Another legend appeared several years after Bass died when maps leading to alleged treasures began to surface. They uncovered $60,000 worth of freshly minted $20 gold coins from the San Francisco Mint. For several months, there were moviesque chases with the bandits narrowly escaping the Rangers grasp. Before long, one of the privates had killed the other. Originally written by Captain Gillett, an ex-Ranger of Company E, frontier battalion, who was present at the capture and death of Sam Bass and was a friend of Dick Ware. One of Round Rocks major streets bears his name as do several businesses. According to J. Frank Dobies book Coronados Children, the mine was rediscovered in the 1800s by a Llano settler named Larimore. According to legend, the infamous robber Sam Bass stole 3,000 gold bars worth $20 each from the Union Pacific Railroad. Major Jones questioned Bass but was unable to get any useful information about the other members of his gang. May the odds be ever in your favor. Meeting up with Ranger Ware, Jones fired what was considered to be his only shot as a Texas Ranger at the fleeing gang; the bandits returned the fire, missing Jones but lodging a bullet in the stone wall behind him (Webb Century of Frontier Defense 387). He and his siblings went to live with their uncle and his nine children, where they received no formal schooling. At some point on their way to Round Rock, Jim Murphy was able to slip away from the gang and send off a letter to Major Jones of the Texas Rangers indicating that the gang was proceeding to Round Rock with the intention of robbing the bank. On his deathbed, Sam claimed hed given his last $20 gold piece to an African-American widow at Round Rock in payment for some biscuits and chicken, but even the Rangers figured he was throwing them off the scent. In April, there was a gunfire scuffle and Sam was struck in his cartridge belt and his rifle stock, but he escaped without a scratch. Greed set in, however. In December of 1875, Sam met Joel Collins in San Antonio. Plus other artifacts. Others say it was Private Dick Ware. Bass was in Round Rock making plans for a bank robbery. I received a letter from Sam that she had a treasure map - said it could be a prank. The cave entrance is on the foreground in the left. Get started by scanning the QR code in the image above. Bass went to his hideout at Cove Hollow near Denton, Texas. No great effort was made to pursue the fleeing bandits due to the fear that Bass was supported by an army of outlaws who would seize on any pursuers. With his death went the knowledge of the location of his treasure caches at Cove Hollow. Curious throngs soon found the dark tunnel and with lights discovered traces of the large wooden box that had laid beneath the dirt for more than 60 years.. Of course the truth was that the actual Sam Bass Gang at this point was composed of only four individuals, one of whom was now dead and another having deserted the gang. Basss code of ethics was summed up by his statement: it is agin my profession to blow on my pals. Creation Information Creator: Unknown. There's a cache of silver said to be buried outside Leander. Ware and Jones were also joined in the fight for a time by a one-armed man named Stubbs, who had picked up Grimes gun and opened fire on the bandits (When Sam Bass). As we've previously written, the Texas outlaw Sam Bass got his start in Denton as a stable boy and hired hand when he arrived in 1870, but quickly achieved notoriety racing his famously fast Denton Mare around the territories. Tucker eventually went up to him and Sam held up his hand and uttered, I am Sam Bass, the man that has been wanted so long. At this time, the rest of the search party, including Jim Judas Murphy, appeared. At the same time, Ranger Ware crossed the street from Highsmiths Livery Stable to the barber shop. Legendary outlaw Sam Bass is said to have buried his bounty from stagecoach, train and bank robberies near Round Rock. This heist made Sam Bass one of the greatest train robbers of the time and very much in the sights of the countrys lawmen. JavaScript is disabled. On day one they hit an area outside of Cove Hollow. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. However, you walk in and disappear, but you don't really go anywhere. Sam saved up his money and bought a racehorse that allowed him to quit his job and focus on racing and gambling. The doctors who examined Sam noted that the bullet had hit a cartridge in his belt and then split in two, part entering his back and passing out near his groin, the other part lodging in his body. List of George Soros Owned District Attorneys, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey, Jr. & Mel Gibson Claim Hollywood is an 'Institutionalized Pedophile Ring'. The 27 Club refers to the famous who died way too early at the age of 27. 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. Found this at a rev war site in SC, any idea what it may be? A man in soiled clothes quickly throws another shovelful of dirt over his shoulder. 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. Supposedly, it still lies buried beneath the dirt. No treasure was ever recovered, and today there is little remaining of the original McNeil, located in the northern part of Travis County near Round Rock. This plan was axed due to the summer heat and the inability to locate ice in which to pack his body (Centennial Commission). Bass died from his wounds later on his birthday, July 21, 1878 at the age of 27, thus making him one of the original members of the 27 Club. ), and other accounts say that he became a prosperous West Texas rancher (Round Rock Remembers). Bass made plans to rob the Williamson County Bank in Round Rock, Texas. They had plans to rob a bank there. The Story of the Texas Rangers. Sam traveled down the Mississippi, to Rosedale, Mississippi, where he worked for a year in Charles Mill. One of Sam Bass hideout caves near Pilot Knob, amongst hundreds of purported spots scoured for hidden gold. Please consider clicking the box NOTIFY ME below to receive email notifications when we post new articles. DIME FEATURED MAKER: CARRIE CRUMBLEY OF RESOYCLED , DO THE DENTON HOLIDAY LIGHTING FESTIVAL LIKE A PRO, THE MANY FACES OF DENTON'S FINE ARTS THEATER. This websites also uses 'cookies' to give you the most relevant experience while browsing. The prizes are very real, with a grand prize of $100 to the first treasure hunter who can chase