In November Earp replaced his father, who had moved the family back to Missouri the previous year, as constable of Lamar Township in Barton County. He married Urilla Sutherland at Lamar in , but his wife died soon thereafter. Widowed at the age of twenty-two, Earp opted for a life of adventure, heading to the Great Plains, where he spent most of the time from to hunting buffalo. During the summer of Earp lived in the Kansas cattle towns, and in April he briefly served as a peace officer in Wichita.
Contrary to the popular image of Earp as a prolific gunfighter, there is no documented case of him being involved in a gunfight before the infamous "showdown" at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Over six feet tall, Earp typically subdued drunks and toughs with firm persuasion or a sharp crack to the back of the head with his revolver, a practice known as "buffaloing. Earp was praised regularly by the local press for his work on the Dodge City police force from to He maintained a close friendship with dentist, gambler, and suspected highwayman John Henry "Doc" Holliday.
On October 26, , growing bad blood between the Earps and members of a group of local hard cases and rustlers, the Clanton-led "cowboy faction," erupted in the legendary confrontation outside Tombstone's OK Corral, leaving Billy Clanton and brothers Frank and Tom McLaury dead. Accounts suggest that Earp fired the fatal shot that killed Frank McLaury. Clanton sympathizers later took revenge on the Earps, wounding Virgil and killing Morgan in separate ambushes.
In turn, Wyatt, who was appointed U. In he arrived in Wichita, Kansas where he joined the police force. In , he moved to Dodge City, Kansas where he became a faro dealer at the famous Long Branch Saloon and assistant marshal of the town.
It was here he met and became lifelong friends with Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday, and established his reputation as a notable lawman and gambler. In he joined his brothers and their wives in the new silver mining town of Tombstone, Arizona. Wyatt planned to establish a stage line here, but upon discovering that there were already two in town, he acquired the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon. His brother Virgil became town marshal, while Morgan took a job with the police department.
It was here that Wyatt met his third wife Josie Josephine Marcus Earp , who remained with him until his death. On October 26, , a feud that had developed between the Earp brothers and a gang led by Ike Clanton culminated in the most celebrated gunfight in western folklore -- the Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Three of the Clanton gang were killed, while Ike and another wounded member escaped. Both Morgan and Virgil were wounded, and Virgil was later terminated as marshal for his role in the homicides. In March, Morgan Earp was gunned down by unknown assassins. Wyatt, along with his brother Warren and some friends, embarked on a vendetta during which all four suspects were eventually killed.
Wyatt joins a posse after some Cowboys local outlaws rob a Tombstone stagecoach and kill its driver. June 2, Wyatt seeks help in this search from Ike Clanton, a rancher with ties to the Cowboys. Ike sets a plan in motion, but gets increasingly paranoid that Wyatt will inform the Cowboys of his betrayal.
October 25, Ike Clanton spends the night in Tombstone, drinking heavily and making threats against the Earp clan. Ike Clanton runs away, and Wyatt emerges from the fight unharmed.
Wyatt and Doc Holliday are arrested and held in prison for 16 days. Wyatt again escapes unharmed, but Morgan is killed. Late April Leaving Tombstone Wyatt and his posse scour the area, but have no further encounters with the local cowboys. They decide to leave the territory, and they camp briefly outside of Trinidad, Colorado. He becomes romantically involved with an old acquaintance, Josephine Marcus. Wyatt occasionally acts as a representative of law enforcement, but does not hold any one position for very long.
Wyatt gets involved in horse racing, gambling, and refereeing boxing matches. Fall Wyatt and Josie join others in a gold rush to Nome, Alaska.
They run a saloon and various gambling ventures during their time there. Wyatt stakes claims in gold and copper mines near the Whipple Mountains. Over the next few years he supports himself by mining, police work, gambling, and real estate deals.
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