Original subtitles

Who is it? Who is so hot on my trail?

Who is it? Bass Reeves. Bass Reeves.

My name is Bass Reeves.

And this is my true story.

As it's never been told.

Hold it right there.

You that lawman Bass Reeves, ain't ya?

What's to you?

Bass Reeds never became as famous as a Bat Masterson, a Wild Bill Hickok.

But in many ways, he was a far more formidable lawman.

He was tenacious.

He sent 3 ,000 criminals to jail, killed 14 of them, and this puts Wyatt Earp

and Billy the Kid in the shade, man. This guy's a real deal.

Let me see your hands in the air.

I was born in bondage, but I would die a lawman.

This was a former slave who had been told he was nothing. He became a legend

his own time.

I never lost a gunfight, but my story was lost in the history of the old west

until a legendary character emerged decades later, avenging the innocent

on a white horse with a black mask.

There is compelling evidence that the Lone Ranger may have been modeled on the

career of Bass Reeves.

But the true story is better than the legend.

There were times I could have hung up my badge and gun when I was framed for

murder. You gonna hang, Negro?

Or when I had to incarcerate my own son.

But being a lawman was in my blood.

The outlaws don't rest.

Neither can I.

He was feared by outlaws for the same reason he was respected by lawmen.

He was absolutely fearless.

I am Bass Reeves. Deputy Marshal, that's your service.

Bass Reeves, he worked for 32 years.

People like Wyatt Earp and Waddell Hickok.

were in law enforcement for less than a decade.

If Bass got your warrant, he was going to get you eventually.

I was a U .S. deputy marshal during the most dangerous decades of the West in

the most deadly land known to lawmen, the Indian Territory.

The life expectancy of a deputy marshal in the Indian Territory in the 1870s,

1880s was very short.

a place that would attract like a magnet all of the people that were intent on

breaking the law.

The fugitives knew for the most part that there was no backup. The deputies

on their own.

What are you doing out here?

Are your chores done?

Are those stalls cleaned?

No? Well, get inside and eat supper in the afternoon.

We're going to have to do it all.

i spent 32 years corralling outlaws on their home turf and i lived to tell the

tale my secret working undercover and i had a built -in advantage when it came

to that back in those days no one figured a black man with ratty clothes

be a federal officer and i fooled him time and again there were two brothers

And their combined warrant totaled $5 ,000, and they had eluded capture for an

extended period of time. And Bass was actually sent out on them, and he was

determined to capture these two brothers.

They were hiding out at their mother's house, and he hid his badge and

under his coat and shot some holes in his hat and made himself look to be

someone on the run, too.

What do you want? Excuse me, ma 'am.

I'm on the run from a lawman who won't give up my trail, and I could use the

meal.

I'd work in exchange for it. Only please don't tell me how.

If you do, I'm sure to be captured.

Come on.

Thank you, ma 'am.

She takes him in, and the boys show up, and Mama reassures them that he's just

an old black man coming through, and the law's after him.

No one to fear, someone to maybe team up with.

So they go to bed.

handcuffed them in their sleeves.

You two -faced liar!

You rotten piece of slime! The sons are under arrest by a Deputy U .S. Marshal.

They will be tried for their crimes. You're going to rot in hell for what

doing to my baby boy!

The asshole marches them out the front door with Mama right on their tail,

cussing him and throwing things at him and carrying on.

Do you plan on carrying on the whole time?

I bet you suffered, you bastard!

And he marches them all back to justice.

You're going to like Fort Smith, boys, once we get there, that is.

That's only a day from here.

We've got a couple of stops to make along the way.

If you were somebody that Bass reads any marshals after, you'd want to be the

last people on the way back to capture. Because if you were one of the first,

you were shackled onto the wagon and you had to walk.

And we're talking about 400 miles round trip.

There's only one court that had jurisdiction over this entire.

Indian territory, one court, one judge, and a band of deputies to go out after

them. The prisoners I captured might have been miserable on the road, chained

under the thaw, but the fate that awaited them was a thousand times worse.

Fort Smith Federal Jail, also known as Hell on the Border.

It was built in the 1830s. It was a flagstone floor open room.

There was no toilet facilities. It was a bucket.

It smelled atrocious. It wasn't sanitary.

I cannot really figure out how they held court upstairs with this smell.

It got so bad in the summertime, they had the joists and the floor packed with

sawdust to keep the smell out of the courtroom.

Young kids and old men and dangerous outlaws.

