All language subtitles for gunslingers_s02e04_bass_reeves_the_real_lone_ranger

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.