# John Ringo — Tombstone character guide

> John Ringo in Tombstone by Walter Noble Burns.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Ringo, IX Ringo

**First appearance:** 0002-tombstone

## Snapshot

A sombre, hard-drinking outlaw with a haunted past, whose brooding presence on Allen Street marks him as the Earps' most enigmatic enemy.

## Who they are

Ringo is the outlaw who drinks hard, unlike other bad men who take their liquor sparingly to keep their trigger fingers steady, a figure of dark reputation among the Clanton and McLowery crowd that salutes the Earps pleasantly while plotting against them. His death in a canyon, a single empty chamber and a body found in the forks of an oak, becomes one of Tombstone's enduring mysteries, with rumours pointing at Frank Leslie and evidence pointing at suicide. Whether killer or self-slain, Ringo embodies the haunted, self-destructive edge of the frontier's outlaw culture that the Earps must confront.

## Relationships

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_rivalry_

Intellectual outlaw and leader of the cowboy faction, locked in a deadly chess match with Wyatt.

### [Buckskin Frank Leslie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/buckskin_frank_leslie)

_social_

Fellow saloon denizens and occasional allies in Tombstone's criminal underworld.

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_rivalry_

Intellectual outlaw and leader of the cowboy faction, locked in a deadly chess match with Wyatt.

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_rivalry_

Intellectual outlaw and leader of the cowboy faction, locked in a deadly chess match with Wyatt.

## In the story

### [Tombstone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/tombstone)

John Ringo is a notable outlaw in the Tombstone region.

### [Curly Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/v-curly-bill)

Present as a convivial spirit in the poker game with Curly Bill, but noted as a follower rather than the brains of the outfit.

### [The Affair of Skeleton Canyon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/vi-the-affair-of-skeleton-canyon)

Listed among the participants; later wins stolen silver at poker at Roofless Dobe ranch.

### [IX: Ringo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/ix-ringo)

Portrayed as a Hamlet-like outlaw, introspective, tragic, and chivalrous; challenges Wyatt Earp to a duel and later robs a poker game.

### [X: Russian Bill's Little Drama](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/x-russian-bill-s-little-drama)

Mentioned as one of the outlaws with whom Buckskin Frank Leslie is on intimate terms.

### [John Ringo Cashes In](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xvi-john-ringo-cashes-in)

Drinks heavily for ten days, rides to his death, found with a bullet wound to the head, possibly suicide or murder.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/john_ringo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters