Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:00
When you visit Arizona, time
0:02
is measured in moments, not minutes.
0:05
Like the moment you see the Grand Canyon for
0:07
the first time. Visit
0:10
a new state of mind. Learn
0:12
more at hereyouareaz.com One
0:16
in four car batteries is weak and
0:18
needs to be replaced. Let our professional
0:21
parts people test your battery for free
0:23
at O'Reilly Auto Parts. The
1:00
soon-to-be outlaw Sam Bass showed promise.
1:03
The poor Indiana farm boy braved the
1:05
childhood hardship of losing his older brother,
1:08
then his mother, and then his father. He
1:11
and his younger siblings survived difficult
1:14
and strained living conditions. During
1:17
and after the Civil War, Sam
1:19
read stories of the developing West
1:21
and the early pioneers, frontiersmen
1:23
like Kit Carson, Daniel Boone, and
1:26
Davy Crockett. But Sam
1:28
was especially drawn to the first generation
1:30
of cowboys who drove cattle on the
1:32
trails between Texas and Kansas. After
1:36
the loss of their parents, Sam and
1:38
his siblings had been uprooted and moved to
1:40
their uncle's farm. Dave
1:42
Sheeks was a hard man, and
1:44
Sam bristled under his uncle's strict
1:47
rules and grinding workload. More
1:49
and more, Sam dreamed of becoming
1:51
a Texas cowboy. He
1:53
wanted freedom and adventure, and the stories
1:56
he found in newspapers and dime novels
1:58
indicated there were lots of them. The
2:00
mode in Texas. When.
2:03
Sam Bass and his Uncle Dave finally
2:05
had about. Sam decided to leave the
2:07
form and strike out on his own.
2:09
He added to St. Louis, Missouri and
2:12
then he took a steamboat down the
2:14
Mississippi River to Rosedale, Mississippi. He was
2:16
hungry and broke, but he soon found
2:18
a job at a sawmill. He had
2:21
spent long hours toiling away at Uncle
2:23
Dave Saw Mill and he hated it.
2:25
but now he found a use for
2:27
the things he had learned. In
2:31
Rosedale, Sam learned how to play. A
2:33
mean game of poker and how to handle
2:35
a pistol? After. A year or
2:37
so, he was ready to strike out on his own
2:39
again. Having saved up enough
2:41
money to buy himself a good horse and
2:44
a good saddle. Sam. Bass
2:46
was Texas bound. He
2:48
settled in Denton north of Dallas. A
2:51
few years later, he partnered with the
2:53
saloon owner in San Antonio named George
2:55
Collins. They. Sold pretty much
2:57
everything of value. Bought a cattle,
3:00
heard I some cowboys and drove the
3:02
heard of the chances. After
3:05
years of dreaming. Sam. Bass
3:07
finally got a taste of the
3:09
cowboy life and he quickly decided
3:11
it was not for him. The
3:13
work was grueling and the conditions
3:15
were extreme and Sam realized he
3:17
wasn't cut out to be a
3:19
cowboy. He and you'll pay their
3:21
cowboys and then decided what to
3:23
do next. It was the summer
3:25
of eighteen Seventy six. And. If
3:27
there was one way to make money
3:30
faster and easier than driving title he
3:32
was being a gold miner, at least
3:34
in theory. Thousands of people flocked to
3:36
the Black Hills on the edge of
3:38
Dakota Territory the take advantage of the
3:41
latest gold rush. The.
3:43
Rumor was you could scoop gold
3:45
from the streams with your bare
3:47
hands. There. Was so much of it he
3:49
would have to be a fool not to get rich.
3:52
To. Sam and your it sounded like the
3:54
perfect next step. They packed up and
3:56
traveled north to the heart of the
3:58
gold rush. Illegal mining camp
4:01
of Deadwood muscle exams Dream of
4:03
being a cowboy. He would quickly
4:05
learn that there's a vast difference
4:07
between series and reality in the
4:09
Black Hills. He did find a
4:11
way to make money faster and
4:13
easier than in the kennel business,
4:15
but it wasn't as a gold
4:17
miner. From.
