232:, the county seat, had been called by long distance and given the news of the bank robbery; they piled into automobiles and sped to the spot where the bandits had abandoned the car. Reporters, including Boyce House, followed the action in another vehicle. By House's account, "officers and citizens poured in from all that section of the state and such a manhunt as Western Texas had never seen before was soon in progress .... Many members of the posse were on horseback or on foot as they beat their way through clumps of trees, searched high grass in the bottoms of ravines and peered around boulders in canyons." One search party discovered an overcoat and bloodstained gloves. Later, citizens found a suitcase and a pile of bloodstained rags. In the suitcase were cotton and gauze, showing that the bandits had entered their enterprise with the knowledge that there might be shedding of blood.
265:
before firing again. "I did not want to be caught with an empty gun if they turned and made a stand," he explained afterward. The bandits ran on, firing back over their shoulders. Again, Bradford shot, and a man went down, but arose and staggered on. The officer shoved the other shell into the gun and shot again, and the third desperado slumped to his knees, but got up and reeled on, disappearing among the derricks. Ratliff was hit and fell to the ground while Helms and Hill, although wounded, escaped into the woods by the Brazos River, which offered ideal concealment. Ratliff was reportedly a "walking arsenal", bearing no fewer than six gunshot wounds and six pistols when captured, including the one he took from the bank. "Santa" had been caught.
274:
search team could not spot the fleeing men. In the process, two more men were wounded from accidental discharge of their weapons, bringing the total number of wounded to eight, excluding the three surviving robbers. However, their trail was eventually picked up and the end of the chase evidently was not far because the footprints were close spaced, showing that they were wearing from the long chase and weak from loss of blood. Marks showed that, to climb even a small rise, they had been forced to crawl. They were finally apprehended in
389:
Bryant, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reported that, since
November 13, 1945, Hill "has been under a conditional pardon, granted by Governor Stevenson, after he had been given two one-year extensions of his reprieve. He was paroled to the Rusk County parole board and has been under the supervision of the board chairman, M.G Wright at Henderson. He is employed as a warehouseman by a construction firm in Smith County, has been married three years and is a stepfather, has acquired a home and has joined a church."
20:
366:
Gatesville State School for Boys, which served as a foster home for some boys as well as a reformatory for boys sentenced for crimes. After aging out of the foster system as a teenager, he was arrested for a petty theft, to which he pled guilty. He was given a two-year sentence in
Huntsville, where he met Marshall Ratliff. As a participant in the Cisco bank robbery, the jury gave him a 99-year sentence, and he promised the judge and jury he would "make a good prisoner."
217:
pursuers, the robbers transferred the loot and hostages and the severely-injured Louis Davis to the
Oldsmobile. But when they had finally transferred themselves to the new getaway car, only then did they realize that they could not start the car because Harris had cleverly taken the keys from the ignition when ordered to stop. Davis was by then unconscious, so they left him in the car and moved back to the first car with their two hostages.
208:, traveling south on Avenue D with their hostages, they tossed out roofing nails in an effort to puncture the tires of the posse's machines. The tactic proved useful, but only briefly, because they soon realized that they were almost out of gas. Their tank had been punctured by bullets or they had simply forgotten to fill the tank after the long ride from Wichita Falls to Cisco. As they neared the edge of town, pursued by the
501:
487:
278:, on December 30, seven days after the bank robbery. They had been attempting to find the location of a rooming house in Graham, but the man from whom they asked directions noticed their pistols and notified the authorities. Presumably exhausted, the two were taken into custody without a fight. Hill was captured with three pistols, and Helms with four.
261:, officers spotted the single-seated machine with three occupants approaching. The bandits began backing rapidly down the road. Then, as the members of the posse scurried into their automobiles, the car whirled and rushed away. A car chase followed, with a shootout in an oil field as the three tried to escape, running toward the wells.
