The Ten-Percent Ring was a title given by the newspaper editors of ''

The Tombstone Epitaph ''The Tombstone Epitaph'' is a Tombstone, Arizona, monthly publication that covers the history and culture of the Old West. Founded in January 1880 (with its first issue published on Saturday May 1, 1880), it is the oldest continually published ...

'' in 1881 to

Johnny Behan John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposit ...

and his friends for stealing about ten percent of the local

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town gr ...

taxes in the 1880s. Milt Joyce (1847–1889), owner of the Oriental Saloon and chairman of Cochise County, Arizona supervisors, was also seen as a leader of the Ten Percent Ring. The ''Tombstone Epitaph'' was started by

John Clum John Philip Clum (September 1, 1851 – May 2, 1932) was an Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. He implemented a limited form of self-government on the reservation that was so successful that o ...

in 1880. The newspaper outlined the corruption charges of Johnny Behan the Cochise County

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. When Johnny Behan was the Cochise County sheriff one of his duties was collecting prostitution, gambling, liquor, and theater taxes. As part of his pay, he received 10% of all proceeds collected. There was much talk in the town about the

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption * Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant t ...

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...

of the sheriff. For this many saw Behan as the head of the Ten Percent Ring and a friend of the outlaw

Cochise County Cowboys The Cochise County Cowboys is the modern name for a loosely associated group of outlaws living in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona in the late 19th century. The term "''cowboy''", as opposed to "'' cowhand''," had only begun to come into wider ...

. Others accused of membership in the ring was Artemus Fay (?–1906), owner of the Tombstone's first newspaper, the Tombstone ''Weekly Nugget'' (1879 to 1882) and Harry Wood (1848–1896) a writer for the ''Weekly Nugget'' and an under-sheriff of Behan. Along with stealing tax funds, the Ten Percent Ring helped in election fraud and helping the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys. Behan so focused on taxes, that he was very soft on crime. Soon after Behan became sheriff,

Virgil Earp Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gu ...

was appointed Tombstone city marshal and had his brothers

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...

and

Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and Marshal, lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil Earp, Virgil and Wy ...

become special deputy policemen. Behan and the Earps were at conflict as Behan supported the outlaw Clanton and McLaury families. After the

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...

and the murder of Morgan Earp, Behan did nothing to find the killers of Morgan Earp. Rather than look for Morgan's killers, Behan put out warrants for U.S. marshal Virgil Earp and Wyatt for killing outlaws. On January 31, 1882, Behan was arrested for collecting bills totaling $300 twice, arraigned in front of Justice Stilwell, and discharged due to a technicality. Behan failed to win re-election as sheriff in November of 1882; he would not serve as a peace officer again. Later, he was appointed as the warden of the

Yuma Territorial Prison The Yuma Territorial Prison is a former prison located in Yuma, Arizona, United States. Opened on July 1, 1876, and shut down on September 15, 1909. It is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places ...

and had various other government jobs until his death in 1912. Milt Joyce departed Tombstone in 1883. On October 10, 1880 Joyce and Doc Holliday had a shoot-out at the Oriental. Joyce died in 1889 at the age of 42 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where he was the owner of the Baldwin Billiard Parlor in 1883 and later the Cafe Royal in San Francisco. Harry M. Woods, a Pennsylvania Infantry Union Veteran, moved to from Tombstone to

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales combined statistical area, with a total population ...

where he was a tax collector until his death in 1896. After Artemus Fay departed the ''Weekly Nugget'', which burned in the great fire of 1882 and did not re-open, he worked at the Nugget Mine in Dos Cabezas and start a short-lived paper there, the ''GoNote''. After the death of his wife, Fay moved to Flagstaff and started a newspaper there.

Popular culture

The Ten Percent Ring is a key figure in the much-fictionized TV series ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before '' Gunsmoke'' on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western ''Cheyenne''. The series is loosely ...

''(1955 - 1961), starring

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–1 ...

in the starring role. Steve Brodie played Behan in nine episodes of the series. Douglas Fowley played Doc Holliday.

References

{{Cochise County Conflict History of Cochise County, Arizona Arizona folklore Crime in Arizona Territory Conflicts in 1881 Cochise County conflict Outlaws of the American Old West Gangs in Arizona

Popular culture

See also

References