Doc Holliday :: essays research papers

&9Few gunmen in history have been as notorious as the late John" medico" Holliday. Part of the reason Doc has enjoyed such a famedhistory is because of the overall descent man he was, that is when hewasnt gambling, drinking, and gunslinging. When Doc died he mighthave had a hanky, a discharge knife, a deck of salamander cards, a flaskhalf full of whiskey, and a small essay entitled "My Friend DocHolliday" by Wyatt Earp.&9The most important item Doc would have had on him when he diedwas a handkerchief. Doc most likely had a handkerchief because of thesevere case of tuberculosis he had, which led to his untimely demise. Doc contracted this indisposition while traveling the west, staying up long hours, drinking, smoking, and gambling most of the time he was awake. This handkerchief would have helped Doc wipe up any blood, and ordead lung thread he might have coughed up on his last day of life. Doc was not only a very sick man, he was as well a very cultured man. Be ing cultured might have provoked Doc to wear a handkerchief as a invent accessory, because rumor has it that although Doc was a mans man, he still liked to look as good as possible no matter where he went. This handkerchief in his eyes may have shown people his intelligent, well educated side. This educated side is a side of Doc that few people have it off about today. Usually when someone hears the name Doc Holliday, they think about fighting, drinking, and gambling, all of these are true of Doc, but these people had barely scratched the surface. As a young man Doc attended Valdosta institute where he became knowledgeable of the Greek, Latin, and French languages. Amazingly Docs favorite subjectwas rhetoric, his teachers claimed that Doc had a way with wordsunsurpassed by anyone in his class. All of these factors may havecontributed to Doc having a handkerchief with him on his final day oflife. &9A second item which might have been found in Doc Hollidays pocket on the day he died is a small pocket knife. Doc might have had a pocket knife first of all because he was a dentist by trade. Being adentist may attend like it has nothing to do with having a pocket knife,but being a dentist by trade helped Doc develop amazing skills with cutlery. Doc was famous mostly for his gunrunnig, but could rarely be found without a pocket knife.