Harry Tracy (23 October 1875 - 6 August 1902) was an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

in the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Biography

His real name was Harry Severns, Tracy is said to have run with

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West. Parker engaged in crimina ...

and the

Hole in the Wall Gang The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was a gang in the American Wild West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming, where several outlaw gangs had their hideouts. Description The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was not simp ...

, but there is no evidence to this claim. By the time he had reached adulthood, he was actively taking part in acts of

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. On March 1, 1898, Tracy and three accomplices engaged in a gunfight at Brown's Park,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, in which Valentine S. Hoy, a member of the

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

, was killed. Tracy and accomplice David Lant from the Brown's Park gunfight were captured but escaped the

Routt County Routt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,829. The county seat is Steamboat Springs. Routt County comprises the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History P ...

Jail in

Hahns Peak Village Hahns Peak Village is an unincorporated community in Routt County, Colorado, United States. The village is located north of Clark on Routt County Road 129, and east-southeast of Steamboat Lake State Park. The community is named for Hahns Peak ...

. They were recaptured and in June 1898 were sent to the

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

jail. After a couple months both Tracy and Lant escaped again. Lant disappears from history, but Tracy made his way to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. In late 1901, Tracy was captured, convicted, and incarcerated at the

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), sometimes called Oregon State Prison, is a supermax, maximum security prison in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland, Oregon, Portl ...

. With fellow convict David Merrill he escaped on June 9, 1902, shooting and killing corrections officers Thurston Jones Sr., Bailey Tiffany, 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 Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, area. On June 28, 1902, an argument broke out between him and Merrill, which ended in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

. Tracy cheated during their duel and spun around early, and Merrill was killed. His body was found on July 14. On July 3, 1902, he set up an ambush near

Bothell, Washington Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

, where he killed detective Charles Raymond and deputy John Williams during a shootout. Tracy fled, took several

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

s in a residence, and engaged other law enforcement officers in a shootout. During that shootout he killed posse members Cornelious Rowley and Enoch Breece. On August 6, 1902, in Creston, Washington, Tracy was cornered and seriously wounded in the leg during an ambush by a posse from Lincoln County. Sheriff Gardner arrived and had the field that Tracy had crawled into surrounded. Tracy committed suicide to avoid capture. The pistol Tracy used can be found on display at the White River Valley Museum in

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, and is currently rank ...

. Harry Tracy's death mask is on display at the Lincoln County Museum in

Davenport, Washington Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,703 at the 2020 census. As the seat of government for the county and its largest population center, Davenport serves as an import ...

Popular culture

Tracy was portrayed by the actor Steve Brodie in a 1954 episode of the syndicated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, ''

Stories of the Century ''Stories of the Century'' is a 39-episode Western historical fiction television series starring Jim Davis that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between 1954 and 1955. Synopsis Jim Davis, who became famous decades later as the p ...

'', starring and narrated by Jim Davis.

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver B ...

plays Tracy in the 1982 film ''

Harry Tracy, Desperado ''Harry Tracy, Desperado'' is a 1982 Cinema of Canada, Canadian drama film, drama Western film starring Bruce Dern and Helen Shaver. It was directed by William A. Graham (director), William A. Graham, and filmed on-location in Historical Barkervil ...

''.

References

External links

1982 Movie - Filmed in the Quesnel Area
(114 min.) YouTube (Accessed: March 21, 2022)
Creston Celebrates the Capture of Harry Tracy, “The Last Desperado”
''Creston News'', Aug. 8, 1902]
Raine, William MacLeod. ''The Hunting of Harry Tracy: The Most Thrilling Man Hunt of Recent Western History''. Gaslight. (Note: Text only).
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Harry 1875 births 1902 deaths American escapees Escapees from Oregon detention Fugitives Outlaws of the American Old West

Biography

Popular culture

See also

References

External links