All language subtitles for Gunslingers.S02E04.Bass.Reeves.The.Real.Lone.Ranger.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.x264-BOOP_track3_[und]

Who is it?
Who is so hot on my trail?

Who is it?!

Bass reeves.
It's bass reeves.

My name is bass reeves...

And this is my true story

As it's never been told.

Hold it right there!

You're that lawman,
Bass reeves, ain't ya?

What's it to you?

Bass reeves never became
As famous as a bat masterson,

A wild bill hickok.

But in many ways, he was
A far more formidable lawman.

You're under arrest by
The u.S. Marshals service.

He was tenacious.
He sent 3,000 criminals to jail,

Killed 14 of them,

And this puts wyatt earp and
Billy the kid in the shade, man.

This guy's the real deal.

Now, let me see your hands
In the air.

I was born in bondage,
But I would die a lawman.

This is a former slave who had
Been told he was nothing.

He became a legend
In his own time.

Bass: I never lost a gunfight,

But my story was lost
In the history of the old west

Until a legendary character
Emerged decades later,

Avenging the innocent
On a white horse

With a black mask.

There is compelling evidence
That the lone ranger

May have been modeled on
The career of bass reeves.

Bass: but the true story is
Better than the legend.

[ gunshots ]

There were times I could have
Hung up my badge and gun,

When I was framed for murder...

You're going to hang, negro!

...Or when I had to incarcerate
My own son.

But being a lawman
Was in my blood.

The outlaws don't rest.

-aah!
-ha!

Neither can I.

He was feared by outlaws
For the same reason

He was respected
By the lawman.

He was absolutely fearless.

I am bass reeves,
Deputy marshal, at your service.

-- captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

[ gunshot ]

Bass reeves --
He worked for 32 years.

People like wyatt earp
And wild bill hickok

Were in law enforcement
For less than a decade.

If bass got your warrant,

He was going to get you
Eventually.

Bass: I was a u.S.
Deputy marshal

During the most dangerous
Decades of the west,

In the most deadly land known
To lawman, the indian territory.

The life expectancy of
A deputy marshal

In the indian territory
In the 1870s, 1880s

Was -- was very short.

It's a place that would attract
Like a magnet

All of the people that were
Intent on breaking the law.

The fugitives knew for the most
Part that there was no backup.

The deputies were on their own.

What are you doing out here?
Are your chores done?

Are those stalls cleaned?
No.

Well, get inside and eat supper
And then afterwards

You're gonna have to do it all!

Bass: I spent 32 years
Corralling outlaws

On their home turf,
And I lived to tell the tale.

My secret?

Working undercover.

And I had a built-in advantage
When it came to that.

Back in those days, no one
Figured a black man

With ratty clothes could be
A federal officer,

And I fooled them
Time and again.

There were two brothers,
And their combined warrants

Totaled $5,000,
And they had eluded capture

For an extended period
Of time.

And bass was actually sent out
On them,

And he was determined to capture
These two brothers.

Nelson: they were hiding out
At their mother's house,

And he hid his badge
And handcuffs under his coat

And shot some holes in his hat
And, um, made himself

Look to be
Someone on the run, too.

What do you want?

Excuse me, ma'am.

I'm on the run from a lawman
Who won't give up my trail,

And I could use a hot meal.

I'd -- I'd work
In exchange for it,

Only please
Don't turn me out.

If you do,
I'm sure to be captured.

Come on.

Thank you, ma'am.

Spears: she takes him in.
The boys show up.

And mama reassures them that
He's just, uh, an old black man

Coming through and he's --

The law's after him,
And no one to fear,

Someone to maybe team
Up with.

So they go to bed.

Bass handcuffed them
In their sleep.

Mother: you two-faced liar!

You rotten piece of swine!
-ma!

Your sons are under arrest
By a deputy u.S. Marshal.

They will be tried
For their crime.

You're going to rot in hell
For what you're doing

To my baby boys!

