The Legend
of Sam Bass
Sam Bass was one of Texas' most famous outlaws.
He was known as "Texas' Beloved Bandit", but he earned his
fame in Nebraska.
Bass left his Indiana home
at age 18 and drifted to Texas, where in 1874 he befriended
Joel Collins. In 1876 Bass and Collins
went north on a cattle drive but turned to robbing stagecoaches;
in September 1877 in Big Springs, Neb., they and four others
robbed a Union Pacific train of $65,000 in gold coin and other
valuables. Returning to Texas, Bass collected a gang and began a
less successful career of train robbery—with the Texas Rangers
in pursuit. Finally, in July 1878, a former crony, Jim Murphy,
tipped off the Rangers, who ambushed and wounded Bass, who was
attempting a bank robbery in Round Rock. Bass died two days
later, on his birthday. His career became the stuff of legend in
a popular cowboy song, “The Ballad of Sam Bass.”
For the complete story
follow this link:
The Story of Sam Bass
After robbing the train in Nebraska the gang met
at the "Lone Tree" outside of town and split up the loot. From here
they went their seperate ways, Sam and Jack Davis stayed together
heading back for Texas. At some point on their trip back to
Texas, Sam and Jack were joined by a company of soldiers and
detectives who were searching for the train robbers. Sam and
Jack Davis convinced these men that they too were searching for the
bandits in the hopes of receiving a large reward. After four
days, Sam and Jack Davis split from the other men and rode back to
Denton (Centennial Commission). Once in Denton, Sam explained
his new found wealth from a strike he had made prospecting in the
Black Hills. His money and good spirits attracted many
people, some of whom would later become a part of the "Sam Bass
Gang" when he took to robbing trains in Texas.
It is assumed that Sam would have reached Denton
by late autumn; yet, by February of 1878, Bass had begun to rob
trains again. Why? How could he have spent $10,000 in
less than four months? Many people have believed that there
was no way that he could have spent the money; so they have
speculated that Bass hid his gold. Stories abound of
individuals searching for the Bass gold. One story places the
hidden gold in a cave in East Mountain at Mineral Wells
(Grigsby). Another legend speculates that Bass held on to his
gold until he headed to Round Rock to rob the bank, hiding the gold
in a cave west of Prairie Dell near Big Blue Spring for safekeeping
during the robbery ("Amazing Story"). If anyone ever found
the Bass Gold they never reported it. Since it is hard to
imagine that Sam could have used up all of his gold before he
started train robbing again, it lends credence to the story that
Sam robbed for sport more than for profit.
Now to the good part. While tearing down an old
homestead west of North Platte a map was found. This map is rumored
to lead to the hidden gold coins that Sam and Jack left behind.
After some research I have found that Sam's
size would more than likely give him a "pace" of near 30". Also I
am sure true north was used for the map. With this info I set out
to find the loot but did not have the time as I found the area has
changed quite a bit since ol' Sam was in these parts. There are
cedar trees where there was open space, water where dry earth once
was and trees that once stood proud are layed down or rotted
away.
Knowing this now if someone was to want to find
this loot, they will need to try to follow the map without
following it, if you know what I mean. There is no straight path as
Sam walked. Trees now stand in the way, water will need to be
crossed, and who knows what the trees that Sam saw look like now.
In other words you will have to find your way to each location on
the map. You will have to try to see the area for what it looked
like when Sam was there.
Terrain will be difficult on this cache. The
terrain is fairly level, but there can be some severe bushwacking,
crossing of water on logs or other means (it is possible a slip may
put a foot in the water or mud).
The official historic marker of this event is
located at Big Springs, NE. Sam Bass Marker
This parking area is in some real need of CITO.
Bring a bag with you on your search.
This is a popular hunting
area and seasons should be considered. Orange is always a good
idea
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