Wallace’s Most Popular Stories

Of all of the stories that Wallace shares with the public, none is more popular than those of the black men who were outlaws and lawmen during the Indian War Period. With the help of Mr. Art Burton’s great book, “Black, Red, and Deadly”, we were able to research these men and tell their stories.

 

African American Heroes of the Past

The idea of an African-American wearing the badge of a Deputy US Marshal is not a common one, but in fact our research reveals that a large number of these men did live. None was more famous than the invincible Marshal Bass Reeves. His story is told in Mr. Burton’s book, “Black Star, Silver Gun”. Like many of these men, his many exploits are hard to believe. However, they are true. He was a Deputy US Marshal longer than James Butler (Wild Bill Hickok) or Wyatt Earp, and killed twice as many men in combat. For some reason, little is known of him. We are proud to tell his story. Other black men left their mark as famous lawmen.  Men like Grant Johnson, Zeke Miller, Rufus Cannon, Jim Ruth, Robert “Poorboy” Fortune, and Wallace McNac are often part of Wallace’s stories.

An equal number of black men chose to ride the owl-hoot trail and became outlaws. Like all of their kind, they lived fast, and most died young. We will share with you the stories of the Freedmen Outlaw, Buss Luckey, Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill. Of all the outlaw stories, none will pull at heart strings more than the story of “The Rufus Buck Gang”. Five boys who went on a killing spree for thirteen days and in the end had to face the gallows of the famous Hanging Judge, Isaac Parker. The old west was truly Black, Red, and Deadly.