True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Stories Part VI

Bass Reeves

Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was a runaway slave, gunfighter, farmer, scout, tracker, and deputy U.S. Marshal. He spoke several languages including Cherokee and Creek. Bass was one of the first African-American deputies U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River mostly working in the rough Indian Territory. The region was saturated with horse thieves, cattle rustlers, gunslingers, bandits, swindlers, and murderers. Bass made more than 3,000 arrests in his lifetime, only killing fourteen men in the line of duty.

Bass was born into slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas. His family was slaves belonging to Arkansas state legislator William Steele Reeves. During the American Civil War, his owners fought for the Confederacy. At some point, Bass escaped and fled to Indian country where he learned American Indian languages, customs, and tracking skills. He eventually became a farmer. By 1875, Bass was hired as a deputy U.S. Marshal along with 200 other individuals. He was 37 years old. Bass was well acquainted with the Indian territory and served on their land for over 32 years as a peace officer covering over 75,000 square miles, now part of Oklahoma. He was a victim of several tragedies during his lifetime. He accidentally shot a man which led to the court case United States vs. Bass Reeves, for which he was acquitted; his first wife Nellie Jennie died in 1896 and he had to arrest his son Benjamin "Bennie" Reeves who was charged with murder. His son was released after eleven years in prison and lived out the rest of his life as a model citizen.

Bass encountered some of the most ruthless outlaws of his day. His weapons of choice were the Winchester Models 1873 and 1892. They were guns that conveniently fit dual-purpose handgun/rifle cartridges. He also briefly used the Colt 45 peacemaker. He tracked and killed notorious outlaw Jim Webb. Webb murdered over eleven people. Another notorious desperado Bass encountered was murderer and horse thief Wiley Bear. Bass rounded him up along with his gang which included John Simmons and Sam Lasly. Bass was in a gunfight with the Creek desperado Frank Buck whom he shot and killed. Bass was immortalized in the popular media including TV shows, films, novels, poems, and books. He was also inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame. A bronze statue of Reeves was erected in Pendergraft Park in Fort Smith, Arkansas and the Bass Reeves Memorial Bridge in Oklahoma, was named after the legendary lawman.

Early life

Reeves was born into slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas, in 1838. He was named after his grandfather, Bass Washington. Reeves and his family were enslaved by Arkansas state legislator William Steele Reeves. When Bass was eight, in about 1846, William Reeves moved to Grayson County, Texas, near Sherman in the Peters Colony. It appears plausible that Reeves was retained as a servant by William Steele Reeves's son, Colonel George R. Reeves, a Texan sheriff, legislator, and one-time Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

When the American Civil War began, George Reeves joined the Confederate States Army, taking Bass with him. According to the Reeves family, at some time between 1861 and 1862 he attacked George Reeves following an argument during a poker card game. He escaped to Indian Territory which is now Kansas and Oklahoma. Once there, he became acquainted with the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole, learning their customs, languages, and tracking skills. The Emancipation Proclamation gave Reeves his freedom. As a freedman, Reeves returned to Arkansas and farmed near Van Buren.

Career

Reeves and his family farmed until 1875, when Isaac Parker was appointed federal judge for the Indian Territory. Parker appointed James F. Fagan as U.S. marshal, directing him to hire 200 deputy U.S. marshals. Fagan had heard about Reeves, who knew the Territory and could speak several Native languages. He recruited him as a deputy. Reeves, age 37, was the first Black deputy to serve west of the Mississippi River. Reeves was assigned as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Arkansas, which had responsibility also for the Native reservation Territory. He served there until 1893. That year he transferred to the Eastern District of Texas in Paris, Texas, for a short while. In 1897, he was transferred again, serving at the Muskogee Federal Court in the Native Territory.