Chilluminati Podcast - Episode 239 - The Legend of Belle Starr - Part 1

Episode Date: February 25, 2024

The boys go back to the Wild West as they learn about the famous gun slingin', horse wranglin' bad*** known as Belle Starr. MERCH - http://www.theyetee.com/collections/chilluminati Special thanks to our sponsors this episode - All you lovely people at HTTP://PATREON.COM/CHILLUMINATIPOD Factor - http://www.factor.com/chill50 PROMOCODE: chill50 Babbel - http://www.babbel.com/chill Jesse Cox - http://www.youtube.com/jessecox Alex Faciane - http://www.youtube.com/user/superbeardbros Editor - DeanCutty http://www.twitter.com/deancutty Art Commissioned by - http://www.mollyheadycarroll.com Theme - Matt Proft

Oh, hey, how's it going? Amazing. I just finished paying off all my debt with the help of the Credit Counseling Society. Whoa, seriously? I could really use their help. It was easy. I called and spoke with a credit counselor right away. They asked me about my debt, salary, and regular expenses, give me a few options, and help me along the way. You had a ton of debt. And you're saying Credit Counseling Society helped with all of it? Yep. And now I can sleep better at night. When Debt's got you, you've got us. Give Credit Counseling Society a call today. Visit no more debts.org.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Chaluminati podcast. Episode 230. 240. Six, because I think minisode was 35. Wrong. No, no, 35. I don't know, somewhere on there. Anyway, I'm one of your host, Mike Martin, joined by... What a great start.

Thank you so much. Join by the chat GPT and Google's Bard of L.A. Whoa. Jesse and Alex. Boys, our jobs are in jeopardy. The AI leap has taken with the video and shit. I mean, it's only a matter of time. I don't know.

I don't know. Have you seen the interoperative? net lately that it's been posted that the AI has gone nuts. Chat GPT lost his mind. Lost its mind. So yeah, apparently chat GPT was responding in a mix of English and Spanish, nonsensical phrases repeating it is and it is over and over and over. I tried to instigate it last night and I couldn't get it.

I couldn't get it to. It was speaking in like whimsical, like colorful, like, spanglish. Like, like, it was like almost like. Emotes. It felt the like joie de vivre. Like it was like waxing poetic almost. Like it was it was fucking scary. Like I know that it's just a language modeler and that it's just going wild.

And like of course a language modeler going wild is going to be like extravagant talking. Right. Yeah. But like man has as I've never seen something that felt more like a cyberpunk 2077 side quest unfolding in my life. And by the way, I'm Google Bard because if anyone in this party is the bard. it's me. Yeah, I'm the GPT stands for gangster parading about town. Oh shit.

And he's chatting. So you know he's social. He's got lots of friends. Yep. He's got a whole lot of friends. So many friends. Most of my friends, not people you want to be friends with, but they get their work done. They get their job done.

Ask Jesse. He's a, he's a social butterfly about town. Ask his neighbors. He's that homeless guy they all know about on the street. walking up and down. Yep. That's fact. Speaking in broken spanglish and talking about the Jabberwalk as he's walking up the boulevard.

This is, this is actually no joke. This weekend, I went to our favorite sausage place, Worcesterkirsch. Hey, I love that place. A delightful fellow from Germany because he wanted to go there specifically for that. Here's the thing. When we were done, it's pouring down rain outside. We walk outside and we're staying there waiting for his Uber. And this dude, random guy walking the rain.

stops, turns to us in the rain and is like, hey man, is this the place with the rattlesnake and rabbit sausage? And I was like, yeah. Yeah. And then we had a 45 minute conversation. Oh my God. In the rain. You think he was AI generated?

We were under an awning. He stood in the rain. He was high out of his mind. Sounds like an AI generated. It's not fully understanding what you're supposed to do when you get well. You're on the RP server with the AI like beta mods plugged in. Yeah, and he kept talking to us, and he was like, you know what's crazy? In some places, people eat crickets, and we think that's weird.

But here, we processed meat. I think that's weird. And I was like, he's kind of on to something. I like that. He's kind of like the same as Anthony Burdain in at least one way. Yeah, at least one way. Yeah. And he's outside.

The AI thing also, last bit of AI news before we move on to the actual shit. And obviously what Alex has to tell. about before we move on to that is on top of SORA dropping, which was Open AIs video thing, BARD quietly sorted out BARD, Google rather quietly released their new AI to a limited number of users called Google's Gemini. I don't know how many people it's invited. It's also a large language model. I got access to it in the premium version, the advanced version. And the difference between this and BARD, or at least any large language models, is that after a certain amount of time or a certain amount of information you input, the AI has an inability to maintain context of the conversation.

So if you're like type out a way huge thing, it loses it. Okay, sure. This, the new one doesn't. It is able to maintain it. They tested it by feeding it the entire manual for the Apollo 11 mission and then asking it questions and kind of quizzing it and it passed. It like maintained all that information. It also is the first, one of the first AIs to understand nuanced instructions.

able to reason through problems logically and provide its own insightful responses. So it's actually like, well, reasoning a little bit, according to Google. This is great news for everyone who leaves comments about this show and other shows that's like, you guys keep talking about stuff that isn't the topic. And you keep going on, you have jokes. All I want to know is about those murders. Well, pretty soon. Only murders.

GPT podcast will tell you all that information. You want to have to have fun and all. You won't have to listen to a bunch of real guys like us. You won't have to do that. You go listen to a digital prostitute historian who can do anything that you want. It's so phenomenal. So you got that to look forward to as an alternative to this. Speaking of digital prostitutes, head on over to patreon.com slash shulminati pod, the website where you can hire us to make podcasts for you for money.

That's right. I know it sounds salacious. But if you listen to us out here barking at you from this digital street corner, you can rest assured that we are clean. we are strong and we are ready to give you some of the best paranormal podcasts that you have ever seen in your life. So head on over to patreon.com slash ChimaniPod. Put your money in our wallets to keep us going. Thank you so much, Alex. Yeah, you are, you know what?

You are so welcome. Today, boys, we're just going to get into the topic now. We're returning to a time we haven't been to in a while, the 1800s Old West. Oh, baby. Last time when we were there, I think it was Kentucky Cannibal. I think I'll have to double check. but it's been a while since we back. Oh, you mean the cannibal, not from Kentucky?

Not from Kentucky, cannibal who, like, in cartoonish ways, evaded law. Today, though, we're speaking about somebody who's actually made their way into pop culture in a surprising way, especially with the story that's attached to them. Today, we're talking about the bandit queen known as Bell Star. I don't know if you know anything about Bell Star. I knew very little going into this about Bell Star. Do you each of you, do any of you know about Bell Star at all? Bell Star.

