World of Redemption

The Van der Linde gang started when two petty criminals, Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, met by a campfire in the mid-1870s on their way to Chicago. They tried to trick each other but found that both were good at stealing. Realizing their skills matched, they decided to team up. Dutch convinced Hosea, who had a low opinion of himself, that they could redeem themselves by robbing the rich and helping the poor, like Robin Hood. Dutch dreamed of a world without government control—a "savage utopia" that would break down society's pressures and injustices. With this goal, they began their schemes in Kettering, Ohio. They pretended to be international merchants to trick locals into investing $300 in a fake Portuguese shipping company. When their scam was exposed, Sheriff Carmichael arrested them. However, on March 9, 1877, they escaped from jail by mysterious means, even tying up and robbing the sheriff in the process.