Doc Holiday
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Doc Holliday
Few gunmen in history have been as notorious as the late John “Doc” Holliday. Part of the reason Doc has enjoyed such a famed history is because of the overall descent man he was, that is when he wasnt gambling, drinking, and gun slinging. When Doc died he might have had a handkerchief, a pocket knife, a deck of poker cards, a flask half full of whiskey, and a small essay entitled “My Friend Doc Holliday” by Wyatt Earp.
The most important item Doc would have had on him when he died was a handkerchief. Doc most likely had a handkerchief because of the severe case of tuberculosis he had, which led to his untimely demise. Doc contracted this disease while traveling the west, staying up long hours, drinking, smoking, and gambling most of the time he was awake. This handkerchief would have helped Doc wipe up any blood, and or dead lung tissue he might have coughed up on his last day of life. Doc was not only a very sick man, he was also a very cultured man. Being cultured might have provoked Doc to wear a handkerchief as a fashion accessory, because rumor has it that although Doc was a
mans man, he still liked to look as good as possible no matter where he went. This handkerchief in his eyes may have shown people his intelligent, well educated side. This educated side is a side of Doc that few people know about today. Usually when someone hears the name Doc Holliday, they think about fighting, drinking, and gambling, all of these are true of Doc, but these people had barely scratched the surface. As a young man Doc attended Valdosta institute where he became knowledgeable of the Greek, Latin, and French languages. Amazingly Docs favorite subject was rhetoric, his teachers claimed that Doc had a way with words unsurpassed by anyone in his class. All of these factors may have contributed to Doc having a handkerchief with him on his final day of life.
A second item which might have been found in Doc Hollidays pocket on the day he died is a small pocket knife. Doc might have had a pocket knife first of all because he was a dentist by trade. Being a dentist may seem like it has nothing to do with having a pocket knife, but being a dentist by trade helped Doc develop amazing skills with cutlery. Doc was famous mostly for his gun running, but could rarely be found without a pocket knife. Aside from his amazing ability to carve, came Docs need to have a concealed weapon at all times. Doc was masterful with a gun, but a man in his position needed to be packing more than just a .22, he needed a back up weapon to rely on in case of emergency. Doc, as most westerners, found the most effective backup weapon to be a small knife.
This knife could be kept in his coat pocket, his pant pocket, or in his boot, and was easy to access should Doc come across anyone looking for a fight. Doc was never one to turn down a fight, if someone wanted to play for blood, Doc was gun-ho, he would fight anyone willing to challenge him, no matter how acclaimed the other fighter was, Doc knew he could win. Docs background in dentistry and his ability to fight both contribute greatly to the possibility of Doc having a pocket knife on him when he died.
A third item which might have been found on Doc Holliday when he died is a deck of poker cards. When Doc wasnt fighting, he was gambling, so it was only appropriate that Doc die with a deck of cards on him. After giving up on his work as a dentist, Doc became a professional gambler. This may seem like its an overplay, but when asked what he did, Doc replied “I am a gambler” he made a good living off of gambling for most of
his professional career. Doc would travel from city to city wining out bar after bar, until the city was dry, because Doc had single handedly won all of the money circulating in that town from gambling. The deck of cards could have been Docs special deck of cards, possibly he won every time he used that deck, possibly that was a trick deck, this would explain why Doc might have won every time he used it. The deck of cards might also have been in Docs pocket because it is said that at the time of his death, Doc had just finished playing a game of poker with his only friend Wyatt Earp. This tale is backed up most openly by Hollywood, where movies such as Tombstone show Docs final day as a
day of gambling with Wyatt Earp. This is most likely an accurate description, and Docs day