down and complete the QR clues, but runner-up rewards (including a pass to this year's 35 Denton and much more) to the next 10 who are able to finish the challenge! Bass did confess that if I killed him [in reference to Deputy Grimes], he is the first man I ever killed. On Sunday, July 21, 1878, the doctor told Sam that it would not be long; Sam supposedly said, Let me go, and a few minutes later opened his eyes and exclaimed, The world is bobbing around me and then died at 3:58 on his twenty-seventh birthday (Smith 35). Many believe that Bass hid out in a cave south of Denton. Some treasure hunters believe that Sam Bass treasure is now within a State Park, which unfortunately makes it off limits to metal detecting. However, instead of returning to Texas to pay off the notes, they headed to the gold-filled hills of Deadwood, South Dakota. Sam Bass and five others took over the train depot and destroyed the telegraph. Your email address will not be published. Fleeing the Rangers, Bass was struck twice, once in his cartridge belt and another in the stock of his rifle, without injury. Back in Round Rock, the Sam Bass legend was memorialized beginning in 1964 with the establishment of the Frontier Days Celebration. This holdup netted the gang $1,300 and on March 18th they again held up the Texas Central, this time at Hutchins. Another pair, composed of James Berry and Nixon, was split up and Berry was captured; Nixon, it is assumed, escaped with his share to Canada. He, along with Sam Bass and another man named Jack Davis, then drove the herd north to Ogallala, Nebraska, where they the herd for $8,000. During the time of these Texas train robberies, the Sam Bass Gang was staffed by Frank Jackson, Seaborn Barnes (who was shot in the legs during the Mesquite job), Thomas Spotswood, Arkansas Johnson, Henry Underwood, Sam Pipes and Albert Herndon; Bass and Barns took place in all four of the robberies, Jackson participated in three, Johnson in two and the others in one (Webb Century of Frontier Defense 374). The Ballad of Sam Bass, written by John Denton of Gainesville, Texas, was sung by many cowhands in an attempt to sooth the herd on stormy nights. Jim was taken to Tyler to face charges of robbing the U.S. mails. amzn_assoc_asins = "0882899090,0874831784,B00005A3L1,B01N0G34JP,B06X9Q16R7"; There are a number of legends and folklore pertaining to the lost treasure of the outlaw Sam Bass. It was at this point that Sam indicated that he was in too much pain to continue (Scarbrough 295-296). amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; To offset their losses, they turned to robbing stages. Amazing Story of Sam Bass And Hidden Treasure West of Prairie Dell Told in Detail. Temple News. As a legend, the accounts of Sams life are as varied as the number of individuals telling the tale. According to an Austin American story in the early 1920s, a pack train of burros carrying 40 jackloads of silver was pursued by a band of Comanche Indians and the men in charge of the pack train buried the silver near where the town of Leander is now located.. Gillett. courtesy of the Texas Ranger Museum. This is the story of Bass and the treasure that may still be out there waiting to be discovered. Equally fascinating is the enduring legacy of Sams hidden gold in Denton! You will need to inform the landowner of what you are going after, so a written agreement that lays out any potential discovery and how the treasure is to be split up is a necessity. But his friend from Denton, Jim Murphy had made a deal with the law to turn Bass in. He then returned to where he now was and was eventually given some water by an old man (Scarbrough 296-298). Cove Hollow is on private land in Cooke county. One of Sam Bass' hideout caves near Pilot Knob, amongst hundreds of purported spots scoured for hidden gold. His metal detector indicated there is gold and silver buried at the site but the owners of the land wont allow him to dig unless a federal court rules in Smiths favor. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; At the point of Seaborns death and Sams wounding, many witnesses attributed a great deal of gallantry to the young (only twenty years old) Frank Jackson. Odd thing is, after returning to Denton and living high on the hog for awhile, the Sam Bass Gang soon returned to banditry until the railroad-hired Pinkerton Detectives and the Texas Rangers turned him into Texas Public Enemy #1 with a bounty on his head. Many politicians campaigned on a platform of law and order and proposed that a modern peace-keeping force be formed. Texas Sam Bass Treasure NEW CLUES to the Gold Secret map to the famous outlaw Sam Bass hideout and treasure. The Rangers, under the direction of Captain Lee Hall, were able to take the gang by surprise while they were resting at Jim Murphys house. Sam Bass was a noted outlaw and train robber who led two gangs during the days of the Wild West - the Black Hills Bandits between 1876-1877 and the Bass Gang of Texas that operated in 1877-1878 The noted train robber was born in Mitchell, Indiana, on July 21, 1851, to Daniel and Elizabeth Jane Bass. No Bass treasure has been found, but even today, parts of the 11-mile cavern are still being explored. Mary Claire Patton has been a journalist with KSAT 12 since 2015. If anyone ever found the Bass Gold they never reported it. Frank left his horse with Sam and hid his saddle in the brush nearby; after a tearful farewell Frank rode off. Sam was being held in the saddle by Frank while he put new bullets into his pistol (Webb Century of Frontier Defense 387). The legend says Bass used Longhorn Caverns as a hideout after some of his robberies although treasure seekers have yet to find any loot there. He also found work as a freighter where he ended up falling in with the wrong crowd and by 1877 he found himself involved with one of the biggest train robberies in railroading history. For the events during and after the shootout, all of the stories have been gathered for the reader to examine; thus, throughout the narrative, differing views are presented. He had told his buddy to continue the retreat without him. Additional information about the apprehension of Sam Bass is provided in the brochure Sam Bass and the Great Round Rock Shootout of July 19, 1878 originally produced by the Chamber of Commerce and distributed at the annual shootout reenactment during Frontier Days. 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