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
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral came to each other's aid. Virgil Earp thought that some of the Cowboys had met at Charleston, Arizona, and taken "an oath over blood drawn from the arm of Johnny Ringo, the leader, that they would kill us." Among the lawmen involved in the O.K. Corral shooting, only Virgil had any real experience in combat, and he had far more experience than any of his brothers as a sheriff, constable, and marshal. The Earps' work as lawmen was not welcomed by the Cowboys, who viewed the Earps as badge-toting tyrants who ruthlessly enforced the business interests of the town. In