Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with his offices in Tombstone, only days before his arrival. In June 1881 he was also appointed as Tombstone's town marshal (or police chief). Though not universally liked by the townspeople, the Earps tended to protect the interests of the town's business owners and residents; even so, Wyatt Earp helped protect Cowboy "Curly Bill" Brocius from being lynched after he accidentally killed Tombstone city Marshal Fred White. In contrast, Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan was generally sympathetic to the interests of the rural ranchers and members of the loosely organized outlaw group called the Cochise County Cowboys, or simply the
Long Branch Saloon gunfight each other." Long Branch Saloon gunfight The Long Branch Saloon gunfight, on April 5, 1879, was a gunfight that took place at the famed Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, between Frank Loving and Levi Richardson, both gamblers who frequented the saloon. Frank Loving was a 19-year-old youth at the time of the fight. Although often referred to as being a gunman, that reputation did not develop until after this gunfight. Loving had come to Dodge City from Texas, arriving the year before and settling into the gamblers life of the busy cattle town. He'd married, became friends with