
Tombstone
is still sitting on silver.
Silver was used for a lot
of things back in the day,
But today it's used for
electronics, used for medicine,
Used for many different things.
And what can it be used for
in the future?
We don't know, but tombstone's
sitting on the silver.
This sleepy town
lies waiting for a chance
To recapture the wealth and buzz
of its wild west days.
Until then, tombstone,
the town too tough to die,
Holds a powerful place
in america's history...
A boom town built on silver
And home of the shootout
at the o.K. Corral,
The most famous 30 seconds
in the wild west.