The Lone Stranger

Evidence that Bass Reeves was the real Lone Ranger includes last name (the fictional character's was Reid ~ close to Reeves), mount (they both rode a white horse), and penchant for disguise. Reasons he would have been turned into a fictional hero include that during his career as a lawman, he arrested 3,000 felons, once bringing in 17 at the same time. Proof that reality can be more compelling than fiction includes the man's life ~ born a slave, he escaped and lived for a time with local Native American tribes, learning their languages and becoming an expert tracker and, eventually, one of the first (if not the first) African Americans to become a deputy marshal west of the Mississippi: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10131675/Was-the-real-Lone-Ranger-black.html