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Bass Reeves in Fiction and
Nonfiction Study Guide
NOTE: Nelson’s book is not paginated. Students will have to count out pages, so there may be inconsistencies in
page references.
Use this guide to compare two books about Bass Reeves:
• Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
• The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West
by Gary Paulsen
Read the whole guide before reading the books, so you know what to look for as you read. Write
notes and useful references (such as title and page numbers) in the spaces below. Then, on a
separate piece of paper, form your notes into short essay responses.
1. Without looking at the titles or library call numbers, would you think that each of these books
was fiction or nonfiction? Why? What details lead you to your conclusion?
Nelson’s biography is written in a storytelling style and reads like a tall tale in parts, while the tone of
Paulsen’s fiction is a more straightforward narrative, with lots of credible detail. Students may be used
to biographies being more detailed, while tall tales are usually short. However, Nelson’s book includes
nonfiction features like a glossary, timeline, further reading, and research notes.
2. What did Reeves look like? Do the physical descriptions in the two books match?
On p. 6 of the text, Nelson describes Reeves as “a head taller than most men of his time,” with broad
shoulders and huge hands. Paulsen describes him as six feet, two inches tall and 180 (later 190)
pounds; Paulsen says later that “most men were five foot three or four.” So the descriptions match.
3. What does each book tell you about Colonel George Reeves, the man who owned Bass Reeves
as a slave? About the relationship between the two? Do the two descriptions match? Does the
fictional account seem consistent with the facts?
Nelson only mentions Colonel Reeves on p. 7 of the text. Nelson says that Colonel Reeves took Bass
hunting and entered him in shooting contests to show him off; Colonel Reeves later took Bass with
him to fight in the Civil War. Paulsen spends much of the first half of the book portraying Colonel
Reeves, whom he calls only “the mister,” as a fat, lazy drunk who had a patronizing but not totally
disrespectful relationship with the boy. Paulsen’s “mister” seems rather inconsistent with the Civil War
soldier in Nelson’s account.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Continued: Bass Reeves in Fiction and Nonfiction Study Guide
4. Compare accounts of the event that led to Bass Reeves running away from Colonel Reeves.
Does the fictional account seem consistent with the facts?
Nelson only mentions this event on p. 8 of the text, while Paulsen builds up to it with detailed
descriptions of “the mister” teaching Bass to play poker and then upping the stakes of the game over
time. The event is described in Paulsen on pp. 61–64. Paulsen’s version is convincingly consistent with
the facts.
5. How did Reeves’s years as a fugitive slave prepare him for his job as Deputy Marshal of Indian
Territory? Does the longer, fictional account fit with the facts in the biography?
In the biography, on p. 9, Nelson mentions that Reeves lived with the tribes, learning their languages
and perfecting his marksmanship. Paulsen expounds at length, and very credibly, on Reeves’s learning
every inch of the Indian Territory as a fugitive in hiding, interacting with Native Americans and
even being “adopted” into an Indian family. All of the second section (pp. 69–100) of Paulsen’s book
develops this theme. It seems to fit the facts well.
6. Describe at least two clear inconsistencies between the facts in the biography and the story in
the fiction book.
Paulsen gives Reeves’s birth date as 1824 (in the Foreword); he also claims (in the Epilogue) that Reeves
became constable of Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1907 at the age of 81 and died three years later. In
Nelson’s timeline, Reeves’s birth year is listed as 1838 and year of death as 1910, which would make
Reeves only 72 years old when he died.
Also, while Paulsen claims that Reeves always rode alone when on the job (p. 106), Nelson describes
Reeves as traveling with a chuck wagon and cook, a guard, at least one posse man, and a wagon to
carry prisoners (p. 16).
7. Compare the accounts of Reeves’s showdown with Jim Webb in the books. How well does
Paulsen’s fictional story match Nelson’s nonfiction account?
Nelson begins his book with an account of the confrontation between Reeves and Webb. Paulsen
describes it in detail on pp. 116–128. The settings of the encounter differ; Nelson says Webb jumped
from a window of a store, whereas Paulsen has Reeves and Webb meeting out in open country.
Some other details are consistent, like Webb’s respectful dying gesture of giving Reeves his weapons.
Overall, it’s a credible account.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Continued: Bass Reeves in Fiction and Nonfiction Study Guide
8. Both books mention that Reeves could not read. Compare the authors’ comments about how
he compensated for his illiteracy by developing his memory. Do Paulsen’s fictional details
follow logically from the facts?
Nelson notes on p. 13 that Reeves could not read and that he would carefully memorize the shapes
of the letters in the names on the arrest warrants, as well as the charges. On p. 88, Paulsen describes
drawings Reeves would scratch into the dirt to help him commit a “map” of the Territory to memory.
It’s a convincing detail that fits the facts.
9. Nelson explains Reeves’s strategy of using disguises to get close to and arrest outlaws. Note
Paulsen’s examples of this strategy in The Legend of Bass Reeves. The account of Reeves
disguising himself as a woman is not in the biography. Do you think it fits Reeves’s character to
use this disguise? Why or why not?
Opinions may vary. This account, on p. 109, is set in context with other times that Reeves used
disguises to capture outlaws. While Reeves’s dignity and the standards of the time might make
students question whether he would go as far as to dress as a woman, his determination, dedication
to duty, and cleverness with strategy have been well established and suggest that he might go to
these lengths to “get his man.”
10.Compare the accounts of Reeves’s arrest of his son. Is the fictional account true to the facts in
the biography?
Nelson’s account, on pp. 27–28, is remarkably concise. Paulsen relates the story on pp. 128–134. The
details, which are consistent with the facts given by Nelson, are poignant and seem very much in
character.
11.Are there interesting events in the biography that you wish Paulsen had included in his
fictional story?
Responses will vary. Students might mention Reeves pulling a steer out of the mud (p. 6 of Nelson’s
text), being cussed out by the mother of two outlaws he tricked (p. 17–18), preaching the Bible to his
captives (p. 21), petting a skunk (p. 22), having Belle Starr surrender to him (p. 24), or rescuing a man
from a lynch mob (p. 25).
12.Overall, did Paulsen do a good job of staying true to the facts while fictionalizing Reeves’s life
and character? Give him a grade of A, B, C, D, or F, and explain your answer.
Responses will vary. Overall, Paulsen’s account sticks quite well to the facts and convincingly fills out a
portrait of Reeves’s life and character, with some lapses.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Answer Key
Bass Reeves in Fiction and
Nonfiction Study Guide
NOTE: Nelson’s book is not paginated. Students will have to count out pages, so there may be inconsistencies in
page references.
Use this guide to compare two books about Bass Reeves:
• Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
• The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West
by Gary Paulsen
Read the whole guide before reading the books, so you know what to look for as you read. Write
notes and useful references (such as title and page numbers) in the spaces below. Then, on a
separate piece of paper, form your notes into short essay responses.
1. Without looking at the titles or library call numbers, would you think that each of these books
was fiction or nonfiction? Why? What details lead you to your conclusion?
Nelson’s biography is written in a storytelling style and reads like a tall tale in parts, while the tone of
Paulsen’s fiction is a more straightforward narrative, with lots of credible detail. Students may be used
to biographies being more detailed, while tall tales are usually short. However, Nelson’s book includes
nonfiction features like a glossary, timeline, further reading, and research notes.
2. What did Reeves look like? Do the physical descriptions in the two books match?
On p. 6 of the text, Nelson describes Reeves as “a head taller than most men of his time,” with broad
shoulders and huge hands. Paulsen describes him as six feet, two inches tall and 180 (later 190)
pounds; Paulsen says later that “most men were five foot three or four.” So the descriptions match.
3. What does each book tell you about Colonel George Reeves, the man who owned Bass Reeves
as a slave? About the relationship between the two? Do the two descriptions match? Does the
fictional account seem consistent with the facts?
Nelson only mentions Colonel Reeves on p. 7 of the text. Nelson says that Colonel Reeves took Bass
hunting and entered him in shooting contests to show him off; Colonel Reeves later took Bass with
him to fight in the Civil War. Paulsen spends much of the first half of the book portraying Colonel
Reeves, whom he calls only “the mister,” as a fat, lazy drunk who had a patronizing but not totally
disrespectful relationship with the boy. Paulsen’s “mister” seems rather inconsistent with the Civil War
soldier in Nelson’s account.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Continued: Bass Reeves in Fiction and Nonfiction Study Guide
4. Compare accounts of the event that led to Bass Reeves running away from Colonel Reeves.
Does the fictional account seem consistent with the facts?
Nelson only mentions this event on p. 8 of the text, while Paulsen builds up to it with detailed
descriptions of “the mister” teaching Bass to play poker and then upping the stakes of the game over
time. The event is described in Paulsen on pp. 61–64. Paulsen’s version is convincingly consistent with
the facts.
