b'Reeves continued from page 45A warrant for the arrest of Bennie Reeves for the murderSadly though, Reeves may have triumphed over racism Brought up the similarities in both Reeves and the Lone of his wife was sent out, but none of the other US deputyin the Muskogee Police Department but he could neverRanger using a trusted Indian scout to help them track marshals wanted to be the lawman who took the son ofdefeat old age, infirmaries, and sickness. He woulddown the bad guys. Reeves may have had a favorite Bass Reeves into custody. Even in an age of increasingretire in 1909 after two years of walking the beat onIndian scout, but he had also used many others.racism, all of his fellow deputies admired, respected, andthe streets of Muskogee, but died at age 71, probably Stated that Reeves wrote a gray horse, the Lone Ranger loved their taciturn, straight-shooting friend enough thatfrom the same Bright\'s disease that finally did in hisrode one that was more white and Reeves was never they did not want to be the lawman that might eitherfriend and mentor Judge Parker, on January 12, 1910. Itknown to name any of his horses "Silver".arrest - or kill the son of their colleague. It was finallywould be the local Muskogee newspaper, The Phoenix Said that both Reeves and the Lone Ranger did their Bass Reeves himself who took it upon himself to bringwhich, on the date of his passing would provide autmost to bring their prisoners back alive. However, his son back into custody. Claiming it was his parentalfitting epitaph to the Bass Reeves story. "No story of thewhile this was almost always the case for the Lone responsibility to bring his son back to face justice, Reevesconflict of government officers with (Indian Territory)Ranger, Bass Reeves, as this narrative proved, did not said, "There\'s no sense in nobody else getting hurt overoutlaws can be complete without mention of the Negroalways have the luxury of "bringing them back alive." my son.I\'ll bring him in" (Fisher and O\'Reilly, pp. 124- who died yesterday"(Legends of the West, p. 51; FisherIn fact, of the five "greatest hits" mentioned, Reeves 125). A two-week pursuit followed, ending only whenand O\'Reilly, pp. 132-133). had to kill the outlaw 3/5 of the time.he found Bennie sitting by a campfire at night. Bennie Made mention of the use of silver in rewarding or would not draw a bed on a father whom he knew lovedTo reiterate what I wrote earlier in this narrative, Judgeacknowledging those who helped them. In Reeves\' him so much that he would ride out to bring him backIsaac C. Parker, in his 21 years as chief magistrate of thecase, he would drop a silver dollar off to the townsfolk in, and promptly surrendered to his father. Indian Territory had issued warrants for the arrest ofwho would direct him to find hidden fugitives. It over 13,500 outlaws and had ordered the execution, bywas, of course, the silver bullet left behind as a sort of Bennie Reeves would stand trial, be convicted, andhanging, of 88 of the condemned criminals. By contrastreward to those who helped the Lone Ranger.would be sentenced to twenty year\'s hard labor atBass Reeves, in 32 years of law enforcement, first as a Pointed out that many of those arrested by Reeves Leavenworth.A model prisoner, he would be releaseddeputy US marshal, then as a patrolman walking thewould end up incarcerated in the Detroit House of 11 years later, becoming a barber and a well-respectedstreets of Muskogee personally arrested and incarceratedCorrections.Detroit is the same town that the original citizen of his community but sadly, as a free man, heover 3,000 fugitives and was directly responsible forLone Ranger radio show was first broadcast from.would never see his father alive again (Ibid., Souter andthe killing of at least 14 outlaws. That was almost 1/4 of Souter, pp. 93-94). the arrests issued and the executions ordered by JudgeIn conclusion, it can be argued that it is nothing more Parker. Quite a legacy! than mere speculation, backed by very little if any solid As for Bass Reeves himself, the advent of Oklahomaevidence that Bass Reeves could have ever been the statehood, coupled with the sickening racism that rodeSO WAS BASS REEVES THE LONEsingular role model for the masked man who shouted, in with it, finally ended his 32-year career as a US deputyRANGER? (MY ANSWER IS A "Hi Ho Silver, Away!" at the end of each of his shows.marshal in 1907, but it did not immediately close hisQUALIFIED NO)duties as a lawman, for he remained on duty with theIn support of recent historical thought that this BlackBut equally, there can be no doubt that BlackMuskogee Police Department (his old friend Ledbetterlawman was indeed the Lone Ranger, proponents have:American Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves was one of the was now the marshal of the town and he wasn\'t about Cited the fact that Reeves was an expert tracker,greatest American lawmen who ever lived, right up there to let racism knock his old friend and dedicated partnerproficient in Indian languages and customs. with Earp, Masterson, and Hickok. The facts and there down). At 68, Bass Reeves walked the Muskogee beat Mentioned both Bass Reeves and the Lone Rangerare so many real ones, not mere speculation, do speak with the help of a cane - he never had to make an arrestused disguises to trap and catch their prisoners. for themselves. in his district.GROUNDBREAKINGFROM THEGROUND UP.Versatile. Durable. Dependable. Our tractorsare in their element in every element. WELL QUIT WHEN YOU QUIT.www.masseyferguson.usBLYTHE, CA CASA GRANDE, AZ IMPERIAL, CA SHOW LOW, AZ190 S. Intake Blvd. 8901 W. Hwy 287 3393 Highway 86 1501 E. Thornton St.760-921-9500 520-251-2087 760-355-2443 928-532-2098BUCKEYE, AZ THATCHER, AZ PRESCOTT, AZ YUMA, AZ26403 W. US Hwy 85 2574 US-70 3060 Centerpointe E. 3885 E. Gila Ridge Rd.623-925-3083 928-899-6137 928-499-6001 928-941-7997 Serving Arizona and Southwestern California2020 AGCO Corporation. Massey Ferguson is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation. AGCO and Massey Ferguson are trademarks of AGCO. 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