Ben Kilpatrick and his partner, Ole Hobek, attempted to rob a Southern Pacific express car, but they were stopped by one of their hostages, David A. Trousdale, who managed to kill both of the bandits.

[1] Ben Kilpatrick, known as the "Tall Texan", was originally a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, but he was caught after the 1901 Great Northern Robbery in Montana and sent to the federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia.

Upon his release, exactly ten years after the Great Northern Robbery, Ben went straight back to a life of crime.

[1] Old West historians have often written Ben Kilpatrick off as being entirely unable to commit a robbery without the help of Butch Cassidy or Kid Curry, but after his release from prison, a man named Ole Hobek and he executed a series of "spectacular" bank and train robberies within a short time.

[1][2] At about 12:05 am, March 13, 1912, Kilpatrick and Hobek boarded Southern Pacific's Train #9 in Dryden and rode it west towards Sanderson.

Once they were out of town, the two robbers put on masks and made their way to the front of the train to take the engineer, D. E. Grosh, two of his crewmen, and the express messenger hostage.

The robbers then ordered the engineer to stop the train at the first iron bridge west of Baxter's Curve, which was located roughly midway between Dryden and Sanderson and was where they had left their horses.

When he appeared in the window of the express car, Kilpatrick called out the name "Frank" a few times, but was then shot in the head by Trousdale without ever seeing him.

The sheriff, David L. Anderson, who was notable for having been a member of Billy the Kid's gang, later captured a third accomplice in the robbery attempt; an 11-year-old boy who was recruited to hold the horses at Baxter's Curve.

The bodies of Kilpatrick and Hobek were immediately removed from the train and propped up in front of the depot for their now-famous photograph.

Kilpatrick and Hobek were originally buried in an unmarked plot at the Cedar Grove Cemetery, but their grave has since been discovered and is now a popular tourist attraction.

[1][2] David Trousdale was regarded as a hero, and as a reward, he was presented with $1,000 and an engraved gold watch from Wells Fargo & Company.

He also received another $1,000 from the federal government, $500 from the Southern Pacific Railroad, and a gold watch fob inlaid with a diamond inside the star of Texas from grateful passengers.

The engraving on the watch said "In recognition of the courage and fidelity displayed in an attempted train robbery near Dryden, Texas, March 13, 1912, Wells Fargo and Co." The fob said "Presented by passengers, west-bound Sunset Express, for bravery displayed March 13, 1912, near Dryden, Texas.

[1][4][5] The following was reported by David A. Trousdale to the police in Sanderson: The first I knew of being held up was when the train came to a stop at Baxter's Curve.

I fired one shot – the bullet striking him about an inch and a half above the left eye, passing through his head and started going through the end of the car.