The legend of Bass Reeves, believed to have been born in Texas or
Arkansas in 1838, towers over those who know anything of the Old West.
A former slave, he escaped into Indian terriority after knocking out
his master. Fighting Civil War battles with the Creek and Seminole
Indians, he would come to know the great Indian territories. It was
that knowledge that led "Hanging" Judge Isaac C. Parker to hire him to
track down criminals in that territory (as well as western Arkansas).
This was 1875. Bass Reeves would remain a deputy U.S. Marshall for
about thirty five years. He is credited with over three thousand
arrests in that time and was forced to kill only fourteen times during
his long career.
Falling ill, Marshall Reeves retired and then passed away January 12,
1910. He was considered by many to be one of the greatest manhunters
of all time, and was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in
1992.