Legends of the Old West - OUTLAWS Ep. 3 | Sam Bass: “Texas Outlaw”

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

After the historic success of the Big Springs robbery, Sam Bass returns to Texas. He builds a new gang and continues his robbery spree. But now that he is a wanted criminal in Texas, he is hunted by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers track him to the town of Round Rock where they engage him in the final confrontation.   Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join   Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial.   For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.   On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Music Music Music Music Music Music From about 10.45 p.m. to about 11.45 p.m. on September 18, 1877, Sam Bass and five other members of the Black Hills Bandits robbed a train at the tiny Big Spring Station in western Nebraska. It was the Union Pacific No. 4 Express train, and it contained a Wells Fargo safe that held $200,000 inside. But the bandits couldn't open

the safe. By 1877, there had been so many train robberies across the country that banks like Wells Fargo were outfitting their safes with time locks. The safe couldn't be opened until the timer released the lock. Bandits could try to smash it open, but that took time. They could try to blow it open, but that was risky and dangerous. It didn't do much good to blow open the safe with dynamite, only to discover they had destroyed most of the money. With the Wells Fargo safe securely locked, the Black Hills bandits had turned their attention to a smaller safe and the passengers. For most of the hour of the robbery, the outlaws had netted just $1,700. That kept their losing

streak alive. The six outlaws had been robbing stagecoaches in the Black Hills for two months before riding down to Nebraska, and they had very little to show for their efforts. But then, at quite literally the last minute, Sam and a couple other men had discovered three wooden crates in a corner of the express car. They had been about to jump out of the car and make their escape, but they paused just long enough to crack open one of the boxes. They discovered that each box contained $20,000 in freshly minted gold coins. $60,000

in gold would be worth more than $2 million today. Split six ways, each man would take home the modern equivalent of more than $300,000. The Black Hills Bandits had finally struck it lucky. They were rich. That was retirement money in 1877, if they wanted it to be. But now they had to go. It was about 10 minutes to midnight, and they had doused the fire in the engine that produced the steam that was needed to power the locomotive.

The No. 4 express train was st to power the locomotive. The number four express train was stalled on the tracks at Big Springs, and in the distance, they could hear the rumble of the midnight freight train. The freight train would arrive right on time, see the stalled express train, and know there was a problem. The outlaws packed the gold coins onto their horses and galloped into the night. With the outlaws gone, George Barnhart, the station master at Big Springs, waved his red lantern to signal to the freight train that it needed to stop. Thankfully, the train was able to grind to a halt before it slammed into the express train. The bandits had destroyed

the telegraph at the station, so George and the crew of the express train. The bandits had destroyed the telegraph at the station, so George and the crew of the express train rushed to the freight train and reported the robbery. After the crew of the freight train determined there were no serious injuries on the express train, they charged up the express train and completed their run to the next station on the line, Ogallala. Within hours, heavily armed posses formed in Ogallala and headed off to Big Springs in pursuit of the bandits. Once word of the robbery was out, sheriffs in neighboring counties formed their own posses and joined the hunt. By sunrise, the bandits had dozens of deputies and volunteers on their trail. The following morning, Wells Fargo

posted a $10,000 reward for the capture of the bandits who were responsible for robbing the Union Pacific No. 4 Express train, and or the return of the gold coins. Overnight, Sam Bass and company became the most wanted fugitives west of the Mississippi, at least partially because they had made history. They had committed the richest train robbery in the West up to that time, and now they just had to get away with it. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling the stories of two outlaws, stagecoach and train robber Sam Bass and controversial fugitive Ned Christie.

This is Episode 3, Sam Bass, Part 3 of 3, Texas Outlaw. Law. While the train crew sorted out the situation at Big Spring Station, the outlaws rode south toward the South Platte River. The river was only a couple miles from the station, and the outlaws quickly realized they had a problem. Their haul was incredible, but the gold coins were really heavy on the horses. Ironically, they had stolen so much money that it was now hurting their ability to escape. They rode a few miles along the banks of the river, and then they stopped and buried the treasure in the sand. They had been wearing red bandanas over their faces during the escape, so no one at the scene of the crime knew their identity, or so they thought at the time. In theory, they could wait a little while,

let the heat cool down, and then return to dig up the gold. With the loot safely buried, Sam and his cohorts rode east toward Ogallala and set up camp outside town. The bandits lazed around for a few days and watched all the excitement of the posses rushing around the countryside. Since the outlaws were right there to witness the action, they knew better than anyone that the lawmen had come up empty on all accounts. The bandits figured it was safe to go back and dig up their treasure. their treasure. The money was still safe in its hiding spot. The outlaws divided it equally, which gave $10,000 in gold to each man. With that, the six men rode off in different directions, carrying more money in their saddlebags than any of them had ever seen.