264:
Involved in the firefight was Deputy
Sheriff Cy Bradford, who later served as a Texas Ranger. Before Bradford's car had rolled to a stop, he was out with "Old Betsy," his double-barreled shotgun, an extra pair of shells in one hand. Bradford fired once and one of the fugitives fell. Bradford reloaded
245:
After hiding out all night with nothing to eat but oranges, which they did not offer to the injured young hostage, Helms, Hill, and
Ratliff stole another car and released Wylie and his vehicle. Wylie later reported to the authorities that the bandits were doing very poorly due to their injuries, lack
365:
A reporter for the
Associated Press covering Robert Hill's 1928 trial referred to him as "the Jean Valjean of the Santa Claus robbery." The Eastland County jury was sympathetic to his lawyer's portrayal of him as "the boy who never stood a chance." He had been orphaned at eight and was raised in the
343:
His insanity ploy was more convincing than the attempts of Leahy and Helms, which led his jailers, Pack
Kilborn and Tom Jones, to let down their guard. On November 18, 1929, Ratliff escaped his unlocked cell and managed to get hold of a six-shooter in the prison office. He fatally wounded Jones, and
311:
Henry Helms attempted to avoid the electric chair by feigning insanity. He followed the lead of Harry Leahy, a former lawyer condemned for the brutal torture and killing of a physician, who had unsuccessfully attempted this ploy in July 1929. It took only ten minutes of deliberation for an
Eastland
220:
It was later determined that the gang had stolen $ 12,400 in cash and $ 150,000 in nonnegotiable securities. This would have made it the largest Texas bank heist to that date had they not accidentally left it all behind in the confusion. The lawmen and citizens found the bag of loot in the abandoned
150:
Once inside, Ratliff saw four men: two bank employees (Alex Spears and Mr. Jewell Poe) and two customers (Marion Olson and Oscar Cliett). He received a pleasant greeting of "Hello, Santa," but he did not respond, distracted by two fourth-grade girls entering the lobby from the bookkeeping room (Emma
399:
Whatever motivated the Board to recommend his parole, Hill made the best of it, and
Governor John Connally replaced his conditional pardon with a full pardon in 1964. By the time Hill died in 1996, he had been a married model citizen for fifty years. Some reports speculate that he changed his name,
195:
Despite the human shields, a fusillade of gunfire began, wounding the four bandits and a few of the hostages as well. But the robber gang made it to their car and drove out of town with the two little girls. In the melee, police chief "Bit" Bedford and one of his deputies, George
Carmichael, lay in
416:) placed a medallion at the site of the bank robbery in Cisco, and a granite marker across from the Eastland County Jail marks the spot where Marshall Ratliff was lynched. The First National Bank, now Prosperity Bank, features a painting of Cisco history, which includes a depiction of the robbery.
380:
His third break came when he joined over a dozen men through a sixty-to-eighty-foot tunnel that began under the kitchen of a work farm and exited beyond the fence. He was on the lam for eighteen months after his last escape but was captured in El Paso in 1931 while attempting to cross into Mexico.
376:
On his second escape, he and two others followed Bob Silver, a popular vocal performer who recently had his death sentence commuted to life behind bars. They kidnapped a male and female student from the Sam Houston State Teachers College and forced them to drive them to Houston, where the convicts
307:
While on death row, waiting for his death sentence appeal to be heard, Ratliff's mother gave him a wind-up phonograph and a stack of gospel records. As condemned men passed his cell on their way to the electric chair, he would play "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder." In 1928-1929, seven men heard
303:
When Ratliff faced another trial in Eastland County, this time for his contribution in the death of the two lawmen, his lawyer asked for a change of venue. The trial for the death of George "Bit" Bedford was transferred to Abilene and his trial for the death of George Carmichael was transferred to
186:
When the bandits realized the bank was surrounded, they gathered their hostages and entered the back room with the alleyway door, where they found two bookkeepers (Vance Littleton and Freda Stroebel). The bandits were unable to enter the alley without drawing withering fire from the officers and a
352:
between two telephone poles, on which they intended to hang him. The first attempt failed when the rope broke, and he fell to the ground. The second time, however, they used a stronger rope and were successful at ending the life of the man who had robbed the Cisco bank dressed as Santa almost two
388:
He did not attempt any more escapes, and Governor Coke Stephenson granted him a conditional pardon in 1945, only fifteen years into his life sentence. The first newspaper reference to his release came in 1947, in a story commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Santa Claus Robbery. Presley
273:
The intense manhunt for Helms and Hill, directed by Ranger Captain Tom Hickman, and Ranger Sergeant L.T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzallaus, with more than 100 men of a posse, including nearly 50 officers pressed on so as not to allow the wounded men an opportunity for rest. Despite airplane assistance, the
83:
Marshall Ratliff was an ex-con who had lived in Cisco before being tracked down and imprisoned for a bank robbery in Valera, Texas. Though Ratliff was given an 18-year prison sentence, after only two years Governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson pardoned him. It was just one of the 3,595 pardons Ferguson
356:
Several thousand persons viewed Ratliff's body the next day at a furniture store in Eastland before a judge ordered the corpse to be hidden from view. A grand jury was formed to investigate the illegal lynching, but no one was ever tried for it. Ratliff's mother took possession of the body and
224:
The three remaining bandits and their two little hostages raced south on Avenue D, and swung east onto a dirt road. They then turned into a pasture, dashing through cactus, mesquite, and scrub oak. The growth became so heavy that further progress was impossible, and the robbers abandoned their
216:
driven by 14-year-old Woodrow Wilson Harris, who had been allowed to drive the family into town for some last-minute Christmas shopping. His father sat beside him, and his mother and grandmother were in the back seat. At gunpoint, the family relinquished the car. In the midst of gunfire by the
137:
As the group entered Cisco, Ratliff donned the Santa Claus beard and suit and instructed the gang to drop him off a few blocks from the bank and get the car in position. The plan was to park the car where the wide alley beside the bank met Avenue D (the main street). The gang would then follow
141:
One day before Christmas Eve, no one thought it odd when Santa came walking down the street around noon. When children saw Ratliff dressed as Santa Claus, they surrounded him. He answered their questions and tried to appear friendly as he nudged the crowd toward the bank. He was able to
299:
Hill pled guilty, and at his sentencing trial, his court-appointed attorney had him take the stand to describe his boyhood as an orphan growing up as a foster child at the Gatesville State School for Boys, a reformatory for criminally convicted minors that also served as foster care for some
133:
where they had been staying in Wichita Falls. (In A.C. Greene's 1972 book on the robbery, he changed her name to Midge Tellet, and that fictional name has appeared in some accounts since then.) Stealing a car in Wichita Falls, they headed for Cisco and arrived on the morning of December 23.
