Harvey claimed that the assault charges filed by Ross were trumped up by their neighbor, Powell ‘Pike’ Landusky, with whom Harvey and his brother Lonnie already had a continuing feud. Elfie, one of Pike’s stepdaughters, was apparently pregnant by Lonnie, and Pike was enraged. Pike was a man of influence, having control over the riches and mining claims in the area and also serving as a deputy. Given the responsibility of holding Harvey during the assault arrest, Pike took the opportunity to beat the prisoner unmercifully. When the case later was heard in Fort Benton, Mont., all charges against Harvey were dismissed.

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The Logan-Landusky feud continued. As soon as he returned home on October 20, Harvey signed a precinct election register listing the Rock Creek ranch as his residence. The purpose of the vote was to name the town that arose near the mines. Logan wanted it called Rock Creek, but ‘Landusky’ won out. For Harvey, seeing the town named for his hated enemy was like rubbing salt into his still-healing wounds. Feeling that justice had not been served, Harvey set out to get even with Pike. Known as a brawler with a short fuse, Pike had a face that served as evidence to some of his past fistfights. But that did not deter Harvey.

On December 27, 1894, Harvey cornered a drunken Pike, who was celebrating Christmas in the local saloon owned by Jacob (’Jew Jake’) Harris. In spite of Pike’s large size and renowned strength, Harvey struck him in the face. Lonnie Logan and Jim Thornhill stepped between the fighters and the saloon crowd and said, ‘The first man that makes a move will be killed.’ When Harvey’s gun fell out of his coat pocket and onto the floor, Pike pulled his own gun. But Thornhill quickly picked up Harvey’s gun and tossed it to his friend. Pike’s gun misfired, and Harvey shot and killed Pike. In the meantime, Lonnie had rounded up their wagon and had it waiting outside for a quick retreat.

Shooting down Pike Landusky was the first killing attributed to Harvey Logan. Fearing local reaction, he ran. However, others indicted in the killing, including Lonnie Logan and Jim Thornhill, were later found not guilty because the shooting was deemed to be self-defense. Therefore, had Harvey allowed the law to work, one has to wonder whether he would have taken to the outlaw trail he soon traveled.

By 1899, Harvey Logan had rustled cattle, robbed the bank in Belle Fourche, S.D., escaped jail in Deadwood, S.D. (see related story, P. 18), and held up a train in Humboldt, Nev. He was an experienced thief and member of the Wild Bunch, under the leadership of Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy. On June 2, 1899, he joined with his brother Lonnie, Harry Longabaugh (alias the Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick, Will Carver and ‘Flatnose’ George Currie (the man who had inspired Logan’s use of the ‘Curry’ alias) for a Union Pacific Railroad holdup at Wilcox Station, Wyo.

During the escape, the robbers split up, with Harvey, Sundance and Flatnose heading for their Hole-in-the-Wall hideout in north-central Wyoming. A posse led by Sheriff Josiah Hazen got too close, and during a gunfight near Castle Creek, Hazen was mortally wounded in the stomach. The outlaws escaped, and Harvey was soon named as the shooter by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, whose agents were busy following a trail of stolen Wilcox bank notes.

Pinkerton operative Charles Siringo arrived in Harlem, Mont., that fall to check up on a $500 deposit made by Lonnie Logan and his cousin Bob Lee through their Curry Brothers Saloon, also known as the Club Saloon. Because the bank notes had a torn corner like the Wilcox robbery bills, the bank sent them to Washington, D.C., for verification. When the deposit did not show up in their account by January, Lonnie and Bob became suspicious. With barely 24 hours’ notice, they sold their interest in the saloon to George J. Ringwald, a local businessman, on January 6, 1900.

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