The Cowboys, the main antagonists of the classic Western Tombstone, actually have a connection to real-life history. Tombstone is based on the true story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Doc Holiday, and their fateful time in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. As with all movies based on true stories, however, Tombstone also takes some creative liberties with history, and it dramatizes the story of the lawmen. It would make sense if the Cowboys were part of that dramatization, given their power and oppressive presence throughout the film, but the truth is more interesting.
Both Westerns and history are filled with outlaw gangs. Some of the best Western movies of all time focus on gangs and their charismatic leaders, and they’re a popular subject for romanticization. While many notable works elevated Western gangs into heroes, Tombstone did quite a bit to demonize its central antagonists, the Cowboys. In the 143 years since Wyatt Earp took on the Cowboys, and after several movie adaptations of the story, the truth has gotten a bit muddied, but it’s still just as riveting.
Tombstone’s Cowboys Gang Was Based On A Real Group In Cochise County
The Cowboys, Like The Earp Brothers & Doc Holiday, Were Real People
Like everything else in Tombstone, the Cowboys were based on a real-life gang that operated in Mexico, New Mexico, and the Cochise County of the Arizona Territory from about 1870 to 1882. The gang had many names – it was sometimes referred to as the Clanton Gang, but its members were more commonly just referred to as the Cowboys. Nowadays, “cowboy” is a neutral or often positive term for people who tend to cattle and work on ranches, but in Arizona in the early 1880s, it was a derogatory term for a criminal (via Discover Southeast Arizona). The Cowboys’ most frequent crime earned them that title.
The Cowboys began as a loose group of outlaws who would ride into Mexico, steal cattle, and rustle them back to sell in the United States. They also made quite a name for themselves in Tombstone, though they committed most of their crimes outside the city limits. One of their favorite places to lie in wait for passing stage coaches was Skeleton Canyon, in the Peloncillo Mountains. Two separate events are referred to as “the Skeleton Canyon Massacres,” where the Cowboys killed Mexican citizens traveling through the area. While Tombstone did a good job of depicting their viciousness, it didn’t get everything about the gang right.
How Tombstone’s Cowboys Compare To The Real-Life Version
Tombstone Showed The Reality Of The Cowboys’ Crimes
Tombstone does a fairly good job of portraying the Cowboys accurately, but there are some differences as well. The clearest difference between Tombstone and real life is in the size of the gang. Tombstone only ever showed about 30 Cowboys at a time, yet in real life, historians have estimated that there were 300 members of the gang. Aside from minor differences like that, however, Tombstone mostly depicted the Cowboys as they were: thoroughly hated. An editorial from a local paper demanded someone deal with the Cowboys just a month before the Shootout at the O.K. Corral (via American Cowboy Chronicles).
What Happened To The Cowboys In Real Life
Wyatt Earp’s Revenge Eventually Led To The Destruction Of The Cowboys
The real-life fate of the Cowboys matched fairly closely with the ending of Tombstone, though there were also a few key differences. As in the movie, the beginning of the end of the Cowboys came after the Earp Vendetta, when Wyatt Earp hunted them down to take revenge for Morgan’s murder and Virgil’s attack. Where history diverges from the film, however, is in the timeline. In Tombstone, Wyatt, Doc Holiday, and the rest of the posse completely disbanded the Cowboys in a single fight. In real life, the few survivors of the Earp Vendetta continued committing crimes for a time.
Though Tombstone changed some things about the Cowboys, it did a very good job of showing why the Earps wanted them dead.
Eventually, the Earps left Tombstone, and the Cowboys’ power over Arizona was never the same. Several officials tried to form a posse to eliminate the remaining Cowboys, but those never came to fruition. Eventually, William Tecumseh Sherman, a prominent general in the American Civil War, and Frederick Tritle, the governor of the Arizona Territory at the time, convinced President Chester Arthur to issue a decree ordering the Cowboys to disperse. Their reign of terror ended shortly after that, in 1882. Though Tombstone changed some things about the Cowboys, it did a very good job of showing why the Earps wanted them dead.