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 Harwood house. In testimony given by witnesses afterward, they disagreed about the precise location of the men before, during and after the gunfight. The coroner's inquest and the Spicer hearing produced a sketch showing the Cowboys standing, from left to right facing Fremont Street, with Billy Clanton and then Frank McLaury near the Harwood house and Tom McLaury and Ike Clanton roughly in the middle of the lot. Opposite them and initially only about away, Virgil Earp was on the left end of the Earp party, standing a few feet inside the vacant lot and nearest Ike Clanton. Behind him