241:
The evening of Christmas Day, the three remaining bandits successfully commandeered a vehicle driven by Carl Wylie, a young driller, forcing him as their hostage to drive. During the seizure, Mr. Wylie's father fired his shotgun after the fleeing car. The shot struck his son.
128:
Ratliff knew that he would be immediately recognized if he returned to Cisco. Since the heist was planned for late December, he planned to conceal his identity by disguising himself as Santa Claus. He borrowed a Santa beard and costume made by Josephine Herron, who ran the
84:
granted—under the lingering suspicion that most of the concessions were bought. Ratliff immediately began plans to rob his hometown bank. He initially planned to enlist his brother, Lee, but Lee had been arrested again. Ratliff pulled in Helms and Hill, whom he knew from
124:
were being robbed every day, and in response, the Texas Bankers Association announced that anyone who killed a bank robber would be awarded $ 5,000, valued at $ 85,000 in today's currency. This made the heist a particularly dangerous undertaking for the four men.
347:
A crowd began to gather the next morning, and by nightfall, had grown to nearly 1,000. It is not clear that all of them were clamoring for Ratliff to be handed over to them, but 15 to 20 men broke into the jail and dragged Ratliff out. They threw a rope over a
76:
335:
The citizens of Eastland County, already infuriated that Ratliff's execution had been delayed for so long, were further aggravated by this new development. A judge ordered Ratliff be extradited to Eastland County jail, writing a
384:
Eastland County tried him a second time for the Cisco bank robbery, this time for the murder of the two police officers. The trial resulted in a hung jury, and he was returned to the prison system to complete his life sentence.
357:
arranged for a funeral in Fort Worth. As his body was transferred to the hearse for transport to the burial at Olivet Cemetery, a Santa Claus leading a Christmas parade happened to pass by to promote a store's holiday sales.
183:, he started for the scene and instructed officers R.T. "Rio" Redies and George Carmichael to join him. The chief posted himself at the front of the alley while his two officers took a position at the back of the alley.
396:, Thomas Goodman speculated that the decision was the result of both Hill's personal reform and society's need for laborers in factories and farms while so many American men were overseas during the Second World War.
369:
At first, he did not keep this promise. Prison breaks were common at the time—over three hundred men were involved in breakouts in 1929 alone. Robert Hill joined three escape attempts, but he was captured each time.
439:
In the 1990s, when the screenwriter and director, John Lee Hancock, was starting out in the film business, he wrote a screenplay about the bank robbery and the lynching, but it was not picked up by a studio.
290:, who called it "the bankers' murder machine." Attorneys for Ratliff and Helms used the mixed public opinion in their defense, claiming it forced the bandits to take desperate measures to save themselves.
320:. He was executed as scheduled on September 6, 1929, and his family did not claim the body, leaving it to the state to bury it in the prison cemetery that convicts derisively called "Peckerwood Hill."
176:
office and the alleyway door, shouting, "They are robbing the bank!" She ran the one block to the police department, alerting Chief of Police Bedford and most of the Cisco citizenry about the robbery.
238:
For Davis, who was a last-minute replacement for the group, this was the only crime in his lifetime. On Christmas Day, he died from the gunshot wounds he received in the gunbattle at the bank.
1556:
151:
Mae Robinson and Laverne Comer). Then a bank patron, Mrs. B. P. Blasengame entered the bank, pulled along by her six-year-old daughter, Frances, who wanted to see Santa.
165:
into a sack he had hidden beneath his costume. While the others covered the customers and employees, Ratliff grabbed money from the tellers and forced one to open the
196:
the alley with mortal wounds. Bedford died several hours later, and Carmichael died two weeks later, on Sunday, January 8, 1928. Six other civilians were wounded.
