Ike Clanton - Clanton Rustling and Ranching

Clanton Rustling and Ranching

The Clanton Ranch grew into a successful enterprise. During his testimony after the shootout at the O.K. Corral, Ike Clanton claimed to have raised and purchased about 700 head of cattle during the past year, and the Clanton ranch was one of the most profitable cattle ranches in that part of the country. However, the Clantons never registered a brand in either Cochise County or Pima County which was required to legally raise cattle. The Clantons were reputed to be among a group of outlaw Cowboys who crossed the border into Mexico where they stole cattle and re-sold them to the hungry miners in Cochise County. Curly Bill Brocius, Tom and Frank McLaury bought and sold stolen cattle to Old Man Clanton, among others. The Mexican government at the time placed high tariffs on goods transported across the border, making smuggling a profitable enterprise.

The outlaw Cowboys in Cochise County were not organized, and their acts of violence, rustling or robbery were usually committed by independent groups of Cowboys. Old Man Clanton, Ike's father, ran a ranch near the Mexican border that served as a waystation for much of the smuggling carried out by the outlaws.

On August 12, 1881, Old Man Clanton and six other men were herding stolen cattle sold to him by Curly Bill through Gualadupe Canyon near the Mexican border. Around dawn, they were ambushed by Mexicans dispatched by Commandant Felipe Neri in what became known as the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre. Old Man Clanton and five other men were killed in the ambush.