People that were selling liquor and people that had murdered and raped and

pillaged were all thrown in together.

Welcome to hell on the border, boys.

May the justices ride upstairs.

Hats off.

I always make sure I deliver the right man to the jail.

Because the risk of depriving the just man of his freedom is something I do not

take lightly.

I myself was born into slavery in 1838 on a plantation in Arkansas.

I was the property of the Reeves family.

Bass, at an early age, did ask if he could learn to read. He wanted to learn

to read the Bible.

And William Steele Reeves said no, but what he did do, which was very unique,

he put Bass Reeves in charge of his arsenal.

He was really good with horses, and apparently he was really good with guns.

In fact, it's quite possible that Bass Reeves may have been William Steele

Reeves' son, and that might have been the reason for the preferential

Others may have had it worse, but the truth was, no slave had it good.

I never expected I'd ever breathe the air of freedom.

But then the war with the North came and changed everything.

He was taken with his master to fight for the Confederacy.

I was 23 when the Civil War broke out. It was clear a change was coming, and I

resolved I would no longer submit to a life of forced servitude.

He ran away and lived with the Creek and Seminole Indians in the Indian

Territory during the Civil War. He learned the lay of the land, and he also

developed relationships with many of the Native Americans there.

I became a fugitive of the low, living off the land in the chaotic.

violent Indian territory.

It was just to be for Native Americans to live there, supposedly.

Unfortunately, the area drew outlaws as a haven.

People that are committing crimes sometimes in other states or territories

surrounding Indian territory can escape the state laws by entering into the

territory.

Outlaws thrived in Indian territory.

When the war was over, I was suddenly a free man, surrounded by dangerous and

disgruntled ex -rebels.

After the Civil War, there were people who were the refuse of that war.

As we see in all wars today, all the PTSD and stuff of people coming back who

had basically lost some of their humanity in combat.

They couldn't adjust to peacetime.

So they became outlaws.

They kept doing what they were doing.

During the war.

After a decade of unchecked violence in Oklahoma, a new federal judge came to

Fort Smith, the Honorable Isaac Parker.

They decided they needed to have a strong court presence on the west part

Arkansas. And so they established in Fort Smith, and they just knew that if

could have a strong judge there and he could send marshals into that territory,

they might be able to eradicate lawlessness.

And as it turned out, in his first session, Isaac Parker, the hanging

tried 15 cases of murder, convicted 13, sentenced eight to death, and hung six

in one day.

Judge Parker hired 200 new deputy marshals to crack down on criminal

Indian territory.

I became one of the first to ride for him. I was perfect for the job because I

knew the territory like the back of my hand.

We needed all the advantages we could get.

Ours was a job of unprecedented danger.

You think that's our men?

Only one way to find out.

The outlaws here had the resources to stay hidden for years, and everything to

lose if they were caught.

In the history of the Marshal Service, about 225, 230 -so people have

been killed.

It was a dangerous job. It was a dangerous time.

The danger of the job fuels me as much as it worries my family.

But the goal is to capture, not to kill.

And with men who know they are wanted, this is always the challenge.

Fellas need two good cowhands today.

We'll work for Grubb.

Well, come on.

I'll show you where you can post your horses.

Jim Webb was a tough Texan. He was wanted for murder.

Bass got the warrant for his capture and went to bring him in.

Webb was very suspicious, and he and his accomplice kept their guns at the

ready. Nice place you have here.

Yep.

Reeves was calculating how he was going to get the jump on them.

How many heads you got?

Thousand strong.

He had great survival instinct.

Bass, being a tremendous athlete, grabbed him, knocked his gun away. No

him.

I don't blame the outlaws for resisting the riff.

If I was one of them, I'd probably try it too.

Then again, if I was one of them, I'd probably do a better job.

My opponents always shoot to kill.

Unfortunately for them.

So do I.

Aye, Bass Reeves was on the trail of the outlaw Jim Webb.

Wanted for the murder of a preacher.

I posed undercover as a cowboy looking for work, but Webb sniffed me out.

He knew I was there to arrest him.

Things were about to get messy.

People who knew that he had their warrants knew that there was a good

that they were going to hang.

And so they had no reason not to fight to the death.

Reeves was able to pull out his own pistol and shoot the other cowboy while

kept his hand on Webb's throat.

He had to have been incredibly strong to be able to do that.

There was a lot of luck on his side, too, but he knew what he was doing.

Jim Webb, you're under arrest by the U .S. Marshal Service for the crime of

murder.

