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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..60ca312 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65675 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65675) diff --git a/old/65675-0.txt b/old/65675-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 844e079..0000000 --- a/old/65675-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7352 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Six Years with the Texas Rangers, by -James B. Gillett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Six Years with the Texas Rangers - 1875 to 1881 - -Author: James B. Gillett - -Release Date: April 22, 2022 [eBook #65675] -[Most recently updated: April 23, 2022] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Graeme Mackreth and The Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS -RANGERS *** - - - - -[Illustration: SERGEANT J.B. GILLETT, TEXAS RANGER IN 1879] - - - - - SIX YEARS WITH THE - TEXAS RANGERS - - 1875 TO 1881 - - BY - JAMES B. GILLETT - - Ex-Sergeant Company "A," Frontier Battalion - - [Illustration] - - Von Boeckmann-Jones Co., Publishers - Austin, Texas - - - - - Copyright 1921 - by - James B. Gillett - - - - - TO MY OLD RANGER COMRADES - WHEREVER THEY MAY BE - - - - -FOREWORD - - -To write a true and complete history of the Texas Rangers as a state -organization would require much time and an able historian. I am not a -historian and could not undertake such an exhaustive treatise, which -would fill several volumes the size of this, 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 those 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 very 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 just one little boy that loves -to read about a real frontier, I will feel amply repaid for all the -time, trouble and expense expended in presenting this work. - -I wish sincerely to thank Miss Mary Baylor for placing at my disposal -all 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 had never been written. - -That I might show the training of the typical Texas Ranger, I have -ventured to include a short biography of my own life up to the time I -became a ranger, June 1, 1875. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - Chapter Page - - I The Making of a Ranger 11 - - II The Texas Rangers 29 - - III I Join the Rangers 41 - - IV My First Brush With the Indians 55 - - V The Mason County War 72 - - VI Major Jones and His Escort 81 - - VII The Horrell-Higgins Feud 103 - - VIII Service With Reynolds, the Intrepid 118 - - IX Sam Bass and His Train Robber Gang 155 - - X A Winter of Quiet and a Transfer 183 - - XI The Salt Lake War and a Long Trek 192 - - XII Our First Fight With Apaches 212 - - XIII Scouting in Mexico 225 - - XIV Treacherous Braves, a Faithful Dog, and a Murder 237 - - XV Victorio Becomes a Good Indian 251 - - XVI Some Undesirable Recruits 264 - - XVII Last Fight Between Rangers and Apaches 278 - - XVIII An International Episode 293 - - XIX Last Scoutings 309 - - XX Fruits of Ranger Service 322 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - - - Sergeant J.B. Gillett Frontispiece - - General Jno. B. Jones 29 - - Captain D.W. Roberts 41 - - Captain Neal Coldwell 102 - - Lieutenant N.O. Reynolds 118 - - Captain Geo. W. Baylor 192 - - Dallas Stoudenmire 322 - - James B. Gillett 332 - - - - -SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE MAKING OF A RANGER - - -The greatest shaping force in human life is heredity, and from my -father I inherited my love of the open frontier and its life of -danger and excitement. This inheritance was further strengthened by -environment and training, and finally led me to embrace the life of the -Texas Ranger. My father, James S. Gillett, was himself a frontiersman, -though born in the quieter, more settled east. At a very early age -his parents emigrated from his birthplace in Kentucky and moved to -Missouri. Here, after a short time, they died and the young orphan -lived with a brother-in-law. When still quite a youth my father, with -three other adventurous Missourians, set out on an expedition to Santa -Fe, New Mexico. While passing through Indian Territory, now the State -of Oklahoma, the little party was captured by the Osage Indians. -Fortunately for the youngsters, their captors did them no harm, but -turned them loose after two weeks' imprisonment in the redskin camp. - -Despite this first setback my father persevered and reached Santa Fe. -Here he lived several years and mastered the Spanish language. Not long -afterward the emigrating fever again caught him up and he journeyed to -Van Buren, Arkansas. While living there he studied law and was admitted -to the bar. Shortly thereafter he removed to Paris, Texas, from which -he was elected to the Texas Legislature as representative for Lamar and -adjoining counties. - -When Texas entered the Union and brought on the Mexican War with the -United States, my father enlisted in 1846 and rose to the rank of -major. In 1854 he was Adjutant-General of Texas. Between 1859 and 1860, -during the governorship of Sam Houston, my father was quartermaster of -a battalion of rangers, thus making it natural that I should also feel -drawn toward this famous organization. - -At the beginning of the Civil War my father was beyond military -age,--he was born in 1810--but as the South became hard pressed for men -he enlisted in the spring of 1864 and served in Captain Carington's -company until the end of the war. - -In 1850, a few years before he became Adjutant-General, my father -married Miss Bettie Harper, then a resident of Washington County, -Texas. My mother's father, Captain Harper, was a southern planter who -emigrated from North Carolina between 1846 and 1848, and, settling -in Washington County, established a Dixie plantation with a hundred -slaves. My mother was a highly cultivated and refined woman. On her -marriage she brought several negro servants with her to her new home -in Austin. Of her union with my father five children were born. The -first two, both boys, died in infancy. I was the fourth child born -to my parents, and first saw the light of day in Austin, Texas, on -November 4, 1856. An older sister, Mary, and a younger, Eva, survived -to adulthood. - -At the close of the Civil War my father returned to his family pretty -well broken in health and probably also in spirit. His slaves were -all freed and his land holdings, about two hundred acres of cedar -land, some five or six miles from Austin, and a tract of pine land in -Grimes County, Texas, were not very productive. There was not much law -practice in Austin in the early post-war days, but my father set to -work resolutely to provide for his family. Though I did not realize -it then, I now know that he had a hard struggle. I was only eight -and a half years old when father returned to us from the Confederate -Army, but I remember he used to amuse himself by relating to us vivid -accounts of his Indian fighting and frontier adventures. What heredity -gave me a predilection for was strengthened by these narratives, and I -early conceived a passionate desire to become a frontiersman and live a -life of adventure. - -In those early days in Texas there were no free schools in Austin, -so my father sent the three of us, Mary, Eva, and myself, to the pay -schools. None of these was very good, and I lost nearly two years at -a German school, trying to mix German and English. I have never been -of a studious nature--the great out of doors always called to me, and -I found the desk's dead wood particularly irksome. When school closed -in the early summer of 1868, like some of Christ's disciples, I went -fishing and never attended school an hour thereafter. For books I -substituted the wide-open volume of nature and began the life of sport -and freedom that was to prepare me later for service with the rangers. - -As poor as he was my father always kept a pony, and I learned to ride -almost before I could walk. Raised on the banks of the Colorado River, -I learned to swim and fish so long ago that I cannot now remember when -I was unable to do either. I fished along the river with a few hand -lines and used to catch quantities of gaspergou or drums. These were -fine fish and sold readily on the streets of Austin, so I soon saved -money enough to buy a small skiff or fishing boat. I now bought a trot -line with a hundred hooks and began fishing in real earnest. About -five or six miles below Austin on the Colorado was Mathews' mill. Just -below the dam of this mill the fishing was always good, and here I made -my fishing grounds. I had a large dry goods box with inch auger holes -bored in it. This box, sunk in the river and secured by a rope tied to -a stob, made a capital trap, and into it I dropped my fish as they were -caught. In this way I kept them alive and fresh until I had enough to -take into town. - -Many free negroes were farming along the banks of the Colorado, and -I would hire a pony of them for twenty-five cents a trip when I was -ready to take my catch into town. Many times I have left the river by -starlight and reached the Old Market House at Austin at dawn, spread -out a gunny sack, bunch my fish and be ready for the first early -marketers. I kept up my fishing until the fish stopped biting in the -fall of 1868. - -Confederate soldiers returning home from the war brought with them many -old Enfield muskets. These were smooth bore and chambered one large -ball and three buckshot. These old guns, loaded with small shot, were -fine on birds and squirrels, but they had one serious objection--they -would kick like a mule. As the boys used to say, they "would get meat -at both ends!" A day's shooting with one of these muskets would leave -one's shoulder and arm black and blue for a week. - -When fishing failed I decided to become a hunter, and bought one of -these old guns for $3.50. It was as long as a fence rail, and at my age -I could not begin to hold it out and shoot off hand, so I had to use a -rest. The Enfield musket had the longest barrel I ever saw on a gun, -and the hammer was as long as a man's hand. I could cock my gun with -both hands, but if I failed to get a shot I was not strong enough to -let the hammer down without letting it get away, so I had to carry it -cocked to keep from losing the cap. I would take it off the tube and -put it in my pocket until I had a chance for another shot. I remember -once when I cocked my musket I could see no cap on the tube and, -thinking it had fallen off, I pulled the trigger. The cap had stuck up -in the old hammer and the gun roared like a cannon. I was always sure -to look for the cap after this. I did not make much headway using this -kind of weapon, but it taught me the use and danger of firearms,--a -knowledge I was to find very useful in later years. - -When fishing opened up in the spring of 1869 I returned to my fishing -lines, and in the fall of the same year I bought a double-barreled -shotgun for $12. With it I killed quail, ducks and other small game, -all of which I sold on the streets of Austin. By the fall of 1870 I was -fourteen years old and could handle a gun rather well for one of my age. - -Early that winter wild geese came south by the hundreds. I used to hunt -them down the Colorado River, ten or twelve miles below Austin. The -birds would feed in the corn fields in the early morning, then flock -to the sand bars in the river during the middle of the day. There was -nothing silly about those geese, for they were smart enough to frequent -only the big islands, three or four hundred yards from any cover. It -was impossible to reach them with any kind of a shotgun. I used to -slip up to them as close as I could and watch them for hours, trying -to think of some plan to get within gun shot of them. I saw as many -as a thousand geese on those bars at a single time. I have thought -regretfully of those birds many times since, and have wished I could -have shot into one of those flocks with a modern rifle--I could have -killed a dozen geese at a shot. - -In the spring of 1871 I had my first trip to the frontier of Texas. My -father traded some of his Grimes County pine land for a bunch of cattle -in Brown County, and took me with him when he went to receive the -herd. This was the first time I had ever been twenty-five miles from -Austin. I was delighted with the trip, the people, and the country. -Those big, fine frontiersmen, each wearing a pair of sixshooters and -most of them carrying a Winchester, fired my boyish imagination. Their -accounts of frontier life and their Indian tales fascinated me. I -wanted to stay right there with them and lost all interest in ever -living in town again. During the same year my father drove several -bunches of cattle to Austin and I helped him on those drives. Thus I -began to be a cowboy,--my first step toward the life of the open, upon -which I had set my heart. - -In the summer of 1872 my mother's health began to fail and my father -took her to Lampasas Springs. The water seemed to help her so much that -he decided to make Lampasas our home. At that time Lampasas County was -strictly a cattle country, but there was not much cow hunting during -the winter in those days. The cattlemen and the cowboys spent a good -deal of time in town just having a good time. During this period I -became well acquainted with them. In the spring of 1873 my father made -a trip back to Austin on some business. The frontier had been calling -to me ever since my first visit there, and I now took advantage of my -father's absence to slip out to Coleman County, at that time on the -frontier of Texas. - -Monroe Cooksey and Jack Clayton had bought a bunch of cattle in Coleman -County and I saw the outfit when it left Lampasas. I was slightly -acquainted with most of the men in this outfit, so I decided to follow -it and try to get work. It was an Indian country every step of the way, -and I was afraid to make the trip alone. In a day or two I met a man -named Bob McCollum. He was hauling a load of flour to Camp Colorado and -let me travel with him. I bade my mother and sisters good bye and did -not see them again until the next December. - -We reached old Camp Colorado without mishap in about five days. Clayton -and Cooksey's outfit was there loading up supplies for the spring work. -I stood around watching the cowboys making their preparations, but -lacked the courage to ask them for work. Finally, the outfit started -down on Jim Ned Creek to camp for dinner. I went with the men and at -last got up spunk enough to ask Mr. Monroe Cooksey for a job. He looked -at me for a minute and then asked, "What kind of work can a boy of your -size do?" - -I told him I was willing to do anything a boy of my age could do. He -made no reply and we went on and camped for dinner. After dinner the -men made ready to go over on Hoard's Creek to camp for the night. The -boys made a rope corral and began to catch their mounts. I just stood -there like an orphan watching them. Presently Mr. Cooksey dashed his -rope on a heavy set bay horse. The animal showed the whites of his -eyes, made a rattling noise in his nose and struggled so violently that -it took three men on the rope to hold him. Mr. Cooksey then turned -to me and said, "Here, boy, if you can ride this * * * (giving an -unmentionable name to the horse) you have a job cinched." - -I turned, grabbed my saddle, bridle and blanket and started to the -animal. An elderly man in the outfit headed me off. - -"Young man," he said, "this is an old spoiled horse, and unless you are -a mighty good rider you had better not get on him." - -I brushed him aside. - -"Pshaw, I'm hunting work, and while I'm not a broncho buster, I will -make a stab at riding him if he kills me." - -By this time one of the boys had caught the horse by both ears and was -holding him fast. They threw my saddle on him, tightened up the cinch, -and finally, after much trouble, got the bridle on him and lifted me -into the saddle. When I had fixed myself as best I could they let the -animal go. He made two or three revolting leaps forward and fell with -his feet all doubled up under him. - -Mr. Cooksey seemed to realize the danger I was in, and shouted to me to -jump off. Before I could shake myself loose the old horse had scrambled -to his feet and dashed off in a run. I circled him around to the remuda -and rode him until night without further trouble. I had won my job, but -it was a dirty trick for a lot of men to play on a boy, and a small boy -at that. However, to their credit, I wish to say they never put me on a -bad horse again but gave me the best of gentle ponies to ride. - -Our first work was to gather and deliver a herd of cattle to the -Horrell boys, then camped on Home Creek. We worked down to the Colorado -River, and when we were near old Flat Top ranch the men with the outfit -left me to drive the remuda down the road after the mess wagon while -they tried to find a beef. I had gone only a mile or two when I saw a -man approaching me from the rear. As he came up I thought he was the -finest specimen of a frontiersman I had ever seen. He was probably six -feet tall, with dark hair and beard. He was heavily armed, wearing two -sixshooters and carrying a Winchester in front of him and was riding -a splendid horse with a wonderful California saddle. He rode up to me -and asked whose outfit it was I was driving. I told him Cooksey and -Clayton's. He then inquired my name. When I told him he said, "Oh, yes; -I saw your father in Lampasas a few days ago and he told me to tell you -to come home and go to school." - -I made no reply, but just kept my horses moving. The stranger then -told me his name was Sam Gholston. He said it was dangerous for one so -young to be in a bad Indian country and unarmed, that the outfit should -not have left me alone, and counselled me to go back to my parents. I -would not talk to him, so he finally bade me good bye and galloped off. -His advice was good, but I had not the least idea of going home--I had -embraced the frontier life. - -The Cooksey and Clayton outfit did not stay in the cow business long. -After filling their contract with the Horrell boys they sold out to -Joe Franks. I suppose I was sold along with the outfit, at least I -continued to work for Mr. Franks. A kinder heart than that of Joe -Franks never beat in a human breast. He was big of stature and big -of soul. He seemed to take an interest in his youthful cow-puncher, -and asked me where I was raised and how I came to be away out on the -frontier. As cold weather came on that fall he gave me one of his top -coats. It made a pretty good overcoat for me and came down quite to -my knees. The sleeves were so long I could double them up and hold my -bridle reins, and in one garment I had both coat and gloves. - -During the summer of 1873 John Hitsons, Sam Gholston and Joe Franks -were all delivering cattle to old John Chislom, whose outfit was camped -on the south side of the Concho River, about where the town of Paint -Rock now stands. The other outfits were scattered along down the river -about half a mile apart. There were probably seventy-five or a hundred -men in the four camps and at least five hundred horses. One evening -just after dark the Indians ran into Gholston's outfit, captured about -sixty head of horses and got away with them. The redskins and the -cowboys had a regular pitched battle for a few moments, probably firing -two hundred shots. This fight was in plain view of our camp and I saw -the flash of every gun and heard the Indians and the cowboys yelling. -One of Mr. Gholston's men received a flesh wound in the leg and several -horses were killed. Two nights later the Indians ran upon Franks' -outfit and tried to take our horses. Bob Whitehead and Pete Peck were -on guard and stood the redskins off. We saved our horses by keeping -them in a pen for the remainder of the night. I was beginning to get a -taste of frontier life early in the game. - -For years cattle had drifted south into Menard and Kimble Counties, -and Joe Franks was one of the first of the Coleman County outfits to -go south into the San Saba and Llano country. He worked the Big and -Little Saline Creeks, the Llano and San Saba Rivers and found many of -his cattle down there. By the last of November he had about finished -work for the year, and, gathering three hundred fat cows to drive to -Calvert, Texas, he left John Banister down on the Big Saline to winter -the horses. - -I passed through Lampasas with these cows, and saw my mother and -sisters for the first time in nine months. When we reached Bell County -a cow buyer met us and bought the cows at $10 per head. He just got -down off his horse, lifted a pair of saddle bags off and counted out -three thousand dollars in twenty dollar gold pieces, and hired some -of the boys to help him drive the cattle into Calvert. Mr. Franks, -with most of the outfit, turned back to Lampasas. When he settled with -me Mr. Franks owed me just $200, and he handed me ten twenty dollar -gold pieces. It was the most money I had ever earned and almost the -greatest amount I had seen in my life. - -I spent December and January at home, and early in February, 1874, I -started back to Menard County with Mr. Franks, as he was anxious to -begin work as early in the spring as possible. When we reached Parsons -Ranch on the Big Saline we learned that the Indians had stolen all his -horses,--seventy-five or eighty head, and he had left only eight or ten -old ponies. Mr. Franks sent Will Banister and myself back to Coleman -County to pick up ten or twelve horses he had left there the year -before, while he himself returned to Lampasas and Williamson Counties -to buy horses. - -This trip from Menard County to Coleman County, a distance of about one -hundred and fifty miles, was rather a hazardous trip for two boys to -make alone. However, we were both armed with new Winchesters and would -have been able to put up a stiff fight if cornered. Our ponies were -poor and weak, so that it would have been impossible for us to have -escaped had we met a band of Indians. And this is what we came very -near doing. - -There was no road from Menard to Coleman at that time, so we just -traveled north. I had cow hunted over most of that country the year -before and knew by landmarks pretty well how to go. We reached the -head of Big Brady Creek one evening while a cold north wind was -blowing. We camped for the night right down in the bed of a dry creek -to get out of the wind. We saddled up next morning and had not gone -more than a hundred and fifty yards from camp before we discovered -where sixteen or seventeen Indians had just gone along,--at least there -was that number of pony tracks. These redskins had hopped a skunk, -gotten down and killed it with a chunk of wood. When we found the body -it had scarcely quit bleeding. We saw moccasin tracks as if the savages -had all gotten off their ponies for a few moments. Banister and I made -the trip safely, and returned to Menard County early in March. Mr. -Franks soon came with a new bunch of horses, and we went right to work -gathering and delivering cattle. - -About the first of June, Bee Clayton came to the outfit from Lampasas -County and told me my father had been dead more than a month. Mr. -Franks settled with me and I started for home the next day. Upon -reaching Lampasas I began work with Barrett and Nicholls' outfit. They -were the biggest cattle owners in that country and ran three large -outfits, one in Llano County, one in San Saba County, and another in -Lampasas. I worked with the last mentioned outfit that I might be near -my mother and sisters. - -I had now become familiar with most aspects of frontier life. I had cow -punched and seen Indian raids, but I had not yet met the Texas "bad -man"--the murderer and the bandit. My education was not long neglected, -for it was while working with Barrett and Nicholls that I made my -acquaintance with gentry of that ilk. One day five or six of our boys -were sitting down in a circle eating on a side of calf ribs. One of the -men, Jack Perkins, suddenly became involved in an altercation with Levi -Dunbar, and, without warning, jerked out his six-shooter and shot him -to death. In rising to my feet I had my right shoulder powder burned. - -I stayed with Barrett and Nicholls until they quit work about December -1, 1874. In those days cattle were not worked much in the winter -months, so I spent the winter at home. By spring I had become as -restless as a bear and longed to get back to the frontier. Finally -I could stand the idleness no longer and told my mother I was going -back to Menard County to work for Mr. Franks. I reached the town of -Menardville early in March, 1875. There I learned that Joe Franks was -then at work on South Llano in Kimble County, about sixty miles from -Menard. Wess Ellis had just bought the Rufe Winn stock of cattle -and was ready to start on a cow hunt. He wanted me to work for him, -declaring he could pay me as much as Joe Franks or anybody else, so I -hired to him for $30 a month,--the top wages for a cowboy at that time. - -During the year I was at home a company of Texas Rangers commanded -by Captain Dan W. Roberts had been stationed over on Little Saline. -This company received its mail at Menardville, and I became acquainted -with this famous organization. Their free, open life along the -frontier had fired me with longing to become one of them and join in -their adventurous lives. In the spring of 1875 the Governor of Texas -authorized Captain Roberts to increase his command to fifty men. Almost -immediately Captain Roberts announced in Menardville and vicinity that -he would enlist twenty good men on June 1st to bring his company to -full strength. Here was my opportunity, and I decided I would be one of -those twenty recruits. - -[Illustration: _Jno. B. Jones_] - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE TEXAS RANGERS - - -The Texas Rangers, as an organization, dates from the spring of 1836. -When the Alamo had fallen before the onslaught of the Mexican troops -and the frightful massacre had occurred, General Sam Houston organized -among the Texan settlers in the territory a troop of 1600 mounted -riflemen. This company, formed for the defense of the Texan borders, -was the original Texas Ranger unit, and it is interesting to note -that the organization from its very inception to the present moment -has never swerved from that purpose--the protection of Texan borders, -whether such protection be against the Indian, the bandit or marauding -Mexicans from beyond the Rio Grande. This little troop of rangers won -everlasting laurels in its stand against Santa Anna at the battle of -San Jacinto. - -When the Republic of Texas was organized in December, 1837, the new -state found herself with an enormous frontier to protect. To the south -was the hostile Mexico while to the west and northwest roved the Indian -and the bandit. To furnish protection against such enemies and to form -the nucleus of a national standing army the ranger troop was retained. -During the seven years that Texas had to maintain her own independence -before she was admitted into the American Union, her rangers repelled -hordes of Mexicans, fought the murderous Apaches, Comanches, and -Kiowas, and administered justice on a wholesale plan to a great number -of outlaws and ruffians that had flocked pell mell into the new -Republic from the less attractive parts of the United States. - -So vital was the service rendered by the rangers in protecting the -lives and property of the settlers along the frontiers of the state -that Texas retained twelve hundred rangers as mounted police for -patrol of the Mexican border and as a safeguard against the savage -redskins of the southwest. When the Civil War broke out between the -North and the South, Texas was drawn into the conflict on the side -of the Confederacy. General Con Terry, an old ranger, organized the -famous body of men known as Terry's Texas Rangers. This command was -composed almost exclusively of ex-rangers and frontiersmen. From Bull -Run to Appomattox this ranger troop rendered gallant service, and lost -seventy-five per cent of its original muster roll. General Sherman, in -his memoirs, speaks admiringly of the bravery of the rangers at the -battle of Shiloh. - -Return to peace and the days of reconstruction did not do away with -the necessity for the service that could only be rendered by the -ranger. Banditry, Indian uprisings and massacres, cattle thievery, -all flourished, for the bad man confidently expected the post-war -turmoil would protect him from punishment for his misdeeds. He was to -be undeceived, for the rangers effectively taught him that they were -in the state for the purpose of protecting lives and property, and -right royally did they perform that duty. From 1868 to 1873 the ranger -companies were gradually reduced from one thousand to about three -hundred men. - -The Federal Government adopted a most unfortunate policy toward the -Indians after the war. The tribes were removed to reservations and -rationed as public charges. Unscrupulous dealers, in their desire for -gain, illegally sold firearms to the Indians, and whenever a redskin -massacred a frontiersman he was sure to capture good weapons, so that -they soon became well armed and very expert in handling their new -weapons. As no attempt was made to confine them to the reservation -limits, the redskins, under their native chiefs, were always sneaking -off and raiding West Texas. These marauders stole thousands of horses -and cattle, and did not hesitate to murder and scalp the defenseless -people along the frontier. Numbers of women and children were carried -off as captives, a very small proportion of which were subsequently -ransomed. Repeated complaints to Washington brought no redress. Indeed, -some of the government officials calmly declared that the Indians were -doing no harm--it was white men disguised as redskins that caused the -trouble! - -In 1874 conditions along the frontier had become so acute that the -need for an organized mounted police for the protection of the -settlers against the continued Indian raids became apparent. As in -the past the state looked again to her rangers. Early in 1874, during -the administration of Governor Richard Coke, the first Democratic -governor since secession, the Legislature appropriated $300,000 for -frontier defense, thus authorizing the formation of the Texas Rangers -as now constituted. The governor immediately issued a call for four -hundred and fifty volunteers. These were formed into six companies of -seventy-five men each. Each of these units was officered by a captain -and a first and second lieutenant. The companies were designated A, -B, C, D, E, and F, and received the official name of the Frontier -Battalion of Texas Rangers. Major John B. Jones of Corsicana, Texas, -was commissioned major of the command. At this time the captains -received a salary of $100 per month, lieutenants $75, sergeants $50, -and corporals and privates $40. Subsequently, as the Legislature -continually sliced into the ranger appropriation, the pay of the -private was reduced to only $30 a month, a mere pittance for the -hazardous service demanded of them. - -Early in 1874 the force took the field, and each company was assigned -a definite territory along the frontier. Company "A," being the -northernmost company, was camped on the main fork of the Brazos River; -Company "F," the southernmost, was stationed on the Nueces River. The -remaining four companies were posted along the line between the two -commands mentioned about one hundred and twenty-five miles apart, so -that the battalion of four hundred and fifty men was required to cover -a frontier of between five and six hundred miles. - -Major Jones was a very able commander, and quickly won the confidence -of his men and of the people along the border he was sent to protect. -The frontiersmen cooperated with him in every way possible, sending -runners to the various ranger camps whenever an Indian trail was found -or a bunch of horses stolen. During the very first six months of its -existence nearly every company in the battalion had had an Indian -fight and some of them two or three. This command finally cleared -the Texas frontier of the redskins and then turned its attention to -the other pests of the state,--thieves, bandits, and fugitives from -justice. In this work the ranger rendered service second to none, -and became in an incredibly short time the most famous and the most -efficient body of mounted police in the world. - -Between 1865 and 1883 the Texas Rangers followed one hundred and -twenty-eight Indian raiding parties, and fought the redskins in -eighty-four pitched battles. During this same period they recovered six -thousand stolen horses and cattle and rescued three citizens carried -off by Indians. In this period twelve rangers were killed. Despite this -record of service, the Legislature at Austin could not always be made -to see the advantages,--nay, the necessity,--for a ranger force, and it -was continually tinkering with the appropriations for the support of -the force. When the appropriation was small the command was reduced to -keep within the expenditure doled out by the parsimonious solons, and -recruited to full strength whenever the lawmakers could be prevailed -upon to increase the annual ranger budget. - -By 1885 conditions had changed. Texas was no longer endangered by -Indians, for the rangers had done much to convert the red devils into -good Indians,--that is, into dead ones. Although the Indians had -utterly disappeared from the state, the activities of the rangers did -not cease. The white "bad man" who had stirred up the first Indian -troubles now began to plunder and murder his own race and indulge in -every form of lawlessness. From hunting the murderous redskins the -rangers became now stalkers of the man-killers and those who despoiled -their neighbors of their property. The local legal authorities could -not or would not handle this task themselves, so the rangers were -made peace officers and given the right of arrest without warrant in -any part of the state. They then became mounted constables to quell -disorder, prevent crime and bring criminals to justice and assist the -duly constituted authorities in every way possible. This new work was -less romantic than the old Indian warfare, but it was every bit as -dangerous and as necessary in the building up of the fast developing -state. As in every other task assigned him the ranger did his duty -fearlessly and well. Between 1889 and 1890 the rangers made five -hundred and seventy-nine arrests, among them seventy-six murderers. -With the coming of the railroads the rangers began to use them, as -they permitted speed and the covering of greater distances than were -possible on horseback. Moreover, commands could be dispatched from -one part of the state to another as occasion demanded. This greater -mobility led to larger usefulness and increasing number of arrests by -the ranger forces. - -The outbreak of the Spanish-American War found the ranger ready and -anxious for service in the defense of the Union. Large numbers of them -were enlisted in the world famous Rough Riders. - -"I have heard from the lips of reliable rangers," declared General -Miles, in speaking of the ranger service in Cuba, "tales of daring that -are incomparable. It is indeed too bad that the world knows so little -about those marvelous men. There have been hosts of men among the Texas -Rangers who were just as nervy as Davy Crockett, Travis, or Bowie at -the Alamo." - -Thanks to her rangers, Texas is now one of the most law-abiding, most -orderly states in the Union. And, today, more than forty-six years -since the organization of the battalion, the state still maintains -a tiny force of rangers numbering sixty-three officers and men. In -1920-21, the battalion was composed of a headquarters company and -Companies A, C, D, E, and F. As in the beginning of its history, the -force is stationed along the frontier. The headquarters company, under -command of Captain J.P. Brooks, was stationed at Austin and used for -emergency calls. Company "A," stationed at Presidio, and commanded -by Captain Jerry Gray, patrols the border between El Paso, Presidio, -and Jeff Davis Counties and the back country southward. Company "E," -Captain J.L. Anders, patrols the line of Presidio and Brewster Counties -to the line of Terrell and Val Verde Counties and eastward. Company -"F," under Captain W.W. Davis, was stationed at Del Rio and covered the -line from Terrell and Val Verde Counties down the river to the line -between Maverick, Dimmit and Webb Counties and the back country. Under -the command of Captain William Ryan, Company "C" was located at Laredo -and patrolled the line of Maverick, Dimmit and Webb Counties to the -line of Zapata and Starr Counties and the back country, while Company -"D," stationed at Brownsville, under Captain W.L. Wright, patrols from -the line of Zapata and Starr Counties down the Rio Grande to its mouth -and the adjacent back country. - -Sketchy as has been this history, it will show a ranger record of -continuous duty throughout the forty-six years of its existence in -guarding the lives, the liberty and the property of Texas citizens. And -the ranger has been content to perform his duty unheralded and almost -unsung. Performance of duty, it matters not where it may lead him, into -whatever desperate situation or howsoever dangerous the thing demanded, -has always been the slogan of the organization. For courage, patriotic -devotion, instant obedience and efficiency, the record of the Texas -Ranger has been equalled by no body of constabulary ever mustered. - -Though formed into military units and officered as a soldier, the -ranger is not a military man, for scant attention is paid to military -law and precedent. The state furnished food for the men, forage for -their horses, ammunition and medical attendance. The ranger himself -must furnish his horse, his accoutrements and his arms. There is, then, -no uniformity in the matter of dress, for each ranger is free to dress -as he pleases and in the garb experience has taught him most convenient -for utility and comfort. A ranger, as any other frontiersman or cowboy, -usually wears good heavy woolen clothes of any color that strikes -his fancy. Some are partial to corduroy suits, while others prefer -buckskin. A felt hat of any make and color completes his uniform. -While riding, a ranger always wore spurs and very high-heeled boots to -prevent his foot from slipping through the stirrup, for both the ranger -and the cowboy ride with the stirrup in the middle of the foot. This -is safer and less fatiguing on a long ride. For arms, the ranger after -1877 carried a Winchester rifle or carbine, a Colt's .45 revolver, and -a Bowie knife. Two cartridge belts, one for Winchester and one for -revolver ammunition, completed his equipment, and so armed he was ready -to mount and ride. - -"We live in the saddle and the sky is our roof," say the old rangers, -and this is literally true. The rangers are perfect centaurs and almost -live in the saddle. They take horse where they will and may arrest or -search in any part of the state. There is very little of what a West -Point graduate would call drill. A ranger is expected simply to be a -good rider and a quick and accurate shot. Every one of them are skilled -horsemen and crack shots. No crack cavalryman in any army can mount -a horse more quickly or more expertly than a ranger, and he can keep -a constant stream of fire pouring from his carbine when his horse is -going at top speed and hit the mark nine times out of ten! Should a -ranger drop anything on the ground that he wants he does not even check -the speed of his horse, but, bending from the saddle as if he were made -of India rubber, he picks up the object in full gallop. - -While not on active duty the rangers amuse themselves in various -ways. Some play cards, others hunt, while the studious spend their -time over books and good literature. Horse racing is popular, and the -fastest horse in the company is soon spotted, for the rangers match -their mounts one against the other. At night around their camp fires -the men are constantly telling stories of their own or some comrade's -adventures that put to shame all the inventions of the imaginative -fiction writers. But when on duty all this is changed. No pace is too -quick, no task too difficult or too hazardous for him. Night and day -will the ranger trail his prey, through rain and shine, until the -criminal is located and put behind the bars where he will not again -molest or disturb peaceful citizens. For bravery and endurance and -steadfast adherence to duty at all times the ranger is in a class all -to himself. Such was the old ranger, and such is the ranger of today. -Is it surprising, then, that I was early attracted to the force and -wished to join them in their open, joyous and adventurous life? - -[Illustration: _D.W. Roberts_] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -I JOIN THE RANGERS - - -The fame of the Texas Rangers had, of course, become common knowledge -among all Texans. Their deeds of adventure and their open, attractive -life along the frontier, had always appealed to me, and I had long -cherished the desire to enlist in the battalion. But the enlistment, as -announced by Captain Roberts, would not be made until June 1, 1875, and -I reached Menardville early in March. I had intended going on to join -Mr. Franks' outfit, but, as explained in a previous chapter, I hired -out to Mr. Ellis until I could enlist in Captain Roberts' company. - -About the middle of May, 1875, Joe Franks had worked back over into -Menard County. I wished to see my old friends in his outfit, and so -went over to meet them. While there I mentioned that I was going to -join the rangers. A cowboy named Norman Rodgers, who was working for -Mr. Franks, said he would also like to join, so we decided we would -go over to Captain Roberts together and see if we couldn't get him to -recruit us into his company. - -Rodgers and I rode over to the ranger camp beyond Menardville. Neither -of us had ever been in such a camp before nor did we know anyone in the -company. Of the first ranger we met we inquired where we could find the -captain. His tent was pointed out to us and we went toward it. - -"Jim," said Norman as we approached the tent, "you will have to do the -talking." - -Captain Roberts met us as we came up and invited us to be seated. I -told him at once that we had come to enlist as rangers. He asked us our -names, where we were working, and finally inquired if we had anyone -that would recommend us. We had not thought of references, but told him -that probably Mr. Franks or Mr. Ellis would stand for us, as they were -well known and prominent cattlemen for whom we had worked. - -Captain Roberts looked straight at me and said, "Did you say your name -was Gillett?" - -"Yes, Jim Gillett," I replied. - -He then asked me where I was born, and I told him at Austin, Texas. - -"Are you a son of James S. Gillett who was Adjutant-General under -Governor Sam Houston?" - -I told him I was. - -"I have often heard my father, Buck Roberts, speak of your father," he -said in a friendly tone. - -Captain Roberts then asked us what kind of horses we had, telling -us that a ranger was required to have a good mount, for each man was -allowed to have only one horse, which had to be a good one, that could -be ridden every day for a month if necessary. I told the captain I had -two good pony mares. He burst out laughing, and said a mare was not -allowed in the service. He then told us to go and see what kind of a -mount we could get, come back and let him inspect the animals. The -captain never once said he would enlist us, but, as the interview was -now over and he had not refused us, we went back to camp feeling very -hopeful we would soon be rangers. - -I secured a big black pony and Norman a gray one, not so large as mine -but a much prettier horse. We returned to the ranger camp a few days -later mounted on these ponies. The captain looked them over, said they -were rather small but that he would accept them, and told us to be at -his camp by May 31st to be sworn into the service. We left camp that -evening all puffed up at the prospect of being Texas Rangers. - -The last day of May arrived. Norman Rodgers and myself with many other -recruits we had never seen before were at the ranger camp. On June 1, -1875, at 10 o'clock, we were formed in line, mounted, and the oath of -allegiance to the State of Texas was read to us by Captain Roberts. -When we had all signed this oath we were pronounced Texas Rangers. -This was probably the happiest day of my life, for I had realized one -of my greatest ambitions and was now a member of the most famous and -efficient body of mounted police in the world. - -Immediately upon being sworn in the men were divided into messes, ten -men to the mess, and issued ten days' rations by the orderly sergeant. -These rations consisted of flour, bacon, coffee, sugar, beans, rice, -pepper, salt and soda. No potatoes, syrup or lard was furnished, -and each man had to supply his own cooking utensils. To shorten our -bread we used bacon grease. Beef was sometimes supplied the men, but -wild game was so plentiful that but little other meat was required. -Furthermore, each recruit was furnished a Sharps carbine, .50 caliber, -and one .45 Colt's pistol. These arms were charged to each ranger, -their cost to be deducted from our first pay. Our salary of $40 per -month was paid in quarterly installments. The state also supplied -provender for the horses. - -Though a ranger was forced to supply his own mount, the state undertook -to pay for the animal if it were killed or lost in an Indian fight. To -establish the impartial value of our animals, Captain Roberts marched -us into Menardville and asked three citizens of the town to place a -value on each man's mount. This was done, and I was highly gratified -when old Coley, my mount, was appraised at $125. This formality over, -the company was moved from Little Saline to Camp Los Moris, five miles -southwest of Menardville, Texas. We were now ready to begin scouting -for Indians. - -As is usual under the same circumstances the new recruits came in for -their share of pranks and mishaps. One raw rooky in my mess, fired with -love of economy, undertook to cook ten days' rations for the whole mess -at one time. He put a quantity of rice on the fire. Soon it began to -boil and swell, and that surprised ranger found his rice increasing -in unheard of proportions. He filled every cooking vessel in the mess -with half-cooked rice, and still the kettle continued to overflow. In -desperation he finally began to pour it on the ground. Even then he had -enough rice cooked to supply the entire company. - -Another recruit, anxious to test his new weapons, obtained Captain -Roberts' permission to go hunting. He had not gone far from camp before -he began firing at some squirrels. One of his bullets struck the limb -of a tree and whizzed close to camp. This gave an old ranger an idea. -He hastened after the hunter and gravely arrested him, declaring that -the glancing bullet had struck a man in camp and that Captain Roberts -had ordered the careless hunter's arrest. The veteran brought in a pale -and badly scared recruit. - -One of the favorite diversions of the old rangers was to make a -newcomer believe that the state furnished the rangers with socks -and start him off to the captain's tent to demand his share of free -hosiery. The captain took these pranks in good part and assured the -crestfallen applicant that the rangers were only playing a joke on him, -while his tormentors enjoyed his discomfiture from a safe distance. - -When they had run out of jokes the rangers settled down to the regular -routine of camp. Each morning the orderly sergeant had roll call, at -which time he always detailed six or eight men with a non-commissioned -officer to take charge of the rangers' horses and the pack mules until -relieved the following morning by a new guard. The guard was mounted -and armed and drove the loose stock out to graze. The horses were never -taken far from camp for fear of being attacked by Indians, and also to -keep them near at hand in case they were needed quickly. - -The rangers not on guard spent their time as they wished when not on -duty, but no man could leave the camp without the captain's permission. -The boys played such games as appealed to them, horse-shoe pitching and -cards being the favorite diversions. As long as it did not interfere -with a man's duty as a ranger, Captain Roberts permitted pony racing, -and some exciting contests took place between rival horse owners. And -hunting and fishing were always available, for woods and streams were -stocked with game and fish. - -I soon had cause to congratulate myself on my enlistment in Company -"D," for I found Captain D.W. Roberts the best of company commanders. -At the time I joined his command he was just thirty-five years of age, -very slender and perhaps a little over six feet tall. His beard and -hair were dark auburn. He was always neatly dressed and was kind and -affable in manner,--looking more like the dean of an Eastern college -than the great captain he was. - -Captain Roberts was a fine horseman and a good shot with both pistol -and rifle. He was also a fine violinist and often played for the boys. -He had been raised on the frontier and had such a great reputation as -an Indian fighter that the Fourteenth Legislature of Texas presented -him with