Hollywood invented a white lone ranger in a mask. But historians point out that the real inspiration was Bass Reeves, a former slave who became the most feared marshall in the West. He arrested more than 3,000 criminals and never took a bullet. Nobody told you this in school. And Reeves is just the beginning.

The Old West had black cowboys, gunslingers, and pioneers who were simply erased from the books. Number one, Bass Reeves was born enslaved in Arkansas in 1838 and escaped during the Civil War. 10 years after the war ended, he became the first black deputy US marshal west of the Mississippi.

His territory was one of the most violent in the country, the indigenous lands of Oklahoma, where criminals of every kind would go into hiding thinking no one would come after them. Reeves would. He spoke several native languages which helped a lot on missions. He had a peculiar method. He would disguise himself as a beggar, a priest, anything that would make the guy let his guard down.

Over more than 30 years of service, he arrested more than 3,000 fugitives. 3,000. And they say he never missed a single shot. Many historians believe he was the real inspiration behind the Lone Ranger. But when Hollywood told that story, the hero became white. Reeves died in January 1910 at 71 years old in Muscogee, Oklahoma, poor and practically forgotten.

Number two, Bill Picket was born in 1870 in Texas, the son of former slaves and grew up watching how ranch dogs kept cattle in line. That’s where he got an idea no one had tried before, taking down a bull using his own teeth. He would grab [music] the steer by the horn, twist the animal’s neck, and bite the lower lip so hard the animal would lock up and fall.

This technique became known as bulldoging and is still one of the most popular events in American rodeo today. Pickicket became a headliner in the Miller Brothers Wild West shows, performing in arenas across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and even South America. But outside the arena, reality was different. In many towns, he couldn’t stay in the same hotels as his white colleagues.

Even so, he kept riding and competing for more than 40 years. In April 1932, at 61 years old, he was breaking a wild horse on a ranch in Oklahoma when the animal threw him and trampled him. He died doing what he’d done his whole life. Number three, Nat Love was born in 1854 on a farm in Tennessee.

He was born enslaved. When the Civil War ended, he was 11 years old and didn’t have a penny. So, he did something few people would have expected from a black boy at that time. He went west. At 15, he made it to Texas and got a job on a cattle ranch. He learned to break wild horses, drive cattle herds through dangerous territory, and shoot like very few.

In 1876, on the 4th of July, he took part in a competition in Deadwood, South Dakota. He won every event, roping, shooting, and riding. That day, he earned the nickname Deadwood Dick. Later, he wrote his own autobiography telling all of this at a time when almost no black cowboy had a voice. But here’s the part no one talks about.

After years living that life, Nat ended up working as a train porter in Los Angeles. He died in 1921 at 66 years old, practically forgotten. The Old West had a short memory for men like him. Number four, Bo Zcard was born enslaved in Mississippi in 1843 and after the Civil War became one of the most respected cowboys in Texas.

Charles Goodnight, one of the toughest ranchers of that time, trusted him more than any other man on his crew. Ecard drove herds along trails where bandits and Comanches attacked without warning. On one of those trips, he saved Goodnight from a robbery, risking his own life. Goodnight publicly said Ecard outdid any white ranch hand he’d ever hired.

At a time when a black man hearing something like that from a Texan was something that just didn’t happen. Decades later, the writer Larry Mcmmerry used his story as the basis [music] for the character Joshua Deetsz in the novel Lonesome Dove, which became one of the most watched miniseries on American TV.

Ecard lived to be 85 and died of natural causes in January 1929 in Texas. Good night paid for his funeral and personally wrote the epitap on the headstone. Number five, Mary Fields was born enslaved in Tennessee around 1832. After the Civil War, she gained her freedom and ended up in Montana, where she built a reputation that few men of the time could match.

Over 6 feet tall and with a temper that didn’t take any disrespect from anyone. She became the second person in the United States to receive an official federal male route and the first black woman to do it. The job wasn’t for just anyone. She drove stage coaches through territory where wolves, bandits, [music] and snowstorms were part of the routine.

