Sam Bass died when he was 27, and it was rumored he never lived to retrieve the gold.

Sam Bass sat on his horse disgusted, and promised himself he would never make those mistakes again.

It was the biggest haul that Sam Bass was ever to make himself or participate in.

Sam Bass did not look like the popular idea of an outlaw of the Old West.

It was during the spring of 1878 that Sam Bass became a legend around Dallas.

It was a Texas that Sam Bass knew and functioned in.

But Sam Bass knew about none of this.

Early in the exchange Sam Bass took a slug through his hand.

Sam Bass died on his birthday, July 21, 1878.

It became a hide-out for thieves and violent criminals such as Sam Bass.