On the trail, Sam Bass and Jack Davis paired up as they both rode toward Texas. When they crossed the Nebraska border into Kansas, they made a smart move and sold their horses. Then they bought a beat-up two-man buggy and an old mare to pull it. With their $20,000 in gold stashed under the seat, they resumed their travels looking like a couple of down-and-out farmers. If they came across any lawmen, they would look too pathetic to be taken for newly rich outlaws. The other four Black Hills bandits also ended up partnering as they traveled. Jim Barry and Tom Nixon took off for Kansas City, where they could spend some of their gold and get lost in the crowd, or so they hoped. Joel Collins and Bill Heffridge stayed in their saddles and bought a

pack horse to haul their gold. They were also headed to Texas. Before they separated for an unknown length of time, all of them vowed to meet up again when they felt it was safe. And they made a pact. If cornered by the law, they would not be taken alive. Within a few days, they learned they might seriously have to confront that reality. A historic heist prompted a historic manhunt. Hundreds of lawmen and volunteers were scouring Nebraska and Kansas. In addition to sheriffs, posses,

there were bounty hunters, railroad detectives, and the Pinkertons. The powers that be enlisted the U.S. Cavalry to track down the six outlaws. Indian Territory, modern-day Oklahoma, was home to some of the most well-respected U.S. Marshals in the country. And if some or all of the outlaws made it to Texas, the Texas Rangers were poised to enter the fray. The bandits would have to run a gauntlet just to make it that far. And even if they did, it certainly didn't mean they were safe,

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here, selling our beanies, sweatshirts, and mugs to fans of our shows without taking up too much time from all the other work we do to bring you even more great content. And it's not just us. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. Shopify is also the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Realm, all lowercase. Go to Shopify.com slash R-E-A-L-M now to grow your business, no matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com slash Realm. Bass and Davis moseyed along in their buggy for several days until, somewhere in Kansas, a squad of soldiers rode up behind them. The leader of the squad asked if they had seen two men traveling south with a pack horse.

The outlaws said they had not. The squad leader informed them that the two in question were two of the men who had robbed a Union Pacific train. Sam, with an impressive show of hubris, told the squad leader that they had heard about the robbery and the $10,000 reward, and they were looking for the bandits themselves. The cover story worked, and Sam and Jack followed the soldiers for a few days. They camped nearby and even chatted with the soldiers from time to time, which was how they learned something shocking. The soldiers knew the names of the men they were after, Sam Bass and Jack Davis. The outlaws had well-practiced poker faces, and they didn't

reveal their surprise right there on the spot. But it was clear that some of their luck was still with them. The soldiers knew the names of the men they were tracking, but they obviously didn't have good descriptions of them. Otherwise, the two travelers who looked like pathetic farmers would be in chains right now. But that was the end of the good news. The rest of the news they learned from the soldiers was bad.

Joel Collins had been Sam Bass' partner in their one and only cattle drive from Texas to Kansas a year earlier in the summer of 1876. Collins and Bass had partnered in a mining venture and a freight business in Deadwood before giving up on attempts to make legitimate money and embracing the outlaw life. They had formed a gang known as the Black Hills Bandits, and now their crimes in the hills were coming back to haunt them. Collins had somehow been recognized by a passenger on the express train, and Jim Barry had been recognized by a shopkeeper in Ogallala. Barry had an unpaid bill to the shopkeeper, and when Collins and Barry went to

