The Remarkable Bass Reeves

hello I'm Simon Whistler you're watching the today I found our YouTube channel banned in the video today we're looking at the story of bass Reeves while historians posited that the Wild West was nowhere near as wild as Hollywood would have you believed it was a place where certain lawman forged reputations as legendary heroes in pursuit of outlaws although in some cases such as Wyatt Earp the lawman were little better than some of the criminals we've got a video coming up on that called why of herbs the great American villain as for the indomitable Marshall bass Reeves he was a former slave turned Deputy Marshal who captured some 3,000 outlaws in his long and storied career born in 1838 somewhere in Arkansas Reeve spent his childhood as the slaves of state legislator William Steele Reeves little is known about Reeves is youth and he seldom talked about it as an adult but we know at various times he served as a waterboy a blacksmith assistant and eventually as his master's companion considered an upper servant position that allowed bass and his family to eat at the house table with the death of William Reeves bass became the slave of one of Williams sons George Reeves a colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War during his time with the colonel Reeves became an excellent marksman of hunting reportedly well surpassing the colonel himself he was so good in fact that George Reeves started entering bath into turkey shoot competitions some of which he won according to a newspaper interview given by bath late in his life he primarily functioned as the colonel FAL a bodyguard coachman and Butler and reeds even claimed he accompanied the colonel into battle during the Civil War however was ultimately an argument over a card game with the colonel escalated to Reeves beating him up and then fleeing to freedom in Indian Territory there Reeves was welcomed by the so called Five Civilized tribes spending his time on the run learning their languages and customs after the war Reeves moved to Van Buren Arkansas becoming a successful rancher and occasional guidance cows for marshals into Indian Territory he also added another feather to his cap and became a doting family man marrying a Texas girl Nellie Jenny with Phoebe father nearly a dozen children Reeves would have likely lived out the to his years as a Russian if not for a concerted effort from a recently appointed judge called Isaac C Parker to clean up the Western District of Arkansas in 1875 you see since the end of the Civil War Western Arkansas had become something of a hotbed for crime due to its close proximity to some Indian Territory Reeves had lived in during the latter part of the war a region many Norman tended to steer clear of the result was of this territory made for a great hideout for outlaws seeking to escape justice Judge Parker keen to curb the growing lawlessness in the over 75,000 square mile territory appointed a man named James F Fagan as a US Marshal for West Arkansas and tasked him with finding 200 suitable deputies to help clean up the region vast being a crack shot with a rifle and later a handgun being fluent in several Indian languages knowing the Indian Territory like the back of his hand and being on good terms with the various tribes that lived there made him a natural choice for a marshal despite racial prejudices of the day Fagan wasted no time deputizing Reeves making him one of the first black deputy US Marshals in history and famously the first west of the Mississippi before getting to his stories career we should take a moment to describe deputy marshals bass Reeves standing and imposing 6 foot 2 inches tall at the time the average height for an adult man in the United States was 5 foot 7 inches or about 170 centimeters with a magnificent handlebar mustache and a sly sense of humor Reeves reputedly possessed incredible strength eventually could fire his guns with extreme accuracy and the dexterously and took to wearing a giant black steppes inand immaculately polished boots when on patrol after becoming a deputy Reeves became nothing short of a legend amongst the cattle rustlers and various other near do Wells of the Old West it was even widely reported in his days such as in the January the 2nd of 1908 addition of the daily admin right that he had never failed to bring in a man he went after them he would get them either dead or alive another report stated place a warrant for arrest in his hands and no circumstance can cause him to deviate however this doesn't appear quite correct prints one report in the Bisbee daily review from February 22nd 1906 both demonstrates readers incredible memory and that at least one individual got away deputy marshal Cordell brought in two prisoners Barney fixico went Wildcat yesterday charged with the murder of Billy Calley a Seminole white Horseman when Wildcat was put in jail here one of the dekhti marshals bass Reeves recognized him as a man he had arrested once 20 years ago Reeves arrested him on a murder charge and was taking him to Fort Smith for trial when they reached the Arkansas River Wildcat made his escape he had not been seen or heard of since and the officer supposed he was dead until he turned up at the jail here today nevertheless Reeves became one of the most respected and feared lawman of the age for his dogged persistence incorruptible nature and reputation for being absolutely fearless in any circumstances with the Oklahoma City Times journal once reporting that