Yeah, Bell Star, the Bandit Queen. I know this. I've heard the phrase Bell Star, the Bandit Queen before. Yep, okay. I would be remiss if I said that I knew anything else about. Okay, cool. Well, this is going to be a two-parter. And today we're going to be talking exclusively about the legend,

who she is in pop culture and a lot of history books from the past anyway. And a lot of what crimes she supposedly committed, who she ran with, and then next week, we're going to go through the actual life of Bell Star, where a surprising amount of that might actually hold up in other bits, not necessarily as much. For our main sources for this series, I used two books, specifically one called Bell Star, the Bandit Queen by Burton Rasko. And then I also read Bell Star and Her Times, the literature, the facts, and the legends by Glenn Shirley. That book is phenomenal.

If you're only going to read one book about Bell Star, read that one. It is when we talk, we'll be talking about that book more in the next episode, but it's probably one of my favorite just factual, factually written true crime books in general, even though it's Old West focused. So take a look at those. I highly recommend both of the books regardless. But yeah, if you've never heard of Bell Star, the so-called Bandit Queen of the Wild West, let me tell you, her story is kind of a mix of facts and legend.

She was born named Mira May Bell Shirley on February 5th of 1848. Why does this sound like an 80s anime about the Old West? Like, I don't know, like something about it has like a magical girl vibe to me. I don't know why. Bell Star the Banda Queen. Yeah, I could absolutely see an anime being made about that. You know, I don't know. She's got like a magic pistol.

She swirrulled as she transforms. Yeah, it's the Old West. So it's like, she spins with like. pop out umbrella and as it pulls away, she's in her new outfit, spinning a pistol. Yeah, and it's still got the sailor moon, but it's like, you know, you get what I'm saying. You get it. Yeah, yeah. I hope you inspired somebody out there.

So Bell Star was actually born Mira May Bell Shirley on February 5th of 1848 in Carthage, Missouri. And she's one of the few people. We actually have like a little bit of information on as to who her parents were in this era, what they did and what her life growing up might have been like. Her parents, John Shirley and Elizabeth Eliza Pennington, were prominent figures in their community, enjoying a comfortable lifestyle and actively participating in social and economic affairs all through town. John Shirley was actually like an entrepreneurial man. He engaged in a bunch of different business ventures, including farming, blacksmithing, real estate,

reflecting his diverse interests and ambitious nature as just an individual. Bell was the child of his third wife. So he had two wives prior. each wife gave him one to two kids and he remarried to Elizabeth who would be his last wife and Bell was a product of that marriage. His activities extended beyond

accumulating wealth though. They were also driven by a desire to create a legacy and provide stability for his family. John's entrepreneurial endeavors were not solely motivated just by financial gain but also he was well known within the community of just being a very community-driven individual. He liked to help out where he could.

The community liked him because he was so community driven. Yeah, really. Whether that was selfish reasons or not, we don't, I don't have no idea. And then there's Eliza Pennington, Bell's mother, who was known for her hospitality

and unwavering dedication to her family as well. She ensured that Bell and her siblings received a quality education and emphasizing not only academic knowledge, but also the social grace is expected of upper echelons of society to give you an idea of where these people are in the Wild West.

They are well off. They're doing very well for themselves. The focus on education was somewhat progressive for the time, obviously, particularly in the emphasis on educating daughters as well as sons, indicating that a family that valued intellectual and cultural development and Eliza's influence on Bell's upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of self-worth and a desire for personal fulfillment beyond traditional domestic roles. So you're telling me we got like a gentle lady bandit. Yes, but it's interesting too because this part of her life, I think fully informed

why she rubbed up against the law so much because she was raised in an environment as close to equal as men as she could be for that time. An education, she was very close with her brother. She loved to ride horseback. This is going to be a fucking fire story, isn't it? This is about to be. We'll see. Well, yeah, well, it's going to be good.

I promise. It's like Netflix's Eleanor Holmes. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for. Netflix's Eleanor Holmes. I'm pretty sure it names Anola. Anola. Anola T. Holmes. I don't know. I don't know. I clearly didn't watch it, but I know the vibe. The Witcher and 11 teamups.

Bell also apparently like gotten fights occasionally stood up for herself. So when she got to adulthood and there was a certain expectation of her as a woman of the time, she fucking didn't like it. So she very much kind of struck out on her own a lot. And the people she ran with, which is true, she ran with a lot of these criminals who will really inform, I think, a sense of independence that was brewing within her. because of the way she was raised, at least at the very beginning. This sounds so cool so far. We are... The Wild West is great. There's like so many fucking cool stories. We are in a comic book adventure tale. How many years of whip practice did she have?

About, I think, 12 years of active whip practice. Yeah, and how many years of star shooting? That's because they were stark Southern Confederacy supporters. Oh. How many puzzles did she have to solve that her family created in Instead of expressing love verbally, they did it through puzzle solving. The puzzle was wrestling with her brother, I guess. Right, right, right.

So all right. No love to be had. What? So was her brother killed in a way that he then left clues for her to follow based on the trainings that he gave her as a child? So dark, the comment. Right. Yes, I think so.

It would lead to her becoming what, who were we referencing here? Did Tom Hanks in any way help in a role? that would lead her on it in a multilingual, multinational, worldwide. Historical, yeah. Adventure. A Da Vinci Code, got you. Da Vinci. The Da Vinci.

The Da Vinci Code. Yeah, so, you know, Eliza was actually, like, a rather involved mother, and an education was kind of rare, like, rare, but Bell grew up rather well off, I guess, in that regard. This is the coolest character that we've ever talked about on the show so far. And then, you know, not too long after about 15 years after or so her birth, the Civil War began and the Civil War itself had a profound impact on the Shirley family as a whole, as it obviously did on countless other families across Missouri and the wider south. Missouri's position as a border state made it a very tumultuous place,

with loyalty split in guerrilla warfare very common. The Shirley's were staunched supporters of the Confederacy, a stance that placed them at odds with their unionist neighbors and forces. And this period was marked by significant upheaval for the family, including the loss of their property and a forced relocation to sign Texas after the war. Because they were just huge supporters of the confederacy. But beyond that, we don't have a huge amount of details as to like what they did and how they were involved in the war other than we knew they were forced to move.

