Frontier Legends | Bass Reeves | 3

In 1875, Bass Reeves became one of the first Black men to serve as a deputy U. S. marshal in the West. Reeves had been born into slavery, but after a violent confrontation with his owner, he fled to Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma. There, for three decades he used his knowledge of Indian languages and his expert marksmanship to hunt down murderers, horse thieves, and bootleggers across 75,000 square miles of remote terrain. As stories of his exploits spread across the frontier, he would become one of the most renowned and feared lawmen in the history of the West. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• 0:00Lindsay Graham?

  Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. A listener note: This episode contains outdated racial language presented in its original historical context.

• 0:24Lindsay Graham?

  Imagine it's a summer day in 1890, near Keokuk Falls in Indian Territory. You're the ringleader of a gang of outlaws, and the three of you are holed up in an abandoned log cabin. You're dealing a hand of cards, killing time until sunset, when you plan to sneak onto a nearby ranch to steal their horses. You jump at the sound of a crash outside.

• 0:45Speaker 01

  What was that?

• 0:47Lindsay Graham?

  You emerge from the cabin and squint into the afternoon sunlight. Twenty yards away, a ramshackle wagon has rolled into a shallow ditch. An ox stands nearby, flicking flies with its tail, while the driver climbs out of his seat and jumps to the ground.

• 1:02Speaker 01

  You there. Would you mind giving me a hand?

• 1:05Lindsay Graham?

  He's a tall, black man, a poor tenant farmer by the looks of his faded overalls. You start walking toward him while glancing at your fellow outlaws.

• 1:14Speaker 01

  Come on, boys. Let's help him out and be done with it.

• 1:17Lindsay Graham?

  The farmer nods his head in appreciation as you approach.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Thank you. I don't know what happened. The wheel just slipped off the road. It happens. The road's in an awful state out here.

• 1:29Lindsay Graham?

  You turn to your friends.

• 1:30Speaker 01

  Jim, get behind the wheels. Bill, grab that rail. I'll take the wagon box. On three, we'll push.

• 1:37Lindsay Graham?

  You take your positions.

• 1:39Speaker 01

  Ready? One, two, three.

• 1:43Lindsay Graham?

  You dig your boots into the dirt and push. The wheel shifts slightly, but remains stuck.

• 1:49Speaker 01

  Again.

• 1:50Lindsay Graham?

  You shove your shoulder against the wagon box and push into it with all your strength. The wheel suddenly lurches free and rocks up onto level ground.

• 1:59Speaker 01

  There she goes.

• 2:01Lindsay Graham?

  With a grin on your face, you turn around to find the farmer with a revolver in each hand, the barrels pointed directly at you and your friends.

• 2:10Speaker 01

  Put your hands up. What? Hey, just who the hell do you think you are? Name's Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal. I have warrants charging you men for robbery and murder.

• 2:23Lindsay Graham?

  Disbelief washes over you as you realize this was all a trap. You reluctantly put up your hands as he steps forward and starts patting you down for weapons. You've robbed banks, held up stagecoaches, and outrun posses across the Territory. Yet somehow, you've just been duped by a deputy in a two-bit disguise. But as you glance up, you catch a fierce glint in his eyes that tells you this is no ordinary lawman.

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• 3:37Speaker 03

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• 4:20Speaker 03

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• 4:42Lindsay Graham?

  From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American History Tellers: Our History, Your Story.

• 5:04Lindsay Graham?

  At the end of the 19th century, Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves used elaborate disguises to catch outlaws in Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Reeves had been born into slavery, but went on to become one of the first black men to serve as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the West. For three decades, he hunted down murderers, horse thieves, and bootleggers across a vast and remote terrain, resulting in countless dramatic shootouts and hairbreadth escapes. At a time when segregation was taking hold across the South, the West offered a unique opportunity for a man like Reeves. While still facing racial discrimination, he nevertheless became one of the most formidable lawmen in the history of the West, feared

• 5:45Lindsay Graham?

  by outlaws across Indian Territory for his relentless pursuit of justice and his deadly marksmanship. His career spanned Indian Territory's transition into statehood, a rare period of possibility for a former slave-turned-cunning lawman. To help tell this story, we've enlisted actor Ace Anderson to voice the characters you'll hear throughout this episode. This is episode three in our five-part series on frontier legends: Bass Reeves.

• 6:14Lindsay Graham?

  Bass Reeves was born enslaved in July 1838 in Arkansas. He adopted the last name of his owner, William Reeves, a farmer and state legislator. When Bass was eight years old, his owner loaded up 30 covered wagons and moved his family and his slaves to northern Texas. As Bass grew older, William Reeves removed him from fieldwork and made him his personal servant. Although he refused to let Bass learn to read, he trusted him enough to take the unusual step of allowing him to handle firearms, a privilege denied to most enslaved people. Bass quickly proved himself a gifted marksman, and Reeves began entering him into shooting contests. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, William

• 6:56Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves's son, George, enlisted as a Confederate cavalryman, and he brought 23-year-old Bass with him to the front lines. But one night, a heated argument during a card game ended with Bass knocking George unconscious. Fearing that he could be punished with death for assaulting his owner, Bass fled west to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Indian Territory had been established by the U.S. government in the early 1830s as the final destination for Indian tribes who were being expelled from their native lands in the South. Around that time, federal officials began forcibly relocating the so-called Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. And there, on the Great

• 7:37Lindsay Graham?

  Plains, each tribe operated as its own nation, with its own government and court systems. And although Indian Territory had been set aside for displaced Native tribes, slavery was legal within its borders. And by the start of the Civil War, there were roughly 10,000 black people enslaved there. But ironically, Indian Territory also became a haven for fugitive slaves, because slaves owned by members of the Five Tribes retained more autonomy and faced less violence than those in the southern states. These conditions made for a less rigid racial order, one that attracted runaway slaves like Reeves. Making the move easier for Reeves, the terrain of Indian Territory was already familiar to

• 8:18Lindsay Graham?

  him. He'd grown up nearby, across the Red River in northern Texas. So after he fled George Reeves, he lived among the Creek and Seminole Indians and learned their languages and customs. For former slaves like Reeves, Indian Territory, and the West more broadly, offered a unique opportunity for reinvention. In 1864, Reeves, now 26 years old, married a 14-year-old named Jenny. The couple started a family that would eventually include 11 children. And with the end of the Civil War, Reeves gained his freedom, and he and his growing family settled on a farm near Van Buren, Arkansas, on the eastern border of Indian Territory. Reeves soon began earning money as a scout and tracker, using the knowledge he'd gained while living among native tribes.

• 9:03Lindsay Graham?

  He later boasted that he knew Indian Territory like a cook knows her kitchen. But the Indian Territory Reeves knew so well was fast becoming one of the most lawless regions in America. While native tribes enforced their own laws with mounted forces known as the Light Horse Police, their jurisdictions were limited to their own people, a legal loophole that non-Indian lawbreakers exploited. But one man resolved to rein in the chaos. In March 1875, a hard-charging judge named Isaac Parker assumed the bench of the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, just across the eastern border of Indian Territory. More than 100 murders had been committed in Indian Territory during his predecessor's three-year tenure, and Parker was determined to restore law and order.

• 9:46Lindsay Graham?

  To that end, he set out to recruit 200 deputy U.S. Marshals, though he only managed to convince 50 to enlist. This small force would be tasked with curbing crime across 75,000 square miles of rugged frontier. It was an area roughly the same size of all of New England, and it made Fort Smith the largest federal jurisdiction in the U.S. But part of what made the Marshals' task so daunting was the complex overlap of federal and tribal jurisdictions. While tribal police handled crimes involving their own citizens, they could not arrest white or black non-citizens who were in Indian Territory either as renters of Indian land or intruders. It would be up to the deputy marshals operating out of Fort Smith

• 10:29Lindsay Graham?

  to handle the prosecution of crimes committed by these non-tribal citizens, as well as crimes committed by tribal members against non-Indians. But despite the complexity, the Marshals Parker recruited wasted no time getting to work. They began pursuing suspects for crimes including murder, robbery, and railroad sabotage. But because alcohol was outlawed in Indian Territory, 80% of the cases at Fort Smith ended up being liquor-related. So to stem the flow of the illegal booze, marshals targeted the bootleggers who bought whiskey in Arkansas or Texas and smuggled it into the territory, reselling it to Indians for 10 times the price. And in the face of a seemingly endless stream of offenders, Judge Parker set about ruthlessly enforcing the law,

