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A version of events that could have happened, along with a number of other variations, this one is fictional.

1.

As the old man settled in his rocking chair, a large bourbon close to hand, he liked a large one after dinner while he took in the evening air, I looked at him, a man in his seventies, a big man still who worked his land every day. “God rested on the seventh day “ he would say, “but He couldn’t have had as much to do as me” always followed by a wry grin and a chuckle.

I had known Jo all my life as my folks lived just along the road from him, funny though, I don’t know why but I had always called him Old man, he said to me one day “Old mans fine, its just a name son”

 He was a kindly gentle Old man who had taken a shine to me, and me to him. I always used to help him in the evenings, school holidays and at the weekends with his chickens and do odd jobs for him. Much like what I had been doing today, I had stayed for dinner and helped him do the dishes before we went out onto the porch.

“I weren’t too much younger than you are now, just a few years” he started.  “No more than eight years old when I saw it all ” He looked deep into the golden liquid that filled the glass in his now clasped hands.  Followed by a deep sigh and a large slug on his drink he started to reminisce, it was like he was talking to himself remembering the past, for himself and not for my benefit.

“Yep, eight years old and I ain’t never told no one the truth to this day! Listen son”, he said, “cause what I am gonna tell you is what I saw that day, and this is the one and only time you or anybody else is gonna hear it from me.”

“I’m seventy two years of age and have kept this to myself for the last sixty four years.”  He drained his glass and said. “Get me another drink will you son.  I think I am gonna need it.”

I went back into the house and poured him another large bourbon and anxiously took it back outside to where the old man was sitting looking up at the now golden sky, peaceful like. He shook his head gently and said. “Well sit yourself down son, its time I got it off my chest”

“Me and little Johnny Dolan used to play a lot of games around the town back then always getting into some sort of mischief or another, nothing mean or bad though just kids stuff you know.  Yeah I was a little older than Johnny; I was eight and a quarter when he turned eight.  I always was the boss cause of that quarter.” He laughed followed by a huge smile; it was though he could see his young friend there in front of him. 

“Well that day we was playing hide and seek, we had the run of the town and let me tell you tell you when you have a whole town there are plenty of places to hide.”  “Well I run down the street to hide and first off I hid behind a barrel on the board walk outside the photographers shop. But as Johnny got closer I thought, he’d sure find me here so I climbed, real slow, backwards off the board walk and crawled real quite and real gentle under the board walk. And so’s he couldn’t see me I pulled a loose board in front of me and lay there laughing to my self thinking I aint comin’ out till he finds me”

“I weren’t there long when  what seemed a load of cowboys came into the lot next to me cussin and a shouting, I couldn’t hear what they was sayin’ but most of them cowhands cussed a lot back then” He took a drink and looked down at the ground, looking almost sorry.

“Well” he started “I wished I could have got out then but cos they were shoutin’ and cussin’ and so mad  I thought it best to stay put till they had gone. I mean I was eight and a quarter, I was scared!”

He looked me in the eye as if looking for forgiveness and being scared, but before I could say a word he continued. “ It seemed like an age I was stuck under that boardwalk and they weren’t leaving.   I thought about climbing out and running but just as I was building up enough courage to do that the Sheriff arrived and started talking to the guys. I wished I heard what he said but he had his back to me. One thing I know for sure is that they were talking serious nobody was a smiling when the sheriff left and walked up the street.”  

 “Wait a minute” I said…….. “your talking about the” …………..and before I could get the words out  he looked at me though he was looking right through me, like he didn’t see me but only saw what he remembered from that day.  “The OK Corral, yeah that’s what they call it son, its what people know it by,  I can only remember it as I saw it” he dropped his head and shook it gently from side to side as he whispered “Such a waste of life, so unnecessary”

He raised his head took a long drink from his glass and looked at me through those now tired looking old blue eyes of his and said “Gun fight at the OK Corral, yeah that’s what they call it. But let me tell you something son, glamorous as it’s been made to sound now, it ain’t no fun watching grown men die no matter how old you are, and I was just a kid………………………just a kid”

His eyes had changed again the fear had gone the melancholy look from a second previous had gone; there was now anger behind them old eyes. Anger as to why he had to witness what he saw as just a child.

“But we all know what happened” I said. “No ya don’t” he snapped.      “You only know what they want you to know, what’s be written about it but it ain’t all true son. Yeah there were witnesses that came forward and the Earp’s and Clanton’s all testified but what I saw was cold blooded murder”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He leant back and gently rocked in that old chair of his and took another gulp from his now half empty glass and looked me right in the eye. A cold piercing stare that made me feel quite uncomfortable.

“What do I mean, yeah, what do I mean?” he murmured.

“Well let me tell you what I mean son, as I lay there under that board walk looking at those boys in the corral, cause that’s all they were ….boys.  In walked four guys, I could see who they were at first, all I could see was their boots, so I had to move back slowly and move the loose board in front of me. Just enough though, so’s I could see who was there. “

“The Earp’s and Doc Holliday?” I put in.

“Yeah,…………………………………..the Earp’s and Holliday” he said real slowly in a voice that was full of hatred and anger. “They were there for one reason and one reason only, to kill them boys!”

“What ?” I said. ”That cant be right, it was not murder and nobody knows for sure who fired first! I mean Virgil didn’t even want the fight!”

He looked at me nodding slowly then leaned forward till that old chair creaked under his weight and said in almost a whisper. “You’re wrong son; Virgil did try and stop it but when you had Doc and Wyatt intent on wiping out what they saw as vermin it would have took some stopping! Virgil was a big man, but not big enough to stop them!”

“Hang on” I said. “Are you telling me that you believe that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday went there to murder the cowboy, that’s real hard to believe!” I said.

“Hard to believe or not son that’s what happened! Those two had murder on their mind and they was gonna deliver it.  As I said Virgil couldn’t stop them and Morgan was just a kid to following his brothers.”

I was shocked at what I was being told, I had known this man all my life and he was as honest a man as I had ever met.  I don’t believe he had told a lie in his life and he seemed so sincere in what he was telling me.  But……………………….?

 “There was lots a shouting going on all muddled  cos they were all shouting who said what I just don’t know” he continued “But I do recall Virgil raising his arms an shouting “Its not what I want!” but it was to late.” He looked sad as he looked out to the open sky with a tear in his eye he bit his lip, looked back at me took a deep breath and said. “Doc looked at Wyatt smiled and nodded and with that they pulled their guns up and started firing, those boys didn’t stand a chance!” 

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