Sam Bass came to Texas, in 1870 at the age of 19. He settled in the Denton County area where he worked as a cowboy and teamster. Sam went "up the trail" in 1876 to Nebraska, got paid and headed for Deadwood where he lost all his money. He robbed stages around Deadwood, then joined with 5 others, led by Joel Collins, and robbed a Union Pacific train at Big Springs, Nebraska in September, 1877 of $60,000 in gold and several thousand dollars from the passengers.