a fine Winchester rifle for his gallantry in fighting the -redskins. The captain had made a close study of the habits and actions -of the Indians and had become such an authority that their life was -an open book to him. This, of course, gave him a great advantage in -following and fighting them, and under his able leadership Company "D" -became famous. There was not a man in the company that did not consider -it a compliment to be detailed on a scout with Captain Roberts. - -In the latter part of the summer or early fall of 1875, Captain Roberts -visited Colorado County, Texas, and returned with a bride, a Miss Lou -Conway. Mrs. Roberts was a very refined and elegant lady, and soon -adapted herself to the customs of the camp. She was with her husband -on the San Saba River during the winter of 1875-76 and soon became as -popular with the company as Captain Roberts himself. - -Most people consider the life of the Texas Ranger hard and dangerous, -but I never found it so. In the first place, the ranger was always with -a body of well armed men, more than a match for any enemy that might be -met. Then, there was an element of danger about it that appealed to any -red-blooded American. All of western Texas was a real frontier then, -and for one who loved nature and God's own creation, it was a paradise -on earth. The hills and valleys were teeming with deer and turkey, -thousands of buffalo and antelope were on the plains, and the streams -all over Texas were full of fish. Bee caves and bee trees abounded. -In the spring time one could travel for hundreds of miles on a bed -of flowers. Oh, how I wish I had the power to describe the wonderful -country as I saw it then. How happy I am now in my old age that I am -a native Texan and saw the grand frontier before it was marred by the -hand of man. - -The Lipans, Kickapoos, Comanches, and Kiowa Indians used to time their -raids so as to reach the Texas settlements during the light of the -moon so they would have moonlight nights in which to steal horses and -make their get-away before they could be discovered. By morning, when -their thefts became known, they would have a long lead ahead and be -well out on their way into the plains and mountains. The captains of -the ranger companies knew of this Indian habit, and accordingly kept -scouts constantly in the field during the period of the raids. The -redskins coming in from the plains where water was scarce generally -took the near cut to the headwaters of the Colorado, Concho, San Saba, -Llanos, Guadalupe, and Nueces Rivers. By maintaining scouts at or near -the heads of these streams the rangers frequently caught parties of -Indians going in or coming out from the settlements, and destroyed them -or recaptured the stolen stock. - -The first light moon in June Captain Roberts ordered a detail of -fifteen men in command of Sergeant James B. Hawkins to make a ten -days' scout toward the head waters of the North Llano River. He was to -select a secluded spot near old abandoned Fort Territ and make camp -there. Each morning a scout of one or two men would be sent out ten or -fifteen miles south and another party a like distance toward the north -to hunt for Indian trails. The main body of rangers, keeping carefully -concealed, was in readiness to take up an Indian trail at a moment's -notice should one be found by the scouts. - -One morning Sergeant Hawkins ordered me to travel south from camp to -the head draws of the South Llano and watch for pony tracks. - -"Suppose the Indians get me?" I asked laughingly as I mounted my pony. - -"It's your business to keep a sharp lookout and not let them catch -you," he replied. - -However, though I watched very carefully I could find no pony tracks or -Indian trails. - -We had with us on this scout Mike Lynch, a pure Irishman. Though he was -old and gray-headed, he was a good ranger, and had much native wit. -One morning it was Uncle Mike's turn to go on scout duty, but in a -few hours he was seen coming into camp with his horse, Possum, on the -jump. He reported a fresh Indian trail about ten miles north of our -camp. When asked how many pony tracks he had counted, Lynch at once -declared he had counted seventeen and thought there were more. As the -Indians usually came in on foot or with as few ponies as they could -get by on until they could steal others, Sergeant Hawkins suspected -the tracks Lynch had seen were those of mustangs. The excited scout -declared vehemently that the tracks were not those of wild horses but -of Indians. The sergeant was just as positive that no Indian party was -responsible for the trail, and the two had quite a heated argument over -the tracks. - -"But how do you know it is an Indian trail?" demanded Hawkins. - -"Because I know I know," cried out Lynch in a loud voice. - -That settled it. Horses were saddled and mules packed as quickly as -possible, and the rangers marched over to the suspicious trail. When -Sergeant Hawkins examined the trail he soon discovered that the sign -had been made by mustangs but could not convince the hard-headed -Irishman until he followed the trail two or three miles and showed him -the mustang herd quietly grazing under some shade trees. Uncle Mike did -not mention Indian trail any more on that scout. - -Though we did not find any trails or Indians the scouting party killed -two black bear, several deer and about fifteen wild turkey. - -Early in September, 1875, Captain Roberts again ordered Sergeant -Hawkins to take fifteen men and make a ten days' scout on the Brady -Mountains. To my great joy I was detailed on this expedition. When -near the head of Scalp Creek, Menard County, on our return trip, the -sergeant told the boys to keep a sharp lookout for a deer, as we would -reach the San Saba by noon and would camp on that stream for the night. -We had not traveled far before Ed Seiker killed a nice little spiked -buck. We strapped him on one of the pack mules, and when we arrived -at the river we came upon a flock of half-grown wild turkeys. Bill -Clements leaped from his horse and killed six of them. - -We then camped, hobbled and sidelined our horses and put a strong guard -with them. While some of the boys were gathering wood for our fire they -found an old elm stump ten to twelve feet high with bees going in at -the top. One of the rangers rode over to Rufe Winn's ranch and borrowed -an ax and a bucket. When he returned we cut the tree and got more -honey than sixteen men could eat, besides filling the bucket with nice -sealed honey, which we gave to Mrs. Winn in return for the use of her -ax. Then, after dinner, out came fishing tackle and, using venison for -bait, we caught more catfish than the entire crowd could eat. - -Hunting conditions in those days were ideal. I have known a single -scout to kill three or four bears on a single trip. The companies to -the north of us were never out of buffalo meat in season. Then, in the -fall, one could gather enough pecans, as fine as ever grew, in half a -day to last the company a month. I have seen hundreds of bushels of -the nuts go to waste because there was no one to gather them--besides -they sold on the market for fifty cents per bushel. No wonder that a -boy that loved the woods and nature was charmed and fascinated with the -life of the Texas Ranger. It was a picnic for me from start to finish, -and the six years I was with the battalion were the happiest and most -interesting of my life. - -But hunting and fishing and vacation scouts were not the sole duties of -a ranger. Pleasure was abundant, but there were times when all these -were laid aside. For the game guns and the fishing rod we exchanged our -carbines and our sixshooters and engaged in hazardous expeditions after -marauding redskins. I was soon to see this latter aspect of ranger -life, for in the latter part of August, 1875, I became a real ranger -and entered upon the real work of our battalion--that of protecting -the frontier against the roving Indians and engaging them in regular -pitched battles. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -MY FIRST BRUSH WITH INDIANS - - -The latter part of August, 1875, Private L.P. Seiker was sent on -detached service to Fort Mason, about fifty miles due east of our camp. -While there a runner came in from Honey Creek with the report that a -band of fifteen Indians had raided the John Gamble ranch and stolen -some horses within twenty-five steps of the ranch house. The redskins -appeared on their raid late in the evening and the runner reached Mason -just at dark. - -Lam Seiker had just eaten his supper and was sitting in the lobby of -the Frontier Hotel when the message came. He hurried to the livery -stable, saddled his horse, Old Pete, and started on an all-night ride -for the company. The nights in August are short, but Seiker rode -into our camp about 8 o'clock the following morning and reported the -presence of the Indians. - -The company horses were out under herd for the day, but Captain Roberts -sent out hurry orders for them. Sergeant Plunk Murray was ordered -to detail fifteen men, issue them ten days' rations and one hundred -rounds of ammunition each. Second Sergeant Jim Hawkins, Privates Paul -Durham, Nick Donnelly, Tom Gillespie, Mike Lynch, Andy Wilson, Henry -Maltimore, Jim Trout, William Kimbrough, Silas B. Crump, Ed Seiker, -Jim Day, John Cupps and myself, under command of Captain Roberts, -were selected as the personnel of the scout. As can be imagined I was -delighted with my good fortune in getting on the party and looked -forward with intense satisfaction to my first brush with Indians. - -The mules were soon packed and by the time the horses reached camp the -scout was ready. Sergeant Hawkins, as soon as the men had saddled their -horses, walked over to the captain, saluted and told him the scout was -ready. Before leaving camp Captain Roberts called to Sergeant Murray -and told him that he believed the Indians had about as many horses as -they could well get away with, and that they would probably cross the -San Saba River near the mouth of Scalp Creek and follow the high divide -between the two streams on their westward march back into the plains. -If the redskins did not travel that way the captain thought they would -go out up the Big Saline, follow the divide between the North Llano -and San Saba Rivers westward and escape, but he was confident the band -would travel up the divide north of Menardville. He determined to scout -that way himself, and instructed Murray to send two rangers south over -to the head waters of Bear Creek to keep a sharp lookout for the trail. -These two scouts were to repeat their operations the next day, and if -they discovered the Indian trail Murray was to make up a second scout -and follow the redskins vigorously. - -His plan outlined, Captain Roberts gave the order to mount, and we -rode toward Menardville, making inquiry about the Indians. All was -quiet at this little frontier village, so we crossed the San Saba River -just below the town, and after passing the ruins of the Spanish Fort, -Captain Roberts halted his men and prepared to send out trailers. Two -of the best trailers in the command were ordered to proceed about four -hundred yards ahead of the party and keep a close watch for pony tracks -while they traveled due north at a good saddle horse gait. The main -body of men, under the captain himself, would follow directly behind -the outposts. - -Our party had traveled about eight or nine miles when Captain Roberts' -keen eyes discovered a lone pony standing with his head down straight -ahead of us. He sighted the animal before the trailers did, and -remarked to us that there the trail was. The outposts halted when they -saw the pony and waited for us to come up. Sure enough, here was the -Indian trail probably twenty yards wide. Captain Roberts dismounted -and walked over the sign, scrutinizing every pony track, bunch of -grass and fallen leaf. He then examined the old pony. The animal was -cut with a lance, with his back sore and his feet all worn out. It was -then between 12 and 1 o'clock, and the captain thought the Indians had -passed that way about sunrise, for the blood and sweat on the horse was -now dry. The trail showed the raiders were driving rather fast and were -probably thirty-five or forty miles ahead of us. The captain decided it -would be a long chase and that we would just have to walk them down if -we caught them at all. - -There was no water on this divide so we took the trail without stopping -for dinner. Captain Roberts had a fine saddle horse, Old Rock, and we -followed the trail at a steady gait of five or six miles an hour. At -sundown we reached the old government road that runs from Fort McKavett -to Fort Concho. We were then about twelve or fifteen miles south of -Kickapoo Springs, so we turned up the road, reaching the springs late -at night. The horses had not had a drop of water since leaving the San -Saba that morning, and, facing a hot August sun all day, the men were -pretty well tired out when they reached camp, had supper and gotten to -bed. We estimated we had ridden about sixty miles since leaving camp. -During the day Captain Roberts' horse cast a shoe, so Tom Gillespie -shod him by firelight, as it was the captain's intention to resume the -trail at daylight. - -The following morning Captain Roberts took a southwest course from -Kickapoo Springs and paralleled the Indian trail we had left the -evening before. It was late in the day before we picked the trail up -again, and many of the boys were afraid we had lost it altogether, but -the captain laughed at their fears and never doubted that we should -find it again. The Indians, as their trail showed, were now traveling -over a tolerably rough country, which made our progress slow. About -noon we found some rain water, and, as it was fearfully hot, we camped -for dinner and to give the horses a short rest. - -When the boys went out to catch their mounts we found that we had -camped right in a bed of rattlesnakes. Two of our horses had been -bitten. Jim Day's Checo had a head on him as big as a barrel, while -the captain's horse, Old Rock, had been bitten on his front leg just -above the ankle, and it had swollen up to his body. Neither of the -animals was able to walk. Jim Day could not be left alone in that -Indian country, so Captain Roberts detailed Private Cupps to stay with -Day until the horses died or were able to travel,--in either case they -were then to return to camp. The animals soon recovered and Day and -Cupps beat us back to camp. - -The pack loads were now doubled on one mule so Captain Roberts could -ride the other. Reduced to thirteen men, we followed the Indians until -night. It was a hard day on both men and beasts, so we camped where -we found a little water in a draw that drained into the South Concho -River. Considering the way we had come the captain thought we had -covered sixty miles during the day's ride. We had two rather old men -on the scout, Mike Lynch and Andy Wilson, and they were nearly all in. -I awoke Andy at 2 a.m. to go on guard. The poor fellow was so stiff he -could hardly stand, and I tried to get him to go back to bed, telling -him I would stand his guard, but he was game, and in a few minutes -hobbled out to the horses and relieved me. - -Early in the morning we were up and traveling. The mule Captain Roberts -was riding did not step out as fast as Old Rock had done, and the boys -had an easier time keeping up. We camped at noon on just enough rain -water to do us and took up the trail again after dinner. The trailers -stopped suddenly, and as we rode up Captain Roberts asked what was the -matter. They said it seemed as though the Indians at this point had -rounded up the horses and held them for some cause or other. - -The captain dismounted and swept the country with his field glasses. -He circled around where the horses had been standing and found where -a lone Indian had walked straight away from the animals. He followed -the tracks to an old live oak tree that had been blown down. Then the -reason for the stop became apparent: the Indians had sighted a herd -of mustangs grazing just beyond this tree and the redskin had slipped -up on them and killed a big brown mare. Captain Roberts picked up the -cartridge shell the old brave had used and found it to be from a .50 -caliber buffalo gun. We also found the mustang, from which the Indians -had cut both sides of ribs and one hind quarter. - -Captain Roberts was much elated. - -"Boys," he said with a smile, "we now have ninety-five chances out of -a hundred to catch those Indians. They will not carry this raw meat -long before stopping to cook some. We have followed them now over one -hundred and fifty miles, and they have never stopped to build a fire. -They are tired and hungry and probably know where there is water not -far away." - -He spoke with such confidence that I marveled at his knowledge of the -Indian habits. - -We were now on the extreme western draw of the South Concho River, far -above the point at which the water breaks out into a running stream. -Finally the trail led out on that level and vast tract of country -between the head of South Concho and the Pecos on the west. These -Indians turned a little north from the general direction they had been -traveling, and all of a sudden we came to some rock water holes. - -Here the redskins had built three fires, cooked both sides of the -mustang ribs and had picked them clean. From this high table land they -could look back over their trail for fifteen miles. The captain thought -they had been there early in the morning, as the fires were out and -the ashes cold. We did not lose any time at this camp, but hurried on, -following the trail until late in the evening, when the trailers again -halted. When we came up we found that the trail that had been going -west for nearly two hundred miles had suddenly turned straight north. - -Captain Roberts seemed to be puzzled for a time, and said he did not -understand this move. About one mile north there was a small motte of -mesquite timber. This he examined through his glasses, seeming to me -to examine each tree separately. The trail led straight into these -trees, and we followed it. In the mesquite timber we found the Indians -had hacked some bushes partly down, bent them over, cut up the horse -meat they had been carrying with them into tiny strips, strung it on -the bushes and, building a fire beneath them, had barbecued their -flesh. The redskins had made the prettiest scafelo for meat cooking I -ever saw. We found plenty of fire here, and the captain was sure we -would have an Indian fight on the morrow. - -From the trees the trail swung west again. The redskins were traveling -slowly now, as they evidently thought they were out of danger. Just -before sundown the scout halted, and we were ordered not to let any -smoke go up lest the band we were trailing should spot it and take -alarm. As soon as we had cooked our supper Captain Roberts had the -fires carefully extinguished. It had been a good season on the table -lands and there were many ponds filled with water, some of them one -hundred yards wide. We camped right on the edge of one of these big -holes and where the Indians had waded into it the water was still -muddy. The boys were cautioned not to strike a match that night as we -were certain the Indians were not far ahead of us. We covered between -forty and fifty miles that day. - -Camp was called at daybreak. We dared not build a fire, so we could -have no breakfast. We saddled our horses and again took the trail. -Old Jennie, the pack mule, was packed for the last time on earth, for -she was killed in the fight that shortly followed. As soon as it was -light enough to see a pony track two of the boys traced it on foot -and led their horses, the remainder of our party coming along slowly -on horseback. By sunrise we were all riding and following the trail -rapidly, eager to sight the marauding thieves. We had traveled some -five or six miles when Paul Durham called Captain Roberts' attention -to a dark object ahead that looked as if it were moving. The captain -brought his field glasses to bear on the object specified and exclaimed -it was the Indians. - -He ordered the boys to dismount at once, tighten their cinches, leave -their coats and slickers and make ready to fight. As we carried out -this order a distressing stillness came over the men. Captain Roberts -and Sergeant Hawkins were the only ones of our party that had ever -been in an Indian fight, and I suppose the hearts of all of us green, -unseasoned warriors beat a little more rapidly than usual at the -prospect of soon smelling powder. Captain Roberts called out to us in -positive tones not to leave him until he told us to go, and not to draw -a gun or pistol until ordered, declaring that he wanted no mistake on -the eve of battle. He ordered the pack mule caught and led until we -went into the fight, when she was to be turned loose. - -The Indians were out on an open prairie dotted here and there with -small skirts of mesquite timber. The captain thought our only chance -was to ride double file straight at them in the hope they would not -look back and discover us. We moved forward briskly, and as luck would -have it, we got within four or five hundred yards of the redskins -before they sighted us. - -At once there was a terrible commotion. The Indians rounded up their -stock and caught fresh mounts almost in the twinkling of an eye. Then, -led by their old chief, they took positions on a little elevated ground -some two hundred yards beyond the loose horses. The redskins stationed -themselves about fifteen or twenty feet apart, their battle line when -formed being about one hundred yards wide. As each warrior took his -station he dismounted, stood behind his horse and prepared to fire when -given the signal. - -The captain with a smile turned to us and said, "Boys, they are going -to fight us. See how beautifully the old chief forms his line of -battle." - -From a little boy I had longed to be a ranger and fight the Indians. At -last, at last, I was up against the real thing and with not so much as -an umbrella behind which to hide. I was nervous. I was awfully nervous. - -We were now within one hundred steps of the redskins. Then came the -order to dismount, shoot low and kill as many horses as possible. The -captain said as we came up that every time we got an Indian on foot in -that country we were sure to kill him. With the first shot everybody, -Indian and ranger, began firing and yelling. - -In a minute we had killed two horses and one Indian was seen to be -badly wounded. In another minute the redskins had mounted their horses -and were fleeing in every direction. Captain Roberts now ordered us to -mount and follow them. The roar of the guns greatly excited my pony -and he turned round and round. I lost a little time in mounting, but -when I did get settled in the saddle I saw an Indian running on foot. -He carried a Winchester in his hand and waved to another Indian who -was riding. The latter turned and took the one on foot up behind him. -As they started away for a race I thought to myself that no grass -pony on earth could carry two men and get away from me and Old Coley. -The Indians had a good animal, but I gradually closed on them. The -redskin riding behind would point his gun back and fire at me, holding -it in one hand. I retaliated by firing at him every time I could get -a cartridge in my old Sharps carbine. I looked back and saw Ed Seiker -coming to my aid as fast as old Dixie would run. He waved encouragement -to me. - -Finally the old brave ceased shooting, and as I drew a little closer -he held out his gun at arm's length and let it drop, probably thinking -I would stop to get it. I just gave it a passing glance as I galloped -by. He then held out what looked to be a fine rawhide rope and dropped -that, but I never took the bait. I just kept closing in on him. He now -strung his bow and began using his arrows pretty freely. Finally he -saw I was going to catch him, and turned quickly into a little grove -of mesquite timber. I was considered a fairly good brush rider, and -as we went in among the trees I drew right up within twenty steps of -the brave, jumped from my mount and made a sort of random shot at the -horse, Indian and all. The big .50 caliber bullet struck the Indian -pony just where its head couples on its neck, passed through the head -and came out over the left eye. It killed the horse at once and it -fell forward twenty feet. - -The old warrior, hit the ground running, but I jumped my horse and ran -after him. As I passed the dead horse I saw the front rider struggling -to get from under it. To my surprise I saw he was a white boy between -fifteen and sixteen years old with long bright red hair. - -By this time Ed Seiker had arrived and was dismounting. The fugitive -warrior now peeped from behind a tree and I got a fine shot at his face -but overshot him six inches, cutting off a limb just over his head. He -broke to run again, and as he came into view Ed placed a bullet between -his shoulders. He was dead in a minute. As Ed and I walked up to the -dead Indian we found he had also been shot in one ankle and his bow had -been partly shot in two. In his quiver he had left only three arrows. - -Seiker and I hurried back to the dead horse to help the white boy, but -he had extricated himself and disappeared. We then returned to the -dead warrior and Seiker scalped him. We took the Indian's bow shield -and a fine pair of moccasins. I also found a fine lance near where the -horse fell, and I presume it was carried by the white boy. We found the -redskin had no Winchester cartridges, and this was why he dropped the -gun--he could not carry it and use his bow. We went back over the trail -but were unable to find the gun the brave had dropped as a bait. - -By noon that day the boys had all returned to where the fight had -begun and the Indian horses had been left. Jim Hawkins and Paul Durham -captured a Mexican boy about fifteen years old. He looked just like -an Indian, had long plaited hair down his back, was bare headed, wore -moccasins and a breech-clout. Had he been in front of me I would surely -have killed him for a redskin. Captain Roberts spoke Spanish fluently, -and from this boy he learned that the Indians were Lipans that lived in -Old Mexico. He was taken back to our camp and finally his uncle came -and took him home. He had been captured while herding oxen near old -Fort Clark, Texas, and an elder brother, who was with him at the time, -had been killed. - -The boys were then sent back by Captain Roberts to find the white lad -that had been with the Indian Seiker had killed. Though we searched -carefully we could find no trace of the mysterious youngster. Some -years later I learned that this boy's name was Fischer and that his -parents went into Old Mexico and ransomed him. He was from Llano -County, and after his return he wrote, or had written, a small -pamphlet that contained an account of his life with the Indians. He -told of being with old Chief Magoosh in this fight. He declared he hid -in the grass within sight of the rangers while they were hunting him, -but was afraid to show himself for fear of being killed. - -When the rangers had all gathered after the fight our pack mule, -Jennie, was missing. We supposed in the run that she had followed the -Indians off. Six months later Ed Seiker was detailed to pilot a body of -United States soldiers over that same country to pick out a road to the -Pecos River. He visited our old battlefield and found Jennie's carcass. -She had a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. The Indians in -shooting back at their attackers probably hit her with a chance shot. -The pack saddle was still strapped to her body, but wolves had eaten -all the supplies. Five hundred rounds of ammunition were still with -her, showing that no one had seen her since the day of her death. - -Lacking Jennie's supplies, we did not have a blooming thing to eat but -the barbecued horse meat we had captured from the Indians. This had no -salt on it, and I just could not swallow it. In the fight we killed -three horses and one Indian and captured the Mexican lad. At least two -redskins were badly wounded, and as victors we captured fifty-eight -head of horses and mules, several Indian saddles and bridles and many -native trinkets. Not a man or a horse of our party was hurt, the pack -mule being our only fatality. All voted Captain Roberts the best man in -the world. - -We turned our faces homeward, hungry and tired but highly elated over -our success. The second day after the fight we reached Wash Delong's -ranch on the head waters of the South Concho River. Mr. Delong, a fine -frontiersman, killed a beef for us and furnished us with flour and -coffee without cost. Three days later we were back at our camp at Los -Moris. The stolen stock was returned to their owners, and thus ended my -first campaign against the Indians. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE MASON COUNTY WAR - - -Soon after our return from our first brush with Indians we were -introduced to yet another phase of ranger activity--the quieting -of feuds, for not only were the rangers employed in protecting the -frontiers against the Indians, but they were also frequently called -upon to preserve law and order within the towns and cities of the -state. In those early days men's passions were high and easily aroused. -In a country where all men went armed, recourse to fire arms was -frequent, and these feuds sometimes led to active warfare between the -adherents of each party to the great discomfort of the citizens among -whom such a miniature war was staged. - -Mason and the adjoining county, Gillespie, had been settled by Germans -in the early history of the state. These settlers were quiet, peaceful -and made most excellent citizens, loyal to their adopted country -and government when undisturbed. Most of these Germans engaged in -stock raising and were sorely tried by the rustlers and Indians that -committed many depredations upon their cattle. - -In the latter part of September, 1875, Tim Williamson, a prominent -cattleman living in Mason County, was arrested on a charge of cattle -theft by John Worley, a deputy sheriff of that county. Previous to that -time there had been a number of complaints about loss of cattle, and -the Germans charged that many of their cattle had been stolen and the -brands burned. Much indignation had been aroused among the stockmen of -the county and threats of violence against the thieves were common. - -As soon as the news of Williamson's arrest on charge of cattle thieving -became known a large mob formed and set out in pursuit of the deputy -sheriff and his prisoner. On his way to Mason, Worley was overtaken -by this posse. When he saw the pursuing men Williamson divined their -purpose and begged the sheriff to let him run in an effort to save his -life. Worley refused and, it is said, drew his pistol and deliberately -shot Williamson's horse through the loin, causing it to fall. Unarmed -and unmounted Williamson was killed without a chance to protect himself -and without any pretense of a trial. After the murder Worley and the -mob disappeared. - -Whether or not Williamson was guilty of the charge against him, he had -friends who bitterly resented the deputy sheriff's refusal to allow -the murdered man a chance for his life and his death caused a great -deal of excitement and bitter comment in the county. A man named Scott -Cooley, an ex-ranger of Captain Perry's Company "D," was a particular -friend of Williamson and his family. Cooley had quit the ranger service -at the time of his friend's murder and was cultivating a farm near -Menardville. He had worked for the dead man and had made two trips up -the trail with him. While working with the murdered cattleman Cooley -had contracted a bad case of typhoid fever and had been nursed back to -health by Mrs. Williamson's own hands. - -When the news of Tim Williamson's murder reached Scott Cooley he was -much incensed, and vowed vengeance against the murderers of his friend. -He left his farm at once and, saddling his pony, rode into the town -of Mason heavily armed. He had worked out a careful plan of his own -and proceeded to put it into execution immediately on his arrival. -Stabling his horse in a livery stable, he registered at the hotel. As -he was entirely unknown in Mason, Cooley remained in town several days -without creating any suspicion. He proved himself a good detective, and -soon discovered that the sheriff and his deputy were the leaders in -the mob that had killed his friend. Biding his time and pursuing his -investigations he soon learned the names of every man in the posse that -murdered Williamson. - -His information complete, Cooley decided upon action. He mounted his -pony and rode out to the home of John Worley, the deputy sheriff -that had refused Williamson a chance to flee for his life. Cooley -found Worley engaged in cleaning out a well. The avenger dismounted, -asked for a drink of water and entered into conversation with the -unsuspecting man. Finally, as Worley was drawing his assistant out of -the well, Cooley asked him if his name was John Worley. The deputy -sheriff replied that it was. Cooley then declared his mission and shot -the sheriff to death. - -At the first crack of Cooley's pistol Worley let the windlass go, and -the man he was drawing up out of the well fell back about twenty-five -feet into it. Cooley deliberately stooped down, cut off both of -Worley's ears, put them in his pocket, and galloped off. Victim number -one was chalked up to Williamson's credit. Making a quick ride across -Mason County to the western edge of Llano County, Cooley waylaid and -killed Pete Brader, the second on his list of mob members. - -These two murders struck terror into the hearts of nearly every citizen -of Mason County. No one could tell who would be the next victim of -the unerring aim of Scott Cooley's rifle. The whole county rose up in -arms to protect themselves. Terrified lest he be the next victim of -the avenger, Cooley, the sheriff of Mason County promptly left Mason -and never returned. Tim Williamson had other friends anxious to avenge -him, and the killing of Brader was their rallying signal. John and Mose -Beard, George Gladden, and John Ringgold immediately joined Cooley in -his work of vengeance. The gang rode into the town of Mason, and in a -fight with a posse of citizens, killed another man. - -Fearing the outbreak of a real feud war in Mason, the Governor of Texas -ordered Major Jones to the relief of the frightened citizens. The order -reached Major Jones while he was on his way down the line near the head -of the Guadalupe River. He at once turned his company back, and with -a detachment of ten men from Company "D" he marched to Mason. Company -"A," Major Jones' escort, was then commanded by Captain Ira Long, and -the thirty men in that company and the ten boys of Company "D" gave the -major forty men for his relief expedition. - -Before the rangers could reach Mason, the sheriff's party had a fight -with Cooley's gang down on the Llano River and killed Mose Beard. On -his arrival in Mason, Major Jones sent scouts in every direction to -hunt Cooley. He kept this up for nearly two weeks but without result. -He finally learned that nearly the whole of his command, especially -the Company "D" boys that had ranged with Cooley, was in sympathy with -the outlaw and was making no serious attempt to locate or imperil him. -It was even charged that some of the Company "D" rangers met Cooley at -night on the outskirts of Mason and told him they did not care if he -killed every d--d Dutchman in Mason County that formed part of the mob -that had murdered Williamson. - -Major Jones saw he would have to take drastic steps at once. He drew up -his whole force of forty men and made them an eloquent speech. He said -he had a special pride in the Frontier Battalion and was making it his -life's study and that he personally had a kindly feeling for every man -in the service. He then reminded the men in the most feeling manner -of the oath they had taken to protect the State of Texas against all -her enemies whatsoever,--an oath every true man was bound to honor. He -declared he knew many of the command had a friendly feeling for Scott -Cooley, especially those boys who had shared the life of a ranger with -him, and that he, himself, felt keenly the position in which they were -placed. While Tim Williamson had met a horrible death at the hands of -a relentless mob, that did not justify Cooley in killing people in a -private war of vengeance in defiance of the law and the rangers. - -As the climax of his speech the major said, "Men, I now have a -proposition to make to you. If every man here who is in sympathy with -Scott Cooley and his gang and who does not wish to pursue him to -the bitter end will step out of ranks I will issue him an honorable -discharge and let him quit the service clean." - -The major paused and about fifteen men stepped to the front. - -"Gentlemen," continued Major Jones, "those who do not avail themselves -of this opportunity I shall expect to use all diligence and strength in -helping me to break up or capture these violators of the law." - -After the discharge of the Cooley sympathizers, the rangers went to -work with a new vigor, and finally captured George Gladden and John -Ringgold. Gladden was sent to the state penitentiary for twenty-five -years, while Ringgold received a life sentence. Probably Scott Cooley -was informed of Major Jones' appeal to the rangers, for he became less -active around Mason after this. John Beard, it was reported, skipped -Texas and went to Arizona. - -Soon after Cooley killed John Worley, Norman Rodgers got permission -from Captain Roberts to ride over to Joe Franks' cow outfit to exchange -his horse for a better one. When Rodgers rode into the cowboy camp he -noticed a man resting under a tree near the fire. The stranger called -one of the cowboys and asked him who Norman was. As Rodgers left camp -this man followed him and asked if he were one of Roberts' rangers and -if he knew "Major" Reynolds. Rodgers replied that he knew Reynolds very -well. - -The man then declared he was Scott Cooley and, reaching into his -pocket, he pulled out John Worley's ears. - -"You take these ears to 'Major' Reynolds with my compliments, but don't -you tell anybody you saw me." - -Rodgers duly delivered the ears and Reynolds cautioned him to say -nothing about them. Forty years afterward, at an old settlers reunion -in Sweetwater, Norman Rodgers mentioned this incident in a speech--he -had kept his promise to Cooley and Reynolds all those years. - -Having lost his friends and his sympathizers in the rangers, Cooley -returned to Blanco County, where he had formerly lived. Here he was -stricken with brain fever, and though tenderly nursed, shielded by his -friends, he died without ever being brought to trial for his killings. -This ended the Mason County War, but before the feud died some ten or -twelve men were killed and a race war narrowly averted. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -MAJOR JONES AND HIS ESCORT - - -Despite their usefulness in protecting the frontiers and in maintaining -law and order, the Texas Rangers have always had to fight more or less -strenuously to obtain the necessary appropriation for their annual -maintenance from the State Legislature. Whenever the appropriation is -small there is but one remedy,--reduce the personnel of each company to -the lowest limits possible. In the fall of 1875 the Adjutant-General -notified the captains all along the line to reduce their companies to -twenty men each for the winter at the end of the current quarter. As -the day for reduction arrived there were some anxious moments among the -men of Company "D" as no one knew just who was to be retained in the -service. - -On December 1st Captain Roberts formed the command in line and -explained it was his sad duty to reduce the company to twenty men, and -announced that the orderly sergeant would read the names of those to be -retained in the company. The sergeant then stepped forward and began -to read. First Sergeant Plunk Murray, Second Sergeant James Hawkins, -First Corporal Lam Seiker, Second Corporal Tom Griffin, and Privates -Charles Nevill, Tom Gillespie, Nick Donley, Jim Trout, Henry Maltimore, -Kit Maltimore, Jack Martin, W.T. Clements, Ed Seiker, Andy Wilson, J.W. -Bell, Norman Rodgers, Dock Long, Tom Mead, Frank Hill, and Jim Gillett -were the lucky ones to be retained in the command. The remainder of the -company was thereupon discharged. My relief may be imagined when my -name was read out, for I had learned to love the ranger life and was -loth to quit it. - -After reduction we went into winter camp in a bend of the San Saba -River about three miles east of Menardville. In the river bottom was -plenty of good timber, so each mess of five men built a log cabin, -sixteen to eighteen feet square, for their occupancy. These cabins, -each with a chimney and a fireplace, formed the western side of our -horse corral and made most comfortable winter abodes. During the winter -the boys played many tricks upon each other, for there were no Indian -raids during the time we were in this winter camp. One of the favorite -stunts was to extract the bullet from a cartridge, take out the powder -and wrap it in a rag, and then, while the inmates of a given cabin -would be quietly smoking or reading or talking around their fire, climb -upon the roof and drop the rag down the chimney. When the powder -exploded in the fire the surprised rangers would fall backward off -their benches,--to the huge glee of the prank player. At other times a -couple of rangers would post themselves outside a neighbor's cabin and -begin to yell, "Fire! Fire!!" at the top of their lungs. If the cabin -owners did not stand in the doorway to protect it all the rangers in -camp would rush up and throw bedding, cooking utensils, saddles and -bridles, guns and pistols outside as quickly as they could. In a jiffy -the cabin would be cleaned out and the victims of the joke would have -to lug all their belongings back in again. - -But not all our time was spent in practical joking. There were many -rangers of a studious mind, and during the long winter evenings they -pored over their books. Several of our boys, by their study here and -at other leisure hours, qualified themselves for doctors, lawyers, and -professional callings. And there were several writers in camp that -contributed more or less regularly to the magazines and newspapers. - -One of the rangers, Nick Donley, was a baker by trade, and he soon -built a Dutch oven and made bread for the rangers. We pooled our flour -and had fresh, warm bread every morning. This was so good and we ate so -much of it that our allowance of flour would not last for the period -issued, and Captain Roberts was compelled to order the bake oven torn -down. Thereafter the boys baked their own bread and the flour lasted. - -Some of the rangers had captured young bear cubs, and we had them in -camp with us as pets. They grew rapidly and were soon big fellows and -immensely popular with the boys. Sometimes a bear would break loose -from its chain, and then all of us would turn out to hunt the escaped -pet. Most often we would soon find him seated in a tree which he had -climbed as soon as he had broken his shackles. And I cannot here -forbear mentioning the useful little pack mules that served the rangers -so long and so well. When the battalion was formed in 1874 a number -of little broncho mules were secured for packing. They soon learned -what was expected of them and followed the rangers like dogs. Carrying -a weight of one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, they would -follow a scout of rangers on the dead run right into the midst of the -hottest fight with Indians or desperadoes. They seemed to take as much -interest in such an engagement as the rangers themselves. - -These little pack animals had as much curiosity as a child or a pet -coon. In traveling along a road they sometimes met a bunch of horses -or several campers along the highway. Immediately they would run over -for a brief visit with the strangers and when the rangers had gone on -a thousand yards or more would scamper up to us as fast as they could -run. Later, when the rangers drew in from the frontier and scouted -in a more thickly settled country the mules with their packs would -march right up to strange horses and frighten them out of their wits. -Once, in Austin, one of our mules calmly trotted up to a mule that was -pulling a street car. As the pack burro would not give right of way the -street car mule shied to one side and pulled its conveyance completely -off the track to the surprise of its driver. The tiny animals pulled -off several stunts like this and caused so much complaint that -Adjutant-General Jones issued an order for all rangers to catch and -lead their pack mules when passing through a town. - -As soon as we were located in the new camp, Privates Nevill, Bell and -Seiker obtained permission from Captain Roberts to visit Austin to buy -a case of ten Winchesters. Up to this time the company was armed with -a .50 caliber Sharps carbine. These guns would heat easily and thus -were very inaccurate shooters. The state furnished this weapon to its -rangers at a cost of $17.50, and at that time furnished no other class -of gun. The new center fire 1873 model Winchester had just appeared -on the market and sold at $50 for the rifle and $40 for the carbine. A -ranger who wanted a Winchester had to pay for it out of his own pocket -and supply his own ammunition as well, for the State of Texas only -furnished cartridges for the Sharps gun. However, ten men in Company -"D," myself included, were willing to pay the price to have a superior -arm. I got carbine number 13,401, and for the next six years of my -ranger career I never used any other weapon. I have killed almost every -kind of game that is found in Texas, from the biggest old bull buffalo -to a fox squirrel with this little .44 Winchester. Today I still -preserve it as a prized memento of the past. - -The boys were all anxious to try their new guns, and as Christmas -approached we decided to have a real Yule-tide dinner. Ed Seiker and -myself visited a big turkey roost on the head of Elm Creek and killed -seven big wild turkeys, and on our return Seiker bagged a fine buck -deer. J.W. Bell hunted on the San Saba and brought in six or eight -wild geese and about a dozen mallard ducks. Donley, the baker, cooked -up the pies, while Mrs. Roberts, wife of the captain, furnished the -fruit-cake. Some of the boys made egg-nog, and altogether we had the -finest Christmas dinner that ever graced the boards of a ranger camp. -The little frontier village of Menardville was not far away, and most -of the rangers visited it during Christmas week for the dancing. Jack -Martin once remarked to Mrs. Roberts that there was very little society -about a ranger camp. She told the joke on him and thereafter as long as -he lived he was known as "Society Jack." - -During the winter we laid out a race course and had much sport with our -horses. But there was work as well as play that winter. Though Captain -Roberts kept scouts in the field during the entire winter they never -discovered any Indian trails. The rangers had not yet turned their -attention to outlaws, so we were not burdened with chained prisoners as -we were in after years. This winter camp on the San Saba was the most -pleasant time in my service with the rangers. - -The first week in April, 1876, we moved out of our winter quarters -to a camp some six or seven miles above Menardville and located in a -pecan grove on the banks of the San Saba. We were all glad to get into -our tents again after four months spent in log cabins. I remember our -first night at the new camp. The boys set out some hooks and caught -four or five big yellow catfish weighing twenty-five or thirty pounds -each--enough fish to last the twenty men several days. - -As the spring opened, Captain Roberts began sending out scouts to -cut signs for Indians. I remember I was detailed on a scout that was -commanded by a non-commissioned officer. We were ordered to scout -as far north as the union of the Concho and Colorado Rivers. After -crossing the Brady Mountains we struck a trail of Indians going out. -The redskins had probably been raiding in San Saba or McCulloch -Counties. Their trail led west as straight to San Angelo as a bird -could fly. Though the Indians were not numerous and had only a few -horses, the trail was easily followed. As well as we could judge the -redskins had passed on a few days before we discovered their sign. We -found where they had stolen some horses, for we picked up several pairs -of hobbles that had been cut in two and left where they got the horses. -At that time there were several big cattle ranches in the Fort Concho -country, and in going to and from water the cattle entirely obliterated -the trail. We worked hard two days trying to find it and then gave up -the hunt. We needed the genius of Captain Roberts to help us out that -time. - -On June 1, 1876, the company was increased to forty men. Some of -the boys that had quit at Mason the fall before now re-entered the -service. Especially do I remember that "Mage" Reynolds enlisted with -Company "D" once more. - -During the summer of 1876, Major Jones planned a big scout out on the -Pecos to strike the Lipans and Kickapoos a blow before they began -raiding the white settlements. This