Preface

My love of Tombstone and the old West has led me down the Town Too Tough to Die path yet again. So many people are aware of Tombstone’s existence due to one thirty-second gunfight that took place on October 26, 1881. Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and John Doc Holliday would never have even been in Tombstone if it weren’t for two things—silver mines and saloons. Tombstone was teeming with money because of the mining, and the saloons benefited heavily from that wealth. With high-priced fancy cocktails, monte, faro, and poker, saloons were very profitable businesses.

This was no ordinary desert town—it was, as Val Kilmer (portraying Doc Holliday in Tombstone) said, Very cosmopolitan. It’s my continuing love affair with this town that has inspired me to write yet another book about its exciting history.

I hope that you, too, find Tombstone’s past as exciting as I do.

Introduction

While it’s true that the street fight between the Earps and Doc Holliday and the Clantons and McLaurys behind the O.K. Corral often overshadows the history of Tombstone, Arizona, the town itself was prosperous and quite wealthy because of its productive silver mines.

Once rich mineral deposits were discovered in Tombstone, its population swelled and so did its wealth. Tombstone’s boom lasted longer than most mining towns’ did, and Tombstone eventually became family oriented, as residents became confident in their future. Tombstone was a wealthy mining community during the 1880s and was often compared to San Francisco when it came to sophistication. There were fraternal organizations, churches, numerous social events, upscale hotels, and elegant saloons.

This mining boomtown sat atop one of the most productive mining areas in the Southwest. Tombstone’s mines peaked from mid-1879 to late 1883, and during this pinnacle, the mines produced, on average, over five million dollars annually in silver and gold. The larger mining companies paid an average of six hundred thousand dollars in dividends annually.

In addition to the breweries, wine rooms, saloons, and dance houses, there were other types of entertainment available for hardworking men. The sources of entertainment covered the spectrum from sophisticated theater programs to rough and rowdy cockfights, and everything in between. Tombstone boasted a racetrack, bowling alley, skating rink, baseball games, boxing matches, and more, which kept many a resident entertained in the most lively silver mining camp Arizona has ever seen. Tombstone’s number of saloons reflected the town’s boom. When it first hit in mid-1880, there were about twenty-six saloons and breweries. By July of the following year, the number of saloons in Tombstone had doubled. The year 1881 was no doubt the best year for Tombstone’s saloons, and the quantity of them was never higher. By the end of 1882, the count of Tombstone’s drinking houses had fallen back down to about thirty.

Tombstone saloonkeepers entertained their customers with classical music, or tunes played by Tombstone’s brass band, or an Italian string ensemble. Even though these saloons were more or less respectable, Tombstone’s society women did not go into them because no respectable woman dared enter a saloon—it was just not proper. Not to mention that men did not want them there; this was a place where they could seek solace among their brethren. Alcohol and music aside, Tombstone’s saloons drew crowds because of the gambling.

Gambling concessions and cigar stands were nestled in the saloons, and were often run by someone other than the saloon owners. Most had a separate section for gambling, usually in the back. However, the reader should not envision that old Hollywood image of a secluded, smoke-filled room where a bunch of desperadoes were ready to kill one another over a hand of cards. It is true a gambler could get shot over a game of cards, but only if he was caught cheating. The most popular saloon games of the time were faro, monte, and poker, but other saloons offered keno, roulette, and twenty-one.

Tombstone’s glory days lasted until about 1887, even though mining had all but ceased in 1886. Hopeful investors tried to mine Tombstone once more in the 1890s and early 1900s, but their efforts eventually failed.

This book was written to share interesting true tales, reveal Tombstone’s mining and gambling history, and allow readers to drift back into a different locale where wealthy businesspeople and rugged miners rubbed elbows at the bar and gambled side by side. Old newspapers, photographs, reference books, and dusty record books almost seem to come alive to tell their stories. They provide a glimpse of what the past was like and allow us to understand life from a different and exciting time.

Chapter One

Settin’ Up Camp

Tombstone’s Discovery

and Its Silver Mines

After Tombstone’s founder, Ed Schieffelin, discovered silver in Tombstone’s hills, people came by the thousands. The first to set up camp were hopeful miners and prospectors, followed by assayers, businessmen, and eventually their families.

