Only thing wrong with this speculation is…………it never happened.
Real Fact: Travis Tumlinson and Clyde Barrow did serve time simultaneously in Texas’ infamous Eastham Prison Farm. They were both 19 -20 years old at the time. Oddly both had a history of poultry thief. Travis for chickens, Clyde for turkeys. Travis served 20 months of a 2 year sentence for his poultry heist. Clyde served 22 months of a 14 year term for an assortment of petty thief offenses.
Let’s examine the possible dates of interaction between Travis and Clyde Barrow.
Travis was convicted and entered Huntsville Prison on May 19, 1929, transferred to Eastham on June 3, 1929.
Clyde entered Huntsville on April 21, 1930 and was transferred to Eastham May 1, 1930. Clyde was released to sheriff’s custody to answer a bench warrant in a different county from Sept. 15, 1930 and returned to Huntsville Sept. 24, 1930. Again, transferred to Eastham, October 3, 1930.
Travis was discharged January 20, 1931.
Clyde was paroled and discharged February 2, 1932.
Travis was convicted on his second offense (auto thief) on February 1, 1932, this time served in Huntsville and released October 1, 1935.
Clyde Barrow, along with Bonnie Parker, had their reign of terror from Clyde’s release date of Feb. 2, 1932 to their death in Louisiana on May 23, 1934.
The ONLY time for interaction between Travis Tumlinson and Clyde Barrow would have been either:
1. between May 1, 1930 and Sept 15, 1930;
2. between Oct. 3, 1930 and Jan 20, 1931.
Fact: There was opportunity for Travis to have known and spent time with Clyde Barrow.
Fact: Clyde Barrow was a 2 bit, low level criminal during the time period Travis could have interacted with him. No bank robberies, no (known) murders, no opportunity for a vast stashed loot. A young hoodlum burglarizing roadside stores and gas stations for chump change which he gambled away.
Fact: Travis was incarcerated during the entire time of Bonnie & Clyde’s reign of terror from Feb 2, 1932 until their death in May, 1934. No opportunity to collaborate, assist or advise as to possible stash locations.
Be careful of the tales you spin. In the wrong hands, they become false legends.