El Buscaderos-Cowboy Action Shooting-Feature

“ Coming before this court…the case of W. Payne, plaintiff versus Wyatt Earp, defendant.”.. All eyes were on the defendant whose reputation had reached the Coeur d’ Alene area gold strikes long before he did. Wichita, Dodge City, Tombstone and the OK Coral not to mention the gunning down of those responsible for killing his brother Morgan.

The judge asked the attorney for the plaintiff to state his case. The attorney said it was a clear case of forceful, illegal seizure of property and put his client on the stand.“ Your honor, on the night of April, 30th, I was about to enter my tent located on my mining claim near Eagle City when two men armed with revolvers approached me. They asked me what I was doing on their land and I replied that they were in fact on my land. However, not being one to argue from the wrong end of a six-shooter, I agreed to move out. I have papers proving the location is my lawful claim, but this man Earp and another have forced me off.”

The attorney for the defense stated it was just a mistake, “ a mere miscalculation of geography……. But after studying the titles of claim, my client saw the mistake and has assured me he has moved off Mr. Payne’s property.”

Earp was ordered to avoid any conflict with Mr. Payne and to stay off his claims. He was also ordered to pay $75.00 dollars to Payne for the trouble. “ Oh, in the future Mr. Earp”, added the judge, “ maybe a better map would be a good thing for you to have.”

This was not the last court battle for Wyatt, an action was brought against him and his associates by A.J. Prichard, the man credited with starting the gold rush. Earp lost that one also. Among lode mining claims that Wyatt did locate were the Grizzly Bear, Dead Scratch, Dividend and Golden Gate. Records also show that Earp and others including brother James paid Florence McCarhty $500 for ten acres of placer ground on Prichard Creek.

In addition to mining, the Earp brothers ran the White Elephant Saloon in Eagle City. Said to be the finest in the district it claimed the best brands of foreign and domestic liquors in the United States. Something happened to a real estate venture on a lot near the Eagle City Bank. On December 26, 1884 Shoshone County Commissioners took title to the improvements on the lot because Earp had failed to pay taxes in the amount of $8.67.

Years later Wyatt was asked if he had felt the urge to go into law enforcement work in the area. Thinking about the violent labor battles in 1892 in the Coeur D’ Alene mines he replied, “ handling drunken cowpokes in Kansas is one thing, but riotous miners with axe handles shoved up their sleeves and toting dynamite is something else.”

Source :The Rainbow Seekers, a KXLY publication by Westcoast Publishers 1974.