Bass marches them
Out the front door

With mama right on their tail,

Cussing him and throwing things
At him and carrying on.

Do you plan on carrying on
The whole time?

I fed you supper, you bastard!

And he marches them off
Back to justice.

You gonna like fort smith, boys,
Once we get there, that is.

That's only a day from here.

Yeah, we've got a couple of
Stops to make along the way.

Well, if you was somebody
That bass reeves,

Any of the marshals were after,
You'd want to be the last people

On the way back they captured.

Because if you were
One of the first,

You were shackled
Onto the wagon,

And you had to walk.

And we're talking about
400 miles round-trip.

Spears: there's only one court

That had jurisdiction over this
Entire indian territory.

One court, one judge,

And a band of deputies
To go out after 'em.

Bass: the prisoners I captured
Might have been miserable

On the road, chained up
Under the stars,

But the fate that awaited them
Was a thousand times worse,

The fort smith federal jail,

Also known as
"Hell on the border."

Spears:
It was built in the 1830s.

It was a flagstone floor,
Open room.

There was no toilet facilities.
It was a bucket.

Burton: it smelled atrocious.
It wasn't sanitary.

I cannot really figure out how
They held court upstairs

With the smell.

Spears: it got so bad
In the summertime,

They had the joists
In the floor packed with sawdust

To keep the smell
Out of the courtroom.

Young kids and old men
And dangerous outlaws

And people that
Were selling liquor

And people that had murdered
And raped and pillaged

Were all thrown in together.

Welcome to
"Hell on the border," boys.

Lady justice is right upstairs.

Piss off!

[ laughs, whistles ]

I always make sure I deliver
The right man to the jail,

Because the risk of depriving
A just man of his freedom

Is something I do not
Take lightly.

I, myself,
Was born into slavery

In 1838
On a plantation in arkansas.

I was the property
Of the reeves family.

Bass, at an early age, did ask
If he could learn to read.

He wanted to learn
How to read the bible.

And william steele reeves
Said, "No."

But, uh, what he did do,
Which was very unique,

Is he put bass reeves in charge
Of his arsenal.

He was really good with horses

And apparently he was
Really good with guns.

In fact, it is quite possible
That bass reeves may have been

William steele reeves' son
And that might've been, uh,

The reason for
The preferential treatment.

Bass: others may have
Had it worse,

But the truth was,
No slave had it good.

I never expected I'd ever
Breathe the air of freedom,

But then the war
With the north came...

And changed everything.

He was taken with his master
To fight for the confederacy.

Bass: I was 23
When the civil war broke out.

It was clear a change
Was comin',

And I resolved I would no longer
Submit to a life

Of forced servitude.

[ gunfire ]

He ran away and lived with
The creek and seminole indians

In the indian territory
During the civil war.

He learned the lay of the land,

And he also developed
Relationships

With many of
The native americans there.

Bass: I became a fugitive
Of the law,

Living off the land
In the chaotic,

Violent indian territory.

Nelson: it was just to be for
Native americans to live there,

Supposedly.

Unfortunately, the area
Drew outlaws as a haven.

People that are
Committing crimes,

Sometimes in other states
Or territories

Surrounding an indian territory,

Can escape the state laws by
Entering into the territory.

Outlaws thrived
In the indian territory.

Bass: when the war was over,
I was suddenly a free man

Surrounded by dangerous
And disgruntled ex-rebels.

After the civil war,
There were people

Who were the refuse
Of that war.

As we see in our wars today,
All the p.T.S.D.

And stuff of people coming back

Who had basically lost some of
Their humanity in combat.

They couldn't adjust
To peacetime,

So they became outlaws.

They kept doing what they were
Doing during the war.

Bass: after a decade of
Unchecked violence in oklahoma,

A new federal judge came
To fort smith,

The honorable isaac parker.

They decided they needed to have
A strong court presence

On the west part of arkansas,

And so they established
In fort smith.

