Kennewick Shootout: The body of outlaw Jake Lake is found, Kid Barker arrested, Marshal Mike Glover dies.
Kid Barker On the Loose
On the evening of October 31, 1906, following the Kennewick shootout in Washington state, the body of Jacob 'Jake' Lake was found and returned to Kennewick. But there was still no sign of the second man, Robert A. 'Kid' Barker, or of his body. According to Jay Perry, who was sixteen at the time, "word spread like wildfire" about the shooting death of Marshal Mike Glover, the wounding of Deputy Holzhey, and the missing outlaw Kid Barker. Now an even bigger posse than before was being formed. Also by now another deputy from Prosser had arrived; with him were an additional 20 men. By nightfall some 200 men were armed and ready to ride. They were still waiting to go when a Walla Walla Prison guard arrived, bringing along a pack of bloodhounds.
Baying of Bloodhounds Fill the Air
Throughout the long night these men searched the countryside all the way from Currant Island, another hobo jungle, to the Horse Heaven Hills. The night air was filled with the baying of the bloodhounds as they sniffed their way through Poplar Grove and other areas around Kennewick.
Perry Attempts to Arrest Barker
Throngs of people milled around, mostly interfering with the search, when posse member Forrest Perry (no relation to previously mentioned Jay Perry), a married man age 24, suddenly came upon the bandit. It was later reported that Perry had called out to Barker to put up his hands, adding that he'd shoot every one of them. Evidently Perry was figuring he had come upon several men in hiding.
Hidden by thick brush, and in darkness, the other posse members could not see Perry but heard him shout. Thinking that Perry was the bandit and was threatening them, they fired. Perry died three hours later.
Kid Barker Apprehended
Sometime later, Outlaw Kid Barker, also known to use the name Robert Layton, surrendered after the bloodhounds found him hiding in a ditch bank some 300 yards from where the shooting had taken place. He admitted to his role in the shooting but claimed he had hit no one. He was quickly hauled off to jail to avoid a lynching. The following day, Barker was hustled out of town to reside in the jail in Prosser.
Kid Barker Escapes County Jail
Robert "Kid" Barker/Layton was charged with murder but he never went to trial. Barker escaped from the Benton County jail in Prosser several months later. He was never heard of again.
Although Sheriff Alex McNeill had been wounded, he recovered. The story was circulated that the sheriff was injured due to what was termed a prominent bay window, describing the large stomach he sported. It seems that, according to the tale, the sheriff attempted, during the shootout, to hide behind a slim cottonwood tree. The tree in question was, however, too slim, leaving the sheriff's stomach a perfect target.
Like most Wild Western stories, this tale also created its own speculations and variations. One article written on this incident slanted that Kid Barker's family were rich and that after Barker's escape from the jail in Prosser, Washington the sheriff there retired with money sufficient to live on for the rest of his life. Although the story might make a good plot for a western novel, Sheriff McNeill served his term until 1910 and was re-elected for another two years.
Previous: Kennewick Robbers Hide in Hobo Jungle: Lawmen Die in Washington Shootout.
Sources:
Dullenty, Jim. "Shootout at Poplar Grove: Gun Battle in Kennewick, Washington Rivaled OK Corral Showdown." Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Washington, September 3, 1978.
Kion, Mary Trotter. Kennewick, Washington: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing, Chicago, IL, 2002.
Parker, Martha Berry. Kin-I-Wak, Kenewick, Tehe, Kennewick. Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington, 1986.
