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West of the Dead Line #3
Runaway
Bass Reeves defies the commands of his master with a fist to the jaw. Knowing he’d be hung without question for such an offense, the young slave flees into the Arkansas night eventually ending up in Indian Territory where he is taken in and adopted by the Creek people.
One night on the trail Bass and his newfound friend Jud Coldstone are set upon by a gang of thugs led by the outlaw Dick Glass. They are robbed, beaten, shot, and left for dead, but Reeves manages to carry his gravely wound friend back to town.
While recovering Reeves is filled with a firm resolve to get the outlaw who nearly killed him, and hires on as a guide for the U.S. Marshals to seek his revenge against the desperado Dick Glass.
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The Dead Line, as it came to be called, was a railroad, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, cutting across the middle of Indian Territory. It ran straight south from Caldwell, Kansas to Fort Reno, I.T., then on down through the Cheyenne and Comanche and Kiowa lands, crossing the Red River into Bowie, Texas.
It was a line on the map, a demarcation. West of it there was no law, only outlaws. On trails out there, notes would be put up on trees and posts, sort of reverse wanted posters, letting lawmen know they’d be killed if they continued their pursuits west of the Dead Line.
Throughout the 225 years of the U.S. Marshals Service, over 200 deputies have been killed in the line of duty. Of those, more than 120 lost their lives in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories between 1850 and Oklahoma statehood in 1907.
In the storied history of the American West, no place comes close to matching the dangers and mortality these federal officers faced doing their jobs. Their courage, resolve, and dedication to duty were beyond reproach... for the most part. Those who survived became titans in the legends of the West.
These stories are fiction, but the encounters these lawmen faced, and The Dead Line, were not.
One night on the trail Bass and his newfound friend Jud Coldstone are set upon by a gang of thugs led by the outlaw Dick Glass. They are robbed, beaten, shot, and left for dead, but Reeves manages to carry his gravely wound friend back to town.
While recovering Reeves is filled with a firm resolve to get the outlaw who nearly killed him, and hires on as a guide for the U.S. Marshals to seek his revenge against the desperado Dick Glass.
------------------
The Dead Line, as it came to be called, was a railroad, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, cutting across the middle of Indian Territory. It ran straight south from Caldwell, Kansas to Fort Reno, I.T., then on down through the Cheyenne and Comanche and Kiowa lands, crossing the Red River into Bowie, Texas.
It was a line on the map, a demarcation. West of it there was no law, only outlaws. On trails out there, notes would be put up on trees and posts, sort of reverse wanted posters, letting lawmen know they’d be killed if they continued their pursuits west of the Dead Line.
Throughout the 225 years of the U.S. Marshals Service, over 200 deputies have been killed in the line of duty. Of those, more than 120 lost their lives in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories between 1850 and Oklahoma statehood in 1907.
In the storied history of the American West, no place comes close to matching the dangers and mortality these federal officers faced doing their jobs. Their courage, resolve, and dedication to duty were beyond reproach... for the most part. Those who survived became titans in the legends of the West.
These stories are fiction, but the encounters these lawmen faced, and The Dead Line, were not.
24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2014
5 people want to read
About the author
Phil Truman
17 books173 followersI'm a Heartland American who still believes in God, country, and apple pie (ummm). I've been married to the same woman for 40 years and plan to remain so as long as she and God permit it. I'm a father of two, grandfather of two, a Protestant, a veteran. Some would call me a curmudgeon (and have); I prefer conservative. I left the business world in 2007 to become a full time writer. I have three published novels - RED LAND OUTLAW, LEGENDS OF TSALAGEE, GAME, all of which have been #1 Best Sellers on Amazon. The 4th & 5th novels are in the pipe. I am a regular contributor to the Western Fictioneers blog http://westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/ . I never read books about teenage vampires, probably because I'm a former high school teacher; and have not, nor will I ever, read a Harry Potter book. The thought of flying, magical children frightens me.
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