Bass Reeves: The Life and Legacy of the Wild West’s First Black Deputy Marshal

Exploration of the early American West, beginning with Lewis and Clark’s transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the era’s new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the land’s indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico and Canada. Even the great survey parties, such as Colonel William Powell’s exploration of the Colorado River, came decades later. The first views of the West’s enormity by white Americans were seen by individuals of an entirely different personality, in an era that could only exist apart from its home civilization.

In parallel with these individuals came a number of black frontiersmen who participated in the exploration of the Western terrain, said to have numbered in the dozens. Seldom heard but notable names of black figures in the West include trick rodeo rider Jesse Stahl, stunt rider and castle rustler Ned Huddleston, and Bass Reeves, the first black deputy U.S. Marshal. Isom Dart and Willie Bill Pickett also garnered some fame in the era.

Furthermore, given the segregated nature of society, it was all the more shocking that Reeves reached such a position in law enforcement. The region was known for infamous outlaws and gangs, but numerous icons in the form of tin-star bearing, gun-toting lawmen emerged, sworn to round up these anarchic and violent desperadoes and bring them to justice, dead or alive. Some of them are still well known today, such as Wyatt Earp and Sheriff Pat Garrett, a former cowboy, bartender, and customs agent best known for his slaying of Billy the Kid.