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Escaped Murderer Shot, Killed in Eastern Washington Scablands
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Harry Tracy's Mug Photo
That's what the headlines read on August 7, 1902 after Harry Tracy was killed in a corn field near Creston, a small town at the northern end of the Telford-Crab Creek Scabland tract.
Harry Tracy had been an outlaw in the last days of the Old West. His real name was Harry Severns and it was said that he hung out with Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang. When he went on his own as an adult, he was actively committing robbery and murder.
In 1901, Tracy was captured, convicted, and sent to the Oregon State Penitentiary.
He managed to escape on June 9, 1902, shooting and killing corrections officers Thurston Jones Sr., Bailey Tiffany, Frank Ferrell and three civilians in the process.
Perhaps the most famous thing about Tracy was the size and scope of the manhunt that looked for him, not to mention the extensive media coverage for its time. He evaded capture for a month, mostly taking refuge in the Seattle area. 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.
Tracy fled, took several hostages in a residence, and engaged other law enforcement officers in a shootout. During that shootout he killed posse members Cornelious Rowley and Enoch Breece. Tracy headed east into the little known and sparsely settled scabalnds area of eastern Washington where he hid out for nearly a month amidst the basalt outcroppings and contorted landscape. A small lava cave is still called Tracy's Cave to this day.
On August 6, 1902, in Creston, Washington, Tracy was cornered and shot in the leg during an ambush by a posse from Lincoln County, resulting in his being badly wounded. Sheriff Gardner arrived and had the field surrounded that Tracy had crawled into. Harry committed suicide to avoid capture.
There are dozens of historical and legendary stories about the scablands. This is just one of them!
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