Hays Taylor was actively involved in the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Hays killed a black soldier in an Indianola saloon. Later, brothers Hays and Doby Taylor were involved in the killing of two Yankee soldiers at Mason in November 1867. They got away and returned to their father's ranch in Karnes County. Ostensibly in pursuit of horse and cattle thieves, the State Police terrorized a large portion of Southeast Texas. In 1869, Sutton ally Jack Helm led the Regulators under military authority. He was known for arresting men, shooting them and claiming they tried to escape. One paper reported that in July and August 1869, Helm's Regulators killed 21 men attempting to escape. On August 23, 1869, a posse laid an ambush that resulted Taylor shot to death by Capt. C. S. Bell. He is believed to be buried on the Creed Taylor ranch on the Ecleto Creek, near Stockdale.