4:26
Black Girl Media This is Legends
4:29
of the Old West on your
4:31
host Chris Swimmer and this season
4:33
were telling the stories of to
4:35
our laws, stagecoach and train robbers
4:37
Sam Bass and controversial fugitive and
4:40
then Christie's. This is episode two
4:42
Sam Bass or two of three
4:44
Black Hills Bandit. Sam
4:53
Bass and George Collins arrived in the
4:55
Black Hills late in the summer of
4:57
eighteen. Seventy Six. Like. Most
4:59
others say headed for Deadwood. News
5:02
of the Battle of the Little Big Horn was
5:05
still prevalent. Army columns were patrolling
5:07
the region in a vain effort to
5:09
kill or capture Sitting Bull and Crazy
5:11
Horse. And another bout of
5:14
shocking news started spreading from Deadwood
5:16
on August. second. News of
5:18
the murder of Wild Bill Hickok. Same.
5:21
And Zola arrived that for a few
5:23
weeks after he talk was killed by
5:25
no account drifter named Jack Mccall. The.
5:28
To former cattlemen had enough money in
5:30
their pockets to enjoy some of the
5:32
more pleasurable activities Dead Wood had to
5:34
offer. After a
5:36
thorough investigation of the saloons and
5:38
brothels in Camp. Sam and
5:41
Joelle began planning their next business venture.
5:44
It was too late in the year to do
5:46
any gold prospecting. Winter. Was fast
5:48
approaching in. the hills would soon be
5:50
blanketed in snow and the streams would
5:53
be frozen over. Whatever.
5:55
Gold was there. The. Black Hills would
5:57
keep it hidden until spring. Bass
6:00
in Darwin's Hunker Down for the end
6:02
of Eighteen Seventy Six and the early
6:04
part of Eighteen Seventy Seven. The
6:06
winter that year turned out to be a horse
6:09
one. In. The men stayed warm
6:11
in rented rooms and their favorite saloons.
6:17
Because. Both Sam and Jolt fancy
6:19
themselves superior court players. They plan
6:21
to extract as much gold and
6:23
cash as possible from the grubby
6:26
prospectors who spent a winter playing
6:28
poker, but they were about to
6:30
get schooled. Dead Woods
6:32
resident gold prospectors for more than happy
6:34
to relieve the cocky upstarts from Texas
6:37
of a sizable portion of what they'd
6:39
made on their cattle drive. By
6:42
spring, Bass and Collins weren't quite
6:45
back to square one, but pretty
6:47
close. Then things started
6:49
to look up when they were given the
6:51
opportunity to buy courts mine. With.
6:53
What little money they had left. They bought
6:56
the mine and it didn't take them long
6:58
to discover they have been swindled. The.
7:00
Mine was worthless. Same and job. We're
7:03
running out of options and they turn
7:05
to their next venture. Same.
7:07
Thought they could get rich in
7:09
the freight business. As more people
7:12
moved to Deadwood, more supplies were
7:14
needed in town. Same.
7:16
Had learned how to handle a team of
7:18
horses back in Indiana, so the plan was to
7:20
rent a wagon and a team of horses.
7:23
Same. Would drive the team back
7:25
and forth between Deadwood and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
7:27
Pauline. Goods and sometimes people. Joel
7:30
would stay in Deadwood and handle the
7:33
business side of the operation. Sam.
7:36
Obviously drew the short straw in
7:38
the partnership. All. In
7:40
fried anywhere in Dakota, Montana
7:42
and Wyoming territories was dangerous
7:44
work. Between. The terrain,
7:46
the weather, the thread of being
7:49
robbed and murdered by bandits, and
7:51
the possibility of being attacked by
7:53
sue warriors. Sam was risking his
7:55
life on every trip. It.
7:57
Looked and felt a hell of a lot like
7:59
driving. It'll. Hurt. Same
8:01
agreed to go for it anyway. They
8:04
launched the business in the late spring
8:06
of Eighteen seventy Seven, when winter had
8:08
faded enough to make the roads passable.
8:12
By. The end of July they had given up.