the store before the robbery to buy boots for Collins and six red bandanas, the shopkeeper refused to let them buy the items on credit. The episode further cemented Barry and then Collins in the mind of the shopkeeper. And now, detectives learned that the red bandanas had been purchased for use in a robbery. Detectives traveled up to Deadwood and learned about the exploits of the Black Hills bandits. It now seemed likely that lawmen knew the names of all six outlaws. And then came the icing on top. Joel Collins and Bill Heffridge had been cornered 100 miles east of Big Springs. More than a dozen soldiers were aiming rifles at the two outlaws, and the outlaws stayed true to their pact. Collins and Heffridge drew their pistols and opened fire, and were cut down in seconds. They were probably dead before they

hit the ground. Two of the six were now gone, and if there was any good news in the report, it was that the soldiers made no mention of Jim Berry or Tom Nixon. Presumably, they were still alive and on the run. Bass and Davis parted ways with the soldiers the next day and continued their journey. They made it through the rest of Kansas and then Indian Territory without trouble. They crossed into Texas and arrived in Denton County on November 1, 1877, 44 days after the robbery. They set up camp in a corner of the county called Cove Hollow, a gulch that was so thick with trees it was nearly impossible to find them. Word was spreading through Denton County that Sam Bass might be involved in the Big Springs robbery.

The local sheriff, William Egan, had been a father figure to Sam for five years after Sam finally made it to Texas from Indiana in pursuit of his dream of being a cowboy. Sam had worked for Sheriff Egan as an assistant in town and a ranch hand at Egan spread outside town. Now Sam needed to lay low. If there was one person in Denton County who would recognize him, it was Sheriff Egan. Jack Davis went into town and kept them supplied, and Sam was able to sneak out at night to see old friends who remained loyal. One of those friends was Jim Murphy, who lived in a house next to Cove Hollow. Sam had known Jim for years and trusted him. Through Jim, Sam and Jack learned the fate of another of their partners.

Detectives tracked Jim Berry to his home in Missouri where he had rejoined his family. At 3 a.m. one morning, lawmen surrounded his home but refused to open fire with Berry's wife and kids inside. To deflect from the potential danger to his family, Barry made a break for it and ran to some nearby woods. He was shot in the leg and fell. To honor the outlaw pact, he asked the deputy who fired the shot to finish him off, but the request was denied. Barry was taken to a doctor where his leg wound was treated. Barry was taken to a doctor where his leg wound was treated. Detectives interrogated Barry relentlessly, but learned very little. Barry would only admit that he had been traveling with a companion and the man had taken a train to Chicago.

Barry wouldn't name the companion, but by process of elimination and a small piece of circumstantial evidence, the detectives believed the man was Tom Nixon. Nixon had stolen a train ticket to Chicago from one of the passengers during the Big Springs robbery. From Chicago, it would have been a relatively easy trip to his home in Canada. A few days after Jim Berry was captured, Gangrene set into his leg wound and ended up killing him. He was defiant to the end and never gave up the identities of his friends. But with his death, three of the six Black Hills bandits and robbers of the express train were now in the ground. A fourth was almost certainly out of reach in Canada, so that left two, Sam Bass and Jack Davis. With the bad news mounting, Davis took his gold, said goodbye to Bass, and hopped a train to New Orleans. And then there was one.

Sam Bass was one of, if not the, most wanted man in the West. Jesse James and his brother Frank were still wanted men, of course, but they had been out of sight for more than a year after the disastrous Northfield raid. So, it was Sam Bass's turn in the spotlight. He was now alone in the wooded gulch of Cove Hollow and sitting on a fortune in gold, but he apparently wanted more. With all of the Black Hills bandits gone, he started putting together a new gang. Henry Underwood and Frank Jackson were old friends from Denton. Henry was a habitual criminal who was more than happy to join Sam and start planning some robberies.

Sam had known Frank since he was a teenager, and Frank resisted the temptation to join the gang as long as he could. But Sam finally lured him in with the shiny gold coins. On December 21st, 1877, the three men were returning from a pleasure trip to San Antonio when they decided to rob a stagecoach outside Fort Worth. The robbery was uneventful, and their take was just $43 from the passengers. Henry Underwood was disappointed with the outcome and left to spend Christmas with his family in Denton, where he ended up getting arrested for a different crime. The new Sam Bass gang was down to just two members. A couple weeks passed, and Sam and Frank were restless. They had been bunking at Jim Murphy's place for the winter, and Sam decided the remedy for their cabin fever was to rob another stage.

