Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1898-07-15
THE TEXAS RANGERS.
Thsy Are . Mast Tsrmidabis Body of Mst
who Know How 60 Fight.

Who Know How 90 Fight
The Texas Rangers believed they
could settled the little controversy with
Spain without any aid from the rest Of
the country. and really. Uncle Sam
could get together no more formidabls
body OF men than the sun-browned.
danger-tried heroes OF the southwest
One bugle blast from the national cap
ital could assemble in a twinkllng TO-
900 armed men. who would truhfully
term themselves Texas Rangers" and
not one OF them but whose revolver
shot would be effective from the back
OF a galloplng mustang at nifty yards.
while all would resent with heated In
dignation a question OF their ability 20
hit the bull's-eye" with a Winchester
as far as II could be distinguished. Ac.
eustomed 10 sleep In the open air. with
thelrsaddles forplllows and earth'sgar.
nlture for their mattresses. no harder
class OF men can be found anywhere.
A tin cup Of hastily boiled coffee and a
hunk Of half-roasted beef have formed
for months a; a time their midday
"banquetE." They have thriyed on
such fare and could endure unflnch.
ingly on much less. Exposure IL CON-
monplace for them. Il ia. indeed. their
mode Of living.
At San Antonio Is Captain J. s. Nc.
Nell. .as hardy ranger a. ever wore
buckskin. Captain Mcneil Is inclined
TO taclturniiy. but recently he was per-
Suaded 10 discuss the possibility OF or
ganizing a brigade Of rangers.
Il presume that European dlsciplln-
arians would laugh at my views OF
what our 'undrilled' rangers could do.
But let them think a Bit The tried
courage OF our boys should show that
there Is no danger OF them turning tail
under any circumstances. Now. then,
what Is most demoralizing to an army
II two forces meet and one sees ire
mendous havoc wrought on lis side.
while the foe continues 70 advance
relatively a. strong as before, what Is
the result' Suppose a brigade Of Eu-
ropean cavalry we're 70 be engaged by
an equal number OF rangers. In the
collision the Europeans might seek TO
use their sabers. ! warrant you that
before the two forces got together for
every European eavalryman's bullet
that found its mark at least two OF
the rangers guns would have dropped
their men. SO long a. they remained
away from a hand-to-hand scrimmage
the Texans would continue 10 Increase
the enemy's minority. Then when they
got together. the boys who could use
Bowie kaives and guns successfully
against the lances and tomahawks OF
the Indians could certainly whip the
cavalry OF any European nation with
ordinary sabers and side arms.
There are various things that favor
the ranger. In the first place, his
horse, the ordinary mustang. Is much
more serviceable for modern nghting
purposes than the ordinary cavalry
horse. It's thin. wiry legs aid Il on the
plains where a sharp turn frequently
saves it, rider from an onrushing steer
or enables the cowboy to stop a STAN
pede. ! know OF no occupation that
requires more GOODNESS and endurance
and the exercise OF more quick. good
Judgment than does that OF the COW
boy. And there Is certainly no indus
try that makes better horsemen or
breeds class OF horses better for their
use. All the world knows that down
here, where hunting Is a. popular a
juvenile sport as playing tops. we have
reared generations Of marksmen. Il
seems TO me that even those unfamiliar
with the resources and capacities OF our
cowboys can understand that 10000 OF
them, fitted out as rangers. would show
the world a good deal In the way OF
military doings.
Taught 10 IRE across the neck OF
galloping mustang. with scarcely
anything but one leg and thigh ex.
posed they would puzzle the spanlardl
sorcly while their own Workmanship
and courage would certainly gain then
Us many victories against European
arms as they have already won against
American foes equally as dangerous a,
the foreigners 10 the passage ut arms.