MASKED RIDER OF THE SILVER SCREEN by Tom Rizzo

On this day, Sept. 15, 1949, The Lone Ranger—starring Clayton Moore, and Jay Silverheels as Tonto—premiered on ABC television and ran until September 12, 1957. Moore appeared in about 170 episodes between 1949 and 1957. 

Years ago, I met Moore to interview him after an appearance at a Columbus, Ohio, car dealership that paid him $275 an hour to “unmask” that year’s new car models. I knew the owner of the dealership and told him I would have done it for a hundred bucks.

“Appreciate the offer, but we’re trying to attract a crowd, not your friends and relatives.”

Hmm, touché.

Moore, born Jack Carlton Moore, September 14, 1914, grew up in Chicago and spent much of his youth practicing gymnastics. He eventually joined a trapeze act called The Flying Behrs at age 19.

Moore traveled to Hollywood in 1938 and found work in films as a stuntman and bit player. 

He appeared in a number of serials as well as B-westerns. After a serving in the military, he returned to Hollywood and took a number of supporting roles, mostly in westerns. 

According to IMDB, one of his movie roles caught the attention of George W. Trendle, who produced the successful Lone Ranger radio series. Trundle, in the process of casting the lead role, approached Moore to offer him the role.

“Mr. Moore, would you like the role of the Lone Ranger?”

“Mr. Trendle, I AM the Lone Ranger.”

If there was any hesitation about his confidence, his performance in this 1949 pilot for the Lone Ranger series quieted the doubters.  

The day I met the Masked Rider of the Plains, I spotted him standing on a riser surrounded by Lone Ranger fans. 

The aging actor wore the all-too-familiar Lone Ranger costume but, in place of the famous half-mask, he wore large sunglasses. 

“Before I say anything else,” he told the fans gathered inside the showroom, “I’m required by law to tell you that my name is Clayton Moore who used to portray The Lone Ranger.”

Later, during our interview, Moore couldn't mask his disappointment at losing the right to wear The Lone Ranger mask. 

The Wrather Corp., at that time, owned the rights to Moore's character and planned a feature film starring a younger man as The Lone Ranger. 

The issue ended up in court. Wrather won the argument that two Rangers would confuse the public. (Courts, movie producers, and politicians always seem to consider the public a bit feeble-minded and stupid in these kind of matters). 

During our conversation, Moore shook his head slowly as if still in disbelief at the disheartening turn of events.  

“Here's a company that said to me for all these years: 'as The Lone Ranger, don't to this, don't do that. Uphold the name of The Lone Ranger.' I've done that for 30 years. I have lived the part of The Lone Ranger.”

In what was believed a backlash of fan support for Moore, the movie flopped at the box-office, sort of giving Moore the last word. But, to his credit, he never displayed any public pleasure at the film's disappointing showing. 

In fact, in his 1996 autobiography—I Was That Masked Man—Moore said he would "never wish failure on anyone,” displaying strict adherence to The Lone Ranger persona. Always a class act. 

Moore counter-sued, but the legal proceedings went on for years until Jack Wrather—without explaining why—simply dropped the case. Wrather died a month later. His widow Bonita sent a letter to Moore, in which she wrote: “please be advised that Wrather Corporation hereby grants to Clayton Moore the rights to wear The Lone Ranger mask.”

I remember watching Moore that afternoon at the dealership captivate his audience as he revealed the legend of the masked rider's origin. And, he was more than believable. 

"From a personal perspective, what kind of impact has the The Lone Ranger character made on you?"

He flashed a warm smile. "I'm sure the character I've been portraying has helped make a better person of me. More tolerant. More considerate."

For a second, I was skeptical and thought he might have been carrying the Lone Ranger persona a little too far. But I was wrong. Clayton Moore was the real deal. Genuine and steadfast in his beliefs. 

“Sounds like you’ve taken a page out of The Lone Ranger Creed," I said.

