[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]And somehow not very surprising.

I'm glad the real story is coming out.

Great stuff. Thanks Malaise.

Once served a warrant on three brothers. They all drew on him but he was quick enough to not only shoot two but grab the gun off the third and pistol whip him with it. Before, as the law demanded, taking him directly to jail.

This guy is a classic biopic waiting to happen.

Reeves is also thought to be one of the models for Rooster Cogburn in the book True Grit. There's a monument dedicated to his memory in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Reeves became a policeman in Muskogee, Oklahoma after Indian Territory became a state.

Doesn't it?

Tonto: Lone Ranger, Look!..."The Black Gang" is coming over the hill. We better run!!
Lone Ranger: What you mean, "We"...Tonto ??

DUzy

We're looking at the local library website for some books as you read this post. One book is The Black Badge and the other is Black Gun, Silver Star.

I grew up watching the TV series that I didn't know was based on an historical figure. Now I can read more on the man behind the legend.

Very cool.

Thanks again.

but I would listen on the radio. Loved it when I could finally see the Lone Ranger on TV. He and Tonto were my heroes.

I still remember the 25 lb. black dial phone and using my 5 year old fingers to try and dial it. It was the first number I memorized and I still remember it.

Sorry. Off topic but that brought back some memories.

It's open 7 days a week, and has a very impressive collection on it's own, as well as access to several other massive libraries from which they will happily procure the materials you need.

I hate to say it, but Las Vegas' library (Clark county, technically) is much better than either Denver's or Los Angeles', and as for Portland, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco, they aren't even in the same league. It's actually pretty sad when you think about it.

Am already sharing your links. Fascinating!

That's as far as it goes.

The actual trail is to somebody who isn't Reeves, if you check what the creators of the series and the creator of the book the series was based on say. But some believe that the trail is obscured and Reeves was the real inspiration, even if it means just assuming that people are lying to hide the unspoken truth.

No evidence. Just belief. "The real 'Lone Ranger' was Bass Reeves" is an unfounded assertion.

The idea's gone viral--not a massive epidemic, but it's out there. Some actual evidence apart from some cherry-picked similarities would be nice. Since we do pride ourselves on facts and not faith.

That's a lot of coincidences.

K&R

In the Southwest there were plenty of Hispanic cowboys.

Google is your friend.

in Lonesome Dove.

His name was Jesus and he was a mix of Caddo and African. He never sat in a chair or slept in a bed and he could predict the weather three days in advance. He was also the best shot I have ever seen and - when he was seven years old - killed a man who was attempting to kidnap my Grandfather. Because of nightmarish childhoods, they ran away from East Texas at the age of six and lived with the Hopi in NM until my Grandfather left to fly for the Army Air Corps in WWI. My Grandfather was the only non-Hopi Penitente in Hopi history.

Early cowboys were of all races and ethnics. Many were black, and a black cowboy was one of the first rodeo stars. But to claim that ALL were black is blatantly false.

Indeed, most of the contributions of blacks to the history of the early West has been forgotten and needs to be rediscovered. Lots of the troopers, both mounted and foot, were black.

Amazing how truth is often more compelling than fiction.

The book is Mary Fields, The story of black Mary by James A Franks. She lived from 1832 until 1914 and was a legend in Montana. My grandmother and great grandmother probably knew her because they lived in the same small town of Cascade.

The it's an easy read and a great story.

Look for it in Amazon. There are two books listed. She appears to have been a stagecoach driver.

Mary became a freight driver for Wells Fargo when she was about 65 years old. Wells Fargo had the contract to deliver the mail.

I bought my copy at the local historical society. I rarely buy anything online.