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The Cochise County Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. The term "cowboy" had only begun to come into wider usage during the 1870s, and in the place and time, "Cowboy" was synonymous with " rustler."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://law.jrank.org/pages/2659/Wyatt-Earp-Trial-1881.html )〕 The cattle thieves frequently rode across the international border into Mexico and stole cattle from Mexican ranches, which they drove back across the border and sold in the United States. The Mexican government lowered tariffs and added forts along the border, and cross-border rustling and smuggling became less attractive. The Cowboys then began to steal cattle and horses from neighboring American ranches, reselling them to unscrupulous butchers. They also held up stagecoaches, stealing the strongboxes and strong-arming passengers for their valuables. In some instances, they killed drivers and passengers. Modern media, such as the film ''Tombstone'', have repeatedly and mistakenly depicted the Cowboys as a formally organized gang. But the roughly 200–300 Cowboys were in fact a loosely organized band of friends and associates who teamed up for various crimes and came to each other's aid. Their notoriety today is due to the death of three of their associates in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881, where they were opposed by Virgil Earp and his brothers, Wyatt Earp and Morgan Earp, along with Doc Holliday. == Origins and background == Tombstone, Arizona was one of the last frontier towns in the American Old West. Outlaws from all parts of the Western territories felt the pressures of encroaching civilization and the increased presence of lawmen and the courts, backed up by growing populations of farmers and citizens desiring law and order. The town had boomed in less than 18 months from about 100 miners living in tents and shacks to more than 7,000 people by , when Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp arrived in Tombstone.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000171.pdf )〕 Virgil Earp had been appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County in Prescott and directed to relocate to Tombstone to concentrate on suppressing the Cowboys' illegal activities. He arrived with his brothers Wyatt and Morgan. He appointed Morgan as an undersheriff, and Wyatt looked for business opportunities. When those didn't work out, Wyatt Earp started riding shotgun for Wells, Fargo & Co., guarding their silver bullion shipments. He was appointed as an assistant Pima County sheriff for a period, and Virgil Earp was hired as Tombstone's city marshal in the middle of 1881.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Arizona Affairs, an Interview With Virgil Earp )〕 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「Cochise County Cowboys」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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