In 1902, Napavine found itself entangled in an extraordinary tale. That summer’s events, marked by a high-stakes manhunt and an unusual love story, unfolded like a thrilling Western novel.
Meanwhile, Chase Continues for “Tiresome Tracy”
The Chehalis Bee Nugget reported on July 15, 1902, “Tracy is here, there, everywhere, if one is to believe the conflicting reports current about the outlaw. Were it not for the fact that he holds up a home every few days, people would doubt if there ever was such a person as Harry Tracy.”
While Mrs. Waggoner and the folks in Lewis County enjoyed a bit of excitement over the discovery of David Merrill’s body, the hunt for Tracy continued up north. On July 13, three deputies spotted Tracy on the railroad near Covington and fired eight shots at close range. Tracy fired back twice. No one was injured, and the outlaw once again escaped. On July 14, the same day Merrill’s body was discovered in Napavine, Harry Tracy held up a family near Black Diamond and forced the elderly wife to cook him a meal. While he was eating, the posse looking for him passed within a few feet of the house he was in. He watched them smugly from the window as they walked by.
But Tracy’s luck did not last. On August 5, the posse finally caught up to the outlaw in Eastern Washington near Spokane. In a final showdown with guns blazing on both sides, one of the officers shot Tracy, shattering his leg bone. Wounded and unable to flee, the notorious criminal took his own life.
“Harry Tracy ended his bloody and spectacular career by committing suicide last night after having been shot twice by a posse from Creston.” Seattle Star Newspaper August 6, 1902.
His body was discovered in a wheatfield with the revolver still tightly gripped in his hand. Considered one of the last of the Wild West outlaws, Tracy had been on the lam for 57 days and had left a trail of 11 dead men behind him before the chase was finally over.
Merrill Saga Not Over
Meanwhile, back in Napavine, another drama was unfolding. As soon as the inquest concluded, Mrs. Waggoner accompanied Sheriff Deggeller to Salem to deliver Merrill’s remains in person and claim the promised reward money.
When she arrived at the Oregon State Penitentiary, the guards inspected the body and agreed that the remains were indeed those of Merrill. But instead of handing Mrs. Waggoner the $1,500 cash reward as expected, Superintendent Lee offered her only $300 “to reimburse her for her trouble and expense.” Both Mrs. Waggoner and Lewis County Sheriff Deggeller insisted she was entitled to the total amount claimed.
When word got out about what had happened, the media quickly took Mrs. Waggoner’s side, calling the action a “cheap policy.” “The state of Oregon should have paid liberally and promptly for the return of Merrill’s body,” reported The Salem Journal. “Certainly, Mrs. Waggoner has returned Merrill dead, and that was one of the two stipulations on the part of the state…the state of Oregon got what it wanted and should pay what it promised,” wrote the Portland Journal. The Chehalis Bee Nugget put it more bluntly: “Oregon Authorities Prove Themselves a Cheap Lot of Guys.”
On the advice of her attorney, Mrs. Waggoner “very properly rejected the offer and has filed a written claim for the $1,500 reward offered for Merrill dead or alive.” Chehalis Bee Nugget, July 25, 1902.
Unfortunately for Mrs. Waggoner, the authorities at Salem concluded that the reward was intended for the capture of the criminals and not for merely finding the dead body. “Capture and return assumes some risk and effort was taken to apprehend and return the escaped convict, “they stated. So to “ascertain whether a claimant has earned the reward, it must be shown conclusively that the claimant apprehended the prisoner in accordance with the provisions of law and offer of the reward.” The Statesman Journal, Friday, August 29, 1902.
On August 30, the Equal Suffrage Association announced it would appeal to the Oregon legislature on Mary Waggoner’s behalf. However, whether or not Mary Waggoner ever received the reward money is unclear. The newspapers were silent on that point. But about Mrs. Waggoner, they definitely had more to say in the days to come.
The Sensational Final Chapter
“MRS. WAGGONER ELOPES WITH OUTLAW’S BROTHER. Another Sensational Scene in the Recently All-Absorbing Tragedy Thought to Be Ended.” The Morning Oregonian, September 17, 1902.
On September 16, 1902, Mrs. Mary Waggoner added the final, dramatic chapter to that summer’s events. Deserting her husband, three married daughters and five young children, the Napavine woman ran off with none other than Ben Merrill, the dead convict’s brother. According to eyewitnesses, the couple departed on the morning train. They were believed to be heading north to Seattle.
Mrs. Waggoner, 43, had met Ben Merrill, 32, for the first time when Merrill’s body was found only two months prior. Both had enjoyed a good measure of notoriety surrounding the case and had allegedly spent a great deal of time together. But no one suspected the outlaw’s brother would steal the Napavine woman’s heart.
Why Ben Merrill pursued an older married woman or why Mary Waggoner was willing to abandon her family and her reputation remains a mystery. Was it for love or adventure? Was it for the reward money they still hoped would be awarded one day?
Whatever the reason, the scandalous story caused quite a stir in the Napavine community. And because of its connection to the infamous criminals, the shocking news of their elopement was printed in papers across the region.
It was a dramatic and surprising ending to the Tracy-Merrill saga that began earlier that summer in 1902.
