The Wild West wasn’t as wild as portrayed in the movies, but there were plenty of desperados to go around. Although the more famous outlaws like Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch did not spend much time in Dakota Territory, there was no shortage of lesser-known criminals. Train robberies and stagecoach stick ups were not unknown in the territory. The Washburn Leader described one such situation by saying: “The Missouri and Knife River districts are overrun by a clique of horse thieves and murderers who have infested these localities for years.”
While train and bank robbers were tracked down and prosecuted if caught, the greatest anger throughout the West was directed at horse thieves. People living in the West were dependent on their horses. A person who lost his horse in the vastness of the Great Plains could face death. The term “horse thief” became an insult, applied to a person lacking any shred of moral decency. More than one horse thief met a sudden end as vigilantes imposed quick justice, the thief never seeing the inside of a courtroom.
As North Dakota became more settled, citizens relied more and more on cars, but that didn’t mean horse thieves disappeared. On this date in 1917, readers of the Grand Forks Herald learned that Jay Clarke, a man the newspaper called “a real western bad man,” had been shot and killed by a deputy sheriff.
Jay Clarke was wanted in North Dakota, Montana, and Canada on charges of horse theft, smuggling, and jail breaking. He had holed up at a ranch near Hinsdale, Montana, but when his presence was reported, Deputy Sheriff Teal was sent to make the arrest. When Teal confronted Clarke, the desperado went for the gun in his shoulder holster. Teal was quicker on the draw and shot first. Teal fired three shots, hitting the outlaw twice. Clarke still attempted to put up a fight, but was overpowered. Teal put the wounded man in a sleigh and hurried to Hinsdale, but Clarke died before they reached the doctor’s office. A coroner’s jury returned a verdict of death while resisting an officer.
North Dakota could breathe a little easier knowing there was one less horse thief in the state.
Dakota Datebook by Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Washburn Leader. “Old Deadwood Trail.” Washburn ND. 9/2/1899. Page 3.
- Washburn Leader. “Hunting the Outlaws.” Washburn ND. 5/16/1896. Page 1.
- Grand Forks Herald. “Real Bad Man of West Killed.” Grand Forks ND. 1/11/1917. Page 3.