187:
growing crowd of armed citizens. But they now had eight hostages, including the fourth-grade girls, and the bandits used them as shields to enter the alleyway.
400:
but the December 1947 Presley Bryant article already referenced included the fact that his employers "have known his identity since he went to work for them."
454:
Although several dates do not align with the newspaper record, Coley's book is a helpful resource for those looking for the family relations of the bandits.
1526:
408:
Many people in and from Eastland County have claimed to have relatives who were present at the robbery or the lynching, and it is now a part of local
1561:
1536:
59:
newspaper in the county at the time, wrote that this was "the most spectacular crime in the history of the Southwest ... surpassing any in which
577:
392:
The Board of Pardons and Paroles has no record of why they advised the governor to pardon Hill only fifteen years into his life sentence. In
308:
his impromptu death march, but he didn't play it when Henry Helms passed his cell on the way to the death chamber on September 6, 1929.
642:
617:
468:. In her report, following Billy Smith's dinner theater play, Snider suggested that the robbery included a blonde woman accomplice.
1480:
235:
Unable to find the bandits as evening set on the day of the robbery, the pursuit continued the next day, Saturday, December 24.
117:, and the trio pulled in Davis, a relative of Helms and a family man in need, promising a large return for his participation.
1551:
461:
Researchers will appreciate Baker's careful documentation, photos, and maps to the locations of key moments in the story.
304:
the small town of Anson. The Abilene jury gave him the death sentence and the Anson jury gave him a second life sentence.
328:
Ratliff began acting insane on the day of Helms's execution, and his mother, Rilla Carter, filed for a lunacy hearing in
811:"Marshall Ratliffe Jailed; Bandit Captured at Sound Bend This Morning Identified; Was Convicted for Former Robbery".
413:
179:
According to Boyce House, "Police Chief G.E. "Bit" Bedford a giant of a man and a veteran peace officer." Seizing a
544:
52:
296:
Helms, a pastor's son, stood trial after Ratliff and was given the death sentence, which his lawyer appealed.
1302:(4): 103–016, reproducing a December 1947 Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Presley Bryant in its entirety.
1531:
1546:
19:
1499:
286:
Controversy surrounded the "Dead Bank Robber" reward from the start, most publicly from legendary Ranger
344:
violently fought Kilborn. The jailer beat Ratliff into unconsciousness, then returned him to his cell.
1541:
1509:
1389:
106:
450:
In 2009, Julie Williams Coley included a chapter on the crime in her independently published book,
258:
205:
1408:
138:
Ratliff into the bank, take the money, exit through a side alleyway door to their waiting car.
1566:
1476:
638:
613:
573:
329:
254:
85:
293:
Ratliff was the first to go to trial for armed robbery, which resulted in a life sentence.
433:
In 1972, Abilene journalist A.C. Greene published a book mixed with fact and fiction called
475:, taking the known details about Robert Hill and speculating on what led to his reform.
430:
In 1984, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called it "the most accurate narrative available."
522:
317:
225:
bullet-riddled car and the two hostages several miles from town and continued on foot.
162:
130:
1216:"Robert Hill, 'Boy Who Never Had a Chance,' Twice Breaks Pledge to Court by Escapes".
47:, and Louis Davis, a relative of Helms, held up the First National Bank in Cisco. The
1520:
721:"Wounded Cisco Bank Bandit Reveals Names of His Four Allenged Accomplices in Crime".
457:
In 2011, T. Lindsay Baker included a chapter on the Santa Claus Robbery in his book,
337:
275:
60:
506:
492:
250:
110:
36:
419:
Boyce House was the first to gather the facts into a single published piece, and
373:
His first brief break for freedom was off a work detail while clearing a field.
287:
173:
75:
64:
40:
482:
213:
166:
856:"Pair Foiled in Auto Theft Near Brazos River Scurry Before Machine Gunners".
946:"Henry Helms Draws Death Penalty For Participation in Cisco Bank Robbery".
300:
children. The jury gave him a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
161:"Santa" ordered the teller to open the safe, and began stuffing money and
409:
349:
313:
229:
180:
48:
44:
155:
443:
In 2005, playwright Billy Smith wrote and directed a musical called
426:
In 1958, J.W. Sitton released the first book on the robbery, titled
464:
In 2019, Tui Snider released a 152-page book through Amazon called
1141:"Make Believe Santa Claus Passes Before Ratliff Funeral Service".
612:. Denton: University of North Texas Press. pp. 177, 228–239.
209:
74:
51:
is one of Texas' most infamous crimes, having invoked the largest
32:
18:
1294:
Bryant, Presley (January 1948). "Cisco's 'Santa Claus' Bandit".
412:. In 1967, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now the
121:
89:
673:
Van Ert, Sarah (2012-12-01). "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".
