 And according to legend, when Bass Reeves got out there, he lived with the Creek and the Seminole tribes, and that's when he learned how to shoot. And again, this is tall tales, but they said that he was good with either hand, with rifle or pistol, and could shoot the hind leg off a fly from 100 yards away. But once the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, Bass Reeves was made a U.S. Marshal.