Complex sentence: In 1879 he was in the Gunnison district of Colorado before traveling to Tombstone at the request of his friend Lou Rickabaugh, also a friend of the Earps.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1879 he was in Gunnison district of Colorado before traveling to Tombstone at the request of his friend Lou Rickabaugh. Rickabaugh was also a friend of the Earps.