This move could prove to be a turning point for Young Bell. Texas in the post-war years was a place of reinvention and opportunity, but also of lawlessness and desperation. The Shirley family, having lost much of their pre-war status and wealth, found themselves in a community where former Confederate soldiers, outlaws, and adventures all mingled in one place. And it was here that Bell's fascination with the outlaw lifestyle began to take root. She's just surrounded by these people, influenced not only by the people she was meeting, but the stories they were telling, which I imagine many of them were whole. wholeheartedly embellished, but for a young kid, this is like, it's magical in a way, like stories of these heroes that fight against the law that took everything from them. In the years that followed, Bell Star would become a very legendary figure in the annals of

the Wild West. Her alleged involvement in robberies, stagecoach holdups, horse theft, as well as the relationships with notorious outlaws such as Jesse James and the younger brothers, cemented her reputation as the bandit queen. beyond the sensationalized stories and the mystique surrounding her life, Bell Star was a complex and fascinating woman who defied societal norms and lived on her terms, leaving a lasting imprint on the history of the American frontier. And that much is true. She truly was just a very forward-thinking woman for the time. It is absolutely crazy to me that the Wild West, because it's so nuts, leads so easily to glorifying, glamorizing criminals. Like,

Jesse James and like all these different bandits and in this case Bell Star like clearly criminals but it's like damn they were cool as hell oh hey how's it going amazing I just finished paying off all my debt with the help of the credit counseling society whoa seriously I could really use their help it was easy I called and spoke with a credit counselor right away they asked me about my debt salary and regular expenses give me a few options and help me along the way you had a ton of debt and you're saying credit counseling's a Society helped with all of it? Yep. And now I can sleep better at night. When debt's got you, you've got us. Give credit counseling society a call today. Visit no more debts.org.

Let me read this to you. You reminded me of a part of the book that I could flip open to. And basically the author says there are essentials to a formula that are fairly consistent that breed this kind of idolization. You literally are bringing up Jesse. And he goes, the essentials embrace fundamental psychological facts. One, civilized man, no matter how circumspects, law-abiding, conventional, and tamed he may be, has a subconscious desire for revolt against law,

against restraint, against civilizing forces of life. Two, thus, even when he deplores, he always has a measure of admiration for the outlaw, the man who is definitely at odds with the restraints of civilization and immical to them. Three, if the outlaw hero is depicted as having been a naturally good and very superior man who was forced into outlawry through an event that outraged his sense of justice, particularly if the outrage was perpetrated by a representative or representatives of the forces of law and order, the civilized man is able to make the outlaw hero his viker in the writing of injustice by spectacular revenge.

For every civilized man is at times or feels himself to be the victim of an injustice which he cannot write or of forces against which he cannot take revenge. So his outlaw hero performs for him, cleansing his emotions of hate by vicariously killing in a brilliant, courageous, and superior manner, the representatives of the persons or forces the civilized man hates. And finally, four, the outlaw hero must die, preferably through treachery or against terrific odds, and never in a fair and open fight. For there must be a retribution for the outlawry, not only to satisfy the moral conscious of the civilized man, but also because the viker or the scapegoat who bears the weight of one's sins must be. die so that civilization man, civilized man may live. Yeah, no, that's, Ford Mustang, never be tamed.

That's a really great summary of exactly the vibe. It's why all the best Western movies, the main character does not make it out in the end. Yeah, I'll tell you right now, that whole story that you just described, already played in my head about this character. Right, exactly. And this was written in the late 1800s by a man by the name of Richard K. Fox that he, when he was talking about why people

buying these 25 cent paperbacks and these dime novels about these outlaw heroes that people like were clamoring for constantly. It literally is also the plot of straight up if you're playing a grand theft auto or you're playing cyberpunk or playing red dead. Yeah, literally the plots are like, look, you either live the coolest life and burnout or you die boring. And it's like, okay, I understand how they can translate to someone. And they take this on themselves.

In fact, Bell Star, if you look up, Bell Star trying to find an image of her, half of them are from all the media created about her. Normal Bell star looks like a normal ass woman from the West. Yep. But all the media, she's this glamorous, beautiful Bell who's like going to take out dudes with the guns and stuff. And it's, yeah, it's ultra glamorized because the idea is like, damn. It's the same thing with Billy the Kid. Like Billy the Kid's legend is much bigger than the reality of his history. one day we'll talk about Billy the Kid for sure.

But same thing. Like, there's just like all the media representations of Billy the kid are not the dorky, like dude who maybe killed three people. It's the Lord of the Rings that's true. It's like we just can't, we just, I'm no, no, no, no, no. Like, I'm never going to get tired of hearing stories about this exact character. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's just great.

Because yeah, because it's a part of you that just kind of resonates with it. Sure. So they moved to Texas, getting back to the story. They were forced to move to Texas. And despite the challenges their new life, they remained committed to the education and upbringing of their children. Bell described as an intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, received an education that was unusual for women over time, studying subjects like classical literature, piano, and what else but the social graces. Like Bryn-Mar? Like how to act in

per public, like public, you know, behavior. Like a lady. Like a lady, exactly. This education is not just served to refine her character. It also instilled in her a sense of independence and a desire for a life less ordinary. And her exposure to the harsh realities of the frontier, combined with the romanticized tales of outlaws and rebels that she grew up around hearing, began to shape her worldview. Bell admired the resilience and freedom these figures seem to represent a stark contrast to the structured, constrained roles available to women at the time in her society. This admiration, coupled with her own spirited nature, set the stage for the life of adventure notoriety that she would later pursue. The dynamic within the Shirley family

also really played a crucial role in her development. She was close with her brother John, who would later become involved in criminal activities himself, and this relationship may have further normalized the idea of living outside of the law for Bell. Additionally, the early loss of her elder brother, Bud, killed during the Civil War, left a lasting impact on Bell, reinforcing her disdain for the federal government and sympathy for the rebel cause. She really, like, it's all just like, she's at the perfect age for her brain to just be molded into, like, this criminal.

And I always remember, like, the Wild West, people were shooting everybody else for like the smallest fucking reasons. People were just getting shot in the street. You'd get hanged. Like there was just death was everywhere in the wild west. Thank God that we're past that now. Yeah, no, thank God we don't do that anymore, honestly. So young bell with her sharp wit, riding skills, undeniable charm,

quickly adapted to her surroundings. She became acquainted very early in her life with notable figures of the time. Like I said earlier, Jesse James and the younger brothers. Like she knew them from like teenhood on. who were often welcomed by the Shirley family. These interactions undoubtedly influenced Bell as well, who was growing increasingly fascinated with the outlaw lifestyle. In the Wild West, Bell Star was the infamous lady outlaw,

had a love life as well that was as tangled as a barbed wire fence that they put around their farm. You like that? Did you just, is that just some poetic license you just there? Some little poetic licensing. You spicing it up? Yeah, I live in Texas now, you know?

I got to bring the southern to the language. It was more scrangly than a barbed wire fence. And after a thunder, a thunder, a thunder hoot. Every time it rains out here, there are not an insignificant amount of people who go, God's beating his wife. Oh.

Weird, huh? Yeah, you know, I always say that California and Texas are like cousins, but you know what? There's a lot of differences between cousins. A lot of differences, dude. It's like second or third cousins. I love you guys out there. I do, but we got to talk.

me that's just the Christian in me I love you but I'm worried I love y'all's but I'm worried I'm so worried I'm worried oh god every husband that she got hitched to became a part of her legend as the bandit queen so we're going to go on every husband yep she had multiple don't worry we're going to go through all of them so let's go on her ride and uncover some of the crazy stories about how she met and married each of her husbands a mix of love loyalty backstabbing all played out against the backdrop of people dying constantly in the Wild West. Bell's first time getting married was with a man by the name of Jim Reed. Now, if you don't know who Jim Reed is, Jim Reed and, Jim Reed in history is not only known for

his deeds, but also as the first husband of Bell Star. In fact, like, that might be the thing he's most famous for, in my opinion. Their paths crossed in the aftermath of, as a civil war. And by deeds, I mean, small-time crimes, like stealing stagecoach robbery, stealing cattle, that kind of thing. He's not really known beyond his time being married to Bell and then the end of their marriage. So yeah, it's a, there's not too, too much known about this particular individual. This marriage was also super important because it set the scene for the rest of this girl's life.

