Bass Reeves (Site Bulletin)

Fort Smith Site Bulletins

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Bass Reeves was born enslaved and died a respected lawman, having served in Indian Territory (and later Oklahoma), Arkansas, and Texas. His career stretched from the U.S. Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas in 1875 until two years after Oklahoma gained statehood in 1907.

Bass Reeves

Early Life

Although precise records were not always kept of enslaved people in the 19th century, it is believed that Bass Reeves was born somewhere in Crawford County, Arkansas, around July 1838. His family, including his mother Pearlalee and sister Jane, were enslaved by the family of William Reeves, a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War. Around 1846, most of William's family, along with six enslaved people, relocated to Texas and lived in Peter's Colony, which is just north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area today.

As a boy, according to Judge Paul L. Brady, Bass worked as a water boy and field hand, sometimes singing songs centered on robbery and murder, which caused his mother to worry greatly that he would turn to a life of crime. He once asked his enslaver for permission to learn how to read, due to an interest in the Bible, but was refused. Instead, young Bass was allowed to learn how to shoot a gun because of his quick hand and good eyes, a skill that served him well many years later.

From Slavery to Freedom

Bass was selected as his enslaver's "companion" based on his strength, his skill with a gun, and the respect that the Reeves family and other enslaved people had for him. This new position required Bass to serve his enslaver as a boyguard, butler, valet, or any other role that was required. As his enslaver's companion, he also received better food, clothing, and shelter.

It has been alleged that at one point during the Civil War, Bass was playing a card game with George Reeves, the son of William Reeves. A violent argument broke out between the two men, which ended with George receiving a severe beating from Bass. Perhaps fearing punishment, Bass took off in the direction of Indian Territory and remained there for several years. During this time, he learned the language and customs of several tribes living in the territory, as well as methods used by fugitives to avoid arrest by the law. This would also assist Bass in his long career in law enforcement.

Transition to U.S. Marshal

With the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment, Bass became a free man and eventually settled on a farm with his family near Van Buren in 1870. During this time, Bass also married his first wife, Jennie, with whom he would raise a total of ten children; five boys and five girls. Along with raising horses on his farm, Bass earned extra money as a scout and tracker in Indian Territory while assisting the U.S. Marshal's office in Van Buren.

In March 1875, he was approached to serve as a Deputy Marshal in the Western District of Arkansas and Indian Territory. Authors have claimed that Judge Isaac C. Parker, who had just been appointed to the federal court in Fort Smith, believed that formerly enslaved men would make great officers of the law in Indian Territory, due to the shared mistrust of white men that existed between tribal members and formerly enslaved people.

Fact and Fiction

Truthful accounts of arrests carried out by Bass Reeves, or shootouts that he was involved in, were rarely published in the newspapers of the era. Instead, either his name was left out completely or credit was reflected away from him. For example, the Vinita (Oklahoma) Indian Chieftan reported on the death of Jim Webb in 1884 and mentioned that Bass was present at the shootout, but not that he was the one who killed Webb. Bass's role was later recounted in "Indian Territory" by D.C. Gideon and by Bass himself in a 1907 newspaper interview.

Racial tensions at the time caused white people to feel anger toward a Black man who had the power to arrest them, when just a few short years before he had been enslaved. Although newspaper editors were doing their part to help ease that anger, it has led to an incomplete and exaggerated record of Reeves' career with numbers such as 3,000 arrests and, depending on the source, 12, 14, or 20 outlaws killed in the name of the law. These statistics have been attributed to Bass for many years, but must be used with historical caution.

Undercover Skills

Several stories have been used over the years to illustrate the dedication that Reeves felt for his job. In 1938, Adam Grayson, a Creek Freedman interviewed for the Indian-Pioneer Papers, told a story about a time when Reeves learned of a $5,000 reward that had been posted for the capture of two outlaws and soon learned that they were hiding out somewhere near the border with Texas. He selected some men to ride as his posse and headed in the direction where he believed the outlaws were staying. When Reeves arrived about 28 miles away from his destination, he pitched camp and told his posse to stay behind. He used the distance to investigate the surrounding land and to develop means to carry out the arrests. Somewhere along the way, he decided to disguise himself as a homeless person in order to gain the trust of his intended targets and avert suspicion. After shooting three holes through an old floppy hat and putting on a pair of worn-out shoes with the heels removed, Reeves walked up to the hideout with a walking stick. He hid his pistol, handcuffs, and badge under his clothes.