scout started from Company "D" in -July. The major drafted about twenty men from my company, his whole -escort Company "A" of thirty men and marched into Kerr County. Here he -drafted part of Captain Coldwell's Company "F," making his force total -about seventy men with three wagons and about twenty pack mules. - -The column traveled down the Nueces, then by Fort Clark up the Devil's -River to Beaver Lake. Here Captain Ira Long with twenty men and the -wagon train was sent up the San Antonio and El Paso road to old Fort -Lancaster on the Pecos, where he was to await the arrival of Major -Jones with the main force. - -From Beaver Lake, the major with fifty men and the twenty pack mules -turned southwest and traveled down Johnston's Run to the Shafer -Crossing on the Pecos. From this crossing we scouted up the Pecos to -the mouth of Independence Creek. The country through this section was -very rough but very beautiful. We saw several old abandoned Indian -camps, especially at the mouth of the creek. Here we found the pits -and the scaffolds upon which the redskins had dried their meat, also -evidence that many deer hide had been dressed and made into buckskin. -Bows and arrows had also been manufactured in these camps. From this -section the Indians had been gone probably a month or more. - -After ten days of scouting we joined Captain Long at Fort Lancaster and -marched up Live Oak Creek to its head. Here we prepared to cross that -big stretch of table land between the Pecos and the head waters of the -South Concho. We filled what barrels we had with water, topped out from -the creek--and made about ten miles into the plains by night and made -a dry camp. We got an early start next day and traveled until night -without finding water. The stock suffered greatly from thirst and the -men had only a little water in their canteens. All the land ponds had -been dry two weeks or more, and I saw twelve head of buffalo that had -bogged and died in one of them. Here we found an old abandoned Indian -camp, where the redskins had dressed many antelope hides. At one old -bent mesquite tree the antelope hair was a foot deep, with thirty or -forty skulls scattered about. - -By the second morning both men and horses were suffering a great deal -from thirst, and Major Jones gave orders to begin march at 4 a.m. We -got away on time and reached water on the South Concho at 2 p.m., the -third day out from Live Oak Creek. As soon as we got near the water we -found a number of straggling buffalo, and killed two, thus securing a -supply of fresh meat. We camped two days at this water and then marched -back to Company "D" by easy stages. Here Major Jones turned back up the -line with his escort after being out on this scout about a month. - -On his return toward the Rio Grande, Major Jones reached Company -"D" the last week in August and camped with us until September 1st, -the end of the fiscal year for the rangers. On this date many men -would quit service to retire to private life, while some would join -other companies and new recruits be sworn into the service. This -reorganization usually required two or three days. - -Nearly every ranger in the battalion was anxious to be at some time -a member of Major Jones' escort company. The escort company was not -assigned a stationary post nor did it endeavor to cover a given strip -of territory. Its most important duty was to escort the major on his -periodic journeys of inspection to the other companies along the -line. The escort always wintered in the south and made about four -yearly tours of the frontier from company to company, taking part -in such scouts as the major might select and being assigned to such -extraordinary duty as might arise. In 1874, when the Frontier Battalion -was first formed, Major Jones recruited his escort from a detail of -five men from each of the other companies. However, in practice, this -led to some confusion and envy in the commands, so Major Jones found -it expedient to have a regular escort company, so he selected Company -"A" for that purpose. This remained his escort until he was promoted to -Adjutant-General. - -In September, 1876, there were several vacancies in Major Jones' -escort, and several old Company "D" boys, among them "Mage" Reynolds, -Charles Nevill, Jack Martin, Bill Clements, and Tom Gillespie, wished -to enlist in Company "A." They wanted me to go with them, but I -hesitated to leave Captain Roberts. My friends then explained that -we could see a lot more country on the escort than we could in a -stationary company; that we would probably be stationed down on the -Rio Grande that winter, and going up the line in the spring would see -thousands of buffalo. This buffalo proposition caught me, and I went -with the boys. After fifteen months' ranging with Captain Roberts I -now joined Company "A." - -Early in September Major Jones marched his escort down to within five -or six miles of San Antonio and camped us on the Salado while he went -in to Austin. By the first of October he was back in camp and started -up the line on his last visit to the different companies before winter -set in. - -At that time Major John B. Jones was a small man, probably not more -than five feet seven inches tall and weighed about one hundred and -twenty-five pounds. He had very dark hair and eyes and a heavy dark -moustache. He was quick in action, though small in stature, and was an -excellent horseman, riding very erect in the saddle. - -The major was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, in 1834, -but emigrated to Texas with his father when he was only four years -old. He was prominent in Texas state affairs from a very early age -and served gallantly with the Confederate Army during the Civil -War. On the accession of Governor Coke in 1874 he was appointed to -command the Frontier Battalion of six companies of Texas Rangers. -From his appointment until his death in Austin in 1881, Major Jones -was constantly engaged in repulsing bloody raids of Indians, rounding -up outlaws and making Texas secure and safe for the industrious and -peaceful citizen. In this work his wonderful tact, judgment, coolness -and courage found ample scope. - -From the organization of the battalion in 1874 until Major Jones was -made Adjutant-General, Dr. Nicholson was always with him. The doctor -was a quaint old bachelor who loved his toddy. The boys would sometimes -get him as full as a goose, and the major would give the doctor some -vicious looks at such times. Dr. Nicholson was a great favorite with -all the men, and it is said he knew every good place for buttermilk, -butter, milk, and eggs from Rio Grande City to Red River, a trifling -distance of eight hundred miles. The doctor always messed with Major -Jones, and, mounted on a fine horse, traveled by his side. I don't -think Dr. Nicholson ever issued a handful of pills to the boys during -the year--he was just with us in case he was needed. When the escort -was disbanded he retired to private life at Del Rio, Texas, and finally -died there. - -This inspection tour was a wonderful experience for me. The weather was -cool and bracing, and the horses had had a month's rest. We had with us -a quartet of musicians, among them a violinist, a guitar player and a -banjo picker, and after the day's march the players would often gather -around the camp fire and give us a concert. The major would frequently -walk down and listen to the music. Nor was music our only amusement. -Major Jones had provided his escort with a fish seine, and when we were -camped on a big creek or river the boys would unroll the net, make a -haul and sometimes catch enough fish to supply the thirty men several -days. - -When recruited to its full strength Company "A" consisted of a captain, -orderly sergeant, second sergeant, first and second corporals, and -twenty-six privates. Two four-mule wagons hauled the camp equipage, -rations for the men and grain for the horses. One fight wagon drawn -by two mules and driven by George, the negro cook, carried the mess -outfit, bedding, tent, etc., of Major Jones and Dr. Nicholson. - -Each morning at roll call the orderly sergeant detailed a guard of nine -men and one non-commissioned officer to guard for twenty-four hours. -When ready to begin our day's journey the company was formed in line -and the men counted off by fours. On the march Major Jones and Dr. -Nicholson rode in front, followed by the captain of the company, the -orderly sergeant and the men in double file. Following these came the -wagons. An advance guard of two men preceded the column about one-half -mile. Four men, known as flankers, two on each side of the company, -paralleled the column at a distance of one-half to one mile, depending -on the nature of the country. In a rough, wooded section the flankers -traveled close in, but in an open country they sometimes spread out -quite a distance. The non-commissioned officer with the remaining guard -covered the rear and brought up the pack mules. Thus protected it was -almost impossible for the command to be surprised by Indians. - -At one time Major Jones had with him two Tonkawa Indians as guides. For -protection this tribe lived near Fort Griffin, a large military post. -One of these old braves known as Jim had been given an old worn out -army coat with the shoulder straps of a general upon it. Jim wore this -coat tightly buttoned up and marched at the head of the column with as -much dignity and importance as a general-in-chief. His companion wore -a high crowned beaver stove-pipe hat with the top gone, and carried an -old umbrella that someone had given him. Fitted out in this ridiculous -and unique manner he marched for days with the umbrella over him. Think -of an Indian shading himself from the sun! - -Major Jones never paid much attention to these Indians unless he wished -to inquire the lay of the country or the distance to some water hole. -They did pretty much as they pleased, sometimes riding in front with -the major, sometimes with the guard and at others with the men. These -old redskins were a constant source of amusement to the boys. Jim and -his pal were good hunters but as lazy as could be. They got into the -habit of killing a buffalo late in the evening when they knew it was -almost time to pitch camp, cutting out just enough meat for themselves -and letting the remainder go to waste. The major told these lazy-bones -when they killed a buffalo he wanted to know of it so he could secure -the meat for the company. The Tonks paid no attention to this request -and late one evening came into camp with five or six pounds of buffalo -meat. - -The orderly sergeant spied them, so he walked over to Major Jones and -said, "Major, those two old Tonkawas are back in camp with just enough -meat for themselves." - -"Sergeant, you get a pack mule, take a file of men with you and make -those Indians saddle their horses and go with you to get that buffalo," -the major commanded, determined that his order should be obeyed by the -Indians. - -The sergeant went to the Indians, who were busy about the fire roasting -their meat, and told them what the major had said. Jim declared that -he was tired and did not wish to go. The non-commissioned officer -replied that that made no difference and commanded him and his pal to -get their ponies and lead the way to the dead buffalo. - -"Maybe so ten miles to buffalo," protested Jim, trying to avoid going. - -The sergeant knew they were lying, for of all the Indians that ever -inhabited Texas the Tonkawas were the biggest cowards. Just mention -the Comanches or Kiowas to them and they would have a chill. It was -well known that the Tonks would not venture very far away from the -protection of the rangers for fear of being killed by their enemies. As -soon as they knew they had to do as ordered, they mounted their ponies -and led the sergeant over a little hill, and in a valley not more -than half a mile from camp, was the fine, fat buffalo the Indians had -killed. The animal was soon skinned and brought into camp, where all -had plenty of fresh meat. - -These Tonks were as simple as children and as suspicious as negroes. -The weather had been hot and dry for several days. Old Jim thereupon -killed some hawks with his bow and arrows, plaited the long tail and -wing feathers into his pony's mane and tail, and said it would make -"heap rain." Sure enough, in three or four days a hard thunder shower -came up and thoroughly wet everybody on the march. Jim, with only his -old officer's coat for protection, was drenched to the skin, and his -pony looked like a drowned rat. The wood, grass, everything was wet. -Jim stood by, shivering with the cold and watched the boys use up -almost their last match trying to make a fire. Suddenly, with a look of -disgust, he ran up to his horse, which was standing near, and plucked -every hawk feather out of the animal's tail and mane and, throwing them -on the ground, stamped upon them violently as if that would stop the -rain. - -After the escort had crossed the Colorado River on its way northward we -found an advance guard of buffalo on its way south, and it was an easy -matter to keep the company in fresh meat. We spent about one week with -Company "B" on the upper Brazos, then turned south again to make our -winter camp near Old Frio Town in Frio County. It was November now and -freezing hard every night. - -The last guard would call the camp early, so we generally had breakfast -and were ready to move southward by daylight. We did not stop a single -time for dinner on this return trip, just traveled at a steady gait -all day long without dinner until nearly night. We all wondered why -we marched the live-long day without dinner, but it was not until many -years afterward when I became a Mason that I learned the reason for -our forced marches. Major Jones was in line to be made Most Worshipful -Grand Master of Masons in Texas and he had to be in Houston on the -first Tuesday in December for the annual meeting of the Most Worshipful -Grand Lodge of Texas. If there were other Masons in the company besides -Major Jones I never knew it. - -At this time we had for commander of the escort, Lieutenant Benton. He -was in bad health and rode most of the way back in one of the wagons. -On arriving at the end of the line he tendered his resignation and was -succeeded by Captain Neal Coldwell. The company camped for the winter -on Elm Creek, three miles southwest of Old Frio Town. - -Captain Neal Coldwell was born in Dade County, Missouri, in May, 1844, -and served gallantly throughout the Civil War in the Thirty-second -Regiment, Texas Cavalry, commanded by Col. W.P. Woods. At the -organization of the Frontier Battalion in 1874, Neal Coldwell was -commissioned captain of Company "F." - -It is difficult, in a single sketch, to do Captain Coldwell justice or -convey any correct idea of what he accomplished as a Texas Ranger. The -station of Company "F," the southernmost company of the line, was the -most unfavorable that could well be given him. His scouting grounds -were the head of the Guadalupe, Nueces, Llanos, and Devil's Rivers--the -roughest and most difficult part of South Texas in which to pursue -Indians, yet he held them in check and finally drove them out of that -part of the state. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE HORRELL-HIGGINS FEUD - - -By the end of the year 1876 the Indians had been pretty well pushed -back off the frontier, so that there were very few fights with the -redskins after 1877. From the spring of 1877 onward the rangers were -transformed into what might properly be called mounted state police, -and accordingly turned their attention to ridding the frontier of the -outlaws that infested nearly every part of Texas. During the winter -of 1876-77 Captain Neal Coldwell broke up a band of thieves that was -operating in the northwestern part of Atascosa County. I remember -helping him capture a man named Wolf. He was wanted for murder, and we -made several scouts after him before we succeeded in landing him safely -in irons. - -In April, 1877, Major Jones reached Coldwell's company and at once -made arrangements to march up the line on a visit of inspection. When -the major reached the headwaters of the South Llano River he halted -his escort and detailed several small scouting parties of five or six -men, each with orders to arrest every man that could not give a good -account of himself. One scout was sent down the South Llano, a -second down Johnson's Fork, while a third was ordered over the divide -with instructions to hit the head of the North Llano and sweep down -that river,--all three parties to rejoin Major Jones and the main -escort near where Junction City now stands. In these outlaw raids some -fifty or sixty men were arrested and brought in. Many of the suspects -were released upon examination, but I remember one scout brought in two -escaped convicts who had been captured up on Copperas Creek. We bagged -several men wanted for murder and some horse and cattle thieves. Old -Kimble County never had such a clean-up of bandits in her history. - -[Illustration: _Neal Coldwell_] - -While these prisoners were being held in camp other scouts were sent -out in the northern part of the county with orders to sweep Bear Creek, -Gentry, Red Creek, Big and Little Saline, to cross the San Saba River -in Menard County and sweep up that stream from old Peg Leg Station to -Menard. Many more suspects were caught in this haul. - -With a party of scouts I was detailed on a mission to Fort McKavett, -at that time one of the big military posts on the frontier. Many hard -characters and gamblers gathered about these posts to fleece the -soldiers out of their easy-made money. We made several arrests here, -and camped for noon one mile below the government post on the San -Saba River. During the dinner hour my horse, a gray, in lying down to -wallow, rolled on some broken beer bottles and cut his back so badly -that he was unfit for use for some time. When the escort moved north -I was left with old Company "D" until the return of Company "A" on -its return march some six weeks later. I thereby missed some of the -exciting scouts that took place on the march north. - -When Major Jones reached Coleman City he found orders from Governor -Coke to send a scout of rangers to Lampasas County to help the civil -authorities suppress a war known as the Horrell-Higgins feud. Second -Sergeant N.O. Reynolds was detached from Company "A" and with ten men -ordered to proceed to Lampasas and report to the sheriff of that county. - -After leaving Coleman, Major Jones visited the northernmost ranger -company and began his return march. This was to be his last trip -with his escort, for immediately upon his return to Austin he was -commissioned Adjutant-General of Texas. As there was no longer a major -of the battalion, there was no need of an escort, so old Company "A" -took its place on the line as a stationary company. Captain Neal -Coldwell was ultimately made quartermaster of the battalion, and I -believe ranked as major. - -I was picked up at Company "D" by the escort on their return march and -was with Company "A" when it was made a stationary command and located -in Frio County. - -In the latter part of 1877--during the late summer--a party of -filibusters under command of a Mexican general named Winkler assembled -in Maverick County, near Eagle Pass, and prepared to invade Mexico. -Captain Coldwell, then commanding Company "A," was ordered to the Rio -Grande to break up the expedition. This he did by arresting more than -fifty participants. I was with him on this expedition and saw much -border service during this summer. - -I remember a scout I was called upon to make with Captain Coldwell -over in Bandera County. The captain took with him John Parker, Hawk -Roberts, and myself. In one week's time we caught some ten or twelve -fugitives from justice and literally filled the little old jail at -Bandera. Captain Coldwell detailed Hawk Roberts and myself to capture -an especially bad man wanted in Burnet County for murder. The captain -warned us to take no chances with this man--that meant to kill him if -he hesitated about surrendering. I can't remember this murderer's name -at this late date, but I recall perfectly the details of his capture. -Sheriff Jack Hamilton of Bandera County sent a guide to show us where -this fugitive lived. The guide led us some fifteen miles northwest of -Bandera and finally pointed out the house in which the murderer was -supposed to be. He then refused to go any farther, saying he did not -want any of this man's game, for the fellow had just stood off a deputy -sheriff and made him hike it back to Bandera. - -It was almost night when we reached the house, so Roberts and I decided -to wait until morning before attempting the arrest. We staked our -horses, lay down on our saddle blankets without supper, and slept -soundly till dawn. As soon as it was daylight we rode over near the -house, dismounted, slipped up, and, unannounced, stepped right inside -the room. The man we wanted was sleeping on a pallet with a big -white-handled .45 near his head. Hawk Roberts kicked the pistol out -of the man's reach. The noise awakened the sleeper and he opened his -eyes to find himself looking into the business ends of two Winchesters -held within a foot of his head. Of course he surrendered without fight. -His wife, who was sleeping in a bed in the same room, jumped out of -it and heaped all kinds of abuse on us for entering her home without -ceremony. She was especially bitter against Sheriff Hamilton, who, she -said, had promised to notify her husband when he was wanted so he could -come in and give himself up. She indignantly advised her husband to -give old Sheriff Hamilton a d--d good whipping the first chance he had. - -While Company "A" was rounding up outlaws along the border, Sergeant -Reynolds was covering himself with glory in the north. Upon reaching -Lampasas and reporting to the sheriff as ordered by Major Jones, the -sergeant was told that the Horrell boys were living on the Sulphur Fork -of the Lampasas River and were defying the authorities to arrest them. - -The Horrells were native Texans and had been raised on the frontier. -These brothers, of which five were involved in the feud (the sixth, -John Horrell, had been killed at Las Cruces, New Mexico, previously) -were expert riders, and, having grown up with firearms in their -hands, were as quick as chained lightning with either Winchester or -pistol. Sam Horrell, the eldest, was married and had a large family of -children. He was a farmer and lived a quiet life over on the Lampasas -River. The other four boys, Mart, Tom, Merritt, and Ben, were all -cattlemen. They stood well in the community, but were considered -dangerous when aroused. - -At this time Lampasas was a frontier town and wide open as far as -saloons and gambling were concerned. The Horrells, like most cattlemen -of the period, loved to congregate in town, go to the saloons and have -a good time, perhaps drink too much and sometimes at night shoot up -the town for fun, as they termed it. Some of the more pious and more -settled citizens of the town did not approve of these night brawls, and -called upon Governor Edmund J. Davis, Provisional Governor in 1873, -to give them protection. Governor Davis had formed in Texas a State -Police. Naturally they were rank Republicans, and many of them were -termed carpetbaggers. This body was never popular in Texas, especially -as many of the force were negroes. - -In answer to the call of the citizens, Governor Davis dispatched -Captain Williams with three white men and one negro to Lampasas. On -the way up Captain Williams met several freighters going to Austin and -stopped one of them, Tedford Bean, to ask the distance to Lampasas. The -captain had been drinking, and he told Mr. Bean he was going to town to -clean up those damn Horrell boys. - -The little squad of police reached Lampasas about 3 p.m., hitched its -horses to some live oak trees on the public plaza, left the negro to -guard them, and then made a bee line to Jerry Scott's saloon on the -west side of the square. Mart, Tom, and Merritt Horrell, with some ten -or fifteen cow men, were in the saloon drinking, playing billiards and -having a good time generally. One man was picking a banjo and another -playing a fiddle. Captain Williams, an exceedingly brave but unwise -man, took in the situation at a glance as he walked up to the bar and -called for drinks. - -He turned to Bill Bowen, a brother-in-law to Merritt Horrell, and said, -"I believe you have a six-shooter. I arrest you." - -"Bill, you have done nothing and need not be arrested if you don't want -to," interrupted Mart Horrell. - -Like a flash of lightning Captain Williams pulled his pistol and fired -on Mart Horrell, wounding him badly. The Horrell boys drew their guns -and began to fight. Captain Williams and one of his men, Dr. Daniels, -were shot down in the saloon. William Cherry was killed just outside -the door, and Andrew Melville was fatally wounded as he was trying to -escape. He reached the old Huling Hotel, where he died later. At the -first crack of a pistol the negro police mounted his horse and made a -John Gilpin ride for Austin. Thus, within the twinkling of an eye, -four state police were killed and only one of the Horrells wounded. - -Tom and Merritt Horrell carried the wounded Mart to their mother's -home, some two hundred yards from Scott's saloon, then mounted their -horses and rode away. Great excitement prevailed in the town. The state -militia was called out, and Governor Davis hurried other state police -to Lampasas. They scoured the country for the Horrell boys, but to no -avail. - -Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott were arrested and carried to Georgetown, -Williamson County, and placed in jail. Mart Horrell's wife went to the -jail to nurse her husband and, of course, kept her brothers-in-law -informed as to Mart's condition. As soon as he was well the Horrell -boys made up a party and rode to Williamson County and assaulted the -jail at night. The citizens and officers of Georgetown, taken unawares, -put up a stiff fight, but the Horrells had ten or fifteen well -organized and armed men with them. They took stations at all approaches -to the jail and kept up a steady fire with their Winchesters at anyone -who showed up to oppose them. Mr. A.S. Fisher, a prominent lawyer of -the town, took an active hand in the fight and was badly wounded. Bill -Bowen was slightly hurt while battering in the jail door with a sledge -hammer. Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott were liberated and rode off with -their rescuers. - -By the next evening the Horrells were back on Lucies Creek. They at -once made arrangements to leave the country and go to New Mexico. They -had gathered about them Bill and Tom Bowen, John Dixon, Ben Turner, and -six or eight other men as desperate and dangerous as themselves. They -were so formidable that they no longer attempted to hide but openly and -without hindrance gathered their cattle, sold the remnant to Cooksey -and Clayton to be delivered to them in Coleman County. They even -notified the sheriff of Lampasas County just what day they would pass -with their herd through Russell Gap, but they were not molested. - -As a cowboy I had worked for Cooksey and Clayton, and was with them -when they delivered cattle to the Horrell boys on Home Creek, Coleman -County. I had dinner in camp with the outlaws and they made no effort -to hide from the authorities. I remember they sat about their camps -with Winchesters across their laps. - -When all was ready the Horrells moved slowly out of the country with -their families and cattle and finally reached New Mexico, settling on -the head of the Hondo River in Lincoln County. They had not been at -their new home many months before Ben Horrell was shot and killed at a -fandango near old Fort Stanton. Ben's brothers at once repaired to the -dance hall and killed eight Mexicans and one woman. - -This brought on a war between the Horrell boys and the Mexican -population along the Hondo River, and it is said that in the fights -that followed thirty or forty Mexicans were killed between Fort Stanton -and Roswell. In one of those pitched battles Ben Turner was killed. -Turner was prominent in all of the fights staged by the Horrells, -was with them when Captain Williams was killed and was one of the -assaulting party on the Georgetown jail. His death was keenly felt by -his companions. - -Having now outlawed themselves in New Mexico, the Horrells could no -longer stay in that country. They turned back to Texas, and next year -showed up at their old haunts in Lampasas County. The shock of the -Civil War was beginning to subside and the State of Texas was then -under civil government with a Democratic governor in office. The -friends of the Horrells advised them to surrender to the authorities -and be tried for the killing of Captain Williams and his men. They -were assured a fair trial by the best citizens of Lampasas County. -Accordingly, the Horrells gave up, and upon trial were acquitted of the -charges against them. - -The Horrells had not long been at ease before Merritt, the youngest of -the brothers, was accused by Pink Higgins of unlawfully handling his -cattle. Shortly afterward, while Merritt was seated unarmed in a chair -in the old Jerry Scott saloon, Pink Higgins stepped to the back door of -the place and shot him to death. Thus Merritt met his death in the same -saloon where four years before he had been a party to the killing of -Captain Williams. At this time Mart and Tom Horrell were living down on -Sulphur Fork of Lampasas River. The news of their brother's death was -quickly carried to them. They armed themselves and started in a run for -Lampasas. - -This move had been anticipated by the Pink Higgins party. They waylaid -the Horrell boys outside the town and at their first fire killed Tom -Horrell's horse and badly wounded Mart. Tom advanced single handed on -the attackers and put them to flight. He then partly supported and -partly carried his brother to the home of Mr. Tinnins, a neighbor, -where a doctor was hurried to the wounded man. - -Thus old Lampasas County was again the scene of war with Mart, Tom and -Sam Horrell, Bill and Tom Bowen, John Dixon and Bill Crabtree on one -side and Pink Higgins, Bob Mitchell and their friends on the other. -These two factions met in the town of Lampasas and a furious battle -followed. A man was killed on each side and the population greatly -endangered. Hence the governor's order to Major Jones to send rangers -to the aid of the officers at Lampasas. - -When Sergeant N.O. Reynolds reported to the sheriff of Lampasas he was -informed that the Horrell boys were living ten miles east of Lampasas -and had ten or twelve desperate men with them, so that it meant certain -death to anyone making an attempt to capture them. - -"But, Mr. Sheriff, I am sent here to effect the capture of all -offenders against the law, and it is my duty to at least make the -attempt," replied the brave Reynolds. - -"These men have never been arrested," declared Sheriff Sweet, "and it -is my honest opinion they cannot be." - -Reynolds then asked if the sheriff would send a guide to show him -where the Horrells lived. The rangers under the intrepid Reynolds -left Lampasas late in the night and finally the guide pointed at a -flickering light about a mile off. - -"There is where the Horrell boys live. I am going back to town," he -said. - -When asked if he would not accompany the rangers to the house, the -guide replied, "No, not for a million dollars!" - -With that he turned his horse and rode away. - -Reynolds thought it would be best to wait until daylight before -attempting the arrest. He planned to surprise the outlaws, if such -a thing were possible, but if the rangers were discovered and an -engagement came on they were to fight to the last man. As soon as dawn -broke the rangers wended their way on foot to the Horrell brothers' -ranch. It was a moment of great anxiety as they approached the house, -but not a sound was heard, not a dog barked. - -Sergeant Reynolds and his men tiptoed right into the room in which the -Horrells were sleeping. Some of the men were on pallets on the floor, -while others slept in beds in the one big room. Each ranger pointed -a cocked Winchester at the head of a sleeper. Reynolds then spoke to -Mart Horrell. At the sound of his voice every man sat up in bed and -found himself looking into the muzzle of a gun. The sergeant quickly -explained that he was a ranger and had come to arrest them. Mart -replied they could not surrender, and Tom Horrell said it would be -better to die fighting than to be mobbed. - -This gave Reynolds his cue. He warned the outlaws that if anything was -started there would be a dozen dead men in that house in one minute and -advised them to listen to what he had to say. He then guaranteed the -Horrells upon his honor that he would not turn them over to the sheriff -to be put in jail and mobbed, but promised he would guard them in his -camp until they could secure a preliminary examination and give bond. - -"Boys, this seems reasonable," said Mart Horrell, rising to his feet. -"I believe these rangers can be relied upon to protect us. Besides this -fight has been thrust upon us. If we can get a hearing we can give -bond." - -They all agreed finally to this proposition of Sergeant Reynolds and -laid down their arms, mounted their horses and under guard of the -rangers were marched into the town of Lampasas. - -The news of the capture of the Horrells spread like wildfire through -the town and county. Hundreds of people flocked to Lampasas to see -Sergeant Reynolds, the man that had accomplished the impossible in -rounding up the most desperate band of men that ever lived. The news -was rushed to Austin, and General Jones himself hurried to the scene. -This act of Sergeant Reynolds covered him with glory and brought to his -name imperishable renown. He was at once commissioned First Lieutenant, -commanding Company "E." - -The Horrell boys were admitted to bond after a preliminary hearing. -After their release Mart Horrell came to Lieutenant Reynolds and -feelingly thanked him for carrying out his promise. With tears -streaming down his face he grasped the lieutenant's hand and said, "You -are undoubtedly the bravest man in the world today." These unfortunate -men were later shot to death in the Meridian jail. The Higgins and -Mitchell parties surrendered to the authorities. Pink Higgins was tried -and acquitted of the murder of Merritt Horrell. This ended the feud, -but it started Lieutenant Reynolds on a new and important phase of his -career as a ranger. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -SERVICE WITH REYNOLDS, THE INTREPID - - -As soon as Sergeant Reynolds was commissioned first lieutenant he was -placed in command of Company "E," then stationed in Coleman County, but -immediately ordered to Lampasas. At this time Captain Sparks resigned -the command of Company "C," and this company was also ordered to -report to Lieutenant Reynolds at the same town. Late in August the two -commands went into camp at Hancock Springs. Major Jones then authorized -Lieutenant Reynolds to pick such men as he desired from these two -companies for his own company and either discharge or transfer the -remainder to other commands. No other officer in the battalion, I -believe, was ever accorded this privilege. - -Lieutenant Reynolds had a week or ten days in which to make his -selection, so he studied the muster rolls of the companies carefully. -He had ranged under such great captains as Perry, D.W. Roberts, -Neal Coldwell, and with Major Jones himself. He knew what qualities -were needed in a good ranger and made his selections accordingly. -From old Company "A" Reynolds selected C.L. Nevill, Tom Gillespie, -Shape Rodgers, Jack Martin, John Gibbs, W.T. Clements, and four -others whose names I do not now remember. These were the scouts that -had helped him capture the Horrells and naturally were his first -choice. From Company "E" came Dick Ware, who one year later killed -the noted train robber, Sam Bass, then served Mitchell County as -its first sheriff for many years, and finally became United States -marshal for the Western District of Texas under President Cleveland's -administration. Henry Thomas, Miller Mourland, George Arnett, and other -Company "E" boys were selected. Henry Maltimore, Ben and Dock Carter, -Bill Derrick, Chris Connor, Henry McGee, Abe Anglin, J.W. Warren, Dave -Ligon, Lowe Hughes, George (Hog) Hughes, and others were picked from -Company "C." - -[Illustration: _N.O. Reynolds_] - -When he had exhausted the two companies Reynolds turned to General -Jones and said, "There is a ranger down on the Rio Grande in Neal -Coldwell's company that I want." - -"Who is it?" asked the general. - -"Private Jim Gillett." - -"You shall have him," promised General Jones. "I will send an order to -Captain Coldwell tonight to have Gillett report to you here." - -It was late in the evening when Company "A's" mail came in from Frio -Town, but Captain Coldwell sent for me as soon as General Jones' order -arrived, and told me that I must leave the company next morning and -report to the Adjutant-General at Austin. I was nonplussed, for I did -not know what the order meant. Out on the frontier where we then were -operating we seldom read newspapers or heard what the other companies -were doing, so I did not even know that Reynolds had captured the -Horrell boys and had been commissioned to command Company "E." The -following morning I bade Captain Coldwell and the Company "A" boys -goodbye and started on my long ride to Austin. - -As I jogged along I asked myself many hundred times why I was ordered -to report at Austin, and, boy-like, it made me nervous and uneasy. It -took me two days to reach San Antonio and three more to get to Austin. -I arrived in the latter town just at nightfall, but I was at the -Adjutant-General's office as soon as it was opened next morning. - -Presently General Jones entered with some officers of the State -Militia. He shook hands with me and invited me to be seated, saying -he had some business to attend to for the moment. It was probably an -hour before the officers left and the general could turn to me. He -very kindly inquired as to my trip and asked about Captain Coldwell -and the company. He then told me about the arrest of the Horrell boys -and Sergeant Reynolds' commission as first lieutenant commanding -Company "E," vice Lieutenant Foster resigned. He explained Reynolds had -requested that I be attached to his command, and ordered me to report -to my new commander in Lampasas without delay. - -I excused myself at once and lost no time in getting my horse out of -the livery stable and resuming my way. A great load was lifted from my -mind, and I was about as happy as a boy could be. I sang and whistled -all the way to Liberty Hill, thirty miles from Austin. The following -day about 2 p.m. I rode into Reynolds' camp at Hancock Springs. - -I attracted some attention as I rode in, for I wore a big Mexican hat -mounted with silver, a buckskin jacket fringed from shoulder to elbow -with a bunch of flowers braided in highly colored silk on its back. On -my heels were enormous Mexican spurs. I never saw a ranger sent to the -Rio Grande for the first time that did not rig himself out in some such -outlandish attire, only to discard it a few weeks later, never to wear -it again. I was no exception, and I think every man in camp tried on my -hat. - -Lieutenant Reynolds selected C.L. Nevill for first sergeant, Henry W. -McGee as second sergeant, and J.W. Warren and L.W. Conner, first and -second corporals, respectively. On September 1, 1877, the company was -sworn in. The new command was the most formidable body of men I had -ever seen. Our commander, Lieutenant Reynolds, was over six feet tall -and weighed probably one hundred and seventy-five pounds. He was a very -handsome man, a perfect blond, with steel blue eyes and a long, light -moustache. At that time he was about thirty years of age, vigorous in -mind and body, and had a massive determination to succeed as a ranger. -His mind was original, bold, profound and quick, with a will that -no obstacle could daunt. He was the best ranger in the world--there -was never another like him. The lieutenant was a native of Missouri, -and was always known as "Major" or "Mage" Reynolds. It was said that -Reynolds, though a mere boy, had served with the Confederates in the -latter part of the Civil War. He was one of a party that captured a -troop of Federal cavalry, the major of which was well supplied with -clothing. The captors, however, were very scantily clad and Reynolds -appropriated the major's uniform, hence his nick-name "Mage." In later -years when I had grown more intimate with him and was probably closer -to him than any other I mentioned this story. He neither affirmed nor -denied it, declaring he was a Missourian by birth, a bootmaker by -trade, and that his early history could interest no one. - -First Sergeant Nevill was six feet and one inch in height and weighed -one hundred and eighty-five pounds. All the non-commissioned officers -were at least six feet tall and built in proportion, and many of the -privates were from five feet eleven inches to six feet in height. I was -probably the lightest man in the company, being only five feet nine -inches and weighing but one hundred and forty pounds. - -When the company's roster was complete Lieutenant Reynolds had but -twenty-eight men,--lacking two of his full complement of thirty. The -company was then ordered to Austin, but before being assigned to -its position on the frontier the lieutenant enlisted John and Will -Bannister, two celebrated frontiersmen. They were old cowboys, splendid -shots, and well acquainted with every part of Kimble, Menard, Mason, -and Kerr Counties, in which Company "E" was destined to operate. In -appearance and ability this company compared favorably with any thirty -rangers ever sent to the Texas frontier. Nearly every member of the -company had had more or less experience as an officer, and all were -exceedingly fine marksmen. Sergeant Henry McGee had been marshal of -Waco and had figured in several pistol duels in that city. Dave Ligon, -the oldest man in the command, had been a Confederate soldier and had -served with General Forrest's cavalry. - -In the summer of 1877, Lieutenant Armstrong of Captain Hall's -company, assisted by Detective Jack Duncan of Dallas, Texas, captured -the notorious John Wesley Hardin. It has been said that Texas, the -largest state in the Union, has never produced a real world's champion -at anything. Surely, such critics overlooked Hardin, the champion -desperado of the world. His life is too well known in Texas for me to -go into detail, but, according to his own story, which I have before -me, he killed no fewer than twenty-seven men, the last being Charley -Webb, deputy sheriff of Brown County, Texas. So notorious had Hardin -become that the State of Texas offered $4000 reward for his capture. -Hardin had left Texas and at the time of his capture was in Florida. -His captors arrested and overpowered him while he was sitting in a -passenger coach. - -In September, 1877, Sheriff Wilson of Comanche County, in whose -jurisdiction Hardin had killed Webb, came to Austin to convey the -prisoner to Comanche for trial. Wilson requested the governor for an -escort of rangers. Lieutenant Reynolds' company, being in Austin at -the time, was ordered to accompany Wilson and protect Hardin from mob -violence. This was the first work assigned Company "E" under its new -commander. - -The day we left Austin between one and two thousand people gathered -about the Travis County jail to see this notorious desperado. The -rangers were drawn up just outside the jail, and Henry Thomas and -myself were ordered to enter the prison and escort Hardin out. Heavily -shackled and handcuffed, the prisoner walked very slowly between us. -The boy that had sold fish on the streets of Austin was now guarding -the most desperate criminal in Texas; it was glory enough for me. - -At his trial Hardin was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years -in the penitentiary. He appealed his case and was returned to Travis -County for safekeeping. The verdict of the trial court was sustained, -and one year later, in September, 1878, Lieutenant Reynolds' company -was ordered to take Hardin back to Comanche County for sentence. There -was no railroad at Comanche at that time, so a detachment of rangers, -myself among them, escorted Hardin to the penitentiary. There were ten -or twelve indictments still pending against him for murder in various -counties, but they were never prosecuted. - -Hardin served seventeen years on his sentence, and while in prison -studied law. Governor Hogg pardoned him in 1894 and restored him to -full citizenship. - -In transmitting him the governor's pardon, Judge W.S. Fly, Associate -Justice of the Court of Appeals, wrote Hardin as follows: - - Dear Sir: Enclosed I send you a full pardon from the Governor of - Texas. I congratulate you on its reception and trust that it is - the day of dawn of a bright and peaceful future. There is time to - retrieve a lost past. Turn your back upon it with all its suffering - and sorrow and fix your eyes upon the future with the determination - to make yourself an honorable and useful member of society. The hand - of every true man will be extended to assist you in your upward - course, and I trust that the name of Hardin will in the future be - associated with the performance of deeds that will ennoble his family - and be a blessing to humanity. - - Did you ever read Victor Hugo's masterpiece, "Les Miserables"? If - not, you ought to read it. It paints in graphic words the life of - one who had tasted the bitterest dregs of life's cup, but in his - Christian manhood rose about it, almost like a god and left behind - him a path luminous with good deeds. - - With the best wishes for your welfare and happiness, I am, - - Yours very truly, - W.S. Fly. - -Despite all the kind advice given him by eminent lawyers and citizens, -Hardin was unequal to the task of becoming a useful man. He practiced -law for a time in Gonzales, then drifted away to El Paso, where he -began drinking and gambling. On August 19, 1895, Hardin was standing -at a bar shaking dice when John Selman, constable of Precinct No. -1, approached him from behind and, placing a pistol to the back of -Hardin's head, blew his brains out. Though posing as an officer Selman -was himself an outlaw and a murderer of the worst kind. He killed -Hardin for the notoriety it would bring him and nothing more. - -After delivering Hardin to the sheriff of Travis County in 1877, -Lieutenant Reynolds was ordered to Kimble County for duty. Of all the -counties in Texas at that time Kimble was the most popular with outlaws -and criminals, for it was situated south of Menard County on the North -and South Llano Rivers, with cedar, pecan and mesquite timber in which -to hide, while the streams and mountains furnished abundance of fish -and game for subsistence. - -Up on the South Llano lived old Jimmie Dublin. He had a large family -of children, most of them grown. The eldest of his boys, Dick, or -Richard, as he was known, and a friend, Ace Lankford, killed two men -at a country store in Lankford's Cove, Coryell County, Texas. The state -offered $500 for the arrest of Dublin and the County of Coryell an -additional $200. To escape capture Dick and his companion fled west -into Kimble County. While I was working as cowboy with Joe Franks -in the fall of 1873 I became acquainted with the two murderers, for -they attached themselves to our outfit. They were always armed and -constantly on the watchout for fear of arrest. Dublin was a large man, -stout, dark complected, and looked more like the bully of a prize ring -than the cowman he was. I often heard him say he would never surrender. -While cow hunting with us he discovered that the naturally brushy -and tangled county of Kimble would offer shelter for such as he, and -persuaded his father to move out into that county. - -Dublin had not lived long in Kimble County before another son, Dell -Dublin, killed Jim Williams, a neighbor. Thus two of the Dublin boys -were on the dodge charged with murder. They were supposed to be hiding -near their father's home. Bill Allison, Starke Reynolds and a number -of bandits, horse and cattle thieves and murderers, were known to be -in Kimble County, so Lieutenant Reynolds was sent with his company to -clean them up. - -It was late in October, 1877, before the company reached its -destination and camped on the North Llano River below the mouth of Bear -Greek. As soon as our horses had rested and camp was fully established -for the winter we began scouting. Several men wanted on minor charges -were captured. We then raided Luke Stone's ranch, which was about ten -miles from our camp, and captured Dell Dublin. He was fearfully angry -when he found escape impossible. He tore his shirt bosom open and -dared the rangers to shoot him. While he was being disarmed his elder -brother, Dick, rode out of the brush and came within gun shot of the -ranch before he discovered the presence of the rangers. He turned his -horse quickly and made his escape, though the rangers pursued him some -distance. When Dick learned that the Banister boys and myself were with -Lieutenant Reynolds' company and hot on his trail he declared he would -whip us with a quirt as a man would a dog if he