And they just knew that if they
Could have a strong judge there

And he could send marshals
Into that territory,

They might be able to eradicate
Lawlessness.

And as it turned out,
In his first session,

Isaac parker,
The "Hanging judge,"

He tried, uh, 15 cases
Of murder,

Convicted 13,
Sentenced 8 to death,

And hung six in one day.

Bass: judge parker hired 200 new
Deputy marshals to crack down

On criminal activity
In indian territory.

I became one of the first
To ride for him.

I was perfect for the job,

Because I knew the territory
Like the back of my hand.

We needed all the advantages
We could get.

Ours was a job
Of unprecedented danger.

You think that's our men?

Only one way to find out.

The outlaws here had
The resources to stay hidden

For years, and everything to
Lose if they were caught.

In the history of marshals
Service, about 225, 230

Or so people have been killed.

It was a dangerous job.
It was a dangerous time.

Bass: the danger of the job
Fuels me,

As much as it worries my family,

But the goal is to capture,
Not to kill.

And with men who know
They are wanted,

This is always a challenge.

You fellas need two good
Cowhands today?

We work for grub.

[ spits ]

Well, come on.

I'll show you where you can
Post your horses.

-jim webb was a tough texan.
-he was wanted for murder.

Bass got the warrant
For his capture

And went to bring him in.

Spears:
Webb was very suspicious,

And he and his accomplice kept
Their guns at the ready.

Nice place you have here.
Yep.

Reeves was calculating how he
Was gonna get the jump on them.

How many head you got?

Thousand strong.

He had great survival instinct.

[ grunting ]

Bass, being a tremendous
Athlete, grabbed him,

Knocked his gun away,
And held a gun on him.

[ grunting ]

Bass: I don't blame the outlaws
For resisting arrest.

If I was one of them,
I'd probably try it, too.

Then again,
If I was one of them,

I'd probably do a better job.

My opponents
Always shoot to kill.

Unfortunately for them,
So do I.

[ gunshots ]

[ gunshot ]

I, bass reeves, was on the trail
Of the outlaw jim webb,

Wanted for the murder
Of a preacher.

I posed undercover as a cowboy
Looking for work,

But webb sniffed me out.

He knew I was there
To arrest him.

Things were about to get messy.

Nelson: people who knew
That he had their warrants

Knew that
There was a good chance

That they were going to hang,

And so they had no reason
Not to fight to the death.

[ grunting ]

Reeves was able to pull out
His own pistol

And shoot the other cowboy

While he kept his hand
On webb's throat.

He had to have been incredibly
Strong to be able to do that.

There was a lot of luck
On his side, too,

But he knew what he was doing.

Jim webb, you're under arrest

By the u.S. Marshal service
For the crime of murder.

Bass: in the 1880s,
The indian territory

Was a dangerous place
Teeming with outlaws.

On nearly every trail
Leading up to the border,

Death threats were posted
For lawmen like me.

Burton: "Bass, you're
Going to be a dead man."

"We're looking for you."

Sometimes the lawmen got killed

Sleeping in their camps
At night.

They got bushwhacked.

And there was no type of
Insurance for your family

If you got killed, so your wife
And your children

Would not get anything.

Bass: when I was first offered
The deputy marshal's job,

My wife jennie was as eager
For me to turn it down

As I was to accept it.

That's like our military
Going on deployment.

They go over there.
They're away from their family

For months at a time,

And they don't know
If they're coming back.

It's a good job.
I can do it.

Could mean a lot of money.

Months on the road, no way to
Tell if you're dead or alive.

What if you don't come back and
I have nothing for the kids?

I'll come back.

Meantime, you and the kids have
Got a roof over your head.

I don't know, bass.
Bennie needs you.

They all do.

Enough, jennie.

It's decided.

Come here.

Give me your hand.

Feel that?

[ inhales ]

[ both laugh ]

It was my duty and my honor
To ride for judge parker.

