Six Years With the Texas Rangers: 1875-1881 E-Book

James B. Gillett

• Herausgeber: Arcadia Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

First published in 1921, Gillett's now classic account of his six years of service depicts with freshness and authenticity how the Rangers maintained law and order on the frontier—and occasionally dispensed summary justice. From the Mason County War to the Horrell-Higgins feud, the capture of Sam Bass, and the pursuit of Victorio's rebellious Apaches, Gillett saw the kind of action that established the Rangers' enduring reputation for effectiveness.

Leseprobe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE

COPYRIGHT

INTRODUCTION

PREFACE

SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS

CHAPTER I - THE MAKING OF A RANGER

CHAPTER II - THE TEXAS RANGERS

CHAPTER III - I JOIN THE TEXAS RANGERS

CHAPTER IV - MY FIRST BRUSH WITH INDIANS

CHAPTER V - THE MASON COUNTY WAR

CHAPTER VI - MAJOR JONES AND HIS ESCORT

CHAPTER VII - THE HORRELL-HIGGINS FEUD

CHAPTER VIII - SERVICE WITH REYNOLDS, THE INTREPID

CHAPTER IX - SAM BASS AND HIS TRAIN ROBBER GANG

CHAPTER X - A WINTER OF QUIET AND A TRANSFER

CHAPTER XI - THE SALT LAKE WAR AND A LONG TREK

CHAPTER XII - OUR FIRST FIGHT WITH APACHES

CHAPTER XIII - SCOUTING IN MEXICO

CHAPTER XIV - TREACHEROUS BRAVES, A FAITHFUL DOG, AND A MURDER

CHAPTER XV - VICTORIO BECOMES A GOOD INDIAN

CHAPTER XVI - SOME UNDESIRABLE RECRUITS

CHAPTER XVII - LAST FIGHT BETWEEN RANGERS AND APACHES

CHAPTER XVIII - AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE

CHAPTER XIX - LAST SCOUTINGS

CHAPTER XX - FRUITS OF RANGER SERVICE

James B. Gillett

SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS1875 TO 1881

Arcadia Ebooks 2016

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www.arcadiaebooks.altervista.org

James B. Gillett

Six Years With the Texas Rangers

(1921)

INTRODUCTION

The story of the Texas Rangers has never been told in its entirety, nor can it be told without recounting the history of Texas itself. The modest volume of Sergeant James B. Gillett, here presented to the reader, does not undertake to recount the history of the Ranger organization, but merely to present a cross section of that history during the picturesque, lurid years of Sergeant Gillett’s service as a Ranger.

The term Ranger carries the tang of the old American frontier, and as applied to the Texas State Police it embodies a wealth of historical association. Probably the most notable Ranger force in American annals was the organization of irregular partisan warriors led by Major Robert Rogers in the French and Indian War. Rogers’ Rangers and the Texas Rangers share in common the quality of being composed of picked men trained to the use of arms and ready at all times to engage in any enterprise however hazardous it might be: but while the earlier organization was of but temporary duration, created for service in a foreign war, the more recent one is permanent, having existed almost a hundred years.

The history of the Texas Rangers is coeval with that of the republic itself. “Before the first gun of the Texas Revolution was fired at Gonzales in December 1835, before the Declaration of Texan Independence was adopted, before the heroes of the Alamo laid down their lives for freedom, and before the Mexican Army under Santa Anna was destroyed by Sam Houston at San Jacinto, a Ranger force was organized in Texas.” Thus spoke Chief Justice Fly of the Texas Civil Court of Appeals in a recent decision upholding the constitutionality of the Ranger law. Even before an army was raised, the Ranger force was established, consisting of three companies of fifty-six men each. Although the force has varied in size from time to time its existence has been continuous from its first organization until the present moment.

