17. The war with the Cowboy’s breaks out.
Just before Halloween, 1880, a group of rowdy drunks were accosted in Tombstone by Fred White, a town deputy marshal. One of the men was Curly Bill Brocius, who drew his revolver and White was shot in the groin. Wyatt Earp heard the noise from inside a nearby saloon, approached Curly Bill, and pistol-whipped him in the street. Accounts of the aftermath differ (especially Wyatt’s own) but all claim that Wyatt pulled Brocius to his feet while under fire (from the other drunks), and with his brother Morgan later escorted Brocius to Tucson, where he would stand trial after Fred White died from his wounds.