He got the nickname
The "Hanging judge"

For sentencing
Over 70 men to swing.

But he didn't believe
In the death penalty personally,

He was just following the law.

Judge parker also seemed to have
A lot in common with bass.

They were both very highly
Religious,

And they both had a very strong
Dedication to duty

And to the law,
To right a wrong.

Isaac parker, coming from
A wealthy family,

Bonded with this ex-slave

Because he really admired
His integrity.

Bass: it doesn't matter
To judge parker

That I'm illiterate.
My work speaks for itself.

And though I may not be able to
Read a single warrant

That I'm given, I always
Bring in the right man.

Nelson:
He would memorize the shapes

Of the names of each one,

And sometimes he would get up
To 30 warrants at a time.

If you asked him for
A particular name,

He could thumb through the stack
And pull out

The one you asked about.

And during the course
Of his career,

He never got a writ wrong.

He always arrested the person
That was on the warrant.

Bass:
To survive in this business,

A man's got to master the hand
He's been dealt,

Even the cards
That seem useless.

There was an occasion where bass
Used the fact that he was

Totally illiterate
To his advantage.

You fellows know about
How near town I am?

Why?
What business you got there?

Got me a claim there,
Plan on building a farm.

You look like a lawman.

A lawman? [ laughs ]

That's a good one.

No, sir.
I'm just a simple cowpoke.

You're that lawman
Bass reeves, ain't ya?

Get off that horse now!

Now!

Moncrief: he was captured
By two outlaws,

And anyone would assume
It was bass reeves' last day.

Bass: the mind can be as strong
As any rifle,

If properly employed.

In a tight spot, your wits
Are your best weapon.

Any last words, cowpoke?

Well, actually,

There's a letter that
My wife wrote to me.

It's over there
In my saddlebag.

I'd like to hear her words
As my last,

Only I can't read.

Could maybe one of you fellas
Possibly read it for me?

It'd mean so much.

"My dear bass..."

About the time he starts
Reading, "Dear bass,"

Bass turns the tables
Completely on him.

[ grunting ]

You boys was right.

I am bass reeves,
Deputy marshal, at your service.

You boys are under arrest for
Assaulting a federal officer

Of the united states.

Now let me see your hands
In the air!

Bass: when I get a writ
For an outlaw's arrest,

His delivery to jail
Is guaranteed.

But what happens from there
Is out of my hands.

Sometimes the very same men
I put away

End up back on the lam.

Such was the case with jim webb.

A year after I put him
Behind bars,

He posted a $17,000 bond
And disappeared into the wind,

And I got the pleasure
Of hunting him again.

Bass found him at a little place
Called bywater store,

Which was like a little trading
Post, in the chickasaw nation.

-morning, chief.
-hey, jim.

I got this awful stomach pain.
What you got for that?

Hmm. How 'bout
Some blood bitters?

Oh, damn.

I'll be back!

Jim webb, you hold it
Right there!

This time there was no way
Jim webb would come back

To "Hell on the border,"
And so he turned around

And started shooting.

[ gunshots, horse whinnies ]

One bullet hit his saddle horn,

One bullet clipped
A button off his coat.

Shot a hole in bass' hat.

Bass: it's been said that
Starting a gunfight

With me is akin to suicide.

It's just sad that fellas still
Want to see for themselves.

[ click ]

[ gunshots ]

¶

[ gunshots ]

Jim webb,
You hold it right there!

Bass: the notorious murderer
Jim webb had skipped bail

And decided he had enough
Of "Hell on the border."

I, deputy marshal bass reeves,

Had already captured him once.

But this time, he was determined
To avoid jail or die trying.

Reeves pulled his winchester
Out of the scabbard...

[ click ]
...And shot webb at 500 yards.

[ click ]

[ scream echoes ]

[ grunts ]

They said both bullets landed

Within a hand's width
Of each other.

[ pants, groans ]

Throw your revolver
Away from you! Now!