They first met in the early 1860s when Bell, she's so she's in the early 1860s, she is like 13, 14, right around that era because she was born in 1848. So 1850 would be 10 years old. You're looking at 13, 14. year old in the early 1860s. And Bell, whose real name still at the time was Mirra Maybel Shirley, was a teenager. Jim was a bit older and was a super charming guy who apparently, apparently a super charming guy who lived in the same part of Missouri as Bell did when she lived out there.

And he's how old? A little older, they don't give, I didn't get an exact age for him. I can't even give you an exact year that they met. But it's the 1850s sometime? Early 1860s. They say he was a bit older. My guess is he's probably like, 18. No way. No, you think older than that? Yeah. My thing is there are no teenagers yet.

Like, no, childhood doesn't exist. That's what I'm saying. She's 14, but in the 1950s is when they were like, I'm not a kid and I'm not an adult. This is a whole new world. Yeah, yeah. According to this website, it says they got married in 1866 and he was another childhood acquaintance. And I don't know if that means they were both children together or if she just knew an older man as a kid. I'm not sure what that means. Their families were close. Like the families of Jim, so I guess maybe he was around her age then. I think he was a little, yeah, just like kind of around her age. Both families were also from the South and had similar feelings about the Civil War. So they stayed close even after they moved to Texas. And that's when he met this guy,

that's when she met this guy named Jim Reed and his irresistible charm. And he had a rep for being a daring outwall at the time. The whole bad boy thing really caught Bell's eye, and they started dating near instantly and sneaking around and meeting up in secret while the country was all torn up by the Civil War. So, you know, typical teenager things. We are in the Star Wars of America is what we're in right now. I love that.

I love that description. This is a crazy. This is, I can't believe. This is like the notebook plus Les Mis plus enemy at the gates. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah? Like Jesse said, the two of them did get married right after the war ended in 1866.

And it was like a giant party, apparently, to celebrate their love and also a big screw you to all the chaos and going around in them. Like, it was a really celebratory time for the two of them because shit was just bad at that point. It was a small wedding with just family and close friends who had survived the war. And they were all kind of really excited for the future full of peace and prosperity. They were going to try and live like a normal life. We knew, she knew that Jim Reed was kind of an outlaw, but after getting married, the plan was to live the straight and narrow. And Bell and Jim's marriage was kind of a mix. They tried to settle down and live that normal life, but Jim couldn't resist the call of the outlaw life.

He was like a magnet for trouble and it wasn't long before they were both caught up in a world of crime in the Wild West and danger. The couple initially tried to leave that normal life by moving to Missouri, where they'd hoped to distance themselves from the violence and chaos that had defined their early relationship, and Bell, ever the devoted wife, supported Jim's effort to maintain a legitimate livelihood. However, the economic hardships of the post-Civil War South and Jim's own restlessness made it difficult for them to stay on the straight and narrow for very long. It wasn't long before Jim Reed succumbed to the temptations of his former life, the allure of easy money and the thrill of living outside the law proofs too strong from to ignore, and as Jim became more involved in criminal activities, including cattle

rustling and bank robberies, Bell found herself drawn into the world, along with him. Well, let's see, we like hootin, hollering. We like hollering. We like riding. And we love hasten. And rassling. Yeah, Bell started getting pulled in and her involvement at the stage was primarily as more of an accomplice providing support and cover for Jim's escapades, not directly involved with the actual robberies at the time. The Reed's life together became one of constant movement and evasion. As Jim's notoriety slowly grew, so too did the attention of law enforcement. Bell and Jim, along with their growing family, found themselves moving frequently seeking refuge in the lawless regions of Indian territory in Texas, where they had family

and could rely on the protection of fellow outlaws. Throughout their marriage, Belle's role evolved significantly. Initially viewed as merely the wife of an outlaw, soon she garnered her own reputation for toughness and cunning. Bell's intelligence and social skills made her an invaluable asset to Jim's criminal endeavors. She was rumored to be involved in place, planning heist, scouting locations, and even negotiating with other outlaws for protection and assistance during the time that their planned crime was happened. She was like, the brains, the man in the chair. She was taking care of everything while Jim was like, I shoot a gun and then went and robbed

somebody. But Jim's life in their marriage lasted less than 10 years. Jim Reed died in 1874, marking another turning point in Bell's life. He was killed in Paris, Texas by a deputy sheriff ending their tumultuous marriage and thrusting Bell into a new role as a widow with young children. This loss propelled Bell into a more active role in the outlaw community as she sought to navigate the challenges of life without her husband. And she went husbandless for six years.

Jim's death, while a personal tragedy, served more to harden Bell in the long run, making her more determined to carve out her own place in the world. old devoutlaws and renegades. Jim's death not only marked the end of Bell's first marriage, but also set the stage for her transformation into becoming the bandit queen. The experiences and challenges she faced as Jim's wife laid the foundation for her subsequent marriages and her eventual legend. Did she drink from the goblet of thievery at the temple of larceny?

Yeah, it's through love, loss, and a life lived on the edge of the law, Bell Star merged the figure of enduring fascination. Look at that alliteration. Look at what's going on. Look at him. He's just styling. The more and more I write, I'm building skills. I've been doing this for six years now.

It's like, you know, you get a little better as time goes on. Yeah, hey. Yeah, following his death in 1874, now a widow at a crossroads of her life, it wasn't long before she encountered a partner in crime for a while who would eventually become her second husband, another criminal by the name of Sam Starr. I don't know if Sam Starr rings a bell for anybody. but he was from the notorious family star stepped into the limelight not just for his own criminal endeavors but also being Bell star's most famous consort.

Their union was one of shared ambition and mutual respect with Sam bringing Bell into the fold of the Indian Territories outlaw society. He was a well-known criminal that ran with Jesse James essentially. Before they got married, we're just going to, they met in 1870, 1870, There it is. And they immediately started working together on a crime that would become legend. The name was just simply called the Dallas Bank Heist of 1878. It was, and we're going to paint a picture of how this all went down.

