Alva Review-Courier -

Bass Reeves was a deputy United States marshal in Indian Territory from 1875 until 1907. He was in the first group of lawmen hired to patrol the lands within the jurisdiction of Judge Isaac Parker’s court in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

His service as deputy marshal ceased because federal oversight of Oklahoma ended when statehood came.

Reeves was born a slave in Arkansas in July 1838. Shortly thereafter, his owner, William Reeves, relocated the family to Grayson County, Texas. William Reeves was not a planter with vast lands and numerous slaves; he was, rather, a small farmer.

Bass, one of William R...