The Benson Stage Debacle
Part 2
by Joyce Aros

<PREVIOUS

It is fair to say that Will McLaury's view of the tragic consequence to his brothers is biased. But the opposing viewpoints are also. However, it still gets better...because we have the action of Big Nose Kate, Doc's girlfriend!

Though most women in that day and age probably knew very little about what their men were doing, Kate was in a unique position. Wives and sweethearts of the menfolk of that day would be more submissive and less likely to make inroads into a mans' world. But Kate, ever plying her trade in the saloons, would not only be less submissive but also able to pick up on a lot of talk and action in the environment she breathed in. And as Doc likely treated her more as a concubine than a wife, he probably talked pretty freely around her as well. She would not be as sheltered from language and back-street talk as would the more respected wife. And so it is reasonable to assume that Kate knew what was going on with the Benson stage robbery and Doc's involvement with it, and by extension, the Earps' activity as well. Her association with the group via Doc had to have allowed her to be privy to some things she had best not share with the general public.

Kate was a drinker. And she started drinking heavily after some sort of argument with Doc that may or may not have gotten physical. She no doubt complained about her treatment to anyone in the saloon who would listen to her, as drunken women are reputed to do. Johnny Behan listened and got an earful. Talk about a happy man! At the time, there was a great deal of suspicion that Doc had been involved in the hold-up and was indeed the triggerman. Therefore, when Kate began to complain about Doc's abuse, which she often claimed came from his association with the much-disliked Earps; she also voiced her belief about Doc's contribution to the tragic bloodletting. Could this actually be the chance to incarcerate the unpopular Holliday... maybe even hang him? Behan had to be beside himself with joy.

Never one to miss such an opportunity, Behan likely bought a few more rounds for Kate before giving her pen and paper. Just a little insurance! Only a woman scorned and mistreated and tending toward drowning her sorrows would take such a risk. Kate was indeed a sad creature. Angry and hurt, the alcohol caused her to throw caution to the winds and lose sight of any immediate consequences. She signed a complaint against Doc.

The Nugget of July 6th, 1881, reported that Holliday was arrested on July 5th; charged with complicity in the Benson stage hold-up on the complaint of Kate Elder. But, he was freed on a $5000 bail that was put up by Wyatt Earp and friends.

Then Kate was arrested the following day by Virgil Earp. She was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct in one of the town's saloons. For some reason, Virgil did not feel compelled to arrest all the other likely drunken patrons of the saloon. No cell room, I guess.

Kate was held for several days without any formal charges. The Earps were not above 'framing mischief by law,' so to speak, and though this seems like a relatively small but uncomfortable situation, it was a frightening one for Kate. It would be naïve to think that the jail time did not include some sage advice about travel arrangements and even some threats from the Earp faction. Kate knew these men and she didn't like them. She complied and recanted for her release. Doc's appearance in court was short as Kate now refused to testify. The case was thrown out

But we get a good look at the way the Earps operate. It should not be forgotten.

Now I want to get back to Doc's hasty ride into Charleston right after the stage was attacked. I am very concerned about his desire to find Billy Clanton. And from what Will McLaury had to say in his letter to his brother-in-law about the whole episode, there's good reason to be. Doc hated the cowboys and just did not associate with them at all. Why go looking for a young cowboy late at night, lathering up his horse to do it, when he had never met the boy? In my mind... why else but to threaten or kill him! Either Doc or someone of his group saw the young man in the vicinity of the hold-up. One of the group recognized him. They knew he had seen them commit the crime, just as Will McLaury wrote in his letter. Billy Clanton had been working cattle in the area all day. He was heading home to the ranch and was either on the Charleston road or cutting across it. He may even have come close to the group in the dark after they took off their hemp rope masks, for that evening there was a bright moon. At any rate, he knew who pulled off the attempt and he told his brother and the McLaurys. And possibly sealed his fate!

That is how the circumstantial evidence stacks up. Billy's witnessing what happened and then Kate backing it up. Witnesses saw Doc in Charleston right after the stick-up and others saw him race into town to a back-street saloon he likely never frequented, his horse totally winded and lathered when he had said he was off for a few days to Mexico! And, interestingly, Doc was spotted on the road from Charleston that evening by another almost unimpeachable witness, John Slaughter, who was driving with his wife in a buggy. Slaughter said there was no doubt in his mind it was Doc Holliday he saw in the moonlight. Slaughter is a tough one to deny!

