From the gunslinging postwoman of Montana to the deputy marshal who patrolled the Plains, discover the seldom-taught stories of these icons of the American frontier.
Many stories about the Wild West depict it as a white plaza . Hollywood Westerns boast white lawmen , white outlaws , white cowboys , and bloodless women . But the honest Wild West was a place of rich diversity , and Black heroes made up an authoritative part of its fabric .
In present - day Oklahoma , California , Texas , and other places , Black Americans lay down the legal philosophy as deputy sheriff , delivered the mail as fearless postwomen , and roam the Plains as cowboys . Many were born enslaved and search the West , like their snowy countryman , for freedom .
Below , unwrap the tarradiddle of Black Wild West heroes like Bass Reeves , the audacious deputy of Indian Territory , Buffalo soldier like Cathay Williams and Mark Matthews , and indomitable women like Mary Ellen Pleasant .
Public DomainSome believe that Bass Reeves helped inspire the fictional character of the Lone Ranger.
Bass Reeves: The Formidable Deputy Marshal Of Indian Territory
Public DomainSome conceive that Bass Reeves helped inspire the fictional part of the Lone Ranger .
In the rowdy Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of the Wild West , few property were quite as strident as Indian Territory , a stretch of 75,000 square mi in present - day Oklahoma . But a Black deputy namedBass Reeveswas dictated to lie down the law .
contain a slave in 1838 in Arkansas , Reeves escaped thralldom during the Civil War by beating up his master and fleeing to Indian Territory . There , he learned about the lay of the realm , rubbed shoulders with the Indigenous Creek and Seminole people , and hone his skill with a rifle .
Public DomainBass Reeves, far left, standing with a group of fellow lawmen in 1907.
And when a judge named Isaac C. Parker showed up in the 1870s to bring the law to the lawless land , he take care to men like Reeves to get the job done . In 1875 , Reeves became a Deputy U.S. Marshal — and quickly develop to work .
deputise , Reeves prove himself as an effectual law officer . originative — and as wily as the criminals he hunted — he lead off stop scores of want humankind .
Public DomainBass Reeves , far left , abide with a group of fellow peace officer in 1907 .
“ Reeves would round up 12 of malefactor at a time — 12 , 15 , 16 — while most deputy marshal brought in four or five at a time , ” Art Burton , the author ofBlack Gun , Silver Star , told theWashington Post .
Sometimes , Reeves disguised himself as a farmer or a preacher to fool crook . Other times , he pretended to be a simpleton so that outlaws would rent down their safety . And often , Reeves simply trust on his skill as a marksman . Once , he shot a fleeing outlaw from a quarter - mile away .
“ Bass Reeves is the most successful marshal that rides in the Indian country , ” rave theDaily Arkansas Gazettein 1891 . “ He … is a holy holy terror to the outlaw characters in the Dame Rebecca West … It is likely that in the past few year he has taken more prisoners , from the Indian Territory , than any other officer . ”
It ’s no admiration why some think that Rand , who died in 1910 at age 71 , inspired the adventurous tales of the fictional Lone Ranger .