That robbery was more successful. Their haul was four gold watches and $400 cash. Sam bragged it was his ninth stagecoach robbery and his best one yet, but now he was ready to get back to robbing trains. To do that, they would need more men. Sam easily recruited a couple local outlaws named Seaborn Barnes and Tom Spotswood. On February 22, 1878, the four men held up a Texas-based train that passed near Denton County. the four men held up a Texas-based train that passed near Denton County. It was 10 o'clock at night, and the robbery was more complicated than the Big Springs job. The train was bigger, there were more crew members and more passengers.

The robbers quickly realized the job was too big for a four-man gang, and they escaped with just $1,280. In strict financial terms, it wasn't a bad heist. Each man had $320 in his pocket. But the Big Springs job had set the bar pretty high for Sam, and he had hoped for more. The morning after the Texas train robbery, the governor of Texas offered $500 for the capture of each robber. The railroad added another $500, followed by another

$500 from the Texas Express Company, which had guarded the money that had been stolen. Sam and his three gang members had $1,500 bounties on their heads. And since they were now wanted men in Texas, the governor called in the Texas Rangers to bring them to justice, dead or alive. While the gang planned its next robbery at their camp in Cove Hollow, Sam learned that Tom Spotswood had been arrested. Tom's mask had fallen during the robbery. He had a unique issue where one eye was bigger than the other. Because of his distinctive features, a member of the train crew easily identified him. But that served as no deterrent for Sam and company. On March 17th, less than a month after their last robbery, the Sam Bass gang robbed the same railroad,

the Houston and Texas Central. This time, the train crew and some well-armed passengers were fed up. The crew and the passengers opened fire on the outlaws, and the outlaws returned fire. Two crew members suffered minor injuries, but nobody was killed. The gang escaped unharmed and managed to steal about $500, killed. The gang escaped unharmed and managed to steal about $500, but it wasn't the amount that mattered anymore. The public was outraged. Elected officials, business executives, and rich ranchers were concerned that the robberies were putting a stain on Texas. The governor called in more Texas Rangers to rid the state of the Sam Bass Gang once and for all. Rangers to rid the state of the Sam Bass gang once and for all. Lawmen caught Tom Spotswood,

and he was quick to name his accomplices in the first Texas train robbery. Now, law enforcement knew exactly who they were looking for and where to find them. Armed with the new information, Texas Ranger Lieutenant Junius Peake and 27 Rangers under his command began searching for the bandits around Cove Hollow. But it was the outlaws who spotted the Rangers. Sam saw the Rangers when he and his men were leaving Murphy's house with supplies. Sam fired the first shot, and seconds later, bullets began to fly. the first shot, and seconds later, bullets began to fly. Somehow amidst the chaos, Sam Bass, Frank Jackson, and Seaborn Barnes were able to escape back into the hollow. That night, they packed up and rode to another hideout. The next morning, rangers came across the bandits eating breakfast. The parties exchanged gunfire, but again, the bandits escaped.

The parties exchanged gunfire, but again the bandits escaped. Over the next two weeks, the outlaws and the lawmen skirmished repeatedly, but Sam and his gang always avoided capture. The potentially deadly game of cat and mouse became known as the Bass War, and it just kept going. After weeks of failing to capture the bandits, the Rangers adopted a new strategy. They arrested Jim Murphy and charged him with harboring fugitives, though they quickly offered him a way out. If he would join up with Sam and become a spy, the charges would be dropped. Murphy was facing ten years in prison if he didn't cooperate, so he took the deal. By mid-June 1878, after nearly two months of being chased by rangers

and local lawmen, Sam and his men decided they needed to leave Denton County. They were going to head south, and just before they left, Jim Murphy caught up with them and asked to join the gang. Sam trusted Jim and was happy to have the extra manpower. Almost immediately, Jim learned his first piece of valuable intelligence. Sam had decided to switch things up and rob a bank. Jim needed to get word to the Rangers, but it was impossible to break away to send a message. Days later, the outlaws rode into Waco, where Sam saw a bank that he thought needed robbing. Out of desperation, Jim tried to convince Sam to bypass the Waco bank and ride another 100 miles south to Round Rock. Jim reasoned that Round Rock, just north of Austin, was a more

