"The Black Badge: The Life Of Deputy United States
Marshal Bass Reeves," Paul L. Brady will keep you hanging on every
word, every twist and turn in Bass Reeve's life.
At a time when slavery was a very recent memory, and "Negroes"
kept their place, Bass Reeves became a deputy marshal—known for
his courage and skill with a gun. Unable to read or write, he
would carry a handful of writs for the arrest of notorious
outlaws, and always produce the right writ for the right man. He
spent a lifetime upholding a legal system that failed to recognize
him and members of his race as human beings, equal to whites.
