Bass Reeves: Black History (Jerry Skinner Documentary)

[Music] [Music] this is deputy united states marshal bass reeves what makes his store so fascinating is the man himself bass was born a slave belonging to william reeves son reeves was a wealthy plantation owner and politician in crawford county arkansas and grayson county texas bass's daughter sally said years later that her dad was born in lamar county texas but regardless raised as a slave bass took his last name from his owner's family name brees and his first name bass from his granddad bass washington working the fields along with his parents bass as a youngster served as a water boy and a field hand later he will serve as a valley to william reeves son george in 1863 george reeves was appointed as a confederate officer in the 11th texas cavalry during civil war there are different stories how bass gained his freedom one such story says that he got into it with george over a gambling dispute and beat him up and run away seems unlikely to beat up a confederate colonel during the middle of a war and get away with it more likely bass heard of the emancipation proclamation freeing blacks in certain states and giving them safe haven at any rate he headed for indian territory now oklahoma where blacks were accepted among the tribes he managed to pick up enough of their language and customs to get by in 1864 bass met nelly jenny from texas they'll marry and move to van buren arkansas where bass will eventually purchase a farm where he'll become a hard-working successful farmer that year in december bass and nelly will have their first child sarah they call sally united states deputy marshals working for federal judge william story would sometimes hire bass to go with them into indian territory they knew his knowledge of the land and tribal customs would be an asset they soon learned that he was an honest and honorable man his friends would sometimes ask reeves why would you help the marshals he said more than once that he believed in law and order without it folks would have no peace and no freedom from harm in 1866 their second child was born robert in 1868 another girl had was born in 1870 george was born in 1872 alice was born in 1873 newland was born in 1875 the indian territory had become so lawless under federal judge william's story that the judge and several federal marshals was facing impeachment for corruption the judge was told retire or be impeached to replace judge story president ulysses s grant appointed federal judge isaac charles parker president grant was so determined to clean up the indian territory that he gave judge parker almost dictatorial powers during his tenure he will sentence 160 people to death and for the first 14 years the condemned had no rights for appeal earning judge parker the name of the hanging judge actually judge parker was opposed to capital punishment he believed in rehabilitation his territory covered part of arkansas and all of indian territory during 21 years on the bench he tried 13 000 criminal cases 344 were for murder or rape both carried a mandatory sentence of death he sentenced 160 to be hanged and only 79 were actually carried out the district court was moved from van buren to fort smith under judge parker on may the 10th 1875 judge parker appointed james f fagan federal marshal with power to hire 200 deputy marshals to tame the 75 000 square miles of indian territory marshall fagan appointed such deputies as heck thomas bud ledbetter and bill tillman who became famous lawmen enforcing federal law in indian territory judge parker also ordered marshall fagan to hire 20 black deputy marshals bass reeves was among the first to be hard from recommendations of marshalls that he had worked for a few of the other black marshals was deed rogers bob fortune bill colbert neely factor zeke moore and grant johnson marshall bass reeves will serve as u.s deputy marshal for 32 years he was the only marshal that started with judge parker in 1875 and ended when indian territory became the state of oklahoma in 1907. from 1875 until 1907 120 u.s deputy marshals lost their life enforcing the law in indian territory indian territory was the most dangerous place for deputies in the entire nation marshals would leave the federal court in fort smith and judge parker's courtroom was located on the second floor on the right and prisoners was housed on the bottom floor under the courtroom described as hell on the border marshall reeves would leave fort smith with a cook and one assistant called a posseman that would usually guard any prisoners taken by the marshal they would take a prison wagon to keep prisoners in prisoners would be chained together with a long chain and it'd be connected to the back axle of the prison wagon one of reeves kids said that their dead would not let them play with the dog that he had it was trained he said to guard prisoners marshall reeves would travel starting at fort smith to fort reno to fort seals indian territory his round trip would usually be from six to eight hundred miles taking two to three months outlaws knew the route that bass would take and they attacked notes on trees threatening his life if he pursued them he collected the notes and showed them to reporters years later bass would sometimes leave the wagon two or three days searching for outlaws that he had warrants for but he always knew where the prison wagon was supposed to be so that he could bring the prisoners back to the wagon the wagon would pick up prisoners in local jails being held for federal court federal marshals could only arrest whites and blacks or indians only if they broke federal law the tribes had their own police force now this is a group of tribal police that would help marshals capture indian felons when they broke federal law by harming a white or black citizen deputy marshals was not paid a salary they was paid forever warrants served and two dollars per arrest regardless of if it was a bootlegger or a murderer the deputies received 6 cents per mom for going to the place of arrest and 10 cents per mile plus 10 cents to feed the prisoners being returned to court in fort smith if a deputy killed a suspect during attempted arrest he had to bury the suspect at his own expense unless he could find a family or friend to do it on one trip marshall reeves returned to fort