Page 63 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

INTRODUCING ARIZ ONA  61

Cowboy fashion began to appear in
advertisements in around 1900. The ever
popular Levi Strauss denim clothing can be
bought across the region (see p264).

Guided trail rides are a great way to explore
the Wild West and are part of the package of
activities available at dude ranches (see p235).
These ranches offer visitors the opportunity to
experience the contemporary cowboy lifestyle.
Horses were vividly depicted in Remington’s
dramatic action scenes. They were painted with
astonishing realism, revealing a profound
knowledge of their behavior and physique.

The Gunfight at the OK Corral
One of the most famous tales of the Wild
West is the Gunfight at the OK Corral, in
Tombstone, Arizona (see p96). This struggle
pitted two clans against each other, the
Clantons and the Earps. The usual, often
disputed, version features the Clantons as
no-good outlaws and the Earps as the
forces of law and order. In 1881 Virgil Earp
was the town marshal, and his brothers
Morgan and Wyatt were temporary
deputies. The showdown on October
26 had the Earps and their ally Doc
Holliday on one side and Billy Clanton and
the McLaury brothers, Tom and Frank, on
the other. Of the seven combatants, only
Wyatt Earp emerged untouched by a
bullet. Billy, Tom, and Frank were all killed.
Southwestern Cowboys Wyatt Earp moved to Los Angeles, where
he died in 1929.
New York-born artist Frederic Sackrider
Remington (1861–1909) became well known
for his epic portraits of cowboys, horses, soldiers,
and Native Americans in the late 19th century.
One such example of his work is the oil painting
Aiding a Comrade (1890), which celebrates the
bravery and loyalty of the cowboy, at a time
when they and small-scale ranchers were being
superceded by powerful mining companies and
ranching corporations. Remington lamented the
passing of these heroes: “Cowboys! There are no
cowboys anymore!” Scene from the 1957 film, Gunfight at the OK Corral, with
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas

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