Nat the Fur King

Appeared from September 28, 1939 to October 23, 1939

Full Name: Nat Natnus. Anagram Name: Natnus is “suntan” spelled backward.

Nat the Fur King was a fur thief and the leader of a fur-stealing gang that included Duffy and Nick.

Nat and his gang were driving away from a successful theft of a bundle of silver fox furs, when their car sideswiped Tracy’s police car. Tracy immediately took after them, but Nat’s car outdistanced Tracy’s in the country. Nat had Nick stop the car and he and Duffy dumped the furs by the side of the road and then drove off. Tracy found the furs and tracked them back to their owner. He then found out where Nat’s cold storage fur ware house was located. Tracy posed as a crooked fur buyer, gained admittance to Nat’s warehouse, and when Nick showed him around, Tracy stole one of the fur pelts for evidence.

Nat’s next job involved hijacking a fur delivery truck. Nick and his gang emptied the oil from a big drum on a curved road. The fur truck hit the oil, skidded, overturned and burst into flames. Nat and his men cleaned out the truck and sped off. Tracy and Pat’s car also skidded on the oil and struck the burning truck. Tracy saved Pat and the truck driver from the fire.

Then Tracy set a trap for the thieves. Tracy asked Fred Marken, a fur dealer on the Avenue, to phone Nat and ask him to bring over some furs. Nat and Nick arrived and, as the deal was being closed, Tracy and Pat burst through the wallpapered doorways of two small dressing booths with their guns drawn. Nat the Fur King and Nick were completely taken by surprise. They were arrested and taken to jail.

Adapted and reprinted with permission from the author Victor E. Wichert, “The Dick Tracy Encyclopedia, Oct. 4, 1931 – Dec. 25, 1977”. Dick Tracy is a registered trademark of Tribune Media Services, Inc.