Our Travelers Come to Grips with Western, Wrestling Lore

[Page 1] US ON A BUS Our Travelers Come To Grips With Western, Wrestling Lore (Charles G. Griffo, news editor of The Star, embarked on a 6,000-mile trip through the South and Southwest on ( Greyhound bus - - accompanied by four of his children while the other two remained home with Mrs. G. Here is his 10th story.) By CHARLES G. GRIFFO Tombstone, Ariz. - The chance encounter of two midget wrestlers while en 4 ELF! route to this picturesque At a soft drink stop "too-tough-to-die" town and Chuck tugs at my arm. impromptu "grunt and "Look Daddy." says he, groan" lessons formed the "a midget." Chuck's 9 years strange, but true, real-life old. adventure of yours truly and "Daddy, lookee, an elf," his gypsy crew. yells Gregory. Which just goes to show says he, as "Two elves," you that anything can hap- the partner of the first apin this peared. pen "Is that that woman's husreal-gone Old band back in New Orleans?" West. asks Chuck. We were We had seen a dwarf making a 400- newspaper vendor in New mile side trip Orleans. from Phoenix "No," I say, "drink up!" to land of Tombstone, Wyatt The girls, a Martha, 14, and Mary E., 6, had stayed in Earp, the O K Phoenix, having love for no Corrall, the Tombstone and the Earp Bird Cage Griffo legends. Theater, the It then and there that was Lucky Cuss Mine and lo and Greg, the top extrovert, went behold. over and made himself known. THAT MANY miles i is The wrestler was a Cajust a breeze in these wide open spaces. Turn to Page 18, Column 1.

[Page 2] 18- Western, Wrestling Lore Concluded From Page 1 nadian called Major Tom Thumb, who with his partner, also Canadian, had been playing in Phoenix and were en route to Tucson for a bout. might add that Tom took the pummeling of Greg just like a man and then gave instructions in the manly arts. "USE THE HOLDS," he said, "and you'll be able to whip your big brother." It was an unsuccessful lesson as Greg tried them out not 10 minutes later, but was tossed for a fall. The trip to Tombstone was made from Phoenix to Tucson, the latter with its new buildings and its beautiful San Xavier Mission, past Picacho Peak, a mountain with a name like a nut, and through part of Saguaro National Monument. The latter is the huge cactus, the blossom of which is the state flower. The cactus grows to the height of from 40 to 50 feet and lives to an age of from 150 to 200 years. Indians used to save themselves from dying of thirst in the desert by getting water from its base and everything from Indianapolis HAVEN Inc. HOME of For Alcoholism Treatment Highly Trained Staff--Newest Therapy and Treatment-Finest Equipment. FOR FULL PARTICULARS Write, Phone or Come In 840 E. 65th St. CL 3-0770 Eyes Examined-Glasses Fitted New Location HOOSIER OPTICAL CO. candy to linens is made from the pulp of the plant. WE TRIED cactus candy, the kids made a face; they'd rather have bubble gum. End of educational travelogue. Getting back to Tombstone, there had been a $100,- 000 fire a couple of weeks before which seriously damaged three historic buildings in the town. But that was nothing to the fire and disbelief that blazed in the eyes of the boys when an old Arizona friend, a newspaperman, naturally, casually mentioned: "A lot of this Earp stuff is hooey." Continued the newspaper reporter, a cynic if I ever saw one, "Television has created a legend. There are some who say he was a gunslinger just like the rest." "HE FOUGHT bad men," said Chuck. "He killed them bandits dead," said Greg. It was then and there that we let the matter drop. Whether the battle of the O K Corrall, which took place on Oct. 26, 1881, with Wyatt Earp, his brothers Morgan, Virgil and Warren and Doc Holliday on one side and "Old Man" Clanton and sons and the McLowery brothers on the other, was instigated by Wyatt, I'll let the historians decide. WE VISITED Boot Hill Cemetery where the grave marker plainly says "George Johnson, hanged by mistake" and there are 259 graves to attest that this once was the rip-roaringest, wildest mining town of the West. And we're not going to make the mistake of setting off any more historical bickering. We noted one thing, however--that the huge old wooden bar in the Cattlemen's and Miner's Bar, up-.