He left home at the age of 13 and came to Fort Worth, and there met Joel Collins, by whom he was hired to work on the Collins ranch located in [?] County.
Burns continued to follow the range until 18, at which time he joined the Texas Rangers and served under Captain McNally and took part in the capture of Sam Bass, July 19, 1878. He resigned from the ranger force in 1880, and thereafter engaged in farming and cattle buying.
His story follows:
"I am now 80, years old, I was born in Lamar County, Texas May 7th, 1857, on a plantation, which my father owned, near a place called Penock It since has been changed to the name of Paris.
"My father owned several good saddle horses, which were used for traveling and riding over the fields . . . I learned to ride when I was six years old and when I reached the age of 13, was a good rider and hossman.
"Plantation life did not sit well with me and after my 13th birthday I hankered for a change and wanted to get into some other line. Kid like, I decided to hunt a job and at the same time see some of the world, so left home without the consent, or knowledge, of my parents.
"I made it to Fort Worth, that was in 1870, and there was not much to the city at the time, but was a big cow center. I was hanging around the wagon yard the after I arrived and a man came up to me, he began to chin. After getting me to tell who I was and where from, he sez: "Are you looking for work?"
"Reck n so", I sez.
"Well, how would you like to work on a ranch?, he asked me.
"Fine", sez I, "and I can ride a hoss.
"That man was Joel Collins, he owned a ranch in Erath, County and there is were we jiggled to. That was in the month of December and I went to work hunting strays as my first job. That gave me time to graduate from a scissor-bill to a rawhide and by spring I was handy with the rest and could throw a mean loop. I also, was handling the hosses like an old timer.
"When spring arrived Joel began to cut out a herd to drive up Kansas way. I worked in the cut out and shaped up so well that Joel gave me ridding orders to go on the drive. I had been hankering for such and of course was tickled pink.
"We started to drift up the trail in the later part of May and had good luck. It was my first show on a drive and I was soaking in everything and the first to jump at any job that came up and took my turn at night riding, after the critters were bedded down at night. We had about 2000 head and did not lose any. Collins gave a few, sore footed, animals to Indians that called on us for "wohaw", which is the Indian word for beef. I had it put into my conk on that trip, that it was better to give the Indian wohaw, than to have them get it by stampeding the herd. During the drift we hit up with just one bad storm and the herd got the jitters, but we worked fast and we put them to milling without any of the critters getting away, but they kept us dragging all night.
"We arrived at Camp Supply and there Joel met up with Sam Bass . The second day at Camp Supply, Joel called me and sez to me, "I have a good deal in the making and your are just the kind of a buckaroo I want to take in with me." So we sauntered over to where Sam Bass and several other were. The layout offered to me was for me to join up with the gang and go to making 'big money' as they put it, doing anything from rustling cattle to bank robbery. They had an oath that they read to me and I was to swear to it before I would be accepted. The oath read that a person must accept the orders of the chief, never tell anyone about plans, never admit doing a job, or tell whom the other members were. Death was the penalty for breaking the oath. I refused to become a member and Joel argued with me for two days trying to get the idea into my conk, but it was a hopeless job, which he finally agreed to and he sez to me "Lad, you�re missing the chance of a life time to make big jack and be able to take it easy". But I could not see it the that way and told him so. I sez to him, sez I, "Joel I am looking for hard work".
"After he seen that I would not join the gang, I and four others were started back to the ranch with 400 hosses that he had traded for.
"We started to drift back to the ranch with the hosses and made better time, of course, averaging around 15 miles a day, where with cows they must be allowed to graze and drift, so that the average is only seven miles a day. The cattle were always allowedmto graze a-plenty. The idea was to deliver the critters in good flesh.
"When we arrived at the home range, I prattled to Joel's wife, I sez to her: "You'll never see Joel again, he has joined up with Sam Bass and a gang of them are going to stick up banks, trains, rustle cattle and anything that comes their way to make big jack". I calculated on having him brought in feet first, with his boots on, but he is set on doing it and has that hankering and I can't stop him..'
She sez. "Well, he did come home about a month later and had Sam Bass and several others, with him. They took the top hosses of the ranch, left the worn out mounts, and went off again."
"That got my bristles up, because we were left with a bunch of second grade hosses and had to work with that kind or bust others, which we did. We worked about a month busting and training hosses that we took out of the herd. We had a pert string in the remuda when Joel, with his buckaroos, showed up and took the tops of the remuda again. That got me plumb riled and I sez to Joel's wife: "If that happens again I will take to the drags'.
"I can't help it Dave," she sez, "but I wish you would stay. You are one human that I can trust."
"So, I promised that I would stay. I never had any more of the top hosses taken, because they never came back. A couple months after their last visit, Mrs. Collins received a letter and it told her that Joel got killed during a stick up of the U P train. A few weeks after a party showed up with money for Joel's wife. It was Joel's share of the loot.
"I joined up with the Texas Rangers in September 1877, under the name of Bill Green and served under Captain McNally. Our work was hunting outlaws in general, but cattle rustlers were our chief object and we caught up with a lot of them, and also, a good number that me met up with were hanging from the limbs of trees with a rope tied around their neck.
"Sam Bass and his gang were operating heavy at that time and we were after him wanting to get the dead wood on him. We were getting orders every little while directing us to be at a certain town and lay for the Bass outfit. The riding orders were sent on tips that the outfit were to rob a bank. Those tips kept coming in for about six months.
