If Sadie Defended Wyatt Earp What Would She Say?

 October 8, 2026

   Given all of the sordid details of Wyatt Earp's crazy life that have come to light, it's still a bit of a mystery how much he still matters to so many of us. After all is said and done, I think Thom Ross, nails the reason.

Busted!

The Crazy Contradictions of Wyatt Earp's Life

   As a lawman he served valiantly and honorably—some would say exceptionally well, but it is his checkered career on the other side of the ledger that almost defies gravity. Horse theft? Check. Claim jumping? Check. Attacking a police officer? Check. Spousal abandonment? Check.  And, believe it or not, it gets worse.

   Marked cards and a fake name? How low can a hero of the American frontier go?

W. W. Stapp, The Swindler, 1911

New sequence by Rob Mathiasch

   If you listed any one of these against any other law enforcement personage it would be a total deal killer, but somehow Wyatt Earp keeps getting a by. Why?

   Perhaps his longtime live-in girlfriend can cast some light on this. Never mind that she has her own sordid baggage, but let's start with the only known photo of the two of them together:

This camp photograph says it all to me.

   Love. Serenity. A calm desert bliss and the love of a dog.

My Take On Sadie

   I believe Sadie would be the first to tell you the Truth is complicated. Yes, she might even have admitted, he did all of those things and a few more—those are just the ones where he got caught! Ha. But, I think she would add that he made her laugh. He loved his dog and his last words probably referred to a running joke they had, "Suppose none of this is what it seems."

   Stubborn? Damn that gorgeous man was hard headed. His biggest weakness was he wasn't afraid of anything—and that got him in trouble all the time. My sister said he "had every talent except the talent to use it." Yes, but he was so brash and so cocksure, and he paid the price for it.

   His greatest strength was his greatest weakness and that space between knowing that and feeling that, that's where the tears live.

   Did I mention he loved that damn dog?

Wyatt with "Earpie"

   So, that's me channeling Sadie and I put together this quasi-what-if-eulogy and sent it to a few of my history friends and I got this very astute reply from someone who knows a thing, or two, about the real Wyatt Earp:

   "Sadie did sort of write her own eulogy for Wyatt. After his death, she said simply, 'He was a man.' At that time, being a man was not simply about genitalia, it was earned by strength, and strength of character. 

   "In the Cason Manuscript, she said: 'Enemies made life hard, but he held no malice. But we had many fine friends who added happiness to our lives. He loved children and flowers and animals. He loved his home; stayed home as much as possible and read a great deal. He had a quiet, friendly attitude.' 

   "In his last few weeks in Los Angeles, he spent most of his time sitting in a chair, with his angora cat Fluffy curled up in his lap. Fluffy usually did not jump up on the bed, but on the final night of Wyatt’s life, Fluffy kept jumping up to be near Wyatt. Sadie had to keep pulling the cat away." 

   "Perhaps what Sadie could do best was to make Wyatt laugh. The Welsh family told a story of how Sadie did something to make Wyatt mad, then they went upstairs together and talked. Before long, the Welshes could hear Sadie’s high-pitched giggles, that sounded like the clinking of champagne glasses, the Wyatt unleaded a deep ho, ho ho. That was a fit of laughter for Wyatt."

—Casey Tefertiller, author of Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind The Legend

"We remember Wyatt Earp not for who he was, but for what he means."

—Thom Ross