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It was during these years of the
Civil
War that Bass parted company from his
“master,” some say because Bass beat up George after a dispute in a
card game. Others believe that Bass heard too much about the
“freeing of slaves” and simply ran away. In any event, Bass fled
to
Indian
Territory where he took refuge with the
Seminole and Creek Indians. While in
Indian
Territory, Reeves honed his firearm skills,
becoming very quick and accurate with a pistol. Though Reeves
claimed to be “only fair” with a rifle, he was barred on a regular
basis from competitive turkey shoots.
“Freed” by the
Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and no longer a fugitive, Reeves
left Indian
Territory and bought land near
Van Buren,
Arkansas, becoming a successful
farmer and rancher. A year later, he married Nellie Jennie from
Texas,
and immediately began to have a family. Raising ten children on
their homestead -- five girls and five boys, the family lived happily
on the farm.
However, Reeve’s life as a
contented farmer was about to change when
Isaac C. Parker was appointed judge
for the Federal Western District Court at
Fort Smith,
Arkansas
on May 10, 1875. At the time
Parker
was appointed,
Indian
Territory had become extremely lawless as
thieves, murderers, and anyone else wishing to hide from the law, took
refuge in the territory that previously had no federal or state
jurisdiction.
One of
Parker's
first official acts was to appoint
U.S. Marshal James
F. Fagan as head of the some 200 deputies he was then told to hire.
Fagan heard of Bass Reeves' significant knowledge of the area, as well
as his ability to speak several tribal languages, and soon recruited
him as a U.S. Deputy.
The deputies were tasked with
“cleaning up”
Indian
Territory and on
Judge Parker’s orders, “Bring them
in alive --- or dead!"
Working among other
lawmen that would also become
legendary, such as
Heck
Thomas,
Bud Ledbetter, and
Bill Tilghman, Reeves began to ride the
Oklahoma range in search of
outlaws.
Covering some 75,000 square miles, the United States Court at
Fort Smith,
was the largest in the nation.
Depending on the
outlaws
for whom he was searching, a deputy would generally take with him from
Fort Smith,
a wagon, a cook and a posse man. Often they rode to Fort Reno, Fort
Sill and Anadarko, a round trip of more than 800 miles.
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Though Reeves could not
read or write it did not curb his effectiveness in bringing back the
criminals. Before he headed out, he would have someone read him the
warrants and memorize which was which. When asked to produce the
warrant, he never failed to pick out the correct one.
An imposing figure, always riding on a large
stallion, Reeves began to earn a reputation for his courage and success at
bringing in or killing many desperadoes of the territory. Always
wearing a large black hat, Reeves was usually a spiffy dresser, with his
boots polished to a gleaming shine. He was known for his politeness and
courteous manner. However, when the purpose served him, he was a master
of disguises and often utilized aliases. Sometimes appearing as a cowboy,
farmer, gunslinger, or outlaw, himself, he always wore two Colt pistols,
butt forward for a fast draw. Ambidextrous, he rarely missed his
mark.
Leaving
Fort Smith,
often with a pocketful of warrants, Reeves would often return months later
herding a number of outlaws charged with crimes ranging from bootlegging
to murder. Paid in fees and rewards, he would make a handsome
profit, before spending a little time with his family and returning to the
range once again.
The tales of his captures
are legendary – filled with intrigue, imagination and courage. On
one such occasion, Reeves was pursuing two outlaws in the Red River Valley
near the
Texas
border. Gathering a posse, Reeves and the other men set up camp some 28
miles from where the two were thought to be hiding at their mother’s home.
After studying the terrain and making a plan, he soon disguised himself as
a tramp, hiding the tools of his trade – handcuffs, pistol and badge,
under his clothes. Setting out on foot, he arrived at the house
wearing an old pair of shoes, dirty clothes, carrying a cane, and wearing
a floppy hat complete with three bullet holes.
Upon arriving at the
home, he told a tale to woman who answered the door that his feet were
aching after having been pursued by a posse who had put the three bullet
holes in his hat. After asking for a bite to eat, she invited him in
and while he was eating she began to tell him of her two young outlaw
sons, suggesting that the three of them should join forces.
Feigning weariness, she
consented to let him stay a while longer. Was the sun was setting,
Reeves heard a sharp whistle coming from beyond the house. Shortly
after the woman went outside and responded with an answering whistle, two
riders rode up to the house, talking at length with her outside.
Shortly, the three of them came inside and she introduced her sons to
Reeves. After discussing their various crimes, the trio agreed that
it would be a good idea to join up.
Bunking down in the same
room, Reeves watched the pair carefully as the drifted off to sleep and
when they were snoring deeply, handcuffed the pair without waking them.
When early morning approached, he kicked the boys awake and marched them
out the door. Followed for the first three miles by their mother,
who cursed Reeves the entire time, he marched the pair the full 28 miles
to the camp where the posse men waited. Within days, the outlaws
were delivered to the authorities and a $5,000 reward collected.
One of the high points of
Reeves’ career was apprehending a notorious outlaw named Bob Dozier.
Dozier was known as a jack-of-all-trades when it came to committing
crimes, as they covered a wide range from cattle and horse rustling, to
holding up banks, stores, and stagecoaches; to murder, and land swindles.
Because Dozier was unpredictable, he was also hard to catch and though
many lawmen had tried to apprehend the outlaw, none were successful until
it came to Reeves. Dozier eluded Reeves for several years until the lawman
tracked him down in the Cherokee Hills. After refusing to surrender Reeves
killed Dozier in an accompanying gunfight on December 20, 1878,
Though the tales of
Reeves’ heroics are many and varied, the toughest manhunt for the lawman
was that of hunting down his own son. After having delivered two
prisoners to U.S. Marshal Leo Bennett in Muskogee, Oklahoma, he arrived to
bad news. His own son had been charged with the murder of his wife.
Though the warrant had been lying on Bennett’s desk for two days, the
other deputies were reluctant to take it and though Reeves was shaken, he
demanded to accept the responsibility for finding his son. Two weeks
later, Reeves returned to Muskogee with his son in tow and turned him over
to Marshal Bennett. His son was tried and sent to Kansas’
Leavenworth Prison. However, sometime later, with a citizen’s
petition and an exemplary prison record, his son was pardoned and lived
the rest of his life as a model citizen.
In 1907, law enforcement
was assumed by state agencies and Reeves’ duties as a deputy marshal came
to an end. Next, Bass took a job as a patrolman with the Muskogee Oklahoma
Police Department. During the two years that he served in this
capacity, there were reportedly no crimes on his beat. Reeves’
diagnosis with Bright’s disease finally ended his career when he took to
his sickbed in 1909. He died January 12, 1910 and though he was
buried in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the exact location of his grave is unknown.
Over the 35 years that
Bass Reeves served as a Deputy United States Marshal, Reeves earned his
place in history by being one of the most effective lawmen in
Indian
Territory, bringing in more than 3,000 outlaws and helping to tame the
lawless territory. Killing some 14 men during his service, Reeves
always said that he “never shot a man when it was not necessary for him to
do so in the discharge of his duty to save his own life."
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