"Our first tip was that the outfit would be at San Angelo on a certain day to stick up the bank. On that day we were planted in San Angelo, but the bank at Eden was busted on that day. The next order came directing us to be at Brownwood. On that day the bank at Brownwood was calculated to be busted, the bank at Coleman was robbed. The next order was that we should plant ourselves at Waco and on that day the bank at Terrell received the visit.
"We were trying to catch the gang in the act and get them in a bunch. We would be planted at different spots around the bank of a town and the roads leading into it.
"The tips were coming in from some member of the Bass gang and most likely it was Murphy. Captain McNally never admitted such, but did not make denial that it was Murphy and Sam threatened to kill Murphy once claiming he was doing the tipping.
"Sam Bass was wise to the fact that some one was tipping off his plans and Sam was crossing the law, which was shown by him always pulling a job at some point different from that which we calculated, but on the same day.
"Finally we were ordered to be a Round Rock, July 20th, that was in 1878. The order was on a tip that the Bass gang would bust the bank there that day. I do not believe Round Rock was the town picked by the gang, because only three of the gang made a show. The three were Sam Bass, Bill (Jim) Jackson and Jim Burns. Burns was a cousin of mine and his father was a preacher. Jim joined the gang at Terrell and had not been with the gang long.
"My company of Rangers were at Austin when the order was received. We left Austin at 2 A.M. and arrived at Round Rock around 5 A.M. The Captain planted me at the N.E. corner of the square, next to a saloon and on the street leading to Austin. My orders were to watch for any of the Bass gang and report their movements and there was to be no shooting until ordered. McNally wanted to get them in a bunch and take them all.
"The sun was just rising, when I spied three men on hosses riding into town. They reached the square and tied their hosses across from where I was planted. I recognized at once who the men were. Sam Bass I met him the first time in Camp Supply. Jim Burns, of course, was my cousin. Bill Jackson was a stranger to me.
"They came across the street towards the saloon, next to which I was standing. As they came up to me, Bass and Burns recognized me and they stopped. Sam and Burns, each sez, "Hello, Dave", and we went to chinning. I sez to them: "You boys know me and what I am doing now". "Sure do, Dave", Sam sez, "Come in and have a drink".
"Can't do it fellows, its against the orders", sez I, "What are you fellows doing here?"
"Just jiggling through", sez Burns.
"Well, you had better duck". I sez to them. They turned to go into the saloon and Sam , looking back over his shoulder, laughed at me and sez, "Sorry, Old Top, your duties wont allow you to take a drink with a friend."
"They went into the saloon and they no more than had entered when a deputy sheriff came up to me and asked: "'Who were them men that talked to you packing all that artillery?'
"Let's go in and get them" sez he.
"No", sez I, "My orders are to remain here and watch till I get further orders".
"Well, I am going in", sez he. I do not recall the name of that deputy, it has plumb spilled my mind. He entered the saloon and in a jiffy I heard one shot fired and the thud of a body hitting the floor. I became anxious to see the Captain and get action orders. It passed through my conk that hell was a-going to pop. I looked across the street, to the West, and there I saw McNally coming a-running like a streak carrying his hat in his hand. Damned if McNally didn't run right past me with out a word and there I stood with action already started. That deputy had jumped the game ahead of time and all we rangers were scattered.
"For a minute, or two, there was plenty of artillery action. The shooting suddenly ceased and I saw Sam and his pals backing out of the saloon with their guns leveled, holding the crowd inside. They backed across the street towards their hosses. I could see that Sam was in bad shape and when they reached their hosses Burns had to help Sam to mount. I could have pumped all of them full of lead, but I was still waiting for orders, not wanting to go against the rule.
"When Sam mounted the boys in the saloon came running out, through the door and windows. McNally came out first and yelled to take after them. Just as McNally spoke, Burns, instead of crawling under Sam's hoss to his own and stay protected, he started around the rear of Sam's hoss. As he passed the hoss a shot felled him and he dropped between the two hosses. Jim Jackson, on his hoss, was at Sam's side pronto and hooked his arm through Sam's and they were off with Jackson holding Sam onto the hoss. From the moment that they started to mount their hosses till they were dragging down the road, consumed less time than it takes to tell about it. There were shots fired after them, but none seemed to hit.
"There were 211 of us Rangers and we pronto made our mounts and took after the three men. In addition there were others, some hankering to help and some wanted to get an eye full. There were folks in wagons pulled by mules and folks on hoss back all going down the road on a dead run. We rangers were in the lead and I never looked back.
"When we had dragged out of town about a mile and half, I saw Sam's hoss grazing off near the road. I sez to McNally, "there is Sam's hoss over yonder. I'll go over and have a look." I went over there and under a black jack tree layed Sam , with his conk cover covering his face. I raised his lid and he turned his head, slightly, and looked at me and sez: "Its you Dave".
"Yes Sam , its Dave", sez I.
"Well, they have done all they can. It won�t be long till �tis said that I was killed". he sez.
"I can't help what has been done", sez I, "but I'll do all that I can for you. You should have ducked when you saw me, you knew what I was doing. There is Jackson.
"Don't worry about Jackson, he has too good a-hoss you can't catch him", he sez, "I told him to go on because he could do me no good".
"We took him back to town and put him in a room over a drug store and he died early the next morning. I was present when the doctor dressed the wounds and there were 28 holes in him.
"Before he died he called McNally to him and sez, "There is $500, in my pocket; take the money and my hoss and give both to the deputy's wife. I won�t have any further use for either".
"Sam dealt in hosses, especially racing stock and rode good critters. His ranch was located just about 20 miles North of Fort Worth, on the Denton and Tarrant Counties line. It was known as the hidden pasture. The spot where the corral stood still shows signs of the old pen. I saw it a couple years ago."