• 11:13Lindsay Graham?

  believing that the certainty of punishment was key to fighting crime. During his time on the bench, he boasted a 70% conviction rate, and he would ultimately sentence 160 criminals to death in executions that became public spectacles, earning him the name "The Hanging Judge." And it was in 1875 that Bass Reeves became one of Parker's first recruits and one of the first black men to wear the Marshals' badge. Thanks to his skill with weapons, his knowledge of Indian languages, and his tracking abilities, Reeves was an ideal candidate for the role, and he and Judge Parker bonded over their shared mission. According to Reeves' great-nephew, Parker and Reeves "developed a very close working relationship" in spite of the widely diverse backgrounds,

• 11:57Lindsay Graham?

  one a slave, one a former congressman. Instead, it was based upon their overriding sense of duty and responsibility. His great-nephew credited Reeves' strong Christian faith as the foundation of his moral principles and his dedication to the rule of law. But Reeves stood out among the deputy marshals not just because of his race. At 6'2", he cut an imposing figure and was known for his immense strength and booming laugh. He rode a large stallion and carried two Colt revolvers on his belt, but his preferred weapon was his Winchester rifle. Still, despite his striking appearance, he couldn't catch dangerous criminals completely on his own. Federal law required deputy marshals entering Indian Territory to recruit at least one able-bodied man for backup,

• 12:41Lindsay Graham?

  known as a "posse man," a role Reeves himself had started in. These men assisted more experienced deputies while learning the ropes. And because deputy marshals and their posse men often spent months in the saddle pursuing criminals, they traveled with a supply wagon carrying food, equipment, and a cook. This allowed them to stay in the field as long as it took to apprehend suspects before transporting their chained prisoners back to Fort Smith. Reeves was also unusual among deputy marshals because, due to his childhood in slavery, he had never learned to read or write. He was able to memorize and recognize printed names, associating them with certain written documents. But to complete much of the paperwork associated with his role, he was often forced to ride long distances

• 13:24Lindsay Graham?

  to find someone who could read aloud or take his dictation. But what he lacked in administrative skills, he made up for with his creative approach to catching criminals. To get as close to suspects as possible in order to arrest them, he donned various disguises, often posing as a drifter, cowboy, preacher, or farmer. And in 1883, Reeves used one of these disguises while pursuing a ruthless fugitive named Jim Webb. Webb was the hot-headed foreman of a massive ranch in the Chickasaw Nation, where he ruled over dozens of cowboys with an iron fist. But his temper wasn't just reserved for the men who worked for him. That spring, after a black preacher at a neighboring ranch ignited a controlled burn that spread to Webb's ranch, Webb rode over and shot the preacher dead.

• 14:09Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves was alerted to the murder, and a few days later, he and a posse man rode to Webb's ranch. Disguised as cowboys passing through, they asked Webb for breakfast. It was the custom on the frontier to offer food or lodging to travelers, so Webb reluctantly agreed. But he was immediately suspicious of these two strangers.

• 14:32Lindsay Graham?

  Imagine it's a spring morning in 1883 on a large ranch in the Chickasaw Nation. You're a deputy U.S. Marshal disguised as a cowboy, and you're inside a barn feeding your horse while back at the ranch house, the cook prepares breakfast. But you're not really hungry. You're just waiting for the right moment to arrest the ranch's foreman, Jim Webb, who's leaning against a stack of hay bales across from you, watching you closely.

• 14:56Speaker 01

  Where did you say you came from? A ranch about 50 miles north of here, owned by a couple of Chickasaw brothers.

• 15:04Lindsay Graham?

  He pours a scoop of oats into a wooden trough. As your horse lowers its head to eat, you brush your hand along its neck, wondering how you managed to arrest Webb without someone getting killed or seriously wounded. Webb takes a step forward.

• 15:18Speaker 01

  And what are you doing down here? Like I said, just passing through. Run a errand for the ranch boss. A man by the name of Keller. Ever heard of him? Sounds familiar. What sort of errand? He's got us picking up some barbed wire over in Lone Grove. I think the price is better in Oddmore. But he won't be persuaded.