Reeves, take it.

[ sighs ]

I killed 11 men with that.

You were going to be my 12th.

[ breathing heavily ]

You're a brave man, reeves.

[ exhales twice ]

Webb told bass that he was
A brave, brave man,

And would he take his holster
As a salute to him?

And that's the story
Of the bad guy jim webb

And one of the greatest
Gunfights I've ever heard of.

Bass: reports of that shoot-out

And many others that ended
The same way

Propelled me to the top of
The outlaws' most wanted list.

But it wasn't just the outlaws
Who put a target on my back.

There were some powerful lawmen
Who didn't like the idea

Of a famous black deputy.

And a few years later,

It was I who wound up
In "Hell on the border,"

On a trumped up charge
Of murder,

Surrounded by the criminals
I'd locked up.

How does it feel to be back
In chains, reeves?

You gon' hang, negro!

Boggs: he's in prison with men
That he sent to prison,

And I think most cops
Will tell you

That's their worst fear --

To go to prison with people
That you've put there.

Because they're going to not
Be very nice.

And fort smith dungeon is really
No place for anyone to be.

Bass: I was patient, though,

Because I knew it would only be
A matter of time

Before my side of the story
Was heard.

William leach was a cook
That was hired by bass reeves

To accompany him into
The indian territory.

And on one particular trip,

They were out in the chickasaw
Nation, and reeves was upset.

The beans are burnt again,
Leach.

I don't hear anyone else
Complaining.

He is right, you know.
These beans are something awful.

Shh.

We'll see if I bring you
On the road again.

See if I don't say "No."

While this conversation was
Going on, he was trying

To dislodge a bullet that had
Got caught in the gun barrel.

[ gunshot ]

The gun accidentally went off
And shot the cook in the neck.

Send for a doctor.

That bastard is going to
Hang for it this time.

[ laughs ]

It was probably an accident.

Nkokheli: this new marshal,
Who was a former confederate,

Decided to bring bass up
On charges two years later,

And was successful
In getting bass arrested.

Bass: I never believed that
My arrest was really about

The death of william leach.

No one cared what had happened
Back in '84.

In '86, that was the first time

That a former confederate
Officer

Became the u.S. Marshal
For the fort smith court.

They were getting rid of all
The black deputies and officials

That had been appointed during
Reconstruction, so this was

The way they were going to
Get rid of bass.

Why don't you tell us what
Happened, in your own words?

I was attempting to get
My rifle clear,

And during the process,

The round accidentally
Discharged and leach was hit.

And that's what happened.

He had to sell everything he had
To raise the money

To raise bond
And to pay his lawyers.

The prosecution argues
That he did it intentionally,

That it had been some resentment

And heated words between
The cook and reeves.

And they're going to bring in
People to testify that,

You know, it was
Cold-blooded murder.

The prosecuting attorney
Actually tried to use

Some of the fugitives
That bass reeves

Had captured as witnesses
Against bass reeves.

But the wife of one of the
Prisoners who was on the trip,

She gave real good testimony,
Which helped vindicate reeves.

In the case of the government
Versus bass reeves

For the charge of murder,
The court finds you...

Not guilty, mr. Reeves.

Dismissed.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Back to work then?

There's nothing I'd like
More, sir.

Bass: once again, it was
Judge parker who saved my life,

This time by defying
The powerful forces

Who had sought to bring me down.

Unfortunately for them, my time
As a lawman was not up.

I don't care
How much it costs,

All that matters is that
You're home.

Not just yet, jennie.

I got two dozen writs
To serve.

-but bass!
-father.

He told his family he was
Going to go back out

And continue making a living to
Support them and to do the work

He knew he was cut out to do.

All I could think about
When I was in that dungeon

Was getting back
On the road again,

Making sure that the people who
Really deserve to be there are.

Being able to provide
For you again.

Provide?

These boys need a father
More than money,

And I need a husband.

You could get a job here.

When is it going to be enough?

