the daring and ever-watchful foe of the texas indian, the dashing and ever-ready hunter of the texas buffalo, was the texas ranger. he, too, is passing away before the march of civilization, and fast becoming a memory only; but a memory which will live forever in song and story, with the brave, the generous, and the noble of all times.
the first company of texas rangers was formed in 1832; but it was not until the administration of president burnet (1836) that this arm of the service was regularly organized and put into the field.
they became at once a power, and they have since played an important part in the history of the state. mounted upon a swift horse, with a lariat (rope) coiled about the high pommel of his saddle and a blanket strapped behind him; with his long rifle resting in the hollow of his arm, and the bridle held loosely in his hand; erect and graceful, the brim of his slouch hat hiding the sparkle of his keen eyes,—the texas ranger is a striking and picturesque figure. but he is more than that. for fifty years and more he has been the terror of indian and intruding mexican, of thief and desperado, of lawlessness and crime.
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the rangers are subject to the call of the government. “but no tap of spirit-stirring drum or piercing fife, no trumpet call or bugle sound was heard on the border,” in those early days. a rider passed from settlement to settlement, from home to home; there would be wiping of rifles and moulding of bullets. oftener than otherwise it was the wives and the sisters and the sweethearts who moulded the bullets and packed the wallets, while the men ground their knives and saddled their horses. then with a hurried good-bye, the rangers were mounted and away; now on the bloody trail of the comanches, now tracking the fierce lipans; to-day protecting a lonely frontier cabin, to-morrow helping the mexican teamsters in the cart war.
a texas ranger.
the rangers, during the war of the united states with mexico, were noted for their courage and gallantry. “i have seen a goodly number of volunteers in my day,” a war correspondent wrote of them at that time, “but the texas rangers are choice specimens. from the time we left matamoras until we reached this place (reynoso), the men never took off their coats, boots, or spurs. and although the weather was rainy and two fierce northers visited us, there was not a minute when any man’s rifle or pistol would have missed fire or he could not have been up and ready for an attack.”[35]
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another writer describes the rangers in camp: “men in groups, with long beards and mustachios, were occupied in drying their blankets and cleaning and firing their guns. some were cooking at the camp-fires, others were grooming their horses. they all wore belts of pistols around their waists and slouched hats, the uniform of the texas ranger. they were a rough-looking set; but among them were doctors, lawyers, and many a college graduate. while standing in their midst i saw a young fellow come into the camp with a rifle on his shoulder and a couple of ducks in his hand. he addressed the captain: ‘ben,’ he said, ‘if you haven’t had dinner, you’d better mess with me, for i know none of the rest have fresh grub to-day.’
the “captain” was benjamin mcculloch, famous in the annals of the rangers. he is thus described by samuel reid, one of his own men:
“captain mcculloch is a man of rather delicate frame, about five feet ten inches in height, with light hair and complexion. his features are regular and pleasing, though from long exposure on the frontier they have a weatherbeaten cast. his quick, bright blue eyes and thin compressed lips indicate the cool and calculating, as well as the brave and daring, energy of the man.”
mcculloch was a tennesseean by birth. his father served under general jackson during the creek war. ben followed the trade of a hunter until he was twenty-one years old. in those days the settlers depended chiefly on bear meat for food. if a man were a poor marksman he sometimes went without his breakfast. but young mcculloch was a fine shot; he often killed as many as eighty bears in the course of a season.
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he came to texas with david crockett. a fortunate illness kept him at nacogdoches until after the fall of the alamo, where crockett perished. he served in the artillery at the battle of san jacinto, and was one of the first to join the “ranging service.” he was in almost all the expeditions of his time, and engaged in nearly all the fights.
the most noted ranger of this period, however, was colonel john coffin hays, familiarly known as “jack” hays. samuel reid says of him:
“i had heard so much of colonel hays that i was anxious to meet the commander of our regiment. on this occasion i saw a group of gentlemen sitting around a camp-fire. among them were general mirabeau lamar, governor henderson, and general mcleod, all distinguished men of texas whose names are enrolled on the page of history. as i cast my eyes around the group, i tried to single out the celebrated partisan chief; and i was much surprised to be introduced to a slender, delicate-looking young man who proved to be colonel jack hays. he was dressed quite plainly, and wore the usual broad-brimmed texas hat and a loose open collar, with a black handkerchief tied carelessly around his neck. he has dark brown hair and large, brilliant hazel eyes which are restless in conversation and speak a language of their own not to be mistaken. his forehead is broad and high. he looks thoughtful and careworn, though very boyish. his modesty is extreme.”
john coffin hays
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colonel hays was also a tennesseean. he emigrated to texas when but nineteen years of age. his talent as a leader showed itself early; and at the age of twenty-one (1840) he was placed in command of the frontier, with the rank of major. he soon became famous as a fighter of the indians, by whom he was both feared and admired. “me and blue wing,” said a comanche chief on one occasion, “we no afraid to go anywhere together, but captain jack great brave. he no afraid to go anywhere by himself.”
his regiment of rangers which included mcculloch’s company was foremost in every battle of the war with mexico. his word was law with his men. off duty he was a gay and pleasant companion; the rangers called him jack, but there was something about him which kept them from taking any liberties with him.
the rangers continued to serve the state after peace was made with mexico. in 1862 the legislature passed a law for the protection of the frontier. this law provided for the raising of ten companies of rangers of one hundred men each. each company was to be divided, and the two detachments stationed about one day’s ride apart, just beyond the settlements.
the command of this regiment was given to colonel j. h. norris. he went at once to the frontier. he distributed his soldiers from the red river to the rio grande, with orders for each company to send a scout every day from one station to the next, the scout to return the following day. this plan gave a patrol scout from red river to the rio grande every day. in addition to this, each company kept out a flying scout all the time.
“this,” remarks an old ranger (e. l. deaton), “was a busy year for both rangers and indians.”
on the 8th of january, 1864, five hundred rangers, under captains gillentine, fossett, and totten, met and defeated two thousand comanche indians on dove creek in what is now tom green county. this was one of the last pitched battles fought with indians on texas soil.
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in later years the rangers have served as a sort of state police. many a stronghold of cattle thieves has been raided by them; many a nest of desperadoes has been broken up; many a bitter neighborhood feud has been settled.
at the present time (1896) there are about two hundred rangers in the service. they furnish their own horses, and receive forty dollars a month; their rations and their arms being supplied by the state.
some of those noted for steady nerve and daring courage among the ranger captains of earlier and later times are colonel “rip” ford, lawrence sullivan ross (since governor of texas, and called by his old comrades “sul” ross), colonel “buck” barry, lieutenant chrisman, sergeants j. b. armstrong and l. p. selker, and captains tom wright, jesse lee hall, and l. b. mcnulty.