• 15:40Lindsay Graham?

  You loosen the saddle on your horse, feeling the heat of Webb's gaze. You pull your rifle from the saddle and lean it against a wooden rail, hoping to convince Webb that you mean no harm.

• 15:51Speaker 01

  So how long have you worked here? About a year. What's it to you?

• 15:56Lindsay Graham?

  You're just about to respond when the sound of a bell interrupts you.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  Is that breakfast already? Sounds like it. Well then, lead the way. No, after you, I insist.

• 16:08Lindsay Graham?

  You nod uneasily and exit the barn to walk back to the house. But Webb hangs back in the doorway as his right-hand man, a cowboy who introduced himself as Frank Smith, approaches. In the reflection of the front window of the house, you can see the two of them whispering. But there's not much you can do, so you join your posse man on the front steps of the ranch house.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  This is gonna be our only opportunity. When I give the signal, you jump Smith. I'll take Webb.

• 16:38Lindsay Graham?

  He nods, and the two of you walk up the steps. Your finger twitches over the revolver on your belt. You know that you're walking on a razor's edge, and that if your timing isn't perfect, both of you will end up dead.

• 16:54Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves and his posse men joined Jim Webb and his right-hand man Frank Smith for a tense breakfast. After they were done eating, the group went out into the adjoining hallway. Reeves continued making conversation, hoping not to alarm Webb, who was clutching his pistol. But when Webb looked away for just a moment, Reeves knocked Webb's gun out of his hand, drew his own revolver, and jammed it into Webb's face. But the other man, Frank Smith, had the opportunity to fire at Reeves twice. He missed both shots before Reeves dropped him with a single bullet. So with his right-hand man down and Reeves' hand around his throat, Webb surrendered. Reeves hauled both men back to face justice. Along the way, Smith died of his gunshot wound. But over the next year,

• 17:39Lindsay Graham?

  Webb remained locked behind bars in the federal jail at Fort Smith, awaiting trial for murder. This jail, known as "Hell on the Border", was little more than two cramped basement rooms that held as many as 150 prisoners at a time. Eventually, Webb's friends secured his release on bail. But by the time the trial was set to begin, Webb was nowhere to be found. Determined to finish the job, Reeves swung back into his saddle and began his manhunt.

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• 19:48Lindsay Graham?

  In June 1884, Bass Reeves and a possum set out from Fort Smith, Arkansas, in pursuit of their fugitive rancher Jim Webb. He had fled while awaiting trial for the murder of a black preacher. And after days of hard riding across 200 miles of the Chickasaw Nation, Reeves and his possum finally caught up with Webb at a general store in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains. Reeves's possum peered through a store window and spotted Webb, then motioned to Reeves. But when Reeves dashed up on horseback moments later, Webb caught sight of him and bolted, leaping through a window on the opposite side of the store. As Webb ran for his horse, Reeves whipped around and cut him off.

• 20:28Lindsay Graham?

  Webb sprinted toward a clump of bushes, then turned around and opened fire on Reeves. Reeves later recalled, "Before I could drop off my horse, his first bullet cut off a button of my coat. His second shot cut my bridal ring in two." So quickly, Reeves slid down from his saddle, steadied his Winchester rifle, and pulled the trigger twice. Both shots hit their mark, and Webb fell to the ground. Onlookers watched as Reeves approached the dying man, who reportedly told him, "I want you to accept my revolver as a present. With it, I've killed 11 men, four of them in Indian Territory, and I expected you to be the 12th." Reeves had skillfully taken down his suspect.

• 21:09Lindsay Graham?

  But by killing Webb, he had lost any chance of earning a fee for his capture. Deputy marshals like Reeves were paid through a fee system instead of an annual salary, earning money only when they successfully served papers or delivered prisoners to court. But the prisoners had to be alive. That was usually not a problem. At a time when the typical deputy marshal earned roughly $500 a year, Reeves earned an average of $3,000 to $4,000 due to his frequent arrests, making him one of the highest-paid deputies in the Fort Smith Court. And while Reeves preferred to make arrests without drawing his gun, he was not above using lethal force when fugitives resisted or when his own life was at risk. So although he would receive no payment for killing Webb, he took comfort that there

• 21:54Lindsay Graham?

