Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Cowboys (In that time and region, the term "cowboy" generally meant an outlaw; legitimate cowmen were instead referred to as cattle herders or ranchers.). Many of the supporting facts about the events leading up to the gunfight and details of the gunfight itself are uncertain. Newspapers of the day were not above taking sides, and news reporting often editorialized on issues to reflect the publisher's interests. John Clum, publisher of "The Tombstone Epitaph", had helped organize a "Committee of Safety" (a vigilance committee) in Tombstone in late September 1881. He was elected as the city's first mayor under the new
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral J. W. Gardiner also testified that he saw the bulge in Tom's pants. However, the bulge in Tom's pants pocket may have been the nearly $3,300 in cash and receipts found on his body, perhaps in payment for stolen Mexican beef purchased by the butcher. Wyatt and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday believed that Tom had a revolver at the time of the gunfight. Wyatt thought Tom fired a revolver under the horse's neck and believed until he died that Tom's revolver had been removed from the scene by Wesley Fuller. Witness Fallehy wrote that he saw Morgan Earp and