The Los Angles Daily Herald reported on the assassination attempt on Virgil Earp, a key figure in the law enforcement of the Old West, occurred on December 28, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. This event was part of the larger conflict known as the Earp-Cowboy feud, which culminated in the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Background
Virgil Earp, along with his brothers Wyatt and Morgan, was heavily involved in law enforcement in Tombstone. The town, at the time, was a hotbed of tension between the Earps and the Cowboys, a loosely organized group of outlaws and rustlers. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881, where Virgil played a leading role as Tombstone’s town marshal, escalated these tensions. In this shootout, three Cowboys—Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton—were killed, while Virgil and his brothers emerged relatively unscathed. This event intensified the animosity between the Earps and their enemies.
The following is the newspaper account printed in the Los Angeles Daily Herald on December 30, 1882
Lawlessness at Tombstone Condition of Marshal Earp
Tombstone, Dec. 29th. The condition of United States Deputy Virgil Earp is Critical. The surgeons this afternoon took out the fractured bone in the arm above the elbow. The shot that penetrated the back above the left hip, passed through the body and lodged near the point of the hip, above the groin. The Doctor says that there are four chances in five that he will die. The local authorities are doing nothing to capture the assassins as far as it known. A telegram has been sent to the United States Marshall Dake, at Prescott, of the state of affairs here. Judge Spicer, Marshall Williams, Wyatt Earp, Rickabough and others are in momentary danger of assassination.
This morning a crank named Reilly started down Allen Street with a Winchester rifle in his hands, which caused great excitement. The officers arrested him without damage. The same man tried to jump down the Fiora Morrison shaft a week ago, but was prevented by men in the mine. His condition is said to be the effect of hard drink.