  was one less dangerous outlaw roaming Indian Territory. And the arrests kept coming. Two months after he shot and killed Webb, Reeves brought 15 prisoners to Fort Smith. One of them was the notorious outlaw Chub Moore, a Chickasaw Indian accused of inciting a lynch mob against a black man. It was a rare instance of a black law enforcement officer arresting a suspect for the crime of lynching, an outcome virtually unthinkable anywhere outside of Indian Territory. And by September 1885, Reeves's reputation loomed large enough that the infamous outlaw Belle Starr, one of the most notorious women in the West, voluntarily surrendered at Fort Smith after hearing that Reeves had a warrant for her arrest. It was the only time she ever turned herself in.

• 22:39Lindsay Graham?

  But as Bass Reeves's legend grew, he began to face scrutiny. In the fall of 1885, following the election of Democratic President Grover Cleveland, the Republican U.S. Marshal overseeing Reeves's district was removed from office. He was replaced by John Carroll, a Democrat and former Confederate officer, who soon began investigating an old incident involving Reeves. Back in the spring of 1884, Reeves had been traveling to Fort Smith with a wagonload of prisoners when one evening, he discharged his rifle beside a campfire. The bullet from the rifle struck a black cook named William Leach in the neck. Soon after, Leach died from his wound.

• 23:19Lindsay Graham?

  The shooting was deemed an accident, until January 1886, when Carroll suddenly reopened the investigation. Imagine it's January 1886, a bitterly cold morning in Van Buren, Arkansas. You're a deputy U.S. Marshal, and you're trudging up the icy front steps to a small farmhouse. With a deep sigh, you knock on the front door. You shift uneasily from one foot to the other until finally, the door swings open, and your fellow deputy Bass Reeves appears in the doorway. He tilts his head in surprise.

• 23:53Speaker 01

  Good morning. Morning, Bass. Well, come on in. Jenny just put on a pot of coffee. That's all right. I'm afraid I'm not here for a social visit.

• 24:04Lindsay Graham?

  You pull a piece of paper out of your coat. Recognition dawns on Reeves's face as he takes in the familiar seal in the corner.

• 24:11Speaker 01

  What do you have there? There's no easy way to say this. It's a warrant for your arrest, Bass. My arrest? I don't understand. You've been charged with the murder of William Leach in the Chickasaw Nation in April 1884. This must be some sort of mistake. That was nearly two years ago, and it was all cleared up. Leach's death was an accident. The new marshal in charge doesn't see it that way. Did you say I'm being brought in for murder?

• 24:41Lindsay Graham?

  You nod and read from the warrant in your hands.

• 24:45Speaker 01

  It says, "Bass Reeves in the Indian Country, within the Western District of Arkansas, on or about the 10th day of April 1884, did feloniously, willfully, and premeditatedly kill and murder William Leach." Hold on, there was no premeditation about it. My gun went off accidentally. Well, why not a manslaughter charge? And why is all this happening now? I don't know. And I'm sorry, but you're being dismissed from the marshal's service, and I'm going to have to bring you in.

• 25:18Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves's wife emerges from the kitchen, her expression filled with concern. Reeves glances back toward her.

• 25:24Speaker 01

  Don't worry, honey. I'm going to straighten everything out.

• 25:28Lindsay Graham?

  Then he turns back to you.

• 25:29Speaker 01

  You're not going to cuff me, are you? I'd rather not.

• 25:35Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves grabs his hat from a hook beside the door and instinctively reaches for his badge and pistol before thinking better of it. He shakes his head as he follows you out the door. He may not realize it yet, but you're almost certain that Reeves will never wear the badge again. In January 1886, Reeves was charged with the murder of the posse cook William Leach. He was placed in federal jail at Fort Smith, held behind the same bars where he had sent his own prisoners. U.S. Marshal John Carroll never gave a reason for reopening the investigation into Leach's death, which led to many suspecting the decision was racially or politically motivated. But others took the opportunity to vilify America's most famous black lawman.

• 26:20Lindsay Graham?

