Anyone that has seen the film True Grit may at least have a passing acquaintance with Ft. Smith (AR). It's a true story of a girl in search of her father's killer and enlists the aid of a US Marshall, Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn (played successively by John Wayne and Jeff Bridges) What does this have to do with this post... Not much really, except that Ft. Smith was the last outpost before the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) where desperados would go to hide out because they didn't have local law enforcement. The Marshall's would get them and bring them back to be hung by Judge Parker. Ft. Smith is now the home of the US Marshall's Museum. Many of the Marshall's are buried here, the most notable being Bass Reeves (Whose statue graces the Museum front) whose biggest accomplishment was being black. Another of the lesser known Marshall's was a man named Samuel F. Lawrence (whose biggest accomplishment was being Samuel F. Lawrence). Marshall Lawrence is buried in our oldest cemetery, Forest Park...
The Lawrence family monument
Another of our unknown luminaries was a man named Luther B. Lake. I had an historian show up from Oklahoma City inquiring about Mr. Lake's gravesite, so I brought him out there. He explained that Lake was quite an interesting character (if you're interested in history). At 21 he served with Mosby's Rangers during the War of Northern Aggression. After being captured he was sent to a brutal prison in Maryland where he, his brother and another prisoner fashioned a raft and sailed across Chesapeake Bay to freedom. He rejoined his outfit but for some reason went AWOL. After being caught, because of his daring exploits, he was sentenced to only 90 days (usually you were shot) that he was allowed to serve on weekends. He died in 1921 of natural causes at the age of 78.
Canon EOS Rebel 35x80 lens (film)