When he arrived at the place where the two men were staying, Reeves was greeted at the door by their mother, who prepared a meal for the marshal after he feigned weakness and complained of blisters on his feet. During this encounter, he told the woman that a posse was following him and that they had been the ones who shot the holes in his hat. The woman responded by saying that both of her sons were also on the run from the law and that maybe Reeves should join them in their life on the run.

Later that night, after the woman prepared a bed for Reeves, he heard a loud whistle come from the direction of a creek that was near the house. The mother went out to investugate and when she returned, both of her sons were with her. Introductions were made and the brothers agreed to band together with Reeves. He then convinced the two bothers that maybe it would be best if all three of them slept in the same room, just in case any trouble occurred during the night.

Reeves pretended to sleep, waiting until the outlaws dozed off. While they slept, he handcuffed them to the bed. Early in the morning, they were awakened by kicks and a voice commanding them to rise and leave their home. Once the brothers were fully awake, they realized that their guest was actually a Deputy U.S. Marshal and that they were under arrest. Reeves led the brothers along the 28 mile trail back to his camp, and the outlaws' mother followed behind for the first three miles, cursing Reeves as he led her boys away.

Mugshots of Benjamin Reeves.

Benjamin Reeves

On June 7, 1902, Bass Reeves's son, Benjamin, murdered his wife in a fit of jealousy in Muskogee.

In 1900, Benjamin, or "Bennie" as he was known, had married Castella Brown, a native of the Muskogee area.But soon their life together became intolerable, due to the stress of his long hours at work and her loneliness, which led to affairs. Castella informed Banjamin that she was not in love with him, which only increased his level of suspicion.

Castella was at a friend's house when Benjamin appeared. After a brief discussion, he shot her in the head at 11:00 in the morning. He then turned the Colt .45 revolver at himself and pulled the trigger, perhaps intending to commit suicide. But the bullet just grazed his forehead, and Benjamin fled the scene.

After initial hesitation by Marshal Leo Bennett, Bass Reeves was given the warrant for his son and he set out to bring in his son, dead or alive. According to a 1959 interview with Alice Spahn, Bass's daughter, Benjamin had once asked his father how he would handle a cheating wife. Allegedly, Bass responded, "I'd have shot the hell out of the man and whipped the living God out of her." Whether or not he actually said that, Bass still felt it was his responsibility to arrest his own son for murder.

Benjamin Reeves was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison in January 1903. He ultimately served eleven years for the srime before receiving a commutation and release from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Upon his return to Muskogee, Benjamin Reeves found work at a local restaurant and remained for several years.

To The End

Bass Reeves continued to work as a Deputy U.S. Marshal until Jim Crow laws forced Blacks out of the marshal service in Oklahoma on the day of statehood in 1907. After working as a marshal out of Fort Smith, Muskogee, and Paris, TX, he was hired to walk a beat as a member of the Muskogee police force, which he did for two years before retiring due to health reasons.

Bass Reeves died on January 12, 1910, of nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys then known as Bright's disease. The Muskogee Phoenix wrote that Bass Reeves would be remembered for his "devotion to duty, his unflinching courage and his many thrilling experiences."

Further Reading

Burton, Art T. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves. University of Nebraska Press, 2006

Burton, Arthur. Black, Red and Deadly: Black and Indian Gunfighters of the Indian Territory, 1870-1907. Eakin Press, 1991

Fronterhouse, Richard D. Bass Reeves: The Forgotten Lawman. Unpublished thesis, 1960, University of Oklahoma Library.

Gideon, D.C. Indian Territory. New York and Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1901.

Grayson, Adam. Indian Pioneer History. Second Interview, October 14, 1937. Oklahoma Historical Society.

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal. Lerner Publishing Group, 2009

Paulsen, Gary. The Legend of Bass Reeves. New York: Random House, 2006

Shirley, Glenn. West Of Hell’s Fringe: Crime, Ciminals and the Federal Peace Officer in Oklahoma Territory, 1889- 1907. University of Oklahoma Press, 1978

Muskogee Public Library, U.S. District Court (Muskogee) Common Law Record Books and Marriage Records

Fort Smith National Historic Site Criminal Files, Newspapers, Trial Transcripts