“I tell the truth,” he countered in a soft but firm voice. “Part of the Lone Ranger Creed is: I believe that everything changes on this earth but the truth. And it goes on forever.”

If I had any doubts about the sincerity of the role he cherished, I remember watching The Late Show with David Letterman one evening. One of his guests, Jay Thomas—actor, sportscaster, and writer—told a great story about Clayton Moore.

Thomas said he appeared on a radio show where Clayton Moore was a guest back in the early 70s. At the end of the broadcast, Moore's transportation to the airport didn't show up so Thomas agreed to give him a ride. 

Moore, still wearing his LR outfit—including mask—climbed into the back seat of Jay’s Volvo. Thomas and his producer—both of whom wore extremely long hair that was stylish at the time—sat up front. 

During a stop in heavy traffic, the driver ahead of them backed up and hit the Volvo and then took off. Thomas decided to give chase and finally caught up the guy. Thomas and his producer jumped out of the car and confronted the other driver. 

“What are you going to do?” the man asked. 

“We’re going to call the cops,” Thomas replied.

“Oh really. Who do you think they’re going to believe, you two hippie freaks or me?”

At this point, Clayton Moore climbed out of the backseat of the Volvo, approached the hit-and-run driver, rested his hands on the handles of his six-shooters and said,  “They’ll believe me, citizen.” 

When I left the interview and made my way out of the showroom, one of the salesman corralled me.

“This guy really thinks he’s The Lone Ranger,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper, rotating his eyes to the ceiling.

Obviously not a believer.

"Stranger," I said to him, feeling the need to provide cover for one of my childhood heroes, “he is The Lone Ranger.”

____

Tom Rizzo blames the The Lone Ranger, Durango Kid, Randolph Scott, Tim Holt, and Paladin for triggering his lifelong obsession with the American Frontier—and for convincing him that outlaws must face justice, no matter how many guns they carry or how high the odds. 

A novelist and naturally curious amateur historian, Tom’s new three-volume collection, Tall Tales from the High Plains & Beyond features dozens of quick-read true stories featuring characters and events of the Old West, crafted with a fictional technique that drops readers into the middle of the action. If you enjoyed the story above, please share it with your friends. And visit Tom's Blog and rediscover the Old West.

Writing into the Sunshine

The first stories I made up were not written down. 

 

I’m betting you were the same way. What is now a professional endeavor to spin wild west yarns started with a thread of imagination woven through summer tapestries. Maybe, like me, you were Lucas McCain or Annie Oakley or Roy or Dale, making it up as you went along, writing in your head, not so much into the dark, as into the sunshine.

I was also lucky enough to own a few MARX Wild West toys, and I had a pal  with the figures and accessories I didn’t have.  Saturdays and weekday afternoons, we’d combine our sets for B-matinee style adventure. 

Forty years later, Johnny West and Geronimo are comparatively still, content to perch on my bookshelf and watch over my son Wyatt, as he constructs his own series of tales.  I’m not as complacent. When, more than a year ago, he showed me the series of Lone Ranger tie-in playsets available from LEGO, I wanted one of everything. So did he. We did the math and realized, with other responsibilities already budgeted in, it would take close to a year to get it all. Maybe less if we put some stuff on the Christmas and birthday list. So before the movie came out (and this post is not about the Lone Ranger movie, but about the toys), we made our plans.

A few weeks ago, with the Comanche Camp, we finished our collection.  LEGO blocks being what they are, and with the planned obsolescence of sub-atomic sized accessories, we probably don’t have a 100% complete set even now. But collecting it all for the sake of a collection, for simply putting it on display wasn’t the point. The point was to use it to create our own adventures, or reinvent scenes from Lone Ranger books, comics, TV shows, or yes, even the 2013 movie.  (And in that sense, I guess this post is about the movie. Whatever was wrong with the Disney production, we quickly came home and fixed it through our own restaged efforts.)

I won’t run through the list of Lone Ranger LEGO playsets here. That’s for Amazon or Lego.com if you’re interested. 

