By Trista Herring Baughman
On a recent trip to San Antonio, Texas, I stopped by one of my favorite museums, The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum/Texas Ranger Museum. (I make a point to stop by anytime we’re in the area and I highly recommend it!)
I always look for a connection to our great state of Mississippi anywhere I go. Here’s what I found this trip.
Sam Bass born on July 21, 1851. He grew up without formal education on his uncle’s farm after the death of his parents. In 1869, at the age of sixteen, he boarded a steamboat to Rosedale, Mississippi, in Bolivar County.
It was here that Sam mastered gambling and gunplay while working at a sawmill.
Later, Sam would work as a cowboy in Texas, but after driving a large herd from Texas to Kansas, he and the gang decided to keep the cattle owner’s share as well as their own. They headed for Deadwood, South Dakota (another neat place to visit) and eventually formed The Blackhills Bandits, robbing stagecoaches and banks.
After the gang of six robbed a Union Pacific train in Nebraska, Sam escaped back to Texas. The gang made off with $60,000 in newly minted gold from San Francisco, California. This is the biggest train robbery to have been committed in the United States to this date.
Sam formed the Bass Gang, where he continued robbing banks and trains.
A group of Rangers were tasked with catching the criminals. They chased them all across North Texas. The Bass Gang illuded their pursuers until Texas Ranger John B. Jones turned fellow gang member, Jim Murphey into an informant.
The gang planned to rob Round Rock Bank on July 19, 1878. When they arrived, the Rangers were waiting and a gunfight ensued. One of the gang, Seaborn Barnes, was fatally shot in the head. Bass was wounded but escaped. The next day he was found lying helpless. He was brought back to Round Rock, only to die on July 21, thus ending his outlaw days. He was 27 years old.
Before my visits to the Buckhorn, I don’t recall hearing of Sam Bass, yet many have. His brief life inspired the following ballad:
A note from the editor:
This will be our last post of the year. We’ll be back next year with more Mississippi folklore. Be sure to browse our archives while you wait!
We will be making changes to our site in the near future. These changes will take time and we appreciate your patience and readership.
On behalf of the Mississippi Folkore Writing Team and myself, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Sources and further reading:
1. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/sam-bass-gang/
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bass_(outlaw)
3. https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ballad_of_sam_bass.pdf
Mississippi Folklore 