8:15
They. Were barely breaking even. And.
8:17
Sam side of the business certainly
8:19
didn't qualify as a faster, easier
8:21
way to make money than driving
8:23
tattle. In. The summer
8:25
of eighteen, seventy seven, they'd reached a
8:27
turning point. They. Weren't cut
8:29
out for driving tattle or hauling straight,
8:32
and they were failures as minors and
8:34
gamblers. That was when Joe came up
8:36
with another get rich quick plan. A
8:39
plan that would lead to where we all know they're going.
8:42
It was time to be com outlaws. There's.
8:47
A new revolution in meals delivered right
8:49
to your home. Factor has delicious
8:51
ready to eat meals with no prep and
8:54
know mess. He simply he'd him and Edam
8:56
which is brilliant for a person like me
8:58
who rarely has the energy left at the
9:00
end of the day to cook anything. The.
9:03
Meals a restaurant quality prepared
9:05
by says and approved by
9:07
dietitians. There's. Thirty five different
9:09
options each week. Lots of different
9:12
add ons to customize your meal
9:14
and styles for every type of
9:16
diet. Tito Calorie Smart V didn't
9:18
Vegetarian The works. Factor.
9:20
Has snacks, smoothies, breakfast, lunch
9:22
and dinner. whatever you want.
9:25
You. Can create a flexible schedule
9:27
and pause and reschedule meals anytime
9:29
you want. Head. To
9:31
factor meals.com/l O T O
9:34
W Fifty and use the
9:36
code L O T O
9:38
W Fifty to get fifty
9:40
percent off. That. Code
9:43
L O P O w
9:45
Fifty at Factor meals.com/l O
9:47
P O W Fifty to
9:50
get fifty percent off. The
9:53
President's Day sales event is going on out for
9:55
in local T dealer for great offers now. Well
9:57
qualified lucy still low mileage least on the twenty
9:59
twenty. or Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by far for
10:01
$4.39 a month for 39 months with $3,909 due at
10:05
signing. No security deposit required. Call
10:07
1-888-924-JEEP for details. Requires dealer contribution and
10:09
lease through Stellanzus Financial. Extra charge for miles
10:11
over $32,500. Not
10:16
all customers will qualify. Residency restrictions apply.
10:18
Take delivery by $229.24. Jeep
10:20
is a registered trademark. Joel's
10:26
idea wasn't unique. By
10:28
the summer of 1877, he wouldn't
10:30
have been in the first thousand people to say,
10:33
hey, let's rob a stagecoach. For
10:36
decades, stagecoaches all over the West
10:38
had been targeted by bandits. Robbery
10:42
was certainly as risky as driving cattle
10:44
or hauling freight. A bandit could
10:46
get shot during the act, or go to
10:48
prison afterward, or be hanged by the neck
10:50
until dead if he was caught. But
10:52
at least it was less work. As
10:55
Sam Bass and Joel Collins contemplated their
10:57
new endeavor, they had the
10:59
same thoughts that virtually every outlaw had. They
11:02
were too smart to get caught. By
11:05
that time, Sam knew the road
11:07
between Deadwood and Cheyenne like the back of
11:09
his hand. And Joel would
11:11
be the self-appointed brains behind the operation.
11:14
He'd handle the intel. He
11:16
would find out which stages were carrying what
11:18
and who. At
11:20
first, Sam wasn't sure he was prepared
11:23
to risk his neck to become a robber.
11:26
But he believed he had no other prospects,
11:28
so he finally agreed. If
11:30
they could make fast money without hurting
11:32
anyone, he was in. Next
11:35
they needed more men. They
11:38
figured a gang of six to eight
11:40
guys would be necessary to successfully hold
11:42
up a stage, especially now
11:44
that many were traveling with armed guards.
11:47
Luckily, they were in Deadwood, where
11:49
recruitment was easy. already
12:00
held up a few stage coaches and a
12:02
train. Next up was
12:04
a man from Missouri named Jim Berry. Jim
12:07
had a wife and four kids back home who
12:09
he needed to provide for. So he was chomping
12:12
at the bit to get rolling. Tom
12:14
Nixon was also happy to get on board.