Jennie, the outlaws don't rest.

Neither can I.

Nkokheli: what did bass do

After being falsely accused
Of murder?

He took up his commission,
His badge,

A handful of writs, and went
Right back to service.

He wasn't going to let them win
By forcing him out of his job.

There's no resentment.

I mean, he comes back, he pins
On that star again

And he keeps doing his job.

I'm not sure I'd do that.

Bass: as the turn of
The 20th century drew near,

There were as many bad men
As ever lurking

In the indian territory,

And one in particular, whose
Writ I had carried for years,

Bob dozier.

He was the kind of outlaw
Who scared other outlaws.

When you consider all
The criminals,

He was one of the worst.

Bass: he was the kingpin
Of a criminal empire

Who was known to torture men
For information.

He just didn't kill people,
He robbed stagecoaches,

You know, he robbed cattle.

He did everything he could.

Well, he was kind of the
Precursor to organized crime

In indian nation,

And, uh, he was, because of
That, hard to find.

I'm running out
Of patience, son.

Now, one last time before I use
This as an ear cleaner.

Who is it?

Who is so hot on my trail?

Who is it?!

[ sizzling ]
Ah! Ah! Ah!

[ groans ]

It's bass reeves.
It's bass reeves.

I don't know if it's true,
But that's what I heard.

Well, now see?

That wasn't so hard
After all, was it?

[ sizzling ]
Ah! Aah!

[ laughs ]

He was able to elude
All of the deputy marshals

For an extended period of time,
Very cunning.

Bass: but evidently not cunning
Enough to elude yours truly.

You bass reeves?
The lawman?

What's it to you?

I have a message
From bob dozier.

He knows it's you after him.

He says you'll be a dead man
If you keep pursuing him.

Bob dozier had sent somebody
Ahead to say,

"If you come on after me,
I'm gonna kill you."

[ laughing ]

Bass basically said, "Well,
I guess, take your best shot."

He wasn't gonna turn back.

You tell bob dozier he'll have
To quit running to kill me.

And I'll be ready at any time
To give him that opportunity.

Hyah! Hyah!

Bass: idle threats
Don't scare me.

They only motivate me
All the more,

Particularly
When I'm closing in.

All I had to do to find the man
Was follow his messenger.

Bass had tracked him
Into the cherokee hills,

Into the woody area.

Moncrief: it was hard to see,
A lot of trees.

Bass had his posseman with him,

And was suddenly shot at.

[ gunshot ]

They started firing back.

[ gunshot ]
Bass tried to return fire,

But really couldn't see
His target well enough.

The next time the flare
Of the gun went off...

Bass went down.

¶

[ gunshot ]

Bass: for years,
The writ I carried

For the notorious outlaw
Bob dozier

Had been burning a hole
In my pocket.

I had never been closer to him
Than I was in that forest,

Deep in the indian territory.

He was quick and crafty,
But he had one key weakness --

Arrogance --
And I exploited it.

Bob dozier came out from his
Hiding spot, confident, happy

That he had hit his target.

Dozier can't believe his luck
That he shot

The famed black marshal,
Bass reeves.

So he's walking up on the body
And laughing

Because he's thinking, "Man,
I've built my reputation.

I've shot bass reeves."

I told you, you ignorant
Black bastard,

I was going to kill you if
You ever caught up to me.

Bob dozier was quite amused
At this turn of events,

But this time I knew that
I would have the last laugh.

Bob dozier came up to check
On his kill

And when he got too close...

Bob dozier
Ended up the one dead.

Dozier foolishly assumed
He had gotten him.

Reeves was just, you know,
Pretending.

And that's the first
And last encounter

That they had together.

Bass: there is no outlaw
Or warrant that I fear,

No writ that I will refuse.

But there once was one that
I couldn't help but dread.

Oh, good to see you, deputy.

Bass, I've got something here
That I don't know about

Showing to you, a writ.

[ laughs ]
Come on now, sam.

