Tombstone Rose Festival

Today was a busy day for us in Tombstone.  After enjoying a pancake breakfast (or dining in the RV), we donned hard hats and went down into the Good Enough Mine.  This was the discovery by Ed Schieffelin that began the town.  He and his partner, Richard Gird, laid claim to many of the 3000 mines, twenty-five of which were successful.

Our guide Mongo explained the history and process of this first silver mine.  Mongo demonstrated the technique used to drive the drill into the granite to set the dynamite to break the rocks that held the silver.

He showed us how to use both a one- and two-handed hammer.  The first weighs four pounds and the second, a two man process, weighs eight.  Miners drilled with these for ten hours a day for the high pay of $4 a day.

A mucker would then load the broken rock and ore onto a hand cart where it was then hoisted to the surface, broken into gravel, and ground into powder.  It was hauled to Charleston by a 20-mule team.  There water and mercury were added to produce an amalgam which was melted.  The separated silver was made into 180-pound bricks, too heavy for anyone to steal.  In the 1880s they mined $25,000 worth of ore per month.  A few years later, Schieffelin sold his share for $500,000.

The mines flooded and pumps were used to remove the water.  The pumps burned in the early 1900s, the price of silver dropped and the water table returned to its normal level.  These all led to the end of silver mining in Tombstone.  The last mine closed in the late 1990s.

Donning our hard hats, we went down to big hole and followed the tunnels used by the miners.  Mongo showed us food cans, fuse cord, drills and carbide lamps that were found in the main section of the mine when it was cleaned of debris and opened for tours.  He then pointed out where the silver ore was in the wall of the mine.

The Rose Festival Parade.  

 Participants included the Queen,

local clubs, high school ROTCs, dancing groups, the Nogales Mariachi Band, representatives of both political parties 

 

 

Willie and Keeper

T. Miller Tombstone Hotel

and Viper Cars.

 We wandered town admiring the local residents and fellow caravaners

 including this man and the “shady lady” he married 53 years ago.

 Birdcage Theater

The theater was active 1881-1889 as a gambling hall, saloon, theater, and house of negotiated affections, with $25 the going rate.  The theater was rebuilt in 1934 and much of the furnishings are original.

Among the performers were Lotta Crabtree, Lillie Langtry, Enrico Carusso and Eddie Foy.  The upstairs rooms were used by high rollers and their “ladies.” 

 Wyatt Earp met his future wife Josephine Sarah Marcus while she worked at the Birdcage.  Fatima performed here and the painting of her became rather controversial and a target for patrons who disapproved of her.

 Black Mariah, a hearse frequently used in Tombstone, stands in a corner.

 A True Story of the Gunfight at OK Corral

We gathered behind the stage of the theater to listen to Joyce Aros explain the history of the Gunfight at the O K Corral of Oct. 26, 1881. 

 Back then and now there are people who stand on opposing sides of this story.  Even the two local newspapers each had a preference for either the Earp/Hollidays or the Clanton/McLaurys.  The Epitaph was Democratic and sided with the Earps while the Times was Republican and more supportive of the business interests and sided with the Clantons.  Today local historians also take sides but seem to lean more in favor of the Clantons.

Joyce explained, from records and documents she has researched, that the beginning of the troubles started with a stage coach robbery in which Doc Holliday was a suspect.  Members of the McLaury family may have been witnesses to the robbery.  The Earps and Holliday feared that Holliday would be arrested.  During the course of two days, Billy Clanton and two McLaurys were killed and two members of the Earp family were badly wounded.   

Hollywood glamorized the Earps and made them heroes in a stereotypical wild west town.  Joyce explained that the town was quite prosperous and more Victorian than Wild West.  The emphasis was on growing businesses not rowdiness.  Though it did have a red light district, the women were monitored and licensed.  Restaurants were known for fine dining.  The elegant saloons had crystal chandeliers, imported carpets and drapes, and mixologists.  Gambling was a major activity.  The bars were open twenty-four hours a day because the mines operated all day with two ten-hour shifts for each crew. 

Thirsty, we stopped at Brews and Balls but were faced with a local temperance protest.

Our dinner at Café Margarita was excellent as attested by the margaritas consumed and contented sighs before empty plates of fajitas, burritos, tacos, and chile rellenos.