Based in Tombstone, Arizona, C.S. Fly documented the peace treaty between Apache Chief Geronimo and the U.S. Army in 1886, as well as other iconic moments of the Old West.
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Even if you do n’t accredit his name , you will likely recognize his photographs .
As one of the premier photojournalist of his time , C.S. Fly is in part responsible for preserving the image of the Wild West as we know it today through his iconic photography .
C.S. Fly and his wife Mollie, who was also a photographer, opened a photography studio together in Tombstone. They sold portraits for 35 cents or the equivalent of eight dollars in 2020.
Fly gained admittance to some of the most iconic name of the nineteenth hundred : Apache Chief Geronimo and the bandit behind the gunfight at the O.K. Corral .
Without his studio in the infamous boomtown of Tombstone , Arizona , we would be sorely lacking some dimension to our estimate of the frontier .
C.S. Fly Goes To Tombstone, Arizona
C.S. Fly / Wikimedia CommonsC.S. Fly and his wife Mollie strike to Tombstone , Arizona in 1879 . This is a photo he take of the little westerly Ithiel Town in 1881 .
Camillus Sidney Fly wasbornthe seventh minor of Captain Boon and Mary Percival Fly in Andrew County , Missouri in 1849 . He often went by the nickname " Buck . "
right away after his birth , " Buck ’s " parents pack him and his six siblings up and made the trek to Napa County , California , where Buck Fly would grow up . It was here that he discovered his mania for photography .
After marrying fellow photographer Mary " Mollie " Goodrich in 1879 , Fly made his way to that emblematic townsfolk of the Wild West , Tombstone , Arizona .
In the booming silver - minelaying townsfolk of Tombstone , Mr. and Mrs. Fly localise up their first studio . The couple initially did their business organisation out of a tent , but then start the now - famed " Fly ’s Photography Gallery " on Fremont Street . They also manned a 12 - elbow room boarding house and adopt an orphan young lady name Kitty .
At the studio apartment , people could pay 35 cents for a professional console photograph taken by either Buck or Mollie . This is about eight dollars by today ’s criterion .
The Journal of Arizona HistoryDuring their later separation , Mary " Mollie " Fly stayed in Tombstone and took over Fly ’s Photography Gallery .
It was also here , on Oct. 26 , 1881 , that one of the most renowned shootouts in the Wild West take in blank space . Thegunfight at the O.K. Corral , as it is now recognise , was a fucking face - off between cowboy outlaws Billy Claiborne , Ike and Billy Clanton , and Tom and Frank McLaury , against local lawmen Wyatt Earp andVirgil Earpas well asDoc Holliday .
As shots were fired on Fremont Street , Cochise County Sheriff John Behan took binding inside the picture taking studio apartment where he was presently joined by a terrified and unarmed Ike Clanton . C.S. Fly , on the other manus , was out in the activity , disarm outlaw Billy Clanton with a Henry rifle .
As theTombstone Nuggetlater account , October 26 was " a day always to be remembered as witnessing the bloodiest and virulent street fighting that has ever occurred in this place , or probably in the Territory . "
While Fly did n’t get any photographs of the actual gunplay — which only lasted approximately 30 arcsecond — he did care to capture both the outlaws and the lawmen on film before and after the bloodshed .
Fly Captured Western Historical Greats
C.S. Fly / Library of CongressC.S. Fly took this photograph of Geronimo , Natches , and Geronimo ’s son Perico before their surrender to General Crook .
In March , 1886 , C.S. Fly heard news of an expect resignation fromApache chief Geronimo . The lensman loaded up his camera , glass photographic plates , and camping gear , and set off with his assistant to capture the historic moment .
Geronimo had refused to fill U.S. Army General George Crook on American soil , so the Arizona military air force officer went to northeasterly Sonora , Mexico for the meeting — with Fly in towage .
On March 23 , Fly conform to General Crook at his camping area in Silver Springs where he ask for permission to show the historical meeting . permit granted , Fly and his television camera joined the two opposing radical on March 25 at a internet site in the nearby mint .
The photojournalist is responsible for for capturing the only known images of Native Americans during wartime . And he was n’t shy about it , either .
C.S. Fly / Library of CongressAfter repay to Tombstone , Fly sent these photo to several publication . Harper ’s Weeklyended up publishing six of them .
As the Tuscan mayor , C. M. Strauss who was present at the merging , later said :
" Fly is an splendid creative person and he was not a respecter of person or circumstances , and even in the midst of the most serious audience with the Indians , he would ill-use up to an ship’s officer and say , ' Just put your hat a minuscule more on this side , General . No , Geronimo , your right foot must rest on that stone,‘etc . , so wrapped was he in the artistic issue of his views . "
On March 26 , with history forever changed , Buck Fly once again pack up his gear and set about the 80 knot back to Tombstone .
Later Life In The Studio And In The Law
Back at his studio apartment , he made the print of his photos and get off them off to local publications . Harper ’s Weeklypublished six of them , cause C.S. Fly a home name .
However , while Fly was making history , he was also fall prey to his own alcoholism . His wife Mollie took their kid and separated from him . In 1887 , Fly left Tombstone . In his absence , Mollie continue to scarper Fly ’s Photography Studio and solidify herself as one of the very few female lensman of the clip .
Wikimedia CommonsAfter a fire destruct the studio apartment , Mollie donate the remaining negative to the Smithsonian Institute . The span ’s gallery has since been rebuilt in Tombstone , Arizona , and is now a holidaymaker attractive force .
Between 1887 and 1901 , Buck Fly wreak as a County Sheriff and a rancher . He toured the West with his tv camera . On Oct. 12 , 1901 , the photojournalist passed off and was buried in Tombstone , Arizona .
After his death , Mollie Fly published a collection of her husband ’s photographs call " Scenes in Geronimo ’s Camp : The Apache Outlaw and Murderer , " and also donated her hubby ’s negatives to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington , D.C.
Now that you ’ve get wind C.S. Fly ’s Wild West , check outCalamity Jane , the notorious frontierswoman . Then , read aboutJohnny Ringo , the outlaw who faced off against Wyatt Earp .
C.S. Fly/Wikimedia CommonsC.S. Fly and his wife Mollie moved to Tombstone, Arizona in 1879. This is a photograph he took of the small Western town in 1881.
The Journal of Arizona HistoryDuring their later separation, Mary “Mollie” Fly stayed in Tombstone and took over Fly’s Photography Gallery.
C.S. Fly/Library of CongressC.S. Fly took this photograph of Geronimo, Natches, and Geronimo’s son Perico before their surrender to General Crook.
C.S. Fly/Library of CongressAfter returning to Tombstone, Fly sent these photographs to several publications.Harper’s Weeklyended up publishing six of them.
Wikimedia CommonsAfter a fire destroyed the studio, Mollie donated the remaining negatives to the Smithsonian Institute. The couple’s gallery has since been rebuilt in Tombstone, Arizona, and is now a tourist attraction.
