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Jim Webb was a cowboy from Texas who drifted into the Chikasaw nation sometime in 1883.

He found work as a foreman for a large and successful ranch in the southern portion of the nation.

The ranch was isolated, the cowboys were tough, and the cattle were wild and scattered.

Webb was hired because the ranch owners knew he could run things with an iron fist, and that's an almost literal description.

He beat his cowboys on a regular basis.

If he couldn't whip them with his fists, he had no problem using his gun to argue his point.

A black circuit preacher owned a smaller ranch that adjoined the one where Jim Webb worked.

As people sometimes did in the area, the preacher started a small grass fire to clear some land.

The fire blazed out of control and spread onto the range of Webb's employer.

As usual, Webb couldn't control his anger.

He went to chastise the preacher, and a bitter argument started.

It soon ended with Webb shooting and killing the preacher.

Bass Reeves and another martial were sent to arrest Jim Webb, and Reeves needed all of his skills for this one.

Suttlety, courage, quick thinking, brute force, and a little bit of luck when the shooting started.

And that was just his first encounter with Jim Webb.

The second was even more dramatic.

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