February 7, 2022 - Bass Reeves

When we think of the Wild West, images of Matt Dillon and John Wayne often come to mind, but Deputy U. S. Marshall Bass Reeves, a real-life action hero, lived the life most movie cowboys can only dream of-described as part Superman, part Sherlock Holmes and part Lone Ranger-for over three decades, Reeves served in the most dangerous area for federal peace officers, Oklahoma and Indian Territories, and he completed his term without being wounded, something even John Wayne’s characters could not boast of doing.
Before the Oklahoma and Indian Territories merged in 1907 into the state of Oklahoma, over 114 deputy U.S. Marshalls were killed in the line of duty. Reeves kept his life and body intact while maintaining the peace-he was never wounded-even though outlaws did shoot his hat and belt off on separate occasions.
Born a slave in Arkansas, Reeves accompanied his master into war in the Civil War but Reeves ran away after a fight during a card game. Reportedly Reeves knocked his master out cold after an argument over the cards. In Texas at the time, that act would have warranted Reeves’ death sentence, so he ran to Indian Territory where he lived with the Native Americans and learned their language and culture, skills that would assist him during his law career.
The first African-American Deputy U.S. Marshall west of the Mississippi river, Reeves tracked down and arrested over 3,000 criminals in the frontier territory known for no respect for the law.
He reputedly shot and killed at least fourteen outlaws who resisted arrest and survived multiple assassination attempts.
One of the most feared lawmen in the Indian Territory, he brought in more outlaws from eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas than any other officer, despite being illiterate. Although he couldn’t read, he memorized the warrants for all the suspects he pursued.
In the early 1870s, Reeves lived in Arkansas with his family and met up with Judge Isaac C. Parker, known to history as the Hanging Judge. When Parker took over the federal court in Arkansas, he hired over 200 new deputies-Reeves was one of the best and one of fifty African-American officers.
Fans of the 1960s television show Wild Wild West should remember one of the main characters, Artemus Gordon, a master of disguise. The writers may have been inspired by Reeves, who often donned a disguise to catch criminals. He might show up as a preacher, a farmer, a cowboy, a simple drifter, or even as a woman.
Just like our television cowboy heroes, Reeves was larger than life, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 180 pounds, a substantial man for his period. A massive man known for his strength, he could take on two men at once with his bare hands, and his ability with both six-shooters and rifles was unsurpassed. He preferred a Winchester rifle but news reports of his day describe him as carrying as many as three revolvers, two butt-forward at his belt where he could easily grab them.
His skill with his.44 Winchester rifle was such that he could kill a man from a quarter-mile away.
Reeves distributed justice to both Blacks and Whites in the Wild West, along with venturing into Indian Territory to bring Indians to justice. In his 2006 biography of Reeves titled Black Gun, Silver Star, Art T. Burton wrote that Reeves tracked down white men guilty of lynchings and other racially motivated crimes during a time when most of these crimes went unpunished.
A skilled tracker, thanks to his time with the Indians, he once brought in seventeen horse thieves at once from Indian Territory near Fort Sill. Most officers brought in four outlaws at the most, but Reeves wasn’t just any officer.
The days after Reconstruction during the era of Jim Crow laws severely limited the ability of most African-American police officers; however, those African American deputy U.S. Marshals working the Indian Territory had the authority to arrest whites, blacks, or Indians who broke federal laws. It was almost unheard of for a black to arrest a white during that period.
On one occasion Bass Reeves was given the warrant for the infamous Belle Starr. Rather than face the prospect of Reeves tracking her down, Starr turned herself in for Reeves to arrest her.
As the West filled with settlers and became tamer, the Territory downsized. Reeves, aged sixty-eight, took a job working for the Muskogee police department, walking a beat. Walk it, he did, with a companion walking alongside him carrying a satchel full of pistols. Reeves was ready for any crime, but crime wasn’t ready for him-his beat remained crime-free.