From Dentist to Fugitive
In my previous post I started telling you the tale of John Henry “Doc” Holliday. I know it’s been a while (and I apologize for that), but let’s pick the story up where we left it.
The Education and Consumption of John Henry H
Not long after the incidents in Lowndes County, John Henry Holliday packed up his belongings and made his way east to study dentistry at the College of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After 2 years of learning the ins and outs of drilling, filing, and otherwise tampering with folks’ teeth, John Henry was finally eligible for the moniker by which he would come to be known, and headed back to Georgia, where he started his first dental practice.
Sadly, though, Holliday’s return to Georgia didn’t last very long, as shortly after he set up shop, the coughing fits from which he’d been suffering became severe enough to prompt him to seek medical advice. “Doc” Holliday was diagnosed with consumption (known today as tuberculosis), and was advised to move to drier climates.
Delinquent Dentist with Derringer
Heeding the doctor’s advice (well, at least the part about heading west: the doctor probably also recommended a calm, stress-free and alcohol-free lifestyle. That part, he didn’t so much heed as blatantly ignore), Holliday headed west, and settled down in Dallas, Texas, where he continued to ply his trade. However, business was less than booming. To put it in more exact terms, Holliday found that he made next to no money from his trade, and gradually started frequenting gambling halls and salons, in an effort to supplement his meager income.
In the Old West, gambling halls weren’t the most savory of places, and a wise man didn’t enter them without having at least some capacity to protect himself and his money. Holliday was nobody’s fool, and quickly developed skill with six-gun and derringer alike, and his skill with a knife was nothing to sneeze at, either.
It’s said that at some point Holliday put aside his dentist’s kit, and began to frequent the gambling halls in a more regular fashion, even going so far as becoming a full-time faro dealer. But the natures of both such establishments, and Holliday himself, cut his time in Dallas short when, sometime between 1874 and 1875, Holliday killed one of his fellow men. As I said, Holliday was no fool, and as the killing could hardly be considered self-defense, he high-tailed it out of Dallas, heading west at full steam, rather than stay around to face charges for his deed.
That’s it for today, boys and girls. Join us next time to hear more of Holliday’s exploits in Western towns big and small, in another chapter in the life of this dentist-turned-gambler.
Kraz
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