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The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second gunfight between the semi-outlaw group the Cowboys, and lawmen, that is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West. The gunfight took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It was the result of a long-simmering feud between Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and opposing lawmen: town Marshal Virgil Earp, Assistant Town Marshal Morgan Earp, and temporary deputy marshals Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton, who had repeatedly threatened to kill the Earps, claimed he was unarmed and ran from the fight along with Billy Claiborne. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. The fight has come to represent a period in American Old West when the frontier was virtually an open range for outlaws, largely unopposed by law enforcement who were spread thin over vast territories, leaving some areas unprotected. The gunfight was not well known to the American public until 1931, when author Stuart Lake published an initially well-received biography, ''Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'', two years after Earp's death. Published during the Great Depression, the book captured American imaginations. It was also the basis for the 1946 film, ''My Darling Clementine,'' by director John Ford.〔 After the film ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' was released in 1957, the shootout became known by that name. Since then, the conflict has been portrayed with varying degrees of accuracy in numerous Western films and books. Despite its name, the historic gunfight did not take place within or next door to the O.K. Corral which fronted on Allen Street and had a rear entrance lined with stalls on Fremont Street. The shootout actually took place in a narrow lot on the side of C. S. Fly's Photographic Studio on Fremont Street, six doors west of the O.K. Corral's rear entrance. Some members of the two opposing parties were initially only about apart. About thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds. Ike Clanton, whose brother Billy had been killed, filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday. The lawmen were eventually exonerated by a local Justice of the Peace after a 30-day preliminary hearing, and then by a local grand jury. The gunfight was not the end of the conflict, and on December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was ambushed and maimed in a murder attempt by the outlaw Cowboys. On March 18, 1882, Cowboys fired from a dark alley through the glass door of a saloon and shot Morgan Earp, killing him. The suspects in both incidents furnished alibis supplied by fellow Cowboys and were not indicted. Wyatt Earp, newly appointed as Deputy U.S. Marshal in Cochise County, took matters into his own hands in a personal vendetta. He was pursued by county Sheriff Johnny Behan, who had received a Tucson warrant for Wyatt's shooting of Frank Stilwell. == Background to the conflict == Tombstone, near the Mexican border, was formally founded in March 1879; it was a rapidly growing frontier mining boomtown. The Earps arrived on December 1, 1879, when the small town was mostly composed of tents as living quarters, a few saloons and other buildings, and the mines. Virgil Earp had been hired as Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County, with his offices in Tombstone, only days before his arrival. In June 1881 he was also appointed as Tombstone's town marshal (or police chief). Though not universally liked by the townspeople, the Earps tended to protect the interests of the town's business owners and residents, although Wyatt helped protect Cowboy Curly Bill Brocius from being lynched after he accidentally killed Tombstone city Marshal Fred White. In contrast, Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan was generally sympathetic to the interests of the rural ranchers and Cowboys. In that time and region, the term "cowboy" generally meant an outlaw. Legitimate cowmen were referred to as cattle herders or ranchers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gunfight at the O.K. Corral」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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