Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-06-18
THE TEXAS RANGERS
An Organization That Forced Out
lawry to the Wall In the Lone
Star State.
"RED RIDE" ON RIO GRANDE
Captain McMurray Talks Entertain ingly Of
the Palmy Days of the Organization
Their Make Up and Achievements.

The presence of Captain McMurray,
of Ell Paso, Tex, in this city recalls to
memory the palmy days of that splendid
police organization of Texas, known
as the Texas Rangers.
1t was composed of just such men as
the eastern public picture the Rough
Riders gathered from New Mexico,
Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Wyoming
for service in the war with Spain.
After the Mexican war determined
the boundaries of Texas. the western
part of the state became populated, to a
great extent, with outlaws and desper-
ate characters of every variety, and the
honest element felt called upon to effect
some means of %suppressing the out
laws.
In 1876 the legislature appropriated
$1OO, 900 for two years for the mainten-
ance of a ranger police organization.
Captains received $3.50 per month for
their services, and privates $40. The
organization consisted of companies A.,
b, G, D, E and f, and were recruited to
a strength of 100 men each. Each man
was vested with power to act as a dep
uty sheriff, U. S. deputy marshal, and if
need be, both Judge and cXecntioner.
The rangers were sworn to support the
laws of Texas and the United States.
They were kings of the desert and
wilderness and fought outlawry with
the ferocity of tigers and fed the soar
ing buzzards and Sinking jackals with
the carcasses of innumerable vanquished
foes. Their work was fast and furious
and was marked with a d~ecisiveness
little short Of appalling. They fought
in the yigor of health and in the fast APP
preaching shadow of death, and each
speeding bullet melted out justice and
vengeance at the same time.
The captains had the selections of
their men and the right to honorably
discharge at will. Each man furnished
his horse and arms and the state pro-
vided rations and ammunition. They
we're equipped with little regard for
military regulations. The prime fact
ors of the makeup of the rangers were
horsemanship, craftsmanship, %self-re-
lance, a cool head, clear eye, iron
nerve and absolute sobriety. Desperate
natures, demanding excitement and rep
~resentatives of some of the foremost
families in America, and even those
whose blood wa tinged with the nobil-
ity of France, Germany and England,
comprised the bands which regulated
the moral condition of the outlaw in
tested state.
The mounted police ard c%onstabulary
of South Africa and Canada approach
somewhat in character the makeup and
duties of the rangers. No uniforms
were adopted. The usual outfit con-
sisted of a coat of corduroy with water
proof lining, trousers OF heavy dark
cloth, wooden shirts, strong and heavily
spurred boots, buckskin riding gloves
and sombrero. A Winchester carbine,
Colts 45-calibre siX-shooter, bowie knife
and handouts comprised the armament
of this veritable monitor of the plains.
Each man was furnished with a list of
Texas criminals, and he was expected to
familiarize himself with the characters
and features of the outlaws from the
descriptions given. During the early
period of their career, the rangers made
few arrests, preferring to entirely an
initiate the foe when found and a V
the state the costs of prosecution and
execution.
Bands of outlaws under the leadership
of such desperadoes as King Fisher,
Sam Bass and Yves Hardin, committed
the most heniouS crimes imaginable and
terrorized the state. Judges were in
league with the bandits, and cattle rust
lers and murderers elected sheriffs and
other officers of the law. But this con
dition was Don changed by the rangers
and their name became as terror strik-
ing to criminals as the bogie man is to
children.
The necessity for the organization
grew less as the years passed and out
lawry was practically eliminated in the
Lone Star state. Members dropped
from the ranks and of late it has been
difficult to maintain that branch of
Texas justice, for the business is now
neither exciting nor ventursome. There
are only about rs men ON the official roll
now. Since the war with Spain Ad~jutant
General Mabry, of Texas, has been re-
cruiting the various companies to their
maximum strength forduty on the Mex
leo border to suppress Mexican and
Spanish handitti which has been threat
ening to commit ravages in Texas.
Captain McMurray commanded com
pany B, frontier battalion for a period
of IS years. He is a native of Tennes-
see, and came west when rs years of
age. Though so years old now, he is as
hale and vigorous as a young man of 30
and looks capable of considerable hard
service yet.
While his company was stationed at
Brownsville the captain equipped a SER
geant named PARROT, who was an anna
teur photographer, with the necessary
p%araphanilia and sent him up the Rio
Grande valley to photograph the out
laws of that region. The advent of a
photographer in the region was a v
city to the desperadoes and they fairly
overwhelmed Parrot with orders. As
the order was given, each mans name
was secured, and even the most desper-
ate characters seemed to feel no fear,
so secure We're they in the belief that
they could overwhelm any force sent
against them.
Parrot travelled 700 miles and con
sumed four months time on the trip, but
when he returned, he had a choice col
lection of rogue's photographs. A COM
pany was detailed to ''wipe out the
tiends photographed, after the sergeant
made his report. Their campaign Is yet
referred to as the "red ridc'' by settlers
on the lower Rio Grande, for the COM
mand rode from Brownsville to Iona
Vista and removed every outlaw whose
face was betrayed by the camera. Over
100 were transferred to a better land on
that trip.
Another of Captain McMurray's
achievements was the determination of
Sam Bass band of desperadoes at Round
Rock. in 1878. Bass conceived the idea
of robbing the bank at that place, but
his plans were ascertained and a band
of rangers settled another score for JUS