12:18
Nixon was a Canadian who'd had no
12:20
luck prospecting and was flat broke. Bill
12:24
Hefridge was from Pennsylvania where he had a
12:26
wife. And for good measure, he
12:28
had another wife in Kansas. Six
12:31
became eight when two more men joined
12:33
up. Frank Towell from
12:35
Unknown Origins and a man
12:38
known to the others only as Ready. The
12:41
gang had been hearing about large quantities
12:43
of gold being shipped by stage out
12:46
of the Black Hills. There
12:48
were also government paymasters traveling
12:50
by stage carrying large sums
12:52
of cash. And
12:54
then there was the daily influx of
12:56
people coming into the territory who were
12:58
flush with cash ready to invest. With
13:01
so many inviting targets, the
13:03
gang was sure it would score big. The
13:07
men set up camp in Deadwood Gulch,
13:09
which would be the base of their
13:11
operation and began planning their first holdup.
13:14
The first rule agreed upon
13:16
unanimously was that there would be
13:18
no shooting unless it was in self-defense. That
13:21
rule predictably held true for about
13:23
30 seconds. The
13:25
first stage coach the gang set out to
13:28
rob was a night coach traveling from Cheyenne
13:30
to Deadwood. The plan
13:32
was to hide behind some boulders at a
13:34
location they had scouted about two and a
13:36
half miles west of Deadwood. When
13:39
the stage was in sight, they would step
13:41
into the road with their guns drawn and
13:43
order the driver to stop and get down
13:45
off the coach along with the guard if
13:47
there was one. Then
13:49
they would order the passengers to get out. They
13:52
would steal anything of value and ride off
13:54
into the night. Like
13:56
all good outlaws, the crew had purchased
13:58
handkerchiefs to hide their identity. identities. The
14:01
handkerchiefs were all red, like the classic image
14:03
of the outlaw that we all know today.
14:07
They brought a little whiskey to steady their nerves,
14:09
and when it got dark, they hunkered down
14:11
and waited. Then they waited
14:14
some more, but there was still no sign
14:16
of the stage. It was
14:18
either very late or had been canceled
14:20
altogether. Just as
14:22
they were about to head back to
14:24
camp, they heard the faint but unmistakable
14:26
sound of horses approaching. As
14:29
planned, the bandits jumped out into the road
14:31
with their pistols pointed at the driver. That
14:34
was a stroke of good luck. The driver was
14:36
alone. There was no guard with him. But
14:39
that would be the end of their luck, thanks
14:41
to the mystery man known only as
14:43
Ready. Seven
14:50
of the eight bandits were armed with pistols, but
14:52
Ready had a shotgun. As
14:55
the stagecoach driver tried to obey the
14:57
command to stop, his two lead horses
14:59
got spooked and swerved off the road.
15:02
The coach tilted so violently that
15:05
the two passengers inside tumbled out.
15:08
During the commotion, and for reasons known only
15:10
to him, Ready fired his shotgun
15:12
at the driver. The driver
15:14
fell off the coach with a chest full of
15:17
buckshot and hit his head on a tree stump.
