Buried at Boot Hill

On the outskirts of Tombstone sits a little cemetery.  It is called "Boot Hill."  I wasn't sure who was buried there, but I certainly needed to stop and check.  The admission fee is only $3.  The cemetery was "The Tombstone Cemetery" from 1878 until 1884 when a new cemetery was opened.  With the heyday of Tombstone gone, and many people leaving, the old cemetery fell into ruin.  However, interested citizens of 1940's Tombstone restored the cemetery and set to preserving the history of those know to be buried there.  The most recent grave is that of Glenn Will who lived 1871-1953...perhaps he spent his whole life in Tombstone and had childhood memories of the legends that were formed here in that time.  The only other 1900's grave is that of Emmett Nunnelly in 1946 who spent the last year of his life on restoring of Boot Hill Cemetery, and being buried here was his last request. 

 

I liked the sign on the entrance door to the cemetery

I noticed graves in the 1800's both here and in other places afar tend to offer more description than modern day ones.  For example, George Johnson was hanged "by mistake" in 1882.  How does THAT happen I found myself wondering.  It turns out he bought a horse, which unbeknownst to him was a stolen horse.  And so he was hanged.  Sounds like Tombstone could be a bit of an unforgiving place...as if it wasn't an unjust enough death, the words "he was right he was wrong but we strung him up and now he's gone" seems to be an added insult.  The brochure doesn't say who added that bit, or when.  Poor George.

 

As mentioned in the previous blog on Tombstone, the public wasn't always content to let the courts decide matters.  If they disagreed, they would just shoot the party in question and worry about the consequences later.  Such was the case of John Heath.  It was said he planned a robbery and was the leader of 5 men who had already been hanged for that robbery...a mob decided not to wait out the trial and broke INTO the jail and dragged him to a telegraph pole where he was hanged in advance of his trial.

 

It actually took me a second to catch the pun on this next headstone...not from the complexity of the pun but because I am not used to seeing a headstone joke.  But Lester Moore got 4 slugs from a 44, no les no more.  I actually thought they miss the second 's' in less before I realized this poor man had a joke for an epitaph.  Poor Les was an agent for Wells Fargo who had a dispute with a man over a package...they both died.

The most famous graves in Boot Hill Cemetery are those that were killed at the Shootout by the OK Corral in 1881, Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury.  An adjacent headstone states that they were "murdered in the streets of Tombstone," reflecting public sentiment about the actions of lawman Wyatt Earp and his deputies (plus one Doc Holliday).

 

 

History lacks political correctness, and this stone "Rook, shot by a Chinaman," says a lot of the period.  It is known this took place in front of Naples store, but the date and real name of the man buried here and his killer are lost.  Perhaps many didn't use their real names -- there are graves for Margarita, who was killed by fellow saloon girl Gold Dollar in a fight over a man, and the Kansas Kid who died in a rodeo.  Some graves simply say "two Chinese" or "Dutch Annie (she was Queen of the Red Light District)."  Many people are simply listed as killed...by unnamed Indians or Mexicans.  There were murders, revenge killings, but also suicides, infant deaths to diphtheria, drownings, accidents, and not surprisingly, one lawyer who ironically succumbed to 'overwork.'  A scant few died natural causes late in life.  The stories of the dead at Boot Hill reflect the fast paced wild life of those who survived it.  Definitely worth the stop if you are in the area.