In the early fall of 1884, after the accidental death of the cook in the spring and the killing

of Jim Webb in the summer, Bass Reeves was back on the whiskey trail.

He was looking for seven criminals, three of whom were brothers, but the brothers found

Reeves first.

They caught him on the trail and ordered him to dismount.

Reeves reached inside his coat where he had warrants for their arrest.

One of the brothers thought Reeves was going for a hidden gun.

The brother pistol whipped the deputy marshal.

Reeves fell to the ground.

He tried to get up, then fell back down.

But he pretended to be unconscious to buy himself some time to assess the situation.

The brothers holstered their guns, which was the momentary edge Reeves needed.

He whipped out his cult revolver and shot two of them dead.

The third brother fired but missed, and before he could fire again, Reeves killed him with

a blow to the head.

Reeves couldn't collect fees on outlaws who didn't make it to jail, but at least there

were three fewer desparados on the whiskey trail.

And the three brothers probably didn't put up a fight entirely because of the natural

instinct to avoid capture.

When Bass Reeves took them to jail in Fort Smith, they were entering one of the dirtiest,

harshest, and most depressing places in America.

And if they survived the dungeon jail, they were rewarded with a trip to the courtroom

...