  A Little Rock, Arkansas newspaper declared that Reeves was "in league with some of the worst cutthroats and outlaws in Indian Country." His hometown newspaper in Van Buren, Arkansas concluded that he had carried out "a foul murder, committed in pure wantonness." And the paper also took the opportunity to slander Reeves's character, accusing him of extorting small sums of money from prisoners and having made an insulting proposal to a white woman, a familiar accusation often leveled against black men in the Jim Crow South. Several months passed before Reeves managed to pay the $3,000 bond securing his release from jail while awaiting trial. And while the proceedings moved forward, a white juror named A.J. Boyd confronted him in the streets of Fort Smith.

• 27:03Lindsay Graham?

  He tapped Reeves on the shoulder with his walking cane and began aggressively questioning him about the case. According to Reeves, when he refused to discuss the charges, Boyd threatened his life, declaring, "Yes, I am a jurymen, and if you want to save your neck, you'd better make a statement to me, you damn black son of a bitch. I'm just as certain to break your neck as I have this cane in my hand. Me and three others have got it in for you." Reeves reported this incident and Boyd was ordered to appear before Judge Isaac Parker, the same judge who had recruited Reeves into the marshal service and was now tasked with overseeing his trial. Boyd insisted that he was drunk and had no memory of the confrontation, but Parker declared him guilty of contempt of court and dismissed him from the jury.

• 27:46Lindsay Graham?

  More than a year went by before Reeves' trial finally began in October 1887. Under the watchful eye of Judge Parker, prosecutors called 11 witnesses to the stand, nine of whom had been arrested by Reeves himself for criminal offenses. The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of two witnesses who declared that Reeves intentionally shot Leach during a heated argument over the Cook's dog. But upon cross-examination, one of the witnesses admitted that Reeves and Leach appeared friendly before the shooting and that afterwards Reeves tended to Leach's wounds. And when Reeves took the witness stand, he insisted that the shooting had been accidental. He testified that while he had indeed argued with Leach, nothing had come of it, and he

• 28:29Lindsay Graham?

  explained that the shooting occurred when he was clearing a jammed cartridge in his Winchester rifle. The gun accidentally discharged, striking Leach in the neck. He sent for a doctor, but Leach died before help arrived. The defense based their case on Reeves' lack of clear motive and his efforts to find medical help. The lawyers also called witnesses who testified to Reeves' strong character and exemplary record of service. After four days of testimony, the jury declared Reeves not guilty. But his life would never be the same. He'd been out of work for nearly two years, and between that and legal expenses, he had depleted his life savings. He was forced to sell his home in Van Buren and move his family to a smaller house on the outskirts of Fort Smith.

• 29:12Lindsay Graham?

  And despite his high earnings in the years leading up to the trial, he would never recover financially. But he was reinstated as a deputy U.S. Marshal, and soon he was back in the saddle, tracking horse thieves, murderers, and fugitives across Indian Territory. He was as fearsome as ever, but the world he was policing was fast-changing. In 1887, to encourage Indian assimilation into white society through farming and land ownership, Congress began carving up Indian Territory by passing the Dawes Severalty Act. This act divided communal tribal land into individual 160-acre plots. While the act was intended to deed land to citizens of Indian Territory, surplus plots were open to non-natives.

• 29:55Lindsay Graham?

  So in 1889, the first white and black settlers were allowed onto the western part of Indian Territory, sparking a land rush. Tens of thousands of people raced to claim plots, and new towns sprang up virtually overnight. As this influx of white and black settlers flooded the region, Indian Territory began to lose its status as a refuge for displaced Indians and former slaves. And soon, Bass Reeves confronted the dawning of a new era of chaos, crime, and racial conflict.

• 30:31Speaker 04

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  in instead of going out, Wingstop was ready to tear down its rival. Make sure to follow Business Wars wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Business Wars early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

• 32:35Lindsay Graham?

