> before that it only showed up in one other historical writing (in which is is clear what Huckleberry is interpreted as) that does not predate his Tombstone wo

> before that it only showed up in one other historical writing (in which is is clear what Huckleberry is interpreted as) that does not predate his Tombstone work by much (about 30 years IIRC) This simply isn't true. It was a common phrase and is widely attested in texts from Holliday's lifetime. You originally said: > due to Tombstone most people think it is: "Im your huckleberry" when in fact the correct term is "I'll be your huckle bearer" I'm not arguing that "huckle bearer" wasn't also a common phrase. It's just not the "correct term" here. There's no basis for the idea that "huckleberry" was either a misquote or a corruption of "huckle bearer". Both the immediate textual context of the novel and the broader historical evidence for the phrase clearly establish otherwise.