Harry Tracy

Harry Tracy (1875[1]-1902) was an outlaw in the closing days of the Old West. His real name was Harry Severns. He is said to have run with Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang, and by the time he'd reached adulthood he was actively taking part in acts of robbery and theft. On March 1, 1898 Tracy and 3 accomplices engaged in a gunfight at Brown's Park Colorado in which posseman Valentine S. Hoy was killed.[2] Tracy and an accomplice of the Brown's Creek gunfight were captured but escaped in June 1898 from the Aspen Colorado Jail [3] In late 1901, Tracy was captured, convicted, and incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

In all the criminal lore of the country there is no record equal to that of Harry Tracy for cold-blooded nerve, desperation and thirst for crime. Jesse James, compared with Tracy, is a Sunday school teacher.

Seattle Daily Times, July 3, 1902

With fellow convict David Merrill he escaped on June 9, 1902, shooting and killing corrections officers Thurston Jones Sr.[4], Bailey Tiffany,[5] Frank Ferrell and three civilians in the process. His claim to infamy is the size and scope of the manhunt and the extensive media coverage of same. He evaded capture for a month, mostly taking refuge in the Seattle, Washington area. On June 28, 1902 he killed his partner Merrill {found July 14}. On July 3, 1902, he set up an ambush near Bothell, Washington, where he killed a detective, Charles Raymond,[6] and deputy John Williams[7] during a shootout. Tracy fled, took several hostages in a residence, and engaged other law enforcement officers in a shootout. During that shootout he killed posse members Cornelious Rowley[8] and Enoch Breece.[9] On August 6, 1902, in Creston, Washington, Tracy was cornered and shot in the leg during an ambush by a posse from Lincoln County, resulting in his being badly wounded. Sheriff Gardner arrived and had the field that Tracy had crawled into surrounded. Tracy committed suicide to avoid capture.

References

  1. ^ The last American desperado
  2. ^ [1] {of the 3 accomplices 1 was later lynched and a second one killed a Willie Strang in Sweetwater County Wyoming before being captured); he served 2 years before being tried again and acquitted but was arrested for the killing of Hoy. For Hoy's memorial-see [2]
  3. ^ [3]{erroneously reports two men "Hoy" and "Valentine Day" as killed by Tracy{!} and gives the year after escape for Hoy killing as 1897!
  4. ^ Correctional Officer Thurston Jones Sr., Oregon Department of Corrections
  5. ^ Correctional Officer Bailey T. Tiffany, Oregon Department of Corrections
  6. ^ Detective Charles Raymond, Everett Police Department
  7. ^ Deputy Sheriff John Williams, King County Sheriff's Office
  8. ^ Posseman Cornelius Rowley, King County Sheriff's Office
  9. ^ Police Officer Enoch E. Breece, Seattle Police Department

External links