Mary always carried a gun and didn’t hesitate to use it when the situation called for it. On her days off, she hung out in saloons, drank [music] whiskey with cowboys, and smoked cigars like it was the most normal thing in the world. And back then, for a black woman, that was unthinkable. The town of Cascade, Montana, even closed businesses on her birthday in her honor.

Mary died on December 5th, 1914 at 82 years old from liver failure. Number six, Crawford Goldsby had black, Cherokee, white, and Mexican blood running through his veins. He was born in 1876 in Texas and grew up in Indian territory, which is now Oklahoma. By 18, he was already one of the most wanted criminals in the whole region.

The nickname Cherokee Bill became synonymous with trouble. [music] He robbed trains, held up businesses, and went up against the law without blinking. Authorities pinned at least 13 deaths on him, including a deputies. Judge Isaac Parker, known as the hanging judge, was the one running justice in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and he wanted Cherokee Bill at any cost.

After being betrayed by someone he knew who [music] put sleeping pills in his food, he was finally captured. Even in custody, he tried to escape and killed a guard in the attempt. On March 17th, 1896, [music] at only 20 years old, he climbed the gallows. When they asked if he had anything to say, he calmly answered that he hadn’t come there to give a speech, just to die.

Number seven, Isim Dart was born enslaved in Arkansas around 1849. When the Civil War ended, he was still a teenager and had nothing. No land, no money, no family who could help. So he did what many men of that time did. He headed west to try [music] his luck. But his luck came with a price. He started out stealing cattle and horses in Wyoming. And he was good at it.

He changed names like changing shirts. He lived for a while among Native Americans, learned how to disappear into the brush like he’d never existed. The authorities couldn’t catch this guy. But here’s the part not many people know. He tried to change his life. He bought a small ranch and tried to live honestly.

The problem is when you’ve got a past like that, the past comes to collect. In October 1900, Tom Horn, one of the most feared hired killers in the West, got the job to finish Isim. An ambush on Cold Spring Mountain was all it took. One clean shot and Isome dart went down at 51 years old. Number eight.

This is George McJunkan. The guy was born enslaved in Texas [music] in 1851 and never had access to any school. Even so, he taught himself to read and became one of the most respected cowboys in New Mexico. But what makes his story truly impressive has nothing to do with cattle.

In 1908, after a major flood near the town of Folsam, McJunkan found huge bones sticking out of the ground in a ravine. He realized that wasn’t normal. They were bones from giant bison that had gone extinct thousands of years ago, and along with them were spear points made by human hands. The problem was, nobody took him seriously at the time.

Mc Junkan spent years trying to get scientists to pay attention [music] to that place. He died in 1922 without seeing any recognition for his discovery. Only after his death did researchers finally go to the site and confirmed that humans had been living in the Americas for at least 10,000 years. That changed everything science believed up to that point. Numero 9.

Jim Beckworth was born enslaved in Virginia in 1798, but his life took a turn that few people would expect. While still young, he gained his freedom [music] and went west to work as a trapper, hunting beaver pelts in the mountains. During his travels, he ended up being adopted by the Crow Tribe, where he rose through the ranks until he became a wararchief.

That’s right, a former enslaved man leading warriors in one of the most respected tribes of the Great Plains. Beckworth also discovered a pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains that still bears his name today. a route that helped thousands of settlers reach California. He lived between two worlds his whole life, moving between white society and native people without fully belonging to either side.

He died around 1866 at 68 years old. And what makes his death even [music] more intriguing is the theory that the crow themselves may have poisoned him during a ritual because they believed his spirit would bring lasting strength [music] to the tribe. Number 10. York was born enslaved to the Clark family around 1770 and [music] was taken on the expedition that crossed the American continent between 1804 and 1806.

[music] During the journey, something curious happened. Several indigenous tribes had never seen a black man before. Some tried to rub his skin, thinking it was paint or dirt. The Mandens were so fascinated that they treated him almost like a supernatural figure. York hunted, fought, and [music] faced the same dangers as any other member of the group, but when the expedition ended, he returned to being enslaved.