Since when am I afraid
Of a writ?

I didn't want to have
To do this,

But none of the other
Deputies would take it.

And although bass
Could not read,

He looked at the paper
And was able

To make out the word reeves.

It's bennie.

It was an arrest warrant
For his own son.

Bennie?

He was wanted for murder.

I'm sorry. Apparently there was
Some altercation with his wife.

Nobody wanted to pick up
The warrant,

None of the other deputies,
Because they knew bass.

They respected him.

Bass: suddenly, I was forced to
Choose between upholding the law

Or protecting my family.

The choice was clear, but that
Doesn't mean it was easy.

He takes the writ
And goes after his own son.

Bass: my thoughts raced as
I rode in pursuit of my son.

Nelson: bennie reeves' wife had
Been unfaithful to him before.

When ben found her with someone
Else again,

He lost control.

He ended up shooting his wife.

I think this is something
I need to do for myself.

Bass: it was bennie
Who pulled the trigger,

But I can't say my conscience
Was entirely clear.

Bass felt real guilty about
It because bass had advised

His son on one previous occasion
That maybe, uh, you might need

To take a stronger hand
With your wife.

It was probably my fault,
Really.

I haven't been home enough.

She's lonely.

That woman swore a holy oath
Of loyalty to you,

Son, when you married her.

Spears: bennie talked to his dad
About it.

His dad wanted him
To stick it out.

Bass was a very religious man,

And he didn't believe
In divorce.

What did you do to the bastard
When you caught him?

I told him to scram.

He scrammed all right.

I see.

What would you have done?

I'd have shot
The hell out of him

And whooped the living god
Out of her.

I don't think he meant
For bennie to kill his wife,

But he felt that bennie needed
To stand up for himself.

He had a dedication
To duty that, I think,

Was unmatched by most people.

And that was proven in the fact
That he arrested his own son.

I need you to get up
And come with me.

You don't want to do that.

No, but maybe I have to.

We can do this with honor.

You'll stand trial.
You'll be sentenced.

You'll serve.

I'll hang.

You don't know that.

I guarantee you will
If you resist arrest.

Now hand over that gun.

Spears: it was his son.
It was his job to arrest him.

He figured he better than anyone
Else could make this happen

Without some kind of incident.

You're the only outlaw
I'll skip the chains for.

What do you say?

Just so long as you promise
Not to run off on me.

And you know
I'll track you down.

Bass: I knew full well
That bennie faced

One of two terrible fates --

A lifetime behind bars,
Or a violent end on the gallows.

Hard to tell which was worse.

But I've always lived by a code
Of honor,

And this would be
Its ultimate test.

¶

[ gunshots ]

In my time as a lawman,
I arrested over 3,000 criminals.

All of them deserved it, but one
Was my own flesh and blood.

My son bennie, charged with
The murder of his wife.

I couldn't help but feel
Partly responsible

For his downfall,

Because it was I who had planted
The seed of revenge in him.

The fact that bass reeves
Took it upon himself to go

Arrest his own son
And bring him in,

Man, that is -- that's some
Integrity.

I -- that's striking.

I'm sure the entire time
Was very painful for bass,

Perhaps reflecting on the time
That he did not have

To raise his own kids
With the integrity

That he had developed
From such a young age.

The court finds benjamin reeves
Guilty...

Of murder in the first degree.

He is to serve life in prison.

¶

Bass: bennie made
A terrible mistake,

But it wasn't too late
To redeem himself before god.

He could still be
A man of honor,

And that is what he became.

Spears: bennie became
A model prisoner.

And after 11 years in jail,
He was pardoned.

And he went back
To muskogee, oklahoma,

Where all of this happened,

And becomes a barber,
Becomes a very respected

Member of the community
And lives out his life

As a law-abiding citizen.

Bass: during the decade
That bennie was in prison,

The west I knew had changed,
And not for the better.

There was a new villain
To contend with,

More formidable than any outlaw.

