The fascination with outlaws in American culture holds as true in Alabama as any other part of the United States. Little known facts reveal some noteworthy items in criminology. Did you know that the dreaded Texas outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, lived peacefully in Pollard, Alabama for several years after fleeing the law in Texas? He was captured by Texas Rangers following a horse show in Pensacola, Florida.

One outlaw, Rueben Houston Burrow, was born in Lamar County, Alabama on December 11, 1854. His father was Alan H. Burrow, one of the earliest settlers in Fayette County, which was later split producing Lamar County. Alan came to Alabama from Tennessee and Rube's mother Martha Burrow was born in Lamar County. Rube's childhood was an uneventful one. He was reasonably athletic and an excellent outdoorsman. He was the fourth of the ten Burrow children.

As an adult, he stood six feet tall and had light colored sandy hair that he sometimes darkened to help conceal his identity. He had cold blue eyes and was known as a good horseman and a deadly marksman. He was said to have had a good sense of humor.

The family relocated to Arkansas. From there, Rube and his brother, Jim, decided to embark on a career of crime and rustle livestock from Native Americans in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. This proved to be a dismal failure for the brothers. The Native Americans refused to surrender their livestock and put up a fight. They pursued the Burrow Brothers, who headed to Texas.
In 1872, Rube took a job managing a ranch near Stephenville, Texas.

At some point, Alan Burrow decided to move back to Lamar County, Alabama.
In 1876, Rube married Virginia Alvison in Wise County, Texas. In time they had two children. In 1880, Virginia succumbed to yellow fever. Following her death, the children were sent to live with Rube's parents in Alabama.

In 1884, Rube married Adeline Hoover of Erath County, Texas and bought a ranch in Alexander, Texas. Marriage seemed to have a calming effect on Rube. As a married man, he seldom broke the law, limiting his illicit activities to branding previously unbranded cattle as his own. However, as the income from the ranch dropped off, he turned back to crime.

On December 1, 1886, accompanied by his brother Jim, W.L Brock, Leonard Brock, Nep Thornton and Henderson Bromley, Rube rode to a Fort Worth and Denver Railway station in Bellevue, Texas.

When the train pulled into the station at 11 a.m. that day, Rube and his gang were waiting. The train pulled to the water tower to take on water for its steam engine. At that time, Thornton entered the locomotive and held the engineer at gunpoint. Rube, Jim and Bromley went through the passenger cars robbing the passengers. The robbery netted three-hundred dollars and several watches.

Aboard the train was Sergeant Conners of the US Army. He was in command of two African-American soldiers, who were guarding prisoners being transported. The soldiers were relieved of their Colt 45 revolvers and Rube offered freedom to the prisoners. The prisoners turned down the offer. The soldiers were later dishonorably discharged from the Army on charges of cowardice. Rube used one of the stolen pistols until his death.