As a resident of Seattle, Wyatt possibly had at least one acquaintance from his Tombstone days. George F. Spangenberg was in the cutlery business in Seattle in 1898 and lived there for many years. A George F. Spangenberg owned the gun shop in Tombstone where Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were seen prior to the famous October 26, 1881, street fight near the O.K. Corral. Both the Arizona Spangenberg and the Seattle Spangenberg were born in New York City between 1855 and 1859. Arizona’s Spangenberg is known to have gone to Portland, Ore., in 1891, so it is possible he continued on to Seattle after that. Although Wyatt probably did not know it, he was acquainted with another Seattle resident, Annie Argyle, the wife of gambling club proprietor David Argyle. Annie had lived in Tombstone as the wife of Jack Crabtree, brother of Lotta the famous actress. Wyatt later testified in the Lotta Crabtree will case verifying his acquaintance with Jack and Annie and the birth of their child who was contesting Lotta’s will (see “Pioneers & Settlers” in the June 2007 issue of Wild West). Wyatt would have known Argyle but probably never met his wife. The sporting men generally kept their family life apart from business.

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Prior to the local election in 1900, the Seattle Daily Times was very outspoken against Mayor Thomas D. Humes, who was running for reelection. It was on his watch that gambling was allowed to continue in Seattle, and a March 3, 1900, article in the Times let the public know that the gamblers had contributed $2,000 to Humes’ campaign. George Cotterill, a temperance leader, lost to Humes, but the days of open gambling were numbered, at least temporarily.

Rumors suggested that Humes had gained support and votes by promising his councilmen that he would clean up some of the vice in the tenderloin district. Shortly after the election, one of the councilmen declared that gambling in Seattle must end. In conjunction with that declaration, temperance leader J.L. Meade, with the support of the YMCA, filed complaints against the proprietors of the clubs. On March 23, 1900, the state of Washington filed charges in the Justice Court against the gamblers; among others, “Tom Urquhart and Dave Wyatt, [sic] Earp” were charged with “conducting as proprietor a certain gambling game.” Each gambling house was served separately. Warrants were issued, and Urquhart was served, but no mention is made in the court record of Wyatt being served. Urquhart appeared with his attorney William Parmelee (who represented one of the madams in another vice crackdown). After a couple of continuances, Urquhart, through his attorney, pleaded nolo contendere. Urquhart was fined $75.

All the furnishings were confiscated from the clubs that had been charged, and by order of the Superior Court, all the gaming paraphernalia was to be anted up for a large bonfire. Roulette wheels, green-clothed tables and the attending chairs were put to the torch, and a dark cloud of smoke—cheered by some, but not all residents—rose above the city. Wyatt’s investment in the tools of the trade and furnishings is unknown. By the time the charges were made in March 1900, Wyatt may have already left for San Francisco. In Seattle, officials were enforcing not only the gambling laws but also a law against prizefighting. There wasn’t much left for Wyatt in the Washington city. His livelihood had gone up in smoke, and his favorite sport had gone dark. Seattle couldn’t have been much fun anymore. In late April, the San Francisco Call reported Wyatt was involved in a bar fight in that California city, so it is known he went to San Francisco sometime after he left Seattle and before he returned to Alaska.

The crackdown on vice in Seattle was short lived. Gambling was thriving again by the end of April. Urquhart, Clancy and Argyle had all reopened. Apparently some of the roulette wheels had escaped the pious bonfire and were soon back in operation. As the records show, Considine, Argyle, Urquhart and others were in and out of court. They paid fines and dealt with the nuisance of clubs being closed and gambling paraphernalia confiscated. The lure of money kept them coming back court date after court date.

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