1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: It was Christmas time, nineteen twenty seven, and the largest 7 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: manhunt Texas had ever seen was underway. A posse of 8 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: one hundred men was scouring the lone Star state. Their 9 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: target had many aliases, Chris Kringle, Old Saint Nick, even 10 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: Papa Noel. But no matter what name he went by, 11 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: the truth was the same. Santa Claus had robbed a bank. 12 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: Just a few weeks earlier. Marshall Ratliffe took his first 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: breath of free air after two long years. He had 14 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: been imprisoned for bank robbery in a tiny central Texas 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: town called Valera, but he walked free after the governor 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: granted him a pardon. Immediately he began to plot his 17 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: next heist. It was a particularly dangerous time for bank 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: robbers in Texas. Multiple banks were being robbed every day, 19 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: and the Texas Bankers Association put up a bounty of 20 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: five thousand dollars for anyone who killed a would be thief. 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: Today that would be the equivalent of about eighty five thousand, 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: so law men and vigilantes alike were eager to get 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: their payout. Marshall knew to get away clean he needed 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: the right team and the right approach, and so he 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: staked out the First National Bank of Cisco, Texas to 26 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: make a plan. He recruited two other ex cons, Henry 27 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: Helms and Robert Hill, and when their original safecracker fell ill, 28 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: they added Louis Davis, Henry's relative, to the team. And 29 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: since Marshall himself was known to people in Cisco, he 30 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: decided the best way to pull off the heist would 31 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: be in disguise. Luckily for him, the woman running the 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: boarding house he lived in had just the thing, a 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: homemade Santa Claus suit complete with a beard. The plan 34 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: was simple. Drop Marshall in full Santa get up in 35 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: town close to the bank, when they would park their 36 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: getaway car in the alley out back. Henry, Robert and 37 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: Louis would then follow Marshall into the bank. They would 38 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: steal the cash and exit through a side door to 39 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: drive off into the sunset. It was nearly full proof. 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: On December twenty third of nineteen twenty seven, the townspeople 41 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: of Cisco didn't find anything suspicious about a man in 42 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: a Santa suit strolling into the bank. In fact, on 43 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: his journey into First National, Marshall was stopped by several 44 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: children giving him their Christmas wish lists. Inside the bank, however, 45 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: was a totally different story. The second that Marshall and 46 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: his three accomplices entered the building, they pulled out their 47 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,839 Speaker 1: pistols and told the workers and patrons inside to put 48 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,839 Speaker 1: their hands up. Marshall pulled out a bag and told 49 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: the tellers to begin filling it. In the chaos, however, 50 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: the gang lost sight of one bank customer and her 51 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: young daughter. The two slipped into a back office and 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: out a side door, and then immediately ran into the 53 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: police station just a block away. Minutes later, the bank 54 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: was surrounded. The in and out heist the gang had 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: planned was no longer possible, so they began to improvise. 56 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: Marshall's gang entered the alley, pushing eight hostages ahead of 57 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: them as human shields. They thought that the police wouldn't 58 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: shoot if there were civilians in the way. However, they 59 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,959 Speaker 1: thought wrong. A firefight quickly broke out, wounding police, robbers, 60 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: and hostages alike. But amidst the melee, the four thieves 61 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: were able to get into their getaway sleigh i mean 62 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: car and go along with two fourth grade girls as hostages. 63 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: It quickly became obvious, though that they had a problem. 64 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: Whether a bullet had made a leak in the gas 65 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: tank or the robbers simply forgot to fill up, the 66 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: issue was clear. They were almost out of gas. There 67 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: was no way that they were getting out of Cisco. 68 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: At the edge of the town, they tried to steal 69 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: a passing car, ordering the driver out at gunpoints, but 70 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: by the time they loaded the cash, the hostages and 71 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: themselves into the new car, they realized the driver had 72 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: run off with the keys in his hand. Facing more gunfire, 73 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: they jumped into their original getaway car and drove off, 74 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: But in the confusion they left behind Louis, who had 75 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: fallen unconscious from his wounds, as well as the bag 76 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: of cash. It seems that after all this trouble to 77 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: rob a bank, they would have nothing to show for it. 78 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: The three remaining robbers made it about two miles out 79 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: of town before they abandoned their car with the hostages inside. 80 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: The ensuing manhunt lasted another seven days, with nearly one 81 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: hundred men on their trail desperate for their cut of 82 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,919 Speaker 1: the bounty. Marshall was caught on December twenty sixth, and 83 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: Henry and Robert were captured on December thirtieth. Altogether, twelve 84 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: people were wounded and three people, including Louis Davis, were killed. 