WESTERN OUTLAW-LAWMAN HISTORY ASSOCIATION JOURNAL (WOLA) FALL 2006 REVIEW

 Aussie Peter Brand has hit a homerun with his first book which details the mysterious life of Perry Mallon.  Mallon, most famous for his 1882 “arrest” of Doc Holliday following the Earp party’s “Vendetta” ride and their escape into Colorado, has a long record of nefarious activity both before and after the events in Denver that have made him infamous in outlaw and lawman history.

Brand has developed a fine reputation as a researcher and writer, his articles on various members of the Earp party opening doors to much previously unknown material.  What he has accomplished from virtually the “other side of the world” is amazing.  Now he has moved from the friends of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp to their enemies – though Mallon was an unknown enemy prior to his appearance in Denver.

Mallon was either the craftiest of conmen, or the stupidest.  Crafty, because across the west, in virtual obscurity, he plied his trade in bilking innocent young girls, unwary investors, and anyone without the savvy or business acumen to know when they were being taken.  Stupid, because once he stepped into the world of frontier law enforcement, he stumbled all over himself.  What is most puzzling is why Doc Holliday became his target.  Was he the tool of Arizona interests bent on seeing Holliday apprehended for the murder of Frank Stilwell and returned to Pima County, or was he astute enough to reason that he could finally have a national reputation if he was credited with Holliday’s capture.

Brand and his assistants, Smith and Lewis, have given Earp/Holliday/Tombstone fans a most readable, interesting, even intriguing new piece of the ever-expanding saga of Doc Holliday.  Kudos to the Brand team!

Written by Roy B. Young, Editor