19 hrs ago

... Reeves was born a slave in 1838 in Crawford County, Ark. He worked for a prominent politician in the region and farmer, William S. Reeves, as a water boy in the cotton fields of the Reeves farm. During the Civil War, Bass was a servant for William's son, George Reeves, who was a colonel in the Confederate Army who organized the 11th Calvary regiment. Bass .. escaped and fled into the Indian Territory (now known as Oklahoma) as a fugitive slave. There he associated with Native Americans from the Creek and Seminole tribes, learning their language and customs.

... In addition to earning a living as a farmer, rancher and a horse breeder, he also served as a guide into the Indian Territory for deputy U.S. marshals for the Van Buren federal court searching for outlaws. In 1875, the legendary “Hanging Judge” Isaac C. Parker was appointed a federal judge of the Indian Territory. Parker appointed James Fagan as U.S. marshal and instructed him to hire 200 deputy marshals. Knowing of Reeves' reputation with a pistol, his ability to speak several Indian languages and interact with them as well as his knowledge of the territory, Fagan named Reeves a deputy marshal ...

... During his 32 years as a federal peace officer, he arrested 3,000 felons ...

He was the only deputy to begin with Parker's court and work until Oklahoma statehood in 1907. After retiring from federal service, Reeves joined the Muskogee Police Department at the age of 68. Unfortunately, in 1910, his health deteriorated ...

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/portrait-of-first-african-american-deputy-marshal-bass-reeves-unveiled/article_0ee898ca-1e25-5f47-a9fc-2923162347f9.html