610:
In the Governor's Shadow: The True Story of Ma and Pa Ferguson
114:
706:
House, Boyce (March 1930). "The Santa Claus Bank Robbery".
1473:
The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
635:
The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
473:
The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
394:
The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
55:
ever seen in the state. Boyce House, editor of the Ranger
1445:. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press.
1066:"Death March of 15 Insanity Plea of Santa Claus Bandit".
447:, which was performed in a Cisco, Texas, dinner theater.
452:
How Did They Die? Murders in Northern Texas 1892-1927.
172:
Mrs. Blasengame escaped with her daughter through the
154:
Ratliff's accomplices then entered the bank, pointing
1428:
How Did They Die? Murders in Northern Texas 1892-1927
23:
The First National Bank of Cisco as it looked in 1927
1458:
Santa Claus Bank Robbery: A True Crime Saga in Texas
466:
Santa Claus Bank Robbery: A True Crime Saga in Texas
1096:"Marshall Ratliff Shoots Deputy Sheriff in Jail".
377:kept the car but released the students unharmed.
312:County jury to determine he was sane enough to be
1126:"Crowd of More than 1000 Takes Part in Hanging".
901:"Jury Given Ratliff Case in Bank Robbery Trial".
142:disperse the children before entering the bank.
120:During this period in Texas, an average of four
423:magazine published his article in March 1930.
221:Harris car with the badly wounded Louis Davis.
1498:House, Boyce, "The Santa Claus Bank Robbery,"
751:"Search for Three Pals is Given New Impetus".
43:, along with Henry Helms and Robert Hill, all
31:occurred on December 23, 1927, in the Central
1261:"Hill Jury Discharged When Agreement Fails".
340:for armed robbery of the Harris' Oldsmobile.
249:The next morning, as they tried to cross the
8:
991:"Ratliff Sentenced to 99 Years in Slaying".
1358:"The day Santa Claus went wrong at Cisco".
1051:"Helms' Body to Be Buried in Prison Yard".
246:of food, and the icy, sleeting conditions.
662:. Cisco, Texas: Longhorn Press. p. 1.
593:""Shot Victim Formerly in Texas Prison"".
1557:December 1927 events in the United States
1246:"Cops Seize Last 'Santa Claus' Bandit".
916:"Ratliff Gets 99 Years in Bank Holdup".
841:"Shot Victim Formerly in Texas Prison".
826:House. "The Santa Claus Bank Robbery".
766:House. "The Santa Claus Bank Robbery".
637:. Austin: Mainsail Media. p. 287.
513:
212:, they decided to commandeer a passing
1407:Stowers, Carlton (December 26, 2007).
1156:"Bandit Tells Jury of His Childhood".
228:Sheriff John Hart and his deputies of
1460:. Independently Published via Amazon.
1430:. Independently Published via Amazon.
1289:
1287:
736:"Third Victim of Cisco Holdup Dies".
701:
699:
88:, and a fourth man who was good with
7:
525:. Texas State Historical Association
1388:Harrigan, Stephen (December 1997).
1201:"Three Escaped Convicts Captured".
1231:"Hill, Reid and Azbell Get Away".
875:. December 28, 1927. pp. 1–4.
572:. Texas A&M University Press.
545:"The Night the Posse Chased Santa"
543:Van Ostrand, Maggie (2006-12-01).
445:The Great Santa Claus Bank Robbery
14:
976:"Ratliff Gets Chair For Murder".
796:"Cisco Bandits Fight off Posse".
521:Pilcher, Walter F. (2010-06-15).
471:In 2023, Thomas Goodman released
1527:1927 crimes in the United States
1508:Casefile Podcast (21 Dec 2019).
1235:. September 29, 1929. p. 1.
499:
485:
204:As the four robbers began their
39:. Marshall Ratliff, dressed as
1501:Startling Detective Adventures,
1362:. December 23, 1984. p. 1.
1347:. Cisco, Texas: Longhorn Press.
1205:. September 5, 1928. p. 2.
1145:. November 24, 1929. p. 1.
1130:. November 20, 1929. p. 1.
1100:. November 19, 1929. p. 1.
1055:. September 7, 1929. p. 1.
1040:. September 1, 1929. p. 1.
950:. February 27, 1928. p. 1.
890:. December 30, 1927. p. 1.
860:. December 28, 1927. p. 1.
845:. December 28, 1927. p. 4.
815:. December 27, 1927. p. 1.
800:. December 26, 1927. p. 1.
755:. December 25, 1927. p. 1.
725:. December 25, 1927. p. 1.
1562:Christmas in the United States
1537:Robberies in the United States
1510:"The Santa Claus Bank Robbery"
1426:Coley, Julie Williams (2009).
1409:"Santa Got a Gun — and a Rope"
1250:. January 19, 1931. p. 1.