According to those who quote unquote were eyewitnesses, stories passed down from grandfather to father to son and so on. And according to the story, it was a sweltering day in late August of 1878 when Bell Star cloaked in the guy, in the guise of respectability, rode into Dallas. Her plan was audacious to rob one of the city's most secure banks. The bank, flush with the wealth of the booming cattle trade, was an irresistible target for outlaws, but Bell knew that brute force alone would not guarantee success. It required a blend of subtlety, intelligence, and boldness, qualities she possessed in abundance. Dressed as a genteel lady of means, Belle strolled into the bank under the pretense of opening a

substantial account. Her charm and poise distracted the bank staff, drawing their attention away from the more sinister aspects of her visit. This is a PS2 action game from Japan. We are about to unleash our gun skills. While she was distracting people, her accomplices, a motley crew of outlaws that she had handpicked for this venture, loitered nearby, blending in with the townsfolk and awaiting for her signal. With the precision of a seasoned conductor, Bell executed her plan. At the moment of maximum distraction, she subtly signaled her gang. What followed was a masterclass in criminal choreography. The outlaws sprang in action, securing the bank within moments, their movement so well coordinated that the bank's patrons and guards were overwhelmed before they could mount any

resistance. Bell, maintaining a role as the distraught lady, was the perfect cover for the operation. Her accomplices emptied the vaults with efficiency, lined their pockets with the fruits of their daring endeavor, and as quickly as they had taken the bank, they vanished, leaving behind a scene of confusion and astonishment. The escape was as meticulously planned as the heist itself. Bell with her gang had arranged for several getaway routes, anticipating the law's response. With Bell leading the charge, they split up, rendezvousing at a pre-arranged hideout far from the reach of the Dallas lawman. Their escape was aided by the network of sympathizers and safe houses that Bell had cultivated

over her now over decade of basically being a criminal and her past of growing up around criminal. Let me ask you a question. It was a testament to her influence and her foresight. What do you think what do you think the odds are that somewhere in one of those there was a coffin full of guns? Like we cut to a scene where she digs it up.

Yeah. You're just describing the scene in Westworld where they rob the, I don't know if it's the bank, but it's or it's the like casino. Yeah, like the main. You think they were inspired by the story of the Dallas house? It seems very much like like the dude who like suave falls in love with. That guy, 100% I feel like it's the exact same plot line.

I love that. They may have. I mean, she's in a she. We'll talk about pop the pop culture at the end here. The Dallas Bank heist story would become the stuff a legend. A story told and retold in saloons and around campfires across the west. Bell Star already a figure of considerable renown ascended to mythic status. She was not just the Bandit Queen.

She was a master strategist, a woman who could outwit and outmaneuver the best of them. The authorities were left grappling with shadows, and despite their efforts, no one could conclusively link Bell Star to the heist. Witnesses could not see beyond her guise of respectability, and her accomplices remained fiercely loyal, and their silence bought with the promise of wealth and the threat of retribution. Did she have a steam-powered talking robot horse that was her dad's spirit inside it? I love it. I absolutely love it. And did that horse come with a journal that guided you to the treasure hidden in the tombs in the mountain of the ancient pharaohs from Egypt that were in the old West?

Question. I love it. We are building, we are world building here. Yeah, we're creating a depth and lore to this history. Oh, spoilers, though. It wasn't pharaohs. the last remaining Atlanteans. There you go. Done. Done. Oh, hey, how's it going? Amazing. I just finished paying off all my debt with the help of the Credit Counseling Society.

Whoa, seriously? I could really use their help. It was easy. I called and spoke with a credit counselor right away. They asked me about my debt, salary, and regular expenses, gave me a few options, and help me along the way. You had a ton of debt. And you're saying Credit Counseling Society helped with all of it? Yep. And now I can sleep better at night. When debt's got you, you've got us. You've got us. Give credit counseling society a call today. Visit no more debts.org. Like I said, at this time, Bell is kind of like reaching her peak, like where she's the most dangerous, where she's doing the most crimes. And it's at this point, she's working really, really closely with Sam Star. They get very close during these, this point in time in her life. And she's also mostly living within Indian

territory, now known as Oklahoma, uh, in, in a swamp that is kind of like a ramshackle village of outlaws that kind of come and go and they're like, you know, loyal to each other and work with each other. And that's where she spends a fuck ton of her time. It was in the aftermath of her first husband's death, Jim Reed, that she crossed paths with Sam Star, initially, a member of the notorious

Star Clan, aka the gang, they were running around. The notorious Star Clan, do they have a song that they do together? No, no, yeah, no. I just, you know, I gave Klan, I should just said gang. Do they fly around in a hot air balloon together? Dude, they should. The Stars were a family.

steeped in criminal activities, gaining infamy for their involvement in horse theft, bootlegging, and harboring fugitives. To give you an idea, too, just kind of context, in this time, stealing a horse or stealing cattle was one of some of the worst crimes you could commit that wasn't murder. Because that was people's livelihood, like, cattle were money, and horses were expensive, and it was your way of traveling. So stealing that shit was like stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from somebody or tens of thousands. It was a very, very dangerous thing to do. It's like stealing their car and their

refrigerator or something. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Sam Star with his rugged charm and reputation as a skilled outlaw, immediately captured Bell's attention. They shared a deep understanding of the challenges and exhilarating, an exhilaration of living on the fringes of society, forming an almost instant connection just because they're both loved the criminal life. Bell was drawn to Sam's daring spirit and his ability to navigate the treacherous landscapes of the lawless territories, and their mutual attraction was undeniable. People saw it. They could tell that they really just clicked with each other. And the lovers wasted no time in tying the knot in 1880. Their wedding ceremony served as both a declaration of their love and an alliance between

two individuals deeply entrenched in the outlaw lifestyle. That to me, when you said, kind of like Game of Thrones, when we're talking about Deadpool earlier, like that to me is like very Game of Thrones. Getting married to unify loyalty of two outlaws who are very good at what they do. 100%. It's like literally like what a hut marriage would be. Yes, yes, exactly. The event was a significant gathering of figures from the criminal underworld marking the union of two prominent outlaws. Bell's marriage to Sam brought her officially into the Star family, intertwining her destiny with theirs. It gave her a new sense of belonging and identity forever linking her to the world of outlaws. And from that moment on, Bell Star became an integral part of the Star gang and being

kind of like all their day-to-day operations, embracing their criminal lifestyle and forging her own path in the treacherous terrains of the Wild West. Following their marriage, Bell and Sam, notorious outlaws at this point, settled within the Indian territory, choosing an area known as Youngers Bend as their home. They nestled along the scenic Canadian River. This location proved to be a strategic choice for their criminal activities, and the secluded and rugged landscape provided a natural hideout, shielding them from the pursuit of lawmen and rival gangs. Bell and Sam's homestead quickly transformed into a sanctuary for outlaws, becoming a haven for those seeking refuge from the long arm of the law, and the couple's home became a bustling hub

of criminal activity, serving as a headquarters for planning daring heist, concealing stolen goods, and dividing the spoils of their illicit ventures. Bell, with her sharp wit and unwavering determination emerged as a formidable figure within the outlaw community as a whole. She actively participated in criminal enterprises, leaving an indelible mark within the Wild West criminal past. We're going to talk a little bit about some of the stuff that she did in the, in terms of stagecoach robberies as well, because her involvement in heist, she also engaged in a bunch of other stuff, and one is land fraud, which we'll talk about after. One story that we know, freshly married to Star, in 1881, in the autumn of 1881,

A Missouri stagecoach robbery took place where apparently Bell Star was really involved. Stagecoaches regularly were ferrying wealth across rugged landscape, making them tempting targets for outlaws at the time. And Bell Star, having already established a reputation at this point, set her sights on a particularly lucrative stage coach, rumored to be carrying a fortune in gold from the mines in the west to St. Louis Banks. Oh, man, this is the like she was going to get out. It was her last year. It's her last ride. This is the big score. If we can get this one, I'll never have to work another day in my life.

