Tombstone · Character

Buckskin Frank Leslie

A tall, melancholy gambler-bartender whose quiet drinking hides a murderous edge, he drifts through Tombstone's saloons as one of its most dangerous men.

supporting

Also known as Leslie, Frank Leslie

First appearance: tombstone

As a supporting figure in Tombstone, Buckskin Frank Leslie is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Mentioned as the only man in Tombstone credited with being Doc Holliday's equal in quickness and accuracy with a six-shooter.

In the storyIII: Glad Hand and Trigger FingerOpen this moment free

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Leslie pours drinks in a white apron at the Oriental and joins Ringo and Claibourne on a ten-day spree that winds through Antelope Springs and the Widow Patterson's place. Liquor, which he takes in great quantities, brings the devil in him close to the surface, and his drunken mood turns murderous. When he rides out alone after Ringo, showing no signs of intoxication, the question of what he intends gives the desert chase its chill.

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Character Web

46 connections

A slice of how Buckskin Frank Leslie sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Key Tombstone Figures
Extended Cast of Characters
Protagonist

+41 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because it marks the psychological peak where the Earps and Doc Holliday confront…

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Relationships

Billy Claibourne
professional · ambivalent
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's… How this plays out →
John Ringo
social · ambivalent
Billy Claibourne
professional · ambivalent
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's… How this plays out →
Billy Claibourne
professional · ambivalent
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's… How this plays out →

Billy Claibourne
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's underworld.
John Ringo
Fellow saloon denizens and occasional allies in Tombstone's criminal underworld.
Billy Claibourne
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's underworld.
Billy Claibourne
Cowboy and saloon keeper with a tense, transactional relationship in Tombstone's underworld.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

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In the story

Buckskin Frank Leslie appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

III: Glad Hand and Trigger Finger
Mentioned as the only man in Tombstone credited with being Doc Holliday's equal in quickness and accuracy with a six-shooter.
X: Russian Bill's Little Drama
A dangerous gunslinger and artist who marries the Widow Galeen and creates bullet portraits on his parlor walls. He also has a confrontation with Nigger Jim over a mining claim.
Flashes of Storm
Veteran army scout who was part of the posse and agreed with the Earps on the direction of the robbers' trail.
John Ringo Cashes In
Accompanies Ringo on the spree, later kills Billy Claibourne and Diamond Annie, serves prison time, dies a pauper.
XVIII: The Honeymoon Cattle Drive
Mentioned in comparison to Bill Gallagher, both having killed thirteen men without bad luck.
Sunshine and Peace
Mentioned as having tended bar in the old Oriental; his former wife gave a deposition in the Crabtree case.

Chapter companion notes

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See Buckskin Frank Leslie in tombstone

See Buckskin Frank Leslie in III: Glad Hand and Trigger Finger