Just wanted to share with you two things this day, one week before Father’s Day. The first is that young people can and will enjoy all the tropes of the old west, and they’ll be eager to make up their own. Yep, even without dirty jokes or references to current pop culture. I know because I’ve seen it with my son and his friends. They simply need someone to show them the way. 

Second, my guess is that LEGO overestimated the success of The Lone Ranger and produced more than it sold. Like the Dick Tracy licensing glut of 1990, the movie was less than its hype. That said, there’s no danger of this stuff being hard to find.  So if you see the Stagecoach Escape playset, pick it up. If you see the Silver Mine Shootout, tap into it. Share them with somebody who’s young enough to reinvent the old west in new ways. Once more, you’ll be writing into the sunshine.

A Cloud of Dust and a Hearty Hi-Ho Silver

Rod Thompson

FROM OUT OF THE PAST COMES THE THUNDERING HOOFBEATS OF THE GREAT HORSE, SILVER!  THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN! And with that the Lone Ranger and Tonto galloped out of the past, out of the radio, and into the hearts and minds of millions of boys and girls who sat eagerly enthralled in front of their radios listening to the exclusion of all else. Happily, I was one of them.

I remember an instance when I was hovering as close as possible to not miss a single word or shot and my dad was sitting across the room behind me.  After a few failed attempts to get my attention, he reared back in his easy chair, as they were then called, raised his feet into the air and simultaneously slammed them down on the floor, clapped his hands loudly together, and yelled “HEY!”   He got my attention, after which he laughed heartily and told me whatever it was he wanted to tell me.   While he was talking, The Lone Ranger on Silver and Tonto on Scout galloped at least five or ten miles, shot three or four outlaws, and rescued a damsel or two in distress. Now, I ask you, how important could what he had to say have been when I can’t even recollect what it was, and that was only sixty years ago. 

After that came television where we got to actually see them doing the galloping and who can say they weren’t thrilled when the galloping was accompanied by The William Tell Overture? And then there was Gene and Roy galloping across the screen before slowing down to an easy walk that allowed them to sing while millions of kids groaned and cried, “Oh quit singing and go shoot somebody.” 

In between walking and galloping are trotting, loping, and cantering and a few miscellaneous other gaits.  All simple enough, yet I see them frequently misused.  Although I spent the first years of my life on a South Dakota farm, rode a horse to school, and generally know the difference, I did some research to make sure I was portraying them accurately and found it quite interesting.  And like many things I research, I found I didn’t know as much about the subject as I thought. As in most research, there are more specific details to be had but I found this information adequate for my needs. You may want to delve deeper.

There seems to be two main gaits, the “natural” gait which most horses do without special training, and what are called “ambling” gaits which are footfall patterns that occur in certain breeds but frequently require many hours of special training, ones that can be called for on command. In order by speed, they are walk, trot, canter, and gallop, some with three beats and some with four. In western terminology, a canter is called a lope. 

Walk:  Averaging approximately four miles per hour, is a four-beat pattern with the left hind leg being followed by the left front leg, right hind leg, right front leg in a steady 1-2-3-4 beat.  While walking, one foot will always be raised and the other three on the ground except the brief instant when weight is transferred from one foot to another. The advancing rear hoofs generally overstep where the advancing front hoof touched the ground and the farther the overstep, the smoother the ride. As the horse speeds up and loses the four beat gait it moves into the Trot.

Trot:   Trotting is a two-beat gait varying widely in speeds, generally averaging about 8 miles per hour.  Trotting very slowly is also called jogging; a fast trot has no special name, and in harness racing, the trot can be faster than the gallop of a non-racehorse. While trotting, the horse’s legs move in unison in diagonal pairs causing much movement of the head and neck for balancing and is the “working gait” for horses.  Cantering and galloping can only be done for short distances at a time before needing rest to recover, but well-conditioned horses can maintain a trot for hours.  It is the main way for horses to get from place to place quickly, but is difficult for the rider to sit because horse’s body actually drops some between beats and bounces up again when the next step hits the ground.  Every time a pair of legs hits the ground, the rider can be upwardly jolted out of the saddle and coming down, meets the horse which is on the way back up.  At most speeds above a jog, experienced riders post to the trot, matching their rising up and down rhythm with that of the horse so as not to be jolted, and it is also easier on the horse’s back.