In the 1880s, the Indian Territory was a dangerous place, teeming with outlaws.

On nearly every trail leading up to the boulder, death threats were posted for

lawmen like me.

Bass, you're going to be a dead man.

We're looking for you. Sometimes the lawmen got killed sleeping in their

at night. They got bushwhacked. And there was no type of insurance for your

family if you got killed.

So your wife and your children would not get anything.

When I was first offered the deputy marshal's job, My wife, Jenny, was as

for me to turn it down as I was to accept it.

It's like our military going on deployment.

They go over there, they're away from their family for months at a time, and

they don't know if they're coming back.

It's a good job.

I can do it.

Could mean a lot of money.

Months on the road.

No way to tell if you're dead or alive.

What if you don't come back?

And I have nothing for the kids. I'll come back.

Meantime, you and the kids have got a roof over your head.

I don't know, Beth.

Benny needs you.

They all do. Enough, Jenny.

It's not it.

Come here.

Give me your hand.

Feel that?

It was my duty

and my honor to ride for Judge Parker.

He got the nickname The Hanging Judge for sentencing over 70 men to swing.

But he didn't believe in the death penalty personally. He was just

law. Judge Parker also seemed to have a lot in common with Bass. They were both

very highly religious, and they both had a very strong dedication to duty and to

the law, to right and wrong.

Isaac Parker, coming from a wealthy family, bonded with this ex -slave

he really admired his integrity.

It doesn't matter to Judge Parker that I'm illiterate. My work speaks for

itself. And though I may not be able to read a single warrant that I'm given, I

always bring in the right man.

He would memorize the shapes of the names of each one, and sometimes he

get up to 30 warrants at a time. If you asked him for a particular name, he

could thumb through the stack and pull out the one you asked about.

And during the course of his career, he never got a writ wrong.

He always arrested the person that was on the warrant.

To survive in this business, a man's got to master the hand he's been dealt,

even the cards that seem useless.

There was an occasion where Bass used the fact that he was totally literate to

his advantage.

You fellas know about how near town I am?

Why?

What business you got there?

Got me a claim there.

Planning on building a farm.

You look like a lawman.

A lawman?

That's a good one. No, sir.

I'm just a simple cow, Pope.

Yeah, lawman Bass Reeves, ain't ya?

Get off that horse. Now!

Now!

He was captured by two outlaws, and anyone would assume it was Bass Reeves'

day.

The mind can be as strong as any rifle, if properly employed.

In a tight spot, your wits are your best weapon.

Any last words, cowpoke?

Actually...

There's a letter that my wife wrote to me.

It's over there in my saddlebag.

I'd like to hear her words as my last.

Only I can't read.

Could maybe one of you fellas possibly read it for me?

It means so much.

My... Dear Bass.

About the time he starts reading Dear Bass, Bass turns the tables completely

You boys was right.

I am Bass Reeves.

Deputy Marshal at your service.

You boys are under arrest for assaulting a federal officer of the United States.

Now let me see your hands in the air.

When I get a writ for an outlaw's arrest, his delivery to jail is

But what happens from there is out of my hands.

Sometimes the very same men I put away end up back on the lam.

Such was the case with Jim Webb.

The year after I put him behind bars, he posted a $17 ,000 bond and disappeared

into the wind.

And I got the pleasure of hunting him again.

They has found him at a little place called Bywater Store, which was like a

little trading post in the Chickasaw Nation.

Morning, Chief.

Hey, Jim.

I got this awful stomach pain. What you got for that?

Hmm. How about some blood bitter?

Damn.

I'll be back.

Jim Webb, you hold it right there.

This time, there was no way Jim Webb would come back to hell on the border,

so he turned around and started shooting.

One bullet hit his saddle horn.

One bullet clipped a button off his coat.

Shot a hole in Bass's hat.

It's been said that starting a gunfight with me is akin to suicide.

It's just sad that fellas still want to see for themselves.

Jim Webb, you hold it right there.

The notorious murderer Jim Webb had skipped bail and decided he had enough

hell on the border.

I, Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves, had already captured him once, but this time

was determined to avoid jail when God tried.

Reeves pulled his Winchester out of the scabbard and shot Webb at 500 yards.

They said both bullets landed within a hand's width of each other.

Throw your revolver away from me.

Now.

Please.

Take it.

I killed 11 men with that.

You're going to be my 12th.

You're a brave man, Reeves.

Webb told Bass that he was a brave, brave man and would he take his holster

salute to him.