Before all that though, Ed roamed Arizona Territory searching for silver and gold. Fearing Indians, he tagged along with an army scout team who eventually stopped at Fort Huachuca, some twenty miles from the rich Tombstone hills. Ed used Camp Huachuca as his home base while he made several prospecting trips to the Apache-filled hills. Upon his return, his army buddies often told him, You’ll find your tombstone if you don’t stop running through this country all alone as you are, while the Indians are so bad.¹ That statement left an impression on the soon-to-be-very-rich Ed, and he named his first mine Tombstone. Later, the town that blossomed to support the silver mining boom adopted the same name.

1877–78

Ed eventually located some very rich ore samples in those Indian-ridden hills in the summer and fall of 1877. Being out of provisions, and anxious for assayers to see his samples, Ed made his way to Tucson. He tried to show his ore samples to possible investors, but few looked at them, as they had no interest in mining. Those who did look said they were very low grade and not worth much. Ed soon realized Tucson would yield nothing, so he went in search of his brother, Al, who was also in the territory. After a long, hard search, Ed found his brother working at the McCracken mines.² He immediately showed the ore samples to Al. His brother responded like the naysayers in Tucson, saying the ore grade was very low. Since Ed was unable to have an actual assay made on the ore, he was unable to prove his confidence in the rock. With nowhere else to turn, Ed took a job where his brother worked, filling buckets at the mines. Luckily, Ed was working at the mine when Richard Gird, an assayer, paid a visit to the McCracken mines.

Toughnut mining map, 1880s, courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society.

Ed, seeing an opportunity to have an assay made on his rocks, showed Gird the ore. Gird was immediately impressed with Ed’s samples and said the value could range anywhere from forty to two thousand dollars per ton. Gird was so impressed with Ed’s samples that the three men quickly left on February 14 to go back to the hills where Ed had found the ore. They arrived on February 26, 1878, and by March 15, had located the Lucky Cuss mine, and on March 22 the Toughnut mine.³ A couple of prospectors, who had lost their mules, happened upon the Schieffelins and Richard Gird. Gird encouraged them to stay, saying the prospecting was good. After a couple of weeks they were ready to quit because they had discovered nothing, but Gird talked them into staying a little while longer. Lucky for Hank William and Jack Oliver, because shortly thereafter, they discovered one of Tombstone’s best mines—the Grand Central.⁴ One of the men was so happy at their discovery he went to Fort Huachuca to celebrate. He began to tell of his find, which excited quite a few listeners. White Parsons heard this story and traveled to the mining camp. Ed, Al, and Richard Gird sold their Contention mine to Parsons for ten thousand dollars.⁵

Once the Schieffelin party was convinced they had found something significant, they needed financing. As luck would have it, they had already met the man who would help them finance their vision when they passed through Tucson. His name was John S. Vosburg, and he was a business partner and personal friend of Governor Safford. When Ed and his group arrived in Tucson, they had been advised by the governor to see Vosburg. They arrived at Vosburg’s business and upon entering, Gird said, We would like to talk with you privately. The governor has told us to come to you, that you were close mouthed and discreet. Would you mind shutting the door? Vosburg proceeded to shut and lock the door. Gird continued, We are prospectors and have reason to think there may be something worth looking for in the Chiricahua Mountains. We are on our way there but need more supplies. Can you help?⁶ Vosburg took them across the street to Lord & Williams’s mercantile store and supplied them with three hundred dollars worth of goods. They soon departed for Tombstone, and Vosburg did not hear from them for a while. About ten days later, Gird appeared and told Vosburg that they had indeed found something quite promising. They were in need of more supplies and black powder. Gird took back most of the necessary items, but had to wait for the powder, which Vosburg delivered himself.

Vosburg retold this story to Frank C. Lockwood in 1925. An idea occurred to me. I knew nothing about prospecting and the governor not much more. If the trio have found something good and big they will need funds for developing. They know and trust the governor. The governor knows men with money. He then contacted the governor and advised him of his idea. The governor was sold. Since Vosburg had convinced the governor, he in turn convinced the Corbin brothers of the Corbin House Hardware Store in Connecticut to visit Tombstone. After visiting some of the mines, they, too, were convinced of the prospects. Vosburg, on behalf of himself and the governor, made an arrangement with the Schieffelin brothers and Gird to furnish enough money, not exceeding eighty thousand dollars, to build a ten-mill stamp and purchase all the necessary tools to crush the ore. For doing this, Vosburg and the governor retained a one-quarter interest in their mine holdings, including the Lucky Cuss, Toughnut, West Side, and Owl’s Nest. While this was a good deal for Vosburg and the governor, they did not have eighty thousand dollars, so Vosburg made an agreement with the Corbin brothers of Connecticut to supply the eighty thousand dollars. In return for their loan, they received half of Vosburg and the governor’s one-quarter interest in the mines.⁷