He asked William Clark for his freedom several times and was refused. Historians disagree about what happened next. Some accounts say Clark finally freed him years later, while others suggest he ran away. What is known is that York probably died around 1832, a victim of chalera, without ever receiving the recognition the other explorers got.

Number 11. In 1856, a woman who had been someone else’s property her whole life, walked into a Los Angeles courtroom and did something few people had the courage to do back then. Bridget Biddy Mason sued her owner for her freedom and she [music] won. But what came next is even more impressive.

Born enslaved in Georgia in 1818, Biddy was forced to walk nearly 1,300 miles on foot to the American West, taking care of cattle and children along the way. After gaining her freedom, she worked as a midwife and started [music] saving every penny. With that money, she bought land in downtown Los Angeles when the city was still small and dusty.

Those properties went up in value in a way nobody expected. Biddy became one of the wealthiest women in the area and used that fortune to help people in need, founding churches, shelters, and donating to struggling families. She died in January 1891 at 72 years old, from enslaved to millionaire at a time when the laws were working against everything she stood for.

Number 12. Clara Brown was born enslaved in Virginia around 1800 and spent more than five decades without freedom. When she was finally freed, she was already 56 years old. Most people at that age would think about resting, right? Not her. Clara headed straight to Colorado during the gold rush, working as a cook andress in miners camps.

The detail few people know is that she spent almost none of what she earned. Every [music] penny was saved for a goal she never gave up on, finding her family who had been sold and separated decades earlier. With the money she built up, Claraara helped dozens of formerly enslaved people get settled in Colorado, paying for trips and offering housing.

In Denver, she became known as the city’s angel. And after years of searching, already in her 80s, she managed to reunite with her daughter, Eliza Jane. Clara died in October 1885 at 85 years old, proving that determination doesn’t have an expiration date. Number 13. This is Kathy Williams and her story is one of the most surprising of the post civil war era.

Born enslaved in Missouri in 1844, she gained her freedom when Union troops occupied the area. But being free didn’t mean having opportunities. With no money and no options, Kathy made a choice that few people would have had the courage to make. In 1866, she showed up at a recruiting station using the name William Cath and enlisted in the 38th Infantry Regiment, the famous Buffalo Soldiers.

For 2 years, she marched hundreds of miles across New Mexico under the blazing sun, slept in tents with other soldiers, and went through medical inspections without anyone discovering the truth. It was only when she became seriously ill that an army doctor revealed that William Cath was in fact a woman. She was discharged and spent the rest of her life in Colorado working as a laress and cook.

She died around 1893, poor and almost forgotten. She is the only documented woman to have served in the Buffalo Soldiers. Number 14. Louisa Marchbanks was born enslaved in Tennessee in 1833 and gained her freedom after the Civil War. She headed west and ended up in Deadwood, South Dakota, right in the middle of the gold rush. There she became known as Aunt Lou, the woman who fed hungry miners who showed up with nothing in their pockets.

Her reputation in the kitchen grew so much that she ended up cooking meals even for presidents of [music] the United States. What stands out in her story is how a woman who started life without even having rights over her own body managed to become one of the most respected figures in a violent town run by armed men.

In Deadwood, where the law barely existed, it was her food that brought people together. Aunt Lou later moved to Wyoming, where she kept cooking and was loved by everyone around her. She died on March 17th, 1911 at 78 years old of natural causes, [music] leaving a legacy that few cowboys of that time could match.

Number 15, Jesse Stall was the kind of cowboy who made the whole crowd drop their jaws. Back in the early 1900s, he ruled the rodeos of the American West like very few could. The problem was that because he was black, the judges simply refused to give him the scores he deserved. It didn’t matter how much better he was than the other competitors. Winning almost never came.

