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OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

Released Wednesday, 21st February 2024
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OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

OUTLAWS | Sam Bass: “Black Hills Bandit”

Wednesday, 21st February 2024
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Episode Transcript

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0:00

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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.

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Take delivery by $229.24. Jeep

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is a registered trademark. Joel's

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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

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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

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show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com.

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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

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you enjoyed the show, please leave us a

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rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or

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