Reeves was never known to show the slightest excitement under any circumstances he does not know what fear is among his countless adventures during his career including this events reported in the September the 4th 1884 edition of the Indian chief gains bass Reeves on his last trip had an experience that came near cutting short his usefulness and did send one man where he won't fall with other people's horses he had warrants for two men Frank Burke and John Brunner while up the Canadian looking for prisoners he came on these men but did not known them he inquired for other parties whom he was after and Buck and Bruno volunteered guide him afternoon all parties captains while they were getting dinner he noticed Brunner stealthily pulling his pistol suspecting something he stepped behind his horse and around to the front of Bruner and grabbed his pistol before he had time to use it and at the same time pulled his own glass thing over his shoulder buck was seen getting out his weapon when as quick as a flash Reeves still holding Bruna's pistol in one hand threw over his other and shot back dead Bruno was then secured and is now on his way to Fort Smith where he will have to answer to a double charge another famed incident involved Reeves chasing down these three grunta brothers who ultimately managed to get the drop on him it was reported that the men ordered Reeves off his horse at gunpoint and began to gleefully told the man at that point in his career was already known as the indomitable marshal despite their taunts that they were going to kill him Reeves calmly asked for the date when ziba Muse druthers asked why he wanted to know what day it was Reeves explained that their arrest papers needed to be dated before adding that dead or alive as they were coming with him the outlaws immediately burst out laughing at the threat at which point Reeves grabs of the gun barrel as the nearest brother pointing it away from himself at the same time he drew his own gun as the other two brothers aimed to fire at him Reeves was faster managing to kill both before they could shoot him reports differ as to what happened to the search brother according to the excellent Reeves biography the black badge written by Judge Paul L Brady the first black administrative judge in US history in the great nephew of bass Reeves the third brother survived the encounter and was taken into custody however other accounts state that as the third brother was firing rounds from his diverted revolver Reeves directed out of his hands and hit him on the head with it not apparently meaning to kill him supposedly blow to the head nevertheless fractured his skull and he died whatever the case despite being involved in many shootouts throughout his career reed reportedly never sustained any serious injury while on the job though according to a January 18 1910 edition of The Daily Advertiser at different times his hat was shot in two buttons were shot from his coat his hat punctured and his bridle reins shot from his hands but no bullet ever touched his body nevertheless there was at least one report we found of Reeves not just getting shot but killed in a clearly misinformed February 2 v 1891 edition of the Democratic Northwest in which his state's deputy United States Marshal bass Reeves was shot and killed by a Negro outlaw named Christy at Fort Smith Arkansas Christie was being arrested for a murder committed some time ago in one instance in his twilight years he was even fired upon unexpectedly in an apparent assassination attempt as reported in the November 15th the 1906 edition of The Daily Admiral bath Reeves a negro deputy marshal shot a sneer why bark Reeves was in his buggy north of Y bark and was driving under a railroad trestle on which the assassin was posted when a six-shooter cracked and bullets splintered the wood of one of the tithes in the trestle directly over his head he saw the man and returned fire but the would-be assassin got away and was probably unhurt Reeves declines to say whom he thinks it was but it is thought that he had a pretty good idea and will eventually get his man particularly in his early days as a marshal Reeves also had trouble with certain Norman who didn't take kindly to a black man arresting white outlaws for instance in one incident reported in judge Brady's biography a white police officer drew his gun on Reeves and threatened to shoot not liking that Reeves was ordering around white federal prisoners that Reeves and other marshals were transporting to a penitentiary a shootout was reportedly avoided owing to the senior deputy marshal coming to Reeves his defense the first criminal Reeves ever killed likewise was view to said individual not thinking kindly to a black badge ordering him around with the man exclaiming of his last words according to Judge Brady a black badge don't mean a damn thing to me before raising his rifle that Reeves soon then shot the man in the chest at the peak of his career Reeves became so feared that some outlaws would simply surrender upon hearing that Reeves was looking for them not hyperbole in one case we found in the newspaper archives Reeves even literally caused the individual in question Jerry Macintosh to have nightmares about Reeves as there's crime Macintosh had according to an article published in the chakashi Daily Express on August 3rd 1903 went home one night recently and dragged his wife from her bed and after pouring coal oil on her set a match to her the woman was terribly burned and