Shortly after the O. K. Corral incident, his brother Morgan was killed by outlaws. The incident spurred Earp into action. He had avoided violence up to that point. But he had to avenge his brother's death. His first victim, at a shootout in Tucson, was Frank Stillwell. He also assembled a posse and shot Florentine Cruz and William B. Graham. After that he seemed to have hung up his sheriff's badge forever.
He headed for Colorado where he hung out at Trinidad, where Bat Masterson ran a saloon. He and brother Warren tried their hands in various gold camps of Colorado. In 1884 they tried the silver strikes in the Idaho Panhandle, but they had no luck. From there the brothers split and Earp headed back to Texas. He was only there a short while, when he moved to San Diego, where he set up a thoroughbred ranch.
In July 1888 his wife Mattie died. In 1896 he married Josephine Sarah Marcus. The two spent the next several years wandering among the gold and silver boom towns of the West. They also speculated in oil and mining properties and actually did quite well for themselves.
In 1927, he recounted his memoirs to writer Stuart N. Lake, who wrote Wyatt Earp's biography. It was close to the end of Earp's life, for he died on January 13, 1929. Josephine lived until 1944. He was cremated and buried at Colma, California.