1070:. October 24, 1929. p. 1.
920:. January 28, 1928. p. 1.
905:. January 27, 1928. p. 1.
708:Startling Detective Adventures
608:Wilson, Carol O'Keefe (2014).
421:Startling Detective Adventures
1:
1171:"Sentence Hill to 99 Years".
961:"Sentence Hill to 99 Years".
828:Startling Detective Mysteries
768:Startling Detective Mysteries
740:. January 8, 1928. p. 1.
435:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery.
428:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery.
105:As they planned the crime in
1377:. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
1375:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1345:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1220:. April 14, 1929. p. 1.
1175:. March 24, 1928. p. 1.
1160:. March 23, 1928. p. 1.
1113:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1083:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1036:"Helms Found Sane by Jury".
1023:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1008:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
995:. April 27, 1928. p. 1.
980:. March 31, 1928. p. 1.
965:. March 24, 1928. p. 1.
933:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
783:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
690:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
660:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
570:The Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1504:(March 1930) pp. 14ff.
1265:. March 1, 1931. p. 1.
886:"Cisco Bandits Surrender".
414:Texas Historical Commission
1583:
1475:. Austin: Mainsail Media.
1441:Baker, T. Lindsay (2011).
871:"Posse Trailing Robbers".
858:Fort Worth Record-Telegram
597:. Dec 28, 1927. p. 1.
523:"Santa Claus Bank Robbery"
158:and shouting, "Hands up!"
16:1927 bank robbery in Texas
1248:Austin American-Statesman
1143:Austin American-Statesman
1068:Austin American-Statesman
978:Austin American-Statesman
1471:Goodman, Thomas (2023).
1360:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
1218:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
1128:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
1053:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
843:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
753:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
738:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
633:Goodman, Thomas (2023).
595:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
79:Location of Cisco, Texas
67:boys had ever figured."
29:Santa Claus Bank Robbery
1296:Frontier Times Magazine
459:Gangster Tour of Texas.
1443:Gangster Tour of Texas
568:Greene, A. C. (1999).
253:in the little town of
80:
24:
1552:1920s crimes in Texas
1373:Greene, A.C. (1972).
1343:Sitton, J.W. (1958).
1263:Abilene Reporter-News
1233:Abilene Reporter-News
658:Sitton, J.W. (1958).
78:
22:
1456:Snider, Tui (2019).
888:The Austin Statesman
813:The Cisco Daily News
798:The Austin Statesman
723:The Cisco Daily News
282:Trials and sentences
1390:"His Perfect World"
1203:Dallas Morning News
1173:Dallas Morning News
1158:The Austin American
1098:The Austin American
993:The Austin American
963:Dallas Morning News
948:The Austin American
918:Dallas Morning News
903:The Austin American
200:Getaway and manhunt
113:came down with the
1038:Dallas Morning New
1010:. pp. 20, 23.
81:
25:
1413:Fort Worth Weekly
579:978-1-57441-071-6
1574:
1513:
1487:
1486:
1468:
1462:
1461:
1453:
1447:
1446:
1438:
1432:
1431:
1423:
1417:
1416:
1404:
1398:
1397:
1385:
1379:
1378:
1370:
1364:
1363:
1355:
1349:
1348:
1340:
1334:
1333:
1325:
1319:
1318:
1310:
1304:
1303:
1291:
1282:
1281:
1273:
1267:
1266:
1258:
1252:
1251:
1243:
1237:
1236:
1228:
1222:
1221:
1213:
1207:
1206:
1198:
1192:
1191:
1183:
1177:
1176:
1168:
1162:
1161:
1153:
1147:
1146:
1138:
1132:
1131:
1123:
1117:
1116:
1108:
1102:
1101:
1093:
1087:
