20. Earp’s marital and extramarital relationships in Tombstone
When Wyatt Earp arrived in Tombstone he was accompanied by Mattie Blaylock, identified as Wyatt’s wife, and generally accepted to be his common-law wife. Mattie suffered from debilitating headaches for which she took laudanum, an over-the-counter medication based on opiates and alcohol, highly addictive and readily available. With his “wife” indisposed, Wyatt entered into a relationship with Sadie Marcus, who may have been a prostitute in the employ of Behan prior to Earp’s arrival in Tombstone. Behan and Earp had offices located above the Crystal Palace Saloon in Tombstone, and the shared interest in one woman aggravated the already tense relationship between the two men.
