1891 was the year of the great train robbery by the Dalton Gang (Southern Pacific #17). It was a fiasco, and should have been an ominous sign to quit the thievery business. “While Bill kept any passengers from interfering by shooting over their heads, Bob and Grat forced the engineer to show them the location of the cash-carrying express car. When the engineer tried to slip away, one of the brothers shot him in the stomach. Finding the express car on their own, Bob and Grat demanded that the guard inside open the heavy door. The guard refused and began firing down on them from a small spy hole. Thwarted, the brothers finally gave up and rode away.”

“They then returned to Oklahoma, reunited with youngest brother Emmett Dalton, and began robbing in earnest. A year later, the gang botched another robbery, boldly attempting to hit two Coffeyville, Kansas, banks at the same time. Townspeople caught them in the act and killed Bob, Grat, and two of their gang members. Emmett was seriously wounded and served 14 years in prison.” It ultimately serves to prove that crime does not always pay.