Essay: Doc Holliday

Doc Holliday
John Henry Holliday was born in the town of Griffin, Georgia on August 14, 1851. He had an adopted brother named Francisco, and a sister who died when she was six months old. In 1864 his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, where his mother died in 1866. In 1870, Holliday left for Philadelphia, where he planned to attend school to become a dentist. In 1872, he earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He graduated five months before his 21st birthday, so the college held his degree until he turned 21, which was the minimum required age to practice dentistry at that time.
After he graduated, Holliday moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in order to be a dental assistant for his classmate James Fuches. Less than four months after that, he moved to Atlanta, where he took up a dental practice of his own. He was alleged to have been in a shooting at this time, in 1873. Holliday was 22, and he and some friends were going out to their favorite swimming hole. Apparently, there were some young African Americans in the swimming hole, and Holliday started to insult them and tell them to get out. This led to an apparent shooting, where there are no accounts on what actually happened.
Holliday was diagnosed with tuberculosis shortly after he began his dental practice. He was told he only had a month to live. However, he was told that a warmer and drier climate might lengthen his lifespan. Holliday decided to move to Dallas, Texas, which was considered the last great city before the uncivilized West.
When Holliday arrived in Dallas, he started working with a friend of his father’s, Dr. Seegar. Together they won awards for their dental work at the Dallas County Fair, including “best set of teeth in gold”, “best in vulcanized rubber”, and “best set of artificial teeth and dental ware”.
They shut down their practice on March 2, 1874. Doc started his own dental practice through the Dallas County Bank shortly afterward. As his dental practice slowly declined due to his health, he started heavily gambling. It soon became his main source of income. Him and 12 others were arrested on May 12 for illegal gambling. He was also arrested in January 1875 for having a shootout with a saloon owner. Nobody was hurt, but Doc moved to Denison, Texas. However, after being found guilty and fined for gambling, he decided to leave the state.
He headed up towards Denver. In the summer of 1875 he settled in Denver under the name Tom Mackey, and found work as a faro dealer. While he was there, he got into an argument with Bud Ryan, a well known ruffian. They drew knives, and Holliday left Ryan seriously wounded.
Holliday moved back to Texas in 1877. On July 4, he got into a fight with another gambler, Henry Kahn,who Holliday beat with his walking stick. Both men were fined. Later that day, Kahn shot Holliday, who was unarmed, and seriously wounded him. After healing, Holliday moved to Fort Griffin, Texas. While he was a card dealer at a saloon, he met “Big Nose” Kate Harony. She was a dance hall woman and prostitute.
In October 1877, Dave Rudabaugh robbed a Sante Fe railroad camp and ran South. Wyatt Earp was temporarily deputized as a U.S Marshal. He left Dodge city and followed Rudabaugh over 400 miles to Fort Griffin. Earp went to the saloon owned by Shanssey, the same saloon that Holliday dealt cards in. Shanssey told Earp that Rudabaugh had been in earlier in the week, but he didn’t know where he was. He recommended that Earp talk to Holliday, whom Rudabaugh had played cards with.Holliday told Earp that Rudabaugh was headed back to Kansas.
Earp spent about a month in Fort Griffin, Texas, and returned back to Dodge City in early 1878. He was deputized under Charlie Bassett. In the summer of 1878, Holliday and Harony moved into Dodge as well. Earp had run two cowboys out of Dodge earlier in the year, and at some point in summer 1878, they came back for revenge with about two dozen cowboys. They stopped Earp outside of a bar, and before he could react, he was surrounded. There are shrouded accounts of what happened next, but one thing was for certain, Doc saved Earp’s life.
Over the years, Holliday and Earp got into many conflicts and predicaments. However, their most famous piece in history was the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. On October 26, 1881, Virgil Earp who was a Deputy Marshal and Tombstone City’s Police Chief, received word that a group from a gang called the Cowboys were in violation of a city law that required them to deposit their weapons after arriving in town. The Cowboys had threatened Holliday and the Earps multiple times. Virgil then deputized Holliday and brought in his brothers Wyatt and Morgan for backup, fearing trouble. Virgil brought a Wells Fargo shotgun and the four sought out the Cowboys. On Fremont street, they met the Cochise County sheriff, Johnny Behan. He told the group that he had disarmed the group of Cowboys. In order to de-escalate the situation, Virgil gave Holliday the coach gun, which he could hide in his long coat. The lawmen found the Cowboys hiding in a narrow lot between Fly’s Boarding house and the Harwood House. Holliday had been staying at Fly’s, and perhaps thought that the Cowboys were trying to kill him. The events that occurred next are shrouded. Different witnesses recounted different events. Some say that Doc pulled his chrome plated pistol out, others claim he pulled out a longer, bronze colored gun, which would’ve been the coach gun. Regardless, Holliday shot and killed Tom McLaury with a shotgun blast. He was then shot at and grazed possibly by Frank McLaury, who was in the street. He allegedly challenged Holliday with a taunt, saying “I’ve got you now!”. Frank died of a shot in his stomach and behind his ear. Holliday also allegedly wounded Billy Clanton. After a 30 day earring, it was concluded that Holliday and the gang had acted within their duties as lawmen. This was the most famous encounter with Doc Holliday in history. He was technically operating as a deputy, and even though sometimes he was working against the law, this time he fought against the evil and injustice of a gang who he would later encounter again and help end. This is an example of Doc’s widely known goodwill. He was always thought of as kind and enjoyable, though at some times rowdy. He was a legendary figure who will never be forgotten.