The professional world. (Columbia, Mo.) 1901-192?, 1902-08-15
TRACEY WAS A FAMILIAR TYPE;
SAM BASS AND "BILLY THE KID"

ly at the poker table," said Mr.. Gar
rett, "and therefore | knew him well.
He had half a dozen characters, very
much after his own stamp, with whom
he associated. No crime was too des-
perate for them to commit. There was
no conjunction on their part of taking
a life or a dozen lives, for the matter
of fact, If it became necessary.
I'VE had been after the gang pretty
hot and had got them. Billy had MUIR
dered a man on the Indian reservation
while they were stealing horses. He
was to be hanged May rs, 1881. He es-
capped from the Lincoln county Jail just
before the date set, taking the lives of
a United States marshal and a deputy
sheriff in order to accomplish his feat.
THE reached me that Billy
was at Peter Maxwell's ranch and on
July II | went there leaving two of my
men outside. | was we'll acquainted
with Maxwell, who was lying On a bed
in the corner when ! entered. | stod
my Winchester against the wall and
sitting down on the bed commenced
chatting with him. / soon wen to the
matter | had in hand and said | UNI
derstood that Billy had been heard of
arund this vicinity. Maxwell answered
nonchalantly to the effect that he had
not seen him, but his words did not
convey the conviction that he was
speaking the truth.
I'VE had not been chatting more
than fifteen or twenty minutes before
Billy emerged from the woods across
the road and entered the house with
a rush.
He had been across the street to or
der 4 Mexican there to make coffee for
him and had seen my men, whom he
had accosted. They had not answered
him, a fact which had aroused his sus-
picionS. He had darted into the hous
and came upstairs in his stocking feet.
My face was in the shadow when he
entered. He rushed over at me with a
knife in one hand a u in the other.
His gun almost touched mi when he
laid his hand on my thigh and shouted
who are you?"
HE drew back and fired as if he
knew we'll enough who | was, as UNI
doubtedly he did, but my bullet was
the quickest and Billy the Kid rolled
over dead"
Billy the Kid" was from New York
state and was but twenty-five when he
allowed Sheriff Garrett to get the drop
on him, with fatal results. Like most
of his class Billy had many friends
and was regarded by a few as the best
kind of a good fellow.
"A man with nerve behind a gun ia
worth twenty-five who are after him."
added Sheriff Garrett in reply to some
questions about Harry Tracy.
Bret Harte never limned a character
of the desperate type more interesting
than this same Tracy. For several years
now the stories of his thrilling adven-
lures with sheriff's posses, bloodhounds
and the ordinary paraphernalia of the
law have made reading matter of a
character that would move the flaccid
%corpusleS in even a fossils anatomy
and however great his crimes may be
this desperate, uncouth outlaw has in
q brief space of time sprung into the
position of a national hero:
His recent ~escapade, the shooting of
his Jail chum, Merrill, in the back in a
lonely spot in the forest shows how alb
solutely selfish and heartless the Seat
tie terror is at heart.
The splitting of blood has not daunt-
ed and never will daunt Tracy for a
minute, any life that he thought stood
between him and safety being ruthless
ly sacrificed without a second thought.
Tracy is supposed to bear the ban
ner record of all bad men, either past
or present. The authorities of at least
half a dozen states want him for such
crimes as DEMONSTRATING, robbery and
murder. AS a Jail breaker he also takes
system in vogue for combining prisoners
that he is not able to laugh at, expert
ment with and break through.
In the course of his recent expert
ences Harry Tracy has had hundreds
of men and hounds following him at a
time and it almost seems as if he had
sometimes utilized a hypnotic spell in
stead of accomplishing such miracles
as he has done by ordinary a
! BEN STILLWOOD.