November 27, 3035
Happy Thanksgiving from Uno and his wrecking crew. I don't know why, but the boy loves to hear scary stories.
"And did they ever refind
the self-filling doggie bowl?"
The Wandering Scholarship Behind The Death of Johnny Ringo
A couple decades ago, it seemed as if the John Ringo death case was closed with most historians buying the verdict that the enigmatic outlaw had given up and offed himself in the bough of a Blackjack Oak tree. This is how I portrayed it in my three books on the subject (Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Classic Gunfights II: the 25 Gunfights Behind The O.K. Corral). Now, a couple historians and a historian who is a part-time gardener have weighed in with a different take and turned in a mixed verdict. Let's take a new look at a very old case. For starters, it wasn't a Blackjack Oak Ringo was found in. Or, so asserts historian, musician and plant afficianado, Greg Scott, who claims, "Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica) don’t naturally grow in Arizona. It was the very common Emory Oak (Quercus emoryi). Emorys are often called blackjack but technically aren’t."
One Earp Historian Makes A Bold Claim
"Although the monsoon rains had cooled the countryside, Johnny Ringo’s whisky was still too hot for Billy Breakenridge as they exchanged greetings at South Pass. After a weeklong Tombstone spree, Johnny rode on the heavily traveled road to Galeyville. He stopped near a ranch house on Turkey Creek. There he was found under an oak tree on the river bench. A bullet had gone through his head from lower right to upper left and part of his scalp was gone as if cut by a knife. His feet were wrapped in his still clean, torn undershirt. His cartridge belt was on upside down and his pistol clasped in his hand caught in his suspenders. His boots were found later hung from the saddle of his horse.
Daily Whip Out:
"John Ringo Found Sitting In The Bough of A Quercus Emoryi"
(note the teamster's dog sniffing at the dead body)
"The neighbors gathered quickly and, less than interested in a trip toTombstone, composed an untrained 'coroner’s jury' ruling death a suicide. Ringo, still drunk or hungover, after a long, hot ride sought the first water for himself and his horse. Not wanting to ruin his boots, he hung them from the saddle, and he and his mount waded into Turkey Creek to refresh themselves. Something startled the horse, bear, mountain lion, or man, which bolted. Johnny climbed the steep bank, stripped off his undershirt, and redressed himself, getting the cartridge belt on upside down, wrapping his feet in torn undershirt to protect them during the search for his pony. As he sat binding his feet, a man approached from the creek below. Ringo reached for his pistol and was shot dead.
"Billy 'the Kid' Claiborne claimed Buckskin Frank Leslie had slain his friend. The rancher’s son said he’d spoken to Frank who was following Johnny. Raconteur bartender Buckskin Frank had little claim to being a scout and taking Johnny’s scalp might have enhanced his image while, on consideration, he’d have feared retribution from Ringo’s friends and been loathe to display it."
—Doug Hocking, author of "Southwest Train Robbers"
Meanwhile, One Earp expert Stands Firm
"The coroner's jury ruled that John Ringo's death was a suicide. Many people refused to believe that the King of the Cowboys had taken his own life. However, various yarns that claimed, variously, that he had been slain by Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday, had no basis in fact. Contemporary newspaper and court records show that Wyatt and Doc were both in Colorado when Ringo died. Deputy Sheriff Billy Breakenridge later provided the most probable account of his demise, saying that Ringo 'had been overcome with the whiskey he had drunk and had got off his horse, taken off his boots and hung them over his saddle, and lain down and gone to sleep. His horse became thirsty and got away from him and started for water.' The deputy added, 'When Ringo awoke, he must have been crazed for water and started out afoot. He was within sound of running water when he became crazed with thirst and killed himself.'"
—John Boessenecker, author of "Ride The Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against The West's Biggest Outlaw Gang"
So, where do you weigh in? I am curious if you buy the coroner's jury that it was a suicide? Or, do you believe someone, perhaps Buckskin Frank Leslie, got him? And please, only one joke about Doc getting him because you saw it in the movie "Tombstone." Okay, two, but that's it. I have to draw the line somewhere. Thank you.
Hutton has claimed that any artist who portrays the Kid with buck-teeth is portraying Bonney as a villain.
And, so, I asked the Distinguished Professor to elaborate on this wild claim:
"The orthodontic issue is most prevalent in comic books where bad Billys always appear as buck-toothed and doltish (they go together--Bugs Bunny aside). Otherwise Billy looks like a cross between Robert Taylor and Paul Newman."
—Paul Andrew Hutton