Canter (lope):  A three-beat gait faster than a trot but slower than a gallop with an average speed of 10 – 17 miles per hour, depending on the length of the horse’s stride.  A three-beat gait is just that, sounding like beating a drum three times in succession…rest…three more beats…rest, etc.  The faster the horse is moving, the longer the rest.

While cantering, one rear leg propels the horse forward and is the only hoof touching the ground while the other three are moving forward and the following step timing and hoof movement is complicated and too lengthy for this writing but non-the less important. An extended foreleg matched with an extended hind leg on the same side is called a lead and important in various situations such as setting up the horse properly for a jump over fence, log, or stream. When the horse jumps over something, it is stretched out, typically taking the first two steps of the galloping stride with its back legs and making contact on the other side of the obstacle with its front two, thus completing the stride.

Gallop:  Very similar to a canter only faster. Although The American Quarter Horse in a short sprint of a quarter mile or less can make up to 55 miles per hour, the gallop typically covers about 25 miles per hour with the three-beat cadence changing to a four beat and covering more ground. Moderately paced gallops can sometimes go longer distances before the horse becomes winded and needs to be slowed down, most can only make a mile or two at top speed.  Unlike people, horses will not slow down when they begin to weaken to protect themselves.  They will go full out as long as their rider asks them too, oft times until death.  Riders switching between two horses will generally lope, allowing the horsed to fall into a comfortable pace that matches each other.  Keeping an eye from above, the rider can tell when their nostrils begin to flare in order to take in more air signifying the time to switch.

Thoroughbred horse races are seldom longer than 1.5 miles, though Arabian horses are sometimes as far as 2.5.  In fact, there is a Bedouin belief stating “The Arabian horse was created by Allah from the four winds...His Spirit from the North, Strength from the South, Speed from the East, and Intelligence from the West and will take care of its owner as will no other,” which is why I chose them as the horses of choice for The Black Hills.  Lop Ear is a purebred Arabian and Horse is a Mustang/Arabian.

How’s that for a sneaky segue into my series, The Black Hills Thrilogy -- I found that misspelling a few months ago and have been having fun with it since.  Book #2 in the series, The Saga of Jane Hicks, is already number four in the nation and Troy only released it on the 6^th.  I know it is fourth because I was told it was so by the fellow interviewing me last night in my dream.  Unfortunately, I awoke to find that fact to be incorrect but that’s also what happened with my dream about Raquel Welch: wish that one could have lasted about another three minutes.

The Saga of Jane Hicks is about the protagonist in book #1, of course, Cormac Lynch, being sent a letter by a woman he never heard of demanding he come to the rescue of her and her children since he was responsible for her husband’s death in a gunfight. The story is complicated by the facts that he is newly married, doesn’t want to go, and he will have to pass through the territory under control of the mighty Sioux Indians who all want his horses, scalp, and his bride’s red hair – and one Indian has him measured for a spit.  It’s further complicated by the fact that he knows nothing of the dangers. He only knows what he reads in the letter from Jane Hicks he finds in his pocket when he wakes up on the ground, miles from anywhere, with no memory.  Troy let me design the book cover which is actually a photo of one of the story’s fans and an authentic 1874 Winchester. 

 Also on the 6^th, book #1, The Black Hills, was re-released by Penguin Berkley with a foreword written by James Drury, the star of The Virginian TV series who called me to tell me it was the best book of any kind he has read in years.  I haven’t been able to get my hat on since.

My thanks to anyone who came to read this and double thanks to anyone who stayed till the end. I’m  obliged.           

  HIHO SILVER! AWAY!!!!!!!!

