Outlaw. Robbed his first train in Bellevue Texas December 1, 1886 with his brother Jim. He hit his second train at Gordon, Texas in January 1887, successfully taking $4,200 from the express car. Rube earned the distinction of being the only man in history to rob a train by himself. He was captured in 1890 and soon escaped. He was killed in a shootout a few days later. His body was taken to Birmingham and was displayed to the public before being sent home for burial. His last name is often misspelled, as it is on his gravestone, as Burrows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the night of July 8, 1888, outlaws, Rube, and Jim Burrows, were waiting at a small train station in Genoa, Arkansas. They had been on a rampage, robbing trains all throughout the southern states and were being pursued by Pinkerton detectives everywhere.
That night, they robbed a Missouri Pacific express train and fled to their home in Lamar County, Alabama.
Word reached detectives that the two had been seen in the area and they moved in. Rube was slippery and made a getaway while his brother Jim was captured and taken back to Arkansas to stand trial.
There was much excitement in Arkansas about a real outlaw being housed within the state prison.
Jim was to be tried for his crimes but soon became very ill and died. A physician examined him and declared he was as dead as a man could be, so they buried him in the prison cemetery.
In the meantime, Rube Burrow was still making a name for himself as a train robber and highway man. If he were captured, he always entertained his captors with jokes and would offer them $100 if they were to just look the other way and let him go. Many accepted his offer and once he was freed, he normally put a bullet in them, taking his $100 back.
On October 9th, 1890, Rube, would escape from a jail cell in Linden, Alabama, by placing a pistol he had hidden, to a guard's head. Once outside the jail, he and one of the men who brought him in, would get into a gun battle, which left him laying dead on the street.
Rube's bullet-filled body was buried at Fellowship Cemetery in Vernon, Alabama.
It seemed that the terror of the Burrows brothers had finally come to an end, but that is when things really began to get weird.
In 1894, an order was given to remove the graves of the convicts at the Arkansas Penitentiary, in Little Rock. They were to be placed in a new burial site and men were hired to dig them up. When the gravediggers reached the coffin of Jim Burrow, it made a hollow sound as the shovels and picks hit it. This prompted them to open it up, revealing, well, nothing! The coffin was empty.
This caused a lot of excitement in the state, to think that a dangerous outlaw might still be on the loose.
Ten years later, after the empty coffin was found, back in Alabama, a group of men were coming through Fellowship Cemetery, during the night and were suddenly startled. A tall, thin man stood up in the middle of the cemetery. He was wearing a 6-shooter on his hip and they described his eyes as glowing like two shiny orbs, just as a wild animal's eyes might shine.
The man made his resting place in no ordinary spot. He was resting on the grave of the notorious Rube Burrow.
The strange man, walked slowly passed the men and disappeared into the woods. They were sure they had seen something supernatural and alerted others.
For several nights, different men, who had the nerve, would go to the cemetery to get a glimpse of the stranger. He would always rise from the grave of Rube, and walk into the woods, his eyes and 6-shooter shining.
A few times, posses were formed to try and catch the man who appeared to be living in the graveyard at night, but it was said, like a ghost, he would disappear from among them and no one could take him.
Others reported to see him eating peaches from a local orchard, or roasting ears of corn nearby. If anyone tried to approach him, he would brandish his 6-shooter to keep them at bay, while he disappeared into the wooded area.
Could this strange man have been Jim Burrow? Could he have escaped from his coffin or bribed someone to fake his death. Perhaps he was hiding at Friendship Cemetery until he could come up with a plan. Or, could the mysterious figure have been a ghost of one of the Burrow brothers?
Outlaw. Robbed his first train in Bellevue Texas December 1, 1886 with his brother Jim. He hit his second train at Gordon, Texas in January 1887, successfully taking $4,200 from the express car. Rube earned the distinction of being the only man in history to rob a train by himself. He was captured in 1890 and soon escaped. He was killed in a shootout a few days later. His body was taken to Birmingham and was displayed to the public before being sent home for burial. His last name is often misspelled, as it is on his gravestone, as Burrows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the night of July 8, 1888, outlaws, Rube, and Jim Burrows, were waiting at a small train station in Genoa, Arkansas. They had been on a rampage, robbing trains all throughout the southern states and were being pursued by Pinkerton detectives everywhere.
That night, they robbed a Missouri Pacific express train and fled to their home in Lamar County, Alabama.
Word reached detectives that the two had been seen in the area and they moved in. Rube was slippery and made a getaway while his brother Jim was captured and taken back to Arkansas to stand trial.
There was much excitement in Arkansas about a real outlaw being housed within the state prison.
Jim was to be tried for his crimes but soon became very ill and died. A physician examined him and declared he was as dead as a man could be, so they buried him in the prison cemetery.
In the meantime, Rube Burrow was still making a name for himself as a train robber and highway man. If he were captured, he always entertained his captors with jokes and would offer them $100 if they were to just look the other way and let him go. Many accepted his offer and once he was freed, he normally put a bullet in them, taking his $100 back.
On October 9th, 1890, Rube, would escape from a jail cell in Linden, Alabama, by placing a pistol he had hidden, to a guard's head. Once outside the jail, he and one of the men who brought him in, would get into a gun battle, which left him laying dead on the street.
Rube's bullet-filled body was buried at Fellowship Cemetery in Vernon, Alabama.
It seemed that the terror of the Burrows brothers had finally come to an end, but that is when things really began to get weird.
In 1894, an order was given to remove the graves of the convicts at the Arkansas Penitentiary, in Little Rock. They were to be placed in a new burial site and men were hired to dig them up. When the gravediggers reached the coffin of Jim Burrow, it made a hollow sound as the shovels and picks hit it. This prompted them to open it up, revealing, well, nothing! The coffin was empty.
This caused a lot of excitement in the state, to think that a dangerous outlaw might still be on the loose.
Ten years later, after the empty coffin was found, back in Alabama, a group of men were coming through Fellowship Cemetery, during the night and were suddenly startled. A tall, thin man stood up in the middle of the cemetery. He was wearing a 6-shooter on his hip and they described his eyes as glowing like two shiny orbs, just as a wild animal's eyes might shine.
The man made his resting place in no ordinary spot. He was resting on the grave of the notorious Rube Burrow.
The strange man, walked slowly passed the men and disappeared into the woods. They were sure they had seen something supernatural and alerted others.
For several nights, different men, who had the nerve, would go to the cemetery to get a glimpse of the stranger. He would always rise from the grave of Rube, and walk into the woods, his eyes and 6-shooter shining.
A few times, posses were formed to try and catch the man who appeared to be living in the graveyard at night, but it was said, like a ghost, he would disappear from among them and no one could take him.
Others reported to see him eating peaches from a local orchard, or roasting ears of corn nearby. If anyone tried to approach him, he would brandish his 6-shooter to keep them at bay, while he disappeared into the wooded area.
Could this strange man have been Jim Burrow? Could he have escaped from his coffin or bribed someone to fake his death. Perhaps he was hiding at Friendship Cemetery until he could come up with a plan. Or, could the mysterious figure have been a ghost of one of the Burrow brothers?
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