her attending physician says she is in critical condition with little hope of recovery McIntosh says he was drunk when he committed the act and hardly knew how it was done according to the July 16 1983 edition of The Daily ad Maurice while on the run McIntosh says he dreams last night the deputy marshal dreamed came upon him in the brush and when he jumped up to run the deputy shot and killed him when he awoke and realized that it was only a dream he decided to come to town and give up immediately in another case famed female outlaw Belle Starr the Bandit Queen simply up and turned herself in when she heard bass Reeves was the marshal that was sent after her not all about using strengthened guns to bring criminals in those leaves also frequently used guile for instance during the pursuit of two outlaws in the Red River Valley Reeves and the other marshal thought the pair might be hiding out at their mother's cabin however if the brothers were there approaching the cabin given that open terrain would have been a highly dangerous affair instead Reeves shot three holes in his hat dirtied up his clothes grabbed a walking stick and an old worn-out pair of sheath and simply walk to the near 28 miles to the house by himself and knocked on the door he then told the story to the mother of the criminals that he was on the run from the law including narrowly escaping the marshals and was desperately hungry and tired given her son similar plight she sympathized with Reeves and took him in later that night her two sons showed up announcing their presence by whistling off in the distance through which the mother whistles back to indicate the coast was clear after everyone went to sleep for the night Reeves simply got up walked over and quietly cuffed the two outlaws according to news reports without even waking them up in the morning they found Reeves with the gun sitting and watching them sleep he then marched them back to where the other marshals waited and the group rose the few days journey back to town collecting a reported $5,000 reward about 121 thousand dollars today for the capture beyond his apparent fearlessness and commitment to his job at Reeves is sense of duty was also such that he famously tracked down and arrested one of his own sons Bennie Reeve as reported in the 18th of January 1910 edition of the daily admin write a warrant for the arrest of the younger Reeves for murdering his wife had been issued and marshal Bennett said that perhaps another deputy had better descent to service all the Baths was in the room and quietly said give me the wrist he went out arrested son brought into court and saw a jury try and convict him and sentenced him to life imprisonment Bennie Reeves would eventually be freed from his life sentence at Fort Leavenworth owing to being a model prisoner and as far as newspaper reports indicated never committed another crime against all that said bass Reeves himself was once in legal hot water for alleged murder that's reported in the February the 4th 1886 edition of the Indian chieftain the publication which formally and laid spoke of reusing blowing guns in various articles this time startling changed dat tune bass Reeves a notorious and unprincipled ex deputy marshal is now in jail at Fort Smith charged with murder Reeves who is a negro killed his camp cook William leach of the same race in the Chickasaw Nation in April 1884 he reported the killing at the time to have been done in self-defense however the result of the investigation and subsequent trial in which Reeves was represented by none other than famed United States Attorney whh Clayton revealed that the incident in question had been a tragic accident Reeves had accidentally loaded a cartridge for a 45 Colt revolver into his 44 40 Winchester ultimately jamming it in the process of trying to pry the rounds out with a knife the rifle accidentally discharged hitting William leach in the neck Reeves was acquitted by the jury and once again resumed his duties as a marshal with Oklahoma officially becoming a state in 1907 Reeves then 68 years old left the Marshal Service and lentes decades of experience to the newly formed muskie Oklahoma Police Department for a further two years before retiring due to illness he died a year later on January the 12th 1910 from Bright's disease being remembered in his obituary as a universally respected US Deputy Marshal who was absolutely fearless and had no known master such beauty in all Reeves reportedly brought to justice over 3,000 criminals in his storied career and despite being involved in countless shootouts managed to bring in all but 14 alive in the execution of his beauty so I really hope you found that video interesting you could add please do hit that thumbs up button below and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already also over there on the right are a couple of other videos that you might enjoy if you enjoyed this one and thanks for watching you

Channel: Today I Found Out

Views: 943,136

Keywords: today i found out, tifovidz12, tifo, awesome, facts, didn't know, bass reeves, lone ranger, us marshalls, us marshalls facts, facts about us marshalls, bounty hunting, wild west, wild west bounty hunting, black history month, facinating facts about the wild west, bass reeves facts, who was bass reeves, facts about bass reeves, bass reeves lone ranger, lawmen, famous lawmen, famous law men

Id: mirZQ64xf1A

Length: 15min 10sec (910 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 27 2017