The Lone Ranger - A Fun Movie #western #johnnydepp

The Lone Ranger

Fun, Exciting, and Western

by Jacquie Rogers

What do you get when you cross campy humor and fast action with a western fictional icon? Lots of grumbling, that’s what. I have a tendency toward the irreverent, so no grumbling from me.

The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, and Helen Bonham Carter is one of my favorite 2013 movies, even if I didn’t see it until 2014. Frankly, with all the bad reviews (in America—the reviews abroad were quite positive), my husband and I had no urgent desire to watch it. Then again, we generally like what the critics hate, including Cowboys and Aliens, so those reviews didn’t deter us much, nor did the protests that the 2013 film didn’t follow Lone Ranger canon. I’m a whole lot more interested in good entertainment than in Johnny Depp’s bird headdress or whether Armie Hammer’s John Reid was in the original radio show.

http://bcove.me/4q82z5nl

 

Don’t get me wrong—I loved the television show starring Clayton Moore, and he’ll always be the true Lone Ranger to me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy another character type or another depiction. Jay Silverheels is firmly entrenched in my childhood memories as Tonto. My husband got it right when he said that if the moviemakers would’ve made up a new character instead of using the highly venerated Lone Ranger, the film would’ve been a hit. Funding would’ve been nigh to impossible, though, so likely the film never would’ve happened.

Was The Lone Ranger historically accurate? Of course not. Neither was the original Lone Ranger. Did director Gore Verbinski do a good job with the story world? I thought so. If you didn’t know anything about the Texas Rangers or the events surrounding the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Point, you’re off to a good start. The story wouldn’t have worked out if they’d used the actual events and besides, this is fiction, folks. Pure entertainment—not a history lesson.

My 14-year-old grandson, who said he didn’t like westerns, loved it. How’d I get him to watch it? I told him it was a funny movie with lots of shooting similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, and that critics hated it. He’s 14, so that last item was a big draw. He wants to watch it again this weekend and maybe invite some friends. 

I suppose with the big to-do and the hesitance of the theater audience that there won’t be a second movie. That would be a shame, because this is the sort of film that requires some time to catch on. My guess is that video sales will make up for any deficiencies at the box office and eventually it’ll become a cult classic. 

We’ve screened The Lone Ranger twice this week and will be watching it again in a couple weeks with extended family. Believe me, it’s not a sacrifice. I enjoyed the second viewing more than the first. Armie Hammer has a lot more talent than I expected and I’m looking forward to seeing him in future roles, Johnny Depp’s Tonto didn’t put me off at all as I did expect, and Helen Bonham Carter’s ivory leg was just plain fun. 

William Fichtner’s Butch Cavendish role was much more disgusting than it needed to be, but Fichtner did have his “good” bad guy moments. Tom Wilkinson is always an asset to any film, and he played Latham Cole perfectly. 

The star of the show was the Spirit Horse (Silver—actually several different horses were used), but I loved the scene where Tonto is trying to convince the Spirit Horse to pick Dan Reid instead of John.

And then there’s the train race—what a finale! And here’s how they did that:

 

If you didn't see The Lone Ranger in the theater, watch it at home.  Even though the action plays great on a large screen (ours is 8' and our recliners are 6' away, per my audio/video engineer spouse--who also has seven huge studio quality speakers each with their own amps... and I don't know what all), I'm sure the film would be great on a normal-size television.  But go into it with an open mind and expect to be entertained, because this movie delivers.

Hearts of Owyhee series

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WESTERN FOUR-LEGGED HEROES - MEG MIMS

WESTERN FOUR-LEGGED HEROES

After several posts featuring western film and TV show funny sidekicks, dastardly villains and sweetheart heroines, we’re going straight to the horse’s mouth. Heh.

Sure, there are plenty of heroic cowboys – John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, Sam Elliott, Alan Ladd, Tom Mix, Tex Ritter, Clayton More, Lash LaRue, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Buck Jones… the list goes on and on. But who would dare say that the horses these western heroes rode were mere transportation? They deserve their own post. Those I haven’t named – well, they also deserve a lump or two of sugar for their hard work.

