The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-11-05
NEIL HART HANGED
FOR TAYLOR MURDER
HALF BREED INDIAN WHO SHOT
PENDLETON SHERIFF, PAYS
EXTREME PENALTY

Salem, Oregon-(By A. P.)-Hm-
NETT Bancroft, alias Neil Hart, was
hanged at the Oregon state peniten-
tiary early this morning, for the muir
der of Sheriff Til Taylor, at Pendle-
ton, July rs. He was pronounced
dead at 8:41 a. m. Hart's last words
were:
81 regret what | have done. feel
that God is on my side and am not
afraid when he calls me-"
The Crime Was Spectacular
Pendleton became, in spirit at least,
a town of the old west again when
Neil Hart, half breed Indian, who was
hanged here today, killed Sheriff Til
Taylor, Pendleton Roundup chief,
Sunday afternoon July 25 and, with
five companions, broke from the
Umatilla County Jail and fled to the
timbered hills.
Out came rifles and revolvers and
Pendleton business men, professional
men and cattle raisers, many of
whom once rode the range, took to
their horses and automobiles and set
out in pursuit of the escaped men.
Within week the prisoners were
rounded up and back in jail and Hart
had confessed to the murder.
Gus Wyrick, who was with Taylor
at the time of the murder, told the
details of the shooting. The men, he
said, in breaking Jail, first over
powered Jake Martin, the jailor.
Taylor, entering his office as Martin
was attacked, saw the men fleeing
and grappled with Jim Owens, Hart's
pal while Wyrick Knocked down
Jack Rathie, another prisoner who
had entered the sheriff's office look
ing for guns. Hart followed Rathie
into the room and, picking up a re-
volver which Taylor had dropped,
fired two shots over Ovens shoulder
The first went wild but on the second
Taylor dropped. He died a few hours
later.
Selling a supply of ammunition
and guns, the prisoners fled from the
freight train. Wyrick and deputy
sheriffs gave the alarm and, in a
short time, officers and citizens, were
on their way, on horseback, by train
and in automobiles, searching for the
men. Posses came from other parts
of Oregon and from Washington and
Idaho towns for Sheriff Taylor was
known throughout the northwest and
numbered his friends by the hun
.dreds.
All week long the chase kept up.
Finally by the following Saturday
the men were all captured Albert
Lindgren, the first man arrested, was
found near Cayuse, not far from
Pendleton. Tt was later established
Lindgren had no part in the shoot
ing Hart and Owens were run to
earth and found in a sheep camp in
the high mountains of Union County
near the head of the Umatilla river.
They were exhausted and were taken
without a fight Rathie was found
on road near the Umatilla river and
Louis Anderson and Richard Patter-
son, who escaped, were taken from
aboard freight train at Kamela.
There was talk of lynching when
the men were taken back to Pendle-
ton, and on the first night the men
were in the Jail, a crowd gathered
and ropes were seen in the glare of
the automobile headlight w. r.
{~Jinks") Taylor, brother of the dead
sheriff, who succeeded his office, told
the crowd that Til would not have
favored mob violence. With shouts
of Guess you're right, "Jinks" the
crowd broke up.
Hart pleaded guilty to murder in
the first degree September Is and
was sentenced to hang November 5.
Four other prisoners, directly involv-
ed in the jailbreak, were tried and
convicted of murder in the first de-
gree. Jim Owens, whose true name
was given as Elvie Kerby and Jack
Rathie, whose name was John Leffe-
bean were sentenced to hang Decem-
Der 8. Louis Anderson and Richard
Patterson, wore tried under the
names of Irwin Leroy Stoop and
Floyd L. Henderson, respectively
were sentenced to life Imprisonment.
Stoop is eighteen years and Hender-
son 81.
Steps were taken soon after the
murder to erect in the yard of the
Pendleton Jail monument to the
dead sheriff. It was planned that
the monument would be bronze
statue of Taylor, as thousands knew
him, sitting astride his horse and
wearing his leather "chaps" sombrero
and flowing scarf.
Taylor resembled the type of west
ern sheriff often found in story books
and on the picture screen. AS presi-
dent Of the Roundup Association, he
led the annual Roundup parade.
For eighteen years Taylor was
sheriff here. During that time he and
his deputies made 2,465 arrests and
never shot man.
WHY'S Overland Factory Closed.
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