1086:
1078:
1072:
1071:
1063:
1057:
1056:
1048:
1042:
1041:
1033:
1027:
1026:
1018:
1012:
1011:
1003:
997:
996:
988:
982:
981:
973:
967:
966:
958:
952:
951:
943:
937:
936:
928:
922:
921:
913:
907:
906:
898:
892:
891:
883:
877:
876:
873:Cisco Daily News
868:
862:
861:
853:
847:
846:
838:
832:
831:
823:
817:
816:
808:
802:
801:
793:
787:
786:
778:
772:
771:
763:
757:
756:
748:
742:
741:
733:
727:
726:
718:
712:
711:
703:
694:
693:
685:
679:
678:
670:
664:
663:
655:
649:
648:
630:
624:
623:
605:
599:
598:
590:
584:
583:
565:
559:
558:
556:
555:
540:
534:
533:
531:
530:
518:
509:
504:
503:
502:
495:
490:
489:
488:
361:Surviving bandit
1582:
1581:
1577:
1576:
1575:
1573:
1572:
1571:
1517:
1516:
1507:
1495:
1490:
1483:
1470:
1469:
1465:
1455:
1454:
1450:
1440:
1439:
1435:
1425:
1424:
1420:
1406:
1405:
1401:
1387:
1386:
1382:
1372:
1371:
1367:
1357:
1356:
1352:
1342:
1341:
1337:
1327:
1326:
1322:
1312:
1311:
1307:
1293:
1292:
1285:
1275:
1274:
1270:
1260:
1259:
1255:
1245:
1244:
1240:
1230:
1229:
1225:
1215:
1214:
1210:
1200:
1199:
1195:
1185:
1184:
1180:
1170:
1169:
1165:
1155:
1154:
1150:
1140:
1139:
1135:
1125:
1124:
1120:
1110:
1109:
1105:
1095:
1094:
1090:
1080:
1079:
1075:
1065:
1064:
1060:
1050:
1049:
1045:
1035:
1034:
1030:
1020:
1019:
1015:
1005:
1004:
1000:
990:
989:
985:
975:
974:
970:
960:
959:
955:
945:
944:
940:
930:
929:
925:
915:
914:
910:
900:
899:
895:
885:
884:
880:
870:
869:
865:
855:
854:
850:
840:
839:
835:
825:
824:
820:
810:
809:
805:
795:
794:
790:
780:
779:
775:
765:
764:
760:
750:
749:
745:
735:
734:
730:
720:
719:
715:
705:
704:
697:
687:
686:
682:
672:
671:
667:
657:
656:
652:
645:
632:
631:
627:
620:
607:
606:
602:
592:
591:
587:
580:
567:
566:
562:
553:
551:
542:
541:
537:
528:
526:
520:
519:
515:
505:
500:
498:
491:
486:
484:
481:
406:
363:
353:years earlier.
326:
284:
271:
202:
193:
148:
103:
98:
73:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1580:
1578:
1570:
1569:
1564:
1559:
1554:
1549:
1544:
1539:
1534:
1532:Bank robberies
1529:
1519:
1518:
1515:
1514:
1505:
1494:
1493:External links
1491:
1489:
1488:
1481:
1463:
1448:
1433:
1418:
1399:
1380:
1365:
1350:
1335:
1332:. p. 292.
1320:
1317:. p. 291.
1305:
1283:
1280:. p. 286.
1268:
1253:
1238:
1223:
1208:
1193:
1190:. p. 291.
1178:
1163:
1148:
1133:
1118:
1103:
1088:
1073:
1058:
1043:
1028:
1013:
998:
983:
968:
953:
938:
923:
908:
893:
878:
863:
848:
833:
818:
803:
788:
773:
758:
743:
728:
713:
695:
680:
665:
650:
644:979-8987750834
643:
625:
619:978-1574415537
618:
600:
585:
578:
560:
535:
512:
511:
510:
496:
480:
477:
405:
402:
362:
359:
325:
322:
318:electric chair
283:
280:
270:
267:
201:
198:
192:
189:
147:
144:
131:boarding house
102:
99:
97:
94:
72:
69:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1579:
1568:
1565:
1563:
1560:
1558:
1555:
1553:
1550:
1548:
1547:1927 in Texas
1545:
1543:
1540:
1538:
1535:
1533:
1530:
1528:
1525:
1524:
1522:
1511:
1506:
1503:
1502:
1497:
1496:
1492:
1484:
1482:9798987750803
1478:
1474:
1467:
1464:
1459:
1452:
1449:
1444:
1437:
1434:
1429:
1422:
1419:
1414:
1410:
1403:
1400:
1395:
1394:Texas Monthly
1391:
1384:
1381:
1376:
1369:
1366:
1361:
1354:
1351:
1346:
1339:
1336:
1331:
1324:
1321:
1316:
1309:
1306:
1301:
1297:
1290:
1288:
1284:
1279:
1272:
1269:
1264:
1257:
1254:
1249:
1242:
1239:
1234:
1227:
1224:
1219:
1212:
1209:
1204:
1197:
1194:
1189:
1182:
1179:
1174:
1167:
1164:
1159:
1152:
1149:
1144:
1137:
1134:
1129:
1122:
1119:
1115:. p. 30.
1114:
1107:
1104:
1099:
1092:
1089:
1085:. p. 24.
1084:
1077:
1074:
1069:
1062:
1059:
1054:
1047:
1044:
1039:
1032:
1029:
1025:. p. 20.
1024:
1017:
1014:
1009:
1002:
999:
994:
987:
984:
979:
972:
969:
964:
957:
954:
949:
942:
939:
935:. p. 19.
934:
927:
924:
919:
912:
909:
904:
897:
894:
889:
882:
879:
874:
867:
864:
859:
852:
849:
844:
837:
834:
829:
822:
819:
814:
807:
804:
799:
792:
789:
785:. p. 16.