Once the flood of sure enough miners and their pack burros hit Tombstone, the mining exploded. Grand Central mine discoverers William and Oliver eventually sold out to the Grand Central Mining Company, which formed its organization on July 5, 1879. The company was incorporated in St. Louis, Missouri, and its president was W. H. H. Witherell. E. B. Gage, L. N. Thomas, and M. L. Gould were also officers with the company. One of their bylaw articles stated: The objects for which said Company is formed are erecting, maintaining, and working stamping mills and furnaces, and all accompanying metallurgical appliances for the purpose of reducing Gold, Silver, Copper, and other metals and minerals, and refining same; for manufacturing such metals and minerals into the various useful and ornamental thereof, which are or may be the subject of commerce; for purchasing, leasing, and selling mines and mineral lands and lodes; for the purchase, lease, possession, and sale of land, or such interest or estate therein as may be necessary or convenient to effectuate any of the objects of said company; for repurchasing and selling metals and minerals and the various products thereof, and carrying on a general mining business, and for such other purposes as may be necessary to effectuate all the objects of said company.

Tombstone’s hills proved Ed’s army buddies wrong, and Tombstone’s mining prospects were touted as the best ever discovered in the territory. Although the hills were promising, getting to them was not an easy task.

In 1878, the train only went as far as Yuma, and from there, fortune seekers rode stagecoaches, came by horseback, or drove wagons to Tucson. People traveling from San Francisco took the train by way of Casa Grande and the stage to Tucson. Those coming from the east would have come through St. Louis, Kansas City, and Las Vegas, New Mexico. The stage journey from Tucson was uphill and took about seventeen hours, but those leaving Tombstone only had to endure a twelve-hour return ride. Stagecoach journeys along this route were often hazardous, especially since the territory was filled with cattle thieves, ruffians, and hostile Apache Indians. The climate was also unpredictable along this seventy-two-mile journey, with the blazing hot sun shining during the day, and cool, windy nights.

Despite the many challenges, people came to Tombstone almost daily. By September 1878, when fortune-seekers first arrived they were dependent on storekeepers Amos W. Stowe and Cadwell & Stanford to keep them supplied with provisions. These stores were located at a small community known as Watervale, which was established to support the mines. Cadwell not only sold provisions at his store, but also carried passengers in a wagon he called Pioneer Tombstone Stage Lines. Technically, this was the first stage to operate in the Tombstone area, having started in the summer of 1878. Watervale was about three miles from the Tombstone mines and quickly proved inconvenient.

Two more towns were born from the mining industry. Richmond was started near the Lucky Cuss mine site, while the other was settled on one of the Toughnut Company’s mines. The first Tombstone was on the site of the West Side mine, about one hundred yards southeast of the 1880 Fire House, in the fall of 1878. This location was on the hill across from present-day Tombstone. The West Side mine site prospered and, by the end of the year, boasted a saloon called Danner & Owens, Ike Clanton’s Star Restaurant, and a post office.

1879

As 1879 was christened, the Tombstone Milling & Mining Company was established. Its officers were Anson P. K. Safford, president; D. C. Field, secretary; and Richard Gird, superintendent. The company’s directors included Anson P. K. Safford, Richard Gird, Philip Corbin, and the Schieffelin brothers.

The Corbin brothers’ involvement meant significant capital for the mining industry. They supplied the funds to build the mill needed for ore crushing, cleared an ore road from the mines to the mill, built a dam, and constructed a mile-and-one-eighth ditch and flume, which carried water to the mills and also provided power to the mill. By early summer, the first stamp dropped on Tombstone’s precious silver ore, mined from the Toughnut. John Vosburg, who was involved from the beginning, recounted the day when the mill was first turned on. He said, Turn on the water. It is a fine bright day. The water springs hurriedly at the wheel, the shafts turn on, the wheels go round, the rock-breaker opens its hungry jaws, some ore is fed to it, and the mill starts on its initial run of two months without stopping once. Gird has built a fine mill, and it runs beautifully, withal making lots of noise, which was lovely music.⁸

During the next five anxious days, Vosburg said the ore was fed into and broken by the rock breaker. It then fell into the batteries and was pounded through a forty screen mesh (forty meshes to the inch). It was then passed into pans and blended with quicksilver to be ground even finer. It was then sent to the settler where the amalgam or mixture became thick enough to be taken out and put in the retort. The retort, with heat, volatized the quicksilver, which was saved, and the residue was turned into bullion. Vosburg said