It's the big one. Understanding the risks involved, Bell meticulously planned the heist, selecting a remote pass known for its narrow trails and limited visibility, perfect for an ambush. Clayton Reveen. I was like, did you look it up on it? It sounds very real. Yeah, she had to get it to 88 miles per hour.

Yeah. She was a school teacher, you see. In order to hijack the, yeah, the stageco. She recruited a band of trusted outlaws ensuring each man was skilled in gunfighting and horsemanship, essential for the success of the operation in their subsequent escape. Oh, but don't tell me, when they went down

the side of the ravine to go get it, the guy who was on top of the stage code pulled back a cloth to reveal a mini gun. Yeah. And he was gunning them down. They were like, it was a trap. The horses start, like, dodging left and right, like flashing like Goku, like, but wait, the Gatling gun got jammed.

Like, oh, no, they might have a chance. She's telling one bullet left in her six shooter. She throws her lipstick into the fucking chamber of the gun and it explodes. True to her reputation for theatrics, Bell decided that they would disguise themselves as a group of weary travelers in need of assistance. As the stagecoach approach, and I played Red Dead, never trust that shit. Oh, no. Always a trap.

Yeah. As the stagecoach approached the designated spot, Bell and her gang cloaked in their disguises, signaled their distress. The stagecoach, bound by the unwritten laws of frontier hospitality, halted to offer aid. The moment the stage coach stopped, the heist unfolded with swift precision. Bell revealing herself not as a damsel in distress,

but as an orchestrator of the ambush, stepped forward with her drawn weapon and her gang followed suit. The travelers and guards taken aback by the sudden turn of events were quickly subdued. Bell, with a mix of charm and sternness, assured their compliance, promising no harm would come to them if they cooperated. Then, with the stagecoach under their control, Bell's gang wasted no time in securing their prize. They expertly relieved the stagecoach of its valuable,

cargo, transferring the gold to their horses with efficiency honed by experience, and Bell overseeing the operation couldn't help but admire the weight of gold in her hands, a tangible reward for the daring adventure. And as quickly as they had appeared, much like the Dallas bank heist, Bell and her gang vanished into the wilderness, leaving the rob passenger as in crew to contemplate the whirlwind encounter. The outlaw is split up, as planned, using again pre-established routes to evade any pursuit and Bell's knowledge of the terrain and her planning ensured that they left little trace for Lawman to follow. It's like when you think you beat the game, but then you see the opening credits and you're like, oh, the Missouri stagecoach robbery became another legendary episode

in Bell stars outlaw career, celebrated in songs and stories that spread across the West. Bell's audacity and leading the charge combined with her strategic acumen, solidified her status as the bandit queen, a woman whose name evoked at both admiration and fear. And life with Sam Starr continued, but it was not without its challenges. The couple frequently found themselves in conflict with the law, particularly with a man, a judge by the name of Isaac Parker, also known as the Hanging Judge, who presided over the U.S. District Court for Western District of Arkansas. Is he called the Hanging Judge? Because he just turns his chair around and sits on it like one of the kids and it's like, hey. He's hanging. Yeah, he's just, he's chilling.

Is that why? Not at all for being known to sentence people. to death by hanging. No, all right, Bell, look, I know you kids these days love robbing stagecoaches. But like, look, when I was a kid, I would rob stuff all the time, too. It's fine. Look, it's totally not yihaha to rob stagecoaches, okay, kids? It's totally not y'ha. Listen up, partners.

It's not yaha to rob a stagecove. So basically because of where he was and where his district was located, their home and activities were under constant surveillance leading to numerous arrests and confrontations. And in December of 1882, both Bell and Sam were arrested by authorities for horse theft, a charge that carried significant penalties. They were tried in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and both were convicted. Bell received a relatively light sentence, which some attribute to her ability to charm the court in her assertion that she was simply following her husband's lead. And Sam was not so fortunate and received a harsher sentence, although both

eventually did get to return to their life of crime upon release. Which brings me to the crimes that were not so violent, particularly her land fraud schemes. Dude, so she's not just like a bandit. She's like a fucking full on like white collar criminal also. She's educated, man. She's like one of the few educated people in this time. She's like a superhero.

She's a time traveler. And it is. Again, she is very, when reading about her, even when we talk about her true history next week, she is a woman out of time. I fully agree with you. She much more like belongs 100 years from where she's at. You think Fif Tannen and left here, one of those, uh,

Oh, the ominacs. Almanacs. Yeah. I bet she did. That's what that lady was on the phone with that famous photo where it looks like a woman's on a cell phone. Oh yeah. The 19-twat's who she's talking to.

She's like, Bell, what are you up to, Dia? Yeah, in 1884, the winds of change were sweeping across Indian territory, bringing with them the promise of land and wealth for people who were out to colonize the area. The town of Ardmore. a burgeoning hub on the edge of the frontier became the focal point for settlers eager to stake their claim in this new world. Sensing opportunity amidst the chaos of land disputes and poorly

regulated claims, Bell Star devised a plan that was as ingenious as it was unscrupulous. Bell adopting the guise of a land agent, because this is the time you can be like, I'm a land agent. What are you going to do? Disagree with me? I'm educated. I sound smart. I'm a land agent. You don't need, like, you could make up like a fucking piece of paper that says it. It's really easy to pretend to be somebody else. And this time it's like literally just like, I swear. Literally it's all it took. So yeah, adopting the guys of a land agent, she infiltrated the burgeoning community of Ardmore.

And with forged documents in a silver tongue, she presented herself as a gateway to prosperity, offering settlers and speculators inside knowledge on the most fertile plots of land and secure claims. Her charm and apparent legitimacy won over the trust of many who saw her. in her a beacon of hope in the tumultuous landscape of the frontier. With a network of accomplices, including crooked lawyers and foragers, Bell set her plan into motion. She began selling parcels of land, and I mean selling with air quotes, parcels of land that she neither owned nor had the right to sell,

capitalizing on the confusion and lax regulations of the time. Her victims, blinded by the prospect of wealth and security, readily handed over their savings for a piece of the American dream. They were like, let's go. Bell's scheme was elaborate involving multiple layers of deception. She created fake land titles and deeds, meticulously crafted to withstand cursory examination. Payments were collected up front, with Bell promising that the official paperwork would follow once the bureaucratic formalities were sorted.

