Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1921-05-26
TEXAS RANGERS
REAL FIGHTERS
Most Picturesque Body of Fight
ing Men the World Has
Ever Known.
FOUGHT TWO WARS At ONCE
Organization Dates Back to Time
When the Lone Star State Was a
Separate RepubIic-Self-Reli.
ant, Resourceful and Brave.


Dalias.--TeXaS is the only state
which has the distinction, not TO say
privilege, Of working out Its own III
stitutions before becoming Il melhDef
Of the Union, writes w. +. Urbb ol
the history department of the unl'ef-
sity of Texas in the Dallas News.
This fact has given Texans singular
feeling of independence and has en-
shrined the states institutions WIN
q peculiar interest for those WITHIN
and many without her borders. Her
flag. her presidents her foreign am
bassadorS, her army and navy, all nave
come in for share of the song ana
story, the history and tradition OF
the Lone Star republic.
or all her Institutions, however,
Texas has none which has attracted
more attention at home and abroad
than that organization of lighting
men known as Texas Rangers.
Just what Is the Texas Ranger!
The question can be answered best
BY finding out what he has been, dis
covering his origin. tracing his derel'
0pment and Examining his duties. The
exact date of the origin OF the Rangers
is lost In the obscurty Of early Texas
history. Stephen +. Austin mentioned
them IN his letters of 1S23, nearly
century ago; Bancroft nScrbed their
beginning to 1898, hut in this he was
clearly wrong. for the Rangers hal
not only come into existence bni hhd
acquired legal status before that
time.
Rangers Date Back to 1885.
When Texas revOlted, in 1880
general council met, and, as part or
its work, authorized the first Ranger
force. This organization was to con
sist OF three companies of - men
each, one to range east Of the Trinity,
one betwee, the Trinity and BrazoS
aud the third between the BraZoS ana
the Colorado. The men were To serve
solely as protection against the IN
dams, the remuneration being SID
day.
Thus was the Texas Ranger force
created In the midst of rrv"luliun ana
from that dny to this il has existed
almost constantly in some form.
though under varying titles.
The first settlers from the United
States were Introduced into Texas by
Stephen +. Austin during the hitter
part of 1921, now just one century
ago. Why did the Mexican govern
ment permit an alien race To come IN:
There are several reasons well known
To the historian, and ii is said that
one of them was the desire to place
some strong arm between the tllnor"uS
NeXicanS, like those of san Antonio.
and the wild Indians. The tomanchr's
horse might become too hard 10 hold.
Quien snbe? However this may be,
AN examination of the land grants
made to Americans Will show that
their holdings tend To form Al tier ~
ing roughly between the timber belt
and the prairie region. In short. the
Americans from the United States
were to serve as n buffer between the
wild tribes and the interior settle
ments. and ON them was to devOlrr
the task OF conquest at which both
Spain and Mexico had failed
Mexico Unable to Close the Door.
once the door of Texas was open
the Americans pushed In with that
mighty surge which carried the Anglo
American civilization from the Allan
tic 10 the Pacific during the first half
Of the last century. Mexico, becom-
ing alarmed, undertook 10 close the
door, hut II was too late. The Tex
ans-for such the immigrants had be-
cume-not only stood off the Indians,
but tui ned on the MeXicanS and wreSt-
ed from them Texan independence in
1896, just 10 years after they had Ell
tered the state.
This done. however, they found
themselves In II most precarious sit
nation. They We're caught, as il were,
between the jaws of Il great wise.
One fr0ntier-the mdian-eNtendrd
along the edge of the great prairie
from the Rio Grande to the Red river,
distance Of 500 miles; the other
the MISUNDERSTANDING from some
point on the Rio Grande to the mouth
of that stream, an approximate dis
lance of 800 miles. The actual south
ern boundary of the settlements at
the time of the republic really CORE
spOnded with the Nueces.
1t should also be observed that for
every mile that the Indian frontier
was pushed back, the Mexican line
was heightened by just so much until
the two attained combined length
Of more than 1000 miles, Surely no
state was ever more desperately stu
ated than the young republic. Some
times she WAS at peace with one en-
envy and sometimes with the other;
hut again she fought them both War
WAS the rule, the commonplace of
daily life. and death was the price
OF defeat, for the enemies Of Texas
knew no mercy.
DevisIng a Fighting Force.
What sort of fighting force would
Texas devise to meet this unhappy
situation? Had the state been popu
loms and wealthy. as she is today, the
answer would have been simple. In
those. days her population was less than
that OF Dallas, and her promise to pay
was worth about IS cents on the dollar.
Hard money was u negligible guam
tity. These things made a standing
army impossible. Whatever fighting
force WAS provided must be small and
inexpensive In order to be maintained
al all. 1t must rise In time Of need
and di>perse when the danger had
passed Such are the circumstances