The legends of the American West are filled with heroes and villains.

But, what side of the ledger a gunslinger fell on often depended on who was telling the tale.

Was Wyatt Earp a killer and degenerate gambler or a lawman trying to clean up the Frontier?

Was Butch Cassidy a gentleman thief who took just what he needed, or was he a hot-headed gun slinger who rustled trains and cattle and didn’t care who stood in his way?

You might wonder the same about Harry Tracy.

He was a sometimes cowboy, sometimes cattle rustler who was known for being an honest outlaw. He always kept his word. Most of the time, anyway.

Maybe that’s why a couple of wheat farmers in the open plains of eastern Washington agreed to let him stay awhile. This young stranger, who wandered in off the fields, offering to do a little work in exchange for a bed and a hot meal.

Or maybe, these weren’t a couple of country bumpkins. Maybe they knew about the $8,000 bounty they could get if they brought him in, dead or alive. And, maybe these frontier farmers were just as cunning as he was, lulling the outlaw into a false sense of security while they secretly sent for the local posse.

He was dubbed The Last American Desperado.

 But how did this kid from Wisconsin wind up the most wanted man in the west? What was he running from? And what would it take to finally take him down?

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