The Saga of Henry Starr

Henry Starr was a real man, in the real Old West. He wrote his life story while in prison in a book called Thrilling Events. Although the book I read is based on a true man, some of the events are exaggerated, or retold differently then the actual event.

Henry Starr was a 17 year old Cherokee cowboy working a steady job at a ranch. One day, however he was framed for stealing two horses by a man that was in cahoots with a crooked sheriff. Henry’s uncle paid his bail, and Henry went back to work. A little while later, a rival cowboy hid whiskey in Henrys wagon, and Henry was stopped with a whiskey warrant, which was a way for crooked lawmen and lawyers to make money off of each other. Once again, Henry’s uncle bailed him out.

Henry became angry at the world. He felt alone and felt that if people were going to treat him like a criminal, he was going to act like one. He started robbing banks, and killed a deputy marshal in self defense. (Henry wasn’t a murderer, but was a thief.) More and more bank robberies occurred, and Henry was gaining some recognition. Henry was finally arrested, and sentenced to hang. However, Henry got a good lawyer, who got the Supreme Court to bring the sentence down to 15 years. Henry only served nine because of a pardon by President Theodore Roosevelt.

When he got out, he recruited a band of criminals, and they hit every bank in the west. Eventually Henry was wealthy enough to take his girlfriend away from it all, which was his goal from the start. They went to Colorado, where Henry was recognized and arrested. Henry was sentenced, but once again, became a model prisoner, and got released on parole.

When released, he met a new girl and decided to leave Colorado, violate is parole, and go back home to Oklahoma. He got there, changed his name, and lived a good life until he ran low on money and decided to rob a bank. He and his group robbed two banks, and Henry was shot in the leg, arrested, and sentenced to 25 years at a prison in Oklahoma. But Henry was a pro at leaving early. He was out in a few years. Overall Henry was sentenced to over 65 years in prison, but only served just over 15.