While boss is melting the bullion and pouring the bar, I wish to say the aforementioned five days seemed to drag slowly by. We awoke frequently at night to listen to the lullaby of the stamps and never grumbled once—and then sleep again with golden dreams. Our most welcome first bar of bullion was tested carefully but hurry-upedlly [sic] and pronounced worth, with silver at 98 cents, $1,864 and some cents. We shook hands all around and sang something appropriate—let us hope.⁹

Before March 1879, many realized the need for yet another site for their camp to grow. The West Side mine site, just under ten acres, was too small. This decision may have also been forced after a windstorm leveled the site in February. On March 5, a town site association was established by Governor Anson P. K. Safford, Judge Thomas J. Bidwell, A. J. Palmer, J. S. Clark, and C. H. Calhoun, who laid out a 320-acre town site, where present-day Tombstone sits. The new camp evolving in the district was officially called Tombstone, after Ed’s old Army buddies’ parting words. Judge Bidwell was originally in charge of the association, but in June, Michael Gray bought C. H. Calhoun’s interest and was put in charge.

Hearing of Tombstone’s rich mines, Surveyor-General John W. Wasson paid a visit to Tombstone’s mining district. Despite his reputation as being a bear in mining matters, Wasson spoke highly of the Tombstone district. He stated, Tombstone mines have never been as highly represented as their actual merits plainly justify, and . . . the owners of leading claims there have been absolutely modest in speaking of them.¹⁰ Wasson also noted miners made more cuts, deepened their tunnels, and removed ore samples to ascertain the value of the mines on a daily basis. While the values were not for public knowledge, many knew the sample values averaged hundreds, and frequently reached thousands, of dollars.

It wasn’t until early summer, however, that buildings began to go up on the new site, according to an old Tombstone pioneer named William N. Miller.¹¹ Miller stated that when he arrived in Tombstone in May, there were no houses on the current Tombstone site. By August though, Tombstone had begun to blossom. Miller recalled Charley Brown’s Hotel as first being made of canvas, ocotillo, and bear grass. He described it as a saloon and boarding house combined, principally to board the miners working at the Toughnut mine. Tombstone’s streets were gradually cleared from the corner of Third and Allen. After supper most nights, some of the miners cleared areas for the streets until four main roads ran into camp. Miller recalled, Brown’s place was started as a boarding place for miners working on the Toughnut and surrounding mines and was a man’s town, known as Stagtown. Families lived in Old Town, Richmond, and Watervale. There were no women in Stagtown through July, except ‘Birds of Passage.’ ¹²

Miners worked both night and day shifts on three of Tombstone’s most advanced mines—the Lucky Cuss, Contention, and Toughnut. The Toughnut, however, was already so well developed that the ore lay in piles, waiting to be crushed at the stamp mill. The Toughnut and the Lucky Cuss also had numerous cuts, tunnels, and shafts ranging from a few feet to 75 feet. The Contention had two shafts, one at 130 feet and the other at 110 feet, a 250-foot tunnel, and some crosscuts at the 110-foot level.

The walls in Tombstone’s mines were made of porphyry and limestone, which necessitated drilling and blasting.¹³ The drilling was done by hand and dynamite was used as the explosive. Few of the mines needed timber supports inside them, and water had not yet surfaced. Ore was hoisted from the mines by using a windlass on all the shafts except for the main one.¹⁴ Once all the ore was hoisted to the main shaft, it was placed in kibbles, where a twenty-horsepower engine raised it to the surface.¹⁵ Once aboveground, the ore was dumped into wheelbarrows. Two tramways with windlasses assisted the transportation of the kibbles on the incline in a shaft. Dumping platforms were located near the windlasses from which the ore was shoveled into the ore wagons for shipment to the mill. It cost $4.15 per ton to haul the ore over good roads to the mill with fifteen tons to a team of sixteen mules. It cost the company eight dollars to mine a ton of ore, $4.15 to haul it, and $6.00 to reduce a ton of ore at the mill, for a total of $18.15 to work a ton of pay ore.¹⁶

The miners at the Tombstone Milling & Mining Company worked in two shifts of ten hours per day. Stearine candles were used for underground illumination. Ventilation was natural in the company’s shafts, because they were connected to the air and main shafts.¹⁷ The miners were paid four dollars per day, laborers earned three dollars per day, and mechanics, carpenters, and bricklayers earned five to seven dollars per day.

Many businesses appeared in tents along the main streets of Tombstone. There were hotels, meat markets, bakeries, saloons, and a