I have heard that there were stories concerning Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves and the Pauls Valley Court. Does anyone know any of these stories?

Many Middle Washita old timers recall Bas, but the one who had more than a passing acquaintance was Lem Blevins, the step son of Dep. U. S. Marshal Charles Stewart who operated the hotel at old Cherokee Town. Blevins met the famed marshal and recalls he... “Heard Reeves say the only reason he took the U. S. Marshal’s commission was to kill Dick Glass and George Mack, both Negroes and bad outlaws who had caused the Marshals lots of trouble.” Unfortunatly, the folks who used to tell me about meeting Bas are dead, so I can't ask them for details. I do recall that, oddly for this area of the state, the white oldtimers had great pride in their voices when stating they knew the black marshal,the same voice they used when speaking of meeting one of the James boys, or Teddy Roosevelt. And, even more oddly, the black families with a long history in the region, did not talk about Bas at all. That might be because he specialized in picking up black felons, and it's hard to feel warm and fuzzy about someone who hauled your uncle off to be hung.

Hey, Tower, got any more good information on Cherokee Town?
TIA

Strange as it may seem, Bass Reeves didn't specialize in black criminals until he transferred to the Muskogee Court in 1897. He arrested whomever committed federal crimes. There was probably instances when it was easier for him to go into a black community and arrest a black felon. Black people probably shied away from saying very much about Reeves due to the Jim Crow laws and attitudes that were present in Oklahoma after statehood.

I stand corrected and you may be right re the "Jim Crow" laws. I will check with some of the older blacks in the neighborhood and see if they have some family rememberance. Bas has been under-rated and ignored far too long. I would also like to see something more about the other black deputies, I understand there was a whole herd of 'em, something I didn't know until just recently, as I had only seen a few mentioned.

The number I have received on black deputy U.S. marshals active in the Indian Territory is upwards of fifty before statehood. The most famous being Bass Reeves. Other notable black deputies included Bynum Colbert, a Civil War and Indian War army veteran; Rufus Cannon, who rode with Heck Thomas; Robert Fortune; who later became a lawyer in Chickasha and Phoenix, Arizona; Grant Johnson, noted Eufaula area lawman; Neely Factor and Zeke Miller of the McAlester area; and Bill Pettit of the Osage. Bill Colbert of the Choctaw Nation was thought to be a deputy but he was never a commisioned. Colbert was a posseman for over twenty years, with many deaths to his credit. He was a hired gun for the federal police in the I.T. There is much information on these and other black deputies that I hope will come to light in the coming years.