Joyce,

Before I can respond, I need to ask a couple of questions.

First, why do you believe Billy Clanton was still sitting on his horse? I would have expected he would have dismounted, but that is an assumption. I cannot imagine that he would remain in the saddle while conversing with his oddball brother.

Second, do you have a picture of the Allen Street entrance to the OK Corral? Or a good description? I have never found anything great, but I know there were several small businesses tucked inside, including a tack shop and Mattie Webb’s “restaurant.” I would guess there was some sort of fencing or railing along the street, but I do not know that for a fact. Ike would have been inside the fence spouting off when Sills walked past.

And, of course, Ike would not have held his tongue when strangers walked past. He had spent the morning going saloon to saloon to tell anyone who would listen that he was after the Earps and Holliday. Why would he have become circumspect at this point?

One other point: memory is strange. People remember what they remember. The oddest testimony in the hearing is from Behan when he says that he saw the first shots being fired by a nickel-plated pistol, but he did not notice who fired it. You might check Steve Lubet’s Sensory Perception article in the Anthology. I just went out and talked to one of my neighbors, and, as I write this, I could not tell you what she was wearing. That is just how the mind works.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.