prosperous town. It only made sense that their bank would have more money. Sam agreed, and this time Jim was able to sneak away and send a letter with the news. As Sam Bass and his gang rode toward Round Rock, he had no idea he was walking into a trap. In Round Rock, Texas, about 20 miles north of Austin, undercover rangers and sheriff's deputies stationed themselves in town. Some stories say the gang arrived in town as early as Sunday, July 14th. They scouted the town and the bank and were ready to commit the robbery, but Jim Murphy convinced them to wait a few days. They could do a more thorough scout and rest their horses in advance of the upcoming fast getaway. According to the

story, the robbery was scheduled for the following Saturday, July 20th. Either way, on the afternoon of July 19th, the beginning of the end arrived for the Sam Bass gang. That day, Jim Murphy found an excuse to separate himself from the gang. The other three bandits walked into a general store to buy tobacco. Two lawmen, Deputy Sheriff Moore and Deputy Sheriff Grimes, watched the strangers with interest. The deputies didn't yet recognize the strangers as wanted outlaws, but Deputy Grimes was suspicious of the man who would later be identified as Sam Bass. The deputies followed the outlaws into the general store. Moore stood in the doorway while Grimes walked up behind Sam Bass.

Grimes' intent seemed to have been something to do with Sam Bass' pistol. Grimes' intent seemed to have been something to do with Sam Bass' pistol. Either it was illegal to carry a gun in town, like it was in lots of towns in those days, or it was illegal to carry two guns, and Sam might have been wearing two. Regardless, Grimes walked up behind Sam and asked about Sam's gun or guns. Sam spun around, and all three outlaws opened fire. Deputy Grimes had no time to draw his pistol. He was killed instantly, and Deputy Moore was badly injured, though he was able to return fire before the outlaws rushed outside. Some of Moore's shots shattered Sam's right hand and blew off two of his fingers. Sam was

bleeding badly as he and the others ran for their horses. As soon as they hit the street, the Texas Rangers in town opened fire. Seabourn Barnes was shot in the head and killed. Frank Jackson helped Sam onto his horse and the two galloped toward the edge of town. During the escape, Sam was shot in the spine and was now gravely wounded. The outlaws cleared the town, and Frank led them to a thicket of oak brush to pause and catch their breath. As dusk fell, Sam Bass was in bad shape. He had lost a lot of blood and he was too weak to ride any longer. He told Frank to save himself and keep riding. Frank refused, but Sam convinced him to go. Before leaving, Frank tore up some cloth and bandaged Sam as best he could. Sam made it through the night. In the next morning,

a contingent of rangers found him lying in the grass, barely alive, but able to identify himself as the outlaw, Sam Bass. Sam was taken into custody and examined by a doctor in Round Rock who didn't think he'd live long. On Sam's deathbed, he admitted he had been part of the Big Springs robbery and named his accomplices. Three of them were dead and two were long gone, but he wouldn't give up Frank Jackson. The Rangers tried to pry more information from the dying outlaw, but it proved fruitless. Sam told his interrogators he believed a man should take what he knew to his grave, and he did. Sam Bass survived long enough to die on July 21st, 1878, his 27th birthday. And so, the life and career of Sam Bass passed into legend. The Bass War and the Round Rock

Shootout are ingrained in Texas Rangers lore. And Sam Bass secured a place in American history as a kind of folk hero. Many saw him as a symbol of grit and courage. In the space of just two years, the Indiana farm boy went from Texas cowboy to Black Hills prospector to Black Hills freight driver to Black Hills stage robber to Nebraska train robber and then Texas train robber. After the Big Springs heist, he had enough money to retire, but he couldn't walk away. And his story ended with an enticing mystery.

No one knows what happened to the $10,000 in gold coins that was his share of the Big Springs robbery. robbery. Next time on Legends of the Old West, it's the beginning of the life of Ned Christie. He was a Cherokee statesman and a hero to his people, and he was labeled an outlaw by the federal government. But was he really an outlaw? Or was he misunderstood, misjudged, and set up by his enemies? We'll see, next week on Legends of the Old West. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week to receive new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships are just $5 per month.

This series was researched and written by Michael Byrne. Original music by Rob Valliere. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, blackbarrelmedia.com for more details and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And all our episodes are available on YouTube. Just search for Legends of the Old West Podcast. Thanks for listening.