The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-05-16

py no means confined to patrol work
along Texas hundreds of miles of
border. The ranger must always hold
himself prepared for any emergency
| that arises. There are only 81 men
in the force of mounted police, vet
they are supposed to be everywhere
at once. If race riot occurs in some
Texas town remote from railroads.
some ranger will be on hand ahead
Of the state militia. If a condemned
murderer escapes from prison and
takes to the desert, heavily armed,
ranger saddles up and throws the
diamond hitch on a pack horse and is
on the trail in a few hours Usually
he comes back with the outlaw-and
he is not particular whether he brings
his quarry back dead or alive. Oc-
casionally a ranger is killed in per-
forming his duty, but the gap in the
ranks is filled by somebody whose
worth has been proved.
The rangers get the magnificent sum
of $40 month and must furnish their
own horses, but are allowed horse feed
and travelling expenses. Sergeants get
$50 and captains 500. Such rewards
would not tempt the average man to
enter an employment meaning con-
slant risk of life-but money is the
last thing these enthusiasts think Of
fortunately for Texas and the country
at large. There is a fascination about
the life in the saddle, the sudden calls
| to dangerous duty and the satisfaction
that comes to a man when a hazard
Gus task has been well and skillfully
performed. 1t is the enthusiasts joy
in his work, and explains why the
ranger force gets the pick of the hard
riding, straight shooting young men of
Texas, and why the famous captains
of old, like Major j. B. Armstrong and
| J. III. Brooks, still long for the old
life, in spite of the wealth and politi-
cal honors that have been theirs since
retirement.
There is no "bad man" swagger to-
be found on the part of the individuals
who make up the present day rangers.
Let the stranger drop in at the camp
of Company d, near Ysleta, and he
might think he had stumbled upon
camp Of cowboys. To be sure there
are more guns than one finds in a
modern COW camp. Every man has
a big revolver slapping at his hip, and
a belt full of cartridges betrays sin
lister sag at his waist. There is a
rife in the scabbard at his saddle, and
probably in one of his pockets reposes
a deadly automatic revolver for use
in the direst emergency.
But from Captain Hughes and Ser
geant Carnes down through the pri-
vate rangers there comes scent and
cleanly speech. Indeed it is told Of
the big captain of Company D that he
ordered from the camp a tenderfoot
who thought his "play'' was to unload
a line of profane and obscene CONVEX
sation on the rangers.
I'VE may be little rough, but we
are not blackguards,' said the big
captain sternly, whereupon the sur
prised tenderfoot apologized and was
allowed to remain and endeavor to re- !
cover the ground he had lost in the
estimation of these men Of the open. |
In the office of Adjutant General j.
O. Newton of Texas, at Austin, are !
records of the service of the rangers
since 1874 These records would fur
nish a historian with materials for
several thrilling volumes of frontier
episodes The rangers were called
into being owing to the large number
of desperate characters that focked
to Texas after the Civil war. Also a
body of active and courageous fighters
was needed to cope against bad In
dams. In it's first year or two Of SER
vice the force of rangers had many
bloody pitched battles with outlaws.
It finally cleaned out the bad charac-
of went into q series |
of frightful cattle wars, in which cat
tie owners and hustlers opposed each |
other.
There was plenty OF work to do IN
lxeenino Texas free from undesirable |
citizens. however, and the ranger
force was not abandoned. Indeed, the
work has grown to such proportions
even in these piping times Of peace !
that Adjutant General Newton mas
asked the state legislature for an IN
crease in the number of men, HIS
official report of 1908 shows that IN
that wear the rangers made 1'0lI ar
rests. 45S Of these being for minor OF
lenses. The 81 rangers travelled ZT,-
s71 miles during the year, most or THIS
being done on horseback. The ranger
in the western part of Texas is par
ticular1v cup against it, in the matter
of Transportation for here the rail-
roads are few. Sometimes he must
travel horseback to settlement ooo
miles away He must travel all DAY
and mart of the night across a desert
filled with cactus, mesquite ana
pricklv pear. Sometimes this prickly
near grows to enormous size. Buncnes
of if higher than the head of man
who is standing on his horse, bar the
wav across the desert. Yet the ranger
must scout through the country III
which This thorny growth flourishes
The Texas Rangers are generally
ex-cowboys. The service demands a
man who has spent most of his lie
in tho saddle. who knows how TO pack
a horse. ride to perfection, shoot
straight, keep his own counsel and De
"game" when the test comes.
hans a ranger will have all the quah-
fcations but the last one, Wnereupol'
bis rlace will be filled forthwith p1