MISGUIDED MAGAZINE SPRING 2020

VOL 4
DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL
BASS REEVES
During the late 19th Century no area in the United States was a haven
and a refuge for criminals like the Indian Territory, pre–statehood
Oklahoma. In 1875, Judge Isaac C. Parker, was given the task of
cleaning up the territory by President Ulysses Grant. One of the first
of the deputies hired by Judge Parker’s court was a former slave
from Texas (born in Arkansas) named Bass Reeves. Reeves was
an imposing figure said to have superhuman strength, and at 6’2,
180 lbs. he made even the most violent outlaws think twice before
they resisted arrest. This, along with the fact that he was a skilled,
ambidextrous gunslinger, could account for Reeves’ extraordinary
ability to round up and bring in multiple prisoners at once. He was
known to work in disguise in order to get information and affect
the arrest of fugitives he wanted to capture. Being a former slave,
Reeves was illiterate. He would memorize his warrants and writs. In
those thirty–two years it is said he never arrested the wrong person
due to the fact he couldn’t read. Bass Reeves escaped numerous
assassination attempts on his life, he was the most feared deputy
U.S. marshal to work the Indian Territory. He brought in outlaws by
the dozens from all over Indian Territory. Belle Star, infamous bandit,
bootlegger and horse thief, is said to have turned herself in when she
found out Reeves had the warrant for her arrest. On one occasion
he herded nineteen horse thieves to the federal jail in Fort Smith,
Arkansas, by himself. During his long career, he was credited with
arresting more than 3,000 felons. Historian Art Burton postulated
the theory that Bass Reeves may have served as inspiration for the
character of the Lone Ranger..
Source: http://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/bass_reeves.htm
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