Smyrna times., 1899-07-26
THE END OF A BANDIT
HOW SAM BASS MET A VIOLENT
DEATH IN A TEXAS TOWN.

The Shooting of the Notorious Des-
peradO Was the Outcome of n De-
Iiberate Murder Committed by One
of His Gang OF Outlaws.
I'm the little town of Round Rock, in
Williamson county, Tex, not more
than so miles distant from Austin, re-
pose the remains of one of the most
desperate highwaymen that ever Oper-
ated in our section" said Mr.. L. n.
Crocker of the Lone Star State to n re-
porter.
1T was in the spring of 1878 that
Sam Bass met his fate in this sleepy
little town, and when he died with his
boots on the southwest was rid of a
criminal who was easily the peer of
Jesse James, though he hadn't quite as
long a run rs that noted outlaw Bass
was Il product of Michigan--at least,
his sister, gentle girl came down
from some town in that state to see
that his body was decently inferred.
BASS had collected about him a com
pany of as hardened thieves as ever
engineered a hold up. The gang had
robbed a number of trains in Missouri
and Arkansas and concluded they
would make one more good haul in
Texas before riding across the border
into Mexico, where they proposed to
stay in retirement for season.
BASS had planned the looting of the
only bank at Round Rock as an easier
job and doubtless a better paying one
than tackling a train, which feat had
! been performed too often to be thor
oughly safe. by changing his pro-
| gramme to raiding village bank there
might be more lucre and less risk.
$50 on that lovely morning in May
when he and his fellow thieves rode
| into the unsuspiciOus town they
! chuckled to think what an easy job it
would be to transfer the banks cash to
their pockets. So thoroughly certain
were they of getting off with the
! plumber that they were in no haste
about the matter. One wanted to get a
shave, another went into a restaurant
and so they scattered singly over the
! place, but there was an understanding
/
vOus was fixed upon.
Meanwhile. unknown to the bandits,
a squad of mounted Texas rangers had
been pressing hard upon the trail of
the bad men, and within an hour after
the Bass outfit entered Round Rock
Sergeant Dick Ware, with eight or ten
rangers. also reached the scene. He
| nf hn Of M
robbers, nor did they dream that the
officers of the law were in that vicinity.
Neither did any citizen of the town
have the remOtest idea of the identity
of certain rough looking men, strangers
in the place. But they might be cow
boys from some distant west Texas
cattle ranch. for the presence of such
was too common to occasion notice.
"The climax came quite by accident
One of the ruffians who had sauntered
into a store to make few purchases
in reaching for his purse to make pay
ment, disclosed a big Colts revolver
The Texas law against carrying guns
was strict, and it so happened that the
man who saw the weapon was none
other than the town marshal, as brave
a fellow as ever lived. lie walked VI
to the desperate and said quite cour
teously:
"'My friend, I'll have to relieve yor
of that six shooter
"T'n give it to you, then said the
rObber with an oath, and in a SECOND
had drawn his weapon and fired upor
the marshal, who fell dead at the re
port.
Upon this the robber rushed out o.
the store. and Immediately his com
rades came running to the spot, but NJ
faster than did the rangers with thei
Winchesters. ready for action. In ;
second it seemed as if both sides haC
the situation revealed, and the robbers
turned to run to where their horses
stood tied, a block from where tht
murder of the marshal occurred. Be
fore he had run 80 yards Dick War
had sent a bullet into the head o
Barnes, Bass lieutenant, which lai'
the highwayman low.
"Bass, mortally wounded, managed
to get upon his horse, which he urge,
to breakneck speed. The animal raj
for about three miles till he reache,
the open prairie and stopped to Craze
, AS he did so his rider, unable to 81
longer in the saddle from loss of blood
fell to the ground.
"When they found him a few hour
? later, he was dying. He recognize
Sergeant Ware as the man who ha
, killed him and said he wanted Ware t
have his horse. He regretted thei
procrastination in robbing the banl
for if they had only known the raj
, gers were so near they could have fiji
, lshed the job and escaped. ."-Washins
ton Post.