[WESTERN AMERICANA] -- [CRIME & PUNISHMENT]. Portrait of Bass Reeves.  

6 3/8 x 8 3/8 in. (visible) pencil enhanced photograph (some areas lightened); contemporary, probably original mat and frame (some chips to frame, soiling to mat, not examined out of frame). Paper watermark "B F K Rives" visible at lower margin, upside down.  

Born into enslavement in Arkansas, Bass Reeves (1838-1910) was moved to Texas, and when the Civil War broke out, his enslaver joined the Confederacy and brought Bass along with him. It is unclear how Reeves escaped, but he almost certainly fled to Indian Territory where he lived as a fugitive among the Native American populations learning several skills and languages in the process. After the war, he farmed back in Arkansas until 1875 when he was recruited as a US Deputy. He had likely scouted for the US Marshals during his farming years and became very valuable to the Marshals for his superior tracking, marksman, and language skills in addition to his knowledge of the land. He is reported to have brought in over 3,000 outlaws and was never wounded.