"Maybe the law ain't perfect, but it's the only one we
got, and without it we got nuthin'." -Bass Reeves
 |
| United States Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves |
I am a
big Old West, cowboys and Indians shoot 'em up kinda gal. I love old western movies, the ones without The Duke John
Wayne, sorry, I think he was over rated as an actor and Gene Autry, singing on
a horse in the old west is like singing in a drive by in gang territory, just
doesn't mix. IMHO!!!
Anyway, I
spent many years researching the Old West, I wanted to know where were all of
the black people and why were they written out of history. I came across
the name Bass Reeves, the most feared lawman of the Old West. The
years after his death, decades, the name and the man Bass Reeves, has faded like the once thriving Ghost Towns of the Wild West. While researching Bass Reeves, it has
come to my attention that he may have been the inspiration to the Lone Ranger
series. The Lone Ranger was a
long-running American old-time radio and early television show. The title character is a masked Texas Ranger
in the American Old West who gallops about righting injustices with the aid of
his clever, laconic American Indian assistant, Tonto. I began to probe deeper into the life of Marshal Reeves I desired to learn more about this man. I happened upon a site that ‘debunked the
myth’ stating that the inspiration of the Lone Ranger was complete fabrication and disputing any achievements that US Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves accomplished. What I found to be most interesting about the
debunking theory is that there would not have been anything to debunk if Bass Reeves remained unknown and forgotten by history until
a biographer wrote about his bold and daring feats. What did we know of this man’s greatness
before Gary Paulsen wrote the Legend of Bass Reeves?
Bass Reeves born a slave in 1832 in Crawford County Arkansas, Bass Reeves would become the
first Black Commissioned United States Deputy Marshall west of the Mississippi
River and one of the greatest frontier heroes in our nation's history. An imposing figure, standing at 6'2"
tall and over 190 lbs. with wide shoulders and large hands always rode a large gray stallion. Reeves began to earn a
reputation for his courage and success at bringing in or killing many
desperadoes of the Indian Territory.
Wearing a large 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.
He was ambidextrous and rarely missed his mark.
In 1907, law enforcement was assumed by the state agencies and Reeves' duties as a deputy marshal came to an end. 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 no reported crimes on his beat. Bass Reeves was diagnosis with Bright's disease and finally ended his law enforcement career in 1909 and died January 12, 1910.
Over the 35 years that Bass Reeves
served as a Deputy United States Marshal, he 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".
Many argue, including Bill O'Reilly
(Fox News, self-proclaim expert on Black experience, who recently stated that
the slaves that built the White House was given lodging and was well fed) that
there is no evidence that Bass Reeves was the basis of the classic radio and television series. Black deputy US Marshals who worked the Indian Territory had the authority to arrest whites, blacks or Indians who broke federal laws, a very rare reality given the Jim Crow laws of the US after the end of Reconstruction in 1877. In my opinion, what white man is going to admit at that time in America that he based his idea
of the Lone Ranger on a black deputy marshal who, was famous for fair-mindedness and was impossible to bribe or corrupt, arrested white outlaws. That would defeat the purpose of the Jim Crow laws in America that kept Blacks submissive and oppressed. With key similarities between the character
and the real legend, however that claim is debated by others, I tend to believe
he really was the Lone Ranger.
Draw your own conclusions, read further about Bass Reeves:
Bass Reeves American Lawman
Bass Reeves American Lawman
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