Sort of OT Wyatt Earp on the Richardson - Loving Gunfight

[Doc Hudson]

From Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, Chapter #17 Dodge Goes Humdrum

"Levi Richardson," Wyatt said, "had been a buffalo hunter, and was one of the best shots with rifle or pistol on the range. He had a touchy disposition that often got him into trouble, but he had the courage to back it, so was regarded as a dangerous fellow. With his plain, unvarnished style of shooting, Levi had killed several badmen in gunfights, but then he took up gun-fanning. I have seen him on the outskirts of Dodge practicing his new tricks by the hour and on a number of occasions before his fight with Loving I saw him show off his new methods in target matches. There were few men around Dodge who could beat Levi at the targets.

"Frank Loving was not more than twenty years old. He had a forty-five and was a fair shot, but until the Richardson affair he had never fired at a man in his life. The extent of his courage can be judged by what happened when Levi returned to the Long Branch.

"Loving was well back in the room, and partly concealed bya the stove from a clear path to the door. Levi was no assassin and he yelled a warning to Frank that he was going to kill him. Loving took his gun from the drawer of the layout and stood up, waiting.

"'Go to shooting! Go to shooting!' Richardson yelled.

"'It's your turn' Frank told him.

"With that Levi cut loose, fanning his gun and firing so fast you couldn't count the shots. Not one of his slugs hit a fair mark, his last one scratched Loving's hand. While Levi was pumping lead at him, young loving raised his gun as cool as you please and fired three shots. Every one hit Richardson in a vital spot, and Levi was as good as dead when he hit the floor. Crack shot and courageous man that he was, Levi Richardson had tried to hurry. Frank Loving had taken his time when the split-second of deliberation took a nerve that was far beyond mere physical courage.

"I've speculated a good deal about that Richardson-Loving scrape, wondering how a man of Levi's skill with a pistol could have missed a man's body with five shots at a distance of twenty feet. Hurry is the only satisfactory answer."

Moral of the story, "Take your time, and take it quickly."

[RSY]

There it is,

[gundownunder]

Its a proven fact that a hit beats a miss, any day.

[kimwcook]

I can only pray that I'd have that type of patience and courage of heart during a gunfight.

[KT-45]

Doc -
I'm reminded of the Willie Nelson quote from "Barbarosa":

"Always stand still until you're done shooting. Nothin' scares a man more than for you to be standin' still when you should be runnin' like a spotted-assed ape."

- KT

[FWiedner]

Much like the older tradition of pistols at 20 paces, the ultimate victor was the man who stood his ground and took fire, come what may.

[Modoc ED]

Its a proven fact that a hit beats a miss, any day.

Unless of course, your shot goes astray and hits the tailgate of your new truck -- but that's a story for another day.

[Doc Hudson]

Its a proven fact that a hit beats a miss, any day.

Unless of course, your shot goes astray and hits the tailgate of your new truck -- but that's a story for another day.

I'd like to think that I'd have the nerve to stand fire like Frank Loving and calmly put three holes in my attacker. Especially since I'm too fat to hide and too slow to run. Standing my ground would be about my only option.

[RSY]

Was Frank related to Oliver???

[RSY]

Although the moral of the story remains the same, I found somewhat differing accounts of this scrape online. One stated that they were chasing each other around the stove and were so close that Richardson's coat was on fire from Loving's shots.

http://www.skyways.org/orgs/fordco/myers2.html

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-long ... fight.html

Scott

[Doc Hudson]

Was Frank related to Oliver???

I've no idea. However, Oliver Loving was the person Larry McMurtry based Gus MacRae in his Lonsome Dove novels.

[Doc Hudson]

Although the moral of the story remains the same, I found somewhat differing accounts of this scrape online. One stated that they were chasing each other around the stove and were so close that Richardson's coat was on fire from Loving's shots.

http://www.skyways.org/orgs/fordco/myers2.html

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-long ... fight.html

Scott

You can find websites that describe Ike Clanton as a brave, honest and trustworthy business man, and Billy Clanton and Billy Claiborne as harmless and misunderstod youngsters looking for fun as well. Unless I come across some well documented evidence, I will believe Lake's recounting of Wyatt Earp's version of the fight.

Lake offers enough corroborating evidence given by men still alive at the time of his publication, I will take him at his word in most instances. Sure he makes Wyatt Earp out to be some sort of monumental tower of rectitude, courage, honesty, and firearms superiority. After all you don't do a hatchet job on someone who has spent a great deal of time telling his life story. He quoted lots of newspaper accounts of Earp's adventures, and he quoted lots of people who became well known in later years, including noted jurist, politicians, and newspapermen, as well as old friends. The hatchet jobs come a generation later. On the whole, I'd say that Lake probably did a pretty good job of telling Wyatt Earp's story, and if Wyatt stretched things a bit, that is only natural. After all, how many extra tines and additional range for the shot has that last big trophy buck grown since you shot him?

Doc

[Griff]

Many accounts differ from Wyatt's of the events... or from Stuart Lake's retelling of Wyatt's accounts of events in his life. More recent, allegedly more careful researchers have found less than the truth in Lake's telling.