Harry Tracy

Who was Harry Tracy?

Harry Tracy was an outlaw in the closing days of the Old West. His real name was Harry Severns. He is said to have run with Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang, and by the time he'd reached adulthood he was actively taking part in acts of robbery and theft. On March 1, 1898 Tracy and 3 accomplices engaged in a gunfight at Brown's Park Colorado in which posseman Valentine S. Hoy was killed. Tracy and an accomplice of the Brown's Creek gunfight were captured but escaped in June 1898 from the Aspen Colorado Jail In late 1901, Tracy was captured, convicted, and incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

With fellow convict David Merrill he escaped on June 9, 1902, shooting and killing corrections officers Thurston Jones Sr., Bailey Tiffany, Frank Ferrell and three civilians in the process. His claim to infamy is the size and scope of the manhunt and the extensive media coverage of same. He evaded capture for a month, mostly taking refuge in the Seattle, Washington area. On June 28, 1902 he killed his partner Merrill. On July 3, 1902, he set up an ambush near Bothell, Washington, where he killed a detective, Charles Raymond, and deputy John Williams during a shootout.