15:20
It was a double whammy. If the
15:22
buckshot hadn't killed him, the blunt forced
15:24
Pama to the head would have. The
15:27
frightened horses, now driverless, raced toward
15:29
Deadwood at a full gallop, dragging
15:31
an empty coach. The
15:33
two men who had fallen out of the coach fled
15:36
into the night. And that
15:38
left eight bandits standing in the road with
15:40
nothing but a dead stagecoach driver at their
15:42
feet. Some of the
15:44
outlaws were so angry at Ready for making such
15:47
a stupid move, they nearly shot him
15:49
dead. But after they cooled
15:51
down, they ended up letting him go, as
15:53
long as he agreed to ride out of
15:56
the hills immediately and never return. He
15:58
accepted their offer. And after he
16:01
was gone, the others skedaddled too. When
16:07
the empty stage pulled into Deadwood, Sheriff
16:10
Seth Bullock quickly put a posse together
16:12
and rode out to the scene where
16:14
they found the dead driver. Bullock
16:16
offered a $500 reward to anyone
16:19
who brought the murderers in, dead
16:21
or alive. So,
16:23
on their very first holdup together, the bandits
16:25
were facing murder charges and had a bounty
16:28
on their heads. They
16:30
had stolen no money, and to add
16:32
insult to injury, the gang later learned
16:34
the coach was carrying $15,000 in cash. With
16:39
ready out, the gang was down to
16:42
seven men, and soon six, when Frank
16:44
Towell decided to sign on with another
16:46
outlaw outfit. That
16:49
turned out to be a bad decision. One
16:51
of those outlaws eventually learned Frank was part
16:53
of the failed holdup. He
16:56
also knew about the $500 reward, so he killed Frank. And
17:01
because the outlaw couldn't be bothered to haul
17:03
a body into town, he cut
17:05
Frank's head off and rode in to collect
17:07
his reward with Frank's head in a burlap
17:09
bag. Unfortunately
17:12
for the cutthroat outlaw, he learned the
17:14
reward was no longer being offered. Sam
17:18
and Joel's gang of six robbed several
17:20
more stages in July and August of
17:22
1877, with more pitiful results. And
17:27
after there was a clear pattern at work, the
17:29
Deadwood newspaper, the Pioneer, began referring to
17:31
the gang as the Black Hills Bandits.
17:36
During the early days of the spree,
17:38
with ready gone and Frank dead, no
17:40
one knew the identities of the robbers. But
17:43
before too long, for whatever reason, people
17:46
in Deadwood started to suspect that
17:48
Bass and Collins, along with their
17:50
four buddies, Davis, Barry, Nixon and
17:53
Hefridge, might be the Black Hills Bandits. The
17:57
Bandits began to sense the suspicions of those of
17:59
the Black Hills Bandits. around them and came to
18:01
a consensus that a change of scenery might be
18:03
a good idea. They
18:05
also came to a consensus that they
18:07
were pretty bad at robbing stagecoaches. They
18:11
decided it was time to shift their
18:13
focus to something potentially more lucrative, namely
18:16
robbing trains. They
18:18
must have used some sort of logic to
18:20
determine that they would be better at robbing
18:22
trains than stagecoaches, but it's hard to know what
18:24
it was. But their course was
18:26
set and they went to work. The
18:29
Black Hills Bandits did their research. They
18:32
knew the Union Pacific was carrying
18:34
passengers and hauling various amounts of
18:36
gold, silver, and cash from California
18:38
to Omaha on a regular basis.
18:41
The larger shipments were then sent from
18:44
Omaha to banks in Chicago, New
18:46
York, Philadelphia, and Boston. If
18:49
the bandits were lucky, although luck had
18:51
eluded them thus far, they might
18:53
score big the first time out and be
18:55
rich enough to retire. The
18:58
Black Hills Bandits left their namesake
19:00
behind and rode south to Nebraska.
19:08
On the 1st of September, 1877, Sam
19:11
Bass, Joel Collins, and the other four
19:14
outlaws packed up their camp in Deadwood
19:16
Gulch and started riding to Ogallala, Nebraska,
19:18
300 miles away. The
19:22
would-be train robbers had $40 between
19:24
them, so a lot was riding
19:26
on this robbery. Ogallala
19:28
was out on the Nebraska Prairie with
19:30
miles of open space around it. It
19:33
was a stop on the Transcontinental Railroad,
19:35
on which the Union Pacific traveled, and
19:38
the outlaws thought it was a good area for
19:40
a robbery. They scouted
19:42
the region and discovered what they believed to
19:44
be the perfect spot for a holdup. It
19:48
was a tiny depot called Big
19:50
Springs, about 20 miles east of
19:52
Ogallala. Big Springs
19:54
Station was a water stop for
19:56
steam locomotives. Thanks to
19:58
a large natural water stop, source, hence the
20:01
name, trains could stop and fill
20:03
up with water when needed. The
20:05
bandits set their sights on the number
20:07
four express train. They came through big
20:09
Springs at 1048 PM. Big
20:13
Springs was roughly 350 miles west of Omaha. By
20:18
the time the news of the robbery
20:20
reached union Pacific headquarters in Omaha and
20:22
a posse was sent out, the
20:25
bandits would be long gone. It
20:27
was perfect. And for once
20:29
the bandits received the luck they had
20:31
been sorely lacking. So in the
20:33
long run, the bandits would realize that
20:35
their bad luck far outweighed their
20:37
good luck. The
20:42
Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now. Hurry
20:44
in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now well-qualified
20:46
lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024 Jeep
20:48
Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a month
20:50
for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. warning.