Let’s start with Tom Mix’s famous horse Tony. Born in 1899, Tony had white stocking rear feet and became a celebrity after making his debut with Mix in 1917. They made well over a hundred and fifty films together – Tony even had equal billing! The horse learned a few marvelous tricks without any extensive training; he only needed Mix to show him how to untie the cowboy’s hands, or loosen his own reins, run after trains, open gates, jump a cliff and rescue Mix from a fire. He was the original “Wonder Horse.” Tony planted his hoof prints in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater next to Mix’s hand prints in 1927. Three films featured his name in the title – Just Tony (1922), Oh! You Tony (1924), and Tony Runs Wild (1926). When the horse was 22, he retired. Tom Mix used Tony Jr. in other films he made, and Tony II when appearing in public. But the original Tony died on the second anniversary of Tom Mix’s tragic death in a car accident. Who knows – maybe they’re together riding the heavenly prairie in the sky right now.

Roy Rogers’ Trigger was the second most famous horse in films. Born in 1932, he was first named Golden Cloud due to his palomino breed. Rogers chose him in 1938 out of several “rented for the movies” horses. He bought the horse later that year and gave him the name Trigger due to his quickness and intelligence. The palomino was able to walk on his hind legs and perform over a hundred trick cues. Trigger also was featured in a Dell comic book series about his adventures. Rogers took the horse up three or four flights of stairs several times to visit the children’s wing at hospitals. Trigger did have a trainer, Glen Randall, and was housebroken – which made it easier for Rogers during public appearances. He once danced, reared up and pawed the air, and played dead at the Hotel Astor’s ballroom for an audience. Trigger planted his hooves in front of Grauman’s beside Roy Rogers’ hands in 1949. To take the strain off performing, Rogers used two other horses, Little Trigger and Trigger, Jr. After Trigger’s death, Roy Rogers had the horse stuffed and mounted. Once the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans’ museum closed, a family-friendly cable network in Omaha, Nebraska bought Trigger for display.

Silver, the Lone Ranger’s white stallion, was one of many Silvers on the big screen. The Lone Ranger radio show was inspired by the Zane Grey book before the character galloped onto film and television. According to a 1938 episode the Lone Ranger first rode Dusty, a chestnut mare. After the Lone Ranger saved Silver from a wild buffalo, the horse chose to pair up with the masked man. Silver starred in two films with Clayton More as well as the television series. And every time the Lone Ranger mounted up at the end of an episode, he would shout, “Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!” Both the Lone Ranger’s horse and Tonto’s horse, Scout, were intelligent and trained – but Silver won the “Patsy” in 1957 – the Award for Excellence given to outstanding animals in television and motion pictures.

Gene Autry’s Champion also had a radio, film and television career. The sorrel with a blaze and three white stockings first appeared on screen in Melody Trail in 1935. He could jump through paper-covered hoops and gallop and stop on command. Champion died in 1947 during Autry’s military service, so the singing cowboy had to find a second Champion. In 1949, Autry and Champion II left their marks in the famous sidewalk in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. He used other unofficial horses, named Little Champ, Lindy Champion, Touring Champion and Champion Three, to serve as movie stunt doubles or public appearances. Autry’s famous horse also starred in his own series, The Adventures of Champion, in 1955 and 1956. Champion also had a comic book series (he couldn’t let Trigger have all the glory!) The third official Champion died in 1991 at 42 years old. But all three Champions starred in almost one hundred films and TV shows.

