The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1903-03-26
TRACEY WAS A FAMILIAR TYPE;
SAM BASS AND "BjLLY THE KID"

Seattle letter: One Of the mos,
conspicuous cnses OF atavism Of the
present day Is that terror OF the west
ern country known as Harry Tracy
Men OF the Tracy type have been con-
sldered as practically extinct during re-
cent years and writer's OF pIanant mar.
rative have been deploring the dlsap.
pearance OF this picturesque ciemen,
from our frontier states.
The gentlemen who write stories
which lead ambitious Eastern boys "a
dream OF becoming Yosemite Bills and
Deadwood Dicks have been languishing
OF late and the dime novel business has
been at a standstIll. Impetus enough
has been given by Tracy TO this class
literary product to guarantee II anoth.
er ten years OF life and the writer's Of
the historical and the rural novels must
look TO their laurels.
Instead OF resurrecting a lot Of in
nocuous historical celebrities or elab-
Grating the idiosyncracies OF some shall
low rustic whose mouotonous life is
nothing more heroic than that OF the
cows or goats they tend we shall now
have living Portraits OF heroes Of the
Winchester who can hold sherif's pos
SOS and baying bloodhounds at bay with
the same ease that a D'Artigan could
dispose OF dozen troublesome swords
men with one or two masterful strokes
Some two or three years ago Captain
Mossman was commissioned To form a
corps Of rangers and hunt the bad men
out OF the mountains and other hiding
places In Arizona and New Mexico.
Doubtless he has not neglected his op-
portunity, II being an occupation for
which he and his troop OF ex-sherlJfs
felt peculiarly fitted.
Captain Ware who was sheriff at Fort
Worth. Texas. In the latter part OF the
seventies died the other day and his
death recalls the killing OF Sam Bass
whom he shot at Round Rock when
$4,000 was offered for the capture OF
the noted outlaw then the terror OF the
Western states.
Bass. like Tracy. was little more than
q boy when he reached the end OF his
rope. being only twenty-seven when
Captain Wares fatal aim ended his
dizzy career.
Bass was. for n time, the terror OF
the Western express companies and
railway managers. His methods were
Of about the same standard OF daring
as those of Tracy and he was finally
captured owing TO the wound from Cap
tain Wares gun, which compelled him
TO take refuge In the woods where he
was found and captured. but mortally
wounded.
Bass was the hero OF many big hold
ups. perhaps the greatest OF which was
the great robbery Of the Union Pacific
overland mail train at Big Springs. Ne
braSka. In September 1877. when sea-
GOO was captured by the robbers. This
money was all in twenty dollar. Cali
fnrnia mlnted. gold pieces and the
principal trouble the robbers had was
TO get away with such load.
Ware was one ~ the nerviest officers
Of the law Texas ever saw. when n
heard that Bass was IN Round Rock
planning some new deylitry he rode
into the town and seeing Bass In the
street opened fire on him. Ware was
too quick for the outlaw. getting the
drop on him and lodging a charge In
his abdomen.
Bass desired 10 be known as the gen.
tleman robber and while dying Of the
wound inflicted by Ware claimed that
although he had been mixed up In hun
dreds Of shooting affairs he had never
hlil'u HdH' ne l1llIHhttu tnht ME
shooting and capture were the result
Of his policy not 10 kill.
Bass claimed that his going wrong
was due 10 his love of sport and gamb-
ling on the ponies" He refused to
make any confession regarding his ac-
completes.
The present recrudesccnce OF desper-
adoism and its history Is revived by the
story told recently by Sheriff Patrick
J. Garrett Of New Mexico. recountine
the shooting Of BILLY the Kid"
Twenty years ago "Billy's" name was
as much Of a terror a. Is Tracy's today.
There have been dozens OF stories writ
ten of the way In which he finally met
his end. but Sheriff Garrett. says that
the true story is only now told.
Il had. on occasions sat opposite Biz