Nelson:
When oklahoma becomes a state,

The jim crow laws take effect,

And bass or other blacks

Can no longer be
Deputy u.S. Marshals.

And so bass is out of a job,
But he is not ready to retire.

Bass, uh, became
A police officer in muskogee,

But he was relegated to only
Enforcing the law

In the black areas.

Bass: politics may have forced
Me out of the marshal service,

But my reputation was
As fierce as ever.

It was said that no crimes
Were ever committed

During bass reeves' shift.

Bass: in my 32 years
As a lawman,

I was never outgunned,
Never outmaneuvered.

I sent 14 bad men
To their graves,

But the good lord spared me
From a violent end.

He died with his boots off.

He was 71, going on 72
The year he died, in 1910.

White people, black people,
Native americans came out

In great numbers to his funeral,
And he was buried in muskogee.

Bass', uh, character was renown
Throughout the area.

Matter of fact, not only
Throughout the indian territory

In arkansas, oklahoma,
But throughout the country.

When he passed away,
There was even an obituary

In the washington, d.C.,
Newspaper

About this famous
Black deputy marshal.

History played a cruel trick
On him...And forgot him.

This was a man
Of sterling character,

Who should be the hero
Of every child in america,

But who, of course, alas,

Is just a dusty page
In the history books.

Bass: my name may be
All but forgotten,

But my story lives on

Through one of america's
Most legendary characters,

An icon inspired by yours truly.

The lone ranger broke
On the radio in detroit in 1933.

Prisoners were
Coming out of fort smith

And the indian territory
And serving time

In detroit house of corrections.

Next to the detroit
House of corrections,

There was a radio station.

Hearing the stories
Of this black marshal

In the indian territories
From these prison guards,

There's nothing definitive
To prove it,

But there was no one
In real life

That came closer.

The lone ranger, of course,
Is a white guy from texas,

And bass reeves is a black man
In indian territory.

But there are similarities.

Sounds crazy?
Think about it.

The lone ranger is fearless.

Bass always said
That bullets couldn't hurt him,

And maybe that's why
He seemed to be so fearless.

Bass: the lone ranger employs
Trickery and disguises

To catch criminals.

He did use disguises and managed
To capture criminals

By taking them by surprise.

Bass: the lone ranger
Rides for justice.

Boggs: bass reeves wasn't in it
For money.

He wasn't in it for glory.
He was a lawman.

Pure and simple, I mean,
He was dedicated to justice.

Bass: the lone ranger's partner
Is native american.

Nkokheli: by tribal law,
The deputy marshals

Had to be accompanied
By a native american posse,

And this is probably where tonto
Might have originated.

Bass: the lone ranger gives out
Silver bullets.

There are stories that bass
Often gave out silver dollars

As a thank-you to people.

Bass: he rides a white horse.

Bass reeves did raise, and was
Known to ride a white horse.

Bass:
And he wears a black mask.

In a sense, it was like

They wanted to say
This was a black man,

But they couldn't really say
It was a black man.

Hutton: for a black lawman
Like bass reeves,

He faces a lot of hurdles
And he overcomes them all.

And that just speaks
To the sheer presence

This man must have had.

He really is one of the most
Remarkable characters

In the american west.

Against all odds,
He charged forth

And did what he knew was right.

As jim webb said, "You're
The bravest man I ever met."

He was.

He became a legend
In his own time.

The people who lived
In the indian territory

Were singing songs
About bass reeves.

Nkokheli: people would say
That if bass reeves

Were to spit on a brick,
The brick would break.

So that was their way to talk
About how tough he was.

Bass: I never set out
To be a legend.

Only wanted to defend the law.

Because where there is law,
There is freedom.

And a life without freedom,
The life I once knew,

Is no life at all.

His story reads in many ways
Like a tall tale, but it's not.

And that's the amazing thing.

The difference between
The lone ranger and bass

Is that bass reeves was real.