20:54
Call Tax. Title. License extra. No security deposit
20:56
required. Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
21:00
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
21:02
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
21:04
will qualify. Not all customers will qualify. Residency
21:06
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
21:06
Residency restrictions apply. Take delivery by
21:08
2-29-24. Jeep is a registered trademark.
21:12
The Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now.
21:14
Hurry in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now
21:16
well-qualified lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024
21:18
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a
21:20
month for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. warning.
21:25
Tax. Title. License extra. No security deposit
21:27
required. Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
21:30
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
21:32
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
21:34
will qualify. Residency
21:37
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
21:39
Jeep is a registered trademark. In
21:44
Ogallala, the gang prepped their horses
21:47
and loaded up on provisions. All
21:49
of which was organized for a fast getaway.
21:52
They rode the 20 miles out to Big
21:54
Springs and set up camp. While
21:57
Sam stayed in camp, Joel Collins.
22:00
and Jim Berry rode back into Ogallala
22:02
so Jim could replace his worn out
22:04
boots. Why didn't Jim
22:06
replace them before they left? No
22:08
one knows. And this was
22:11
where the long-term bad luck started. When
22:14
Jim went into a store to see about
22:16
his boots, he was recognized by the owner.
22:19
The man had sold Jim's supplies on credit
22:21
at a store that he ran in South
22:23
Platte a few miles down the road. The
22:26
owner remembered Jim because Jim had skipped
22:28
town before paying his bill. Now,
22:32
the owner refused to give Jim any
22:34
more credit. Jim
22:36
and Joel were able to scratch up enough money
22:38
to pay for the boots. And
22:40
Jim told the shopkeeper he'd be back in
22:42
a few days to settle his previous bill.
22:45
By then, Jim hoped he would be rich.
22:48
Then Jim and Joel bought six
22:50
red bandanas, similar to the
22:53
ones they wore during their robberies outside
22:55
Deadwood. At the
22:57
time, the purchase didn't register as
22:59
anything unusual. All cowboys
23:01
kept bandanas handy to wipe away the
23:03
sweat and dust or to cover
23:05
their skin to keep from being burned by the sun
23:08
or pelted with grit during a dust storm.
23:11
But of course, the simple piece of red
23:14
cloth also worked as a handy way to
23:16
hide a man's face when he committed a
23:18
crime. In a
23:20
couple days, that basic purchase would come
23:22
back to haunt the Black Hills Bandits.
23:26
For now, Jim and Joel headed back
23:28
to camp near Big Springs. The
23:30
group went over the final touches of their plan and
23:33
made sure each man knew what he was doing. Briefly,
23:37
they agreed on a date. The
23:39
robbery of the number four express train would
23:41
happen on September 18th, 1877. The
23:50
night of the 18th was a quiet one
23:52
in Big Springs. Like most nights, the
23:55
sounds of the open prairie were present,
23:57
the steady wind, the crickets, and the
23:59
occasional original bark of a coyote, but
24:02
not much else. George
24:04
Barnhart was probably used to quiet nights out
24:06
there in the darkness of the Nebraska Plains.
24:09
He was the station master and
24:11
telegraph operator at Big Springs station.
24:14
And if he liked the quiet nights, his
24:17
serenity was about to be rudely interrupted.