Buck Jones’ horse, also called Silver, starred with the actor in 50 out of the 73 films for over twenty years, from 1922 until 1942. One silent film, The War Horse, features Silver being drafted into the cavalry – and Buck joins up as well out of loyalty. In France, Buck rides Silver across enemy lines and heroically stops an ambush by German soldiers to save the outfit and win the love of a Red Cross nurse. Perhaps Silver also earned the love of a sweet mare! Unfortunately, Jones’ star as a western cowboy waned by the end of the 1930s. On November 28, 1942, Buck Jones was the guest of honor at a party in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove, the city’s best nightclub. The actor died in a tragic fire, trapped along with 491 other guests celebrating over the Thanksgiving holiday including soldiers and a pair of newlyweds. Silver must have wept out of loyalty.

Hopalong Cassidy’s horse, Topper, replaced the actor's original horse after King Nappy was injured during filming in 1939. Topper, named by William Boyd’s fifth wife Grace – who loved the popular films and books – was a white Arabian stallion with black ears. Topper starred in over 60 films with the actor. Boyd wisely bought the rights and ended up making syndication deals along with tie-in products for the new Saturday TV matinee audiences until 1953, when he retired. Since he owned Topper, Boyd interred the horse after death in the Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, also called Save Our Pets’ History in Eternity (S.O.P.H.I.E.) in Calabasas, California.

Leave a comment about the favorite horse you remember in westerns. This website - http://www.fiftiesweb.com/horses.htm - lists many movie and television stars along with the animals associated with them. And here are a few more great websites to explore:  http://www.wildwestweb.net/horses.html; http://discovery2020.hubpages.com/hub/Horses-of-Famous-Western-Film-Stars-and-their-Sidekicks; http://thewildwest.org/cowboys/wildwestshowbizcowboys/293-moviecowboyhorses

Meg Mims is an award-winning author with two western mysteries under her Eastern belt. She lives in Michigan, where the hills are like driveway slopes and trees block any type of prairie winds. LIKE her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter or check out her books on her website. Double Crossing won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel and Double or Nothing is the exciting sequel. Her story, "A Savior Is Born," is included in A Wolf Creek Christmas published by Western Fictioneers.

Who was that Masked Man?

Movie theaters seem to be replete with super heroes these days. Maybe with the onslaught of  real life villains we see pouring in on us from the airwaves, we have an instinctive wish for, not just persons of incorruptible good, but champions for right, as well. Truth is, there’re plenty of those people in the world, they’re just not bigger than the screen…nor talked about much on the news channels.

Hollywood likes to spin up these marvelous fictitious heroes, mainly because we, the buying public…well, buy into it.  And what are the attributes of these super heroes? He (or she) must be honest, trustworthy, forthright, honorable, resilient, patriotic, faithful, fearless, duty-driven, courageous, young, good-looking, fit, and, of course, invulnerable. One or more super powers can come in handy, too, but aren’t mandatory. Wit, when one lacks in overpowering ability, can serve in its place.

Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger

This summer it’s Superman and The Lone Ranger. Now, we all know about the Man of Steel. I mean, he’s like the Michael Jordon of super heroes with a dose of George Washington moral fiber thrown in. However, he’s more eastern urban than western hero, so let’s concentrate on TLR and the time-honored question, “Who was that Masked Man?”

Take a look at TLR’s hero characteristics: He was a loner; he rode with an American Indian sidekick; he concealed his identity with a black mask; he roamed “the West” bringing to justice all manner of bad guys; he had a beautiful, fast horse; he would often wear disguises to out-wit unsuspecting outlaws; he would leave a silver bullet as his calling card; he started out in Detroit.

There are those who think the tales of the Lone Ranger originated from the life of a legendary western lawman named Bass Reeves.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves worked for Judge Isaac Parker’s U.S. District Court out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas from about 1875 to 1905. Deputy marshals for the “Hanging Judge” would roam far into the rough, untamed, and lawless land called Indian Territory to arrest wrongdoers.

From its inception in 1789 the U.S. Marshals Service has lost over 200 deputies in the line of duty.

