bulletproof002000
Full Member
- Nov 5, 2019
- 117
- 411
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett AT pro, Garrett AT max
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I have been researching treasure stories in Texas for my history students for an upcoming section. I found this and wanted to share.
Texas, the Lone Star state that Provident calls home, contains an estimated $340 million in hidden treasure, which is a higher sum than any other US state. Among this treasure is the hidden loot of Sam Bass, an infamous outlaw who lived in the late 1800s. This is the story of Bass and the treasure that may still be out there waiting to be discovered.
Born in 1851 on a farm in Indiana, Sam Bass was orphaned by age 13. He and his siblings went to live with their uncle and his nine children, where they received no formal schooling. In 1869, Sam left and found work in Mississippi, where he learned how to shoot a pistol. The next year, Sam met a teamster named Scott Mayes and the two headed to Denton, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas. Sam began working for the sheriff as a farmhand and teamster, which acquainted him to the country trails and back roads that he would later use as a bandit.
Sam saved up his money and bought a racehorse that allowed him to quit his job and focus on racing and gambling. After 1875, Sam never again had permanent full-time work. Through patronizing saloons, Sam met Joel Collins in San Antonio and the two men decided to run a herd of cattle up north. They wound up in Nebraska, sold the herd, and attempted then failed at prospecting in the Black Hills. They decided to rob stagecoaches to offset their losses. Over the following few months, they held up seven stagecoaches, but only fared small payoffs. So they decided to try their hand at train robbing, hoping to score more money.
In 1877 at the Big Spring Station in Nebraska, a small group of banditsāincluding Sam Bassāforced the station master to halt an oncoming express train. The bandits boarded and used violence against anyone who tried to stop them. They uncovered $60,000 worth of freshly minted $20 gold coins from the San Francisco Mint. The men divided the gold up equally between themselves and left the scene in pairs, each pair traveling in a different direction. A few of the men were later captured or killed. Sam and Jack Davis rode south in a one horse buggy and made their way back to Denton.
Even with a cache of $10,000 from the robbery, Sam began robbing trains again a few months later. Itās speculated that he likely did not burn through his money so quickly, but rather he likely enjoyed the sport of thievery. Yet this fast turnaround led to future stories of Sam hiding his stash in various places around Texas while he went out and committed more robberies. But weāll get to that a little later in this tale.
In 1878, Sam Bass and his gang held up several more trains, which caused the people of North Texas to worry and call for action. The governor responded by calling in the Texas Rangers to find and capture the notorious bandits. For several months, there were moviesque chases with the bandits narrowly escaping the Rangersā grasp. 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.
In July, Sam and his gang made it down to Round Rock, just north of Austin. They had plans to rob a bank there. As they were casing the bank and finalizing their course of action, they were recognized and a gun fight broke out. Sam was shot through the hand and then shot in the chest. Several deputies were shot as well. Sam and one of his gang members were able to flee on horseback.
Sam was found still alive the next day, forced to stop due to his injuries. He had told his buddy to continue the retreat without him. Sam was brought to a small shack for questioning, but he did not divulge any information about the members of his gang. He died on his 27th birthday, two days after he was shot and just eight years after he initially arrived in Texas.
Sam Bass is buried in the Round Rock Cemetery, and his name is fairly well known to those whoāve taken an interest in Wild West outlaws. As for his alleged hidden loot, there are many theories as to where it might be hidden. Though no one has ever confirmed them or announced a discovery of any gold tied to Bass. Some say that Bass hid a cache of gold in East Mountain in Mineral Wells, while others think that the gold was hidden in a remote cave near Big Blue Spring for safekeeping during the bank robbery that was supposed to take place in Round Rock. Other theories mention additional locations of the supposed treasure.
But one thing is certainā¦no one definitively knows if and where Sam Bass may have hidden his treasure!
Texas, the Lone Star state that Provident calls home, contains an estimated $340 million in hidden treasure, which is a higher sum than any other US state. Among this treasure is the hidden loot of Sam Bass, an infamous outlaw who lived in the late 1800s. This is the story of Bass and the treasure that may still be out there waiting to be discovered.
Born in 1851 on a farm in Indiana, Sam Bass was orphaned by age 13. He and his siblings went to live with their uncle and his nine children, where they received no formal schooling. In 1869, Sam left and found work in Mississippi, where he learned how to shoot a pistol. The next year, Sam met a teamster named Scott Mayes and the two headed to Denton, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas. Sam began working for the sheriff as a farmhand and teamster, which acquainted him to the country trails and back roads that he would later use as a bandit.
Sam saved up his money and bought a racehorse that allowed him to quit his job and focus on racing and gambling. After 1875, Sam never again had permanent full-time work. Through patronizing saloons, Sam met Joel Collins in San Antonio and the two men decided to run a herd of cattle up north. They wound up in Nebraska, sold the herd, and attempted then failed at prospecting in the Black Hills. They decided to rob stagecoaches to offset their losses. Over the following few months, they held up seven stagecoaches, but only fared small payoffs. So they decided to try their hand at train robbing, hoping to score more money.
In 1877 at the Big Spring Station in Nebraska, a small group of banditsāincluding Sam Bassāforced the station master to halt an oncoming express train. The bandits boarded and used violence against anyone who tried to stop them. They uncovered $60,000 worth of freshly minted $20 gold coins from the San Francisco Mint. The men divided the gold up equally between themselves and left the scene in pairs, each pair traveling in a different direction. A few of the men were later captured or killed. Sam and Jack Davis rode south in a one horse buggy and made their way back to Denton.
Even with a cache of $10,000 from the robbery, Sam began robbing trains again a few months later. Itās speculated that he likely did not burn through his money so quickly, but rather he likely enjoyed the sport of thievery. Yet this fast turnaround led to future stories of Sam hiding his stash in various places around Texas while he went out and committed more robberies. But weāll get to that a little later in this tale.
In 1878, Sam Bass and his gang held up several more trains, which caused the people of North Texas to worry and call for action. The governor responded by calling in the Texas Rangers to find and capture the notorious bandits. For several months, there were moviesque chases with the bandits narrowly escaping the Rangersā grasp. 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.
In July, Sam and his gang made it down to Round Rock, just north of Austin. They had plans to rob a bank there. As they were casing the bank and finalizing their course of action, they were recognized and a gun fight broke out. Sam was shot through the hand and then shot in the chest. Several deputies were shot as well. Sam and one of his gang members were able to flee on horseback.
Sam was found still alive the next day, forced to stop due to his injuries. He had told his buddy to continue the retreat without him. Sam was brought to a small shack for questioning, but he did not divulge any information about the members of his gang. He died on his 27th birthday, two days after he was shot and just eight years after he initially arrived in Texas.
Sam Bass is buried in the Round Rock Cemetery, and his name is fairly well known to those whoāve taken an interest in Wild West outlaws. As for his alleged hidden loot, there are many theories as to where it might be hidden. Though no one has ever confirmed them or announced a discovery of any gold tied to Bass. Some say that Bass hid a cache of gold in East Mountain in Mineral Wells, while others think that the gold was hidden in a remote cave near Big Blue Spring for safekeeping during the bank robbery that was supposed to take place in Round Rock. Other theories mention additional locations of the supposed treasure.
But one thing is certainā¦no one definitively knows if and where Sam Bass may have hidden his treasure!