And in reality, the documents obviously would never arrive and the land would remain firmly in the hands of its original owners, oblivious to the transactions being conducted in their names. And for a time, Bell stars add more land fraud, arrived. Her reputation as a reputable land agent began growing even as her pockets filled with ill-gotten gains. And however, as settlers began to build on these new properties, the dispute started. And the true owners of the land confronted with strangers

claiming ownership of their territory sought legal recourse unveiling the depth of Bell's deception. The law, slow to react but relentless in its pursuit, began to close in on Bell and her associates. As the scheme unraveled, many of those swindled were left destitute the dreams of prosperity dashed against the harsh realities of frontier life. God damn. And Bell Star, ever the elusive figure, managed to slip through the grasp of justice again.

Her involvement in the Ardmore land fraud disappearing into the myths of legend as swiftly as it emerged. The scandal left a mark on the town of Ardmore, a cautionary tale of greed and gullibility in a land where opportunity and deceit walked hand in hand. Like she just like, she saw an opportunity and it was, I would guess it was probably like a year maybe two before they found out

and she just made quick cash. She was just like, these dumb fucks are never going to figure this shit out ever. Literally. And by the time they do, I'll already have their money. Goodbye.

So she made a lot of enemies is what you're telling me. Oh, God. Bell had a lot of enemies. Dude. There's a lot of enemies for Bell. The Ardmore land fraud, though less celebrated

than her more violent exploits, underscored Bell Star's ingenuity and her willingness to exploit the vulnerabilities of society on an edge, on the edge of actual civilization. In the rich tapestry of her life as the bandit queen, her willingness to move into the land fraud scheme

is like a reminder that she wasn't just this gun-totin horseback ride and criminal robbing people. She was truly, truly intelligent, and she leveraged that at every opportunity. But in 1886, her life would take another change. Sam Star, her husband, would die in a tragic end during a gunfight with a lawman by the name of Frank West. What?

Bell was, I know, I know, I know. I know. Dead Rising, he was a journalist. A wartime photographer. Was he a rough rider? No, wait, that's Jim West. Never mind. Nope.

Jim West, yeah. No, Frank West is the journalist from Dead Rising. Right. No, no, of course. Bell was devastated by her husband's death. But she continued to live at Younger's Bend and maintained her involvement in the outlaw lifestyle, afterward. Youngers Bend is the name of the

like like TV drama about like about this place by the way. Oh, is there? Yeah. No, we'll talk about. Yeah, I'm just throwing that out. Like if this was a TV drama because Youngers Ben. Oh yes. Yes. Yes. It's a sequel to Dawson's Creek. Oh, no one away. Kill by gunfire while he's doing eyes.

Fantastic, dude. That's fucking amazing. This, Sam's death really marked a chapter in Bell's life. And at this point, I would say, she's no longer at her peak but on her decline. Her and Sam Star were like a dynamic duo and really like leveraged, elevated each other and their crime exploits. And the loss of him just really, really hit Bell hard.

Bell's marriage past that. She would still have one more marriage past that. Detailed to a married to one of the younger brothers, Bruce Younger. We actually, it's at this point, we actually don't know much about her relationship. marriage to this man.

These relationships occurred later in her life after obviously Sam Starr's death. I'm changing the name of the show to live fast, die younger. Yeah, yeah. That's good though. I like that. That's really good. We can definitely move with that. We can start putting together a pitch deck. It gives me too much. That's too much of a spoiler for the final season.

Oh, well, if we even get there, we got to think short term on this. How much can we be? Right, right. We can't say younger. No one's going to get the joke if they show ends and they're like, what was the younger part? we'll just be coy. It'll be one of those, like when, in 2028, when they, like, remake the show on Netflix, it'll be, like, part of the mystique is fine. Like, when they figured out, hey, Arnold's parents.

Right, right, right, right, right. Yeah. Back to Bell. Bruce Younger would be the first, and then she would marry a fourth man after Bruce by a man by the name of Jim July, also known as Bill July. Fuck off. It's the Old West, dude. Jim July.

Again, another moment of silence for Littleberry shoot, but names were so good back then. Little berry shoot is the name of a little teddy bear who is bright orange and he eats like too much for his tummy and he falls asleep under a little tree. And then his cousin stabs him and he bleeds out on his floor. He eats malarkey berries. Yeah. He's a little doofy dofer bear. Yeah. The reason we don't know much about her marriages to these people is the documentation for these marriages is very minimal. Um, and unlike her marriage to Sam Star and even Jim Reed, there's a lot less legend and song and stories about her time with them. And to be honest, her time was kind of coming to an end very soon. Like many people who lived the outlaw lifestyle, and as Jesse pointed out, the woman made many, many, many enemies over her time living and associating with these people. But about these two people that she married, Bruce Younger was purportedly a relative of the infamous younger brothers, allies of the James Younger gang. And it's sometimes mentioned in tales of Bell's life.

But concrete evidence of their marriage is scarce. if this relationship existed, it's merely a footnote in her in her storied life and overshadowed by basically everything. Ouch to that guy. Damn. Yeah, no shit. Maybe they're just like, are you married? And she was like, yes.

Jim July was actually a Cherokee Native American and an outlaw as well. Because a lot of, there were like a known number of Native Americans who took on kind of like Jim July names and joined gangs and stuff. And he would be Bell's final husband. Their marriage was said to be one of. convenience born out of a mutual need rather than love. Jim, also known as Bill July, offered Bell protection and companionship in the twilight years of her life as she continued to navigate the dangers of the outlaw existence. And they lived together until Bell's untimely

death, which happened in 1889. Now, the death of Bell Star is actually fascinating because we still don't know who killed her, actually. There are theories, and we'll talk about that more next episode. But her death is another reason her legend really, I think, skyrocketed. The death of Bell Star steeped in mystery marks the grim end for the Bandit Queen. On February 3, 1889, just two days shy of her 41st birthday, Bell Star met a very violent end that would forever seal her legacy as an old West legend. The circumstances surrounding her death still remain enigmatic and effective. fitting, it's kind of fittingly shadowy conclusion to a saga of a person whose true life and legends are essentially mixed so thoroughly at this point.