More than 120 of those were killed in Indian and Oklahoma Territories prior to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. So it’s interesting to note that during Bass Reeves’ 30 years as a lawman in one of the most dangerous areas of the old west, he received nary even a bullet wound. Several times he had his hat shot off, once a bullet ripped a button from his coat, another time a slug fired from a Colt .44 cut the reins he held while sitting astride his horse. Invulnerability? Check.

Bass Reeves, an ex-slave, belonged to a Confederate Colonel named George R. Reeves of the 11^th Texas Cavalry, who brought Bass along as his personal servant on his campaigns. Some historians believe Bass fought alongside Col. (later Gen.) Stand Watie’s Cherokee soldiers at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Bass ran away from his enslavement after he and his colonel got into an altercation over a card game one night and Bass punched out his master. Fleeing into Indian Territory, he was taken in by members of the Creek Nation with whom he lived for several years.

In the back story of TLR, he was left for dead when a party of Texas Rangers, with whom he rode prior to becoming TLR, were ambushed by outlaws. But he is found by an Indian, who recognized the pre-TLR as a man who’d once saved his life, and so, nursed him back to health. Enter the famous Tonto.

Teaching a slave to read in the pre-Civil War South was considered a bad idea, so Bass was illiterate;

Bass Reeves

however, he was far from stupid. As a deputy he had to carry and serve warrants and writs for those whom he pursued. He devised astute ways to identify which writs were for which outlaw, and never arrested the wrong person, over 3,000 of them. He also got help from trusted possemen who could read. It’s believed one or two of those were Indians.

Black people in post-Civil War America were largely invisible. That is, no matter their station, no matter their accomplishments, they were ignored by the predominantly white population. Although Bass Reeves was perhaps one of the most courageous, dogged, duty-bound, and successful lawmen in terms of chasing down and bringing in bad guys, he was rarely recognized as such in news accounts. Having a black man arrest a white man, even the dirtiest of lowdown no account polecats, was highly frowned upon in “polite” society. Most times, newspaper accounts gave white deputies credit for Reeves’ arrests. Thus, his black face was his mask.

Bass would also use disguises to work his way among and arrest desperados. In one tale he put on ragged clothes, an old floppy hat, and heelless shoes then walked several miles to the home of two fugitive brothers. He looked every bit the downtrodden tramp, and told the boys’ ma he’d been running from the law, asking if he could get something to eat. She invited him in. When the brothers returned they struck up a friendship with the affable Reeves, and as the evening wore on agreed to let Bass join up with them in their ongoing outlawry, inviting him to spend the night. Once everyone was asleep, Bass slapped the brothers in cuffs, awakened them and informed them of their arrest. As he marched them off on foot back toward his distant camp, the boys’ ma followed along berating the deputy and cussing him fiercely.

Bass always had fine, fast horses. In fact, prior to his deputying days, he developed a good reputation for raising and training horses, selling many of his animals to the deputies he knew. He kept the best and fastest for himself, though. No doubt one or two were gray…or silver.

Bass didn’t use or give away silver bullets, but when he was out and about in the Territory, he would often get meals, lodging, and intel from local residents. It’s said he had a habit of leaving his hosts a silver dollar before he rode off.

As to the Detroit connection, many of the felons Reeves brought to justice were sent to the Detroit House of Corrections. Tales of the Lone Ranger began on the radio in Detroit in 1933. Maybe a tenuous connection, but it’s possible legendary stories of Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves came from some of those in that Detroit jail who’d had personal dealings with that man in the black mask.




Phil Truman has authored three of what he calls, “Oklahoma-centric” novels.  Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr  a historical novel about the life and times of an Oklahoma outlaw, was a 2013 Peacemaker Award nominee and finalist for the 2013 Will Rogers Medallion for Western Fiction. His novel GAME, an American Novel is a sports inspirational about small town schoolboy football. Legends of Tsalagee weaves a tale of mystery and adventure in a small town. He has won numerous awards for his short fiction, and his western short story “Last Will for an Outlaw” appears in LaFrontera Publishing’s anthology, Dead or Alive, released June 2013.

Phil’s website is: http://philtrumanink.com/