  In May 1890, in the wake of the frenzied 1889 land rush, Congress officially organized the western half of Indian Territory into what it called the Oklahoma Territory. The eastern half remained Indian Territory under the domain of the five tribes. But before long, competing laws in the two territories fostered chaos on the border. While alcohol was banned in Indian Territory under federal law, Oklahoma Territory permitted it. Saloon towns quickly sprang up on the border, with one settler recalling how they were filled with gamblers, bootleggers, killers, and any kind of outcast. Bass Reeves, now in his early 50s, was cross-deputized to work under federal jurisdiction in both

• 33:16Lindsay Graham?

  territories, where he faced the challenge of maintaining law and order across an increasingly volatile frontier. Nevertheless, he fearlessly patrolled the corner. This was one of the most notorious border towns just across from the Seminole and Chickasaw nations, where the ground was often littered with empty cartridge shells. On one occasion, Reeves killed a young gunslinger who challenged him to a saloon fight and wounded Reeves in the leg. When a doctor arrived on the scene and asked Reeves what had happened, Reeves replied, "He was real fast, but like a lot of them, he couldn't shoot both fast and straight." In this period of change, as a black marshal pursuing white outlaws, Reeves was forced

• 33:57Lindsay Graham?

  to carefully navigate the racial dynamics that shaped every arrest and confrontation. During one tense encounter inside a Tulsa general store, Reeves persuaded an armed white criminal to surrender his guns without bloodshed by calmly telling him, "You are a white man, and I am a Negro. White men do not like to give up to a Negro." Then, rather than take the guns himself, Reeves asked the man to give them up to the white owner of the general store, declaring, "When you're ready to leave town, he'll give them back to you." The outlaw complied. During this period, using tactics that he'd honed over more than a decade as a marshal, Reeves captured some of the most notorious outlaws in the region. Stories of his exploits spread throughout the frontier.

• 34:39Lindsay Graham?

  And in June 1891, a Texas newspaper editor declared him "the most successful marshal that rides in the Indian country." While the editor also included racist descriptions of his appearance, he affirmed that Reeves was "a holy terror to the lawless characters in the West." In the late 1890s, Reeves was reassigned to the northern district of Indian Territory, and he and his family moved to the town of Muskogee. As Congress continued breaking up Indian Territory, non-native settlements surged and Reeves' duties shifted. He spent less time chasing fugitives across the prairie and more time policing rapidly growing towns where white settlers clashed with black pioneers.

• 35:19Lindsay Graham?

  In May 1902, he and a fellow deputy arrested 15 white men and nine black men accused of taking part in a so-called "race war" in the nearby town of Bragg's. Racial prejudice was an inescapable part of Reeves' job, so whenever he could, he avoided entanglement with white suspects, choosing to focus his efforts on black and Native American criminals. He sometimes struggled to find white men to work with him, too. And when he tried to hire one resident as a guard in his posse, the man refused, explaining that he didn't think a white man should work for a Negro. But in 1902, Reeves was placed in his most painful position yet, when his duty as a lawman collided with his duty as a father.

• 36:03Lindsay Graham?

  Imagine it's June 1902. You're the chief US marshal in Indian Territory, and you're sitting in your office in Muskogee, catching up on paperwork. For two days, a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Reeves, the 21-year-old son of Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves, has sat on your desk. You know you need to bring Benjamin in, but you also know that none of your deputies want to go after the son of a man as well-liked as Reeves. So you're caught a little flat-footed when the elder Reeves enters your office.

• 36:32Speaker 01

  Afternoon, Marshal. You busy? I've got some new information on the Delaney Gang. Those cattle thieves terrorizing the creeks. A witness saw them hold up a stagecoach two days ago. Why don't you sit down, Reeves?

• 36:47Lindsay Graham?

  You gesture to the seat across from your desk, but he ignores your request.

• 36:51Speaker 01

  What is it? It's about Benjamin. You see, I'm afraid he's shot and killed his wife. He's been charged with murder. He's a fugitive somewhere in the Territory.

• 37:03Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves's eyes blink rapidly as he processes this news. You've never seen him so shaken. You avert your gaze, staring down at the arrest warrant on your desk.

• 37:13Speaker 01

  Of course, you understand that we'll need to make an arrest.

• 37:16Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves takes a step forward, his posture stiffening.

• 37:19Speaker 01

  Give me the warrant. What? No. I'll have another deputy go after Benjamin. You need to go home. Go be with your family. It's my son you want, and it's my responsibility to bring him in. You don't have to do this. Yes, I do. No one expects you to arrest your own son. We all understand that family comes first. But see, that's where you're wrong. Nothing comes before the law. Now, give me the warrant. I'll bring him in.

• 37:51Lindsay Graham?

