Sam Bass
Sam Bass (1851 – 1878) tried his hand at a succession of legal professions, and worked as a farmer, miner, cowboy, teamster, and saloon owner, but he was a degenerate gambler, and his persistent losses in gambling dens and the race track eventually led him to try his hand at robbery. He first gained fame as a member of the “Black Hills Bandits“, a gang that staged the biggest train robbery in the history of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1878 near Big Springs, Nevada, netting $60,000 in newly minted $20 gold coins from the express car, plus $1300 and gold watches from passengers.
After the Big Springs heist, Bass began spending lavishly, and when some of his Black Hills Bandits partners were tracked down and killed by law enforcement, he formed his own gang in Texas, which robbed four trains and two stagecoaches near Dallas in 1878, but netted little and triggered a manhunt led by Texas Rangers. Bass eluded capture until one of his gang was pressured into turning informant, and told the Rangers of Bass’ plan to rob a bank in Round Rock, Texas. The Rangers reached the small town on June 19, 1878, the same day as Bass.
While casing the bank, Bass attracted the attention of local law enforcement. When asked by a deputy sheriff if he had a gun, Bass replied “yes”, and shot him dead. A firefight erupted, and the noise attracted the recently arrived Texas Rangers, who joined the shootout. It ended with a dead outlaw, and a mortally wounded Bass jumping on his horse and fleeing town.
The following day, he was tracked down and found beneath a tree, bleeding from a gruesome wound caused by a bullet that had entered his back above the right hip bone, and shredded his right kidney before leaving a gaping exit wound. He was taken back to Round Rock, but died the following day, June 21, on his 27th birthday.