And that's the story of the bad guy Jim Webb in one of the greatest gunfights

I've ever heard of.

Reports of that shootout and many others that ended the same way propelled me to

the top of the outlaw's most wanted list.

But it wasn't just the outlaws who put a target on my back.

There was some powerful lawmen who didn't like the idea of a famous black

deputy. And a few years later, it was I who wound up in hell on the border on a

trumped -up charge of murder, surrounded by the criminals I'd locked up.

How does it feel to be back in chains, Reeves? You gonna hang, Negro?

He's in prison with men that he sent to prison.

And I think most cops will tell you that's their worst fear, to go to prison

with people that you've put there.

because they're going to be very nice. And Fort Smith Dungeon is really no

for anyone to be.

I was patient, though, because I knew it would only be a matter of time before

my side of the story was heard.

William Leach was a cook that was hired by Bass Reeves to accompany him into the

Indian Territory. And on one particular trip, they were out in the Chickasaw

Nation, and Reeves was upset.

Beans are burnt again, Leach.

I don't hear anyone else complaining.

It is, Reginald.

These beans are something awful.

Let's see if I bring you on the road again.

See if I don't say no.

While this conversation was going on, he was trying to dislodge a bullet that

had gotten caught in the gun barrel.

The gun accidentally went off and shot the cook in the neck.

Send for a doctor.

That bastard's going to hang for it this time.

It was probably an accident.

This new marshal, who was a former confederate, decided to bring Bass up on

charges two years later and was successful in getting Bass arrested.

I never believed that my arrest was really about the death of William Leach.

one cared when it happened back in 84.

In 86, that was the first time that a former Confederate officer became the U

.S. Marshal for the Fort Smith Court.

They were getting rid of all the black deputies and officials that had been

appointed during Reconstruction. So this was the way they were going to get rid

of Bass.

Why don't you tell us what happened in your own words?

I was attempting to get my rifle cleared.

During the process, the round accidentally discharged.

The leech was hit.

And that's what happened.

He had to sell everything he had to raise the money, to raise bond, and to

his lawyers.

The prosecution argues that he did it intentionally. There had been some

resentment and heated words between the cook and Reeves. And they're going to

bring in people to testify that, you know, it was cold -blooded murder.

The prosecuting attorney actually tried to use some of the fugitives that Bass

Reeves had captured as witnesses against Bass Reeves. But the wife of one of the

prisoners who was on the trip, she gave real good testimony, which helped

vindicate Reeves.

In the case of the government versus Bass Reeves, for the charge of murder,

court finds you not guilty, Mr. Reeves.

Dismissed.

Back to work then?

There's nothing I like more, sir.

Once again, it was Judge Parker who saved my life.

This time by defying the powerful forces who had sought to bring me down.

Unfortunately for them, my time as a lawman was not up.

I don't care how much it costs.

All that matters is that you're home.

Not just here, Jenny.

I got two dozen wrists for you.

But Beth.

Father. He told his family he was going to go back out and continue making a

living to support them and to do the work he knew he was cut out to do.

All I can think about when I was in that dungeon was getting back on the road

again. Making sure that the people who really deserve to be there are.

Being able to provide for you again.

Provide?

These boys need a father more than money.

And I need a husband.

You can get a job here.

When is it going to be enough? Jenny, the outlaws don't risk.

People cannot.

What did Bass do after being falsely accused of murder?

He took up his commission, his badge, a handful of writ, and went right back to

service. He wasn't going to let them win by forcing him out of his job.

There's no resentment.

He comes back, he pins on that star again, and he keeps doing his job.

I'm not sure I'd do that.

At the turn of the 20th century, Drew Neer, there were as many bad men as ever

lurking in the Indian Territory, and one in particular whose writ I carried for

years.

Bob Dozier.

He was the kind of outlaw who scared other outlaws.

When you consider all the criminals, he was...

One of the worst.

He was the kingpin of a criminal empire who was known to torture men for

information.

He just didn't kill people. He robbed stagecoaches. You know, he robbed

He did everything he could.

Well, he was kind of the precursor to organized crime in the Indian nation.

And he was, because of that, hard to find.

I'm running out of patience, son.

Now, one last time before I use this as an ear cleaner.

Who is it?

Who is so hot on my trail?

Who is it?

That's reason. That's reason.

I don't know if it's true. That's what I heard.

Well, that's me.

That wasn't so hard after all, was it?

He was able to elude all of the deputy marshals for an extended period of time.

Very cunning.

But evidently not cunning enough to elude yours truly.