In one famous moment, Stall decided to ride a wild bron sitting backward in the saddle just to prove that even like that he was better than everyone there. The message was clear and the crowd got it right away. Born around 1879, he spent decades traveling the rodeo circuit, taking on not just horses trying to throw him to the ground, but a whole system trying to erase him.

He died in 1935 at 56 years old without ever getting the recognition he deserved in his lifetime. Today, he’s considered one of the greatest cowboys who ever lived. Number 16. Most people don’t even realize that there were black doctors in the Old West, let alone a black woman practicing medicine at a time when many white people couldn’t even get into college.

Henrietta Stewart was born in Canada in 1858, at a time when being black already meant carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, and being a woman made everything even harder. Even so, she achieved something very few people of her time did, a medical degree. Stuart moved [music] to New Mexico where she treated minors injured in the mines and also indigenous communities that had almost no access to any kind of medical care.

Racism was constant, but she just didn’t stop. She kept knocking on patients doors, treating anyone who needed it without asking [music] about color or background. In a territory where life expectancy was short for anyone, Henrietta lived to be 93, passing away in 1951 of natural causes, having survived just about everything the West threw at her. Number 17.

Charlie Samson was born in Los Angeles in 1957, far from the ranches out in the country. Even so, he decided to get into one of the most brutal sports out there, bull riding. In the 70s and 80s, the professional rodeo circuit was almost entirely white. Samson not only got in, he dominated.

In 1982, he won the PRCA World title in bull riding, becoming the first black man to win a World Rodeo Championship. The road there wasn’t easy. On top of the prejudice he faced in arenas all over the country, his body paid a heavy price. Broken ribs, concussions, ruined knees. Bull riding is risky for anyone, but he kept coming back.

What a lot of people don’t know is that his win opened doors for other black cowboys who had been ignored by the history of the American West for more than a century. Number 18. Ben Hodgeges was born around 1856 [music] in Kansas and grew up in a world where a black man had few chances to get ahead in the Old West.

But he found a very different path. Hajes became one of the biggest conmen in Dodge City. the same town that was home to names like Wyatt Herp and Bat Mastersonson. His specialty was pulling scams involving cattle and land. He even claimed to be the heir to a Spanish land grant to try to take over properties.

He used his mixed heritage, part black and part Mexican, to pass as different identities depending on what the situation called for. What’s most impressive is that Hajes was never locked up for any significant amount of time. He knew the laws so well that he worked the [music] court system in his favor over and over again.

The people of Dodge City knew he was a con artist, but many admitted it was impossible not to like the guy. Hajes lived until around 1929, dying of old age, something rare for anyone tied to that world. Number 19. Willie Kennard pulled off something that seemed impossible in 1870s America. At a time when black men barely had basic rights guaranteed, he became the marshall in Yankee Hill, Colorado in 1874.

And it wasn’t because of political connections or anyone doing him a favor. The town was being terrorized by outlaws and nobody wanted the job. Kennard stepped up and the community with few options accepted. What happened next surprised everyone. He faced two outlaws in separate shootouts and killed both.

Crime in the area dropped drastically. Think about that for a second. A black man walking around armed with a badge on his chest, enforcing the law in the Old West just 9 years after the end of the Civil War. His story basically [music] disappeared from the books for more than a century.

Kennard died sometime in the 1880s, and the circumstances were never cleared up. To this day, little is known about his final years. Number 20. Addie Huddleston built something that few people thought was possible in the Old West. At a time when being black was already enough to have doors slammed in your face.

She opened her own doors, literally. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, Addie ran brothel and made real money doing it. We’re not talking pocket change. She built up property and a sizable fortune in a territory where most black women could barely get domestic work. The most curious part is how she moved between two hostile worlds.

The underworld of saloons and brothel dominated by white men and a society that saw [music] her as inferior because of her skin color. Even so, Addie [music] thrived. Powerful men in town visited her establishments, which gave her a kind of informal protection. She died of natural causes in the 1880s, [music] something rare for anyone in that line of work.

While many madams ended up broke or murdered, Addie left the scene on her own terms.