In 1875, Bass Reeves was made a deputy U.S. Marshal, the first time a black man had been made Marshal west of the Mississippi. Reeves quickly became the most feared man in the Indian Territory,
a ΓÇ£badlandsΓÇ¥ area known for harboring many of the most desperate fugitives in the country. Reeves, quick on the draw and an expert marksman, was also a master of disguise, and his ability to go ΓÇ£undercoverΓÇ¥ and bring criminals to justice without gunplay was a source of great pride for the lawman. In his thirty-two year career he made over three thousand arrests while only killing fourteen men, extraordinary numbers to be sure. Reeves, a father of ten, died peacefully in 1912, and, as an obituary written at the time stated, ΓÇ£Bass Reeves has a place in the front rank among those who cleaned out the Indian TerritoryΓÇ¥. Ironically, ReevesΓÇÖ legend was such that a major motion picture, ΓÇ£Hang ΓÇÿEm HighΓÇ¥, was made based on his life, but ReevesΓÇÖ name was changed and the part was played by a white man, some guy named Clint Eastwood.
