Though not legally divorced from Louisa he married the widow Robie who began to travel frequently by train. Soon, Vaughan got a reputation for foiling train robbers and the railroad awarded him for his deeds with a lifetime pass.

Expanding his operations into Walla Walla and Spokane Falls, Washington, he had become successful enough to hire out his dirty work.  But as rangelands began to get fenced and railroads sped the posses quicker, cattle rustling was becoming more difficult. Soon, he set up a farm on the Widow Robie’s property halfway between Walla Walla, Washington and Pendleton, Oregon.

When his divorce from Louisa was finally legal in June, 1883, he could publicly acknowledge his relationship with Martha Robie. Though the pair appeared to get along better than Hank had with his two former wives, he still spent a great deal of time gambling and drinking in saloons.

Although the farm was successful, Vaughan wasn’t entirely finished with his rustling. Operating primarily at night, he often used his ex inlaws, the McCarty brothers to act as lookouts. Eventually, the ranchers began to form new vigilante committees, which stopped Vaughan from most of his rustling activities.

In 1886, Vaughan humiliated a man named Bill Falwell by shooting at the man’s feet to make him "dance.” Falwell, not the least bit amused, shot Vaughan in the right arm the following day. Later that same year, Vaughan and his new wife sold the farm for a tidy profit and moved to Centerville, Washington, where he continued to shoot up the town.

On June 2, 1893, Vaughan went to Pendleton to get his horse shod and visited several saloons while he waited. Later, he galloped his horse up and down Main Street whooping and hollering. Suddenly, the horse slipped and fell, crushing Hank beneath it. Suffering from a skull fracture he was taken to the Transfer House, where he lay semi-conscious for the next two weeks. He died on June 15, 1893 and was buried at the Olney Cemetery in Pendleton in an unmarked grave.

February, 2005