24:21
Sometime around 1030 that night, six
24:23
men with new red bandanas pulled
24:25
up to their eyes to disguise
24:27
their identities burst into George's tiny
24:29
office. They had their
24:32
pistols drawn, cocked, and pointed directly at
24:34
him. Joel Collins
24:36
ordered Barnhart to destroy the telegraph
24:38
apparatus. Next, Barnhart
24:40
was ordered to hang out a red
24:43
lantern, which was the universal signal that
24:45
a train needed to stop at the
24:47
depot. The gang instructed
24:49
George to get his mail bag ready and
24:51
stand on the platform as he usually would
24:53
if he had mail for the train. Before
24:57
long, the men heard the low rumble
24:59
of the Union Pacific number four express
25:01
train in the distance. The
25:04
outlaws hid in their assigned spots and
25:06
reminded George that he had six guns
25:08
pointed at him. At
25:11
1048 PM, right on
25:13
schedule, the train billowed clouds of
25:15
steam as it slowed to a stop at
25:17
the station and the robbery began.
25:25
As instructed, George Barnhart stood on the
25:27
platform and waited for his cue to
25:29
knock on the door of the express
25:31
car and request entry. Even
25:34
before the train had come to a full stop, Joel
25:37
Collins and Bill Hefridge jumped up
25:40
and commandeered the engine. They
25:42
took the engineer and the firemen off the
25:44
train at gunpoint. Collins
25:47
threw water on the fire, which rendered
25:49
the locomotive powerless. Jim
25:51
Berry and Tom Nixon took the conductor off
25:53
the train and forced him to join the
25:56
engineer and the firemen who were being
25:58
held at gunpoint by Hefridge. All
26:01
three employees were tied up and warned
26:03
not to try to escape. The
26:06
news agent and the baggage handler both
26:08
opened their doors to see what the
26:10
unscheduled stop was about. Each
26:12
man was met with a pistol in his face
26:14
and told to close his door and stay inside.
26:18
The outlaws wanted access to the express
26:20
car and that was left to
26:22
Sam Bass and Jack Davis. It
26:25
would take a certain amount of finesse
26:27
because express agents were armed. The
26:30
outlaws gave Barnhart his cue to knock on
26:32
the door and tell the Wells Fargo agent
26:34
inside that he had some freight for him.
26:38
When the agent opened the door a little ways,
26:40
Bass and Davis pulled it open. In
26:43
one swift motion, they jumped in and
26:45
took the agent's gun and his keys.
26:48
Collins and Heffridge entered the car and
26:50
the four men began searching for money.
26:57
They instructed the agent to open what
26:59
was called the Way Safe, a
27:02
safe where some of the passengers kept their money
27:04
during the journey. Inside
27:06
was $458. Next,
27:09
the bandits ordered the agent to open the
27:12
Main Safe, which was where the Wells Fargo
27:14
cash was kept. The
27:16
agent told them the safe was on a
27:18
timer and couldn't be opened until they reached
27:20
Omaha. Jack Davis
27:23
wasn't buying it and he pistol whipped the
27:25
agent who swore to the bandits he was
27:27
telling the truth. He grabbed
27:29
a document and handed it to Davis. Davis
27:32
handed it to Bass and Bass passed
27:34
it to Collins. Collins
27:36
read the document and with
27:38
no small measure of disappointment, assured
27:41
the gang that the agent was telling the truth.
27:44
He had no way of opening the safe, which
27:46
was all the more painful because, according to the
27:48
document, there was $200,000 in cash inside the safe.
27:54
An angry Jack Davis marched out of
27:57
the express car and joined Nixon and
27:59
Barry who were busy robbing the passengers.
28:02
They left the women alone, but they took four
28:04
gold watches and about $1,300 in cash from the
28:06
men. When
28:10
Davis, Barry, and Nixon returned to the
28:12
express car, they saw that
28:14
something had changed. Bass,
28:17
Collins, and Heffridge were now in a
28:19
much better mood. It
28:21
turned out that the three bandits in the
28:23
express car had been about to jump down
28:25
to the platform to begin their escape. When
28:28
Sam Bass noticed three wooden boxes in
28:30
a corner, he lifted one
28:32
up and discovered it was heavy. A
28:35
quick thinking agent said the boxes were filled
28:37
with machine parts, but Sam decided
28:39
to have a look for himself. Inside
28:42
each box was $20,000 in gold coins,
28:47
freshly minted in San Francisco and
28:49
headed to banks in the east. The
28:52
Black Hills bandits had finally done it. They
28:54
hit the motherload and they were rich
28:56
beyond their wildest dreams, but
28:58
now they had to act fast. They
29:01
had been on the scene for about an hour, which
29:03
meant the number four express train had been
29:05
stopped at Big Spring Station for an hour.
