Sam Bass was a nineteenth-century American
train robberTrain robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains.-History:Train robberies were more common in the past than today, and often occurred in the American Old West. Trains carrying payroll shipments were a major target...
and outlaw.
Early life
Bass was orphaned at the age of 10. For the next five years, he and his siblings lived with an abusive uncle. In 1869, he set out on his own and spent the next year in
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. In 1871, he moved to
DentonThe city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
in north
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Outlaw years
After failing at a series of legitimate enterprises, Bass turned to crime. He formed a gang and robbed the Union Pacific gold train from San Francisco. Bass and his men intercepted the train on September 18, 1877 at Big Spring, Nebraska, looting $60,000 - to this day the largest single robbery of the Union Pacific.
Bass and his gang staged a string of robberies, yet never netted over $500 at any one time. In 1878, the gang held up two stagecoaches and four trains within twenty-five miles of
DallasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and became the object of a manhunt by
PinkertonPinkerton may refer to:*Pinkerton , a 1996 album by Weezer*Pinkerton, Ontario*Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a detective agency founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton*Pinkerton Academy, a high school in Derry, New Hampshire...
agents and by a special company of the
Texas RangersThe Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
headed by Captain Junius Peak.
Bass was able to elude the Rangers until a member of his gang, Jim Murphy, turned informant.
John B. JonesJohn B. Jones was a Confederate army officer and Texas Ranger captain. Born in Fairfield, South Carolina, his family moved to the Republic of Texas in 1838....
was informed of Bass's movements, and set up an ambush at
Round RockRound Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, Texas, where Bass planned to rob the
Williamson CountyWilliamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
Bank.
On 19 July 1878, Bass and his gang were scouting the area before the robbery. When they bought some tobacco at a store, they were noticed by Deputy Sheriff A. W. Grimes. When Grimes approached the men to request that they surrender their sidearms, he was shot and killed. As he attempted to flee, Bass was shot by Ranger George Herold and then by Texas Ranger sergeant Richard Ware. Near Ware, were
Soapy SmithJefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. He was killed in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf...
and his cousin Edwin who witnessed Ware's shot. Soapy exclaimed, "I think you got him." He was found lying in a pasture by a group of railroad workers, who summoned the authorities. He was taken into custody and died the next day, his 27th birthday. Bass was buried in Round Rock, and today, his grave is marked with a replacement headstone, the original having suffered at the hands of souvenir collectors over the years. What remains of the original stone is on display at the Round Rock Public Library.
Legacy
As with many figures of the
American Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, Bass captured the public's imagination. In 1936, the radio drama "Death Valley Days" portrayed Bass's last days before his death in Round Rock, Texas. In the 1949 Western, "Calamity Jane and Sam Bass", Bass is portrayed by
Howard DuffHoward Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
. In 1954, Bass was portrayed by
Don HaggertyDon Haggerty was an American film actor appearing in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Before entering films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the US military...
in an episode of the
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western television series
Stories of the CenturyStories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
. Haggerty was forty when he played the doomed 27-year-old Bass. Bass was thereafter portrayed by Jack Chaplain in an 1961 episode of
The OutlawsOutlaws is an NBC Western television series, starring Barton MacLane as U.S. marshal Frank Caine, who operated in a lawless section of Oklahoma Territory about Stillwater. The program aired 50 one-hour episodes from September 29, 1960, to May 10, 1962. The first season was shot in black-and-white,...
. In the fictional 1951 film
The Texas Rangers, Bass heads a gang composed of
The Sundance KidHarry Alonzo Longabaugh , better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, in the American Old West. Longabaugh likely met Butch Cassidy after Parker was released from prison around 1896...
,
John Wesley HardinJohn Wesley Hardin was an American outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk hero of the Old West. He was born in Bonham, Texas. Hardin found himself in trouble with the law at an early age, and spent the majority of his life being pursued by both local lawmen and federal troops of the...
,
Butch CassidyRobert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
and
Dave RudabaughDavid Rudabaugh , was an outlaw and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" on account of his alleged aversion to water, no evidence has emerged to show that he was ever referred to as such in his own lifetime.-Early life:Rudabaugh was born as David...
, then squares off against two convicts recruited by John B. Jones to bring them to justice. He died in Round Rock.
See also
- Texas Rangers
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
- American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
- Western movie
- Union Pacific Train Robbery
External links