ever came upon us, for -he remembered us as beardless boys with the Joe Franks' cow outfit. -However, despite his threat, he never attempted to make it good, but -took very good care to keep out of our way until the fatal January 18, -1878. - -There was no jail in Kimble County, so with a detachment of rangers I -took Dell Dublin and our other prisoners to Llano County lockup. - -Shortly afterward Reynolds selected Sergeant McGee, Tom Gillespie, -Dick Harrison, and Tim McCarthy and made a scout into Menard County. -He also had with him his negro cook, George, to drive his light wagon. -On the return toward Bear Creek the scout camped for the night at -Fort McKavett. At that time each frontier post had its chihuahua or -scab town, a little settlement with gambling halls, saloons, etc., to -catch the soldiers' dollars. At Fort McKavett were many discharged -soldiers, some of them negroes from the Tenth Cavalry. These blacks -had associated with white gamblers and lewd women until they thought -themselves the equals of white men, and became mean and overbearing. - -On this particular night these negro ex-soldiers gave a dance in scab -town, and our negro, George, wanted to go. He was a light mulatto, -almost white, but well thought of by all the boys in the company. He -obtained Lieutenant Reynolds' permission to attend the dance, and -borrowed Tim McCarthy's pistol to carry to it. When George arrived at -the dance hall the ex-soldiers did not like his appearance, as he was -allied with the rangers, whom they despised. They jumped on George, -took his pistol and kicked him out of the place. The boys were all in -bed when George returned and told McCarthy that the negroes at the -dance hall had taken his pistol from him. - -Lieutenant Reynolds was sleeping nearby and heard what George said. He -raised up on his elbow and ordered Sergeant McGee to go with McCarthy -and George and get the pistol. The negroes saw McGee coming and, -closing the door, defied him to enter the dance hall. - -McGee was cool and careful. He advised the negroes to return -the pistol, but they refused, saying they would kill the first -white-livered s-- o-- b-- that attempted to enter the house. The -sergeant then stationed himself at the front door, ordered McCarthy -to guard the back entrance of the place, and sent George for the -lieutenant. Reynolds hurried to the scene, taking with him Tom -Gillespie and Dick Harrison. The lieutenant knocked on the door and -told the blacks he was the commander of the rangers and demanded -their surrender. They replied with an oath that they would not do so. -Reynolds then ordered the house cleared of women and gave the negroes -just five minutes in which to surrender. - -Up to this time the women had been quiet, but they now began to scream. -This probably demoralized the negro men. One of them poked McCarthy's -pistol, muzzle foremost, out of a window. - -"Here, come get your d--n pistol," he said. - -McCarthy, a new man in the service, stepped up and grasped it. The -instant the negro felt the touch of McCarthy's hand on the weapon he -pulled the trigger. The ball pierced McCarthy's body just above the -heart, giving him a mortal wound. - -At the crack of the pistol the rangers opened fire through the doors -and windows on the negroes within the house. Reynolds and his men then -charged the place, and when the smoke of battle cleared they found -four dead negro men and a little negro girl that had been killed by -accident. Only one black escaped. He was hidden under a bed, and as -the rangers came in, made a dash to safety under cover of darkness. -McCarthy died the following day and was buried near old Fort McKavett. -Negro George fought like a tiger and won the boys' praise. - -A few days afterward the sheriff of Tom Green County, following the -trail of a bunch of stolen cattle from San Angelo, came into our -camp. Lieutenant Reynolds sent Sergeant Nevill and a scout of rangers -with the sheriff. The trail led over to the South Llano, where the -cattle were recovered. While scouting around the herd, Sergeant -Nevill discovered a man riding down the trail toward him. He and his -men secreted themselves and awaited the stranger's approach. It was -getting quite dark, and when the newcomer had ridden almost over -the concealed rangers without noticing their presence they rose up, -presented their guns and ordered him to halt. - -"Yes,--like hell!" he exclaimed, and, turning his horse, dived into a -cedar brake. A shower of bullets followed, but failed to strike the -fugitive. This was the notorious Dick Dublin with a $700 reward on his -head. - -Sergeant Nevill returned to camp with about fifty head of burnt cattle, -but let the most notorious criminal in the county escape. Lieutenant -Reynolds was disappointed at this, and said he did not understand how -four crack rangers could let a man ride right over them and then get -away. He declared his negro cook could have killed Dublin had he been -in their place. This mortified the boys a great deal. - -The latter part of December, 1877, Lieutenant Reynolds sent a scout -out on Little Saline, Menard County. On Christmas day this detail had -a running fight with four men. John Collins, the man who stole a yoke -of oxen at Fredericksburg and drove them up to within two miles of our -camp, was captured, as was also John Gray, wanted for murder in one of -the eastern counties. Jim Pope Mason, charged with the murder of Rance -Moore, was in this skirmish, but escaped. - -One cold morning about the middle of January Corporal Gillett, with -Privates John and Will Banister, Tom Gillespie, Dave Ligon, and Ben -Carter, was ordered on a five days' scout. We saddled our horses and -packed two mules. When all was ready I walked over to Lieutenant -Reynolds. He was sitting on a camp stool before his tent and seemed in -a brown study. I saluted and asked for orders. - -"Well, Corporal," he said, after a moment's hesitation, "it is a -scout after Dick Dublin again. That man seems to be a regular Jonah -to this company. He lives only ten miles from here and I have been -awfully disappointed at not being able to effect his capture. It is a -reflection on all of Company 'E.' There is one thing sure if I can't -capture him I will make life miserable for him. I will keep a scout in -the field after him constantly." - -I then asked if he had any instructions as to the route I should travel. - -"No, no," he replied. "I rely too much on your judgment to hamper you -with orders. After you are once out of sight of camp you know these -mountains and trails better than I do. Just go and do your best. If you -come in contact with him don't let him get away." - -After riding a half mile from camp the boys began inquiring where we -were going and who we were after. I told them Dick Dublin. We quit the -road and traveled south from our camp over to the head of Pack Saddle -Creek. Here we turned down the creek and rounded up the Potter ranch, -but no one was at home, so we passed on into the cedar brake without -having been seen. - -On the extreme headwaters of South Llano River some cattlemen had built -a large stock pen and were using it to confine wild cattle. This was -far out beyond any settlement and probably fifty or sixty miles from -our camp. I thought it possible that Dick Dublin might be hanging -around the place, so we traveled through the woods most of the way to -it. Here I found that the cattlemen had moved. - -The scout had now been out two days, so we began our return journey. We -traveled probably twenty-five miles on the third day. On the fourth day -I timed myself to reach the Potter ranch about night. Old man Potter, -a friend and neighbor of Dublin's, lived here with two grown sons. It -was known that Dublin frequented the place, and I hoped to catch him -here unawares. About sundown we were within a mile of the ranch. Here -we unsaddled our horses and prepared to round up the house. If we -met with no success we were to camp there for the night. I left John -Banister and Ligon to guard camp while Gillespie, Will Banister, and -Ben Carter, with myself, approached the ranch on foot. If I found no -one there I intended to return to our camp unseen and round up the -ranch again the following morning. - -We had not traveled far before we discovered a lone man riding slowly -down the trail to the Potter ranch. We remained hidden and were able -to approach within fifty yards of the house without being seen. We now -halted in the bed of a creek for a short consultation. The one-room -cabin had only a single door, and before it was a small wagon. The -Potters cooked out of doors between the house and the wagon. We -could see a horse tied to the south side of the vehicle, but could -not see the camp fire for the wagon and the horse. To our right and -about twenty-five steps away old man Potter and one of his sons were -unloading some hogs from a wagon into a pen. - -We knew the moment we left the creek bed we would be in full view -of the Potters and the ranch house. We decided, then, that we would -advance on the house as fast as we could run and so be in good position -to capture the man who had ridden into the camp. We rose from the creek -running. Old man Potter discovered us as we came in view and yelled, -"Run, Dick, run! Here comes the rangers!" - -We then knew the man we wanted was at the camp. We were so close upon -Dublin that he had no time to mount his horse or get his gun, so he -made a run for the brush. I was within twenty-five yards of him when -he came from behind the wagon, running as fast as a big man could. I -ordered him to halt and surrender, but he had heard that call too many -times and kept going. Holding my Winchester carbine in my right hand I -fired a shot directly at him as I ran. In a moment he was out of sight. - -I hurried to the place where he was last seen and spied him running -up a little ravine. I stopped, drew a bead on him, and again ordered -him to halt. As he ran, Dublin threw his hand back under his coat as -though he were attempting to draw a pistol. I fired. My bullet struck -the fugitive in the small of the back just over the right hip bone and -passed out near his right collarbone. It killed him instantly. He was -bending over as he ran, and this caused the unusual course of my ball. - -The boys, whom I had outrun, now joined me, and Carter fired two shots -at Dublin after he was down. I ordered him to desist as the man was -dead. I examined the body to make sure it was Dublin, for I knew him -intimately, as I had cow hunted with him before I became a ranger. We -found him unarmed, but he had a belt of cartridges around his waist. -He was so completely surprised by our sudden appearance he could do -nothing but run. The $700 reward on him could never be collected, as it -was offered for his arrest and conviction. Dublin's brothers, Role and -Dell, swore vengeance against myself and the Banister boys, but nothing -ever came of the oath. - -In the month of February, 1878, Lieutenant Reynolds started to Austin -with five prisoners we had captured in Kimble and Menard Counties. -They were chained together in pairs, John Stephens, the odd man, was -shackled by himself. As guard for these prisoners Reynolds had detailed -Will and John Banister, Dave Ligon, Ben Garter, Dick Ware, and myself. - -On the Junction City and Mason road, some ten miles east of our camp, -was the small ranch of Starke Reynolds, a fugitive from justice, -charged with horse stealing and assault to kill. Company "E" had -scouted for him in Kimble County and had rounded up his ranch many -times. We knew he was in the county, but he always managed to escape -us. As we passed this ranch, Lieutenant Reynolds, Privates Ware, -Carter, Ligon, and myself were marching in front, with a four-mule -wagon following us, in which were the chained prisoners. Behind it -came the Banisters, who were on guard that day and detailed to keep a -constant watch on the captive outlaws. - -We passed the Starke Reynolds' home about 10 o'clock in the morning, -and Lieutenant Reynolds remarked that it was hardly worth while to -round up the house as he had done so many times in the past without -result, but that he would surely like to capture the fellow. We had -not ridden more than half a mile beyond the ranch when we came face to -face with Starke himself. He was a small man and riding an exceedingly -good brown pony. We were about four hundred yards apart and discovered -each other at the same instant. The outlaw was carrying a small sack of -flour in front of him. He immediately threw this down, turned his horse -quickly and made a lightning dash for the Llano bottoms, some three -miles away. - -At that point the Junction City and Mason road winds along a range of -high mountains with the country sloping downward to the Llano River. -This grade was studded with scrubby live oak and mesquite brush not -thick enough to hide a man but sufficiently dense to retard his flight -through it. We gave chase at once and for a mile and a half it was the -fastest race I ever saw the rangers run. We were closely bunched the -entire distance, with Lieutenant Reynolds--he was riding a fast race -horse--always slightly in the lead. He finally got close enough to the -fugitive to demand his surrender. Starke only waved his gun defiantly -and redoubled his speed. Lieutenant Reynolds then drew his six-shooter -and began firing at the outlaw. After emptying his pistol he began -using his Winchester. - -The Llano bottoms were now looming right up in front of us. The race -had been fast enough to run every horse into a big limber. Carter, -Ware, and Ligon dropped out of the race. Up to this time I had -contented myself by trying to keep up with Lieutenant Reynolds, for it -is always easier to follow a man through the brush than to run in the -lead. I had a good grip on my bridle reins and was trying to steady my -pony as best I could. I now saw that the outlaw was beginning to gain -on us. I ran up beside the lieutenant and said, "He is getting away -from us. Must I go after him?" - -Lieutenant Reynolds turned and looked at me with the wildest look -on his face that I ever saw. His hat was gone, his face was badly -scratched by the brush with the blood running down over his white shirt -bosom. - -"Yes, G-- d--n him; stop or kill him!" - -I changed the bridle reins to my left hand, drew my gun with my right -and, digging my spurs deep into my pony's side, I was out of sight of -the lieutenant in three hundred yards. The fugitive saw that I was -alone and that I was going to overhaul him. He suddenly brought his -pony to a standstill, jumped down, took shelter behind the animal and -drew a bead on me with his gun. - -"G-- d--n you, stop, or I'll kill you!" he cried. - -I tried to obey his order, but my pony was running down hill and ran -straight at him for twenty-five yards more before I could stop. I -jumped down from my horse and made ready to fight, but Starke broke for -a thicket on foot. As soon as he ran out from behind his pony I fired -at him. The bullet must have come rather close to him, for he turned -quickly and took shelter behind his mount again. As he peeped over his -saddle at me I attempted to draw a bead on his head, but I was tired, -nervous and unsteady. Before I could shoot Dave Ligon galloped right up -to the outlaw, ordered him to surrender and drop his gun, which Starke -did at once. The boys had heard me shoot and in five minutes were all -upon the scene. - -The captive was searched and ordered to remount his pony. With one -of the boys leading Starke's mount we started back to the wagon, -nearly three miles away. As soon as the outlaw was a prisoner and -knew he would not be harmed no matter what he said, he began a tirade -against the rangers. He declared the whole battalion was a set of d--d -murderers, especially Company "E," and said it was curbstone talk in -Menard, Mason and Kimble Counties that Lieutenant Reynolds' men would -kill a man and then yell for him to throw up his hands. He kept up this -running talk until he exhausted Lieutenant Reynolds' patience. The -latter then ordered Starke to shut up, and declared the speaker was a -d--d liar, for Company "E" never killed a man without first giving him -a chance to surrender. Lieutenant Reynolds then said that with the last -old brier-breaker captured he had accomplished the task set him and was -now ready to go elsewhere. - -As we rode along one of the boys remarked that my pony was limping -badly. - -"I wish his leg would come right off up to his shoulder," declared -Starke in disgust. "If it hadn't been for him I would have made it to -the bottoms and escaped." - -On approaching the wagon the prisoner Stephens, a man of some -intelligence and humor, stood up and called out to Starke, "By G--, old -man, they got you! They rode too many corn fed horses and carried too -many guns for you. I don't know who you are, but I'm sorry for you. -While they were chasing you I got down on my knees here in this wagon -and with my face turned up to the skies I prayed to the Almighty God -that you might get away." - -Starke was chained to this good-natured liar, and now, for the first -time, our prisoner seemed to realize his condition. He asked Lieutenant -Reynolds to send word to his family that he had been captured. The -lieutenant thereupon sent one of the boys to Starke's home to tell Mrs. -Reynolds that the rangers would camp on Red Greek for dinner, and if -she wished to see her husband we would be there probably two hours. - -Presently Starke's old gray-haired father came to our midday camp. When -he saw his son chained he burst out crying, saying, "My son, it is not -my fault that you are in this condition. I did my best to give you good -advice and tried to raise you right." - -After dinner we resumed our march toward Austin. Starke Reynolds was -finally turned over to the sheriff of Tarrant County. He was admitted -to bail and gave bond, but before he came to trial he was waylaid and -killed, supposedly by relatives of the man he had previously attempted -to murder. - -Early in the spring of 1878 a ranchman living five miles above our -camp saw a bunch of Indians on Bear Creek, Kimble County, and at once -reported to Lieutenant Reynolds. The redskins had been seen late in -the evening, and by the time a scout could be started after them it -was almost night. The lieutenant, however, followed the trail until it -entered a cedar brake. It was then too dark to work farther, so the -scout returned to camp to make arrangements to resume the trail the -following morning. On the march back to camp the rangers picked up a -paint pony with an arrow sticking in its hip. The Indians had probably -tried to catch the horse and, failing to do so, had shot it, as was -their custom. - -Just after dark a runner from Junction City came in and reported a -bunch of redskins had been seen near the town stealing horses. It was -a beautiful moonlight night and a close watch was kept on our horses. -Just at midnight John Banister, an alert man on guard, noticed that one -of our pack mules hitched at the end of our picket line was pulling -back on its rope and looking over a brush fence that enclosed the camp. -With Winchester in hand Banister passed through a gate, walked slowly -down the fence and into some small underbrush near the mule. - -Suddenly a man rose to his feet and fired on Banister at a distance of -not more than ten steps, then broke and ran. Banister at once opened -fire on the Indian. The very first report of a gun brought every man -in camp out of his bed. We could see the flashes of Banister's gun and -went to his aid in our night clothes and barefooted. I ran down by the -picket line of horses and jumped the fence where the mule had seen the -redskin. By moonlight I could glimpse the Indian running down the river -bank. I shot at him nine times as he ran, but without effect. Some two -hundred yards below our camp was a ford on the Llano and the fugitive -was making for it. - -Just as soon as the Indian reached the crossing and plunged into the -river, eight or nine of the rangers that had followed Banister on the -high ground were in a position to shell the swimmer as he crossed. -There were probably a hundred shots fired at him, but he finally -disappeared in the brush on the south side of the river. Investigation -of the place where he crossed showed the timber cut all to pieces but, -strange to say, not a shot hit the Indian as far as we ever knew. We -found a blanket where the savage had risen and shot at Banister and, -measuring the ground, found that the ranger was just twelve short steps -from the Indian when fired upon by the redskin. It was a miracle that -Banister was not killed; the bullet, a .45 caliber, buried itself in -some sacks of corn in a tent just back of him. - -The next morning we found where ten or twelve Indians had waited under -some large pecan trees while this scout slipped up to our camp to -investigate and steal a horse. The trees were about four hundred yards -from camp and on the opposite side of the river. Some of the rangers -jokingly said those old braves must have thought this lone one stirred -up hell at the ranger camp. - -On account of the range cattle and horses along the Llano River, -Lieutenant Reynolds lost some eight or ten hours the next morning -before picking up the Indian trail. This gave the redskins ten or -twelve hours start, as they were at our camp just at midnight. The -trail passed out west between North and South Llano Rivers and followed -a rough mountain country that made pursuit difficult and slow. We -followed the savages five or six days and finally abandoned the trail -near the head of Devil's River after a heavy rain. - -While we had been active in rounding up the numerous outlaws and cattle -thieves that infested Kimble County, we had not been able to clean up -the mystery of the Peg Leg stage robbers, which had long baffled the -best detectives, sheriffs, and rangers. Peg Leg was a small stage -station on the San Saba in the midst of a rough and very mountainous -country. Here the stage was repeatedly held up and as repeatedly the -robbers escaped. The scene of the hold-up was many times examined and -parties made determined efforts to trail the bandits but always without -success, for the trail was quickly lost in the rough mountains. One -of the features that proved particularly puzzling was the constant -recurrence of an exceedingly small footprint at each robbery. These -marks were so very small they convinced many observers that a woman -from Fort McKavett or Fort Concho was operating with the bandit gang. -Naturally the rangers were anxious to round up this group of outlaws -and put a stop to their depredations. - -In May, 1878, Sergeant Nevill made a scout up on the South Llano and -captured Bill Alison, a son-in-law of old Jimmie Dublin, father of the -bandit, Dick Dublin. Alison was wanted on several charges of cattle -theft, and was taken to Austin for safekeeping. After remaining in -the Travis County jail for nearly a year without being able to give -bond, Alison became discouraged. He believed his brothers-in-law, -the Dublins, were not aiding him to get bond and became bitter and -resentful toward them. This antagonism finally led to the unveiling of -the Peg Leg mystery. - -In the spring of 1879 Dick Ware and myself took some prisoners to the -Austin jail. Bill Alison saw us and called out to me. He and I had been -cowboys together long before I became a ranger. - -"Jim," said Alison, "you know I have been cooped up here in this jail -for nearly a year. People who ought to be my friends have evidently -abandoned me and I am not going to stand it any longer. I can put the -Peg Leg stage robbers behind the bars, and I am going to do it." - -Ware, who was something of a diplomat, said, "Hold on, Bill. If you -have anything to confess we will get an order from the sheriff to take -you to see General Jones so you can talk to him." - -The general at once wrote a note to Dennis Corwin, sheriff of Travis -County, and asked that he let Alison accompany us to his office. The -sheriff turned his prisoner over to us and we took him to General -Jones, who had a private interview with him for over an hour. What -Alison confessed we did not know, but we returned him to the jail. - -General Jones moved quickly, for the very next day a scout of rangers -from Company "E" was sent back to Kimble County. I was just preparing -to go west to El Paso with Colonel Baylor, so I missed this last and -most important scout back into Kimble County. However, this final -expedition was so successful I cannot omit it from a history of the -rangers. - -Arriving at Kimble County the Company "E" detail arrested Role and -Dell Dublin, Mack Potter and Rube Boyce. In the running fight that -resulted in their capture Role received a bad wound in the hip. The -two Dublin brothers and Mack Potter when arraigned in Federal court -plead guilty to stage robbery and were sentenced to fifteen years at -hard labor. During their trial the mystery of the Peg Leg robberies -was finally cleared up. The Dublin boys were the guiding spirits in -the hold-ups and worked with great cleverness. Old man Jimmie Dublin's -ranch on the South Llano was their headquarters. From the ranch to -Peg Leg Station on the San Saba was not more than sixty miles across -a rough, mountainous country. As there were no wire fences in those -days the robbers would ride over to the station, rob the stage and in -one night's ride regain their home. Traveling at night they were never -observed. Dick Dublin, whose death while resisting capture has already -been described, was the leader of the bandit gang. Even the mystery of -the tiny footprints was disclosed; they were made by Mack Potter, who -had an unusually small foot for a man. - -While Rube Boyce was confined in the Travis County jail he made one of -the most sensational jail escapes in the criminal annals of Texas. Mrs. -Boyce called at the prison with a suit of clean underclothes for her -husband. The basket in which she carried them was examined and she was -admitted into the cell of her husband. However, she had hidden a big -.45 Colt's revolver about her person and smuggled it in. Rube changed -his underwear, put the soiled garments in the basket and hid the pistol -under them. - -At the end of her visit Mrs. Boyce started out and Rube accompanied her -down the corridor to the door. Mr. Albert Nichols, the jailer, opened -the door with his left hand to let the woman pass out, at the same -time holding his pistol in his right hand. As the door swung open Rube -reached into the basket he was carrying for his wife, whipped out the -hidden pistol, thrust it into the jailer's face and ordered him to drop -his .45 and step within the jail. Realizing that a second's hesitation -would mean his death, Nichols complied and was locked in by the outlaw. - -Boyce then ran out of the back yard of the jail, mounted a pony that -had been hitched there for him and galloped out of Austin, firing his -pistol as he ran. He made a complete get-away. Three or four years -later he was arrested at Socorro, New Mexico, and returned to Austin. -At his trial for participation in the Peg Leg stage robberies he was -acquitted, and perhaps justly so, for Bill Alison declared to me that -Dick Dublin with his brothers Dell and Role and Mack Potter were the -real robbers. - -The arrest and conviction of the Dublins, together with the other men -Lieutenant Reynolds had captured or killed completely cleaned out the -stage robbers, cattle and horse thieves and murderers that had made -Kimble County their rendezvous. Today Kimble County is one of the -most prosperous and picturesque counties in the state. Its citizens -are law-abiding and energetic. Junction City, the county seat, is a -splendid little city of probably twenty-five hundred inhabitants. - -Forty years ago, the time of which I write, there were no courthouses -in Kimble County. The first district courts were held under the -spreading boughs of a large oak tree. The rangers, of which I was -frequently one, guarded the prisoners under another tree at a -convenient distance from the judge and his attendants. - -Late in the spring or early summer of 1878 at a session of the County -Court of San Saba County, Billy Brown was being prosecuted by County -Attorney Brooks for a violation of the prohibition laws. Brown took -offense at a remark of the prosecuting attorney and attempted to draw -his six-shooter on him. T.J.T. Kendall, a law partner of Brooks, saw -Brown's move and quickly whipping out his own pistol, he killed Brown -in the courtroom. Then, fearing a mob if captured, Kendall fortified -himself in a second story of the courthouse and refused to surrender. -He held the whole town at bay while his wife administered to his wants. -Meantime, he sent a hurry call to the nearest rangers asking for -protection against mob violence. Captain Arrington received the message -and sent a detachment from Coleman to San Saba to preserve order. - -General Jones was notified and ordered Lieutenant Reynolds at Junction -City to march to San Saba with his company, take charge of Kendall and -relieve Captain Arrington's men. It was probably two weeks after the -killing before Company "E" reached San Saba, but Mr. Kendall was still -holding fort in the upper story of the courthouse. - -On the arrival of Reynolds' company, Kendall asked the court for a -preliminary examination. When court convened, the prisoner waived -examination and asked for transference to the Travis County jail at -Austin. The court, realizing the feeling against Kendall, ordered his -removal thither. - -When the time came for Kendall's removal a hack was driven up to the -courthouse door, where a great crowd had assembled to see the prisoner. -Jim Brown, sheriff of Lee County, Texas, and brother of Bill Brown, -heavily armed, had taken his station within ten feet of the prison -door. Just before Mr. Kendall descended the courthouse steps Lieutenant -Reynolds ordered the crowd to fall back fifty feet from the hack. The -people immediately obeyed with the exception of Jim Brown, who sat -perfectly still on his horse. The lieutenant looked at Brown for a -minute, then turned to his rangers and ordered them to draw their guns -and move everyone fifty yards from the courthouse. Like a flash every -ranger drew his gun, dismounted and waved the crowd back. - -Brown turned to Reynolds and said, "I am going to Austin with you." - -"If you do, you will go in irons. Move back!" - -Brown, who had killed several men, slowly turned his horse and rode -away. He did not know the man with whom he was dealing. Lawyer Kendall -was thereupon carried to Austin without incident. - -When we reached Austin, Jim Brown met Lieutenant Reynolds on the street -and apologized for the way he had acted at San Saba. He said he fully -intended to kill Kendall as he approached the hack, but the presence -of so many rangers caused him to change his mind. Lieutenant Reynolds -declared he was anticipating just such a move and had instructed his -men to shoot Brown into doll rags at his first move. - -Soon after this Lieutenant Reynolds moved Company "E" down on the San -Saba in a beautiful pecan grove, an ideal summer camp, about two miles -from the town of San Saba. From this point we scouted all over Llano, -Lampasas, Burnet and San Saba Counties at our favorite pursuit of -rounding up bad men. It was from this camp that we made our sensational -ride to Round Rock after Sam Bass, the notorious train robber. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SAM BASS AND HIS TRAIN ROBBER GANG - - -Sam Bass, the noted train robber, was born in Indiana, July 21, 1851. -He came to Texas while quite a youth and worked for Sheriff Everhart of -Denton County until he reached manhood. While still an exemplary and -honest young man, Bass came into possession of a small race pony, a -little sorrel mare. On Saturday evenings, when most of the neighborhood -boys met in Denton, Bass raced his pony with much success. Mr. Everhart -soon noticed that Sam was beginning to neglect his work because of his -pony and, knowing only too well what this would lead to, he advised -Sam to sell his mare. Bass hesitated, for he loved the animal. Finally -matters came to such a point that Mr. Everhart told Sam he would have -to get rid of the horse or give up his job. Thereupon Bass promptly -quit, and this was probably the turning point in his life. - -Bass left Denton County in the spring of 1877 and traveled to San -Antonio. Here many cattlemen were gathered to arrange for the spring -cattle drive to the north. Joel Collins, who was planning to drive a -herd from Uvalde County to Deadwood, Dakota, hired Bass as a cowboy. -After six months on the trail the herd reached Deadwood and was sold -and all the cowboys paid off by Mr. Collins. - -At that period Deadwood was a great, wide open mining town. -Adventurers, gamblers, mining and cattlemen all mingled together. -Though Joel Collins had bought his cattle on credit and owed the -greater part of the money he had received for them to his friends in -Texas, he gambled away all the money he had received for the herd. -When he sobered up and realized all his money was gone he did not have -the moral courage to face his friends and creditors at home. He became -desperate, and with a band of his cowboys held up and robbed several -stage coaches in the Black Hills. These robberies brought Collins very -little booty, but they started Sam Bass on his criminal career. - -In the fall of 1877, Collins, accompanied by Bass, Jack Davis, Jim -Berry, Bill Heffridge, and John Underwood, better known as Old -Dad, left Deadwood and drifted down to Ogallala, Nebraska. Here he -conceived, planned and carried into execution one of the boldest train -robberies that ever occurred in the United States up to that time. -When all was ready these six men, heavily armed and masked, held up -the Union Pacific train at Big Springs, a small station a few miles -beyond Ogallala. The bandits entered the express car and ordered the -messenger to open the safe. The latter explained that the through safe -had a time lock and could only be opened at the end of the route. One -of the robbers then began to beat the messenger over the head with a -six-shooter, declaring he would kill him if the safe were not opened. -Bass, always of a kindly nature, pleaded with the man to desist, -declaring he believed the messenger was telling the truth. Just as the -robbers were preparing to leave the car without a cent one of them -noticed three stout little boxes piled near the big safe. The curious -bandit seized a coal pick and knocked off the lid of the top box. To -his great joy and delight he exposed $20,000 in shining gold coin! The -three boxes each held a similar amount, all in $20 gold pieces of the -mintage of 1877. - -After looting these boxes the robbers went through the train, and in -a systematic manner robbed the passengers of about $5000. By daylight -the bandits had hidden their booty and returned to Ogallala. They -hung around town several days while railroad officials, United States -marshals and sheriffs' parties were scouring the country for the train -robbers. - -While in Ogallala before and after the robbery, Collins and his men -frequented a large general merchandise store. In this store was a -clerk who had once been an express messenger on the Union Pacific and -who was well acquainted with the officials of that company. I have -forgotten his name, but I will call him Moore for the sake of clearness -in my narrative. Of course the great train robbery was the talk of the -town. Moore conversed with Collins and his gang about the hold-up, and -the bandits declared they would help hunt the robbers if there was -enough money in it. - -Moore's suspicions were aroused and he became convinced that Collins -and his band were the real hold-up men. However, he said nothing to -anyone about this belief, but carefully watched the men. Finally, -Collins came to the store and, after buying clothing and provisions, -told Mr. Moore that he and his companions were going back to Texas and -would be up the trail the following spring with another herd of cattle. -When Collins had been gone a day's travel, Mr. Moore hired a horse and -followed him. He soon found the route the suspects were traveling, -and on the second day Moore came upon them suddenly while they were -stopping at a roadside farmhouse to have some bread cooked. Moore -passed by without being noticed and secreted himself near the highway. -In a short time Collins and his men passed on and Moore trailed them -until they went into camp. When it was dark the amateur detective -crept up to the bandits, but they had gone to sleep and he learned -nothing. - -The next day Moore resumed the trail. He watched the gang make -their camp for the night and again crept up to within a few yards -of his suspects. The bandits had built a big fire and were laughing -and talking. Soon they spread out a blanket, and to Moore's great -astonishment brought out some money bags and emptied upon the blanket -sixty thousand dollars in gold. From his concealed position the trailer -heard the robbers discuss the hold-up. They declared they did not -believe anyone had recognized or suspected them and decided it was now -best for them to divide the money, separate in pairs and go their way. -The coin was stacked in six piles and each man received $10,000 in $20 -gold pieces. It was further decided that Collins and Bill Heffridge -would travel back to San Antonio, Texas, together; Sam Bass and Jack -Davis were to go to Denton County, Texas, while Jim Berry and Old Dad -were to return to the Berry home in Mexico, Missouri. - -As soon as Mr. Moore had seen the money and heard the robbers' plans -he slipped back to his horse, mounted and rode day and night to reach -Ogallala. He notified the railroad officials of what he had seen, gave -the names and descriptions of the bandits and their destinations. -This information was sent broadcast over southern Nebraska, Kansas, -Indian Territory, and Texas. In the fugitive list sent to each of -the companies of the Frontier Battalion of rangers Sam Bass was thus -described: "Twenty-five to twenty-six years old, 5 feet 7 inches high, -black hair, dark brown eyes, brown moustache, large white teeth, shows -them when talking; has very little to say." - -A few days after the separation of the robbers, Joel Collins and Bill -Heffridge rode into a small place in Kansas called Buffalo Station. -They led a pack pony. Dismounting from their tired horses and leaving -them standing in the shade of the store building, the two men entered -the store and made several purchases. The railroad agent at the place -noticed the strangers ride up. He had, of course, been advised to be -on the lookout for the train robbers. He entered the store and in a -little while engaged Collins in conversation. While talking the robber -pulled his handkerchief out of his coat pocket and exposed a letter -with his name thereon. The agent was a shrewd man. He asked Collins if -he had not driven a herd of cattle up the trail in the spring. Collins -declared he had, and finally, in answer to a direct question, admitted -that his name was Joel Collins. - -Five or six hundred yards from Buffalo Station a lieutenant of the -United States Army had camped a troop of ten men that was scouting -for the train robbers. As soon as Collins and Heffridge remounted and -resumed their way the agent ran quickly to the soldiers' camp, pointed -out the bandits to the lieutenant and declared, "There go two of the -Union Pacific train robbers!" - -The army officer mounted his men and pursued Collins and Heffridge. -When he overtook the two men he told them their descriptions tallied -with those of some train robbers that he was scouting for, and declared -they would have to go back to the station and be identified. Collins -laughed at the idea, and declared that he and his companion were -cattlemen returning to their homes in Texas. They reluctantly turned -and started back with the soldiers. After riding a few hundred yards -the two robbers held a whispered conversation. Suddenly the two pulled -their pistols and attempted to stand off the lieutenant and his troop. -The desperadoes were promptly shot and killed. On examining their packs -the soldiers found tied up in the legs of a pair of overalls $20,000 in -gold, 1877 mintage. Not a dollar of the stolen money had been used and -there was no doubt about the identity of the men. - -Not long after the divide up in Nebraska Jim Berry appeared at his home -in Mexico, Missouri. At once he deposited quite a lot of money in the -local bank and exchanged $3000 in gold for currency, explaining his -possession of the gold by saying he had sold a mine in the Black Hills. -In three or four days the sheriff of the county learned of Berry's -deposits and called at the bank to see the new depositor's gold. His -suspicion became a certainty when he found that Berry had deposited $20 -gold pieces of 1877. - -At night the sheriff with a posse rounded up Berry's house, but the -suspect was not there. The home was well provisioned and the posse -found many articles of newly purchased clothing. Just after daylight, -while searching about the place the sheriff heard a horse whinny in -some timber nearby. Upon investigating this he suddenly came upon Jim -Berry sitting on a pallet. Berry discovered the officer at about the -same time and attempted to escape by running. He was fired upon, one -bullet striking him in the knee and badly shattering it. He was taken -to his home and given the best of medical attention, but gangrene set -in and he died in a few days. Most of his $10,000 was recovered. Old -Dad evidently quit Berry somewhere en route, for he made good his -escape with his ill-gotten gain and was never apprehended. - -Sam Bass and Jack Davis, after the separation in Nebraska, sold their -ponies, bought a light spring wagon and a pair of work horses. They -placed their gold pieces in the bottom of the wagon, threw their -bedding and clothes over it, and in this disguise traveled through -Kansas and the Indian Territory to Denton County, Texas. During their -trip through the Territory Bass afterward said he camped within one -hundred yards of a detachment of cavalry. After supper he and Davis -visited the soldiers' camp and chatted with them until bedtime. The -soldiers said they were on the lookout for some train robbers that had -held up the Union Pacific in Nebraska, never dreaming for a moment that -they were conversing with two of them. The men also mentioned that two -of the robbers had been reported killed in Kansas. - -This rumor put Bass and Davis on their guard, and on reaching Denton -County they hid in the elm bottoms until Bass could interview some -of his friends. Upon meeting them he learned that the names and -descriptions of every one of the Union Pacific train robbers were in -the possession of the law officers; that Collins, Heffridge, and Berry -had been killed; and that every sheriff in North Texas was on the -watch for Davis and himself. Davis at once begged Bass to go with him -to South America, but Bass refused, so Davis bade Sam goodbye and set -out alone. He was never captured. On his deathbed Bass declared he had -once received a letter from Jack Davis written from New Orleans, asking -Bass to come there and go into the business of buying hides. - -Bass had left Denton County early in the spring an honest, sincere and -clean young man. By falling with evil associates he had become within -a few months one of the most daring outlaws and train robbers of his -time. Before he had committed any crime in the state the officers of -North Texas made repeated efforts to capture him for the big reward -offered by the Union Pacific and the express company but, owing to the -nature of the country around Denton and the friends Bass had as long as -his gold lasted, met with no success. - -Bass' money soon attracted several desperate and daring men to him. -Henry Underwood, Arkansas Johnson, Jim Murphy, Frank Jackson, Pipes -Herndon, and Collins,--the last one a cousin of Joel Collins--and two -or three others joined him in the elm bottoms. Naturally Bass was -selected as leader of the gang. It was not long before the outlaw chief -planned and executed his first train robbery in Texas: that at Eagle -Ford, a small station on the T.P. Railroad, a few miles out of Dallas. -In quick succession the bandits held up two or three other trains, the -last, I believe, being at Mesquite Station, ten or twelve miles east -of Dallas. From this robbery they secured about $3000. They met with -opposition here, for the conductor, though armed with only a small -pistol, fought the robbers to a fare-you-well and slightly wounded one -of them. - -The whole state was now aroused by the repeated train hold-ups. General -Jones hurried to Dallas and Denton to look over the situation and, -strange to say, he arranged to organize a company of rangers at Dallas. -Captain June Peak, a very able officer, was given the command. No -matter how brave a company of recruits, it takes time and training to -get results from them, and when this raw company was thrown into the -field against Bass and his gang the bandit leader played with it as a -child plays with toys. Counting the thirty rangers and the different -sheriffs' parties, there were probably one hundred men in pursuit of -the Bass gang. Sam played hide-and-seek with them all and, it is said, -never ranged any farther west than Stephens County or farther north -than Wise. He was generally in Dallas, Denton or Tarrant Counties. He -would frequently visit Fort Worth or Dallas at night, ride up with his -men to some outside saloon, get drinks all around and then vamoose. - -Finally in a fight at Salt Creek, Wise County, Captain June Peak and -his rangers killed Arkansas Johnson, Bass' most trusted lieutenant. -Either just before or soon after this battle the rangers captured Pipes -Herndon and Jim Murphy and drove Bass and his two remaining companions -out of North Texas. At that time the state had on the frontier of Texas -six companies of veteran rangers. They were finely mounted, highly -equipped, and were the best mounted police in the world. Any company on -the line could have been marched to Denton in ten days, yet they were -never moved one mile in that direction. Any one of those highly trained -commands could have broken up the Sam Bass gang in half the time it -took a command of new men. - -After the fight on Salt Creek only Sam Bass, Sebe Barnes, and Frank -Jackson were left of the once formidable gang. These men had gained -nothing from their four train robberies in North Texas, and were -so hard pressed by the officers of the law on all sides that Bass -reluctantly decided to leave the country and try to make his way to Old -Mexico. Through some pretended friends of Bass, General Jones learned -of the contemplated move. He, with Captain Peak and other officers, -approached Jim Murphy, one of Bass' gang captured about the time of the -Salt Creek fight, who was awaiting trial by the Federal authorities -for train robbery, and promised they would secure his release if he -would betray Bass. Murphy hesitated and said his former chief had been -kind to his family, had given them money and provisions, and that it -would be ungrateful to betray his friend. The general declared he -understood Murphy's position fully, but Bass was an outlaw, a pest -to the country, who was preparing to leave the state and so could -no longer help him. General Jones warned Murphy that the evidence -against him was overwhelming and was certain to send him to the Federal -prison--probably for life-and exhorted him to remember his wife and his -children. Murphy finally yielded and agreed to betray Bass and his gang -at the first opportunity. - -According to the plan agreed upon Murphy was to give bond and when the -Federal court convened at Tyler, Texas, a few weeks later he was not to -show up. It would then be published all over the country that Murphy -had skipped bond and rejoined Bass. This was carried out to the letter. -Murphy joined Bass in the elm bottoms of Denton County and agreed -to rob a train or bank and get out of the country. Some of Bass' -friends, suspicious of Murphy's bondsmen, wrote Sam that Murphy was -playing a double game and advised him to kill the traitor at once. Bass -immediately confronted Murphy with these reports and reminded him how -freely he had handed out his gold to Murphy's family. Bass declared he -had never advised or solicited Jim to join him, and said it was a low -down, mean and ungrateful trick to betray him. He told Murphy plainly -if he had anything to say to say it quickly. Barnes agreed with his -chief and urged Murphy's death. - -The plotter denied any intention of betraying Bass and offered to take -the lead in any robbery Bass should plan and be the first to enter the -express car or climb over the bank railing. Bass was mad and so was -Barnes. They elected to kill the liar at once. Frank Jackson had taken -no part in the conversation, but he now declared he had known Murphy -since he was a little boy, and he was sure Murphy was sincere and meant -to stand by them through thick and thin. Bass was not satisfied, and -insisted that Murphy be murdered then and there. Jackson finally told -Bass and Barnes that they could not kill Murphy without first killing -him. Although the youngest of the party--Frank was only twenty-two -years old--Jackson had great influence over his chief. He was brave -and daring, and Bass at that time could not very well