85 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: The money, worth one hundred and seventy two thousand dollars 86 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: at the time, would have been the largest bank heist 87 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: in Texas history, at least it would have been had 88 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: the robbers not left it behind in the chaos. Santa 89 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: Suit or not, those bank robbers would spend the rest 90 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: of their lives on the Nauty List. You know, you 91 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: learn a lot about a city based on the food 92 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: they have available to visitors. There's nothing quite like flying 93 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: into New York late at nights and hunting down some 94 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: cheap street food to keep yourself going. It may never 95 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: be the healthiest option, but it's always a relief to 96 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: weary travelers. The wide availability of simple prepared foods is 97 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,840 Speaker 1: an essential part of a big city today. But how 98 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: far back into history does that go. It's perhaps not 99 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: surprising to remember that people had not always been quite 100 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: so traveled and food not quite so industrialized. And the 101 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: farther back in time you go, the more interesting these 102 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: differences become cities were smaller, Preserving food for long periods 103 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: was always a challenge, and in medieval times it was 104 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: not always a given that a house would have a 105 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: kitchen of its own, which brings us to one of 106 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: the epicenters of the medieval world. Jerusalem, the central city 107 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: of the Holy Land, is easily the most contested location 108 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: of the era. During the Crusades, it changed hands multiple times, 109 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: first when Christian crusaders conquered the city in ten ninety nine, 110 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,119 Speaker 1: then when Solidin took it back, and back and forth 111 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: for much of the High Middle Ages. Now, despite weathering 112 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: regular violence, sieges, and religious conflict, the city still had 113 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: a function like a city. As the capital of the 114 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,559 Speaker 1: Kingdom of Jerusalem. Ordinary people still came and went, people 115 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: with no intention to participate in a crusade. It was 116 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: a hub of travel for individuals of many different faiths, 117 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: and for that reason, the rulers of the city had 118 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 1: many warring interests to contend with, which is why in 119 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: the eleven forties the city was in the midst of 120 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: a quiet political struggle between folk of Anjou and his wife, 121 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Melissene. The late 122 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: King's wins will determined that she should rule, but Fulk 123 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: did not agree. He made many attempts to undermine his 124 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: wife's authority, resulting in a tenuous arrangement where they would 125 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: be co rulers of the city as king and queen. 126 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: But all of this came to an end. In eleven 127 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: forty three, Fulk and Melison were riding in the countryside 128 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: when the King of Jerusalem spotted a hare. Seized by 129 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: a hunter's instinct, he charged after it. His horse stumbled 130 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: and fell, whereupon Fulk received a grievous head injury. He 131 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: would die of it some days later, and with this 132 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: Melisan took the throne for herself, ruling the Kingdom of 133 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: Jerusalem alongside her young son, Baldwin Third. She would be 134 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: the first woman to hold public office in this kingdom, 135 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: although her reign would eventually end due to infighting with 136 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: her increasingly headstrong son. But this is where we get 137 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: back to food. You see, Melison did not spend all 138 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: of her reign grappling for power with her immediate family members. 139 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: She also seemingly had an interest in improving Jerusalem for 140 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: its citizens. At her direction, in three parallel streets would 141 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: be established to become a sort of open market for 142 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: the city, where travelers and citizens alike could go in 143 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: order to purchase goods. And this so called triple market 144 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,119 Speaker 1: consisted of three streets, the Streets of Herbs, the Covered Street, 145 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: and the Street of Bad Cooking. And this third street 146 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: would perhaps become the most infamous of them all. It's 147 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: there that locals would prepare vast quantities of low quality 148 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: food to be sold cheaply. The meat was bad, almost 149 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: always rancid, but caked in enough spices that you'd hardly 150 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: be able to tell. And if you're a crusader or 151 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: a pilgrim who had just traveled thousands of leagues in 152 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: order to come here, you likely wouldn't be complaining. But 153 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: don't worry. Not all of the food was of poor quality. 154 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: There were fresh fruits available not far from the Street 155 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 1: of Bad Cooking, as well as great local bread. It 156 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: seems that Melisson's Triple Market was something of a city 157 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: in miniature. In it, you could see people from all 158 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: over the world brought into a very small location, all 159 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: seeking a bite to eat. And thus, thanks to her, 160 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 1: the violence, turmoil, and upheaval of the Crusades gave way 161 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: to a business practice that wouldn't have a name until 162 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: the modern times, fast food. I hope you've enjoyed today's 163 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 164 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 165 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. This show was created by 166 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 167 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 168 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 169 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 170 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.