Omaha daily bee., 1888-02-08
TERRY'S TEXAS RANGERS.
Interesting Story Of Man Who is
Full Of Lead.
DARING DEEDS IN WAR TIME
The Only Instance on Record when
LassOes Were Used-How sew.
eral Men Surrendered to
One Daring Ranger.

noon sat man with u career as
thrilling as any of the dime novel heroes
which stir the youthful heart. Major
George Barnard Zimpleman, the lead
ing spirit of Terry's famous Texas
rangers, was the man. He was sitting
in large cushioned chair, his right
foot resting on pillow and his left arm
lying limp at his side. OF medium
stature, but heavy frame, still he main
tains slightly aldermanic rotundity,
and his jolly, round face, beaming eyes
and grizzled mustache form u striking
picture of combined firmness of charac-
ter and fexibility and gentleness of
nature. Confinement to his room is the
result of a periodical weakness to his
right leg and left arm, the former hav-
ing been the receptacle of three bullets
and the latter two during the late ''un-
pleasantness." In addition to the five
wounds enumerated, Major Zimpleman
has had bullet through each lung and
two flesh wounds, one in the thigh and
one in the calf of the left leg-nine in
all. He is now in his iifty-fourth year
and carries his lead as lightly as any
man Oh eQual age.
Major Limpleman, who is now resi-
dent of Austin, has large interests at
El PasO. with extensive cattle ranges in
Texas, New and Old Mexico, and is IL
director in the FL Paso National bank.
He has been a resident of Texas for over
forty years. "Iimpleman went with
Terry's rangers at the breaking out of
the war;" said Colonel DAVIS. HE was
| always popular, owing to his good
nature, magnetism, daring and dash.
He was always in the front line of the
| charge, had dozens of hair-breadth
| escapes, and lives to-day with nine
| wounds to remind him of his younger
| days. After the war he returned to
| Travis county and was elected sheriff,
| when perhaps no other man in the state
| could have been elected.
The survivors of Terry's rangers, or
the Eighth Texas cavalry. will hold a
| reunion at Austin, Tuesday, January
". About one hundred of the original
| 900 joining Terry's regiment at the
outset will be there, and Major Limple-
| mans eyes frightened in anticipation
| of meeting with his old comrades This
| famous regiment was the flower of the
| confederate army. 1t was composed of
the wealthiest young planters of the
state, and none but large, muscular.
ncENy iucH WCTC dCCCpuCu, anu
there were always dozen re-
cruits following the rangers.
waiting for some one to be shot
in order that they might get into the
ranks. Thus were the saddles of this
daring cavalry regiment kept filed for
| nearly two years, notwithstanding the
desperate fights in which they were en-
| gagged, moving their men down like
grass. Colonel Terry was six feet two
inches in height, and q perfect speci
men of manhood. He was a brother of
States Attorney Dave Terry of Califor-
| MIA. who killed Broderick in Il duel
near Sacramento in 1859. The first
| fight in which the rangers were en-
gagged was at Woodsonville, sixty miles
above Bowling Green, on the Louisville
& Nashville railroad. The engagement
was with Michigan troops, and it was
here that Terry was killed. The battle
| is known as the Green river fight. AS
| Major Zimpleman was there, and at the
| front, he can best tell the story of the
fight.
81 think it bad taste for me to sit
here and relate my own exploits" pro-
| then, and did many rash things, pOssi-
bly,, but / wouldn't like to have any i'm
putation of blowing my own horn put
upon me at this late day"
1t was only after much insisting, sec
! Onded by the gallant Colonel Davis,
that the major was prevailed upon to
talk.
1.-THE fight at Woodsonville was our
| first" he proceeded. Our regiment
was brought up to drive in the federal
| pickets. We drove them in and before
we knew it ran right against line of
| federal infantry on the side Of strip of
ii ir,h and that fTro b,1
bargained for. There was but one
thing to do and we did it-went right
through them and were soon pretty we'll
mixed up. You see the trouble was. q
great many of us knew nothing about
warfare with OrgadiZed troops. True, 7
had been an Indian fighter, but this was
new to me. The federals, however,
were more surprised at our apparent
| daring than we were at finding their
| solid lines where we least expected it.
and thus we carried the day against
| great odds. All the boys went out with
| Il peculiar notion, and here the major
smiled grimly. "They said there was
| no use of wasting powder on the CYAN
KEGS we'd just lasso 'em and every one
| of us had his rope for that purpose. |
must confess | was little dubious
about that, and away down in my heart
didn't believe one of us could lick ten
| Yankees by any means, but | was de-
| termined to do us much as the others
did, and made up my mind to rope
Yankee before any one else had time
to. During our mixed-up scramble with
the federal infantry | saw one fellow, a
picket. about two hundred yards ahead
of the line ,and quick asa fash thought,
Here's mychance, if ever. and started
for him. 1t was a toss-up whether
would lasso him or he would kill me be-
fore could get within rope-range, and
besides, was between the federal main
line and him. AS | turned and dashed
toward my man think not less than a
thousand shot were fired at me, but
was not hit, my lasso shot through the
air, and l had my man fast, with the
rope under an arm and over the other
shoulder, where it did not hurt him. In
shooting at me his own friends had
broken an arm for him, so got him to a
log and he, at my direction, mounted
behind me. and then his friends ceased
firing. knew we were riding pretty
fast for a double burden, jumping
bitches, logs and all distractions, but
when my prisoner fell of I thought he
did it purposely, and asked him what
| L