smith with 16 prisoners he was making more arrests and more money than most others if there was a reward on a prisoner the marshal could collect it judge parker considered bass as one of his most productive marshals in 1876 bass and nelly had their seventh child edgar and in 1878 it'll be another girl lula in 1880 on june the second the census in van buren showed 40 year old bass reeves and 30 year old nellie jennian reeves along with eight children ranging from age two to sixteen bass's mother and his mother's sister jane also lived with the bass family when marshall reese would leave fort smith on his way to indian territory he would carry several warrants issued by the court bass would memorize each warrant and description he was unable to read the warts he was serving they said he never failed to produce the right warrant for the right felon bass and nelly would have three more kids benjamin in 1880 homer in 1882 and bass jr in 1887 with a total of 11 kids six boys five girls in 1883 on one of marshall reeves trips into indian territory he was given a warrant for the arrest of outlaw bail star and her husband sam starr for horse theft bale knew bass and they liked each other so he told her if you would turn yourself in at fort smith she wouldn't have to ride hundreds of miles in a prison wagon chained to criminals she agreed and went to fort smith and turned herself in on march 8 1883 bale and sam was convicted of stealing two horses in judge parker's court and sent us to one year in federal prison judge parker liked bail and some say it was a light sentence she made arrangements for her family and friends to care for her kids bail was out in nine months for good behavior sam not so soon in 1884 while marshall reeves was traveling the seminole whiskey trail with warrants for two white men and two black desperados when his pursuit was interrupted by three brothers named brunter they had been accused of horse stealing robbery and several unsolved murders and thought that bass was after them they stopped him and ordered him to dismount and keep his hands away from his two cult revolvers he always wore he asked them for a pencil said he needed to put the date on government papers showing the date that he had arrested them they began laughing so hard they relaxed their guard marshall reeves took advantage drawing his coats and killing two while the third brother shot and missed bass killed all three with no warrants having been served or sworn out for the brunter brothers bass received no money for this encounter also in 1884 while on a trip through the chickasaw nation reeves shot and killed his cook william lynch while reeves and his posse was camped near the canadian river reeves it has been said had a few words to say about leech's cooking when leech took exception and poured hot grease on a puppy that reeves had in camp the marshal got mad and shot to cook he sent one of his posse men after a doctor but it was too late and inquest was held later and found him to be innocent the next year in 1885 near what is now eufaula oklahoma nineteen-year-old robert reeves bass's oldest son was serving as a posse man for his dead when a prisoner grabbed the gun from the prison wagon driver he shot at the driver as the driver was running away then grabbed an axe and threatened robert bass will recapture the prisoner after the prisoner tried to shoot the marshal three times but his gun misfired and then he tried to pistol whip marshall reeves before he was subdued robert will later give up working for his dead and get a job with the central arkansas and houston railroad as a breakman he'll be killed on the 14th of july 1893 at the age of 26 when coupling up two box cars now bass was known for using disguises most people had heard of bass reeves but didn't know what he looked like he once disguised himself as a poor criminal running from the law and being accepted by the outlaws he was hunting he was able to arrest him the marshal once investigated a suspect that had hacked a man to death when he located his subject the man had two campfires burning one under a tree and the other out in the open bass asked the man why two fires and why build one under a tree not getting a good answer he put out the fire under the tree and dug under the ashes and found the bloody axe judge parker convicted the man and he was hanged in fort smith although it had been two years since bass shot the cook the federal marshal had been replaced by an ex-confederate who reinstated charges of murder in january of 1886 for liech's murder bass was arrested by marshall g.i.b frayer his gun and badge was taken away he was placed in the same jail hell on the border with some of the same prisoners that he had arrested judge parker was determined to get reeves out as soon as possible and still keep the integrity of the court even at that it was a couple of weeks before bail could be posted the jail located beneath judge parker's courtroom held 50 prisoners with no heat and no cross ventilation or outdoor plumbing a bucket was used for waste and set in the fireplace for the fumes to go up to chimney prisoners slept on mats on the concrete floor trial would take place on 17 october 1887 in judge parker's court bass hired ex-u.s attorney william h clayton to defend him the prosecution will call 11 witnesses and the defense will call 10. it will be discovered during trial that bass and his cook william leach had been in the field for two months without a crossword between them they had nine prisoners they were taken to fort smith most of the witnesses for the prosecution was the prisoners arrested by marshall reeves it was also established that the prisoners were in the prison tent and couldn't have seen the incident one prisoner with a minor charge was accompanied by his wife she testified for the defense that she saw what happened the marshal and the cook were sitting around the campfire bass looked like he was cleaning his gun or working on it when it went off hit mr leech in the neck marsha reese sent her husband for the doctor he was unable to find one so they took him to fort smith where he died a few days later bass will be found innocent and judge parker will restore his badge gun and position in order to pay the attorney bass sold his home in van buren and moved his family to north 12th street park