Nelson, V.M. (2009). Bad News for Outlaws: The remarkable life of
Bass Reeves, Deputy, U.S. Marshall. Minneapolis, Mn: Carolrhoda
Books.
This book won the Coretta Scott King Award for Black Authors in 2009.
Exposition: Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838. He was taken to Texas by his owner as a young boy. His owner, Colonel George Reeves, took him along when he went to fight in the Civil War.
Conflict: He had a falling out with the Colonel and ran away to Indian Terriatoy in Oklahoma.
Rising Action: He met and married a girl named Jennie and fathered 11 children. He became a crack shot with a six shooter right and left handed. His reputation of being fair and honest caught the attention of Judge Parker. He hired him as a deputy to help round up the outlaws in the Oklahoma Territory. Outlaws would try to kill him or outrun him, but he usually got his man eventually. He even brought in Belle Starr with no gunfire. He used disguises to capture wanted criminals.
Climax: The saddest part of his life was when he had to arrest his own son when he murdered his wife for cheating on him. His son spent ten years in prison.
Falling Action: In his 32 year career as a lawman, he brought in more than three thousand men and women – blacks, whites and Indians. He only killed 14 men in the line of duty and was never wounded. His job ended when Oklahoma became a state.
Resolution: He didn’t want to retire so he got a job on the Muskogee, OK, police force at the age of 69. He had to walk with a cane but no crimes were committed on his watch. He fell ill and died of Bright’s Disease , a kidney ailment in 1910.
The book is mostly illustrated with watercolor pictures and photos. They are tastefully done depicting the life and heroic efforts of this wonderful black man. The book has lots of imagery showing how Bass disguised himself to catch the outlaws.
This book won the Coretta Scott King Award for Black Authors in 2009.
Exposition: Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838. He was taken to Texas by his owner as a young boy. His owner, Colonel George Reeves, took him along when he went to fight in the Civil War.
Conflict: He had a falling out with the Colonel and ran away to Indian Terriatoy in Oklahoma.
Rising Action: He met and married a girl named Jennie and fathered 11 children. He became a crack shot with a six shooter right and left handed. His reputation of being fair and honest caught the attention of Judge Parker. He hired him as a deputy to help round up the outlaws in the Oklahoma Territory. Outlaws would try to kill him or outrun him, but he usually got his man eventually. He even brought in Belle Starr with no gunfire. He used disguises to capture wanted criminals.
Climax: The saddest part of his life was when he had to arrest his own son when he murdered his wife for cheating on him. His son spent ten years in prison.
Falling Action: In his 32 year career as a lawman, he brought in more than three thousand men and women – blacks, whites and Indians. He only killed 14 men in the line of duty and was never wounded. His job ended when Oklahoma became a state.
Resolution: He didn’t want to retire so he got a job on the Muskogee, OK, police force at the age of 69. He had to walk with a cane but no crimes were committed on his watch. He fell ill and died of Bright’s Disease , a kidney ailment in 1910.
The book is mostly illustrated with watercolor pictures and photos. They are tastefully done depicting the life and heroic efforts of this wonderful black man. The book has lots of imagery showing how Bass disguised himself to catch the outlaws.
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