Arizona republican., 1899-04-30
RANGERS TO DIsBAND.
State Institution About 10 Be Legis-
 lated Out of Existence.


 'fWe are going to lose what has al- ways been to me the most characteris- tic Of lhe men of Texas if a bit of leg isla:i;on now pending manages to pass said Frank B. Lamar of Aus tin in that state. ''The proposition is up to do away with the Texas state rangers, a body of rough and ready fe1 lows, who were a cross between the gentleman cowboy, the policeman and the tough man of the plains. At one time there was 9, bunch of these fel- lows who Mixed ths rough and careless lives they had to lead. They were the most irregular icf regulars, but they were a very efficient police force for the state, and thsy have a record of very many good deeds performed in the line of duty, as well as one of some pretty rough fun.
 They came into being just after the war as sort of mounted police for our frontier, to guard the then sparssly settled country frcm the .greasers' who came over from Mexico to steal cattle or smuggle goods from one country to the other. They hated greasers, h. dians and squaw men as his satanic majesty is said to haoa holy water, and would rather kill one than eat 2 square meal or kill a rattler They had a sort Of uniform, but the princi- pal feature of it was the saddle. of their horses. and whenever one had made a good bit of mon5y it was a saddle that he first thought of purchasing. Some Of these were gorgeous in the ex- trcme, all covered with silver Orna- ments and fligree work of all sorts. Each of them carried navy revolver, carbine, a lasso and blanket when he was on duty. Their ponies were the tough little bronchos of the plains, and they could ride like the devil. shoot to kill, riding or standing, and endure any hardship. They feared neither God, man nor devil, as has been well said of them, and each had lot of notches in the butt of either his caTbine or his revolver, generally in both. as proof Of the individuals they had killed in the line of duty, each notch indicating a life taken. It was generally the life Of a man whom the community ccuId well spare. They thus marked the passage, to their last account of horse thieves, smugglers, Indians. or bad men, who were the worst, as they were the most c0wardIy and treacherOus of the whole bunch
 'Of late years the rangers have rather lest caste, and they have dwin- dled down to about fifty in all. drawing pay from the state. The country has become So generally subdued that there seems now no longer any place for them in the police scheme of the state l am not the only old Texan that is scorry to see the rangers go, for, even though they have Of late lived rather in the imagination Of the people than in fact, they were so thoroughly feared by thieves and ruff1ans that tleir past reputation has served to keep these people on their good behavior. We all fear that with the passing of this body there may return frontier troubles. and perhaps the old time thievery and smuggling But I suppose tha state officers and legislators know best about the matter, and we will have to accept their dispersion whether or no But one thing 1 do know, and that is that the women who have to live on the ranches will regret the passing of the rangers, They rarely had any use for