13. Tombstone was a boom town when the Earps arrived that December
The population of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, doubled during the last nine months of 1879, and it was Wyatt’s intention to take advantage of the growth by establishing a stage line, connecting it to the outside world not served by the railroad. He discovered that two stagecoach companies were already serving the growing town. James found work as a bartender, Wyatt as a gambler and later riding shotgun on Wells Fargo stagecoaches. The brothers, with Virgil, invested in several mines and real estate, but their business interests did not flourish in the area. During the summer of 1880, they were joined by Warren and Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday, who arrived with about $40,000 in his pockets, gambling winnings from Prescott.
