For
more than four years, we have been working on a new book, “Bad to the Bone,” a
collection of outlaws who left their imprint on East
Texas.
One of the best known outlaws was Sam
Bass, who was born in Indiana in 1851, one of ten kids in the family of Daniel
and Elizabeth Bass. As a boy, Sam always dreamed of going to Texas
and becoming a cowboy.
When his mother and father died within three years,
Sam worked for his uncle on a farm, but ran away at the age of eighteen and headed
for Texas.
In the Texas
town of Denton,
he worked as a cowhand and as a helper to Sheriff William Egan. He also bought
a mare, known in Denton
history as “the Denton Mare,” and began racing her in local horse races. The mare
led to his interest in gambling and racing, compelling Sheriff Egan to fire him.
Sam
and several friends headed for Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and Texas,
where they won more racing money.
In San
Antonio, Bass met Joel Collins, who had bigger ideas for making money. They
ran a herd of cattle to Kansas and sold the stock to local ranchers.
They
soon went to Deadwood to make more money in the town’s gambling houses. After
losing most of their money to card sharks, they fell in with four other men and
starting holding up stagecoaches, but five holdups yielded only enough money to
buy beans and bacon.
Bass and his friend Collins then started planning
train robberies. They started with a Union Pacific train at Big Springs, Nebraska.
Bass, Collins and four other men boarded the train when it stopped for water and
came away with $60,000 in newly-minted gold coins and a nice haul from passengers
on the train.
In
1878, Bass’ gang rode to Round
Rock, where they planned to rob a local bank. But one of Bass’ men sent a
telegram to Major John B. Jones of the Texas Rangers, informing him of the plannied
heist.
Arriving at Round
Rock, the Bass gang stopped at Koppel’s Store, where the outlaws were recognized
by Travis County Sheriff Morris Moore and Deputy A.W. Grimes. Bass quickly shot
Grimes, killing him, and wounded Moore.
Rushing outside the store, Bass
was met with gunfire from Jones’ fellow Rangers. He sustained a critical body
wound and a shattered right hand.
That night, a farmer rode to Round
Rock and told authorities Bass was dying at his farm. The Rangers rode to
the farm and brought Bass back to Round
Rock. He lingered for three days before he died on Sunday, July 21--his twenty-seventh
birthday. He was buried in Round Rock Cemetery.
July 17, 2011 Column
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A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers
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