But there is yet another suspicious act on the part of the not-too-clever Holliday. On October 26th, 1881, as Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury were leaving the Grand Hotel to go hunt up their brothers, Doc Holliday approached Billy, introduced himself and shook hands with the puzzled boy, saying that he was "glad to meet him". He didn't approach Frank McLaury or Billy Allen or Major Frink, those who were with Billy. Just Billy Clanton. Billy rarely came into town, so it seems obvious to me, at any rate, after his seeking the young cowboy in Charleston that night unsuccessfully, that Doc wanted to identify the boy... make sure he shot the right one... the eye witness. He did! Billy Clanton was mortally wounded at the onset of the fight on Fremont Street in another hour or so. Many witnesses testified that Doc and Morgan Earp shot first, and one of the first ones shot was Billy Clanton, despite his hands raised and his statement that he did not want to fight.

One other little thing of note to throw in the pot; Holliday was a close personal friend of Billy Leonard, one of the robbers. They had known each other before either one came to Tombstone, and the story goes that Doc was known to go and visit Leonard out of town several times before the robbery took place. Though Leonard was a friend of Doc's, he didn't hesitate to describe him as a "shiftless, bagged-legged character; a killer and professional cut-throat and not a wit too refined to rob stages or even steal sheep..."

So what do we make of all this? Did the Earps know what Doc had done? Almost surely! Were they in on it? That's up for debate but it seems possible. For sure they wanted to protect Doc from his own folly and protect themselves from the damning fallout. Wyatt had a burning ambition to be the next sheriff of Cochise County, a real money-maker of a job. The kickback from collecting taxes and other fees was considerable, to say the least. But this stuff with Doc Holliday and murder! That could really kill his chances if Doc couldn't be cleared in some way. Wyatt's brain was buzzing!

And of course, the crafty Wyatt came up with a plan. His posse had chased the outlaws all over creation for more than three weeks trying to catch them. It was important that they be apprehended, and in the course of their capture, likely be shot for resisting arrest. That way they would never spill the beans about Doc's (or the Earps) complicity in the botched hold-up. Why would I think that? Well, I am going to rely on the newspaper account in the Star again. The 'Vendetti' article explains it.

"...So matters rested for some time, until, as Ike Clanton swears, Wyatt Earp called him aside and told him that he would guarantee him (Ike) all of the Wells, Fargo & Co.'s reward and one thousand dollars more on top of it, if he would induce Leonard and Head to come to some ranch in the neighborhood of Tombstone so that he (Wyatt) could surprise and kill them. He gave as his reasons that they had failed to realize anything from the attempted robbery and they might squeal sometime. Crane had been killed by the Mexicans with 'Old Man Clanton,' so there was nothing to fear from him. To satisfy Clanton that he meant business, Earp had Wells Fargo's agent telegraph to San Francisco asking whether the reward would be paid dead. The answer came back yes. But while negotiations were pending Leonard and Crane were both killed in New Mexico for cattle stealing..."

This is really interesting and falls right in line with Earp's ambitions. He'll deal with anyone to attain his ends. At the time, it would seem he was on some sort of friendly terms with Ike Clanton or he wouldn't have approached him. Ike was the man in the valleys who had his finger on the pulse. He was well connected and well informed about everything going on in the surrounding environment of the outlaws. If anyone could help with the capture certainly Ike could... but would he?

There is not one writer I have read that didn't think Ike greedily jumped at the chance and even dragged in his equally greedy companions, the McLaurys. I just don't buy it. It doesn't fit. Ike was a wheeler-dealer of sorts, a businessman more than anything else, though a rough-edged cowboy for sure. But it seems he was a broker for the ranchers and butchers and even the army in dealing with the stolen cattle market. He had a strong business relationship with the rustlers who supplied a very demanding meat market. Ike was the go-between, the buffer. Would he jeopardize that for a deal that would benefit no one but Wyatt Earp? I don't think so. Ike was not short of cash. He handled huge amounts for the people he did business with and made a fat profit or he wouldn't be doing it. $6000 split three ways (Earp says the McLaurys were in on it) was not enough for any of them to take the risk of being found out. There's no doubt they would be killed. It has become apparent in different accounts that Frank McLaury was very cautious in crossing some of those men as he helped out Billy Breakenridge with one or two problems. Such a treacherous act as setting up some 'friends' of his would definitely be disastrous for any of them as it would be sure to leak out eventually. No, I don't believe Ike went for it at all.

But many people do because that's the way Wyatt Earp tells it. It seems that Ike told of the proposition that Earp made him, and when Earp heard about it, it made bad blood between them. Couple that with Doc's finding out that the Clantons and McLaurys knew of his involvement in the Benson stage hold-up and you can see where this is going. Those cowboys were ruining everything for the Earps and their plans to become rich and powerful in Tombstone. Something had to be done!

It was. The chips all fell into place for the Earps when all the parties came together on October 26th, 1881 in the vacant lot off Fremont Street. But it was no real benefit to the Earps after all. As usual, they made the wrong play and shortsightedly botched their long term plans to be big players in the territory.

Joyce Aros ~ joyce@tombstonetimes.com