Tombstone · Chapter
III: Glad Hand and Trigger Finger explained
This chapter introduces Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday as the central figures of Tombstone's drama, detailing their characters, friendship, and contrasting styles.
What happens
This chapter introduces Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday as the central figures of Tombstone's drama, detailing their characters, friendship, and contrasting styles. It also covers the arrival of the Earp brothers, Wyatt's service as a shotgun messenger, and the escalating feud with Sheriff Johnny Behan, symbolized by the contrast between Behan's 'glad hand' and Earp's 'trigger finger.'
Themes in this chapter
Character and Reputation
The chapter contrasts the personal qualities of Wyatt Earp (cold, calm, genuine) and Doc Holliday (deadly, loyal, cynical), and explores how their reputations shape their roles in Tombstone.
Violence and Death
Violence is a constant undercurrent, from Doc Holliday's deadly skills to the feud with Behan, and the threat of lynching and stage robberies.
Law and Lawlessness
The tension between legal authority (Sheriff Behan) and extra-legal power (the Earps) is central, with Behan's political maneuvering versus Earp's direct action.
Characters to notice
- Wyatt Earp
Described as cold, balanced, imperturbably calm, and a natural master of turbulent conditions; the leader of the Earp brothers.
- Doc Holliday
Portrayed as the coldest-blooded killer in Tombstone, a consumptive with a deadly reputation, and Wyatt Earp's loyal friend.
- Virgil Earp
Town marshal of Tombstone, a Union Army veteran with a soldier's stern sense of duty.
- Morgan Earp
More headstrong and impetuous than his brothers, but equally courageous.
- John Behan
Sheriff of Tombstone, depicted as friendly and political, in contrast to Wyatt Earp's grimness; the feud between them is central.
- Buckskin Frank Leslie
Mentioned as the only man in Tombstone credited with being Doc Holliday's equal in quickness and accuracy with a six-shooter.
- Big Nose Kate
Recounted in a story where she helps Doc Holliday escape a lynch mob by bringing him his guns and fleeing to Dodge City.
Key passages
“He was cold, balanced, and imperturbably calm. If whirlwinds slumbered deep in the soul of him, no hint of emotion showed in his face, which had the cold stillness of sculptured stone.”
Wyatt Earp was emotionally unreadable, with a face as still as stone, hiding any inner turmoil.
Describes Wyatt Earp's stoic demeanor.
“He was reconciled to tuberculosis, he said, because it had left him so thin that it took mighty good shooting to hit him.”
Doc Holliday joked that his tuberculosis made him a smaller target for bullets.
Illustrates Doc's dark humor and fatalism.
“Johnny Behan was friendly, Wyatt Earp was grim; Johnny Behan smiled, Wyatt Earp shot from the hip; Johnny Behan was the personification of the glad hand, Wyatt Earp the personification of the trigger finger.”
Behan used charm and politics, while Earp relied on direct, forceful action.
Summarizes the central contrast between the two men.