784:
777:
774:
769:
762:
759:
754:
747:
744:
739:
732:
729:
724:
717:
714:
709:
702:
700:
696:
691:
684:
681:
676:
675:Texas Banking
669:
666:
661:
654:
651:
646:
640:
636:
629:
626:
621:
615:
611:
604:
601:
596:
589:
586:
581:
575:
571:
564:
561:
550:
549:Texas Escapes
546:
539:
536:
524:
517:
514:
508:
497:
494:
483:
478:
476:
474:
469:
467:
462:
460:
455:
453:
448:
446:
441:
437:
436:
431:
429:
424:
422:
417:
415:
411:
403:
401:
397:
395:
390:
386:
382:
378:
374:
371:
367:
360:
358:
354:
351:
345:
341:
339:
338:bench warrant
333:
331:
323:
321:
319:
315:
309:
305:
301:
297:
294:
291:
289:
281:
279:
277:
276:Graham, Texas
268:
266:
262:
260:
256:
252:
247:
243:
239:
236:
233:
231:
226:
222:
218:
215:
211:
207:
199:
197:
190:
188:
184:
182:
177:
175:
170:
168:
164:
159:
157:
152:
145:
143:
139:
135:
132:
126:
123:
118:
116:
112:
108:
107:Wichita Falls
100:
95:
93:
91:
87:
77:
70:
68:
66:
62:
61:Billy the Kid
58:
54:
50:
46:
42:
38:
34:
30:
21:
1500:
1472:
1466:
1457:
1451:
1442:
1436:
1427:
1421:
1412:
1402:
1393:
1383:
1374:
1368:
1359:
1353:
1344:
1338:
1330:The Last Man
1329:
1323:
1315:The Last Man
1314:
1308:
1299:
1295:
1278:The Last Man
1277:
1271:
1262:
1256:
1247:
1241:
1232:
1226:
1217:
1211:
1202:
1196:
1188:The Last Man
1187:
1181:
1172:
1166:
1157:
1151:
1142:
1136:
1127:
1121:
1112:
1106:
1097:
1091:
1082:
1076:
1067:
1061:
1052:
1046:
1037:
1031:
1022:
1016:
1007:
1001:
992:
986:
977:
971:
962:
956:
947:
941:
932:
926:
917:
911:
902:
896:
887:
881:
872:
866:
857:
851:
842:
836:
827:
821:
812:
806:
797:
791:
782:
776:
767:
761:
752:
746:
737:
731:
722:
716:
707:
692:. p. 3.
689:
683:
674:
668:
659:
653:
634:
628:
609:
603:
594:
588:
569:
563:
552:. Retrieved
548:
538:
527:. Retrieved
516:
507:Banks portal
493:Texas portal
472:
470:
465:
463:
458:
456:
451:
449:
444:
442:
438:
434:
432:
427:
425:
420:
418:
407:
398:
393:
391:
387:
383:
379:
375:
372:
368:
364:
355:
346:
342:
334:
327:
310:
306:
302:
298:
295:
292:
285:
272:
263:
259:Young County
251:Brazos River
248:
244:
240:
237:
234:
227:
223:
219:
203:
194:
185:
178:
171:
160:
153:
149:
140:
136:
127:
119:
111:safe-cracker
104:
82:
56:
28:
26:
1542:Santa Claus
288:Frank Hamer
174:bookkeeping
41:Santa Claus
1521:Categories
1512:(Podcast).
554:2014-01-18
529:2014-01-18
479:References
330:Huntsville
255:South Bend
214:Oldsmobile
146:Bank heist
86:Huntsville
71:Background
1328:Goodman.
1313:Goodman.
1276:Goodman.
1186:Goodman.
191:Shoot out
1567:Shootout
1111:Sitton.
1081:Sitton.
1021:Sitton.
1006:Sitton.
931:Sitton.
781:Sitton.
710:: 14–18.
688:Sitton.
410:folklore
350:guy-wire
324:Lynching
314:executed
230:Eastland
181:riot gun
101:Planning
57:Times, a
35:town of
269:Capture
206:getaway
156:pistols
96:Robbery
63:or the
53:manhunt
49:robbery
45:ex-cons
1479:
641:
616:
576:
404:Legacy
109:, the
830:: 18.
770:: 18.
167:vault
163:bonds
122:banks
90:safes
65:James
37:Cisco
33:Texas
1477:ISBN
639:ISBN
614:ISBN
574:ISBN
27:The
316:by
257:in
210:mob
115:flu
1523::
1411:.
1392:.
1300:25
1298:.
1286:^
698:^
547:.
332:.
169:.
92:.
1485:.
1415:.
1396:.
677:.
647:.
622:.
582:.
557:.
532:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
