The Life and Times of Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves

Miss Cellania brings us the little-known tale of a man born a slave, who became a prodigious lawman:  Bass Reeves.

The ‘history’ we are spoon-fed doesn’t always jibe with the truth.  This guy was the real deal and escaping slavery and fathering 10 children wasn’t the half of it!

Over his 32-year career as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves arrested 3,000 felons, killed 14 men, and was never shot himself. His reputation for persistence, his total fearlessness, his skills with a gun, and his ability to outsmart outlaws struck terror into lawbreakers in what we now call Oklahoma. Although other colorful characters made their way into our pop culture, Bass was the real badass of the Old West

The marshal was famous for fair-mindedness and was impossible to bribe or corrupt. In 1902 he arrested his own son, Benny, for murdering his wife (Reeves’ daughter-in-law). Benny had fled to the badlands after the crime, and no other marshal was willing to pursue him. As distasteful as the task was, Reeves brought him back, and Benny served twenty years at Leavenworth.

You should visit the link and read his whole story.