You Beth Reeves, the lawman?

Welcome to you.

I have a message from Bob Dozer.

He knows it's you after him.

Says you'll be a dead man if you keep pursuing him.

Bob Dozer sent somebody ahead to say, if you come on after me, I'm going to kill

you.

Bass basically said, well, I guess take your best shot. He wasn't going to turn

back. You tell Bob Dozier he'll have to quit running to kill me.

And I'll be ready at any time to give him that opportunity.

Yep. Yep.

Idle threats don't scare me.

They only motivate me all the more.

Particularly when I'm closing in.

All I had to do to find the man was follow his messenger.

Bass had tracked him into the Cherokee Hills, into the woody area.

It was hard to see a lot of trees.

Bass had his posse man with him and was suddenly shot at.

They started firing back.

Bass tried to return fire, but really couldn't see a target well enough.

The next time the flare of the gun went off,

Bass went down.

For years.

The writ I carried for the notorious outlaw Bob Dozier had been burning a

in my body.

I had never been closer to him than I was in that forest, deep in the Indian

territory. He was quick and crafty, but he had one key weakness.

Arrogance. And I exploited it.

Bob Dozier came out from his hiding spot confident, happy.

Bet he had hit his target. Dozer can't believe his luck that he shot the famed

black marshal Bass Reeves. So he's walking up on the body and laughing

he's thinking, man, I've built my reputation.

I've shot Bass Reeves. I told you, you ignorant black bastard.

I was going to kill you if you ever caught up to me.

Bob Dozer was quite amused at this turn of events.

But this time I knew that I would have the last laugh.

Bob Dozer came up to check on his kill, and when he got too close...

Bob

Dozer ended up the one dead.

Dozier, foolishly.

assumed he had gotten him.

Reeves was just, you know, pretending.

And that's the first and last encounter that they had together.

There is no outlaw or warrant that I fear.

No writ that I will refuse.

But there once was one that I couldn't help but dread.

Good to see you, Deputy.

Bass, I've got something here that I don't know about showing to you.

A writ.

Come on now, Sam.

Since when am I afraid of a writ?

I didn't want to have to do this, but none of the other deputies would take

And although Beth could not read, he looked at the paper and was able to make

out the word reads.

It's Benny.

It was an arrest warrant for his own son.

Didn't it?

He was wanted for murder.

I'm sorry.

Apparently there was some altercation with his wife.

Nobody wanted to pick up the warrants, none of the other deputies, because they

knew Bath, they respected him.

Suddenly, I was forced to choose between upholding the law or protecting my

family. The choice was clear.

But that doesn't mean it was easy.

He takes the writ and goes after his own son.

My thoughts raced as I rode in pursuit of my son.

Benny Reese's wife had been unfaithful to him before.

When Ben found her with someone else again, he lost control.

He ended up shooting his wife.

I think this is something I need to do for myself.

It was Benny who pulled the trigger.

But I can't say my conscience was entirely clear.

Bass felt real guilty about it because Bass had advised his son on one previous

occasion that maybe you might need to take a stronger hand with your wife.

It was probably my fault.

Really. I haven't been home enough.

She's lonely.

That woman swore a holy oath of loyalty to your son when you married her.

Benny talked to his dad about it, and his dad wanted him to stick it out. Bass

was a very religious man, and he didn't believe in divorce.

What would you do to the bastard when you caught him?

I told him to scram.

He scrammed that way.

Let's see.

What would you have done?

I'd have shot the hell out of him and whooped the living God out of her.

I don't think he meant for Benny to kill his wife, but he felt that Benny needed

to stand up for himself.

He had a dedication to duty that...

I think was unmatched by most people.

And that was proven in the fact that he arrested his own son.

I need you to get up and come with me.

You don't want to do that.

No, but maybe I have to.

We can do this with honor.

You'll stay in trial.

You'll be sentenced.

You'll serve.

I'll hang.

You don't know that.

I guarantee you will if you resist arrest.

Now hand over that gun.

It was his son. It was his job to arrest him. He figured he better than anyone

else could make this happen.

without some kind of incident.

You're the only outlaw I'll skip the chains for.

What do you say?

Just so long as you promise not to run off on me.

You know I'll track you down.

I knew full well that Bennett faced one of two terrible fates.

A lifetime behind bars.

for a violent end on the gallows.

Hard to tell which was worse.

But I've always lived by a code of honor, and this would be its ultimate

In my time as a lawman, I arrested over 3 ,000 criminals.

