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Old West Outlaws - Last Name Begins "T-U"

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Frank Taggart (1861?-1884) - A cowboy who was thought to have originally been from Texas, Taggart made his way to western New Mexico, where he hooked up with several cowboy outlaws including Kit Joy. On November 24, 1883, Taggart, along with Kit Joy, Mitch Lee, and George Washington Cleveland robbed a Southern Pacific Train several miles east of Gage Station, New Mexico, killing railroad engineer  Theophelus C. Webster in the process. He was soon arrested on January 14, 1884 in Apache County, Arizona by Sheriff Harvey Whitehill of Grant County, New Mexico and jailed at Silver City. On March 10, 1884, Taggart, his three train robbing cohorts, and several other prisoners escaped from jail but were quickly pursued by a posse. When the authorities caught up with them, a gun battle erupted, in which George Cleveland and a posseman named Joe Lafferr were killed. Though Mitch Lee was severely wounded, he and Taggart were returned to the jail, but Kit Joy was able to escape. However, shortly after their return, enraged citizens, angered over the death of Joe Lafferr, pronounced them guilty of murder in a hastily put together "court" and lynched the wounded Mitch Lee and Frank Taggart. Kit Joy was apprehended ten days later and soon sentenced to life in prison.

 

Charles Fletcher Taylor (1842?-1912) - Rode with William Quantrill during the Civil War and was involved in a number of battles including the Lawrence, Kansas raid. He started his own command in late June, 1864 and became a Captain of a Missouri Partisan Ranger band. In August, 1864 was wounded and had to have his arm amputated. When the Civil War was over, he briefly joined up with the James-Younger Gang and allegedly participated in the Liberty, Missouri Bank Robbery in 1866. But, Taylor soon went "straight," moved to Joplin, Missouri where he made his fortune in the lead mines. At some point he was elected to the Missouri State Legislature. After his brief stint in politics, he moved on to Nebraska, and then about 1892, to California. He died at the age of 70 and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, San Francisco, California.

 

Harry TracyHarry Tracy, aka: Harry Severns (1874?-1902) - Born in Wisconsin, Tracy's real name was Harry Severns. At a young age, he ran away from home, first landing in Chicago, where he worked in the stockyards. Later, he migrated to Colorado, where he labored in the gold fields before moving on to Billings, Montana, and learning the cowboy trade.

 

However, it appears that Tracy was more interested in making his way more easily -- rustling cattle. After killing a deputy sheriff named Arly Grimes, he fled back to Colorado, where he reportedly killed two more men.

 

 

He soon hooked up with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, again rustling cattle and committing highway robbery. In 1898 after the gang had killed a boy named William Strong during a robbery, the Wild Bunch was aggressively pursued and when a gunfight erupted, posseman, Valentine Hoy, was killed. Tracy and three other men were arrested but Tracy escaped an Aspen, Colorado jail, by nearly killing a guard with a lead pipe. He then made his way to Portland, Oregon, where he hooked up with outlaw, Dave Merrill, and continued his life of crime. Both men were arrested again in February, 1899 and Tracy was sentenced to 20 years in the Salem, Oregon penitentiary. Merrill was also sent up. However, on June 9, 1902, with the help of a female accomplice, Tracy and Merrill escaped the prison, killing three men and wounding another in the process. With the two on the lamb, Tracy felt that Merrill was becoming weak and killed him on June 28th, near Chehalis, Washington. Continuing on his own, he made his way to the Seattle area, where he killed Detective Charles Raymond and a deputy named John Williams during a shootout on July 3rd.

Fleeing once again, the killer was pursued to a ranch southeast of Creston, Washington, where once again, a gunfight occurred on August 6th. In the melee, Tracy killed posse members Cornelious Rowley and Enoch Breece. However, he the cornered outlaw took a shot in the leg.  Surrounded by authorities and unable to escape this time, Tracy committed suicide rather than being taken in again.
 

 

Continued Next Page

“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

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