Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-07-17
SURROUNDED IN A
SWAMP BY POSSE
Washington Man Hunters Con-
fident They Have Tracy
Cornered.
EXTRAORDINARY CHASE
For Five Weeks Remarkable Man Hunt
Has Been in Prosress-Thousands
Have Taken Part and Half
Dozen Have Been Killed.


Seattle, July 16--Outlaw Tracy eN-
changed shots with deputies near Pal
ner Monday. according to the follow
ing message from Eumenclaw, received
at Il O'Clock today:
Word has been received here that
Tracy fought Il battle with two depu-
ties at Palmer school house last night.
No particulars or names are known.
Trail Lost in Swamp.
Elnenolaw Wash. July 1.-THE man
hunters are once again hot on the trail
of Tracy. AT $50 Monday night blood
hounds We're placed on his trail and at
ter following it three quarters of a mile
lost it in the dense swamp that borders
the road leading from here to Buckley.
The wires were kept hot for two hours
with messages to surrounding towns.
1t is believed Tracy will either be killed
or captured today. He was seen at
five yesterday a mile and half east
of E,uinenclaw.
Tracy's pursuers are confident he
cannot elude them much longer. From
trustworthy accounts he is apparently
near the end of his string. When seen
last he was limping and is believed to
have been wounded in his recent fight
with deputies. He was apparently
greatly exhausted by the tremendous
exeltions forced upon him by his UNI
relentng pursuers. 1t is not consid-
cred likely that he will surrender when
cnrnered, and as he is still armed a
bloody fight is expected before he is
taken or killed.
An Extraordinary Chase.
Harry Tracy, the Oregon outlaw and
escaped criminal, since he broke out
of the penitcntiary at Salem has in
uuguratcd a reign of terror that has no
parallel in western history. Living in
absolute defiance of the law, murder
ing, stealing, invading homes, playing
the role of highwayman, and evading
the hundreds of heavily armed men
bent upon his capture, this notorious
desparado has for five weeks led the
determined officers of Washington and
Oregon IL chase across country, UP and
down stream, and over the Jagged
mountains OF the Pacific slope.
The present Wild escapade of Tracy
began on June 8, when he, in company
with David Merrill, escaped from the
Oregon peniteniiary. after killing three
guards woundinS Il fourth, and shat
terins the leg nj n fellow prisoner, who
died later from the effects of an OPP
SfaIlOn. fjOtIll tOilNitlS SttuIetl
from some person on the outside and
were being marched Ia work when they
made the break for liberty. After get
ting clear of the walls of the prison the
prisoners took Il wounded guard named
Tiffany and used him for u snield until
they reached timber, where they de-
liberately murdered him.
Tracy was arrested i'm Portland in
1883 after an exciting pistol battle,
la. t,,r
tive and With his revolver at the head
of the engineer ordered him to go al.ad
at fun speed. The conductor stopped
the train, however, and. seeing his plan
frustrated. Tracy jumped rom the en-
CINE ard started To run. He WAS Shot
behind the car however, and WAS cap
tuled. 4 month afterwaid while being
taken from Jail to the courtroom, he
eS, hanged several shots with the jail
a long pe.iitcntiary sentence. This
opened the way for the thrilling chap
tiers that have entered into his life dur
ing the last few Gays.
Death for a Coward"
AS an Illustration OF the desperate
end b!oodthirsty character of the no.
toiiuus outlaw his disposition of his
fellow convict Merrill stands out con-
spicuously. Tracy murdered Merrill
because he wsis q coward, and in this
decd he showed tine only bit of under
handedness he has exhibited since his
thrilling escape from prison. Tracy
described the tragic incident in these
words TO one of the men he forced to
accompany him after his eventful ride
on the stolen launch:
II made up my mind that / would
shake Merrill and so it alone because
he Was a coward. When | tainted him
about his cowardice he got huffy and
we agreed to fight Il duel.
I'VE agreed to start together from a
line and walk ten steps each, in OPP
positc directions from each other, and
then simultaneously and begin
firing. From his haggling in arrang-
ing the terms l was convinced that he
was intending to turn before he had
taken the ten steps and l was detcr-
mined not To let him get the drop on
me like that. So wren | had taken
eight steps l turned around and took q
shot at him. l hit him in the back. The
first shot did not finish him and l shot
again That finished him. l then con-
ce;lled the body in the brush and pro-
cecded on my way.
Merrill only got what he deserved
He intended to turn and shoot me in
the back, then he would have s,leaked
out of the country through the big
timber ana WOuiu NOT nave Dcen neait
of for months. | would not only have
been dead. but would never have been
found, because he would have been
afraid to tell where my body was"
Routed Shcri!f's Posse.
Thus rid of the coward, who had
fought his way to liberty with the now
widely notorious outlaw, Tracy set out
on his own hook, ANA succeeding
events prove that the unfortunate Mer-
rill was as good as dead when he
agreed to fight the duel with his
blcodthi.sty comrade. For Tracy's
aim is as true as steel. This is shown
by the manner in which he routed q
sheriffs posse in a hard fought battle
near 8othcl and left two dead and foul
wounded men behind him as he leaped
across Il barbed wire fence and escaped
the two or three stray bullets that
We're sent crashing after him.
This fatal encounter followed one OF
the most daring moves Tracy
made. Single handed he held up six
men at South Bay, near Olympia. ani
forced four of them, including Captain
Clark of large gasoline launch. to
embark with him on Puget sound, ant
ri.