The incredible story of the slave who became a sheriff

Some of the milestones in Bass Reeves’ life might take the imagination to unexpected places. Argentine readers would quickly draw links between her life and that of some copies of the 19th century Argentine literaturewhose echoes never seem to want to subside.

Bass would have some points of contact with the Miguelito of Lucio V. Mansilla, the white man who chose the land of the Ranqueles in his flight from justice, or with Fierrothe famous gaucho of José Hernández, especially at the moment of the poem when he leaves civilization and manages to cross the border towards inland.

However, beyond the literary attributes that his life carries, Reeves was neither Argentine nor a fictional character.

Born in Crawford County in July 1838, this man, named after his maternal grandfatherBass Washington, became one of the first African American deputy sheriffs west of the Mississippi River.

But his time had begun as another slave of the Arkansas state legislator, William Steele Reeves, whom inherits the last name. In 1846, when he was only eight years old, his master made him a servant to his son, Colonel George R. Reeves, sheriff, legislator and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

When the Civil War began, the colonel joined the Confederate States Army and took it with him as part of his belongings. Affected by living conditions and constant violence, Bass resentment was accumulating and thirst for revenge.

In what lies the fictional quality of your life? It was in 1862, during a game of cards, a favorable situation for fight between menas literature has well narrated, that Reeves finally dared to attack his master after an argument.

The expected consequences led him to decide to flee to save himself: like the same characters in literature, he did not hesitate to cross the border and abandon your old life. He escaped to Kansas and Oklahoma, which was then part of Indian Territory.

In this way, Reeves spent some years among the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole, of whom he was learning their customstheir tongue and tracking skills.

Once the Emancipation Proclamation was declared, as a freed man, Reeves returned to Arkansas, where he dedicated his days to farming near Van Buren. His life continued that course until 1875. substantial changes occur for the Indian Territory with the assumption of Isaac Parker as a federal judge, who, aware of the need to maintain order in such a vast and diverse region, appointed James F. Fagan as United States Marshal.

Among the tasks provided, he was especially tasked with hiring 200 deputy sheriffs.

The fame that Reeves had garnered after his years spent with the Indians was well known, and so it was his knowledge of the region and from the native languages ​​one of those chosen by Fagan resulted.

At 37 years old, with a slave past and a wealth of acquired experiences In the area of ​​litigation, Reeves goes down in history as the first black sheriff west of the Mississippi.

In the first instance, it dealt with protectionist tasks regarding the native reserve in the Western District of Arkansas until he was transferred in 1893 to the Eastern District of Texas in Paris, Texas, and then in 1897 to serve in the Muskogee Federal Court on Indian land.

For 32 years, he stood out as a federal peace officer in that territory, becoming one of the most respected sheriffs of Judge Parker, and was in charge of capturing the most dangerous criminals of his time.

Their forms of action stand out for their exceptional skill and courage. Despite facing extremely dangerous situationswas never injured, even when bullets grazed his hat and belt on two separate occasions.

Although he earned a reputation as an expert marksman, both with rifle and revolver, his mastery was not limited to marksmanship but had also developed detective skills so impressive that they contributed greatly to its success.

But it was his true commitment to justice that made Reeves’ an admirable life to count. One obvious case was when he had to arrest his own son, Benjamin “Bennie” Reeves, for the murder of his wife.

Despite the mixed feelings regarding this fact, Reeves did not hesitate to proceed ethically and enforce the law, to the point that the stories that emerged indicate that It was Bass himself who captured his son Benniesentenced to 11 years in prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

This episode reveals Bass Reeves’ integrity and sense of duty, values ​​that guided his entire career. Another notable episode, which was presented as a great challenge, was the moment when he himself was accused of murdering a cook. At his trial before Judge Parker and represented by his friend WHH Clayton, a former United States attorney, Reeves confessed that he had mistakenly shot the man while he was cleaning his gun.

Despite the accusations against him, he was definitively acquitted, and it is likely that his impeccable reputation as a deputy sheriff as well as the trust the community had in him.

When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Bass Reeves, now 68, joined the Muskogee Police Department as an officer, where he served for two years. after a while the time has come for his retirement and by then Bass had amassed an enormous record of thousands of arrests (some sources mention more than 3,000).

According to his obituary, he is also credited with 14 lethal confrontations in self-defense. Advanced age and the last steps of a life journey that gave him no respite coincide with the appearance of first signs of his illness. She suffered severe back pain, followed by vomiting and fever, which gave the tone of chronic discomfort.

Over time, his body began to swellfirst lightly on his face and then more noticeably throughout his body, even making it difficult for him to breathe.

Other clinical symptoms were decreased urination, darkening of the urine and traces of blood. Finally, laboratory studies confirmed the unusual presence of albumin and blood cells. The consequent anemia and metabolic acidosis worsened his health condition and had no choice but to withdraw.

On January 12, 1910, Bright’s disease (that’s what the disorder is called) took the life of this cowboy from the American West, who, bridging distances, continents, nationalities and historical contextsshares notable characteristics with the Argentine gaucho.

They are personalities (real and literary) that emerge in moments of colonization during territorial expansion and delimitation, historical-political processes where they played fundamental roles for the formation of national identity and left their mark on popular culture.

Now a legendary figure, born in slavery, forged among the Native Americans and sealed with his even-handed actions, Bass Reeves, even with his duplicities, is testimony to a life of courage and skillof personal and social reparation and dedication to justice.