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Wyatt EarpGOLD CLUB
Where or when the Blonger Bros. met Wyatt Earp we don't know — as fellow Dodge City gamblers in the late Seventies, probably, in the town's prime — but it appears the Earp posse sought rest in Marshal Sam Blonger's New Albuquerque after the killing spree that followed the Tombstone gunfight. The idea might have been Wyatt's, or that of Holliday, who was a Blonger competitor in Leadville, as was Bat Masterson, or Jim Masterson, Charlie Ronan, or others. As lawmen in Tombstone, it's likely the Earps and Holliday were aware of Sam's position in Albuquerque. The bustling railroad town was quiet enough under Sam's watch. Fair game for con men, we are told, and given to the occasional gunshot or pummeling, but thankfully free of killings. It was a good place for the posse to catch its breath while the legal standing of Earp and the others was sorted out in the halls of power — all the way up to the White House. In the several days they were in town, neither town newspaper mentioned the posse's presence, as requested, and they did not in fact mention the Earps again until later (incorrect) reports of Earp's death — at which time it was remarked what good guests the "desperadoes" had been. It was in Albuquerque that Wyatt and Doc Holliday parted company, perhaps for the last time. A carbon copy of a letter found a few years ago describes their final exchange — and mentions how the men were "watched over" by Sam and Sheriff Perfecto Armijo. The letter, referred to as the Otero letter, may never be proved authentic, and if real, the recollections of an older Miguel Otero, Jr., former governor of New Mexico, may have been faulty. Yet the connection remains intriguing. Wyatt, who may have been seeing Josie Marcus, a jewess, at the time, is said to have been furious with Holliday for calling him a "Jew boy". Curiously, shortly after their arrival Marshal Sam traveled to Denver with ore samples, leaving the town — and the posse's welfare — in Lou's hands as acting marshal. More yet about Wyatt Earp |
