Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-05-04
The Texas Ranuer,
(From the New York Times. !


The general impression in the north
of the Texas rangers is that they are
lawless, dissipated, reckless, desperate
nearly as bad as the thieves and rascals
they are employed to suppress. But
they are very different from the popular
notion of them, if we may judge from a
letter recently written from Texas by a
man who claims to know all about them.
TIE rangers live on the frontier of the
state, spend thirds of the time in the
saddle, and are continually hunting and
fighting the worst characters, the great
est desperadoes, of the country. Their
experiences are of the widest, most ro-
mantle, most melodramatic kind, and
would, literally related, delight the
average boy of the period more than the
highest favored dime novel. This body
was organized twenty odd years ago, by
the people of Texas, for the protection
of their southern and western frontier
from the inroads of indians and Mexi-
cans, and for breaking up the gangs of
horse and cattle thieves and stage rob-
bers SO inimical to life and property. It
consists of $50 men, divided into 6 COM
panies of 20 to 80 each, stationed 100
miles apart, from the Red river to and
along the Rio Grande. They are known
as the Frontier battalion, and are under
the supervision of Adjt-Gen. J. B.
Jones. each company having captain
and two sergeants. A ranger must pos
sess great endurance, undisputed cour-
age, wide experience in frontier warfare,
and must be, besides, a dead shot. He
must be able to trace bands of rowing
Indians or depredators over hill and
prairie, through brush and river bot
toms, for without this accomplishment
he would be of little value. He must
provide his own horse or horses-and of
the best, too-a Winchester carbine, a
bowie-knife, a large Colts revolver,
belts, cartridges, and blankets. He wears
no regular uniform, but his attire is gen
orally blue wooden shirt, buckskin or
corduroy trousers, high-top boots, with
huge spurs, and a Mexican sombrero.
The rangers have rendered excellent
service to the state and to law and order
generally. They have expelled, captur-
ed, or killed many of the most danger
GUS rufGans with whom the southwest
has ever been infested. The service is,
of course, full of peril, as may be seen
from the adjutant's report that one
fourth of the members of the battalion
are killed or disabled in every year of
what may well be named their active
campaigning. The number of criminals
and outlaws has been greatly reduced
since the organization of the rangers,
without whom law and order would be
disestablished. Sheriffs would be pow
erless, stage routes untenable, and
peaceable citizens driven from the from
tier. AS soon as the battalion learns of
the presence of raiders in the state, they
are in their saddles, armed and equip
ped, go dashing off, sparing neither
their horses nor themselves until the Of
tenders have been overtaken and pun
ished. The garrison at various govern
ment posts are of little avail except to
repel invasions of large bodies of Mexi-
cans or Indians. In all ordinary cases
the frontiersmen have to depend on the
skillful, dauntless, ubiquitous ranger.