29:09
In the distance, everyone could hear the
29:11
whistle of the number 10 midnight freight
29:13
train echoing through the darkness. The
29:16
outlaws quickly loaded all the gold coins
29:18
onto their horses and rode away at
29:20
a full gallop. The
29:22
robbery had been an overwhelming success
29:25
and extremely lucky, but
29:27
now they had to escape and that
29:29
was when their luck ran out. Next
29:36
time on Legends of the Old West, Sam
29:39
Bass and the Black Hills bandits have stolen
29:41
a historic amount of money, but
29:43
with hundreds of possemen, the US
29:45
cavalry, and soon the Texas Rangers
29:47
on their trail, avoiding capture
29:50
would prove to be impossible. One
29:52
by one, the bandits would fall, leaving
29:55
Sam Bass as the last man standing,
29:58
and Sam wasn't going down without a fall. That's
30:01
next week on Legends of the Old West. Members
30:06
of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have
30:08
to wait week to week to receive new
30:10
episodes. They receive the entire
30:12
season to binge all at once with no
30:14
commercials, and they also receive
30:17
exclusive bonus episodes. Sign
30:19
up now through the link in the
30:21
show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com.
30:25
Memberships are just $5 per month. This
30:27
series was researched and written by Michael Byrne.
30:30
Original music by Rob Valier. I'm
30:33
your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. If
30:35
you enjoyed the show, please leave us a
30:37
rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or
30:40
wherever you're listening. Check out
30:42
our website, blackbarrelmedia.com for more details,
30:44
and join us on social media.
30:46
We're at Old West Podcast on
30:49
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And
30:51
all our episodes are available on YouTube. Just
30:54
search for Legends of the Old West Podcast. Thanks
30:57
for listening. The
31:00
Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now. Hurry
31:02
in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now well-qualified
31:04
lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024 Jeep
31:06
Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a month
31:08
for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. Tax.
31:13
Title. License extra. No security deposit required.
31:15
Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
31:18
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
31:20
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
31:22
will qualify. Not all customers will qualify. Residency
31:25
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
31:27
Jeep is a registered trademark. The
31:31
Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now. Hurry
31:33
in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now well-qualified
31:35
lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024 Jeep
31:37
Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a month
31:39
for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. Packed
31:43
Tax. Title. License extra. No security deposit
31:45
required. Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
31:48
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
31:50
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
31:53
will qualify. Not all customers will qualify. Residency
31:55
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
31:57
Jeep is a registered trademark. The
32:01
Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now. Hurry
32:03
in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now well-qualified
32:05
lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024 Jeep
32:07
Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a month
32:09
for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. Tax.
32:14
Title. License extra. No security deposit required.
32:16
Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
32:19
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
32:21
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
32:23
will qualify. Not all customers will qualify. Residency
32:26
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
32:28
Jeep is a registered trademark. The
32:31
Jeep Presidents Day Sales Event is going on now. Hurry
32:33
in your local Jeep dealer for great offers. Now well-qualified
32:35
lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2024 Jeep
32:37
Grand Cherokee Laredo X4 by 4 for $4.39 a month
32:40
for 39 months with $3,909 due at signing. Packed.
32:44
Tax. Title. License extra. No security deposit
32:46
required. Call 1-888-925-JEEP for details. Requires
32:49
dealer contribution and lease through Stellantis Financial. Extra
32:51
charge from miles over $32,500. Not all customers
32:53
will qualify. Residency
32:56
restrictions apply. Take delivery by 2-29-24.
32:58
Jeep is a registered trademark.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More