Something like True Grit, if Rooster Cogburn was (1) black, (2) ethical, and (3) real. Author Art Burton tells the story of Bass Reeves, deputy US Marshall working in Indian Territory before Oklahoma statehood. Unfortunately, the story isn’t told very well. This isn’t Burton’s fault; Reeves was illiterate and didn’t write anything himself; thus Burton has to depend on occasional newspaper articles and court transcripts mentioning Reeves (an attempt to get information from a local Oklahoma historical society resulted in the response “I’m sorry, we didn’t keep black people’s history”). Such basic data as Reeves’ birthdate aren’t fully established. However, what is available – almost entirely written by whites – is pretty unanimous in praise of Reeves. When sent in pursuit of outlaws, he almost always “got his man”, and was victorious in numerous battles, killing between 9 and 12 criminals in gunfights. On his death an obituary in a white newspaper praised him: “…it is lamentable that we as white people must go to this poor, simple old negro to learn a lesson in courage, honesty, and faithfulness to official duty”.

Alas, a lot of the book is necessarily verbatim transcripts of newspaper stories and court proceedings and therefore not the most exciting reading. Burton subtitled the book “a reader”, suggesting that he intended it as a starting place for more development. A large photo section – mostly of people and places in Indian Territory; only a few photos of Reeves are available. Endnotes, bibliography, and a good index. I would have like to have read a better explanation of exactly how law enforcement worked in Indian Territory; what crimes were handled by tribal police and what by Federal marshals; and how did the various tribes and the Federal government interact. ( )

Easily the most deeply researched and detailed account of US Marshal Bass Reeves, arguably the greatest Western lawman that most people have never heard of.

Unfortunately it is just a slog to get through. With little documentation about Reeves himself Burton presents a chronological account of those he arrested drawn from court testimony and contemporaneous newspaper reports.

The result is a dry, slow, and to be honest at times boring read. Even the events surrounding Bass arresting his own son for murder read just like another case file.

Disappointingly I came out of this biography not learning anything about Bass Reeves as a man beyond statistics and dry facts. ( )

excellent book! excellent narrator. Not so much a biography but rather a history of Bass done by looking at newspaper clippings, editorials etc... Author doesn't try to make up stuff to fill in the gaps, he just tells the story as it appears from clippings at the time. Author quotes lots of newspaper articles and it's a blast hearing how people back then got to satisfyin' their needs and thinkin' that someebody done them wrong and askin them to pay out goods for satisifaction. Great language.

I'm not typically a western book person but this was great. Highly recommend for any history buff even if, like me, you're not a cowboy history person. ( )

As a huge fan of the Lone Ranger TV series (I watched the reruns as a boy), imagine my surprise to discover that the character was based on the life of Bass Reeves; a runaway slave who worked for the hanging judge. This book was written more as a historical fiction than a biography and I really enjoyed the stories. ( )

Life of a black US deputy marshal serving out of Ft. Smith Ark. in the Indian Territory as it became Oklahoma. ( )