Frontier Legends | Bass Reeves
American History Tellers

Frontier Legends | Bass Reeves

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 5, 202637 min
  • Documentary
  • History

In 1875, Bass Reeves became one of the first Black men to serve as a deputy U.S. marshal in the West. Reeves had been born into slavery, but after a violent confrontation with his owner, he fled to Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma. There, for three decades he used his knowledge of Indian languages and his expert marksmanship to hunt down murderers, horse thieves, and bootleggers across 75,000 square miles of remote terrain. As stories of his exploits spread across the frontier, he would become one of the most renowned and feared lawmen in the history of the West. <...

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weeks has a new date, October 23rd at the Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. This is my Days That

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0:00

Hello, American History Tellers listeners. The live show I've been telling you about for a few weeks has a new date, October 23rd at the Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. This is my Days That Made America tour, a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with me and a band live on stage. So if you're in the North Texas area or anywhere close, be sure to come out and see me live.

0:23

And more shows will be announced soon. For information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to AmericanHistoryLive.com. That's AmericanHistoryLive.com. Come see my Days That Made America tour live on stage. Go to AmericanHistoryLive.com. A listener note, this episode contains outdated racial language presented in its original historical context.

0:45

Imagine it's a summer day in 1890, near Keokuk Falls in Indian Territory. You're the ringleader of a gang of outlaws, and the three of you are holed up in an abandoned log cabin. You're dealing a hand of cards, killing time until sunset, when you plan to sneak onto a nearby ranch to steal their horses.

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