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Content Warning: This episode discusses historical violence, including domestic violence, murder, and attempted suicide. While not graphic, this content may be sensitive; listeners may want to be aware before listening.
The Story
Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves walked into his boss's office for his next assignment, a murder warrant. When Marshal Leo Bennett saw the suspect's name, he hesitated. "Maybe another deputy should handle this one, Bass." The name on the warrant: Benjamin Reeves. Bass's son.
"Give me the writ," Bass said.
Born into slavery in 1838, Bass Reeves escaped to Indian Territory during the Civil War and later became one of the first Black U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi. Over his 32-year career, he arrested more than 3,000 criminals and killed 14 men in the line of duty, all while never suffering a single wound. He was a master of disguise, spoke multiple Native American languages, and became known simply as "the Black Marshal."
But could this legendary lawman have inspired America's most famous fictional hero?
Bass Reeves. Former Slave. Legendary Lawman.
Bass Reeves Monument, Pendergraft Park, Fort Smith, AR
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Want to learn more?
Burton, Art T. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves. New Edition. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022.
Gideon, D.C. Indian Territory: Descriptive, Biographical and Genealogical. New York & Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1901.
Littlefield, Daniel F. Jr., and Lonnie E. Underhill. "Negro Marshals in the Indian Territory." The Journal of Negro History 56, no. 2 (April 1971): 77-87.
National Park Service. "Bass Reeves Biography." Fort Smith National Historic Site. https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/bass_reeves.htm
Williams, Nudie E. "Bass Reeves: Lawman in the Western Ozarks." Negro History Bulletin 42, no. 2 (April-May-June 1979): 37-39.
Photo Credits: Reeves' photo, Fort Smith NHS; Reeves' statue, Randal Seyler, River Valley Democrat-Gazette