The Invincible Three

After robbing a gambling hall in Butte, Montana, Matt Warner and Tom McCarty escaped to Bill McCarty’s North Powder River Ranch near Baker, Oregon. The take from the gambling hall was only $1800, and the two outlaws were soon looking for another score. Bill McCarty was more than will willing to join the two in their criminal pursuits and the three men soon christened themselves The Invincible Three.

Their first target as a trio was a combination store and bank in the mining town of Sparta, Oregon about thirty miles northeast of Baker. Because Bill was so well known in the area, the three men disguised their identities with horsehair beards and red bandanas. Arriving in town around ten o’clock in the evening, the outlaws slipped on their masks just before entering the store. The element of surprise was on the outlaws side and the robbery went off without a hitch…almost.

It seems Bill McCarty was in need of a new pair of boots and decided to take the opportunity to try on some of the latest fashions. Warner and Tom McCarty watched incredulously as Bill browsed the store’s boot selection. A customer walked into the store and discovered the outlaws. He attempted to run, but was tackled by Bill McCarty. The appearance of the customer shocked Bill back into reality and with one boot on his foot and another in his hand, joined his brother Tom and Matt Warner in making a quick getaway. After leaving the store, Bill stopped to put on his other boot only to realize that his stolen footwear were both for the left foot, proving once again that crime doesn’t pay.

Not counting Bill’s two left boots, the take from the Sparta robbery was $600 and some gold nuggets. The trio split up the money and buried the gold around the North Powder River ranch. Bill McCarty’s son Fred eventually discovered the gold nuggets and treated himself to a shopping spree in Boise, Idaho at The Invincible Three’s expense.

Using the ranch as a base of operations, the three outlaws continued committing robberies throughout the area until things got hot for them. From there, they moved to Washington, purchasing a cabin on the Columbia River for $700.00. Their new home was named the 7U ranch and it would serve as their base of operations from there on out. Warner sent for his wife, Rose Morgan to join the outlaws in their new home.

Once settled in Washington, the three men made plans to rob the Forepaugh Circus in Moscow, Idaho. Along the way the outlaws came across a man fishing. Tom McCarty decided this was as good a place as any to camp for the night and soon broke out his tackle and joined the man on the river. The man’s name was Sam Hildreth and soon he and Tom McCarty got involved in a bragging match that lead to McCarty laying out the outlaws plans to rob the circus. McCarty invited Hildreth along to rob the circus, to which Hildreth readily accepted. 

Once they arrived in Moscow, Hildreth went missing. The outlaws were suspicious, but decided to go ahead with the robbery anyway. As they rode up to the circus’s ticket office, they were stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of dozens of rifles pointed at them. A voice shouted out, “Hands up!”

Realizing that if they raised their hands they were done for, the outlaws split up and rode off slowly, keeping the crowd between them and the gunmen. Once out of the crowd, the three men tore out of town, cursing the name of Sam Hildreth the entire way.

After the failure in Moscow, The Invincible Three planned to rob the Wallowa National bank in Enterprise, Oregon. The robbery almost went off without a hitch until Warner’s horse went wild on him, bucking the outlaws into a blacksmith’s shop. After gaining control of the horse, the three outlaws escaped town $9,000 richer. After laying low at Bill McCarty’s North Powder River ranch for a spell, the three men returned to the 7U ranch.

As they did in the past, the outlaws buried their earnings about the grounds of the 7U for safekeeping. Eventually Matt Warner brought Rose’s sister, Sarah, to the ranch to keep his wife company while Bill McCarty returned to the North Powder River ranch to care for his ailing wife.

Tom McCarty and Warner learned Butch Cassidy was in the area and left to look up their old friend. Reuniting with Cassidy, the three men made a deal, McCarty and Warner would join Cassidy in a raid against the cattle barons of the Johnson County War after which Cassidy would join the two men back at the 7U. The outlaws had picked up about fifty head of cattle before a posse caught their trail. The outlaws split up during the chase, with Warner diving into the Wind River horse and all to escape the pursuing posse. While he managed to escape the posse, Warner would not escape Wyoming for nearly two years. During that time he hooked up with a fellow outlaw named Bill Rose and the two committed a series of crimes until they were able to escape the area.

After escaping Wyoming, Warner reunited with the McCarty brothers at the North Powder River ranch. After returning to the 7U, The Invincible Three made plans to rob the Benjamin E. Snipes & Co. payroll in Roslyn, Washington.

The Washington payroll robbery would prove to be the last ride for The Invincible Three. The robbery itself went off without problems; the outlaws netted themselves $30,000 and made a clean escape from town. Posses caught up with the men near the Columbia River and the three men were forced to split up, with Warner taking another dip in a river to escape the pursuing lawmen.

After evading the posse, Warner returned to the 7U and swore off the outlaw life for good. Figuring Sarah was no longer needed now that he was committed to the straight and narrow, Warner sent Rose’s sister home. Shortly after her departure a posse showed up at his door and, after a struggle, arrested the outlaw for the Roslyn payroll robbery. Sarah Morgan sold out her brother-in-law for the reward money.

Matt Warner was taken to Ellensburg, Washington for trial where he was soon joined by George McCarty.  According to Warner, George McCarty, Tom & Bill’s brother, had nothing to do with the robbery and was being tried simply for being a McCarty brother.

The two men were eventually acquitted. Warner eventually wound up in Utah where, reunited with Rose, led the quiet life until getting involved in the Coleman Affair. Convicted of manslaughter, Warner was sentenced to five years in the Utah State Penitentiary.

Tom and Bill McCarty, along with Bill’s son Fred, went on to rob the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Delta, Colorado that would result in the death of both Bill McCarty and his son.

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