All of them deserved it.

But one was my own flesh and blood.

My son, Benny, charged with the murder of his wife.

I couldn't help but feel partly responsible for his downfall because it

who had planted the seed of revenge in him.

The fact that Bass Reeves took it upon himself to go arrest his own son and

bring him in.

Man, that's some integrity.

That's striking.

I'm sure the entire time was very painful for Bath, perhaps reflecting on

time that he did not have to raise his own kids with the integrity that he had

developed from such a young age.

The court finds Benjamin Reeves guilty of murder in the first degree.

He is to serve life in prison.

Benny made a terrible mistake, but it wasn't too late to redeem himself before

God.

He could still be a man of honor, and that is what he became.

Benny became a model prisoner, and after 11 years in jail, he was pardoned. He

went back to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where all of this happened, and becomes a

barber, becomes a very respected member of the community, and lives out his life

as a law -abiding citizen.

During the decade that Benny was in prison, the West I knew had changed, and

for the better.

There was a new villain to contend with, more formidable than any outlaw.

When Oklahoma becomes a state, the Jim Crow laws take effect,

and Bass or other blacks can no longer be deputy U .S. marshal. And

so Bass is out of a job, but he is not ready to retire.

became a police officer in Muskogee, but he was relegated to only enforcing the

law in the black areas.

Politics may have forced me out of the marshal service, but my reputation was

fierce as ever.

It was said that no crimes were ever committed during Bass Reeves' shift.

In my 32 years as a lawman, I was never outgunned, never outmaneuvered.

I sent 14 bad men to their graves.

But the good Lord spared me from a violent end.

He died with his boots off.

He was 71 going on 72 the year he died in 1910. White people, black people,

Native Americans came out in great numbers to his funeral, and he was

Muskogee. Bass's character was renowned throughout the area. Matter of fact, not

only throughout the Indian Territory and Arkansas, Oklahoma, but throughout the

country. When he passed away, there was even an obituary in the Washington, D

.C. newspaper about this famous black deputy marshal.

History played a cruel trick on him and forgot him.

This was a man of sterling character who should be the hero of every child in

America, but who, of course, alas.

is just a dusty page in the history books.

My name may be all but forgotten, but my story lives on through one of

America's most legendary characters, an icon inspired by yours truly.

The Lone Ranger broke on the radio in Detroit in 1933.

Prisoners were coming out of Fort Smith and Indian Territory and serving time in

the Detroit House of Corrections.

Next to the Detroit House of Corrections, there was a radio station

stories of this black marshal in the Indian territories from these prison

guards.

There's nothing definitive to prove it, but there was no one in real life that

came closer.

Lone Ranger, of course, is a white guy from Texas, and Bass Reeves is a black

man in Indian territory.

But there are similarities.

Sound crazy?

Think about it.

The Lone Ranger is fearless.

Bass always said that bullets couldn't hurt him, and maybe that's why he seemed

to be so fearless.

The Lone Ranger employs trickery and disguises to catch criminals.

He did use disguises and managed to capture criminals by taking them by

surprise.

The Lone Ranger rides for justice.

Bass Reeves wasn't in it for money. He wasn't in it for glory.

He was a lawman, pure and simple. I mean, he was dedicated to justice.

The Lone Ranger's partner is Native American.

By tribal law, the deputy marshals had to be accompanied by a Native American

posse. And this is probably where Tonto might have originated.

The Lone Ranger gives out silver bullets.

There are stories that Bass often gave out silver dollars as a thank you to

people. He rides a white horse.

Bass Reeves did raise and was known to ride a white horse. And he wears a black

mask. In a sense, it was like they wanted to say this was a black man, but

couldn't really say it was a black man.

Or a black lawman, like.

Bats Reeves, he faces a lot of hurdles and he overcomes them all.

And that just speaks to the sheer presence this man must have had. He

one of the most remarkable characters in the American West.

Against all odds, he charged forth and did what he knew was right.

As Jim Webb said, you're the bravest man I ever met.

He was.

He became a legend in his own time.

The people who lived in Indian territory were singing songs about bass reeds.

People would say that if bass reeds were to spit on a brick, the brick would

break.

So that was their way to talk about how tough he was.

I never set out to be a legend.

I only wanted to defend the law.

Because where there is law, there is freedom.

And a life without freedom, the life I once knew, is no life at all.

His story reads in many ways like a tall tale, but it's not, and that's the

amazing thing.

The difference between the Lone Ranger and Bath is that Bath Reeves was real.