Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-12
ALBA CLAIMS TRACY
1t is Said He Performed Stunt
There While Boy.
EXPERT At UNDOING HANDCUFFS
Dispatch From That CITY Asserts Des-
psrate Criminal Received His In.
structions in the Art There-Claims
He Was Once in Fl. Madison.

Abba seems to be making quite an
effort to claim the honor of having pro-
duced Harry Tracy, the noted outlaw,
who came to timely end in Washing
lngton when surrounded by posse, by
shooting himself. Not, however, until
ne had terrorized the natives of the
racine coast from Northern California
TO the Canadian boundary line. A
newspaper correspondent in that city
claims that Tracy was accustomed to
perform stunts there in his boyhood
days, and in fact says that it was there
that he received his schooling in the
line In which he became so proficient.
one oil the statements, however, that
Tracy served a sentence in the Ft.
Madison penitentiary, is stoutly denied
by the warden of that institution. This
is the story sent out from Abba:
Begins Criminal Career.
Late in the fall of 1887, fine road
team belonging to R. o. Cramer of AL.
bia was stolen from a stable in the
heart of the city. The theft occurred
at 8 O'Clock in the evening and was so
bold that persons who saw the two
men drive away from Cramer's barn
with his blooded team supposed that
the horses were being taken away with
the permission of the owner.
Sprung His Handouts.
after spending several thousand
dollars in recovering his team Mr.. era
mer and Sheriff Milt Forrest of Abba
MI i
found him in Jail at Wymore, Neb.
Extradition papers were secured, and
Tracy was brought back to Abba for
trial But the work of the officers had
only begun. The prisoner was locked
in the county Jail only few hours
when guards discovered that he had
picked all the locks between himself
and freedom and was about to make
his escape.
Unwilling to trust the man in a cell
Sheriff Forrest ordered that he be
taken to the Cramer hotel and kept in
a room under the constant watch of
guards. George and Frank Harris, two
OF the sheriff's deputies, were selected
as theman's guards. Tracy warned them
that they had undertaken big job,
and they exercised great care in maxi
ing the prisoners escape impossible
His clothing was all taken from him,
and he was given wearing apparel
which was known to be free from any
sort of weapons or tools. The room
was cleared of all furniture that was
not absolutely necessary for the use
of the prisoner and his guards.
A Broom Straw Key.
Frank Harris agreed that he would
be handcuffed with the prisoner and
would sleep with him, thus making es-
cape impossible. The door leading in
to the third story room, in which the
man was imprisoned, was securely
locked, and George Harris stood guard
in the hall outside. In the middle of
the first night the prisoner was kept
in the hotel Frank Harris awoke and
discovered that Tracy had sprung the
handcuff from his wrist and was
standing at the door, which he had I'M
locked without the aid of any tool. A
broom straw afterward found on the
floor was supposed to have been the
means of picking the lock.
Sent to Fl Madison.
Con other occasions Tracy sprung
handouts and shackles while walk
ing with his guards. His great skill at
manipulating locks baffled all guards,
and finally Sheriff Forrest was com
PEELED to send the man to the state
penitentiary at Eft. Madison, where he
was kept until time for his appearance
in court. During his trial small army
fol, l.,
woman who gave her name as Minnie
Allen was arrested in connection with
the theft of Cramers horses, and it
was shown that she Joined Tracy and
his partner somewhere in Missouri
and Travelled with them to ST. Joseph,
Mo. She was tried at the same time
Tracy was, but was not convicted
Tracy was convicted and sentenced
to seven years in the Ft. Madison
penitentiary. He made the boast that
he would escape from the officers on
the way to prison, but large guard
made his escape impossible and finally
landed him behind the bars, where he
remained for five years. He was a
model prisoner, and his sentence was
committed on account of his good be-
havior. He was employed in the black.
smithing department during his i'm
prisonment and proved to be a skillful
workman"