His name was O.C. “Harelip Charlie” Smith, and he may be the least known member of Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Ride. But the Connecticut native—nicknamed because of a cleft palate—had a remarkable career of his own.
Smith was the only Vendetta Rider to return to Tombstone, where he served as a lawman for many years. He helped track the perpetrators of the Bisbee Massacre and went after train robbers in 1887. One reason that he might be forgotten: there are no known photos of Charlie Smith.
In March of 1882, Wyatt Earp and a hand-picked posse, including Doc Holliday, scoured the…
Dan Tipton was a friend of Wyatt Earp and a member of the Vendetta Ride…
Most folks know that the violence in Tombstone, Arizona, didn’t end with the Gunfight behind…
Mark Boardman is the features editor for True West Magazine as well as the editor of The Tombstone Epitaph. He also serves as pastor for Poplar Grove United Methodist Church in Indiana.
