"Oh, make no mistake about it. It's not revenge he's after...it's a Reckoning."
As the Doomtown: Reloaded setting moves forward to Tombstone, today Pine Box Entertainment previewed "The Oriental Saloon," our first deed reflecting this new setting. The following is an excerpt from Stone And A Hard Place, detailing the background of the Earps in Tombstone in 1881.
By various accounts, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp has been a teamster, rail warrior, buffalo hunter, and stage driver. Some have accused him of less-savory occupations, such as armed robbery and running a brothel. But despite hearsay and tall tales of his early yearsâ indiscretions, most agree that Wyatt Earp finally took a cotton to the law in 1875. Thatâs when he joined the noble âBatâ Masterson in Dodge City, and helped him bring the wild town to heel. By late 1879, Wyatt was ready to move on. He made plans to rendezvous with his brothers in Tombstone, where they would carve a peaceful and prosperous new life from a dry, saguaro-studded wilderness. In Tombstone, Wyattâalong with his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and their wivesâset about buying up stakes in local businesses. In short order, Wyatt Earp had a half-stake in the Oriental Saloon and ran its faro table. Morgan Earp worked security, eventually settling in as shotgun man on the Wells Fargo stage from Tucson to Tombstone. Eldest brother Virgil Earp made his own wise investments, but unlike Wyatt he could not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness that so plagued the boomtownâs residents. And that lawlessness, more often than not, was represented by the Cowboy Gang.
Tensions neared the boiling point in October 1880, when notorious Cowboy âCurlyâ Bill Brocius gunned down Marshal Fred White in the street. A lawfully appointed jury of Judge Wells Spicerâs court deemed the shooting accidental for lack of evidence. But the event opened a door, and Virgil Earp stepped throughâbecoming town marshal and implementing the âno gunsâ statute that remains in force today. All visitors must check their lethal weapons at a saloon or livery, or risk a $25 fine and jail. Soon Wyatt and Morgan joined their brother as duly appointed deputies. In the year since theyâve taken the oath, the Earps have restored a modicum of order to Tombstoneâs streets. As we all know, Wyatt Earp even hunted down the âAccordion Fiendâ who disrupted so many citizensâ slumber with his cacophonous wailing! However, Bayou Vermilionâs recent hiring of the Cowboy Gang as freelance rail warriors has given the outlaws even more license for mayhem, and another excuse for the companyâs employees to ignore their rampages.
At the time of this writing, tensions between the Cowboys and Earps are at an all-time high, and County Sheriff John Behan seems unable or unwilling to exert his influence in the matter.
