"Holliday was a well-educated Southern gentleman. Kate was frontier dance hall woman and sometime prostitute. An unlikely alliance, true, but one that endured, on and off, all Doc's life. But wait a bit: this comparison is made in 1877, when they met.
In truth, Kate was as well-educated as Doc, perhaps better. She came from the upper class in her native Budapest and, in Mexico, it is sure that the Maximilian court was frequently attended by the Harony family. True, Doc had been baptized in Presbyterian Church in Griffin, Georgia, but before his death, he had become a Catholic.
Kate was a Catholic, also. Many credit Sister Melanie as the reason that Doc converted to Catholicism. Perhaps it was Kate and not Melanie who influenced this conversion. After all, he spent much more time with Kate than he did with Melanie and it is obvious that they were closer (he and Kate) in a physical sense.
But back to basics: It was quite true that Kate's nose was "prominent," but her other features were quite attractive. Her more than ample curves were generous and all in the right places. Tough stubborn, fearless, independent, and high tempered, she worked at the business of being a prostitute because she liked it. She belonged to no man or no madam's house, but plied her trade as an individual in the manner and at whatever time she chose.
Holliday had already acquired the reputation of being a cold blooded killer. Many believed that he liked to kill, but that was not the case. He was simply a hot-tempered Southerner who stood aside for no man. Actually, he always expected a quick demise because of the life he led and was visibly disappointed when it did not occur. For a time they wandered about the Great Plains visiting one town after another, sometimes practicing dentistry, but frequently just drinking, fighting (each other), and gambling. Eventually they arrived in the new boomtown, Tombstone."