Bell Star had spent an entire day in a relatively mundane manner, visiting friends and attending to errands near her farm in Eufaula, which is, which is still Indian territory. As evening approached, she mounted her horse for the journey back home, unaware that it would be her very last. The path she chose was a familiar route that she had taken many times before through the dense, untamed woods that surrounded her property. And as Bell Star rode through the desolate landscape, the sun cast long shadows across her path, and her trusted steed, a sturdy Mustang by the name of midnight, carried her with the grace and agility that had become synonymous with her legend. She was known throughout the untamed territories of the American West, a figure

shadowed in both admiration and fear, and in the blink of an eye, tragedy struck. From the depths of the thick underbrush that flanked the trail, a figure lay in wait, unbeknownst to Bell, completely concealed by dense foliage. The moment was swift and merciless, a sudden and deadly crack of gunfire shattering the tranquility of the wilderness, and Bell Star was caught off guard, the bullets finding their mark with lethal precision, the impact sent her tumbling off of her horse, her body crumpling onto the ground. A, Another gunshot would be heard and she later, about three hours later, would be found. She had been shot in the back by shotgun buckshot.

And after she had hit the ground, somebody walked over and point blank shotgun her in her collarbone neck area, just blew that area out. She was in a pool of blood. And when she was found, she was still alive. She couldn't speak. She wasn't really conscious fully, but she was breathing shallowly. and she had clearly dragged herself a few feet before basically giving up. Just for the end of the fucking cowboy song right there.

Yeah, exactly. That is crazy. There was blood on the saddle. She died. God damn. You don't know that one? And blood on the ground. I'm not know that one.

I'm sorry. Big puddle of blood all around. You don't know that one? I don't. I'm sorry. You guys, you guys listen to the wrong CDs. I'm sorry. I was too busy listening to Astro Lounge.

Oh my God. You know, I can't really fault you for that. Rip smash mouth, man. The only reason somebody found her is because her horse was uninjured. Instead of running off into the wild, it just went its known path and ran back. calm as fast as it could. When Bell was a, when somebody nearby came to visit Bell's house and she wasn't home, but the horse was they traced a path back and that's when they found her bleeding on the ground.

They took her, they weren't able to remove her from the ground before she died. She died on the ground and there and then. They buried her somewhere nearby. They didn't take her home or anything like that. The community at this point was completely gripped by a sense of unease as rumors and speculations began to run rampant. Among the considered suspects were disgruntled outlaws who had crossed paths with Bell during her time as a bandit. Others pointed to her tumultuous love life speculating that a scorned lover may have sought revenge, land disputes and family feuds, further complicated investigations.

And as Bell had a reputation for being both fiercely independent and quick to defend her interests, and when the lawman went to her family to ask about details of her, they were tight-lipped. They refused to speak about much of Bell's life. And as the investigation unfolded, the authorities faced numerous challenges. Witnesses were reluctant to come forward, fearing reprival from Bell's associates or wrath of those who may have been involved in her murder. The lack of physical evidence further hampered their efforts, leaving them with little to go on but hearsay and circumstantial clues. And the mysteries surrounding her death has endured up to today. We genuinely do not know who fucking killed Bell Star. There's plenty of people who claimed it was them.

none of like no evidence shows. And this mystery really lingers up to now. But that did not stop pop culture from latching onto this and using Bell Star as a character in pop culture as far back as the 1870s when they were writing dime novels about her and her exploits where some of these legends might come from. That is so sick. This character is from Doctor Who. That is my new.

But she also had movies. We have Bell Star as a movie from 1941. This film stars Gene Tierney as Bell Star and presents a highly fictionalized account of her life. It portrays her more as a romantic figure rather than an outlaw, emphasizing her relationships with the men in her life. Then there's the Bell Star story from 1968, an Italian-made Western that casts Elsa Mardellini in the lead role offering a European perspective on the American legend. Then there's Bell Star from 1980, a made-for-TV movie with Elizabeth Montgomery playing Bell. This film dives into her life and exploits, blending historical events with dramatic storytelling. And then Bell Star has also been on some TV stuff.

There's Stories of the Century from 1954 with an episode simply titled Bell Star. There's the legend of Jesse James from 1965 to 1966, where she appears in episodes of the series. Then there's Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, where an episode titled Baby Outlaw. laws features Bell Star and a storyline about her seeking help from Dr. Quinn. And then there's books and dime novels and all kinds of shit written about Bell Star that are there's just everywhere. So Bell Star persisted, her legend built. And that's where we are left with today. This, this, uh, Gene Tierney movie looks really awesome. It is a little weird that Randolph Scott has built above her as a Sam Star, uh, which is strange. But, uh, the poster

looks fucking hardcore. If you have a chance to look at it, it's right on Wikipedia. I looked at the posters, actually. I'm very curious. She looks fucking badass. She has like this red outfit on

and she's holding the gun. And she's in front of the cowboy. Everywhere, basically. She's in front of the cowboy on the poster. She inspired songs. She's appeared in comics and graphic novels, usually portrayed as a gun-toting femme fatal. And she's,

though there's not anything that I could find where she was like in a video game. Though I'm sure there's a bunch of stories in video games that are likely like. Come on. On, where is the video game? What, Dean's pointing. Oh, we got it.

Oh, shit. Red Dead Redemption 2. Oh, my God. That's right. I did this mission. Dude, she's Black Bell. She's Black Bell and Red Dead Red Dead Redemption 2. Oh, that's fucking sick.

She even lives in the swamp. Yes, she does. I get that reference now. Holy crap. I like retroactively get the game reference. Yo. That's sick. Man, literally double-taked life.

I did. He was like, whoa. My mind. was blown. What a rollicking tale. How, how delightful. I love when it's a true crime that's just like not about just annihilating innocent people. Yeah, exactly. I love that. So next episode, we'll be talking about her actual history and how, you know, we kind of found it. But, you know, I'll let you know now. She did run with Jesse James and, uh, and Star and Reed, like all those, that's all real. Like, she truly did marry these people.

people, like, lived with them. There's a, there's a foundation there that is real that I'm excited to talk about. I love this. I have no idea where I don't even, I thought we were done. I have no idea how there's more content about her. Episode one is the legend. Episode two is the truth. Okay.

This is the first person I've wanted to, like, buy a drink for that we've done, that we've studied. You wouldn't buy a drink for the Kentucky cannibal? I think I've, I don't think I got to buy it. I think it's like, I got some blood on me. You know what I mean? Like, I think that's, he's a cheap date. Yeah, that's true.

He'll drink from you. Like Newman from Jurassic Park. What do you want? I got nominami. What do you want? Well, that's it for us, everybody. We're going to have to go to a minisota at Patreon. com slash Chulomini.

What a website. Hey. Head over to the Yeti. com slash Chulomani. Those shirts that are for sale with Mel, sick ass try to the chill teeth, cat design thing. It's fucking sick. There's only like a couple weeks left before it's gone.

Go get it. And the coins are sold out still. We've got to get another run of those happening. That's it. That's it for us. Thank you guys so much. Appreciate you. We love you. Bye. Bye. Anyway, me and my wife were sitting outside indulging on our porch one night enjoying ourselves. I needed to go to the bathroom, so I stepped back inside and after a few moments, I hear my wife go, holy shit, get out here. So I quickly dash back outside. She's looking up in the sky and off. I look up too, and there's a perfect line of dozen lights traveling across the sky.