Bisbee daily review., 1910-11-26
Shall the Texas Rangers
 Be Abolished?

R. Hughes. who has been a ranger for thirty yeara is a great Sunday school worker. A few months ago he was oriered from his station al Ysleta, a little town on the upper Rio G.znde border, 0 Amarillo, to suppress the bottegEing that was going on in that part of the Psn- nanole region. He was superintend. ent of the Sunday school of Ysleta, and the children Of that town made q vigorous protest to the governor against his headquarters being re. moved from there.
 shot and kiliei four Nexteans who were firing upon him from ambush in remote locality of the lower Rio Gsande border. The next Sunday Captain Mcdonald was back in Brownsville and occupied a front seat in one of the churches at morn. ing and evening services.
 Ihe very existence of the ranger organization has a wtnder,ul ini.c ence for good upon the lower class t-oi Mexieans on both sides of the Rio Grande. Even the more inte, l iigen- class of Mexicans have a grea, respect for the fighting qualities oi the rangers.
 .'n it was not for the Texas rang ezs Mexico could whip the United 1 States" Is remark that Americans have eften hear here.
 The lo6heial reports of the adJa ! tanss generals department of Texs. sAov ,ha, during the period iron 1870 to 1884 Indians and o,he, thieves stoe 30. s3s. head of cattle a7sl -aorses and 2,&SS sheep. Tn, maraaders killed hundreds of citizens burned many homes and destroyed ; vast amount of property.
 The committee on foreign affair of congress made an investigation and report on the Rio Grande boi der in 1876. saying in part:
 The cattle raids from the stat of Tamaulipas. Mex, into Texa commenced with what is known a the Cortina war in 1859 and Is6, This was a most remarkable occul
 rence-one without parallel in ou ] history. A single lawless rancher !, with a band of friends. capturing
 town of nearly 5000 inhabitant and rot ong defying but defeatin the forces of the state of Texas an then carrying on a war against th | ff aI Af Aa fa , Texas and of the United State '1taining himself for upwards ( . five months, from the 18th day ( , J 2ly to the 27th day of Decembe
 1859. on American sJH with th ; Mexican faE flying Uver nis caml
 and then rcu raung au-.-s tue Ri
 GIanGe, ready to renew the figh Sucl was the remarkable commenc,
 ment of the border troubles on th
 Rio Grande one well calcu ated {
 inspire the lawless element with d,
 liant pride and to teach the peopl
 the extent ol the danger to whic
 they were exposed, and their d. andence for safety on the stron
 III 1f government.
 The wSole country from Browns
 |. Q 70 Rio Granie City, l2O milei
 anu back 10 th Arroyo Colorado
 has been laid waste. There is not al
 All erIcan that could not be destroye,
 Il this large tract of country. Thei
 hc,ses and cattle were driven acros
 into Mexico and there sold-a co,
 with a caf by her side for a dollar "Ait1ough the cattle stealing wa
 the original object of the raids, tn
 iawless bands engaged in them hay
 been necessarily led to the perpe
 tration Of other and greater crimes
 The lawJess spirit engendered b.
 their trade, and their own protection
 caused them to murder traveller
 who. happened to meet them ol
 t5eir raids and those whom the.
 though might inform against them in fact these raids were soon turne,
 into general robbery and murder" The conditions on the lowe- Ri
 Grande border region began to in prove as soon as Captain L. H
 McNelly and his company O: ranger
 were sent down there to run dow
 the outlaws. McNelly adopted tn
 DO icy O. giving no quarter lie aske'
 none. II was a fight 10 the deItl
 s1en he and his men got within
 shooting distance 9f Ike tiieyes. TL' 9io Grande offered no barrier [
 tie operation Of these rangers. Inter
 national law had no meaning t
 them. Ore of their exploits Wa chasing a band of about geo cattI
 thieves across the river into Mexico
 whefe the Iangers killed twenty-nin of lhem without man O: their owi
 beng KIJIed or wounded.
 I There is, long -ist of men wh ] have performed noted service a
 rangers. 4 quarter of century az
 the very mention of Captain Le
 Halls name was sufficient to strik terror into the heart Of borde l cr{rnfpor Hall vas for many Taar