Some believe Bass Reeves is the inspiration behind the fictional character the Lone Ranger.
Perhaps no aspect of American history carries more legend than stories from the Wild West or what is often called the Old West. Helped along by Hollywood writers, most Americans see images of shootouts, saloons, brawling cowboys, Native Indians, and a general sense of lawlessness when thinking about this period.
What is true is that the vastness of the western part of the United States, generally considered areas west of the Mississippi River all the way to the Pacific Ocean, led it to become an appealing place for those trying to escape the law. From the end of the Civil War in 1865 until the beginning of the 20th century, everyone from bootleggers to murderers took advantage of the West’s open spaces to escape justice.
Where outlaws could be found, so could lawmen who carved their own place in history. Some of these lawmen, such as Wild Bill Hickok, the Earp Brothers, and Pat Garrett, have made it into American history books.
Another lawman from the period has received more attention recently as more of his story is learned. In fact, some believe he is the inspiration behind the fictional character the Lone Ranger. He was born enslaved but became one of the greatest U.S. marshals our country has ever had. His name is Bass Reeves.
Reeves was born in the state of Arkansas in July 1838 under a slave owner named William Steele Reeves. William Reeves’ family and their slaves moved to Texas when Bass was eight years old. As Bass grew older, he essentially became the personal slave to William Reeve’s son, George. George Reeves was active in Texas as a sheriff and politician. After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, George Reeves served in the Confederate army. Bass was made to accompany George through some Civil War battles in the Western Theater.
During the Civil War, Bass Reeves escaped into the Indian Territory, land that later became the state of Oklahoma. Some historians believe Bass struck George Reeves after a dispute over a card game, a crime punishable by death because Bass was still enslaved, which prompted him to seek his freedom. Other historians believe Bass saw an opportunity to escape to the Indian Territory and took it. Whatever the truth, Bass was eventually freed from slavery first under the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and definitively under the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865.
While in the Indian Territory, Bass Reeves interacted with and learned from several different tribes. He learned Native languages and also acquired a good understanding of the land. This knowledge served him well in his future law enforcement career.
Bass Reeves eventually settled down in Van Buren, Arkansas, a town that served as the federal court for the Western District of Arkansas and the Indian Territory. In 1871, this jurisdiction was moved to nearby Fort Smith, Arkansas.
A statue of Bass Reeves at Fort Smith, Arkansas
In 1875, a U.S. congressman named Isaac C. Parker took over control of the federal court at Fort Smith. Parker was a no-nonsense judge who became known as the “hanging judge” because of his propensity to sentence men to death. Daniel P. Upham became the U.S. Marshal for the federal court at Fort Smith and was asked by Isaac Parker to assemble deputies to gain control over the crime in the area. Because of Reeves’ knowledge of the terrain and reputation for being an expert marksman, he was commissioned as a deputy U.S. marshal in 1875. Although not the first African-American deputy marshal west of the Mississippi River, he no doubt became the most famous.
After a few years of performing some of the duties of a U.S. marshal, including working as a posseman, a member of a larger police force under the direction of another U.S. marshal, and acting as a guard, the legend of Bass Reeves took shape in the early 1880s. Reeves took control of his own posse and went into the Indian Territory with warrants for wanted individuals. This began a career that led to the arrest of over 3,000 fugitives. Reeves traveled with a cook, a posseman who was often Native American, a guard, and supply wagons on trips that often covered over 400 miles. It became common for him to arrest fugitives in the double digits on a single trip.
Reeves was 6 foot 2 inches tall and known as a crack shot with a rifle. While he tried to avoid violence, a man in his line of work often did not have that option. While all of Reeves’ many arrests have their own interesting stories, one of the best-known was about a gunfight with a fugitive named Jim Webb. After exchanging gunfire, Reeves eventually killed Webb from 500 yards away with his Winchester rifle.
Reeves did whatever was required to make an arrest. In another well-documented story, Reeves posed as a fugitive on the run in order to trick the mother of two fugitive sons into telling him where he could find her boys. The mother was furious after finding out who Reeves was, but the arrests were made.
In 1884, Reeves’ life was almost derailed after he accidentally shot and killed his cook on one of his trips. Reeves faced a first-degree murder charge but was ultimately acquitted of any wrongdoing. Fugitives throughout the Indian Territory were dismayed when Reeves went right back to work.
In 1897, Bass Reeves was transferred to the Northern District of Indian Territory at Muskogee, made up primarily of the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Nations. He eventually became one of two U.S. marshals in the area, along with a white man named David Adams. The two diligently stopped crime in Muskogee, which included working to quell racial disputes that had become more common in the region.
Nobody ever questioned Bass Reeves’ commitment to the law. Reeves was the father of eleven children. One day in 1902, a warrant was issued to arrest Bass’s son Bennie for murder after he killed his wife during a domestic dispute. Bass Reeves took on the responsibility of serving the warrant on his son after other deputies were reluctant to do it. He brought Bennie in without incident, and Bennie Reeves was sentenced to life in prison. Bennie was eventually granted early release from prison due to good behavior.
On November 17, 1907, the Indian Territory became the state of Oklahoma. Federal U.S. marshals were no longer needed in great numbers as law enforcement duties transferred to the state level. At age 69, Reeves was let go from the Marshals Service. His reputation preceded him, and he was made a policeman for the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, shortly thereafter. Apparently, his downtown beat had virtually no crime due to criminal elements fearing him.
It was Bass Reeves himself who stated in a 1902 interview that he arrested over 3,000 men and women in the Indian Territory over the course of his career. It was stated in several newspapers at the time that Reeves killed more than 20 men in the line of duty. Although having many close calls, it is believed he was never shot. Bass Reeves died on January 12, 1910, and is buried in Muskogee, Oklahoma. His obituary describes him as “absolutely fearless and knowing no master but duty.”
Reeves had this to say about the American justice system: “Maybe the law ain’t perfect, but it’s the only one we got, and without it, we got nuthin.”
The Lone Ranger and Tonto as depicted in the television series that ran from 1949 – 1957.
As is often the case for historical figures, the 2006 book Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves by Art T. Burton reexamined the life of Bass Reeves and made a connection never before considered. In his book, Burton argues that the fictional life of the character the Lone Ranger was based on the real life of Bass Reeves. The fictional Lone Ranger was introduced to the public through a radio broadcast that originated from Detroit, Michigan, in 1930, an area Reeves sent many of his fugitives to after arrest. Both men were known to ride on white stallions and carry Colt pistols. Both the Lone Ranger and Reeves were known to employ disguises to catch the bad guys. Reeves was known to utilize Native American possemen for his arrests, like the fictional character Tonto from The Lone Ranger.
To date, there has not been any indisputable evidence that the Lone Ranger was based on Bass Reeves. However, Burton’s book has put the life of Bass Reeves back into discussion among historians. There is no dispute that the real life of Bass Reeves far exceeds anything Hollywood fiction writers can come up with. He has rightfully taken his place among the great lawmen of the Wild West.