A case of a shootout that never happened.
The legend says that Morgan Earp and Billy Brooks (photo) got into a shootout in Butte, Montana in 1873. The dispute was over a lawman job; Billy wanted it, Morgan got it, and Brooks was incensed. According to the stories, the two got into a confrontation. Billy was gut-shot and died soon after—while Morgan was wounded in the shoulder. But there are no contemporary reports on such a gunfight. In fact, Brooks was lynched in Kansas in July 1874.
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