My Name Is Sam Bass, And I Am Shot All To Pieces

 

Sam Bass robbing a train

Sam Bass had a short-lived career robbing stagecoaches and trains. After his capture by the Texas Rangers, Bass told them, “I am shot all to pieces.”

Bass left his home in Denton County, Texas, in the spring of 1877, headed towards San Antonio in search of adventure. He worked on a cattle crew run by Joel Collins. They spent six months driving a herd to Deadwood, Dakota Territory. After they sold the herd, Collins paid off the crew, but instead of returning to San Antonio to pay off his investors, he went on a drunken bender and gambled away all the money.

Collins decided it was time for a change when he realized what he’d done. So, he gathered Bass and other members of the cattle crew and began robbing stagecoaches throughout the Black Hills. They robbed seven stagecoaches but got very little money for their efforts.

Sam Bass, Joel Collins, Jack Davis, Jim Berry, Bill Heffridge, and John Underwood picked up stakes and drifted to Ogallala, Nebraska that fall.

The gang conducted its first train robbery on September 20, 1877.

A few minutes before the train’s arrival, two masked men entered the office of John Barnhart, station agent at Big Springs, Nebraska ordered him, and told him to destroy his telegraph equipment or take a bullet in the brain. Barnhart complied with their request.

As the train approached the station, Bass had the agent hang out the “red light,” a signal to the train that they needed to stop for a mail pickup.

The robbers dragged Barnhart to the express car and made him knock at the door. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, “Miller, the express messenger, having no suspicion that any other person except Barnhardt was outside, opened the door a little way. When three of the robbers caught the door and, throwing it wide open, presented their revolvers at the messenger.” Three robbers jumped into the car with guns drawn and rooted through the contents. The take was $60,000 in freshly minted gold coins from the San Francisco Mint. There was another large safe, but they let it alone because Miller convinced the robbers he didn’t know the combination.

Sam Bass pointing pistol at Big Springs expressman

After they robbed the express car, the outlaws got another $1500 in cash and two gold watches from the passengers.

Before they could finish, they heard the whistle of an approaching train. At the sound of it, they made their getaway.

Early the next day, two posses were hot on their trail. Sheriff McCarty of Sidney led one. Sheriff Bedley of North Platte led the other. About ten miles east of Big Springs, they discovered a rifle, a pistol, and a coin box, but the trail vanished as quickly as it appeared.

The robbery made front-page news all over the country. Passenger Andrew Riley enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame after nearly being shot down by Bass’s gang. Unaware that a robbery was taking place, he stepped onto the platform. When he didn’t stop at the first command issued by the bandits, they fired at him. One bullet grazed his forehead. Fortunately for Riley, he escaped with his life but lost $27 and his gold watch. The New York Times speculated that the robbery must have been conducted by the James Boys or John Jarrett.

After the robbery, the outlaws met under a tree outside Big Springs to divide their loot, then split off into pairs to make their getaway. Each man rode away with $10,000 in gold and his share of the booty they took from the passengers.

Sam Bass and Jack Davis disguised themselves as farmers and made their getaway in a wagon. Davis escaped to South America. Sam Bass returned to his home turf in Denton County, Texas.

Joel Collins and Bill Heffridge rode into Buffalo Station, Kansas, where they aroused the station agent’s suspicions. He ran to notify a company of ten soldiers camped outside of town. The soldiers quickly caught up with the robbers and ordered them to stop. The outlaws paused as they decided what to do, then pulled their guns and fired on the soldiers.

Sam Bass taking $60,000 in gold coins during train robbery

Outgunned five to one, they were killed. The soldiers discovered $20,000 in gold coins, tied up in the legs of a pair of overalls.

Jim Berry made it home to Mexico, Missouri, but came under suspicion when he deposited a large sum of gold coins in the local bank. The sheriff rounded up a posse and tracked Berry to the woods behind his home. Berry was shot in the leg and died several days later from gangrene poisoning. Most of his $10,000 take was recovered. His partner in crime, “Old Dad,” escaped with his share of the money and was never heard from again.

In early 1878, Sam Bass found himself short of cash and formed a new gang. Their first job was the Houston and Texas Railway at Allen Station on February 22, 1878.

After that, they robbed the station at Eagle Ford on March 18. The Dallas Herald Weekly told readers, “Four masked men armed with Winchester rifles and navy sixes” approached the train depot.

One outlaw kept station agent, J. Hixcox undercover. The other three marched the engineer and the fireman to the express car.

When the messenger refused to open the door, one robber grabbed a stick from the tender and beat on the door. The frightened expressman let the robbers in and opened the safe. The robbers rifled it, then snatched all the registered mail from the mail bags.

After they finished, the outlaws backed away, with their pistols drawn to cover their getaway. Texas Express agent, Mr. Hargis, estimated their take at fifty dollars. The mail agent said they likely got very little money from the registered mail. He wasn’t aware of too much cash in the packages that day.

The station agent at Eagle Ford described the outlaw leader (Sam Bass). “He was a small man, rather wiry in his movements, with dark, close-cut hair. He had the air of a border dandy.”

