Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

border, constitute a force tnat
is more feared by miscreants
than any other body of men that civil
lization has ever organized.
They carry law and order to the re-
mote regions. along the Rio Grande.
where outlaws of two nations take
refuge They carry il into the back
woods where feuds rage constantly.
beside which those of Kentucky's
mountains sink into insignificance.
They, carry 1t into populous cities;
They carry it into every nook and
corner of that great state Of Texas.
the extent of which is such that they
are problems to face such as other
states dream not Of ~
The Texas rangers are the most
picturesque set OF legalized fighting
men in this country. They have no
counterpart in the world. Only. forty
in number. they are equal to almost
any emergency that may arise when 1t
comes to putting to a test real fight
ing qualities. The presence of one
ranger upon scene of disorder and
| threatened lawlessness is usually suf
| ficient to quickly restore peace and
uphold the dignity of the law. The
ranger is there to do his duty. He
does, 1t. fearlessly.
The rangers are picked men. every
one of them They must be proved
experts in craftsmanship and at home
| in the saddle; they must be OF good
moral character. which means that
they do not drink or gamble When
a vacancy in company occurs the
| captain selects the man to fill it.
Il can loon into mans eyes and
tell whether he has got the right kind
of stuff in him to make a good rang
er." Captain w. J. (BilD Mcdonald.
who saw many years in the service.
4 said the other day 81 never made a
mistake in picking my men"
Most OF the rangers were former
cowboys When a man leaves the
lranger service he usually either goes
back to the ranch or takes a position
as peace officer in some county or
kcity. &
i The official reports of the adjufSnt
generals department of Texas show
that during the period from 1870 to
1884 Indians and Mexican thieves
stole 3O.S3S head OF cattle. 3.7S1
horses and 2.436 sheep. The mitraud
1 ers killed hundreds of citizens. burned
many homes and destroyed vas,
amount of property Although cat
tINstealing was-the original object cl
the raids. the. lawless bands engaged
in them have been necessarily led tt
the preparation Of other ard greater
crimes The lawless spirit enscnderet
Eby their trade. and their ow protec
Etion, caused them to miIrde trayel
ers who happened to m set hem Oh
Ptheir raids. and those VI 70 they
thought might inform aga q. them
Iffact. these raids were so turned
int6 general robbery and NJ rider,
Thee conditions on the T. yer Rit
GrandS border region be 10 I'm
pr6ye as soon as Captain E- II. Nc
Nelly hnd his COMPANY ~ ranger
were sent down there to run dow
the outlaws. McNelly a iopted tn
policy of giving no quarter He a. ke,
tnone. II was fight To the d'.atl
4 when he and his men got withil
shooting distance of tie Nexica
1 thieves.
The men who won distraction In tn
Texas ranger service we.h the for'
runners of the present Ira Of ,ac'
development and prosp ri'y tha th
state is enjoying. Most fof the man
rangers who won distinction for the
bravery and notable exploits In .th
II psrformance Of their duty are dea'
| Some we're killed in the service. otl
ers succumbed to MATERIAL causes.