-
16. Devotion to Duty
- University of Nebraska Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 [First Page] [240], (1) Lines: 0 ——— 11.0pt ——— Normal PgEnds: [240], (1) 16. Devotion to Duty B ass Reeves was reappointed deputy U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Indian Territory, effective January 10, 1902. An appointment form sent by U.S. Marshal Leo E. Bennett to the U.S. attorney general in Washington dc on March 17, 1902, showed Reeves and John L. Brown as the two most senior men in the district, with twenty years service or more. Also appointed were Grant Johnson of Eufaula with fourteen years of service; Dave Adams of Muskogee with twelve years; Paden Tolbert of Vinita with twelve years; G. S. White, also of Vinita, with ten years, and A. J. Trail of Claremore with four years of service. Reeves and David Adams, a white man, were the two deputies stationed at Muskogee. They would work together on numerous criminal cases in and around Muskogee. Many times, Adams would serve as Reeves’s posse. Bud Ledbetter, another white deputy whom Bass worked with in Muskogee was not appointed at this time because he was the city marshal in Vinita.1 According to historian Glenn Shirley, Muskogee was distinguished in the Indian Territory: The city was permanent headquarters of the Dawes Commission and its several hundred employees; the United States clerk’s office was a busy place with a large staff; the recording officers of the territory, the main office of the Five Tribes added many 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 [241], (2) Lines: 17 to 35 ——— -7.58pt PgV ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [241], (2) more employees to the government payroll; more governmentfranked mail left the post office than from any other in the United States except Washington; and Gen. Pleasant Porter had his executive offices and home there. The streets and hotels were jammed daily with Indians, lawyers, real estate speculators , adventurers, confidence men and grafters. Despite the efforts of local police, hop-ale and “uno” (you know) joints still supplied the thirsty. These shortcomings aside, Muskogee was, indeed, the most important commercial, financial, and industrial center in the Territory.2 As mentioned earlier, the Northern District, over which Reeves had jurisdiction, covered the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Nations. The May 31, 1902, Cherokee Advocate of Tahlequah reported on racial problems in the Cherokee Nation: Twenty-Four Men Arrested Muskogee, May 20.—Deputy United States Marshals Adams and Reeves came in Braggs to day with twenty-four prisoners who are charged with taking part in the race war. The deputies made the arrest without resistance. All prisoners were bound over and will be tried in the United States court tomorrow.—Ardmore Appeal. During this period in the Indian and Oklahoma territories there were some serious racial problems. In August 1901, because of some problems with newly arrived blacks, a white citizens’ committee in Sapulpa, Creek Nation, had decided that all African Americans not of Creek Indian blood would have to leave town. In April 1902 the whites of Lawton in Oklahoma Territory threatened to drive the black people out of town, which led to fighting in the street between black and white citizens. The Oklahoma National Guard was put on standby for possible action. In April 1903 Deputy Adams took a posse to Braggs again due to rioting by blacks and whites. He arrested seventeen white and black men after one man had been wounded. At Wybark, ten miles north of Muskogee in the Creek Nation, a newspaper reported in 1904, “a white man was not allowed to stop after sunset and the negroes had everything their own way.”3 Devotion to Duty 241 [44.200.39.110] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 00:39 GMT) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 [242], (3) Lines: 35 ——— 11.0pt ——— Normal PgEnds: [242], (3) The incident that resonates most with many who follow the life and career of Deputy U...