Hank Vaughan

Henry Clay Vaughan was born on April 27, 1849, to Alexander H. and Elizabeth Fields Vaughan. Hank Vaughan was one of seven children. The family farm was located in the Willamette River Valley south of Portland, Oregon. It was hard work and the family didn't have much. Vaughan went to school but never learned to write. He spent more time helping support the family. Alexander Vaughan moved the family to The Dalles, Oregon, on the Columbia River in 1861. They lived there five years.

The family moved southeast to Canyon City. The area was in the midst of a gold rush. The Vaughans started a ranch to supply beef and horses to the miners. They also pastured horses for other residents. Hank Vaughan learned from the Warm Springs and Northern Paiute Indians how to barter.

Vaughan got into his first scrape at 15, when a customer refused to pay for his horse. He shot the man in the dispute. While out on bail, he shot the man who filed the original complaint against him. He was taken back to The Dalles held in the jail there until trial. His family convinced the judge to allow Vaughan to be enlisted in the army rather than be punished. The judge agreed. Vaughan didn't take to army life and was dishonorably discharged after a month and a half.

He hooked up with Dick Bunton, also a horse trader, but known to have stolen horses in his herd. In April 1865, they headed to the gold fields of Idaho hoping to make good money off the miners. But they stole horses along the way and came to the attention of the Umatilla County sheriff who chased them down. A shoot-out near the Burnt River resulted in the death of Bunton and a deputy. Vaughan was arrested and taken to Auburn, the Baker County seat for trial.

Vaughan received a life sentence in the territorial prison. The new prison at Salem was in the process of being built and the inmates were the ones who built it. Vaughan learned black smithing, carpentry, and bricklaying as a result. He also learned to read and write in the prison school. After lobbying by his family and friends, he was granted a pardon by the governor of Oregon on February 22, 1870.

Vaughan immediately started working with cattle and horses again. Some of the work was legitimate and some was not. He set up a front at Toano, Nevada, near the three state border of Nevada-Oregon-Idaho, where he could easily escape to another state if in trouble. Ultimately he did well and bought numerous acres in nearby Elko. He was gentlemanly and well-liked around town. In May 1875, he married Lois McCarthy, sister of the notorious McCarty brothers. They had a son Alexander on February 25, 1876. On September 10, 1877 they had a second son, Albert Irving. Shortly afterward, Lois left him for good, taking the boys with her. He was never at home much anyway.

In the meantime, Vaughan got in another scrape in Arizona. It resulted in another shootout in which Vaughan was shot in the head. After that incident, Vaughan moved to Pendleton, Oregon. The cattle industry had grown considerably but he intended to sell the ranchers good horses. Shortly afterward he remarried, despite the fact that he had never legally divorced. He married Louisa Jane Ditty on August 31, 1878, she being newly arrived from the Midwest and not knowing his reputation.

He set up shop on the Umatilla Reservation. He had made friends with some Indians there, who actually helped him round up strays from cattle drivers going est over the Blue Mountains. Once again he rounded up strays and sold them in nearly Idaho territory. Some ranchers knew what he was doing but could never catch him. While in Boise City, he spent a lot of time at the horse races and betting on them. Apparently he did well. He was involved in at least one shoot-out. During another robbery he was accused of masterminding the crime, but he was never arrested. However, the reputation stuck. It didn't seem to bother him.

Next he set up an operation at Spokane Falls in Washington Territory. It was a perfect location on the route to the cattle ranges of Montana. He made good money selling horses to drovers. He also rounded up the stray cattle too. After awhile it got too hot for him, so he moved to Union, in Union County, Oregon. From there he moved into a remote mountain cabin in the Sturgill Basin. Shortly afterward Louisa left him due to his philandering. He gave her money only for the stage.

During the winter, he spent his time at The Dalles. It was becoming a boom town thanks to Henry Villard's railroad building. He spent his time there drinking, gambling, and generally having a good time. He also enjoyed taking potshots at landmarks.

On December 21, 1881, showed up at Graham's saloon in Prineville, Oregon, south of The Dalles. He had gone there because he heard the vigilante committee was making things tough on rustlers and he wanted to see how that might impact his own business. He talked to Charlie Long, a ranch boss who was rumored to work for Colonel Thompson, leader of the committee. They played cards for awhile before the game began to get rough. Graham broke it up before it got out of hand. Long and Vaughan met again at Til Glaze's saloon. Vaughan was insulted when Long refused to drink when he bought a round. Words escalated into gunplay. Long shot first but just grazed his head. Vaughan hit Long four times. Before he collapsed, Long hit Vaughan in the chest.

