Tombstone · Character

Curly Bill

A wholesale cattle rustler of international notoriety who buys drinks for the house and keeps his six-shooter loaded when other cowboys waste lead on the moon.

major

Also known as Curly, Russian Bill

First appearance: Tombstone

As a major figure in Tombstone, Curly Bill is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Curly Bill is an outlaw figure active in the Tombstone area.

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Curly Bill operates on a scale of magnificence along the Mexican border, stealing cattle in such volume that his depredations reach Congress and diplomatic correspondence, while respectable stockmen quietly fatten their herds on his stolen beeves. He is a familiar, free-spending figure in Tombstone's saloons, generous with drinks and deadly serious at the faro table, but his first recorded exploit in town ends with Marshal Fred White shot dead and Curly Bill jailed with a split scalp. That night's manhandling by Wyatt Earp plants a bitterness that will shadow every encounter between the outlaw and the lawman.

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Character Web

47 connections

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Relationship types

Professional
Rivalry
Other

Character groups

Key Tombstone Figures
Protagonist

+42 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 Breakenridge
professional · ambivalent
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working… How this plays out →
Wyatt Earp
rivalry · negative
Wyatt Earp
rivalry · negative
Billy Breakenridge
professional · ambivalent
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working… How this plays out →
Billy Breakenridge
professional · ambivalent
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working… How this plays out →

Billy Breakenridge
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working relationship.
Wyatt Earp
Outlaw leader and mortal enemy of Wyatt, leading the cowboy faction against the Earps.
Wyatt Earp
Outlaw leader and mortal enemy of Wyatt, leading the cowboy faction against the Earps.
Billy Breakenridge
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working relationship.
Billy Breakenridge
Deputy sheriff and outlaw leader who maintained a pragmatic, often corrupt working relationship.

Relationship notes

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In the story

Curly Bill appears across 13 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Tombstone
Curly Bill is an outlaw figure active in the Tombstone area.
I: Hills of Silver
Mentioned as a character who appears later in the narrative; not directly active in this chapter.
II: Red Lights and Altar Candles
Referenced in the context of stage holdups and attacks on smuggler trains.
Curly Bill
Portrayed as the jovial but deadly leader of a large outlaw band, a shrewd businessman who steals cattle on a massive scale and is involved in the accidental killing of Marshal White.
The Affair of Skeleton Canyon
Leader of the outlaw gang; orchestrates and participates in the Skeleton Canyon massacre.
Billy Breakenridge Makes Good
Outlaw chief who befriends Breakenridge, helps collect taxes, and later argues with McLowery over the stolen horse.
VIII: The Old Man with a Beard
Leader of the outlaw band that committed the Skeleton Canyon massacre; his gang included the Clanton boys.
IX: Ringo
Mentioned as Ringo's associate; avoids Tombstone after killing Town Marshal White.
X: Russian Bill's Little Drama
A mysterious, handsome stranger who poses as a notorious outlaw but is revealed to be a cultured, educated man. He enjoys dramatizing himself and participates in a staged murder at the Bird Cage Theatre.
X: Russian Bill's Little Drama
Mentioned as the leader of the outlaw gang with which Leslie associates.
The Out Trail
Outlaw leader killed by Wyatt Earp at Iron Springs; had planned to flee to Chihuahua for a peaceful life.
XVIII: The Honeymoon Cattle Drive
Three of Curly Bill's outlaws trail Slaughter but are thwarted by his mysterious warning.
Patchy
Mentioned in connection with the Skeleton Canyon massacres of Mexican smuggler trains.

Chapter companion notes

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