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October 8, 1891 -
Wallowa National Bank Robbery
What holds true for
real estate holds equally true for bank robbery. Simply put, it’s all
about location, location, location. Familiarity with the terrain, knowing
the best escape routes and the ability to quickly change course if
necessary could mean the difference between a clean getaway and hanging
from the end of a rope. Luckily for the Invincible Three
(Matt Warner, Tom
& Bill McCarty), the Wallowa National Bank in Enterprise, Oregon was
only twenty-five miles from Bill McCarty’s North Powder River ranch.
McCarty’s knowledge of the area went a long way in assisting the outlaws
in their getaway. Matt Warner’s choice of using an unbroken bronco as
his ride of choice in the robbery did not.
Leading up to the
robbery, the three outlaws made camp in the nearby mountains. Warner was
elected to make reconnaissance runs into town to gain a clearer idea of
the daily routine of the bank, escape routes out of town, etc.
On the afternoon of
October 8, 1891 the three men made their way into town, stopping at the
Wallowa National Bank. Following their usual protocol, Tom McCarty waited
outside with the horses while his brother Bill and Warner went inside.
Everything was going according to plan with the outlaws collecting
$9000.00 from the bank employees when they heard Tom McCarty’s gun go
off. Dashing outside, the found Tom fending off an angry crowd.
The outlaws mounted
their horses; keeping their weapons aimed at the crowd less they make any
attempt to stop them. Once situated on his horse, things took a turn for
the worse for Warner. The unbroken horse decided it was time to give an
impromptu rodeo show for the crowd, attempting to buck Warner off his
back. Warner fought back and eventually got the horse settled enough to
run…the wrong way.
The crowd scattered as
Warner plowed down the street, wrestling with his horse for control. A few
blocks down the street, he managed to get the horse turned around. Passing
the scattered crowd again, this time in the right direction, Warner may
have believed his troubles were behind him. He would have been wrong. Past
the crowd, the horse went wild again, this time bucking himself straight
into the local blacksmith’s shop, scaring the hell out of Warner and an
unsuspecting blacksmith.
As Warner later
recalled in his autobiography, The Last
of the Bandit Riders, “That, I maintain, was the crowning
perversity. First thing I know he was caving around in there trying to
beat my brains out on the ceiling. The blacksmith was looking at our
performance pop-eyed from the top of the bellows in the corner. I spur and
quirt the beast and saw on the bridle reins and swear like a crazy man.”
Around this time the
McCarty brothers realized they were a man short and turned their horses
back to town to investigate. As they neared the blacksmiths shop the
McCarty’s were startled and confused to see Warner and his horse come
bursting out of the store. Warner was able to get the horse to cooperate,
for real this time, and the three men managed to get out of town.
From Enterprise, the
outlaws made their way to Bill McCarty’s North Powder River ranch, where
they hid out for a couple of days before heading north to the 7U ranch.
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