5. How did Reeves’s years as a fugitive slave prepare him for his job as Deputy Marshal of Indian
Territory? Does the longer, fictional account fit with the facts in the biography?
In the biography, on p. 9, Nelson mentions that Reeves lived with the tribes, learning their languages
and perfecting his marksmanship. Paulsen expounds at length, and very credibly, on Reeves’s learning
every inch of the Indian Territory as a fugitive in hiding, interacting with Native Americans and
even being “adopted” into an Indian family. All of the second section (pp. 69–100) of Paulsen’s book
develops this theme. It seems to fit the facts well.
6. Describe at least two clear inconsistencies between the facts in the biography and the story in
the fiction book.
Paulsen gives Reeves’s birth date as 1824 (in the Foreword); he also claims (in the Epilogue) that Reeves
became constable of Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1907 at the age of 81 and died three years later. In
Nelson’s timeline, Reeves’s birth year is listed as 1838 and year of death as 1910, which would make
Reeves only 72 years old when he died.
Also, while Paulsen claims that Reeves always rode alone when on the job (p. 106), Nelson describes
Reeves as traveling with a chuck wagon and cook, a guard, at least one posse man, and a wagon to
carry prisoners (p. 16).
7. Compare the accounts of Reeves’s showdown with Jim Webb in the books. How well does
Paulsen’s fictional story match Nelson’s nonfiction account?
Nelson begins his book with an account of the confrontation between Reeves and Webb. Paulsen
describes it in detail on pp. 116–128. The settings of the encounter differ; Nelson says Webb jumped
from a window of a store, whereas Paulsen has Reeves and Webb meeting out in open country.
Some other details are consistent, like Webb’s respectful dying gesture of giving Reeves his weapons.
Overall, it’s a credible account.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Continued: Bass Reeves in Fiction and Nonfiction Study Guide
8. Both books mention that Reeves could not read. Compare the authors’ comments about how
he compensated for his illiteracy by developing his memory. Do Paulsen’s fictional details
follow logically from the facts?
Nelson notes on p. 13 that Reeves could not read and that he would carefully memorize the shapes
of the letters in the names on the arrest warrants, as well as the charges. On p. 88, Paulsen describes
drawings Reeves would scratch into the dirt to help him commit a “map” of the Territory to memory.
It’s a convincing detail that fits the facts.
9. Nelson explains Reeves’s strategy of using disguises to get close to and arrest outlaws. Note
Paulsen’s examples of this strategy in The Legend of Bass Reeves. The account of Reeves
disguising himself as a woman is not in the biography. Do you think it fits Reeves’s character to
use this disguise? Why or why not?
Opinions may vary. This account, on p. 109, is set in context with other times that Reeves used
disguises to capture outlaws. While Reeves’s dignity and the standards of the time might make
students question whether he would go as far as to dress as a woman, his determination, dedication
to duty, and cleverness with strategy have been well established and suggest that he might go to
these lengths to “get his man.”
10.Compare the accounts of Reeves’s arrest of his son. Is the fictional account true to the facts in
the biography?
Nelson’s account, on pp. 27–28, is remarkably concise. Paulsen relates the story on pp. 128–134. The
details, which are consistent with the facts given by Nelson, are poignant and seem very much in
character.
11.Are there interesting events in the biography that you wish Paulsen had included in his
fictional story?
Responses will vary. Students might mention Reeves pulling a steer out of the mud (p. 6 of Nelson’s
text), being cussed out by the mother of two outlaws he tricked (p. 17–18), preaching the Bible to his
captives (p. 21), petting a skunk (p. 22), having Belle Starr surrender to him (p. 24), or rescuing a man
from a lynch mob (p. 25).
12.Overall, did Paulsen do a good job of staying true to the facts while fictionalizing Reeves’s life
and character? Give him a grade of A, B, C, D, or F, and explain your answer.
Responses will vary. Overall, Paulsen’s account sticks quite well to the facts and convincingly fills out a
portrait of Reeves’s life and character, with some lapses.
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks
Heroes Bibliography Form
Complete this form to include your book in a class bibliography about
heroes and heroism.
Title:_____________________________________________________________________
Author: __________________________________________________________________
Publication information (publisher and date of publication): ______________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Brief summary:
Who is/are the hero(es) in the story? What did you learn about heroism from this story?
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Web Resource · Curriculum Connections · May/June 2015 • LibrarySparks