  Reeves takes the arrest warrant from your desk and stares at the name on it, shaking his head in disbelief. You'll almost reach back for it, but truth be told, you're relieved you won't have to assign the job to someone else. Without another word, Reeves walks out of your office, clearly determined to honor his commitment to the badge.

• 38:13Lindsay Graham?

  When Bass Reeves learned that a warrant had been issued for his son, he insisted on making the arrest himself, causing the local newspaper to commend Reeves's devotion to duty above all else. After he was brought in, Benjamin Reeves was tried and sentenced to life in prison. But Benjamin's imprisonment was not the first hardship to strike the Reeves family. Two of Reeves's sons had already found themselves on the wrong side of the law, sentenced to prison for perjury. By 1903, his eldest son had been killed in a railway accident, and his wife Jenny and two other sons had died of disease. Despite this string of personal tragedies, though, by the time Reeves was in his late 60s, he was still a formidable force in Muskogee. And in March 1907, he received national attention

• 38:58Lindsay Graham?

  when The Washington Post profiled him, crediting him for acting as a potent element in bringing two territories out of the reign of the outlaw, the horse thief and bootlegger. But only a few months later, political forces brought Reeves's long career to an end. In November 1907, the Oklahoma and Indian Territories merged, becoming the State of Oklahoma. With state officers assuming responsibility for law enforcement, there was no longer a need for a large federal police force, and Reeves found himself out of a job. Additionally, after statehood, Jim Crow segregation took hold in Oklahoma. Black men were relegated to serving as so-called Negro police, restricted to only arresting black citizens. Reeves took a job with the Muskogee City Police,

• 39:43Lindsay Graham?

  patrolling black neighborhoods with a cane, still limping from the border saloon gunfight years earlier. And it wasn't long before his overall health began to fail. On January 10, 1910, Reeves died from a kidney condition at the age of 71. Obituaries chronicled his remarkable 32-year career in the marshal service, reporting that he brought more than 3,000 fugitives to justice. The Muskogee Phoenix declared, "Black-skinned, illiterate, and the offspring of slaves, Bass Reeves was a unique character, absolutely fearless and knowing no master but duty. The placing of a writ in his hands meant that the letter of the law would be fulfilled. He offered a lesson in courage, honesty, and faithfulness to official duty."

• 40:26Lindsay Graham?

  Bass Reeves emerged from a life in slavery to become one of the most famous black lawmen of the West on a frontier that offered a unique opportunity to a man of his race. Committed to making Indian Territory safe, he navigated a complicated racial landscape with courage and cunning. In the decades after his death, his exploits were overlooked in tales of the West that focused on white cowboys and gunslingers. But during his lifetime, his name carried weight across the Indian Territory, striking fear in the hearts of outlaws and earning him the respect of his fellow lawmen. His legacy reflects a history of the West that was far more diverse and complex than most popular legends admit.

• 41:07Lindsay Graham?

  From Audible Originals, this is episode three of our five-part series on frontier legends for American history tellers. On the next episode, after earning a fearsome reputation as the mastermind of a gang of outlaws known as the Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy leads lawmen on an international manhunt to find him and his partner, the Sundance Kid.

• 41:30Lindsay Graham?

  American History Tellers is only possible because of listeners like you. So thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com.

• 42:05Lindsay Graham?

  If you'd like to learn more about the life of Bass Reeves, we recommend Black Gun: Silver Star, The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves by R. T. Burton. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsay Graham, for Airship. This episode is written by Ellie Stanton, edited by Dorian Marina. Senior producers Alida Rosansky and Andy Herman. Managing producer Desi Blalock. Voice acting by Ace Anderson. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazi. Music by Thrun. Sound design by Molly Bach. Executive producer for Audible, Jenny Lauer Beckman. Head of creative development at Audible, Kate Maven. Head of Audible Originals North America, Marshall Louis. Chief Content Officer, Rachel Giattza. Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals LLC.

• 42:49Lindsay Graham?

  Sound recording copyright 2026 by Audible Originals LLC.

• 43:13Speaker 04

  There are books that change how you see the world, and there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, A Great Book with Barack Obama, President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and the Fire Next Time to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead, the president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership and discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create.

• 43:56Speaker 04

  Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of A Great Book with Barack Obama ad-free right now plus access each audiobook discussed in the series. Download the Audible app today.