Vaughan was sheltered by Cy Hodges, a man known for fairness, in order to protect him from locals who sympathized with Long. From this incident, Vaughan would develop a scar down the middle of his forehead. After his recovery, he was tried at The Dalles and was acquitted since he proved Long fired first. Afterward, he moved to Wood River, near Hailey, Idaho. A railroad line was going in and there would be a demand for horses. Horses were needed to move men and equipment to the railhead. He got quite wealthy as a result. He also reconnected with Martha Robie, a widow. She had finances inherited from her husband. She was also eligible for reservation land at Umatilla because her mother was a Nez Perce.

He and his wife frequently traveled together and often rode the train. Vaughan soon got a reputation for foiling train robbers. One time three men got on the train and started collecting valuables from the passengers. What they got from Hank was lead. They changed their plans and ran off the train. The railroad awarded him for his deeds with a lifetime pass. He had operations also in Walla Walla and Spokane Falls. By then he hired out all of his dirty work.

But cities were getting too big and less tolerant of the wild element. Railroads sped law enforcement to the spot. The free rangelands were also getting fenced in and it was getting hard to find ways to drive livestock. Vaughan had to find another line of work. He set up a farm on Martha Robie's property on the Umatilla Reservation. The ranch was on Wildhorse Creek about halfway between Walla Walla and Pendleton.

His divorce from Louisa became legally final on June 22, 1883. Now he could publicly acknowledge his relationship with Martha Robie. He still spent time in saloons playing cards. He was not known as a card sharp, but he won his share. He was also known for his skill and daring in driving a horse and buggy. But he did have some mishaps, which wrecked his buggy and amused the townspeople. He also accumulated a lot of debt, even though he was able to pay, because his farm actually did quite well. Some debts he eventually paid but he forced the creditors to go after it through the courts. In contrast he was often generous with a loan to someone who had fall on hard times. He was also known as a congenial host to travelers who came by his ranch.

But he wasn't entirely through rustling. He just changed his methods. He would brand new cattle not yet branded with the owner's own mark. When he took them to market it would look legitimate, but of course he pocketed the money for himself. They also started driving the herds at night. He used his family members and those of his ex-wife Lois McCarty to keep an eye out for the law and to provide way stations along his route. But eventually the ranchers got tired of it and formed vigilante committees. This put a stop to most activity.

In 1886, Bill Falwell shot Vaughan and seriously injured his right arm, his shooting arm. This was because Vaughan had humiliated him the day before. Vaughan played one of his favorite tricks, which was to shoot a man's feet and make him "dance" around the shots. While laid up, Vaughan practiced shooting with his left hand in case his surgery wasn't successful. He also got into trouble when he beat up a man he caught cheating at cards. Before the case came to trial, he bribed the principal witness to not show up to court. The man accepted the money and Vaughan went free.

Later that year Vaughan sold his ranch on the reservation for a tidy profit. They lived in Centerville, where he continued to shoot up the town. He also continued both his legitimate and illegal operations. In 1890, he severely injured his hand while branding a calf. Later that year, he was trampled by a horse. His leg and a rib were broken. He was laid up for six weeks. He took a trip back east and another to California to soak in the hot springs. This helped sooth his aches and pains, of which there were starting to be plenty.

In May of 1893, Vaughan went to Pendleton to get his horse shod. While waiting he went to a few saloons. Later he was riding away when the horse slipped on something and fell, crushing Hank. He was taken to the Transfer House, to mend from his wounds. He lay there for two weeks in a semi-coma, incoherent from the concussion. His skull was also fractured. Surgery was tried but it was too late. He died June 15, 1893. He was buried at the Olney Cemetery in Pendleton in an unmarked grave. A long line of mourners were there to see him off.

Copyright 2004 by Beth Gibson

Source: "Hank Vaughan (1849-1893): A Hell-Raising Horse Trader of the Bunchgrass Territory, Jon M. and Donna McDaniel Skovlin, Cove, OR: Reflections Publishing Co., 1996."

Last updated: 12/12/04