Transcript of OK Corral Gunfight Inquest Is Found in Ariz. Jail
A handwritten transcript of a coroner’s inquest following the most famous gunfight in the history of the Wild West has surfaced in Arizona.
Found by court clerks who were sorting through records in a jail storage room in Bisbee, the nearly 130-year-old record of the OK Corral gunfight in Tombstone that made lawmen Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday household names is now the color of pale ale and as brittle as a potato chip, reports the Associated Press.
“These things aren’t something you can go search for,” says Cochise County Court Clerk Denise Lundin. “You really just have to watch for them.”
The AP reports that it’s unlikely the transcript, which may begin appearing online as soon as next week, will offer any shattering revelations about the gunfight, because historians have already seen photocopies of the document and the inquest was covered in detail by newspapers at the time.
But enthusiasts are curious if the original document will make it easier to see notes written in the margins and provide any insights into the big question: Who fired the first shot?
Last updated April 22 to note that the document may be available online next week.
