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Henry Starr


After the bank robbery, Starr heard that the law was after him. He decided to lay low for awhile. He picked up Mary in the Osage Hills and together they headed north for Emporia, Kansas. From there they intended to go on to California. But at Colorado Springs, detectives caught up to Starr and his friend Kid Wilson, who was with him at the time. They were taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas and tried. He was convicted of killing Floyd Wilson, a marshal that had chased him after the Nowata robbery. He was sent to the federal prison at Columbus, Ohio, where he served eight years.

While in prison, Starr studied law. So when he left he intended to settle down on a farm near Tulsa. He wanted to study for a law degree. He also married Mary Morrison. He opened up a real estate office in Little Rock, Arkansas. He soon got bored with it and in 1907 moved to Skiatook, Oklahoma. While living there, Starr heard he was about to be expedited back to Arkansas to stand trial for the bank robbery. Once again he fled town.

On March 18, 1908, Starr and two others robbed a bank at Tyro, Kansas, and took $2,500. By that time, telephone lines were criss-crossing the countryside. People all over called the sheriff to report on the progress of the robbers. The rode through the Osage Hills, fighting off posse members all the way. Finally they got away. Shortly afterward, Starr met up with his old friend Kid Wilson. They two went on to Colorado.

In June Starr and Wilson robbed a bank in Amity, Colorado. They got away cleanly, but hid out in the mountains for a few months. During that time Wilson wandered away and was lost. Starr thought he had just gone crazy. Starr went on to Arizona. While there he met a fatal mistake. He wrote a letter to a friend back in Tulsa about a real estate deal. He gave his real address in Arizona. The man told the law where he was. He was picked up and taken back to Colorado. He stood trial and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The governor paroled him in four years, on the condition that he never return to Oklahoma.

He was paroled in 1913. But his parole had a condition. He had to stay out of Oklahoma, where most of his robberies had

The copyright of the article Henry Starr in The Old West is owned by Elizabeth Gibson. Permission to republish Henry Starr in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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