El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-09
The Texas Ranger Force
Unique Public Deensemade Up OF In
exceled Riders Who Live With Their
IN Hands,
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0NNONNON~O
The Texas Rangers, as an organ1za
| ton, dates from the spring OF 1886. Tn
| hardy Texans were III war with Mexico
for the freedom of the republic OF lex
| as from Mexican rule. when the
| Alamo had fallen and the frlghtfu
massacre there had occurred Genera
Sam Houston organized among the set
tiers in the territory troop of l6O'
mounted rifllemen. They were the
original Texas Rangers. They die
wonders in the face of the army under
| General Santa Anna in the battle o.
San Jacinto When the republic o.
Texas was organic ed in December
1897, the Rangers were retained as 6
sort of shading army for the frontier
of the unique republic. During the
seven years before Texas was admitted
as state in the Union the rangers re-
PEELED horde of murde rous Mexican
, marsuders from beyond the Rio
Grande, fought into submission the
fierce Apaches, Comanches and Kiowas
dozens of times. and administratered
Justice on q wholesale plan to great
number of the red handed outlaws
and ruffians who fiocked into the new
republic from all parts of the United
States.
The TIE as Rangers became so much
life and property of the settlers aud
lonely ranchmen of the territory that
when Texas became state 200 OF the
Rangers we're maintained as mounted
police along the Mexican border and
for holding in check the almost 1ntrac-
table Indian TRIBES of the Southwest.
Until the civil war broke out the Tex
as Rangers to the number OF 5OOO
among the frontiersmen who were cal
led out many times to aid in quellng
an Indian outbreak and to drive out or
slay band of Mexican marauders.
After the war the Rangers were gra-
dually reduced from 1000 to 300 men,
and for some ten years there has been
no legally constituted force CT Rangers.
The men who occupy to some degree
the places of the olG-time rangers are
officially designated the Frontier Bat
TALON. Up to 1870 the battalion was
Companies A and Q were dis banded
about FIVE years ago. There were then
forty men in company, Differed by
captain, Lieutenant, q sergeant and
corporal. The present organization
provides for only captains aud serge
ants, and the force was cut down In
1895 from fourteen men in each COM
pany to seven. 50 mere handful" says
an old Ranger. but they are all aces. I"
Still there are in the Office of the
acknowledgement at Austin list of
1900 equipped and experienced men
who are amenable to calls for imme-
diate duty as Rangers by the governor.
The list is revised every year, and
only the most hardy may serve. There
is also list of reserve Rangers to the
mum Der of 5000. The stockmen and
owners of the big Texas ranches all
employ some men belonging to the
Rangers On their own account.
When the civil war broke out Cen
lied the famous body of men known as
Terry's Texas Rangers. composed en-
tirely of former Rangers and frontiers
men. They fought from Bull Run to
Appomattox, and lost Is per cent of
their original muster roll. General
Sherman's memoirs comment upon the
bravery>of the Rangers at Shiloh Soon
after the close of the civil war the
Texas legislature provided for calling
frontier against the hostile Indians.
They were what would have been
known 500 years ago as wardens Of
the marches. Il was formidable lit
tie army thus provided, and for some
years thereafter the Rangers formed
a strong body of troops. AS late as
1873 there were organized and armed
along the frontier OF Texas twenty
eight minute companies of Rangers,
and four more companies were muster
ed into service late that year or early
the next.
Senator Roger Q. Mills has said that
it is unfortunate for the glory of the
west that q history of the Texas Ran
gers cannot be written with satisfac-
ton. The chief actors participants in
the history making days of that won
derful body are all dead and they have
left no material for a correct account
of their deeds and cold heroism. Then,
too, the achievements and acts of the
upremest test of val
orous duty--occurred away out On the
plains of Texas, many miles remote
from the border of civilization, and the
homely, everyday heroes had no idea
they were doing things as sublimely |
brave as any Theban band of Spartans |
DR. 600 at Balaklava ever did.
1t is only by piecemeal that one can |
get an idea nowadays of the dangers |
the Texas Rangers have faced as easily |
the Rangers followed the Comanches, !
num- boring over 5000, cesselessly for |
two months. Seven times there we're !
engagements of several hours length. |
Then when the COmanches had been |
subdued the even more |
hostile Apaches on the west had |
20 be attended to for three months |
more, but in this the /
D ntted States troops were the leaders. |
n October half dozen bands of Mex
can bandits, who had burned, murder
ID and marauded along the Rio Grande !
While the Rangers we're engaged with |
he Indians 300 miles away, had to be !
out amid vast stretches of |
rid wastes and trackless foothills, and ,
ought under all imaginable hazardous |
;ircumstanc In one week twenty-five |