The gang’s next robbery was the express train at Mesquite on April 10, 1878. They rode up to the station and captured agent Jake Zurn. When the train chugged into the station about 11 p.m., they grabbed engineer J. Barron and took him prisoner.

Things went bad fast. Several members of the train crew opened fire on the outlaws. If that wasn’t bad enough, a convict trained pulled up alongside the train Bass was robbing. When the guards discovered the train robbery, they opened fire on the outlaws. Unfortunately, the guards soon ran low on bullets and stopped firing because they feared their prisoners would attempt to overpower them if they sensed an opportunity to escape.

As the fighting slowed down, the gang doused the express car with coal oil and threatened to fire it unless the expressmen opened the door. They threw the door open. The robbers grabbed what they could but made off with less than $200. The expressmen had hidden the bulk of the valuables during the fight.

The take from all three robberies was estimated to be slightly less than $3,000.

Less than a month later, the gang was looking for a big score that would give them enough money to make a new start in Mexico. At about the same time, the Texas Rangers hatched a plan to catch Sam Bass. They approached Jim Murphy, a former associate of Bass, and offered him a “get out of jail free” card to help them capture Bass. Major John B. Jones had Murphy released on bail, then spread a story that he jumped bond. That allowed Murphy to rejoin the Bass gang.

Sam Bass wounded under a tree

Early in June, Bass heard rumors that Murphy was a spy. The gang threatened to kill him. As soon as he realized his life was on the line, Jim Murphy laid his cards on the table. He said he agreed to rat Bass out to the Texas Rangers, but only to get out of the joint. He never meant to go through with the plan. The robbers let him live but kept a close watch on him after that—just in case.

On June 15, the gang left Denton County headed for Austin, Texas. The first night out, they stopped in Rockwall and cased the banks. It looked like slim pickings there, so they moved on.

Leaving Rockwall, they traveled along the route of the Central Railway to Ennis Station. Murphy and Bass rode into town, grabbed dinner at the hotel, and spent some time scouting out the bank. They decided it was too dangerous.

The gang’s next stop was Waco. Jackson and Murphy rode into town to check out the banks. Jackson thought the State Savings Bank appeared to be an easy mark, but Murphy argued it was too dangerous. Later that night, Bass and Murphy rode back into Waco and grabbed a drink at the Ranch Saloon while they cased the bank. After giving it some thought, Bass decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

The gang headed off to Benton the following day. Murphy got a note off to the Texas Rangers, telling Major Jones to set a trap at Round Rock. That night the gang set up camp two miles outside Round Rock on the International and Great Northern Railway.

They decided to rob the bank at Round Rock the next morning. The plan was for Bass and Barnes to go into the bank. Barnes would ask the cashier to change a bill. As he did that, Bass would put a pistol to the cashier’s head and order him to throw up his hands. Then, Barnes would jump the counter and scoop the money into his saddlebags. Jackson and Murphy would stand guard at the door to prevent people from coming in.

On June 19, Bass, Jackson, and Barnes rode into town to case the bank. Murphy went to May’s store to get a bushel of corn for the horses.

The gang crossed the street and headed towards Koppel’s store. Henry Koppel, the proprietor, was sitting outside the store as the gang walked in. Inside, the clerk showed Bass several brands of chew.

What should have been a peaceful exploratory trip turned into a massacre on Main Street. As they walked towards the store, the boys caught the eye of Deputy Sheriff Grimes. Grimes thought he saw a gun under Bass’s coat, and carrying guns was against the law in Round Rock.

Grimes followed the gang into the store and told Bass, “I believe you have a pistol.”

“Yes, of course, I have a pistol,” said Bass, as he grabbed his gun and shot the deputy. Grimes staggered out the door and fell dead in the street.

That started a chain reaction that led to the undoing of Sam Bass.

Ranger Dick Ware raced out of the barbershop when the gunfire broke out, and found himself face-to-face with three of the outlaws. A stream of bullets plowed into the hitching post just inches from his face. The Ranger dropped to the ground and pulled his pistols.

Major Jones was in the telegraph office. At the sound of gunfire, he bounded into the street, wielding a Colt double-action revolver and fired. Several of the townspeople had armed themselves and joined the fray by that time.

Things were getting too hot for the outlaws.

Barnes took a bullet and died on the spot. Bass was shot several times and struggled to get on his horse. Jackson jumped off his horse and held the Rangers at bay while he helped Bass climb onto his horse.

Sergeant Nevill and the Rangers discovered Bass the next morning. Texas Ranger John Gillett said, “We came upon a man lying under a large oak tree. Seeing we were armed as we advanced upon him, he called out to us not to shoot, saying he was Sam Bass.”

Bass had taken two bullets—one in his right hand. The other was “pronounced fatal,” said a story in the Public Ledger, published on July 26, 1878. The bullet “entered to the left of the spine, the ball tearing through the vitals and coming out the front aspect of the abdomen.”

Bass died three days later from his wounds, but before dying, he told the Texas Rangers, “I am Sam Bass; I am shot all to hell, and it’s no use to deny it.”

He was 27 years old.

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