place in fort smith family members asked bass why do you put yourself in danger in forcing white man's laws his answer was maybe the law ain't perfect but it's the only one we have and without it we've got nothing once again marsha reeves began bringing in desperados and villains by the dozens earning good money and in 1889 newly appointed chief u.s marshal jacob yost sent deputy marshal bass reeves after a gang of killers that had killed deputy marshal joseph lundy on june 14 1889 on december the 30th that year chief marshall yost received a message from bass reeves i've got the three men that killed deputy marshall lundy bringing them in in april of 1890 reeves captured and brought in the notorious seminole indian green leaf who had murdered three white men and four indians and had been on the run for 18 years without capture and this was the first time to be arrested in 1893 marshall reeves was transferred to the eastern district federal court located in paris texas the toms story gang stole horses from indian territory and would sell them in texas when story changed his operation and decided to steal horses from a local texas ranger george delaney and take his horses into indian territory and sell them there delaney knew it was a tom story gang that stole his horses so he went to federal court in paris to swear out a warrant the case was assigned to bass reeves knowing story would have to cross the red river on his way back to texas at delaware bend crossing bass and mr delaney camped on the river four days waiting for story to return when he did he still had two of delaney's best mules that he couldn't sell deputy marshall reeves stepped out from behind the brushes and announced that story was under arrest story thought that marshall reeves was far enough from him that he would miss if he shot at him story grabbed for his gun and bass and delaney buried terum's story where he fell and george delaney took his two mules home on 19 march 1896 bass reeves lost his wife nelly to cancer when she was 55 years old nellie jenny reese was buried in fort smith arkansas at the oak cemetery the next year after nelly's death bass was transferred to muskogee federal court to work under u.s marshal leo e bennett muskogee had city police and two u.s deputy marshals bass reeves and david adams serving as reese's posse man on august the 3rd 1899 bass's 18 year old daughter lula passed away from epilepsy she's buried at the oak cemetery in fort smith close to her mother nelly four years after nelly's death in 1900 bass at the age of 62 will marry winnie sumner in muskogee when he had been married once before and had a daughter the next year in 1901 on october the 19th bass and nelly's 14 year old son bass jr will pass away and be buried at green hill cemetery in muskogee after being married to winnie for two years in 1902 bass will return to muskogee with two prisoners when he will receive the bad news from marshall leo bennett bass's son benjamin that bass called benny had a murder warrant for killing his wife that had been lying on marshall bennett's desk for two days in respect for deputy marshall reeves the other law officers refused to accept the warrant this is one act of bas reeves serving the warrant for murder on his own son to me makes deputy marshal reese the most honorable law officer to ever wear a badge in the whole west knowing he was bringing his son before 12 men that would certainly find him guilty of murder judge parker sentenced benny to life in prison at the federal penitentiary in fort leavenworth kansas instead of the gallows after 12 years at leavenworth benny will have his sentence communed and released after a petition was circulated for his release benny will become a good citizen for the rest of his life and he'll eventually marry again the tragedy is is that his dead bass reeves would not live to see his son released from jail always believing he had placed his son in prison for life when bass was asked about the murder his son committed he said that benny had married a beautiful 22 year old creek girl named castillo brown he had caught her in bed with another man he forgive her then he called her again with another man benny shot her and beat up the man when bass was asked what would he have done he said i would have shot the man and whooped the hell out of her the same year in may of 1902 marshall reeves and possum and david adams was sent to bragg oklahoma to coral racial strife between blacks and whites bass stopped the riots by arresting 15 white men and eight black men and took them to federal jail in muskogee the next year bass's son homer passed away on december 28 1903 at the age of 21. homers buried at the green hill cemetery in muskogee in 1907 the indian territory became the state of oklahoma the federal jurisdiction was ended deputy u.s marshal bass reeves retired with 32 years service at the age of 69. he was the only deputy marshal to start with judge parker and continue until statehood when bass retired in 1907 in muskogee his 87 year old mother was still alive and living in fort smith marshall reeves made over 3 000 criminal arrests during his tenure he was hit over the head shot at from ambush bullets tore through his hat his coat and cut in the reins out of his hands but he was never hit in the commission of his duties he killed 14 men in gun fights in the process of making an arrest always given a chance to surrender he was reported to be polite with the mannerisms of still being a slave but having the power and authority of the federal court behind him with the power to arrest white black and indians alike he will serve two years with the muskogee police department before his health begins to decline in 1992 marshall reeves was inducted into the hall of great westerners at the national cowboy and western heritage museum in oklahoma city after a short illness on the 12th of january 1910 while living at 816 north howard street in muskogee u.s deputy marshal bass reeves passed away from bratz disease a disease of the kidneys marshall reeves is buried at the old union cemetery in muskogee oklahoma the location of his grave sadly is unknown he was 71 years old [Music] you

Channel: Jerry Skinner

Views: 309,865

Keywords: Bass Reeves

Id: 5hqgBAlwlqE

Length: 28min 15sec (1695 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 02 2021