To guard the frontier against the Indian and the Mexican was the original task of the Rangers. At the end of half a century the Indian menace had practically disappeared, and that presented by the Mexican from across the Rio Grande had measurably diminished in intensity. Meantime, the Rangers had assumed the added duty of repressing domestic foes of the peace of the commonwealth throughout the far-flung Texan borders. Thereby the force began to assume the character of a mounted state police whose activities were directed to supplementing and reinforcing the efforts of sheriffs and other local officials in the maintenance of peace and order. And there was plenty of work of this character to do, for most of the huge area of Texas was still a frontier region forty or fifty years ago, wherein banditry flourished and crimes of violence were committed with appalling frequency.

In the discharge of their onerous and dangerous duties the Texas Rangers long since attained widespread and well-deserved renown. The utility of such an organization began to be perceived by other commonwealths, and New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and a number of others now maintain forces of state police. Already some of these organizations, notably the state police of New York and Pennsylvania, have begun to achieve a renown of their own. Compared with the Texas Rangers, however, all other state police organizations are still in their infancy, and from the widely changed character of the problems which confront them, none can ever have a career comparable to that which lies behind the Rangers.

Today, as of old, the Rangers maintain vigilant watch and ward over the peace and welfare of the commonwealth of Texas. Owing to fiscal considerations the force has in recent months been reduced until it constitutes but little more than a skeleton organization, with a total force, for the five companies now existing, of less than thirty men. There is nothing particularly new in this, for Sergeant Gillett recounts in his narrative crises of like character almost half a century ago. To some extent the gas chariot has replaced the mustang as a vehicle of transportation for the force. Despite these changes the Rangers yet remain a powerful influence in the maintenance of peace and order; and still, as of old, their arrival brings a sense of relief and security to the law-abiding and a corresponding depression of spirit to the law-breaker.

To edit such a narrative as Sergeant Gillett’s SixYearsWithTheTexasRangers is both a privilege and a pleasure. His is a great story, simply and modestly told. The age of opportunity for Americans will not be closed so long as careers such as his are possible; and there need be no fear for the welfare of the republic while men of his stamp comprise the majority of her citizenry.

It seems proper, in concluding, to inform the reader how the narrative came to assume its present form. In the nature of things men of action cannot ordinarily become masters of the art of literary composition. Nor is the man of university training commonly able to arrange his manuscript in form suitable for publication without the assistance of a competent editor. When preparing his story for publication several years ago, Captain Gillett invoked the aid of an editor to assist him in putting it into its final literary form. The book as then published has been subjected to a further careful revision by the present editor; certain corrections have been made and considerable additional information has been supplied by Captain Gillett; and the work as revised has been submitted to his final scrutiny and approval.

Burton Historical Collection, Detroit.

May 4, 1925

PREFACE

To write a complete history of the Texas Rangers as a state organization would require much time and an able historian. I am not an historian and could not undertake an exhaustive treatise, and it is only at the earnest solicitation of my children, frontier friends, and old comrades that I have undertaken to write a short history of the Rangers during the years I served with them. This little volume, then, has only the modest aim of picturing the life of the Texas Rangers during the years 1875-1881. I cannot at this late date recount in detail all the scouts that were made while I was in the service. I have, therefore, confined myself principally to the description of those in which I was a participant. Naturally, I remember these the best.

It has been said that truth never makes very interesting reading. Of the accuracy of this dictum I leave my readers to judge, for I have told my story just as I remember it, to the best of my ability and without any effort to embroider it with imagination. If I can interest any of my old Ranger comrades or even one little boy who likes to read about a real frontier, I shall feel amply repaid for all the labor and expense involved in preparing this work.

I wish sincerely to thank Miss Mary Baylor for placing at my disposal the books and papers of her distinguished father, Captain G. W. Baylor. And I would be an ingrate, indeed, did I fail here to record my obligation to my wife, without whose inspiration and sympathetic encouragement this book would never have been written. That I might show the training of the typical Texas Ranger, I have ventured to include a short account of my own life up to the time I became a Ranger, June 1, 1875.

SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS