Bass Reeves | Lawman (Part 2)

The Wild West Extravaganza

Wild West Josh

Education, History

4.8 • 667 Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2023

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Make no mistake about it, the exploits of escaped slave-turned-lawman Bass Reeves are legendary. Described in the papers of his day as a holy terror and one of the greatest manhunters to ever grace Indian Territory, Bass Reeves served as a deputy U.S. Marshal for over three decades; routinely traveling into no man’s land and returning with wagonloads of prisoners. With over 3,000 arrests and over a dozen kills to his name, Reeves was not only one of the most effective lawmen of the Old West but also one of the most deadly. But who was Bass Reeves really? What kind of man was he? Where’d he come from? How does a mere mortal grow such an amazing mustache? And did he really inspire the Lone Ranger? This is part 2 and the final installment of the Bass Reeves series. Link below for episode 1. Today we cover Reeves’ hunt for Ned Christie, his transition from frontier marshal to town police, and we examine whether Bass truly inspired the Lone Ranger. Bass Reeves | Lawman (Part 1) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/77j3n69HzvPBrWuTMzhOWO Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wildwest This Country Life with Brent Reaves - https://www.themeateater.com/listen/this-country-life Ned Christie | The Wild West Extravaganza - https://open.spotify.com/episode/505f6O0eOusbjG40HjSnNM Black Gun Silver Star by Art T. Burton - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496233425?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzjoshta02-20&creativeASIN=1496233425&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.YEHGNY7KFAU7&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Join Into History for ad-free and bonus content! https://intohistory.supercast.com/ Merchandise! https://www.teepublic.com/user/wild-west-extravaganza Book Recommendations! https://www.amazon.com/shop/wildwestextravaganza/list/YEHGNY7KFAU7?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	In May of 1887, Deputy Marshal Dan Maples was murdered over in the Cherokee Nation.
0:06.0	The lawman had been searching for whiskey peddlers and his killer was initially assumed to be the notoriously violent Bud Trainer.
0:13.0	Maple's fellow deputies began searching for Traynor and when they couldn't find him, they rounded his buddies up instead.
0:20.0	One of whom claimed that Maple's
0:21.3	true assassin was not Bud Trainer, but instead a local Cherokee by the name of Ned Christie.
0:27.2	Now I did an episode on Ned a very long time ago, link in this episode's description if you're
0:31.6	interested, but Christie was almost certainly an innocent man. Hell, he wasn't even a criminal
0:36.7	by trade, and he definitely
0:38.5	didn't rob no banks or trains or anything like that. He was very well respected and a leader in
0:43.4	his community. Ned's main sin was refusing to surrender and take his chances in the white man's court.
0:49.7	Once he found out that he was wanted for Maple's murder, Christie took to the woods,
0:53.4	resulting in what's now known as Ned Christie's war.
0:56.7	By 1889, the legendary Heck Thomas had located Ned's hideout and a vicious gun battle ensued.
1:03.1	Although Ned was seriously wounded and his home burned down, he escaped, and the hunt was on
1:07.8	yet again.
1:09.0	Not that Christie was necessarily hiding, mind you.
1:12.3	The man rebuilt, only this time it was a damn fortress up on top of a hill,
1:16.5	double-walled with fire imports and enough food and water to withstand a siege.
1:21.1	Guest Ned figured if they wanted him bad enough, they could come blast him out.
1:25.4	Meanwhile, back at Fort Smith, the bounty on Christie was up to a cool one grand,
1:30.0	which was about the equivalent to a little over 30,000 in today's money.
1:34.5	Just enough to entice the brand new string of deputies to come looking for Ned Scalp,
	...

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