get along without -him, so his counsel prevailed and Murphy was spared. The bandits then -determined to quit the country. Their plan was to rob a small bank -somewhere en route to Old Mexico and thus secure the funds needed to -facilitate their escape, for they were all broke. - -Bass, Sebe Barnes, Frank Jackson, and Jim Murphy left Denton County -early in July, 1878. With his usual boldness, Bass, after he had passed -Dallas County, made no attempt at concealment, but traveled the public -highway in broad daylight. Bass and Barnes were still suspicious of -Murphy, and never let him out of their sight, though they refused to -talk to or to associate with him in any way. When Bass reached Waco the -party camped on the outskirts of the town and remained there two or -three days. They visited the town each day, looked over the situation, -and in one bank saw much gold and currency. Jackson was enthusiastic -and wanted to rob it at once. Bass, being more careful and experienced, -thought it too hazardous an undertaking, for the run through crowded -streets to the outskirts of the city was too far; and so vetoed the -attempt. - -While in Waco the gang stepped into a saloon to get a drink. Bass laid -a $20 gold piece on the bar and remarked, "There goes the last twenty -of the Union Pacific money and d--n little good it has done me." On -leaving Waco the robbers stole a fine mare from a farmer named Billy -Mounds and traveled the main road to Belton. They were now out of money -and planned to rob the bank at Round Rock, Williamson County. - -General Jones was now getting anxious over the gang. Not a word had -been heard from Jim Murphy since he had rejoined the band, for he had -been so closely watched that he had had no opportunity to communicate -with the authorities, and it seemed as if he would be forced to -participate in the next robbery in spite of himself. - -At Belton Sam sold an extra pony his party had after stealing the -mare at Waco. The purchaser demanded a bill of sale as the vendors -were strangers in the country. While Bass and Barnes were in a store -writing out the required document, Murphy seized the opportunity to -dash off a short note to General Jones, saying, "We are on our way to -Round Rock to rob the bank. For God's sake be there to prevent it." As -the postoffice adjoined the store the traitor succeeded in mailing his -letter of betrayal just one minute before Bass came out on the street -again. The gang continued their way to Round Rock and camped near the -old town, which is situated about one mile north of New Round Rock. The -bandits concluded to rest and feed their horses for three or four days -before attempting their robbery. This delay was providential, for it -gave General Jones time to assemble his rangers to repel the attack. - -After Major Jones was made Adjutant-General of Texas he caused a small -detachment of four or five rangers to camp on the Capitol grounds at -Austin. He drew his units from different companies along the line. Each -unit would be detailed to camp in Austin, and about every six weeks -or two months the detail would be relieved by a squad from another -company. It will readily be seen that this was a wise policy, as the -detail was always on hand and could be sent in any direction by rail or -on horseback at short notice. Besides, General Jones was devoted to his -rangers and liked to have them around where he could see them daily. At -the time of which I write four men from Company "E"--Corporal Vernon -Wilson and Privates Dick Ware, Chris Connor, and Geo. Harold--were -camped at Austin. The corporal helped General Jones as a clerk in his -office, but was in charge of the squad on the Capitol grounds, slept in -camp and had his meals with them. - -When General Jones received Murphy's letter he was astonished at -Bass' audacity in approaching within fifteen or twenty miles of the -state capitol, the very headquarters of the Frontier Battalion, to -rob a bank. The letter was written at Belton, Texas, and received at -the Adjutant-General's office on the last mail in the afternoon. The -company of rangers nearest Round Rock was Lieutenant Reynolds' Company -"E," stationed at San Saba, one hundred and fifteen miles distant. -There was no telegraph to San Saba then. General Jones reflected a few -moments after receipt of the letter and then arranged his plan rapidly. - -He turned to Corporal Wilson and told him that Sam Bass and his gang -were, or soon would be, at Round Rock, Texas, to rob the bank there. - -"I want you to leave at once to carry an order to Lieutenant Reynolds. -It is sixty-five miles to Lampasas and you can make that place early -enough in the morning to catch the Lampasas and San Saba stage. You -must make that stage at all hazards, save neither yourself nor your -horse, but get these orders to Lieutenant Reynolds as quickly as -possible," he ordered. - -Corporal Wilson hurried to the livery stable, saddled his horse and -got away from Austin on his wild ride just at nightfall. His horse was -fresh and fat and in no condition to make such a run. However, Wilson -reached Lampasas at daylight next morning and made the outgoing stage -to San Saba, but killed his gallant little gray horse in the doing of -it. From Lampasas to San Saba was fifty miles, and it took the stage -all day to make the trip. As soon as he landed in town Corporal Wilson -hired a horse and galloped three miles down to Lieutenant Reynolds' -camp and delivered his orders. - -After dispatching Corporal Wilson to Lieutenant Reynolds, General Jones -hurried over to the ranger camp on the Capitol grounds and ordered the -three rangers, Ware, Connor, and Harold, to proceed to Round Rock, -put their horses in Highsmith's livery stable and keep themselves -concealed until he could reach them himself by train next morning. The -following morning General Jones went to Round Rock. He carried with -him from Austin, Morris Moore, an ex-ranger but then deputy sheriff of -Travis County. On reaching his destination the general called on Deputy -Sheriff Grimes of Williamson County, who was stationed at Round Rock, -told him Bass was expected in town to rob the bank, and that a scout -of rangers would be in town as soon as possible. Jones advised Deputy -Grimes to keep a sharp lookout for strangers but on no account to -attempt an arrest until the rangers could arrive. - -I well remember the hot July evening when Corporal Wilson arrived -in our camp with his orders. The company had just had supper, the -horses fed and tied up for the night. We knew the sudden appearance -of the corporal meant something of unusual importance. Soon Sergeant -Nevill came hurrying to us with orders to detail a party for an -immediate scout. Lieutenant Reynolds' orders had been brief but to the -point: "Bass is at Round Rock. We must be there as early as possible -to-morrow. Make a detail of eight men and select those that have the -horses best able to make a fast run. And you, with them, report to me -here at my tent ready to ride in thirty minutes." - -First Sergeant C.L. Nevill, Second Sergeant Henry McGee, Second -Corporal J.B. Gillett, Privates Abe Anglin, Dave Ligon, Bill Derrick, -and John R. and W.L. Banister were selected for the detail. Lieutenant -Reynolds ordered two of our best little pack mules hitched to a -light spring hack, for he had been sick and was not in condition to -make the journey horseback. In thirty minutes from the time Corporal -Wilson reached camp we were mounted, armed and ready to go. Lieutenant -Reynolds took his seat in the hack, threw some blankets in, and -Corporal Wilson, who had not had a minute's sleep for over thirty-six -hours, lay down to get a little rest as we moved along. Say, boys, did -you ever try to follow on horseback two fast traveling little mules -hitched to an open-topped spring hack for one hundred miles? Well, it -is some stunt. We left our camp on the San Saba River just at sunset -and traveled in a fast trot and sometimes in a lope the entire night. - -Our old friend and comrade, Jack Martin, then in the mercantile -business at the little town of Senterfitt, heard us pass by in the -night, and next morning said to some of his customers that hell was to -pay somewhere as the rangers had passed his store during the night on a -dead run. - -The first rays of the rising sun shone on us at the crossing of North -Gabriel, fifteen miles south of Lampasas. We had ridden sixty-five -miles that short summer night--we had forty-five miles yet to go before -reaching Round Rock. We halted on the Gabriel for breakfast of bread, -broiled bacon and black coffee. The horses had a bundle of oats each. -Lieutenant Reynolds held his watch on us and it took us just thirty -minutes to breakfast and be off again. We were now facing a hot July -sun and our horses were beginning to show the effects of the hard ride -of the night before and slowed down perceptibly. We never halted again -until we reached the vicinity of old Round Rock between 1 and 2 o'clock -in the afternoon of Friday, July 19, 1878. The lieutenant camped us on -the banks of Brushy Greek and drove into New Round Rock to report his -arrival to General Jones. - -Bass had decided to rob the bank at Round Rock on Saturday, the 20th. -After his gang had eaten dinner in camp Friday evening they saddled -their ponies and started over to town to take a last look at the bank -and select a route to follow in leaving the place after the robbery. As -they left camp Jim Murphy, knowing that the bandits might be set upon -at any time, suggested that he stop at May's store in Old Round Rock -and get a bushel of corn, as they were out of feed for their horses. -Bass, Barnes and Jackson rode on into town, hitched their horses in an -alley just back of the bank, passed that building and made a mental -note of its situation. They then went up the main street of the town -and entered Copprel's store to buy some tobacco. As the three bandits -passed into the store, Deputy Sheriff Moore, who was standing on -the sidewalk with Deputy Sheriff Grimes, said he thought one of the -newcomers had a pistol. - -"I will go in and see," replied Grimes. - -"I believe you have a pistol," remarked Grimes, approaching Bass and -trying to search him. - -"Yes, of course I have a pistol," said Bass. At the words the robbers -pulled their guns and killed Grimes as he backed away to the door. -He fell dead on the sidewalk. They then turned on Moore and shot him -through the lungs as he attempted to draw his weapon. - -At the crack of the first pistol shot Dick Ware, who was seated in a -barber shop only a few steps away waiting his turn for a shave, rushed -into the street and encountered the three bandits just as they were -leaving the store. Seeing Ware rapidly advancing on them, Bass and his -men fired on the ranger at close range, one of their bullets striking a -hitching post within six inches of Ware's head and knocking splinters -into his face. This assault never halted Ware for an instant. He was as -brave as courage itself and never hesitated to take the most desperate -chances when the occasion demanded it. For a few minutes Dick fought -the robbers single handed. General Jones, coming up town from the -telegraph office, ran into the fight. He was armed with only a small -Colt's double action pistol, but threw himself into the fray. Connor -and Harold had now come up and joined in the fusillade. The general, -seeing the robbers on foot and almost within his grasp, drew in close -and urged his men to strain every nerve to capture or exterminate the -desperadoes. By this time every man in the town that could secure a gun -joined in the fight. - -The bandits had now reached their horses, and realizing their situation -was critical fought with the energy of despair. If ever a train robber -could be called a hero this boy, Frank Jackson, proved himself one. -Barnes was shot down and killed at his feet, Bass was mortally wounded -and unable to defend himself or even mount his horse while the bullets -continued to pour in from every quarter. With heroic courage, Jackson -held the rangers back with his pistol in his right hand while he -unhitched Bass' horse with his left and assisted him into the saddle. -Then, mounting his own horse, Jackson and his chief galloped out of -the jaws of hell itself. In their flight they passed through Old Round -Rock, and Jim Murphy, standing in the door of May's store, saw Jackson -and Bass go by on the dead run. The betrayer noticed that Jackson was -holding Bass, pale and bleeding, in the saddle. - -Lieutenant Reynolds, entering Round Rock, came within five minutes of -meeting Bass and Jackson in the road. Before he reached town he met -posses of citizens and rangers in pursuit of the robbers. When the -fugitives reached the cemetery Jackson halted long enough to secure a -Winchester they had hidden in the grass there, then left the road and -were lost for a time. The fight was now over and the play spoiled by -two over-zealous deputies in bringing on an immature fight after they -had been warned to be careful. Naturally Moore and Grimes should have -known that the three strangers were the Sam Bass gang. - -Lieutenant Reynolds started Sergeant Nevill and his rangers early -next morning in search of the flying bandits. After traveling in the -direction the robbers were last seen we came upon a man lying under a -large oak tree. Seeing we were armed as we advanced upon him he called -out to us not to shoot, saying he was Sam Bass, the man we were hunting. - -After entering the woods the evening before, Bass became so sick -and faint from loss of blood that he could go no farther. Jackson -dismounted and wanted to stay with his chief, declaring he was a match -for all their pursuers. - -"No, Frank," replied Bass. "I am done for." - -The wounded leader told his companion to tie his horse near at hand -so he could get away if he felt better during the night. Jackson was -finally prevailed upon to leave Bass and make his own escape. - -When daylight came Saturday morning Bass got up and walked to a nearby -house. As he approached the place a lady, seeing him coming holding -his pants up and all covered with blood, left her house and started -to run off, as she was alone with a small servant girl. Bass saw she -was frightened and called to her to stop, saying he was perishing for -a drink of water and would return to a tree not far away and lie down -if she would only send him a drink. The lady sent him a quart cup of -water, but the poor fellow was too far gone to drink it. We found him -under this tree one hour later. He had a wound through the center of -his left hand, the bullet having pierced the middle finger. - -Bass' death wound was given him by Dick Ware, who used a .45 caliber -Colt's long barreled six-shooter. The ball from Ware's pistol struck -Bass' belt and cut two cartridges in pieces and entered his back just -above the right hip bone. The bullet badly mushroomed and made a -fearful wound that tore the victim's right kidney all to pieces. From -the moment he was shot until his death three days later Bass suffered -untold agonies. As he lay on the ground Friday night where Jackson -had left him the wounded man tore his undershirt into more than one -hundred pieces and wiped the blood from his body. - -Bass was taken to Round Rock and given the best of medical attention, -but died the following day, Sunday, July 21, 1878. While he was yet -able to talk, General Jones appealed to Bass to reveal to the state -authorities the names of the confederates he had had that they might be -apprehended. - -"Sam, you have done much evil in this world and have only a few hours -to live. Now, while you have a chance to do the state some good, please -tell me who your associates were in those violations of the laws of -your country." - -Sam replied that he could not betray his friends and that he might as -well die with what he knew in him. - -Sam Bass was buried in the cemetery at Old Round Rock. A small monument -was erected over his grave by a sister. Its simple inscription reads: - - SAMUEL BASS - Born July 21st, 1851 - Died July 21st, 1878 - A brave man reposes in death here. Why was he - not true? - -Frank Jackson made his way back into Denton County and hung around some -time hoping to get an opportunity to murder the betrayer of his chief, -an ingrate whose cause he himself had so ably championed. Jackson -declared if he could meet Jim Murphy he would kill him, cut off his -head and carry it away in a gunny sack. - -Murphy returned to Denton, but learned that Jackson was hiding in -the elm bottoms awaiting a chance to slay him. He thereupon asked -permission of the sheriff to remain about the jail for protection. -While skulking about the prison one of his eyes became infected. A -physician gave him some medicine to drop into the diseased eye, at -the same time cautioning him to be careful as the fluid was a deadly -poison. Murphy drank the entire contents of the bottle and was dead in -a few hours. Remorse, no doubt, caused him to end his life. - -Of the four men that fought the Round Rock battle with Sam Bass and his -gang all are dead: General J.B. Jones, and Rangers R.C. Ware, Chris -Connor, and George Harold. Of the ten men that made the long ride from -San Saba to Round Rock only two are now alive--Lieutenant N.O. Reynolds -and myself. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A WINTER OF QUIET AND A TRANSFER - - -In the fall of 1878 a man named Dowdy moved from South Texas and -settled on the headwaters of the Johnson Fork of the Guadalupe River -in Kerr County. His family consisted of himself, wife, three grown -daughters, a grown son, and a young son twelve or fourteen years old. -Mr. Dowdy owned two or three thousand sheep and was grazing them on -some fine upland pasture just above his home. He contracted for his -winter supply of corn, and when the first load of grain arrived at the -ranch the three girls walked out half a mile to where the sheep were -grazing to stay with their younger brother while the elder returned -to the ranch to measure and receive the corn. When young Mr. Dowdy -returned to the sheep an hour later he was horrified to find that his -three sisters and his little brother had been massacred by a band of -roving Indians. From the signs on a high bluff nearby the sheep and -their herders had been under observation by the redskins for some -time and, seeing the only man leave, the Indians descended upon the -defenseless girls and boy and killed them. As there was no ranger -company within one hundred miles of Kerr County at the time, a party -of frontiersmen quickly gathered and followed the murderers, but after -pursuing them for nearly two hundred miles the posse lost the trail in -the rough Devil's River country. - -Kerr County then called for rangers, and General Jones ordered -Lieutenant Reynolds to proceed to that county and go into camp for -the winter at the Dowdy ranch. This descent upon the Dowdy family was -the last raid ever made by Indians in Kerr County, and was perhaps -the most heart-rending. We herded our horses that winter on the very -ground where the unfortunate young Misses Dowdy and their brother were -killed. At the time they were murdered the ground was soft and muddy -from a recent rain, so one could see for months afterward where the -poor girls had run on foot while the Indians charged on horseback. I -remember one of the young ladies ran nearly four hundred yards before -she was overtaken and shot full of arrows by a heartless redskin. These -murderers were probably Kickapoos and Lipans that lived in the Santa -Rosa Mountains, Old Mexico, and frequently raided Southwest Texas, -stole hundreds of horses and killed many people. While guarding their -horses on the ground where the Dowdy family was killed the ranger boys -built a rock monument eight or ten feet high to mark the spot where -the victims fell. - -Lieutenant Reynolds kept scouting parties in the field at intervals -throughout the winter but, like lightning, Indians never strike twice -in the same place. The winter of 1878-79 was the quietest one I ever -spent as a ranger. Kerr County was pretty well cleaned of outlaws and -we made fewer arrests that season than ever before. - -The rangers encountered but one real bad man in Kerr County. His name -was Eli Wixon, and he was wanted for murder in East Texas. It was known -that Wixon would be at the polls of the county precincts to vote on -election day, November, 1878, so Lieutenant Reynolds sent Corporal -Warren and Privates Will Banister and Abe Anglin to arrest Wixon. -Corporal Warren found his man at the polls and lost no time in telling -Wixon what he was there for, and ordered him to unbuckle his belt and -drop his pistol. Wixon hesitated and finally called on his friends to -protect him from the rangers. - -The crowd came to his relief, and for a time it looked as if there -would be trouble. Wixon abused the rangers, called them a set of dirty -dogs, and dared them to shoot him. Corporal Warren was brave and -resolute. He told Wixon his abuse did not amount to anything; that the -rangers were there to arrest him and were going to do it. The corporal -warned the citizens to be careful how they broke the law and if they -started anything he declared Wixon would be the first man killed. - -Then, while Banister and Anglin held the crowd back with their drawn -Winchesters, Warren disarmed Wixon, grasped his bridle reins and led -him away without further trouble. Lieutenant Reynolds took no chances -with that sort of man, and as soon as Wixon was in camp he was promptly -handcuffed and shackled. This usually took the slack out of all -so-called bad men and it worked like a charm with our new prisoner. - -As the winter wore on Lieutenant Reynolds, with but little to do, -became restless. He once said of himself that he never had the patience -to sit down in camp and wait for a band of Indians to raid the county -so he might get a race. Action was what he wanted all the time, and he -chaffed like a chained bear when compelled to sit idly in camp. - -When the Legislature met early in 1879 it was known that it would be -difficult to get an appropriation for frontier defense. From time -immemorial there has been an element from East Texas in the Legislature -that has fought the ranger appropriation, and in this instance that -element fought the ranger bill harder than ever. The fund appropriated -for frontier defense two years before was now running short and in -order to make it hold out until it could be ascertained what the -Legislature would do it became necessary for General Jones to order -the various captains to discharge three men out of each company. In -a week a similar order was promulgated, and this was kept up until -the battalion was reduced to almost one-half its former strength. -Lieutenant Reynolds was compelled to sit idly by and see his fine -experienced rangers dwindle away before his eyes, and what he said -about those short-sighted lawmakers would not look nice in print. - -In March, 1879, Captain Pat Dolan, commander of Company "F," then -stationed on the Nueces River, seventy-five miles southwest of -Reynolds' company, wrote to Lieutenant Reynolds that a big band of -horse and cattle thieves were reported operating in the vicinity of the -head of Devil's River and along the Nueces. He wished to take a month's -scout out in that country, but since the ranger companies had been so -reduced he did not feel strong enough to operate against them alone -and leave a reserve in his own camp. He, therefore, asked Lieutenant -Reynolds to send a detachment to cooperate with him. I was then second -sergeant, and with five men I was ordered to report to Captain Dolan -for a three weeks' scout on Devil's River and the Pecos. I reported to -the commander of Company "F" and we scouted up the Nueces River, then -turned west to Beaver Lake on the head of Devil's River. From the lake -we went over on Johnson's Run and covered the country thoroughly but -without finding the reported outlaws. - -One morning after starting out on our day's scout Captain Dolan halted -the command and, taking with him Private Robb, went in search of water. -A heavy fog came up after he left us and hung over the country the -greater part of the day. The captain did not return to us, and Sergeant -G.K. Chinn ordered his men to fire their guns to give the lost ones our -position. We remained in the vicinity until night and then returned to -Howard's Well, a watering place on Johnson's Run. The following morning -we scouted out to the point from which the captain had left us the -day before. It was now clear, the sun shining brightly, but the lost -men could not be found. Dolan was an experienced frontiersman, and we -concluded that, after finding himself lost in the fog, he would return -to his headquarters on the Nueces, one hundred and twenty-five miles -away. Sergeant Chinn, therefore, headed the command for this camp, and -when we reached it we found Captain Dolan and Private Robb had preceded -us. They had traveled through a bad Indian country with nothing to eat -but what venison they had killed. - -From Dolan's Company I marched my detail back to Company "E" by easy -stages and reached our camp at Dowdy's ranch the last week in March -with our horses ridden down. We had covered something like five hundred -miles without accomplishing anything. - -As soon as I arrived I walked up to the lieutenant's tent to make my -report. I was met by First Sergeant C.L. Nevill, who told me that -Lieutenant Reynolds had resigned and left the company. At first I -thought the sergeant was only joking, but when I was convinced that the -lieutenant had really gone I was shocked beyond measure. The blow was -too strong and sudden for me, and I am not ashamed now at sixty-five -years of age to admit that I slipped out of camp, sat down on the bank -of the Guadalupe River and cried like a baby. It seemed as if my best -friend on earth had gone forever. Reynolds had had me transferred from -Coldwell's company to his own when I was just a stripling of a boy. -As soon as I was old enough to be trusted with a scout of men and the -vacancies occurred I was made second corporal, first corporal and -then second sergeant. I was given the best men in the company and sent -against the most noted outlaws and hardened criminals in the State of -Texas. Lieutenant Reynolds gave me every chance in the world to make a -name for myself, and now he was gone. I felt the loss keenly. I feel -sure the records now on file in Austin will bear me out when I say -Reynolds was the greatest captain of his time,--and perhaps of all -time. The State of Texas lost a matchless officer when "Mage" Reynolds -retired to private life. After leaving the ranger service he made -Lampasas his home and served that county as its sheriff for several -terms. - -The Legislature finally made a small appropriation for frontier -defense. Sergeant Nevill was ordered to report at Austin with Company -"E" for the reorganization of the command. Reynolds' resignation -practically broke up the company, and though Sergeant Nevill was made -Lieutenant of Company "E" and afterward raised to a captaincy and left -behind him an enviable record, yet he was not a "Mage" Reynolds by a -long shot. - -On reaching Austin, R.C. Ware and the Banister boys secured their -transfers to Captain Marshes' Company "B," while the Carter boys, -Ben and Dock, C.R. Connor, and Bill Derrick resigned the service and -retired to private life. Abe Anglin became a policeman at Austin, -Texas. Henry Maltimore and myself, at our requests, were transferred -to Lieutenant Baylor's Company "C" for duty in El Paso County. With my -transfer to this command the winter of inaction was over, and I was -soon to see some exciting times along the upper Rio Grande. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE SALT LAKE WAR AND A LONG TREK - - -At the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains, one hundred miles east of El -Paso, Texas, are situated several large salt deposits known as the -Salt Lakes. These deposits were on public state land. For a hundred -years or more the residents along the Rio Grande in El Paso County and -in northern Mexico had hauled salt from the lakes free of charge, for -there was no one to pay, as the deposits were not claimed by any owner. -All one had to do was to back his wagon to the edge of the lake and -shovel it full of salt and drive off. - -From San Elizario to the Salt Lakes was just ninety miles, and there -was not a drop of water on the route. The road that had been traveled -so long by big wagon trains was almost as straight as an arrow and in -extra fine condition. The salt haulers would carry water in barrels to -what was known as the Half-way Station, about forty-five miles from -San Elizario. Here they would rest and water their horses and leave -half their water for the return trip. The teamsters would then push on -to the lakes, load their wagons, rest the teams a day or two, and on -their return trip stop at the Half-way Station, water their animals, -throw the empty barrels on top of the salt and, without again halting, -continue to San Elizario on the Rio Grande. - -[Illustration: _Geo. W. Baylor_] - -Charley Howard, after his election as judge of the El Paso District, -made his home at the old town of Franklin, now known as El Paso. He saw -the possibilities of these salt lakes as a money-making proposition -and, knowing they were on public land, wrote his father-in-law, George -Zimpleman, at Austin, to buy some land certificates and send them to -him so he could locate the land covering the salt deposits. As soon as -the land was located Judge Howard forbade anyone to haul salt from the -lakes without first securing his permission. The Mexicans along both -sides of the Rio Grande adjacent to El Paso became highly indignant -at this order. A sub-contractor on the overland mail route between -El Paso and Fort Davis named Luis Cardis, supported the Mexicans and -told them Howard had no right to stop them from hauling salt. Cardis -was an Italian by birth, had come to El Paso County in 1860, married a -Mexican wife, identified himself with the county, and become prominent -as a political leader. He was a Republican, while Judge Howard was -a Democrat. Cardis and Howard soon became bitter enemies, and in -September, 1878, this conflict between them became so acute that -Howard killed his opponent with a double-barreled shotgun in S. Shultz -and Brothers' store in Franklin. This at once precipitated the contest -known as the Salt Lake War, for grave threats were made against Howard -by the Mexicans. - -After killing Cardis, Judge Howard fled to New Mexico, and from -his seclusion in that state he called on the governor of Texas to -send rangers to El Paso to protect him and the courts over which he -presided. At that time not a company of the Frontier Battalion was -within five hundred miles of that town. El Paso was seven hundred -and fifty miles by stage from San Antonio or Austin and the journey -required about seven days and nights' travel over a dangerous route--an -unusually hard trip on any passenger attempting it. - -The governor of Texas, therefore, sent Major John B. Jones from Austin -to Topeka, Kansas, by rail and thence as far west into New Mexico as -the Santa Fe Railroad ran at that time, and thence by stage down to -El Paso. Major Jones dropped into the old town of Franklin (now El -Paso) unheralded and unknown. He sat about the hotel and gained the -information he needed, then made himself known to the authorities and -proceeded at once to organize and equip a company of twenty rangers. -John B. Tays, brother to the Episcopal minister of that district, was -made lieutenant of the new command, which was known as a detachment of -Company "C" and stationed in the old town of San Elizario, twenty-five -miles southeast of El Paso. - -Soon after this detachment of rangers had been authorized, Judge Howard -appeared at San Elizario and sought protection with it. No sooner had -it become known that Judge Howard was back in Texas than the ranger -company was surrounded by a cordon of armed Mexicans, two or three -hundred in number, who demanded the body of the jurist. Lieutenant Tays -refused to surrender Howard, and the fighting began, and was kept up -two or three days at intervals. Sergeant Maltimore, in passing through -the court yard of the buildings in which the rangers were quartered was -shot down and killed by Mexican snipers located on top of some adobe -buildings within range of the quarters. Then an American citizen, a Mr. -Ellis, was killed near Company "C's" camp. - -After several days of desultory fighting, the leaders of the mob, under -flag of truce, sought an interview with Lieutenant Tays. The lieutenant -finally agreed to meet two of the leaders, and while the parley was in -progress armed Mexicans one at a time approached the peace party until -forty or fifty had quietly surrounded Lieutenant Tays and put him at -their mercy. The mob then boldly demanded the surrender of the ranger -company, Judge Howard, and two other Americans, Adkinson and McBride, -friends of the judge, that had sought protection with them. - -There is no doubt that the Mexicans intimidated Lieutenant Tays after -he was in their hands and probably threatened him with death unless -their demands were granted. The lieutenant returned to the ranger camp -with the mob and said, "Boys, it is all settled. You are to give up -your arms and horses and you will be allowed to go free." - -The rangers were furious at this surrender, but were powerless to help -themselves, for the mob had swarmed in upon them from all sides. Billie -Marsh, one of the youngest men in the company, was so indignant that -he cried out to his commander, "The only difference between you and a -skunk is that the skunk has a white streak down his back!" - -Judge Howard, seeing the handwriting on the wall, began shaking hands -and bidding his ranger friends goodbye. As soon as the Mexicans had -gotten possession of the rangers' arms they threw ropes over the -heads of Howard, McBride and Adkinson. Then, mounting fast running -ponies, they dragged the unfortunate men to death in the streets of -San Elizario and cast their mutilated bodies into pososas or shallow -wells. The Mexicans then disappeared, most of them crossing the Rio -Grande into Mexico. - -Lieutenant Tays at once resigned as commander of the rangers, and -Private Charles Ludwick was made first sergeant and placed in charge -of the company until the governor of Texas could send a commissioned -officer to take command of it. Had Lieutenant Tays held out twenty-four -hours longer, a thing which he could easily have done, he would have -escaped the disgrace and mortification of surrendering himself and his -company to a mob of Mexicans, for within that time John Ford with a -band of New Mexico cowboys swept into the Rio Grande valley to relieve -the besieged rangers. On learning of the fates of Howard, McBride, -Adkinson, Ellis, and Sergeant Maltimore, the rescue party raided up -and down the valley from San Elizario to El Paso and killed several -armed Mexicans accused of being part of the mob that had murdered the -Americans. The present battalion of Texas Rangers was organized May 1, -1874, and in all their forty-six years of service this surrender of -Lieutenant Tays was the only black mark ever chalked up against it. - -Afterward, when I arrived in El Paso with Lieutenant Baylor I had -many talks with Privates George Lloyd, Dr. Shivers, Bill Rutherford, -and Santiago Cooper,--all members of Tays' company--and most of them -believed Lieutenant Tays had a streak of yellow in him, while a few -thought he made a mistake in agreeing to an interview with the mob, -thereby allowing himself to be caught napping and forced to surrender. - -Conditions in El Paso County were now so bad that Lieutenant Baylor was -ordered into the country to take command of the ranger company. Before -leaving to assume his command, Lieutenant Baylor was called to Austin -from his home in San Antonio and had a lengthy interview with Governor -Roberts. Baylor was instructed by his excellency to use all diplomacy -possible to reconcile the two factions and settle the Salt Lake War -peaceably. The governor held that both sides to the controversy were -more or less to blame, and what had been done could not be undone, and -the restoration of order was the prime requisite rather than a punitive -expedition against the mob members. - -On July 28, 1879, Private Henry Maltimore and myself reached San -Antonio from Austin and presented our credentials to Lieutenant Baylor, -who thereupon advised us that he had selected August 2nd as the day to -begin his march from San Antonio to El Paso County. In his camp on the -San Antonio River in the southern part of the city the lieutenant had -mustered myself as sergeant, and Privates Henry Maltimore, Dick Head, -Gus Small, Gus Krimkau, and George Harold. - -Early on the morning of August 2, 1879, our tiny detachment left San -Antonio on our long journey. One wagon carried a heavy, old-fashioned -square piano, and on top of this was loaded the lieutenant's household -goods. At the rear of the wagon was a coop of game chickens, four -hens and a cock, for Lieutenant Baylor was fond of game chickens as a -table delicacy, though he never fought them. His family consisted of -Mrs. Baylor, two daughters--Helen, aged fourteen, and Mary, a child -of four or five years--and Miss Kate Sydnor, sister of Mrs. Baylor. -The children and ladies traveled in a large hack drawn by a pair of -mules. Rations for men and horses were hauled in a two-mule wagon, -while the rangers rode on horseback in advance of the hack and wagons. -Two men traveling to New Mexico in a two-wheeled cart asked permission -to travel with us for protection. Naturally we made slow progress -with this unique combination. As well as I can remember, 1879 was a -rather dry year, for not a drop of rain fell upon us during this seven -hundred-mile journey. When we passed Fort Clark, in Kinney County, -and reached Devil's River we were on the real frontier and liable to -attack by Indians at any time. It was necessary, therefore, to keep a -strong guard posted at all times. - -Around our camp fires at night Lieutenant Baylor entertained us with -accounts of early days on the frontier. He was born August 24, 1832, -at old Fort Gibson in the Cherokee nation, now the State of Oklahoma. -His father, John Walker Baylor, was a surgeon in the United States -Army. Lieutenant Baylor was a soldier by training and by inheritance. -In 1879 he was in his forty-seventh year and stood six feet two inches -tall, a perfect specimen of a hardy frontiersman. He was highly -educated, wrote much for papers and magazines, was a fluent speaker -and a very interesting talker and story-teller. He was less reserved -than any captain under whom I ever served. He had taken part in many -Indian fights on the frontier of Texas, and his descriptions of some -of his experiences were thrilling. Lieutenant Baylor was a high-toned -Christian gentleman and had been a member of the Episcopal Church -from childhood. In all the months I served with him I never heard him -utter an oath or tell a smutty yarn. He neither drank whisky nor used -tobacco. Had he written a history of his operations on the frontier and -a biography of himself it would have been one of the strangest and -most interesting books ever written. - -I have not the power of language to describe Lieutenant Baylor's -bravery, because he was as brave as it is possible for man to be. He -thought everyone else should be the same. He did not see how a white -man could be a coward, yet in a fierce battle fought with Apache -Indians on October 5, 1879, I saw some of his rangers refuse to budge -when called upon to charge up a mountainside and assault the redskins -concealed above us in some rocks. George Harold, one of the attacking -party, said, "Lieutenant, if we charge up that hill over open ground -every one of us will be killed." - -"Yes, I suppose you are right," declared Baylor, a contemptuous smile -on his face. Then, pointing to some Mexicans hidden behind some -boulders below us, he added, "You had better go back to them. That is -where you belong." - -Lieutenant Baylor was as tender hearted as a little child and would -listen to any tale of woe. He frequently took men into the service, -stood good for their equipment and often had to pay the bill out of his -own pocket. All men looked alike to him and he would enlist anyone when -there was a vacancy in the company. The result was that some of the -worst San Simone Valley rustlers got into the command and gave us no -end of trouble, nearly causing one or two killings in our camp. - -Baylor cared nothing for discipline in the company. He allowed his men -to march carelessly. A scout of ten or fifteen men would sometimes -be strung out a mile or more on the march. I suppose to one who had -commanded a regiment during the Civil War a detachment of Texas -Rangers looked small and insignificant, so he let his men have pretty -much their own way. To a man like myself, who had been schooled under -such captains as Major Jones, Captain Coldwell, Captain Roberts, -and Lieutenant Reynolds, commanders who were always careful of the -disposition and conduct of their men, this method of Baylor's seemed -suicidal. It just seemed inevitable that we would some time be taken by -surprise and shot to pieces. - -Another peculiarity of this wonderful man was his indifference to -time. He would strike an Indian trail, take his time and follow it to -the jumping off place. He would say, "There is no use to hurry, boys. -We will catch them after a while." For instance, the stage driver and -passenger killed in Quitman Canyon, January, 1880, had been dead two -weeks before the lieutenant returned from a scout out in the Guadalupe -Mountains. He at once directed me to make a detail of all except three -men in camp, issue ten days' rations, and have the men ready to move -early next morning. An orderly or first sergeant is hardly ever called -upon to scout unless he so desires, but the lieutenant said, "You -had better come along, Sergeant. You may get another chance to kill -an Indian." It seemed unreasonable to think he could start two weeks -behind a bunch of Indians, follow up and annihilate the whole band, but -he did. Give Comanches or Kiowas two weeks' start and they would have -been in Canada, but the Apaches were slow and a different proposition -with which to deal. - -Baylor was one of the very best shots with firearms I ever saw. He -killed more game than almost the entire company put together. When we -first went out to El Paso he used a Winchester rifle, but after the -first Indian fight he concluded it was too light and discarded it for -a Springfield sporting rifle 45-70. He always used what he called rest -sticks; that is, two sticks about three feet long the size of one's -little finger. These were tied together about four or five inches from -one end with a buckskin thong. In shooting he would squat down, extend -the sticks arm's length out in front of him with the longer ends spread -out tripod-fashion on the ground. With his gun resting in the fork -he had a perfect rest and could make close shots at long range. The -lieutenant always carried these sticks in his hand and used them on his -horse as a quirt. In those days I used to pride myself on my shooting -with a Winchester, but I soon found that Lieutenant Baylor had me -skinned a mile when it came to killing game at long distance. I never -could use rest sticks, for I always forgot them and shot offhand. - -I cannot close this description of Lieutenant Baylor without mentioning -his most excellent wife, who made the long, tedious journey from San -Antonio to El Paso County with us. She was Sallie Garland Sydnor, born -February 11, 1842. Her father was a wholesale merchant at Galveston, -and at one time mayor of that city. Mrs. Baylor was highly educated and -a very refined woman and a skillful performer on the piano. Her bright, -sunny disposition and kind heart won her friends among the rangers -at once. How sad it is to reflect that of the twelve persons in that -little party that marched out of San Antonio on August 2, 1879, only -three are living: Gus Small, Miss Mary Baylor, and myself. - -When we had passed Pecan Springs on Devil's River there was not another -cattle, sheep or goat ranch until we reached Fort Stockton, two -hundred miles to the west. It was just one vast uninhabited country. -Today it is all fenced and thousands of as fine cattle, sheep and goats -as can be found in any country roam those hills. The Old Spanish Trail -traverses most of this section, and in traveling over it today one will -meet hundreds of people in high powered automobiles where forty years -ago it was dangerous for a small party of well armed men to journey. -While ascending Devil's River I learned that Lieutenant Baylor was not -only a good hunter, but a first class fisherman as well, for he kept -the entire camp well supplied with fine bass and perch, some of the -latter being as large as saucers. - -Forty miles west of Beaver Lake we reached Howard's Well, situated in -Howard's Draw, a tributary of the Pecos River. Here we saw the burned -ruins of a wagon train that had been attacked by Indians a few months -before. All the mules had been captured, the teamsters killed and the -train of sixteen big wagons burned. Had the same Indians encountered -our little party of ten men, two women and two children we would all -have been massacred. - -Finally we reached old Fort Lancaster, an abandoned government post, -situated on the east bank of Live Oak Creek, just above the point -where this beautiful stream empties into the Pecos. We camped here -and rested under the shade of those big old live oak trees for several -days. From this camp we turned north up the Pecos, one of the most -curious rivers in Texas. At that time and before its waters were much -used for irrigation in New Mexico, the Pecos ran bank full of muddy -water almost the year round. Not more than thirty or forty feet wide, -it was the most crooked stream in the world, and though only from -four to ten feet deep, was so swift and treacherous that it was most -difficult to ford. However, it had one real virtue; it was the best -stream in Texas for both blue and yellow catfish that ranged in weight -from five to forty pounds. We were some days traveling up this river to -the pontoon crossing and we feasted on fish. - -At Pontoon Crossing on the Pecos we intercepted the overland mail route -leading from San Antonio to El Paso by way of Fredericksburg, Fort -Mason, Menard, Fort McKavett, Fort Concho, Fort Stockton, and Fort -Davis, thence west by Eagle Springs through Quitman Canyon, where more -tragedies and foul murders have been committed by Indians than at any -other point on the route. Ben Fricklin was the mail contractor. The -stage stands were built of adobe and on the same unchanging plan. On -each side of the entrance was a large room. The gateway opened into a -passageway, which was roofed, and extended from one room to the other. -In the rear of the rooms was the corral, the walls of which were six to -eight feet high and two feet thick, also of sun dried brick. One room -was used for cooking and eating and the other for sleeping quarters and -storage. The stage company furnished the stage tender with supplies and -he cooked for the passengers when there were such, charging them fifty -cents per meal, which he was allowed to retain for his compensation. - -When the stage rolled into the station the tender swung open the gates -and the teams, small Spanish mules, dashed into the corral. The animals -were gentle enough when once in the enclosure, but mean and as wild as -deer when on the road. The stage company would buy these little mules -in lots of fifty to a hundred in Mexico and distribute them along the -route. The tiny animals were right off the range and real unbroken -bronchos. The mules were tied up or tied down as the case might be -and harnessed by force. When they had been hitched to the stage coach -or buckboard the gates to the corral were opened and the team left -on the run. The intelligent mules soon learned all they had to do -was to run from one station to the next, and could not be stopped -between posts no matter what happened. Whenever they saw a wagon or a -man on horseback approaching along the road they would shy around the -stranger, and the harder the driver held them the faster they ran. - -On our way out our teams were pretty well fagged out, and often -Lieutenant Baylor would camp within a few yards of the road. The -Spanish stage mules would see our camp and go around us on the run -while their drivers would curse and call us all the vile names they -could lay their tongues to for camping in the road. - -When we camped at a station it was amusing to me to watch the stage -attendants harness those wary little animals. The stage or buckboard -was always turned round in the corral and headed toward the next -station and the passengers seated themselves before the mules were -hitched. When all was ready and the team harnessed the driver would -give the word, the station keeper threw open the gates and the stage -was off on a dead run. - -There should be a monument erected to the memory of those old stage -drivers somewhere along this overland route, for they were certainly -the bravest of the brave. It took a man with lots of nerve and strength -to be a stage driver in the Indian days, and many, many of them were -killed. The very last year, 1880, that the stage line was kept up -several drivers were killed between Fort Davis and El Paso. Several -of these men quit the stage company and joined Lieutenant Baylor's -company, and every one of such ex-drivers made excellent rangers. - -From Pontoon Crossing on the Pecos River we turned due west and -traveled the stage route the remainder of the way to El Paso County. -At Fort Stockton we secured supplies for ourselves and feed for our -horses, the first place at which rations could be secured since leaving -Fort Clark. Fort Stockton was a large military post and was quite -lively, especially at night, when the saloons and gambling halls were -crowded with soldiers and citizen contractors. At Leon Holes, ten miles -west of Fort Stockton, we were delayed a week because of Mrs. Baylor -becoming suddenly ill. Passing through Wild Rose Pass and up Limpia -Canyon we suffered very much from the cold, though it was only the last -of August. Coming from a lower to a higher altitude we felt the change -at night keenly. That was the first cold weather I had experienced in -the summer. - -Finally, on the 12th day of September, 1879, we landed safe and sound -in the old town of Ysleta, El Paso County, after forty-two days -of travel from San Antonio. Here we met nine men, the remnant of -Lieutenant Tays' Company "C" rangers. The first few days after our -arrival were spent in securing quarters for Lieutenant Baylor's family -and in reorganizing the company. Sergeant Ludwick was discharged at -his own request, and I was made first sergeant, Tom Swilling second -sergeant, John Seaborn first corporal, and George Lloyd second -corporal. The company was now recruited up to its limit of twenty men. -Before winter Lieutenant Baylor bought a fine home and fifteen or -twenty acres of land from a Mr. Blanchard. The rangers were quartered -comfortably in some adobe buildings with fine corrals nearby and within -easy distance of the lieutenant's residence. We were now ready for -adventure on the border. - -When we arrived at Ysleta the Salt Lake War had quieted down and order -had been restored. Although nearly a hundred Mexicans were indicted -by the El Paso grand jury, no one was ever punished for the murder -of Judge Howard and his companions. In going over the papers of -Sergeant Ludwick I found warrants for the arrest of fifty or more of -the mob members. Though most of the murderers had fled to Old Mexico -immediately after the killing of the Americans, most of them had -returned to the United States and their homes along the Rio Grande. -I reported these warrants to Lieutenant Baylor and informed him that, -with the assistance of a strong body of rangers I could probably -capture most of the offenders in a swift raid down the valley. The -lieutenant declared that he had received instructions from Governor -Roberts to exercise extreme care not to precipitate more trouble over -Howard's death, and, above all things, not incite a race war between -the Mexican offenders and the white people of the country. He decided, -therefore, that we had better not make any move at all in the now dead -Salt Lake War. And of course I never again mentioned the matter to him. - -Though the Salt Lake War was over, new and adventurous action was in -store for us, and within less than a month after our arrival in Ysleta -we had our first brush with the Apaches, a tribe of Indians I had never -before met in battle. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -OUR FIRST FIGHT WITH APACHES - - -On October 5, 1879, at midnight, Pablo Mejia brought Lieutenant Baylor, -from Captain Gregorio Garcia of San Elizario, a note stating that a -band of Apaches had charged a camp of five Mexicans who were engaged in -cutting hay for the stage company fourteen miles north of La Quadria -stage station and killed them. As first sergeant I was ordered to make -a detail of ten men and issue them five days' rations. I detailed -Second Sergeant Tom Swilling, Privates Gus Small, George Lloyd, John -Thomas, George Harold, Doc Shivers, Richard Head, Bill Rutherford, and -Juan Garcia for the scout, and myself made the tenth man. It required -an hour to arouse the men, issue the rations and ammunition and pack -the two mules, so it was 1 o'clock a.m. when we finally left Ysleta. - -By daylight we reached Hawkins Station, near where Fabins Station -now is. Here we were told we would find the survivor of the terrible -massacre. Riding up to the door of the stage house we had to thump some -time before we had evidence that anyone was alive on the premises. -Finally the door opened about an inch very cautiously and a Mexican -peeped out. Lieutenant Baylor asked him if he had been one of the -grameros or hay cutters. - -"Si, senor," replied the sleepy Mexican. - -Asked for an account of the massacre, the native said it was nearly -dark when the Indians, numbering from twenty-five to fifty, charged -the camp and uttered such horrid yells that everyone took to his heels -and was soon in the chaparral. The speaker saw his pobrecita papa -(poor papa) running, with the Indians about to lance him, and knew -that he and the remainder of the party were killed. He himself only -escaped. As he mentioned the tragic death of his beloved parent the -tears rolled down his cheeks. Lieutenant Baylor comforted the weeper as -best he could and asked if the Mexican would not guide the rangers to -the raided camp, but the survivor declined with thanks, saying he must -stay to help the station keeper take care of the stage mules, but he -directed us to the ranch where some of the dead men's families lived -and at which a guide could be obtained. - -When we arrived at the ranch below Hawkins Station it was sunrise and -we halted for breakfast after a night ride of forty miles. The people -at the ranch were very uneasy when we rode up, but were rejoiced when -they realized we were Texas Rangers and learned our mission. They -showed us every attention. Among the first to come out to us was an -old Mexican who had been in the hay camp when it was attacked. He gave -a lurid account of the onset. His son had been one of the grameros, and -when he mentioned this the tears began to flow. - -"Ah, hijo de mi cara Juan. I shall never see him again," he lamented. -"All were killed and I alone escaped!" - -Lieutenant Baylor then explained to the weeping father that his son -was very much alive and that we had seen him that very night bewailing -the death of the father he thought killed. And it now developed that -all the dead men were alive! When the camp was attacked each Mexican -had scattered, and the Apaches had been too busy looting the stores -to follow the fugitives. Moreover, those ranchers would fight and the -Indians did not care to follow them into the brush. - -A bright young Mexican went with us to the hay camp, which was about -six miles toward Comales, where Don Juan Armendaris now has a cow -ranch. The Apaches had made a mess of things in camp sure enough. -They had broken all the cups and plates, poured salt into the sugar, -this combination into the flour and beans and the conglomeration of -the whole on the ground, as the sacks were all they wanted. The -Indians smashed the coffee pot, the frying pan, the skillet and the -water barrels with an ax. Then taking all the blankets, the raiders -started eastward as though they intended to go to the Sierra Priela, -but after going a mile the trail turned south. We found the redskins -had come from the north by way of Los Cormuros and were probably from -Fort Stanton, New Mexico, on their way to raid Old Mexico. They were -in a dry country and making for the Rio Grande, fourteen miles to the -south. When they discovered the hay camp on their route they charged -it and fired on the hay cutters. The Mexicans scattered and made their -escape in the darkness, each thinking himself the sole survivor and so -reporting on reaching his home, though as a matter of fact not a single -life was lost. - -Our guide went back to give the alarm to the ranches below and we -followed the trail down the mesa until opposite Guadalupe. There we -crossed the overland stage route near the present Rio Grande Station -and found our guide waiting for us. He had discovered the trail, and -fearing the Indians might ambush the road below, he had awaited our -arrival. The trail made straight for the Rio Grande, crossing about -one mile west of the Mexican town of Guadalupe. From the pony and mule -tracks Lieutenant Baylor judged there were fifteen to twenty Indians -in the band. We had some trouble following the trail after we got to -the river bottom, where loose horses and cattle ran, but a few of us -dismounted and worked the trail out, crossed the river and struck camp -for dinner. - -Lieutenant Baylor sent Pablo Mejia into town to inform the president -of Guadalupe that we had followed a fresh Apache trail to the Rio -Grande going south into Mexico, and asked permission to follow the -Indians into his country. The scout soon returned and reported that the -president was not only pleased that we had pursued the redskins, but -would willingly join us himself with all the men he could muster. Just -after we crossed the river we came across a Mexican herder with a flock -of goats. As soon as he heard we were trailing the Apaches he began -yelling at the top of his voice and soon had the goats on the jump for -town, though the Indians had passed the night before. We were quickly -in saddle again, and as we rode into the pueblo we were kindly received -by the people. We found a mare the Apaches had killed just on the edge -of town and from which they had taken some of the choice steaks. - -After leaving Guadalupe the trail went south, following closely the -stage road from Juarez to Chihuahua. Not long after leaving town we -met a courier coming to Guadalupe from Don Ramon Arrandas' ranch, San -Marcos de Cantarica, twenty-one miles distant, who informed us that the -Apaches had killed a herder on that ranch and had taken four horses -and sixteen mules of the stage company. We hurried onward and reached -Cantarica at sunset, having traveled seventy-eight miles since 1 a.m. -that morning. Both men and horses were rather tired. - -All was confusion at the ranch. The Mexican herder had been shrouded -and laid out with a cross at his head and several little lighted -candles near the body. Many women were sitting around the room with -black shawls pulled up over their heads. The Apaches, numbering sixteen -well armed and well mounted warriors, had slain their victim and -captured the stock near the ranch just about noon. Mexican volunteers -from Guadalupe and San Ignacio began to ride in until our combined -force numbered twenty-five or twenty-six men. Everyone was excited at -the thought of a brush with the redskins responsible for the murder. - -Accompanied by our volunteer allies we left the ranch at daylight next -morning and picked up the trail at once. It led off south along the -base of the Armagora Mountains or Sierra Bentanos. As the Mexicans -were familiar with the country they took the lead and followed the -trail rapidly. About 11 o'clock the trailers halted at the mouth of the -Canyon del Moranos, an ugly black hole cut in the mountains, looking -grim and defiant enough without the aid of Apache warriors. When we -had joined the Mexicans--we were traveling some half a mile behind -them--Lieutenant Baylor and Captain Garcia held a short conference. -The lieutenant turned to me and said that Captain Garcia declared the -Indians were in the canyon among the rocks, and ordered me to detail -two men to guard our horses while we scaled the mountain on foot and -investigated it. I could not bring myself to believe that a band of -Indians that had killed a man and driven off all the stage stock the -day before had gone only thirty miles and was now lying in wait for us. - -"You don't know the Apaches," Lieutenant Baylor declared when I voiced -my thoughts. "They are very different from the plains Indians, the kind -you have been used to following. These Apaches delight to get into the -rocks and lay for their enemies." - -At the conference the Mexicans suggested that Lieutenant Baylor should -take nine of his men and ten of their volunteers and follow the trail -up the canyon, but the lieutenant declared that this would never do, -as the Apaches had no doubt anticipated just such a move and hidden -themselves in the cliffs where they could kill their attackers without -exposing themselves in the least. He proposed scaling the mountain and -following them down on top of the ridge in the Indians' rear. And this -was the strategy finally adopted. - -The Mexicans dismounted and started up the mountainside about one -hundred yards to our left. Lieutenant Baylor and his eight rangers -marched straight forward from our horses and began the ascent. As we -went along the lieutenant pulled some bunch grass and stuck it all -around under his hat band so his head would look like a clump of grass -and conceal his head and body if he should have to flatten himself -on the ground. He counselled us to follow his example. I had taken -some Mexican cheese out of my saddle pockets and was eating it as we -marched carelessly up the mountain. Honestly, I did not believe there -was an Indian within a hundred miles of us, but it was not long before -I changed my mind. Suddenly there came a loud report of a gun and then -another. I looked up to where the Mexicans had taken position behind a -ledge of rocks and saw where a bullet struck the stones a foot above -their heads. I did not want any more cheese. I threw down what I had in -my hand and spat out what I had in my mouth. - -These old Apache warriors, high in the cliffs above us, then turned -their attention to our little band of eight rangers and fired -twenty-five or thirty shots right into the midst of us. One of these -big caliber bullets whizzed so close to my head that it made a noise -like a wild duck makes when flying down stream at the rate of fifty to -sixty miles an hour. Lieutenant Baylor ordered us to charge at once. - -In running up the mountain I was somewhat in advance of the boys. We -came to a rock ledge three or four feet high. I quickly scaled this, -but before I could straighten up an Indian rose from behind a rock -about fifteen to twenty yards ahead and fired point-blank at me. The -bullet struck a small soap weed three feet in front of me and knocked -the leaves into my mouth and face. I felt as if I had been hit but it -was leaves and not blood that I wiped out of my mouth with my left -hand. I turned my head and called to the boys to look out, but the -warning was unnecessary,--they had already taken shelter under the -ledge of rock. - -Just as I turned my head a second shot from the Apache carried away -the entire front part of my hat brim. I saw the warrior throw another -cartridge in his gun and brought my Winchester quickly to bear upon -him. When he saw that I was about to shoot he shifted his position and -turned sideways to me. We both fired at the same instant. My bullet hit -the redskin just above his hip and, passing straight through his body, -broke the small of his back and killed him almost instantly. This old -brave was a big man, probably six feet tall, with his face painted in -red and blue paint. He used an old octagon barrel Winchester rifle and -he had with him an old shirtsleeve tied at one end in which were two -hundred and fifty Winchester cartridges. - -Some Indians fifty yards up the mountain now began to shell our -position, so I took shelter behind the ledge of rock. Fifteen or twenty -feet to our left and a little higher up the mountain, Lieutenant Baylor -was sheltered behind some boulders. He raised his head slightly above -his parapet for a peep at the Indians and those keen sighted warriors -saw him; a well directed shot cut part of the grass out of his hat. Had -the bullet been six inches lower it would have struck him full in the -face. - -"Darn that old Indian," exclaimed Baylor, ducking his head. "If I had a -shot gun I would run up and jump right on top of him." - -The lieutenant was mad now and ordered a charge. The boys hesitated, -and George Harold, an old scout, said, "Lieutenant, if we leave this -shelter and start up the mountain the Indians hidden behind those rocks -seventy-five yards above will kill us all." - -"Yes, I suppose you are right; they would be hard to dislodge," replied -Baylor. - -The Apaches evidently had plenty of ammunition, as they kept up a -desultory fire all day. Seeing we were not going to fall into their -trap they turned their attention to our horses. Although the animals -were four or five hundred yards from the foot of the mountain they -killed Sergeant Swilling's horse, the bullet passing entirely through -the body just behind the shoulders. When his horse, a large white one, -staggered and tumbled over, Swilling began to mourn, for he had the -horror of walking all Western men have. John Thomas, however, got the -laugh on him by saying, "Sergeant, you had better wait and see if you -are going back to camp." We could see the Indians' bullets knocking up -dust all around the horses and the guard replying to the fire. Baylor -now sent a man and had the guard move the horses out of range. - -During the afternoon the Apaches moved up higher toward the crest of -the mountain, and in doing so one of the Indians exposed himself. The -Mexicans to our left spotted him and killed him with a well directed -shot. The warrior fell out in open ground where he was literally shot -all to pieces. - -We had been without water all day and when night came Lieutenant Baylor -and Captain Garcia decided it was useless to continue the fight any -longer, so we withdrew toward our horses. After reaching the animals -we could still hear the Indians firing on our positions. We might have -captured the Apaches' horses by a charge, but we would have had to go -down the side of the mountain and across a deep canyon where we would -have been compelled to pick our way slowly under a constant cross fire -from the concealed riflemen, and neither Baylor nor Garcia thought the -horses worth the sacrifice required to capture them. - -As the nearest water was thirty miles away and our men and horses -weary and thirsty, we rode back to our hospitable friend, Don Ramon -Arrandas' ranch, where our horses were fed and we ourselves supplied -with fresh milk and cheese. On our return to Guadalupe we were most -kindly entertained by Mr. Maximo Arrandas, custom house officer at -San Elizario, and brother to Don Ramon. We reached our headquarters -at Ysleta after being out five days and traveling two hundred and -twenty-two miles, sustaining no other damage than a few bruises -from scaling the mountain and the loss of Sergeant Swilling's horse. -This first brush with Apaches, however, was but a prelude to other -expeditions after this tribe, and we were soon hot on the trail of -Victorio, the Apache Napoleon. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -SCOUTING IN MEXICO - - -About a month after our first brush with Apaches, during November, -1879, Chief Victorio quit the Mescalero Reservation and with a party of -one hundred and twenty-five warriors and a hundred women and children, -traveled south into Mexico on a raid. This old chief was probably the -best general ever produced by the Apache tribe. He was a far better -captain than old Geronimo ever was and capable of commanding a much -larger force of men. His second in command was Nana, also a very able -officer. - -Victorio knew every foot of the country and just where to find wood, -water, grass and abundance of game, so he took his time and, coming -from New Mexico down into the state of Chihuahua, stopped first at -the Santa Maria. The country about this stream is very mountainous, -especially to the south, and here he could find refuge in case of an -attack from Mexican soldiers. Of this, however, there was not much -danger at that time, for the country was thinly settled, farming and -stock raising being confined to the neighborhood of the small towns. -Gradually Chief Victorio moved down into the Candelaria Mountains, -approaching them from the northwest. Here he could get fresh range for -his large band of horses and be near the settlement of San Jose, owned -by Don Mariano Samaniego. Here, also, he could watch the public road -between Chihuahua and El Paso del Norte, the present Juarez. - -One of the saddest and most heart-rending tragedies resulted from this -move. Victorio was camped at the large tanks on the north side and -almost on top of the Candelaria Mountains, where he had fine range for -his stock and plenty of game and wood. From those almost inaccessible -peaks he could see for twenty or thirty miles in every direction and -watch every move of travelers or hostile forces. The old chief now sent -a small band of Indians, some six or seven in number, on a raid against -the little settlement of San Jose. Here the Indians stole a bunch of -Mexican ponies and hurried back to their camp on top of the Candelaria -Mountains. The citizens of San Jose discovered the loss of their -ponies, and on examining the trail, found there was only a small band -of Indians in the raiding party. A company of the principal Mexicans -of San Jose, under the command of Don Jose Rodriguez, and augmented by -volunteers from the little town of Carrajal, left to locate the Indians -and recover the stolen horses. The little band of fifteen brave men -went to the northern side of the mountains and struck the trail of -Victorio's band on an old beaten route used by the Indians, which -passed from the Santa Maria River to the Candelaria Mountains. This -road wound between two rocky peaks and then down the side of the hills -to the plain between them and the Candelaria, ending at last at the big -tank. - -From his position on the tall peaks Victorio had seen the little body -of Mexicans long before they struck his trail and, knowing they would -never come upon the Candelaria after seeing the size of his trail, -sent forty or fifty of his warriors to form an ambuscade where the -trail crosses the crest between the two peaks. He must have been with -the braves himself, for the thing was skillfully planned and executed. -On the north side of the trail there were only a few boulders, but on -the south the hills were very broken, rising in rough tiers of stones. -The Apaches hid in these rocks and awaited their victims. On November -7, 1879, the Mexicans entered the narrow defile and as soon as they -were between the two parties of Indians concealed on each side of the -pass the Apaches on the north side of the trail fired a volley upon -them. The Mexicans thereupon made for the rocks on the south, as was -natural. As they sought refuge there the redskins in the cliffs above -the gallant little band opened fire on them. Caught in a real death -trap the entire punitive force was massacred. When I walked over the -ground some time afterward I saw where one Mexican had gotten into -a crevice from which he could shoot anyone coming at him from the -east or west. He was hidden also from the Indians in the cliffs above -him, but his legs were exposed to the warriors on the north side and -they had literally shot them off up to his knees. I also found seven -dead Mexicans in a small gulley, and on a little peak above them I -discovered the lair of one old Indian who had fired twenty-seven shots -at the tiny group until he had killed them all, for I found that number -of 45-70 cartridge shells in one pile. Practically all the horses -of the Mexicans were killed. Some of the animals had been tied to -Spanish dagger plants and when shot ran the length of their rope before -falling. Some of the bodies rolled down the deep canyon until they -reached the bottom of what we called the Canado del Muerte (Canyon of -Death), and the Indians removed none of the saddles or ropes from the -dead horses. - -When the company of Mexicans did not return there was great sorrow -and alarm in the little town of Carrajal. As it was supposed that -only a small band of Apaches bent on horse stealing was in the -Candelarios, another small band of fourteen men volunteered to go -and see what had become of their friends and kindred. Don Jose Mario -Rodriguez was appointed commander, and the little party took the trail -of their comrades with sad forebodings. Old Victorio, from his watch -towers in the Candelarios, saw this rescue party and prepared for its -destruction. The signs indicated that the second party had walked into -the same death trap as the first, but the second band had scattered -more in fighting and a good many of the Mexicans were killed on the -southern slope of the hills. Two had attempted to escape on horseback -but were followed and killed. I found one of these unfortunates in -an open plain some six hundred yards from the hills. He had been -surrounded, and, seeing escape was impossible, had dismounted, tied his -horse to a Spanish dagger plant and put up a good fight. I found thirty -or forty cartridge shells near where he had fallen. His pony had been -killed and the dagger plant shot to pieces. The Apaches had cut off his -right hand and had carried away his gun, six-shooter, saddle and bridle. - -When neither party returned then, indeed, was there sorrow in the -town of Carrajal, for twenty-nine of her principal citizens had left -never to return. Wives, mothers, and sweethearts mourned the loss -of their dear ones. A runner was sent to El Paso del Norte and the -citizens began to organize a punitive expedition at once, calling on -Saragosa, Tres Jacalas, Guadalupe, and San Ignacio for their quotas. -These towns responded quickly and soon a hundred Mexicans were ready -to take the field. A note was sent to Lieutenant Baylor at Ysleta -requesting the rangers to go with the command. Baylor readily agreed -to accompany the Mexicans, for he knew it was only a question of time -before old Victorio would again be murdering and robbing on our side -of the Rio Grande. A detachment of Company "C" had been in one Apache -fight in Mexico and the Mexicans had a very kindly feeling for us. -Lieutenant Baylor's detachment of ten rangers crossed the Rio Grande at -Saragosa, a little town opposite Ysleta, and joined the Mexicans under -Senor Ramos. We marched to the ranch of Don Ynocente Ochoa until the -volunteers from the other towns came to Samalaejuca Springs. When they -had done so the rangers moved down and our combined command amounted to -one hundred and ten men. - -After organizing their force the Mexicans sent Senor Ramos to inform -Lieutenant Baylor that, on account of his experience as a soldier and -as a compliment to the rangers, they had selected him to command the -entire party. The lieutenant thanked the messenger, but declared, as -the campaign was on Mexican soil to rescue or bury Mexicans, it would -be more proper to appoint one of their own men commander, and that he -himself would cheerfully serve under any leader so chosen. Senor Ramos -returned shortly and notified Lieutenant Baylor that the Mexicans had -selected Don Francisco Escapeda of Guadalupe as commander-in-chief and -Lieutenant Baylor second in command. - -This solution of the leadership problem pleased us, as there was an -element among the Mexican party that might have caused friction. -Old Chico Barelo, the pueblo cacique and principal commander of -the mob that had killed Judge Howard, Ellis, Adkinson, and McBride -at San Elizario, was with the expedition, and we had at our Ysleta -headquarters warrants for the arrest of himself and many others, so we -gave the old fellow to understand we were now fighting a common enemy -and should act in harmony together. We did this more willingly, because -we had learned that after killing Judge Howard and the others the mob -wanted to murder all the rangers barricaded in an old adobe house, but -had been dissuaded from this purpose by old Chico, who declared the -rangers could only be killed after he had first been slain. - -Leaving one wagon at the Ochoa ranch and taking three days' rations -cooked and more in case of a siege, we went out in the night to avoid -Victorio's spies. Don Francisco Escapeda with Lieutenant Baylor were -at the head of the column. Sergeant James B. Gillett and eight rangers -followed in Indian file, each ranger with a Mexican by his side, -showing they looked on us as volunteers in the Mexican service. We rode -out along the hard sand road beyond Samalaejuca and sent spies ahead -to locate the Apaches if possible. Before we reached the Candelarios -we halted behind some mountains to await their report, but they could -learn nothing certain. It was a bitterly cold night and a few of us -made fires in the deep arroyos. We moved on toward the mountains north -of the Candelarios and reached them early next morning to find a large -fresh trail about two days old going in the direction of Lake Santa -Maria, but, for fear of some stratagem, we divided our men. One party -took the crest south of the trail where the massacre took place while -the other went to the right. - -It was soon evident that the entire Apache band had left and that -nothing remained for us but the sad duty of collecting the bodies of -the dead Mexicans for burial. The second, or rescue party, had found -the bodies of their kinsmen killed in the first ambuscade and had -collected them and put them in a big crevice in the rocks. When they -began to cover the corpses with loose stones the Indians, who had been -watching them all the while just as a cat plays with a mouse before -killing it, opened fire on the burial party and killed the last one -of the unfortunate men. The saddest scene I ever witnessed was that -presented as we gathered the bodies of the murdered men. At each fresh -discovery of a loved friend, brother or father and the last hope fled -that any had escaped, a wail of sorrow went up, and I doubt if there -was a dry eye either of Mexican or Texan in the whole command. - -While the immediate relatives were hunting for those who had -scattered in trying to escape, we moved south to the main tank in the -Candelarios. The ascent was up a winding path on the steep mountainside -to the bench where the tank, one of the largest in the west, was -situated. The water coming down from a height, and big boulders falling -into the tank, had cut a deep hole in the solid rock in which the water -was retained. Although Victorio's band of three hundred animals and two -hundred or more Indians and our command had been using the water it -could scarcely be missed. - -We sent scouts to the left and right to make sure no game was being -put upon us, for the cunning old chief, after sending his women and -children off, could have hidden his warriors in the rough cliff that -towered high above and commanded the tank of water and slaughtered all -those below. We remained all day and night at this place. It was the -most picturesque spot I had ever seen. We rangers rambled all over this -Indian camp and found many of the Mexican saddles hidden in the cliffs -and several hats, each with bullet holes in it. We also discovered -two Winchester rifles that had been hit in the fight and abandoned as -useless. I saw a hundred or more old rawhide shoes that had been used -to cover the ponies' feet and dozens of worn-out moccasins. This party -of Apaches had killed and eaten more than seventy-five head of horses -and mules in this camp. - -I followed a plain, well-beaten foot path to the topmost peak of -the Candelario or candle mountain, so called from the candle-like -projection of rocks that shot skyward from its top. The Candelario is -in an open plain fifty miles south of El Paso, Texas, and from its top -affords one of the grandest views in northern Mexico. To the south -one could see San Jose and Carrajal, to the north the mountains at El -Paso del Norte, to the west the mountains near Santa Maria River and -Lake Guzman were in plain view, while to the east the Sierra Bentanos -loomed up, apparently only a few miles away. On this peak old Victorio -kept spies constantly on the lookout, and it would have been impossible -for a party of men to have approached without having been seen by these -keen-eyed watchers. - -All the bodies having been recovered they were buried in a crevice of -the mountain where they had been killed. All were in good preservation -owing to the pure cold air of the mountains. It is a strange fact, but -one beyond question, that no wild animal or bird of prey will touch -the body of a Mexican. These corpses had lain on the ground nearly -two weeks and were untouched. If they had been the bodies of Indians, -negroes or Americans the coyotes, buzzards and crows would have -attacked them the first day and night. - -Nothing of interest occurred on our return trip. The rangers, as -usual, always ate up their three days' rations the first camp they -made and got out of bread, but our Mexican allies divided with us. Don -Ynocente Ochoa's major-domo or ranch boss gave us all the fresh beef -we could eat and a supply of carne seco (dried beef) to take with us -on campaign. Quite a company had come out to see us from Carrizal and -we returned sadly to the widows of the brave men who fell in this, -probably the most wholesale slaughter ever made by Victorio's band. -The citizens of Galena were nearly as unfortunate, but it was old Hu -and Geronimo who massacred them. All the Saragosa men made for their -church to offer up thanks for a safe return. Men, women and children -uttered their "Gracias, senors," as the Texas Rangers rode through -their town. We arrived safely in our adobe quarters at Ysleta and -appreciated them after sleeping out of doors. - -Though Victorio had escaped us on this scout, and though he was to -murder and pillage for a time, yet his days were numbered. Our company -of rangers were again to cross into Mexico in pursuit of him, but, -though, one year later, he and eighty-nine of his braves were killed -by the Mexicans under Colonel Joaquin Terrazas, the rangers were not -to take part in defeating him. However, our rangers were destined to -annihilate a small band that escaped deserved destruction at that time -when it resumed its depredations in Texas. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -TREACHEROUS BRAVES, A FAITHFUL DOG, AND A MURDER - - -During the latter part of January, 1880, two mining engineers named -Andrews and Wiswall from Denver, Colorado, appeared at the ranger camp -in Ysleta. They had a new ambulance pulled by two elegant horses and -led a fine saddle pony. They were well fitted out for camping and had -the finest big black shepherd dog I had ever seen. Mr. Andrews used a -Springfield while Mr. Wiswall carried a Sharps sporting rifle, besides -they had shotguns and sixshooters. These miners wanted to buy one -hundred pack burros and, not finding what they wanted in the Rio Grande -Valley, decided to go over in the upper Pecos Valley near Eddy or -Roswell, New Mexico, for pack animals. They consulted Lieutenant Baylor -about the best route they should follow. He advised them to travel down -the overland stage route to Fort Davis, thence by Toyah Creek and on up -the Pecos, but the engineers thought this too much out of their way and -concluded to travel by the old abandoned Batterfield stage route, which -leads by Hueco Tanks, Alamo Springs, Cornudos Mountain, Crow Flat, -Guadalupe Mountain and thence to the Pecos River. Lieutenant Baylor -warned the men that this was a very dangerous route, without a living -white man from Ysleta to the Pecos River, more than one hundred and -fifty miles distant, and through an Indian country all the way. - -Nevertheless, Andrews and Wiswall selected this latter route, and the -third day out from our camp reached the old abandoned stage station -at Crow Flat about noon. This was in an open country and from it one -could see for miles in every direction. A cold north wind was blowing, -so, for protection, the two men drove inside the old station walls, -unhitched and hobbled their horses and pony and were soon busily -baking bread, frying bacon and boiling coffee, not dreaming there was -an Indian in the country, though they had been warned to look out for -them. Like all men traveling in that country the two miners had the -appetite of coyotes and became deeply absorbed in stowing away rations. -Unnoticed, the horses had grazed off some three or four hundred yards -from the station and the two men were suddenly startled by a yelling -and the trampling of horses' feet. Looking up, Andrews and Wiswall saw -ten or twelve Indians driving off their horses. - -Seizing their guns, the two white men started after the thieves at top -speed. Both being Western men and good shots, they hoped, by opening on -the redskins with their long range guns, to get close enough to prevent -them from taking the hobbles off the horses. But the animals made about -as good time as if they had been foot loose. This fact was well known -to the Texas Rangers, who hobbled and side lined also and, even then, -their horses when stampeded would run as fast as the guards could keep -up with them on foot. The Apaches can't be taught anything about horse -stealing--they are already past masters at the art. And while some of -the Indians halted and fought Andrews and Wiswall the others ran the -horses off and got away with them. The two miners returned to camp -feeling very blue indeed. - -A council of war was held and they were undetermined the best course -to pursue. To walk back one hundred miles to El Paso and pack grub, -blankets and water was no picnic. On the other hand, it was probably -seventy-five miles to the Pecos, but they finally decided to take -the shortest way to assistance, which proved the traditional longest -way. They determined to stay within the friendly adobe of the old -stage stand until night. To keep up appearances they rigged up two -dummy sentinels and put them on guard. They had no fear of an attack -at night, especially as they had a dog to keep watch. They left the -station at dark. Shep, the dog, wanted to go with them, but the men put -a sack of corn and a side of bacon under the ambulance and made him -understand he was to guard it. They then set out and followed the old -stage route along a horrible road of deep sand. At daybreak they were -near the point of the Guadalupe Peak, and after having traveled on foot -about twenty-five miles they were pretty well worn out. - -The old stage road here turns to the right and gradually winds around -the mountain to get on the mesa land. It makes quite a circuit before -getting to the next water, Pine Springs, but there was an old Indian -trail that leads up the canyon and straight through. As Andrews and -Wiswall were afoot and taking all the short cuts, they took this trail. -It was late in the day when, in a sudden bend of the trail, they came -in full view of an entire village of Indians coming towards them. The -redskins were only two or three hundred yards off and discovered the -white men at once. - -Under such circumstances the two pedestrians had to think quickly and -act at once. They could not hope to escape by running, for most of the -Indians were mounted. Fortunately, to the south of the trail there was -a sharp sugar loaf peak, and for this Andrews and Wiswall made with -all speed. Reaching the summit they hastily threw up breastworks of -loose rocks and as soon as the Indians came into sight they opened fire -on them. The redskins returned the fire, but soon discovered they were -wasting ammunition and ceased firing. The besieged, suspicious of some -stratagem, kept a sharp lookout, and soon discovered the Indians were -crawling upward to the barricade and pushing boulders before them to -shelter their bodies. The boys decided to keep perfectly still, one on -each side, and watch for a chance to kill a savage. - -The watcher on the west side, where the fading light still enabled him -to see, saw a mop of black hair rise cautiously over an advancing rock. -He fired at once. The head disappeared and the boulder went thundering -down the hill with the two white men running over the warrior, who -was kicking around like a chicken with its head cut off. As good luck -would have it most of the attackers were on the east side, taking it -for granted the men would try to escape in that direction. Before the -astonished Apaches could understand just what was occurring, the men, -running like old black-tailed bucks, were out of hearing, while night -spread her dark mantle over them in kindness. Being good woodsmen, the -fugitives had no trouble in shaping their course to Crow Flat again. - -Worn out and weary after traveling more than fifty miles on foot and -with not a wink of sleep for thirty-six hours, they made the old stage -stand and found their dummy sentinels still on guard with the faithful -shepherd dog at his post. He was overjoyed at the return of his -masters. At the old adobe station Andrews and Wiswall were in a measure -safe, for they had water and grub and the walls of the stand, five feet -or more high, would shelter them. Since the Apaches had made no attempt -to kill the dog or rob the ambulance, the miners were satisfied that -the Indians, after stealing their horses, had kept on their way to the -Mescalero Agency, near Tularosa. This stage station was on the highway -of these murderous, thieving rascals, who were constantly raiding Texas -and Chihuahua, and in their raids they had made a deep trail leading -north from Crow Flat or Crow Springs, as some call it, toward the -Sacramento Mountains. - -After the fugitives had rested they decided they would pull out after -dark and hoof it for Ysleta. The fifty miles' walk over a rough country -had pretty well worn out their shoes, so they used gunny sacks to tie -up their sore and bleeding feet. Again giving Shep his orders, with -heavy hearts Andrews and Wiswall turned their faces to the Cornudos -Mountains, with the next stage station twenty-five miles distant -without one drop of water on the way. They were so tired and foot-sore -they did not reach Cornudos until late the next day. Here they hid in -the rocks, among the shady nooks of which they found cold water and -sweet rest. After several days the two men dragged their weary bodies, -more dead than alive, into Ysleta and to the ranger camp. - -Lieutenant Baylor ordered me to take eight rangers, and with two mules, -proceed to Crow Flat to bring in the ambulance Andrews and Wiswall -had abandoned there. The first day we made the Hueco Tanks. Hueco is -Spanish for tanks, and in the early days travelers spelled it Waco. -Many wild adventures have occurred at these tanks--fights between the -Mexicans and the Comanches. During the gold excitement this was the -main immigrant route to California. Here, too, the overland stage route -had a stand. The names of Marcy, General Lee, and thousands of others -could be seen written on the rocks. The Indians themselves had drawn -many rude pictures, one of which was quite artistic and depicted a huge -rattlesnake on the rock under the cave near the stage stand on the -eastern side of Hueco. - -Many times when scouting in the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains I -have camped for the night in the Huecos. Sometimes the water in the -tanks had been all used up by the travelers but there was always plenty -of good cool rain water twenty-five feet above the main ground tanks. -Often I have watered my entire command by scaling the mountain to those -hidden tanks and, filling our boots and hats with water, poured it on -the flat, roof-like rocks so it would run down into the tanks below -where our horses and mules would be watered in good shape. The city of -El Paso, I am told, now has a fine graded road to those old historic -mountains and many of its citizens enjoy an outing there. - -Our next halt was at the Alamose, across the beautiful plains, at that -time covered with antelope that could be seen scudding away with their -swift change of color looking like a flock of white birds. Here we -found some Indian signs at the flat above the springs, but it was at -Cornudos that we again saw the old signs of the Apaches. This Cornudos -is a strange conglomeration of dark granite rocks shot high in the air -in the midst of the plains by some eruption of the earth in ages past. -This was the favorite watering place of the Tularosa Agency Indians on -their raids into Texas and Mexico. - -From Cornudos to Crow Flat is a long, monotonous tramp of twenty-five -or thirty miles, and we arrived in the night and were promptly -challenged by the faithful sentinel, old Shep. Although we were -strangers, the dog seemed to recognize us as Americans and friends. -He went wild with joy, barked, rolled over and over and came as near -talking as any African monkey or gorilla could. We gave him a cheer. -The faithful animal had been there alone for nearly fifteen days. His -side of bacon was eaten and the sack of corn getting very low. The -rangers were as much delighted as if it had been a human being they had -rescued. The dog had worn the top of the wall of the old stage station -perfectly smooth while keeping off the sneaking coyotes. Tracks of the -latter were thick all around the place, but Shep held the fort with -the assistance of the dummy sentinels. We found everything just as the -owners, Andrews and Wiswall, had left it. - -As was my custom, I walked over the ground where the Apaches and -Messrs. Andrews and Wiswall had had their scrap. Near an old dagger -plant I found where an Indian had taken shelter, or rather tried to -hide himself, and picked up a number of Winchester .44 cartridge -shells. We secured the ambulance and our return journey was without -incident. We arrived back in our camp after making the two hundred -miles in a week. - -Mr. Andrews presented Lieutenant Baylor with a beautiful Springfield -rifle. I don't know whether Andrews or Wiswall are alive, but that -Mexican shepherd dog is entitled to a monument on which should be -inscribed, "FIDELITY." - -In the spring of 1880 two brick masons, Morgan and Brown, stopped at -our quarters in Ysleta on their way from Fort Craig, New Mexico, to San -Antonio, Texas. They had heard that some freight wagons at San Elizario -would soon return to San Antonio and were anxious to travel back with -them. These men spent two or three days in the ranger camp and seemed -very nice chaps and pleasant talkers. One of them, Mr. Morgan, owned -one of the finest pistols I ever saw. It was pearl handled and silver -mounted. Our boys tried to trade for it, but Morgan would not part with -the weapon. - -After the two men had been gone from our camp three or four days word -was brought to Lieutenant Baylor that two men had been found dead near -San Elizario. The lieutenant sent me with a detail of three rangers -to investigate. At San Elizario we learned that the dead men were at -Collins' sheep ranch, four miles from town. On arriving there we found, -to our surprise and horror, that the dead men were Morgan and Brown, -who had left our camp hale and hearty just a few days before. It was -surmised that the men had camped for the night at the sheep ranch and -had been beaten to death with heavy mesquite sticks. They had been dead -two or three days and were stripped of their clothing, their bodies -being partly eaten by coyotes. - -On repairing to his sheep ranch Mr. Collins found the dead bodies of -Morgan and Brown, his shepherds gone and his flocks scattered over -the country. Mr. Collins gave the herders' names as Santiago Skevill -and Manuel Moleno. After beating out the brains of their unfortunate -victims the Mexicans robbed the bodies and lit out for parts unknown. - -As the murderers were on foot and had been gone three or four days, I -found it very difficult to get their trail, as loose stock grazed along -the bosques and partially obliterated it. As there was a number of -settlements and several little pueblos along the river, I knew if I did -not follow the Mexicans' tracks closely I could never tell where they -had gone, so I spent the remainder of the day trying to get the trail -from camp. We were compelled to follow it on foot, leading our horses. -We would sometimes be an hour trailing a mile. - -On the following day I was able to make only ten miles on the trail, -but I had discovered the general direction. I slept on the banks of -the Rio Grande that night, and next morning crossed into Mexico, and -found that the murderers were going down the river in the direction of -Guadalupe. I now quit the trail and hurried on to this little Mexican -town. Traveling around a short bend in the road I came suddenly into -the main street of Guadalupe, and almost the first man I saw standing -on the street was a Mexican with Morgan's white-handled pistol strapped -on him. - -I left two of my men to watch the suspect and myself hurried to the -office of the president of Guadalupe, made known my mission and told -him I had seen one of the supposed murderers of Morgan and Brown on -the streets of his city, and asked that the suspect be arrested. The -official treated me very cordially and soon had some police officers -go with me. They found the two suspected Mexicans, arrested them and -placed them in the housgow. The prisoners admitted they were Collins' -sheep herders and said their names were Moleno and Skevill but, of -course, denied knowing anything about the death of Morgan and Brown. -All my rangers recognized the pistol taken from the Mexican as the -weapon owned by Mr. Morgan. The Mexican officers reported to the -alcalde or town president that the suspects had been arrested. The -latter official then asked me if I had any papers for these men. I told -him I did not, for at the time I left my camp at Ysleta we did not know -the nature of the murder or the names of the parties incriminated. I -declared I was sure the men arrested had committed the murder and that -I would hurry back to Ysleta and have the proper papers issued for the -prisoners' extradition. The alcalde promised to hold the suspects until -the proper formalities could be complied with. - -From Guadalupe to Ysleta is about fifty or sixty miles. I felt the -importance of the case, and while I and my men were foot-sore and -weary, we rode all night long over a sandy road and reached camp -at Ysleta at 9 o'clock the following morning. Lieutenant Baylor at -once appeared before the justice of the peace at Ysleta and filed a -complaint of murder against Manuel Moleno and Santiago Skevill, had -warrants issued for their arrest and himself hurried to El Paso, -crossed the river to El Paso del Norte and, presenting his warrants to -the authorities, asked that the murderers be held until application for -their extradition could be made. - -Within a week we learned, much to our disgust, that the two murderers -had been liberated and told to vamoose. I doubt whether the warrants -were ever sent to the alcalde at Guadalupe. A more cruel murder than -that of Morgan and Brown was never committed on the Rio Grande, yet the -murderers went scot-free. This miscarriage of justice rankled in my -memory and subsequently it was to lead me to take the law into my own -hands when dealing with another Mexican murderer. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -VICTORIO BECOMES A GOOD INDIAN - - -As soon as the summer rains had begun in 1880 and green grass and -water were plentiful, old Victorio again began his raids. He appeared -at Lake Guzman, Old Mexico, then traveled east to Boracho Pass, just -south of the Rio Grande. This old chief was then reported making for -the Eagle Mountains in Texas. The Mexican Government communicated this -information to General Grierson at Fort Davis, Texas, and Lieutenant -Baylor was asked to cooperate in the campaign to exterminate the wily -old Apache. - -General Grierson, on receipt of this information, at once put his -cavalry in motion for Eagle Springs, and on August 2, 1880, Baylor -left his camp at Ysleta with myself and thirteen rangers equipped for -a two weeks' campaign. On August 4th our little band reached old Fort -Quitman, eighty miles down the Rio Grande from El Paso, and Lieutenant -Baylor reported to General Grierson by telegraph. His message was -interrupted, for the Apaches had cut the wires between Bass' Canyon -and Van Horn's Well, but the general ordered him by telegram to scout -toward Eagle Springs until his command should meet the United States -cavalry. We were to keep a sharp lookout for Indian trails, but we -saw none until we reached Eighteen Mile water hole, where General -Grierson's troops had had an engagement with Victorio. From here the -Indians went south and around Eagle Mountains, so we continued down -the road beyond Bass' Canyon and found the Apaches had crossed the -road, torn down the telegraph wire, carried off a long piece of it, -and destroyed the insulators. The Indians also dragged some of the -telegraph poles two or three miles and left them on their trail. The -signs indicated they had from one hundred and eighty to two hundred -animals. After destroying the telegraph the raiders finally moved north -toward Carrizo Mountains. - -At Van Horn, Lieutenant Baylor could learn nothing of General Grierson -or his movements. We thereupon took the general's trail leading north -and overtook him in camp at Rattlesnake Springs, about sixty-five -miles distant. Here we joined Company "K," Eighth Cavalry, and Captain -Nolan's company, the Tenth. The cavalry camped at Carrizo Springs and -our scouts found Victorio's trail the next day leading southwest toward -the Apache Tanks. We left camp at dusk and rode all night and struck -the redskins' trail next morning at the stage road where General -Grierson had fought. The Indians crossed the road, but afterwards -returned to it and continued toward old Fort Quitman. - -The overland stage company kept a station at this abandoned frontier -post, situated on the north bank of the Rio Grande, eighty or ninety -miles east of El Paso, Texas. On August 9, 1880, Ed Walde, the stage -driver, started out on his drive with General Byrnes occupying the rear -seat of the stage coach. The stage, drawn by two fast running little -Spanish mules, passed down the valley and entered the canyon, a very -box-like pass with high mountains on either side,--an ideal place for -an Indian ambuscade. Walde had driven partly through this pass when, -around a short bend in the road, he came suddenly upon old Victorio and -his band of one hundred warriors. The Indian advance guard fired on the -coach immediately, and at the first volley General Byrnes was fatally -wounded, a large caliber bullet striking him in the breast and a second -passing through his thigh. Walde turned his team as quickly as he could -and made a lightning run back to the stage stand with the general's -body hanging partly out of the stage. The Apaches followed the stage -for four or five miles trying to get ahead of it, but the little mules -made time and beat them into the shelter of the station's adobe walls. - -It was a miracle that Walde, sitting on the front seat, escaped -without a scratch and both of the mules unharmed. At old Fort Quitman -I examined the little canvas-topped stage and found it literally shot -to pieces. I noticed where a bullet had glanced along the white canvas, -leaving a blue mark a foot long before it passed through the top. -Three of the spokes of the wheels were shot in two and, as well as I -remember, there were fifteen or twenty bullet marks on and through the -stage. Lieutenant Baylor and his rangers buried General Byrnes near -old Fort Quitman and fired a volley over his grave. Subsequently Walde -joined Lieutenant Baylor's command and made an excellent ranger. It was -from him that I obtained the particulars of the fight that resulted in -the general's death. - -En route the Apaches raided Jesus Cota's ranch, killed his herder and -drove off one hundred and forty head of cattle. In crossing the river -forty of the animals mired in the quicksands. The heartless Indians -thereupon pounced upon the unfortunate cattle and cut chunks of flesh -out of their living bodies. Many of the mutilated animals were still -alive when we found them. The redskins, with a freakish sense of humor, -perpetrated a grim joke on the murdered herder. He was rendering out -some tallow when surprised and killed, so the murderers rammed his head -into the melted tallow to make him a greaser! - -After the fight at Quitman, Victorio and his band crossed into Mexico -and there found temporary safety, as the United States troops were -not permitted to enter that country in pursuit of Indians, though -negotiations to permit such pursuit of Indians were even then pending -between the two governments. Alone, we were no match for Victorio's -hundred braves, so we returned to our camp. - -Victorio, however, did not remain idle in Mexico. He made a raid on Dr. -Saminiego's San Jose ranch and stole one hundred and seventeen horses -and mules, besides killing two Mexican herders. Don Ramon Arranda, -captain of the Mexican Volunteers, invited the rangers to Mexico to -cooperate with him in exterminating the Apaches, so, on September 17, -1880, Lieutenant Baylor with thirteen rangers, myself included, entered -Mexico and marched to Tancas Cantaresio, Don Arranda's ranch. Here we -were joined by Mexican volunteers from the towns of Guadalupe, San -Ignacio, Tres Jacalas, Paso del Norte, and from the Texan towns of -Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario, until our combined force numbered -over a hundred men. - -On the night of the 19th we crossed an Indian trail south of the -Rancheria Mountains, but could not tell the number of redskins in the -party, as it was then dark and the trail damaged by rain. The same -night we saw Indian signal fires to the east of the Arranda ranch. Next -morning, with a detail of five rangers and ten Mexican volunteers, -I scouted out in the direction of the fires but did not have time -to reach the sign, as I was ordered to take and hold the Rancheria -Mountains before old Victorio and his band reached them. - -At Lucero, the first stage stand, the Apaches were reported within -a league of Carrizal. We made a night march with our rangers and -seventy-three volunteers, but found the Indians had left, and, as -a heavy rain had put out the trail, we struck east toward El Copra -Mountains. Here we again picked up the trail and, following it until -night, we found a few loose horses of Saminiego's. The marauders now -went west toward some tanks and we returned to Candelario, where -Victorio's entire band had crossed the Chihuahua stage road. Thence we -marched back to San Jose and went into camp to await the arrival of -General Joaquin Terrasas. - -The Mexican general made his appearance on the 3rd day of October -with two hundred cavalry and one hundred infantry. This general, a -member of a well known family of Chihuahua, was more than six feet in -height, very dark and an inveterate smoker of cigarettes. He used four -milk white horses, riding one while his aides led three. His cavalry, -well armed with Remington pistols and carbines, was nicely uniformed -and mounted on dark colored animals of even size. The infantry were -Indians from the interior of Mexico. These foot soldiers wore rawhide -sandals on their feet and were armed with Remington muskets. Each -soldier carried two cartridge belts, containing one hundred rounds of -ammunition. I was impressed with the little baggage and rations these -infantrymen carried. On the march each man had a little canvas bag that -held about one quart of ground parched corn, sweetened with a little -sugar--and a table-spoonful of this mixture stirred in a pint cup of -water made a good meal. Of course when in a cattle country plenty of -beef was furnished them, but when on the march they had only this -little bag of corn. This lack of baggage and rations enabled them to -move quickly and promptly. This light infantry had no trouble at all in -keeping up with the cavalry on the march and in a rough country they -could move faster than the horsemen. - -With General Terrasas' three hundred soldiers and our hundred -volunteers we could bring to bear against Victorio about four hundred -men. From San Jose the combined command marched to Rebosadero Springs, -twenty miles south of El Caparo, on the new Chihuahua stage road. There -we rested two days and then marched forty miles to Boracho Pass, where -the Apaches had camped after killing General Byrnes and stealing Jesus -Cota's stock. We crossed the Indians' trail twenty miles west of the -pass and formed our line of battle, as we expected the enemy was camped -at some tanks there. He did not appear, so we camped at the pass to -await supplies. - -When the supply wagons arrived, General Terrasas sent an orderly to -Lieutenant Baylor and invited him to send his men to draw ten days' -rations. While I was standing in my shirtsleeves near the wagon one -of the Mexican soldiers stole from my belt a fine hunting knife that -I had carried ten thousand miles over the frontier. I discovered the -loss almost immediately and reported it to Lieutenant Baylor, who, in -turn, mentioned it to General Terrasas. The Mexican general at once -had his captains form their respective companies and had every soldier -in camp searched, but the knife was not found. The thief had probably -hidden it in the grass. The Mexican volunteers remained with General -Terrasas until after the defeat of Victorio, and one of them told me -afterward he had seen a Mexican soldier scalping Apaches with it. Just -one year later an orderly of General Terrasas rode into the ranger camp -at Ysleta and presented Lieutenant Baylor, then a captain, with the -missing weapon and a note stating that Terrasas was glad to return it -and to report that the thief had been punished. - -While at Boracho we were joined by Lieutenant Shaffer, the Twenty-third -United States Cavalry (negroes), Lieutenant Manney, Captain Parker and -sixty-five Apache scouts. These latter were Geronimo's Chiricauhaus, -who later quit their reservation and wrought such death and destruction -in Arizona, New Mexico, and Old Mexico. From the first General Terrasas -viewed these Indian allies with distrust, and as soon as we had scouted -southeast from Boracho to Los Pinos Mountains, about seventy-five miles -distant, and learned that Victorio's trail turned southwest toward -Chihuahua, General Terrasas called Captain Parker, Lieutenants Baylor, -Shaffer and Manney to his camp and informed them that, as the trail had -taken a turn back into the state of Chihuahua and was leading them away -from their homes, he thought it best for the Americans to return to -the United States. I was present at this conference and I at once saw -my chance for a scrap with old Victorio go glimmering. But there was -nothing to do but obey orders, pack up and vamoose. - -While on scouts after Victorio's band I met many United States -officers, and often around the camp fire discussed this old chief. The -soldiers all agreed that for an ignorant Indian Victorio displayed -great military genius, and Major McGonnigal declared, with the single -exception of Chief Crazy-horse of the Sioux, he considered Victorio the -greatest Indian general that ever appeared on the American continent. -In following this wily old Apache Napoleon I examined twenty-five or -more of his camps. Victorio was very particular about locating them -strategically, and his parapets were most skillfully arranged and -built. If he remained only an hour in camp he had these defenses thrown -up. He had fought in over two hundred engagements, but his last fight -was now very close at hand. - -The very next morning after the United States troops, the Apache scouts -and the Texas rangers turned homeward General Terrasas' scouts reported -to him that Victorio with his entire band of followers was camped at -Tres Castilos, a small group of hills about twenty-five miles southwest -of the Los Pinos Mountains. General Terrasas at once set his column in -motion for that place. Captives afterward declared that Victorio's -spies reported the presence of the Mexican cavalry early in the day and -thereafter kept him informed hour by hour as to the movements of the -approaching enemy. - -Victorio had just sent his war chief, Nana, and fifty of his best -young warriors away on a raid, so he had left in his camp just an even -hundred braves, some of them very old men. He also had ninety-seven -women and children and about five hundred head of horses and mules, yet -the remarkable old Indian made no move to escape. By nightfall General -Terrasas drew up near the Apache camp, surrounded the three hills as -best he could and waited until morning before assaulting the enemy. -During the night twelve of Victorio's warriors, with four women and -four children, deserted the old chief and made their way back to the -Eagle Mountains in Texas. Here they committed many depredations until -exterminated three months later in the Diablo Mountains by Lieutenants -Baylor and Nevill. - -Early the following morning Victorio mounted a white horse and, in -making some disposition of his braves to meet the expected onset of the -enemy forces, exposed himself unnecessarily. The Mexicans fired on him -at long range and two bullets pierced his body. He fell from his horse -dead,--a good Indian at last. - -The loss of Victorio and the absence of Nana demoralized the Apaches, -and a vigorous assault by Terrasas and his army resulted in a complete -victory for the Mexicans. Eighty-seven Indian warriors were killed, -while eighty-nine squaws and their children were captured with a loss -of only two men killed and a few wounded. This victory covered General -Terrasas with glory. The Mexican Government never ceased to shower -honors upon him and gave him many thousands of acres of land in the -state of Chihuahua. The general was so elated over the outcome of the -battle that he sent a courier on a fast horse to overtake Lieutenant -Baylor and report the good news. The messenger caught us in camp near -old Fort Quitman. Every ranger in the scout felt thoroughly disgusted -and disappointed at missing the great fight by only two days after -being with General Terrasas nearly a month. - -The captured women and children were sent south of Mexico City into -a climate perfectly unnatural to them. Here they all died in a few -years. When Nana heard of the death of Victorio and the capture of the -squaws and children he fled with his fifty warriors to the Sierra Madre -Mountains in the State of Sonora, Mexico. There he joined forces with -old Geronimo and massacred more people than any small band of Indians -in the world. To avenge himself on Terrasas for killing his friends -and carrying away their wives and children, Nana and his band killed -more than two hundred Mexicans before joining Geronimo. Nana, with his -new chief, surrendered to General Lawton in 1886 and, I believe, was -carried away by our government to Florida, where he at last died. - -On our return to camp at Ysleta a commission as captain was waiting -Lieutenant Baylor, since Captain Neal Coldwell had been named -quartermaster of the battalion, his company disbanded and its letter, -"A," given to our company. - -Though we missed the fight with Victorio it was not long before we -were called upon to scout after the band of twelve warriors that had -deserted the old chief on the night before the battle of Tres Castilos. -However, we had first to clean up our company, for many undesirable -recruits had seeped into it. This accomplished, we were ready to resume -our Indian warfare. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -SOME UNDESIRABLE RECRUITS - - -In the early fall of 1880 two well mounted and well armed men appeared -at the ranger camp at Ysleta and applied to Captain Baylor for -enlistment in his company. After questioning the applicants at some -length the captain accepted them and swore them into the service. One -gave his name as John (Red) Holcomb and the other as James Stallings. -Unknown to us, both these men were outlaws and joined the rangers -solely to learn of their strength and their methods of operations. -Holcomb was a San Simone Valley, Arizona, rustler and was living under -an assumed name. Stallings, though he went by his true name, had shot a -man in Hamilton County, Texas, and was under indictment for assault to -kill. - -These two recruits came into the service just before we started on our -fall campaign into Mexico after old Victorio and were with us on that -long scout. Although one was from Texas and the other from Arizona, the -two chummed together and were evidently in each other's confidence. -Stallings had not been long in the company before he showed himself a -trouble maker. - -As orderly sergeant it was my duty to keep a roster of the company. -Beginning at the top of the list and reading off the names in rotation, -I called out each morning the guard for the day. We had in the company -a Mexican, Juan Garcia, who had always lived in the Rio Grande country, -and Captain Baylor had enlisted him as a ranger that he might use him -as a guide, for Garcia was familiar with much of the country over which -we were called upon to scout. It so happened that Jim Stallings and -Garcia were detailed on the same guard one day. This greatly offended -Stallings, and he declared to some of the boys that I had detailed him -on guard with a Mexican just to humiliate him and he was going to give -me a d--n good whipping. The boys advised him he had better not attempt -it. I could see that Stallings was sullen, but it was not until months -afterward that I learned the cause. - -After our return from our month's scout in Mexico, Captain Baylor -received a new fugitive list from the Adjutant-General, and in looking -over its pages my eyes fell on the list of fugitives from Hamilton -County, Texas. Almost the first name thereon was that of James -Stallings with his age and description. I notified Captain Baylor that -Stallings was a fugitive from justice. Baylor asked me what Stallings -had been indicted for and I replied for assault to kill. - -"Well, maybe the darned fellow needed killing," replied the captain. -"Stallings looks like a good ranger and I need him." - -Not many days after this I heard loud cursing in our quarters and went -to investigate. I found Stallings with a cocked pistol in his hand -standing over the bed of a ranger named Tom Landers, cursing him out. -I could see Stallings had been drinking and finally persuaded him to -put up his pistol and go to bed. The next morning I informed Captain -Baylor of the incident, and suggested that if we did not do something -with Stallings he would probably kill someone. The captain did not seem -inclined to take that view. In fact, I rather believed Captain Baylor -liked a man that was somewhat "on the prod," as the cowboys are wont to -say of a fellow or a cow that wants to fight. - -John Holcomb soon found out as much about the rangers as he desired -and, fearing he might be discovered, asked Captain Baylor for a -discharge. After obtaining it he took up his abode in El Paso. - -Not long afterwards one morning at breakfast, while the twenty rangers -were seated at one long dining table, Jim Stallings had a dispute -with John Thomas, who was seated on the opposite side of the table -and, quick as a flash, struck Thomas in the face with a tin cup of -boiling coffee. Both men rose to their feet and pulled their pistols, -but before they could stage a shooting match in the place the boys on -either side grabbed them. - -I at once went to Captain Baylor and told him that something had to be -done. He seemed to be thoroughly aroused now and said, "Sergeant, you -arrest Stallings, disarm and shackle him. I'll send him back where he -belongs." - -I carried out the order promptly and Captain Baylor at once wrote to -the sheriff of Hamilton County to come for the prisoner. Hamilton -County is seven hundred miles by stage from El Paso and it took a week -to get a letter through. There was no jail at Ysleta at that time, so -we were compelled to hold this dangerous man in our camp. - -Stallings was shrewd and a keen judge of human nature. We would -sometimes remove the shackles from him that he might get a little -exercise. Finally it came the turn of a ranger named Potter to guard -the prisoner. Potter had drifted into the country from somewhere up -north, and Captain Baylor had enlisted him. He knew very little about -riding and much less about handling firearms. Stallings asked Potter -to go with him out into the corral. This enclosure was built of adobe -and about five feet high. It was nearly dark and the prisoner walked -leisurely up to the fence with Potter following close behind with -Winchester in hand. All of a sudden Stallings turned a hand-spring -over the fence and hit the ground on the other side in a run. Potter -began firing at the fugitive, which brought out all the boys in camp. -Stallings had only about one hundred yards to run to reach the Rio -Grande, and before anything could be done he was safe in Mexico. He -yelled a goodbye to the boys as he struck the bank on the opposite side -of the river. Captain Baylor was furious over the prisoner's escape -and promptly fired Potter from the service and reprimanded me for not -keeping Stallings shackled all the time. - -Though we had lost the man we had his horse, saddle, bridle and arms. -Stallings at once went to Juarez and John Holcomb met him there. The -fugitive gave his pal an order on Captain Baylor for his horse, saddle, -and pistol, and Holcomb had the gall to come to Ysleta and present -this order. He reached our camp at noon while the horses were all in -the corral. At the moment of his arrival I happened to be at Captain -Baylor's home. Private George Lloyd stepped over to the captain's and -said to me, "Sergeant, John Holcomb is over in camp with an order from -Jim Stallings for his horse and outfit." - -"Gillett, you go and arrest Holcomb and put him in irons and I'll see -if I can find where he is wanted," ordered Captain Baylor, who heard -what Lloyd said. - -Holcomb, seeing Lloyd go into Captain Baylor's, got suspicious, jumped -on his horse and left for El Paso in a gallop. I detailed three men to -accompany me to capture Holcomb, but by the time we saddled our horses -and armed ourselves the fugitive was out of sight. We hit the road -running and after traveling two or three miles and inquiring of people -we met in the road I became convinced that Holcomb had quit the road -soon after leaving our camp and was striking for Mexico. I turned back -in the direction of camp and followed the bank of the river. - -We had probably traveled a mile on our way home when we discovered -Holcomb coming up the river toward us. He was about four hundred yards -away and discovered us about the same time. Turning his horse quickly -he made a dash for the river. Where he struck it the bank was ten feet -high, but he never hesitated, and both man and horse went head first -into the Rio Grande. The three men I had with me outran me and when -they reached the point where the fugitive had entered the water they -saw him swimming rapidly to the Mexican side and began firing at him. I -ran up and ordered them to cease, telling them not to kill Holcomb, as -he was in swimming water and helpless. Just at this moment the swimmer -struck shallow water and I ordered him to come back or I would shoot -him. - -"I'll come if you won't let the boys kill me," he called back. - -I told him to hit swimming water quickly, which he did, and swam back -to the American side. He was in his shirtsleeves and with his hat gone. -His horse, meantime, had swam back to our side of the river. - -We all mounted and started back to camp, two of the rangers riding in -front with Holcomb. I had not searched the prisoner because he was in -his shirtsleeves. As we rode along Holcomb reached into his shirt bosom -and pulled out an old .45 pistol and handed it to one of the boys, -saying, "Don't tell the sergeant I had this." The rangers at camp gave -the prisoner some dry clothes and dinner, then put him in chains and -under guard. - -Captain Baylor went on to El Paso, crossed the river to Juarez and had -Stallings arrested. In two days we had him back in camp and chained to -Holcomb. The captain then wrote to Bell County, Texas, as he had heard -John Holcomb was wanted there for murder. Holcomb had a good horse -and he gave it to a lawyer in El Paso to get him out of his trouble. -Of course we had no warrant for Holcomb's arrest and Judge Blacker -ordered our prisoner brought before him. The county attorney made every -effort to have Holcomb held, while his lawyer tried his best to have -the suspect released. The judge finally said he would hold Holcomb -for one week and unless the officers found some evidence against him -during that time he would order the prisoner freed. It was nearly dark -before we left El Paso on our return to Ysleta, twelve miles distant. -Holcomb had, in some manner, gotten two or three drinks of whisky and -was feeling the liquor. I had one ranger with me leading the prisoner's -horse. The road back to camp followed the river rather closely and the -country was very brushy all the way. - -As soon as we had gotten out of El Paso Holcomb sat sidewise on his -horse, holding the pommel of his saddle with one hand and the cantle -with the other, all the while facing toward Mexico. I ordered him to -sit straight in his saddle, but he refused. We were riding in a gallop -and I believe he intended to jump from his horse and try to escape in -the brush. I drew my pistol and hid it behind my leg. Although Holcomb -had the cape of his overcoat thrown over his head he discovered I had a -pistol in my hand and began a tirade of abuse, declaring I had a cocked -gun in my hand and was aching for a chance to kill him. I told him I -believed from his actions he was watching for a chance to quit his -horse and escape, and that I was prepared to prevent such a move. We -reached camp safely and chained Holcomb to Stallings. - -These boys, although prisoners, were full of life, and laughed and -talked all the time. Holcomb played the violin quite well. We held the -two suspects several days and finally one night one of the rangers came -to my room and said, "Sergeant, I believe there is something wrong with -those prisoners. They are holloaing, singing and playing the fiddle." - -I was busy on my monthly reports and told him to keep a sharp lookout -and before I retired I would come and examine the prisoners. On -examination I found that while Holcomb played the violin Stallings had -sawn their shackles loose. They laughed when I discovered this and said -that when the boys had all gone to bed they intended to throw the pack -saddle, which they used for a seat, on the guard's head and escape. We -could get no evidence against John Holcomb and the judge ordered his -release. - -While a prisoner Holcomb swore vengeance against myself and Prosecutor -Neal. Mr. Neal heard of this threat, met Holcomb on the streets of El -Paso afterward and, jerking a small Derringer pistol from his pocket, -shot Holcomb in the belly. Holcomb fell and begged for his life. He -was not badly hurt, and as soon as he was well he quit El Paso, went -to Deming, New Mexico, where he stole a bunch of cattle. He drove the -stolen herd to the mining camp of Lake Valley and there sold them. -While he was in a saloon drinking and playing his fiddle the owner -of the cattle appeared with a shotgun and filled the thief full of -buckshot. As he fell Holcomb was heard to exclaim, "Oh, boys, they have -got me at last." - -Jim Stallings was sent to Fort Davis and placed in the jail there, from -which he and half a dozen other criminals made their escape. - -A man named John Scott came to Captain Baylor, told a hard luck story, -and asked to be taken into the service. Captain Baylor enlisted the -applicant and fitted him out with horse, saddle, bridle and armed him -with gun and pistol, himself standing good for the entire equipment. -Scott had not been in the service two months before he deserted. I was -ordered to take two men, follow him and bring him back. I overtook -Scott up in the Canutillo, near the line of New Mexico, and before -I even ordered him to halt, he jumped down, sought refuge behind his -horse and opened fire on us with his Winchester. We returned the fire -and killed his horse. He then threw down his gun and surrendered. -We found the deserter had stopped in El Paso and gotten a bottle of -whisky. He was rather drunk when overtaken, otherwise he probably would -not have made fight against three rangers. Captain Baylor took Scott's -saddle, gun and six-shooter away from him and kicked him out of camp, -but was compelled to pay $75 for the horse that was killed. - -Another man, Chipman, deserted our company and stole a bunch of horses -from some Mexicans down at Socorro. The Mexicans followed the trail out -in the direction of Hueco Tanks, where it turned west and crossed the -high range of mountains west of El Paso. The pursuers overtook Chipman -with the stolen horses just on the line of New Mexico. The thief put up -a fierce fight and killed two Mexicans, but was himself killed. Captain -Baylor had a scout following the deserter but the Mexicans got to him -first and had the fight before our men arrived. However, the ranger -boys buried the body of Chipman where it fell. This chap had made a -very good ranger and we all felt shocked when we learned he had stolen -seven ponies and tried to get away with them single-handed. - -Yet another San Simone Valley rustler, Jack Bond, enlisted in the -company. A band of rustlers and cow thieves were operating up in the -Canutillo, eighteen miles above El Paso, about the time he joined the -command. I did my best to break up this band and made scout after scout -up the river, but without success. Finally Captain Baylor learned -that Bond and another ranger, Len Peterson, were keeping the thieves -posted as to the rangers' movements. The captain fired these two men -out of the company and within ten days I had captured Frank Stevenson, -the leader of the Canutillo gang, and broken up the nest of thieves. -Stevenson was later sent to the penitentiary for fifteen years. Bond -and Peterson went to El Paso, stole Mayor M.C. Goffin's fine pair of -carriage horses and fled to New Mexico. Subsequently Bond was killed at -Deming by Deputy Sheriff Dan Tucker in an attempted arrest. - -Captain Roberts, Coldwell or Lieutenant Reynolds would never have let -such a bunch of crooks get into their companies, for they had to know -something about a man before they would enlist him. However, there was -some excuse for Baylor at the time he was on the Rio Grande. It was a -long way from the center of population and good men were hard to find. -Then, too, it looked as if all the criminals in Texas had fled to New -Mexico and Arizona, from which states they would ease back into the -edge of Texas and join the rangers. Captain Baylor was liberal in his -views of men: they all looked good to him until proven otherwise. If -there was a vacancy in the company any man could get in. And if they -lacked equipment the captain would buy the newcomer a horse, saddle, -and arms and then deduct the cost thereof from the man's first three -months' pay. However, Baylor had generally to pay the bill himself. The -captain also liked to keep his company recruited to the limit and this -made enlistment in his command easy. - -In all the years I was with Captain Baylor I never knew him to send a -non-commissioned officer on a scout after Indians. He always commanded -in person and always took with him every man in camp save one, who -was left to guard it, for he liked to be as strong as possible on the -battlefield. - -Captain Baylor never took much interest personally in following cattle -thieves, horse thieves, murderers and fugitives from justice. He left -that almost entirely to me. Sometimes we would have as many as six or -eight criminals chained up in camp at one time, but the captain would -never come about them, for he could not bear to see anyone in trouble. -His open, friendly personality endeared Baylor to the Mexicans from El -Paso down the valley as far as Quitman. They were all his compadres and -would frequently bring him venison, goat meat and mutton. Always they -showed him every courtesy in their power. - -Now, having freed the company of its undesirable recruits, we were -once more a homogeneous force ready and anxious to perform our duty in -protecting the frontier and bringing criminals to justice. Almost as -soon as the last undesirable had been fired from Company "A" we started -on the scout that was to culminate in our last fight with the Apaches. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LAST FIGHT BETWEEN RANGERS AND APACHES - - -Despite General Terrasas' great victory at Tres Castilos as recorded in -a preceding chapter, he did not entirely destroy all the Apaches that -had been with old Victorio. Nana and fifty warriors escaped and finally -joined Geronimo in his campaign of murder and destruction. On the night -preceding the battle in which Victorio was killed and his band of -warriors exterminated, twelve braves with four squaws and four children -deserted the old chief and made their way to those rough mountains that -fringe the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Springs. At once this -band of twenty Indians began a series of pillages and murders that has -no parallel considering the small size of the party. - -The little band of Apaches soon appeared at Paso Viego and began their -depredations by an attack on Lieutenant Mills and his cavalry. Paso -Viego is a gap in the mountains that parallel the Rio Grande from Eagle -Mountains on the west to Brites' ranch on the east, and is situated ten -or twelve miles west of and in plain view of the present little town -of Valentine, Texas, on the G., H & S.A. Railroad. The tribe of Pueblo -Indians has lived at the old town of Ysleta, El Paso County, Texas, -for more than three hundred years. They have always been friends to -the Americans and inveterate enemies to the Apaches. It was customary, -therefore, for the United States troops at Fort Davis to employ the -Pueblos as guides during the Indian disturbances along the border. In -1881 Bernado and Simon Olgin, two brothers, were the principal chiefs -of this tribe. Bernado was the elder and looked it. Both chiefs dressed -in the usual Indian fashion, wore moccasins, buckskin leggins and had -their long black hair braided and hanging down the back. Simon was a -very handsome Indian, and he, with four of his tribe--all nephews of -his, I think--were employed by General Grierson during the troublesome -times of 1880-1881. - -Simon and his four scouts had been detailed to make scouts down on the -Rio Grande with Lieutenant Mills, commander of the Tenth United States -Cavalry (colored). On their way out the troops reached Paso Viego early -in the evening, and after they had eaten supper Simon Olgin advised -the lieutenant to move out on the open plains three or four miles -north of the pass where they would be safe from attack. Olgin declared -Paso Viego was a favorite camping place for the Indians going to and -returning from Mexico because of the fine water and good grass. He -stated that should a band of redskins appear at the pass during the -night and find it occupied by soldiers they would attack at daylight -and probably kill some of the troopers. - -Lieutenant Mills, fresh from West Point, replied that he was not afraid -of Indians and did not propose to move. During the night the little -band of twenty Apaches reached the pass, just as Olgin had prophesied, -and hid themselves in the rocks. The next morning the soldiers had -breakfast, packed their mules, and as they were standing by their -horses ready for the order to mount a sudden fusillade of bullets was -fired into their midst at short range. Other volleys came in quick -succession. At the very first fire that grand old Indian, Simon Olgin, -was shot down and killed, as were five or six of the negro cavalry. The -remainder of the company thereupon fled, but the four Pueblo scouts, -Olgin's nephews, took to the rocks and fought until they had routed -the Apaches and saved the bodies of their old beloved uncle and the -soldiers from falling into the hands of the attackers to be mutilated. - -Repulsed at Paso Viego the twenty Apaches next appeared at Bass' -Canyon, a gap in the mountains on the overland stage road about -twelve or fourteen miles west of Van Horn. Here the redskins waylaid -an immigrant train on its way to New Mexico. At the very first fire of -the Indians Mrs. Graham, who was walking, jumped upon the tongue of -the wagon and reached for a Winchester, but was shot and killed. A man -named Grant was killed at the same time, while Mr. Graham had his thigh -broken. From Bass' Canyon the Indians turned south, crossed around the -east end of the Eagle Mountains and again entered Old Mexico, where -they were for a time lost to view. - -We next hear of this band at Ojo Calienta, some hot springs on the Rio -Grande southwest from Eagle Mountains. A captain of cavalry with some -colored troops near old Fort Quitman detailed seven men and instructed -the sergeant in charge to scout down the river as far east as Bosque -Bonita, keep a sharp lookout for Indian signs and report back to camp -in one week. These troopers followed orders, and on their return -journey camped for the night at Ojo Calienta. Next morning at break of -day the soldiers were preparing to cook breakfast when the Apaches fell -upon them and killed all save one at their first assault. This single -survivor made his escape on foot, and after two days in the mountains -without food finally reached the soldier camp and reported to his -captain. The Indians evidently located the soldier scout the evening -before but, as they never make a night attack, waited until daylight -to massacre their victims. The redskins captured all the soldiers' -equipment and baggage, including seven horses and two pack mules. They -pillaged the camp and took everything movable away with them. Before -resuming their journey the Apaches took six stake-pins made of iron -and about twenty inches long that were used by the soldiers to drive -into the ground as stakes to which to fasten their horses and drove -one through each soldier's corpse, pinning it firmly to the earth. The -captured stock was killed and eaten, for the soldiers' animals were fat -while most of the ponies and little mules of the Apaches were worn out -by constant use in the mountains, and consequently very poor. - -This band was not heard of again for nearly two months--until the -warriors set upon the stage at Quitman Canyon and killed the driver, -Morgan, and the gambler, Crenshaw, a passenger. The reports about -this stage robbery and murder were so conflicting and the impression -so strong that the driver and the passenger had themselves robbed the -stage and made Indian signs to avert suspicion that Captain Baylor -deemed it best to go down to the canyon and investigate for himself. -Accordingly, the captain made a detail of fourteen privates and one -corporal, and with ten days' rations on two pack mules left Ysleta on -January 16th to ascertain if possible whether the stage had been robbed -and the driver and passenger killed by Indians or by white men, and to -punish the robbers if they could be caught. To keep down disorder and -violence threatened at El Paso, the captain left me and a detail of -three men in our camp at Ysleta. - -At Quitman, Captain Baylor learned that the trail of the stage robbers -bore southwest to Ojo Calienta, and as the foothills of Quitman -Mountains are very rough, he went down the north bank of the Rio -Grande, as he felt quite certain he would cut signs in that direction. -About twenty-five miles below Quitman he struck the trail of a freshly -shod mule, two barefooted ponies and two unshod mules, and within -fifty yards of the trail he found the kid glove thought to have been -Crenshaw's. The trail now bore down the river and crossed into Mexico, -where the Indian band made its first camp. Captain Baylor followed, -and the next day found the Apaches' second camp near the foothills -of the Los Pinos Mountains, where we had left General Terrasas the -fall before. Here all doubts about the Indians were dispelled, as the -rangers found a horse killed with the meat taken as food and a pair of -old moccasins. Besides, the camp was selected on a high bare hill after -the custom of the Indians. The same day Captain Baylor found another -camp and a dead mule, and on the trail discovered a boot-top recognized -as that of Morgan, the driver. Here also was the trail of some fifteen -or twenty mules and ponies, quite fresh, coming from the direction of -the Candelario Mountains with one small trail of three mules going -toward the Rio Grande. The rangers passed through some very rough, deep -canyons and camped on the south side of the Rio Grande, this being -their second night in Mexico. - -Next morning the trail crossed back into Texas. Going toward Major -Carpenter's old camp above the Bosque Bonito the scouting party found a -camp where the Indians had evidently made a cache, but Captain Baylor -only tarried here a short time and followed on down the river a few -miles when he found the Apaches had struck out on a bee line for the -Eagle Mountains. The captain felt some hesitation about crossing the -plains between the Eagle Mountains and the Rio Grande in the daytime -for fear of being seen by the Indians, but as the trail was several -days old he took the risk of being discovered. He camped within three -or four miles of the mountains and at daybreak took the trail up a -canyon leading into the peaks. The party came suddenly upon an Apache -camp which had been hastily deserted that morning, for the Indians left -blankets, quilts, buckskins and many other things useful to them. They -had just killed and had piled up in camp two horses and a mule, the -blood of which had been caught in tin vessels. One mule's tongue was -stewing over a fire and everything indicated the redskins were on the -eve of a jolly war dance, for the rangers found a five-gallon can of -mescal wine and a horse skin sunk in the ground that contained fifteen -or twenty gallons more. Here Captain Baylor found the mate to Morgan's -boot-top and a bag made from the legs of the passenger's pantaloons, -besides express receipts, postal cards and other articles taken from -the stage. The night before had been bitterly cold and the ground had -frozen hard as flint rock, so the rangers could not get the trail, -though they searched the mountains in every direction, and the three -Pueblo Indians, Bernado Olgin, Domingo Olgin, and Aneseta Duran, looked -over every foot of the ground. The scouting party now turned back -toward Mexico to scout back on the west side of the Eagle Mountains -around to Eagle Springs in search of the trail. - -At Eagle Springs, as good luck would have it, Captain Baylor learned -that Lieutenant Nevill and nine men had just gone toward Quitman to -look for him. As soon as Lieutenant Nevill returned to the Springs he -informed Baylor that he had seen the trail six miles east of Eagle -Springs and that it led toward the Carrizo Springs or Diablo Mountains. - -Captain Baylor's rations were out and Lieutenant Nevill had only -supplies enough to do the combined force five days, but the two -commanders trusted either to catch the Indians or get in striking -distance of the Pecos settlements within that time. The Apaches made -pretty good time across the plain in front of Eagle Springs, and did -not seem to recover from their scare until they reached the Diablo -Mountains. Here they killed and cooked meat from one horse and obtained -water by melting snow with hot rocks. - -The trail led northward by Chili Peak, a noted landmark to be seen -from Eagle Station. Here the rangers quit the trail and went into the -Diablo Mountains to camp at Apache Tanks, where General Grierson cut -off Victorio from the Guadalupe Mountains the summer before. Next -morning Captain Baylor followed the trail north and camped on the brow -of cliffs overlooking Rattlesnake Springs. The sign now led to the edge -of the Sierra Diablo, where the Indians camped and slept for the first -time since leaving Eagle Mountains. They were still watchful, as they -were near a most horrible looking canyon down which they could have -disappeared had the scouting party come upon them. Their next camp was -about ten miles farther on, and Captain Baylor saw they were getting -more careless about camping. On the 28th he came across another horse -and fire where the Apaches had eaten some meat. The leg of the horse -was not yet stiff and blood dropped from one when picked up. The chase -was getting to be exciting, and Captain Baylor and his men felt their -chance to avenge the many outrages committed by this band was now near -at hand. - -The trail led off north as though the redskins were going toward the -Cornudos in New Mexico, but turned east and entered Sierra Diablo -Mountains. In a narrow gorge the rangers found where the Indians had -eaten dinner, using snow to quench their thirst, but their horses -had no water. From this camp the Apaches made for the cliffs on the -northeast side of Devil Mountains. The scouting party now felt the -Indians were nearby, as they were nearly all afoot. The danger of -being discovered if they passed over the hills during the daylight was -so apparent that the rangers decided to make a dry camp and pass the -mountain's brow before day the next morning. All the signs were good -for a surprise; the trail was not over two hours old, and a flock of -doves passing overhead going in the direction of the trail showed that -water was nearby. - -The morning of the 29th of January the party was awakened by the guard, -and passed over the mountain's brow before daylight. There was some -difficulty in picking up the trail, though Captain Baylor, Lieutenant -Nevill and the Pueblo trailers had been up the evening before spying -out the land. By stooping down with their faces close to the ground the -Pueblos got the trail leading north along the crest of the mountains. -Soon the Indian guides said in low voices: "Hoy esta los Indias." And -Captain Baylor perceived the Apaches' camp fires not over half a mile -distant. - -Leaving a guard of five men with the horses the rangers advanced -stealthily on foot. By taking advantage of the crest of the mountain -they crept within two hundred yards of the camp, supposing the Indians -were camped on the western slope of the hill. The Apaches, however, -were cautious enough to put one tepee on the eastern slope overlooking -the valley and the approaches from that direction. Captain Baylor -thereupon ordered Sergeant Carruthers of Lieutenant Nevill's company -to take seven men and make a detour to the left and attack that wigwam -while Lieutenant Nevill and himself with seventeen men advanced on the -eastern camp. Sheltering themselves behind some large Spanish dagger -plants and advancing in Indian file the attackers got within one -hundred yards of the enemy, who was apparently just out of bed, for it -was then sunrise. Halting the men deployed to the right and left and -then, kneeling, the rangers gave the astonished Indians a deliberate -volley. At the second fusillade the Apaches broke and fled, the rangers -charging the flying foe with a Texas yell. - -Sergeant Carruthers executed his orders in gallant style. The Apaches -on his side, alarmed and surprised by the fire of Captain Baylor's -force, huddled together and three were killed within twenty yards of -their camp fire. The redskins ran like deer and made no resistance, -for it was each man for himself. Nevertheless, as they fled they were -thickly peppered, as there were but two or three out of the party of -sixteen or eighteen but left blood along their trail as they ran off. - -One Indian the rangers named Big Foot (from his enormous track) ran up -the mountain in full view for four hundred yards, and not less than two -hundred shots were fired at him, but he passed over the hill. Sergeant -Carruthers and several men pursued the fugitive for a mile and a half -and found plenty of blood all the way. Another warrior was knocked down -and lay as though dead for some time, but finally regained his feet -and made two-forty time over the hills with a running accompaniment of -Springfield and Winchester balls. One brave stood his ground manfully, -principally because he got the gable end of his head shot off early in -the action. - -Of course the women were the principal sufferers. As it was a bitterly -cold, windy morning and all ran off with blankets about them few of -the rangers could tell braves from squaws, and in the confusion of -battle two women were killed and one mortally wounded. Two children -were killed and a third shot through the foot. One squaw with three -bullets in her hand and two children were captured. Seven mules and -nine horses, two Winchester rifles, one Remington carbine, one United -States cavalry pistol and one .40 double action Colt's, six United -States cavalry saddles taken from the troops killed at Ojo Calienta and -some women's and children's clothing, American made,--evidently those -of Mrs. Graham,--a Mexican saddle with a bullet hole in it and fresh -blood thereon and over a hundred and fifty yards of new calico fell as -spoil to the victors. All the Indians' camp equipage was burned. - -The victorious rangers breakfasted on the battleground, as they had -eaten nothing since dinner the day before. Some of the men found horse -meat good, while others feasted on venison and roasted mescal. The -band of scouts could not remain long at this camp for water was very -scarce. They had forty head of stock to care for, and the Indians, in -their flight, ran through the largest pool of water and liberally dyed -it with their blood, and as none of the men were bloodthirsty enough to -use this for making coffee or bread they were short of water. However, -the rangers found enough pure good water for their use but the horses -had to wait until the force reached Apache Tanks, thirty miles distant. -This scarcity of water made it impossible to remain at this Apache -camp, otherwise Captain Baylor could have added three or four scalps -to his trophies. The return march was begun, and at Eagle Station -Lieutenant Nevill and Captain Baylor separated. The captured squaw and -the two children were sent to Fort Davis to be turned over to the post -commander for medical attention, for the rangers had neither a surgeon -nor a hospital. - -On their return from the battle of the Diablos, Captain Baylor's Pueblo -Indian scouts, Chief Bernado Olgin, Domingo Olgin, and Aneseta Duran, -suddenly halted about one mile from Ysleta, unsaddled and unbridled -their tired little ponies and went into camp. This was their custom -after a successful campaign against their Apache enemies so that their -comrades might come out and do honor to the returning heroes. For three -days and nights a feast and a scalp dance was held by the whole of the -Pueblo tribe of Ysleta. They feasted, wined and dined their returning -warriors and invited the rangers to the festivities. The boys all went -and reported they had a fine time generally. This celebration was the -last scalp dance the Pueblo Indians ever had, for the destruction of -the Apaches in the Diablos exterminated the wild Indians and there were -no more of them to scalp. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE - - -The American citizens of Socorro, New Mexico, during Christmas week -of 1881, held a church festival, and Mr. A.M. Conklin, editor of the -"Socorro Sun," was conducting the exercises. Abran and Enofrio Baca -appeared at the church under the influence of liquor. Their talk and -actions so disturbed the entertainment that Mr. Conklin went to them -and requested them to be more quiet, at the same time telling the -offenders they were perfectly welcome in the church but that they must -behave. The brothers, highly indignant, invited Mr. Conklin to fight, -but Mr. Conklin declined and again assured the two that they were -welcome but must act as gentlemen. Abran and Enofrio at once retired -from the church. - -After the social had ended and as Mr. Conklin with his wife at his side -passed out of the church door, Abran Baca caught Mrs. Conklin by one -arm and jerked her away from her husband. At the same instant Enofrio -shot and killed the editor on the church steps. - -This foul murder created no end of indignation in the little town of -Socorro. Scouting parties were sent in all directions to try and -effect the capture of the murderers. However, the two Bacas managed to -elude their pursuers and made their way into the Republic of Mexico. -The governor of New Mexico at once issued a proclamation offering $500 -for their capture and the citizens of Socorro offered a like amount -for the murderers, dead or alive. The proclamation, with a minute -description of the Baca boys, was sent broadcast over the country. And, -of course, the rangers at Ysleta received several of the circulars. - -In the spring of 1881 the county judge of El Paso County was Jose Baca, -an uncle of the two murderers. He was also a merchant at Ysleta, then -the county seat of El Paso County. Captain Baylor's company of rangers -was quartered in the west end of Ysleta, about one-half mile from the -public square. On receiving the New Mexico proclamation I set a watch -over the home and store of Judge Baca and kept it up for nearly a month -but without success. We finally concluded that the Baca boys had not -come our way and almost forgot the incident. - -However, one morning in the latter part of March, 1881, Jim Fitch, one -of our most trustworthy rangers, hurried back to camp from Ysleta and -informed me that he had seen two well dressed Mexican boys, strangers -to him, sitting on the porch of Judge Baca's home. I at once made a -detail of four men. We saddled our horses, rode to town, rounded up the -Baca home and captured two strange Mexicans. I believed them to be the -Baca brothers, and left at once for New Mexico with my prisoners. - -Before we had reached El Paso on our journey we were overtaken by Judge -Baca, who had with him an interpreter. He asked me to please halt as he -wished to talk with the prisoners. After a short conversation with the -boys the judge asked me what was the reward for the capture of Abran -Baca. I replied, "Five hundred dollars." - -"If you will just let him step out in the bosque and get away I will -give you $700," Judge Baca finally said with some hesitation. - -Subsequently the judge raised the bribe to one thousand dollars, but -I informed him there was not enough money in El Paso County to buy -me off, so he returned to Ysleta and I continued my journey to New -Mexico, feeling assured I had at least captured one of the Conklin -murderers. On arriving at Socorro I was at once informed that I had -Abran all right but my second prisoner was Massias Baca, a cousin of -the murderers, but not incriminated in the crime. - -I was treated royally by the citizens and officers of Socorro. They -were delighted that one of the murderers had been captured and promptly -counted out to me $250 as their part of the reward offered for the -apprehension of one of the criminals. Colonel Eaton, head deputy -sheriff of the county, issued me a receipt for the body of Abran Baca -delivered inside the jail of Socorro County, New Mexico. This receipt, -forwarded to the governor of the territory, promptly brought me a draft -for $250 and a letter of thanks from his excellency. - -Early in April, about one month after the capture of Abran Baca, I -learned from Santiago Cooper, a friend that lived in Ysleta, that he -had seen a man at Saragosa, Mexico, who, from the description, he -believed to be Enofrio Baca. I told Cooper I would give him $25 if he -would go back to Saragosa and find out to a certainty if the person he -had seen was Enofrio Baca. A week later Cooper came to me and said the -man at Saragosa was Baca and that the murderer was clerking in the one -big store of the town. This store was a long adobe building situated -against a hill with the front facing so that one riding up to the front -of it would bring his saddle skirts almost on a level with the building -because of the terraces in front of it made necessary by the slope of -the hill. Enofrio was of florid complexion with dark red hair, which -made it easy to identify him. - -I kept this information about the murderer to myself for nearly a week -while I pondered over it. I was anxious to capture Baca, yet I well -knew from previous experience that if I caused him to be arrested in -Mexico the authorities there would turn him loose, especially when the -influence of wealthy relatives was brought to bear. Knowing he would -follow the law to the letter I dare not take Captain Baylor into my -confidence. Saragosa, a little town of about five hundred inhabitants, -is situated about four miles southwest of Ysleta. While it is only -about a mile from the Rio Grande as the crow flies, yet, because of -the many farms and big irrigation ditches, it was impossible to enter -or leave the town only by following the public road between Ysleta and -Saragosa. It has always been the delight of border Mexicans to get -behind an adobe wall or on top an adobe house and shoot to ribbons any -hated gringo that might be unfortunately caught on the Mexican side of -the river. I knew only too well from my own experience that I could not -go into Saragosa, attempt to arrest a Mexican, stay there five minutes -and live, yet I determined to take the law in my own hands and make the -attempt. - -I took into my confidence just one man, George Lloyd. If ever there was -an ace in the ranger service he was one. I unfolded my plans to him. I -did not have to point out the danger to him for he had lived on the Rio -Grande ten times as long as I. - -"Sergeant, that is an awful dangerous and risky piece of business and -I will have to have a little time in which to think it over," he said -when I talked with him. - -The next day Lloyd came to me and said, "Sergeant, I will go anywhere -in the world with you." - -Though willing to accompany me I could tell he doubted our ability to -execute the capture. - -I planned to attempt the capture of Baca the next morning and sent -Cooper back to Saragosa to look over the situation there once more. He -informed me on his return that Baca was still clerking in the store. I -now told Lloyd to keep our horses up when the animals were turned out -to graze next morning. This move caused no especial thought or comment, -for the men frequently would keep their horses to ride down town. As -soon as we had crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico I planned to quit -the public road, travel through the bosques, pass around on the west -side of Saragosa and ride quickly up to the store in which our man was -working. Lloyd was to hold the horses while I was to dismount, enter -the store and make the arrest. Then, if possible, I was to mount Baca -behind Lloyd and make a quick get-away. - -Our plans were carried out almost to the letter. We reached Saragosa -safely, and while Lloyd held my horse in front of the store I entered -and discovered Baca measuring some goods for an old Mexican woman. I -stepped up to him, caught him in the collar, and with a drawn pistol -ordered him to come with me. The customer promptly fainted and fell on -the floor. Two other people ran from the building, screaming at the -top of their voices. Baca hesitated about going with me, and in broken -English asked me where he was to be taken. I informed him to Paso del -Norte. I shoved my pistol right up against his head and ordered him to -step lively. When we reached our horses I made Baca mount behind Lloyd. -I then jumped into my saddle and, waving my pistol over my head, we -left Saragosa on a dead run. Our sudden appearance in the town and our -more sudden leaving bewildered the people for a few minutes. They took -in the situation quickly, however, and began ringing the old church -bell rapidly, and this aroused the whole population. - -As I left Saragosa I saw men getting their horses together and knew -that in a few minutes a posse would be following us. When we had gone -two miles almost at top speed I saw that Lloyd's horse was failing, -and we lost a little time changing Baca to my mount. We had yet two -miles to go and through deep sand most of the way. I could see a cloud -of dust and shortly a body of mounted men hove in view. It was a tense -moment. Lloyd thought it was all off with us, but we still had a long -lead and our horses were running easily. As our pursuers made a bend -in the road we discovered nine men in pursuit. As soon as they had -drawn up within six hundreds yards they began firing on us. This was -at long range and did no damage. In fact, I believe they were trying -to frighten rather than to wound us as they were just as likely to hit -Baca as either of us. We were at last at the Rio Grande, and while it -was almost one hundred yards wide it was flat and shallow at the ford. -I hit the water running and as I mounted the bank on good old Texan -soil I felt like one who has made a home run in a world series baseball -game. Our pursuers halted at the river so I pulled off my hat, waved to -them and disappeared up the road. - -We lost no time in reaching camp, and our appearance there with a -prisoner and two run-down horses caused all the boys in quarters to -turn out. Captain Baylor noticed the gathering and hurried over to -camp. - -"Sergeant, who is this prisoner you have?" he asked, walking straight -up to me. - -I replied it was Enofrio Baca, the man that had murdered Mr. Conklin. -The captain looked at the run-down horses, wet with sweat, and asked me -where I had captured him. - -"Down the river," I replied, trying to evade him. - -"From the looks of your horse I would think you had just run out of a -fight. Where down the river did you capture this man?" - -I saw the captain was going to corner me and I thought I might as well -"fess up." I told him I had arrested Baca at Saragosa and kidnaped him -out of Mexico. Captain Baylor's eyes at once bulged to twice their -natural size. - -"Sergeant, that is the most imprudent act you ever committed in your -life! Don't you know that it is a flagrant violation of the law and is -sure to cause a breach of international comity that might cause the -Governor of Texas to disband the whole of Company "A"? Not only this, -but it was a most hazardous undertaking and it is a wonder to me that -the Mexicans did not shoot you and Lloyd into doll rags." - -Captain Baylor was plainly out of patience with me. - -"Gillett, you have less sense than I thought you had," he declared, -heatedly. "If you have any explanation to make I would like to have it." - -I reminded the captain of the tragic fate of Morgan and Brown and how -the authorities at Guadalupe had turned their murderers, Skevill and -Molina, loose. I declared that had I had Baca arrested in Mexico he -would have gone scot-free with his rich and influential friends to help -him. Baylor declared that two wrongs did not make one right, and said -I should have consulted him. I finally told the captain frankly that I -had been in the ranger service six years, had risen from the ranks to -be orderly sergeant at a salary of only $50 a month. I pointed out that -this was the highest position I could hope to get without a commission, -and while one had been promised me at the first vacancy yet I could see -no early hope of obtaining it, as every captain in the battalion was -freezing to his job. This remark seemed to amuse Captain Baylor and -somewhat eased his anger. - -I went on to say that I not only wanted the $500 reward offered for -Baca, but I wanted the notoriety I would get if I could kidnap the -murderer out of Mexico without being killed in the attempt, for I -believed the notoriety would lead to something better than a ranger -sergeancy. And this is what really happened, for I subsequently became -First Assistant Marshal of El Paso under Dallas Stoudenmire at a salary -of $150 per month, and in less than a year after my arrest of Enofrio -Baca I was made Chief of Police of that city at a salary that enabled -me to get a nice start in the cattle business. - -"Sergeant, you can go with your man," Captain Baylor finally said, "but -it is against my best judgment. I ought to escort him across the Rio -Grande and set him free." - -I lost no time in sending a ranger to the stage office at Ysleta with -instructions to buy two tickets to Masilla, New Mexico, and one to El -Paso. The stage was due to pass our quarters about 12 o'clock, so I -did not have long to wait. I took Lloyd as a guard as far as El Paso -and there turned him back, making the remainder of the journey to -Socorro, New Mexico, alone with the prisoner. I reached the old town of -Masilla, New Mexico, at dark after a rather exciting day. I was afraid -to put Baca in jail at that place, as I had no warrant nor extradition -papers upon which to hold him and feared the prison authorities might -not redeliver Baca to me next morning. The stage coach from Masilla -to Rincon did not run at night so I secured a room at the hotel and -chaining the prisoner to me we slept together. - -On the following day we reached Rincon, the terminus of the Santa Fe -Railroad at that time. I wired the officers of Socorro, New Mexico, -from El Paso that I had captured Baca and was on my way to New Mexico -with him. Baca's friends had also been informed of his arrest and lost -no time in asking the Governor of New Mexico to have me bring the -prisoner to Santa Fe as they feared mob violence at Socorro. When I -reached San Marcial I was handed a telegram from the governor ordering -me to bring Baca to Santa Fe and on no account to stop with him in -Socorro. - -Because of delay on the railroad I did not reach Socorro until late -at night. The minute the train stopped at that town it was boarded -by twenty-five or thirty armed men headed by Deputy Sheriff Eaton. I -showed Eaton the governor's telegram, but he declared Baca was wanted -at Socorro and that was where he was going. I remonstrated with him -and declared I was going on to Santa Fe with the prisoner. By this -time a dozen armed men had gathered around me and declared, "Not much -will you take him to Santa Fe." I was furious, but I was practically -under arrest and powerless to help myself. Baca and I were transferred -from the train to a big bus that was in waiting. The jailer entered -first, then Baca was seated next to him and I sat next the door with my -Winchester in my hand. The driver was ordered to drive to the jail. - -It was a bright moonlight night and we had not traveled far up the -street before I looked out and saw at least a hundred armed men. They -came from every direction. Boys, did you ever encounter a mob? I assure -you it is far from a pleasant feeling when you face one. The men -swarmed around the bus, three or four of them grabbed the horses by the -bridle reins and held them, while others tried to force the bus doors. -I asked the jailer if I could depend on him to help me stand the mob -off, but he replied it would do no good. I was now madder than ever, -and for the first time in my life I ripped out an oath, saying, "G-- -d--n them, I am going to stand them off!" - -As the doors were forced I poked my Winchester out and ordered the mob -to stand back or I would shoot. The men paid no more attention to my -gun than if it had been a brown stick. A man standing beside the bus -door seized the muzzle of my rifle and, with a quick jerk to one side, -caused it to fly out of my hand and out upon the ground. - -By this time another of the mob grabbed me in the collar and proceeded -to pull me out of the bus. I spread my legs and tried to brace myself, -but another hard and quick jerk landed me out on the ground, where one -of the men kicked me. I was tame now and made no effort to draw my -pistol. One of the crowd said to me, "What in h--do you mean? We do not -wish to hurt you but we are going to hang that d--n Mexican right now!" - -I then informed the mob of the nature of Baca's arrest and told them -that the hanging of the prisoner would place me in an awkward position. -Then, too, the reward offered by the territory of New Mexico was for -the delivery of the murderer inside the jail doors of Socorro County. -The leaders of the crowd consulted for a few minutes and then concluded -I was right. They ordered me back into the bus, gave me my Winchester -and we all started for the jail. As soon as Baca had been placed in -prison Deputy Sheriff Eaton sat down and wrote me a receipt for the -delivery of Baca inside the jail doors. - -By this time day was just beginning to break and I tried to stay the -hanging by making another talk. The mob interpreted my motive and -invited me to step down a block to their community room where they -would talk with me. I started with them and we had gone only a hundred -yards before the whole mob broke back to the jail. I started to go -with them but two men held me, saying, "It's no use; they are going to -hang him." - -The men took Baca to a nearby corral and hanged him to a big beam of -the gate. The next morning Baca's relatives came to me at the hotel -with hats in their hands and asked me for the keys with which to remove -the shackles from the dead man's legs. As I handed them the keys I -felt both mortified and ashamed. A committee of citizens at Socorro -waited on me just before I took the train for home, counted out to -me $250 as their part of the reward and thanked me for capturing the -two murderers. The committee assured me that it stood ready to help -me financially or otherwise should I get involved with the Federal -Government over the capture and kidnapping of Enofrio Baca. - -I presume the relatives of young Baca reported his kidnapping to our -government, for a few weeks after his capture Mr. Blaine, Secretary of -State, wrote a long letter to Governor Roberts regarding a breach of -international comity. Governor Roberts wrote Captain Baylor for a full -explanation of the matter. Captain Baylor, while never countenancing -a wrongdoing in his company, would stand by his men to the last ditch -when they were once in trouble. He was a fluent writer and no man in -Texas understood better than he the many foul and outrageous murders -that had been committed along the Rio Grande, the perpetrators of -which had evaded punishment and arrest by crossing over into Mexico. -Baylor wrote so well and so to the point that nothing further was said -about the matter. Only an order came to Captain Baylor admonishing him -never again to allow his men to follow fugitives into Mexico. - -Soon afterward the Safety Committee of Socorro, New Mexico, wrote to -Captain Baylor saying, "We are informed by a reliable party that Jose -Baca of Ysleta, Texas, has hired a Mexican to kill Sergeant Gillett. -Steps have been taken to prevent this. However, he would do well to be -on the lookout." Baylor at once went to Judge Baca with this letter, -but the jurist denied in the most emphatic terms any knowledge of -the reported plot. Also, there was a report current in both Ysleta -and El Paso that a reward of $1500 had been offered for the delivery -of Sergeant Gillett's body to the Mexican authorities at El Paso del -Norte. Upon investigation I found that no such offer had ever been -made, but for safety's sake I kept out of Mexico for several years. - -The kidnapping of Baca aroused much comment and gave me a deal of -notoriety and, as I had anticipated, it was not long in bearing the -fruit I desired,--promotion into larger and more remunerative fields of -work. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -LAST SCOUTINGS - - -During the summer of 1881 Captain Baylor's company made several scouts -out to the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains. These were reported to -the Adjutant-General as scouts after Indians, but there were no more -redskins in Texas, for the rangers had done their work effectively. -These expeditions were, therefore, more in the nature of outings for -the boys. And it was quite a pleasure to get away from camp in the -hot Rio Grande Valley and scout in those high mountains covered with -tall pine timber that teemed with game such as deer, bear and wild -turkey. The plains between the Guadalupe Mountains and Ysleta contained -hundreds of antelope, thus affording the rangers the best of sport. - -Turning over the pages of my old scrap book I find this little -announcement taken from the El Paso Times: "Colonel Baylor and twenty -of his rangers have just returned from a scout in the Guadalupe -Mountains, in which they killed twenty-five turkeys, fifteen deer and -two antelope." - -On one of these hunting expeditions we had with us George Lloyd, who -had been a ranger under Lieutenant Tays when his company was first -mustered into service in El Paso County. We camped at Los Cornuvas, and -here Lloyd had had an engagement with Indians. He went over the ground -and gave us an interesting account of his fight. He said there were -but twelve men in the scout, including Lieutenant Tays. In marching -from Crow Springs to Los Cornuvas, a distance of thirty miles, six -of the rangers were riding nearly a mile ahead of the others and on -approaching Los Cornuvas made for some tinajas (water holes) up in -those mountains. They rode around a point of rocks and met face to -face some ten or twelve Indians coming out from the water. Indians and -rangers were within forty feet before they discovered each other's -presence and paleface and redskin literally fell off their horses,--the -Indians seeking cover in the rocks above the trail while five of the -rangers turned a somersault into a friendly arroyo. - -A ranger said to be a Russian nobleman and nihilist was killed early -in the fight and buried on the spot where he fell. A headboard was -placed to mark the grave, but the Indians soon defaced it by hacking -at it with their knives whenever they passed the spot. Though he could -have had splendid cover, the Russian stood upright according to the -etiquette prevailing among British officers in the Transvaal and was -shot through the brain. - -In dismounting, Lloyd held on to the end of a thirty-foot stake rope -that was tied around his horse's neck. Four of the dismounted scout -wriggled their way down the creek and got away. In reloading his -Winchester after shooting it empty Lloyd unfortunately slipped a .45 -Colt's pistol cartridge into the magazine of his .44 Winchester and in -attempting to throw a cartridge into his gun it jammed--catching him in -a serious predicament. However, taking his knife from his pocket this -fearless ranger coolly removed the screw that held the side plates of -his Winchester together, took off the plates, removed the offending -cartridge, replaced the plates, tightened up the screw, reloaded his -gun and began firing. It takes a man with iron nerve to do a thing like -that, and you meet such a one but once in a lifetime. Is it any wonder, -then, that when I cast around for a man to go into Mexico with me to -kidnap Baca I selected Lloyd out of the twenty men in camp? - -Seeing that the Russian was dead and his companions gone, Lloyd crawled -back down the arroyo, pulling his horse along the bank above until he -was out of danger. The five rangers' horses, knowing where the water -was, went right up into the rocks, where they were captured, saddles, -bridles and all, by the Indians. - -The redskins, as soon as Lloyd was gone, came out of hiding, took the -Russian's Winchester and pistol and left. Lloyd was the only man of the -six to save his horse, for the Indians, with their needle guns high up -in the rocks, held Lieutenant Tays and the remainder of his force at -bay. - -In the latter part of the summer of 1881 Captain Baylor moved his -company of rangers from Ysleta to a site three miles below El Paso. -While camped there the captain was warned by the sheriff of Tombstone, -Arizona, to be on the lookout for four San Simone Valley rustlers, -supposed to be a part of Curley Bill's gang. The robbers' names were -given as Charley and Frank Baker, Billie Morgan and a fourth person -supposed to be Curley Bill himself. These outlaws had stolen sixteen -big work mules and four horses at a wood camp some twelve miles from -Tombstone. They had also robbed a store and, assaulting the proprietor -with pistols, left him for dead. A $500 reward was offered for the -capture of the desperadoes and the stolen stock. The robbers' trail led -down into New Mexico and it was believed Curley Bill and his gang were -headed for western Texas, where they would try to dispose of their -stolen stock at some of the railroad grading camps near El Paso. - -Captain Baylor at once ordered me to take seven men and five days' -rations and scout up the Rio Grande to the line of New Mexico for the -bandits' trail, and, if I found it, to follow it up. I worked up the -river but found no trail. Neither could I learn anything about any -strange men driving stock through the country. My time was nearly -up and I concluded to return to camp through a gap in the Franklin -Mountains, some thirty or forty miles north of El Paso. We left the Rio -Grande late in the evening, passed out through the gap and made a dry -camp on the plains east of the mountains. - -Early the following morning we rode to a watering place known as -Monday's Springs and stopped for breakfast. Here the boys discovered -some horse and mule tracks. At first we thought nothing of this, -supposing the trail had been made by some loose stock grazing near -the water. From Monday's Springs a dim road led along the east side -of the mountains to El Paso and we took this route home. Before we -had traveled very far we noticed that some of the stock was traveling -the same road, though even then I never suspected that these tracks -might be the trail of the bandits for whom we were scouting. Finally -we came to footprints made by some men as they adjusted their saddles -or tightened their packs. It here dawned upon me that the tracks might -have been made by the parties we wanted. - -I thereupon followed the trail carefully and it led me through what is -today the most beautiful residential portion of the city of El Paso. -The tracks led to a big camp yard where now stands the $500,000 Federal -building and postoffice. In the description of the stolen stock we were -told one of the mules carried a small Swiss stock bell. As I neared the -wagon yard I heard the tinkle of this bell and felt sure we had tracked -our quarry. We dismounted, and with our Winchesters cocked and ready -for action, our little party of rangers slipped quickly inside the -large corral gate and within ten feet of it we came upon three heavily -armed men bending over a fire cooking their breakfast. Their guns were -leaning against the adobe fence near at hand, so the surprise was -complete. - -The outlaws rose to their feet and attempted to get their guns, but -my men held their cocked Winchesters at their breasts. I told our -captives that we were rangers ordered to arrest them and demanded their -surrender. The robbers were undecided what to do; they were afraid -to pull their pistols or seize their guns, yet they refused to hold -up their hands. Finally one of the Baker brothers turned slightly -toward me and said they would rather be shot down and killed than give -up--surrender meant death anyway. I thereupon answered that we had no -desire to hurt them, but declared that the least attempt to pull a gun -would mean instant death to them all, and again ordered them to raise -their hands. They slowly obeyed. I stepped up to them, unbuckled their -belts and took their weapons. - -In looking over their camp I found four saddles and Winchesters but I -had captured only three men. I mentioned this fact to the prisoners and -they laughingly said one of their number had stepped down town to get a -package of coffee, had probably noticed our presence and lit out. The -two Baker boys and Billie Morgan were the men captured, and I asked if -the missing man was Curley Bill himself. They replied it was not, but -refused to tell who the fourth member of their party was. As we had no -description of him and he was on foot in a town full of armed men we -had no means of identifying him and he was never captured. - -From the captured robbers we learned that they had run out of -provisions, and for this reason they had not camped at Monday Springs. -They had risen early and come into El Paso for breakfast. They -declared it was a good thing for us that they had built their camp fire -so near the gate, for had they been thirty feet from it they would have -put up a fight we should have remembered for a long time. I replied -that the eight of us could have held our own no matter where they had -camped. - -These robbers were held in our camp some ten days or more until the -proper extradition papers could be had from the State Capitol at -Austin, as they refused to be taken back to Arizona without the proper -authority. They owned horses, which they gave to some lawyers in El -Paso to prevent their being taken back to the scene of their crimes. We -secured all the stolen stock--sixteen mules and four horses. The owners -came and claimed them and paid the rangers $200 and the Arizona sheriff -paid a like amount for the capture of the rustlers. - -Our rangers became well acquainted with these thieves while we held -them in our camp. The robbers admitted they were going under assumed -names and said they were Texans but refused to say from what part of -the state they came. The three of them were taken back to Arizona, -tried for assault to kill and the theft of the horses at Tombstone -and sent to the prison at Yuma for twenty-five years. They frequently -wrote to our boys from there and seemed to hold no grudge against us -for capturing them. The scout to capture these men was the last one of -importance I took part in, for my work with the rangers was now growing -toward its close. - -In the fall of 1881 Captain Baylor received word from Israel King of -Cambray, New Mexico, that a band of thieves had stolen a bunch of -cattle from him and at last reports were headed toward El Paso with -them. With a detail of four men I was ordered to make a scout up -the river and into the Canutillos to intercept the rustlers. After -traveling some ten miles up the Rio Grande we crossed the river into -New Mexico to get on more even ground. Some eighteen miles above El -Paso we found the trail of the stolen stock and followed it back across -the Rio Grande into Texas. - -While working our way along the trail through almost impassable brush -we entered a small glade and came upon the stolen stock quietly -grazing. On the opposite side of them a Mexican with a Winchester stood -guard while his horse grazed nearby. The guard fired on us as he ran to -his horse and we were compelled to run around the cattle to get to the -thief. We fired our guns as we ran and this sudden noise frightened the -loose pony so the fugitive was unable to mount. He was then forced to -dive into the brush on foot. Knowing we could make no headway through -the heavy tornilla bosque we dismounted and charged it on foot. The -fleeing Mexican undertook to run through a muddy slough formed by back -water from the Rio Grande. Here he bogged but, extracting himself, he -backed out the way he had entered and found safety in the friendly -brush. In running to where he was last seen we found his gun abandoned -in the mud. Some twenty or thirty shots were fired at him and while -none found the mark we captured his Winchester, his pony and thirty-six -head of stolen cattle and gave him a scare that he will remember so -long as he lives. The cattle were returned to Mr. King, who kindly -presented us with $200 for their recovery. - -We learned later that Frank Stevenson, a notorious rustler, whose -rendezvous was in this Canutillo brush, had stolen these cattle and -had left the Mexican in charge of them while he had gone into El Paso -to effect their sale. As described in a previous chapter, I finally -captured Stevenson and he was sent to the penitentiary for fifteen -years for horse stealing. His capture and imprisonment broke up the -Canutillo gang, and today, forty years after his arrest, the upper Rio -Grande Valley is almost an Eden on earth with its fine apple and peach -orchards, its alfalfa fields, big dairy herds and elegant homes. It -is one of the beauty spots adjacent to the now fine city of El Paso. -The Santa Fe Railroad traverses this valley, and I sometimes travel -over it. As I sit in an easy seat in the Pullman and look out over the -country I always reflect on the past and wonder how many of its present -inhabitants know what a wilderness and what a rendezvous it once was -for all kinds of cutthroats, cattle thieves and murderers. - -While the rangers were camped near El Paso during the fall of 1881 I -met Captain Thatcher, then division superintendent of the Santa Fe -Railroad. He told me, because of the stage and train robberies in New -Mexico and Arizona, the railroad and the Wells-Fargo Express companies -feared that their trains would be held up near El Paso. To protect -themselves they had, therefore, decided to place armed guards of three -men on the main line of the Santa Fe to run between Deming and Las -Vegas, New Mexico, and a similar guard on the branch from El Paso, -Texas, to Rincon, New Mexico. Captain Thatcher had known me as a ranger -and my kidnapping of Enofrio Baca out of Mexico had won me no little -notoriety, so he now offered me a position with the railroad company as -captain of the guard at a salary of $150 per month. I would be allowed -to select my own men for guards and would be responsible for their acts. - -I requested time to consider the proposition. While the position as -captain of the railroad guard might not be permanent--might not hold -out more than six months--yet the salary attached was exactly three -times what I received from the State of Texas as sergeant of rangers. -I discussed Thatcher's offer with Captain Baylor and finally prevailed -upon him to give me my discharge. And on the 26th of December, 1881, -after serving the State of Texas as a ranger for six years and seven -months I laid down my Winchester with the satisfied consciousness -that I had done my duty ever. My term of service embraced one of the -happiest portions of my life, and recollections of my ranger days are -among my most cherished memories. Among my dearest possessions, though -preserved in an old scrapbook, is my discharge. It reads simply: - - DISCHARGE - - This is to certify that James B. Gillett, 1st Sergeant of Captain - Geo. W. Baylor's Company "A" of the Frontier Battalion of the - State of Texas, is hereby honorably discharged from the service of - the state by reason of his own request. I take great pleasure in - testifying to his uniform good conduct and gallant service in my - company. - - Given at El Paso, Texas, this, the 26th day of December, 1881. - - GEORGE W. BAYLOR - - Commanding Company. - -The personnel of Captain Baylor's company changed rapidly, so that at -the time of my discharge there was scarcely a man in the company that -had served longer than six months. There was, therefore, no wrenching -or straining of strong friendship ties when I left the command, -save only for my leaving of Captain Baylor. To part from him did, -indeed, make me feel sad. My farewell and departure was simple and -unimpressive. I sat down with my comrades for a last ranger dinner of -beans, bacon, bread and black coffee. After the meal I arose from the -table, shook hands with Captain Baylor and the boys, mounted my horse -and rode away from the ranger camp forever. Yet, though my term of -actual service was over and though I had garnered a host of memories -and experiences, I had not quite finished with the rangers--I had not -gathered all the fruits of my ranger-ship,--an appointment to the -police force of El Paso in the vicinity of which city I had so often -scouted. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -FRUITS OF RANGER SERVICE - - -Early in the spring of 1881 the old town of El Paso awoke out of her -Rip Van Winkle sleep to find that four grand trunk railroad lines,--the -Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, G., H & S.A., and the Texas & Pacific--were -rapidly building toward her and were certain to enter the town by the -end of the year. Situated as it was, many hundreds of miles from any -other town, it was a foregone conclusion that El Paso had the making of -a great city and was a fine field for investment. Bankers, merchants, -capitalists, real estate dealers, cattlemen, miners, railroad men, -gamblers, saloon-keepers and sporting people of both sexes flocked -to the town. They came in buggies, hacks, wagons, horseback and even -afoot. There was not half enough hotel accommodations to go around, so -people just slept and ate at any old place. El Paso Street, the only -business thoroughfare at that time, was flooded with crowds. - -[Illustration: DALLAS STOUDENMIRE] - -At night there was not enough room for people to walk on the sidewalks -and they filled the streets. To me it looked just a miniature midway -at a world's fair. A saloon was opened on almost every corner of -the town with many in between. Each drinking place had a gambling -house attached where the crowds played faro bank, monte, roulette, -chuck-a-luck, stud poker and every gambling game on the calendar. If -one wished a seat at the gaming tables he had to come early or he could -not get within thirty feet of them. Two variety theaters, the Coliseum, -operated by the Manning Brothers,--the largest in the southwest--and -Jack Doyle's, were quickly opened. - -An election was called in El Paso and the city was duly incorporated -and a mayor and board of aldermen installed. George Campbell was -elected city marshal and given one assistant, Bill Johnson. The new -marshal had come to El Paso from Young County, Texas, where he had been -a deputy sheriff. Campbell had done some good detective work and was -a fairly good and efficient officer, but his assistant was much below -ordinary. - -The city marshal soon found that with but one man to aid him he had -the biggest kind of a job on his hands with something doing every hour -in the twenty-four. Campbell decided he was not getting enough pay for -the work he had to do and asked the City Council for a raise in his -salary, but the council refused it. The marshal at once resigned and -left Bill Johnson to hold the town. Campbell was very friendly with -the sporting element in El Paso, especially with the Manning Brothers, -who were running two saloons and a big variety theater. Campbell and -his friends decided to use strategy to force the council to increase -his salary and planned to shoot up the town, thinking this would cause -the city fathers to reinstate Campbell in his old position with a -substantial increase in pay. At 2 o'clock one morning the town was shot -up, some three or four hundred shots being fired promiscuously and with -no attempt to make arrests. - -The following morning Mayor McGoffin sent a hurry call to Captain -Baylor at Ysleta and asked that a detachment of Texas Rangers be sent -to El Paso to help police the town. At that time I had not severed my -connection with the rangers, so I was ordered to make a detail of five -rangers, issue them fifteen days' rations and have them report at once -to the mayor of El Paso. - -The peace loving citizens of the town welcomed the rangers, secured -nice quarters for them and furnished the detachment with a stove on -which to cook its meals. The rangers had been in El Paso on police duty -about a week when there appeared in the town from New Mexico the famous -Dallas Stoudenmire. The newcomer was six feet two inches in height, a -blonde and weighed one hundred and eighty-five pounds. Stoudenmire had -a compelling personality and had been a Confederate soldier, having -served with General Joe Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. -Stoudenmire applied to the mayor and City Council for the position of -city marshal. He presented good references and was duly appointed town -marshal. - -George Campbell now saw his chances for reinstatement as an officer in -El Paso go glimmering. Marshal Stoudenmire called on Bill Johnson for -the keys of the city jail, but the latter refused to surrender them. -Thereupon Stoudenmire seized the recalcitrant assistant, shook him up -and took the keys from his pocket, thereby making his first enemy in El -Paso. - -About ten days after the new marshal had been installed it was reported -in El Paso that two Mexican boys had been found murdered some ten or -twelve miles from town on the Rio Grande. The rangers stationed in the -city went out to the ranch to investigate. The bodies were brought to -El Paso and a coroner's inquest was held in a room fronting on El Paso -Street. Johnnie Hale, manager of Manning's little ranch, was summoned -to appear before the coroner, and it was believed by the rangers that -Hale and an ex-ranger named Len Peterson had committed the double -murder. - -The inquest, being held in such a public place, attracted a crowd -of onlookers. Besides the rangers, Marshal Stoudenmire, ex-Marshal -Campbell, and Bill Johnson were present. A man named Gus Krempkau acted -as interpreter. The trial dragged along until the noon hour and the -proceedings were adjourned for dinner. The rangers went at once to -their quarters to prepare their meal, though there was still a crowd -standing about the scene of the inquest. Krempkau came out of the room -and was accosted by John Hale, who had become offended at the way the -interpreter had interpreted the evidence. After a few hot words Hale -quickly pulled his pistol and shot Krempkau through the head, killing -him instantly. Marshal Stoudenmire ran up, shot at Hale but missing -him killed a Mexican bystander. At the second shot from the marshal's -pistol John Hale fell dead. George Campbell had pulled his pistol and -was backing off across the street when Stoudenmire suddenly turned and -shot him down. Four men were thus killed almost within the twinkling of -an eye. - -Stoudenmire was held blameless by the better class of citizens for the -part he had played, but a certain sporting element--mostly friends of -Campbell--was highly indignant at Marshal Stoudenmire for killing -Campbell, and declared the latter had been murdered. The Manning -Brothers were especially bitter against the marshal, as he had killed -their ranch foreman, Hale, and their friend, Campbell. This feeling -against Marshal Stoudenmire never subsided, and just a little more than -one year after, Dallas Stoudenmire was shot and killed in a street -fight by Jim and Dr. Manning within fifty feet of the spot where -Stoudenmire himself had killed the three men the year before. - -The friends of George Campbell now sought to take the life of Marshal -Stoudenmire, and they used as their instrument Bill Johnson, a man -almost simple mentally. The plotters furnished Johnson with plenty of -free whisky and when they had made him drunk they told him Stoudenmire -had no right to catch him in the collar and shake him as if he were -a cur dog. Johnson finally agreed to kill the marshal. Armed with a -double-barreled shotgun the tool of the plotters took up a position one -night behind a pile of bricks in San Antonio Street where it enters El -Paso and lay in wait for his intended victim. - -Marshal Stoudenmire was then down at Neal Nuland's Acme saloon, and it -was well known he would soon make his round up the street. Shortly -afterward he was seen coming, and when he had approached within -twenty-five feet of the brick pile Bill Johnson rose to his feet and -fired both barrels of his shotgun. Unsteady with drink, Johnson's fire -went over the marshal's head and left him unharmed. The marshal pulled -his pistol and with lightning rapidity filled Johnson's body full of -holes. At the same moment Campbell's friends, posted on the opposite -side of the street, opened fire on Stoudenmire and slightly wounded him -in one foot, but the marshal charged his attackers and single-handed -put them to flight. - -From this day Marshal Stoudenmire had the roughs of El Paso eating out -of his hand. There was no longer any necessity for the rangers to help -him police the town and they were withdrawn. Stoudenmire's presence on -the streets was a guarantee of order and good government. He was a good -man for the class of people he had to deal with, yet he knew there were -those in El Paso that were his bitter enemies and always on the alert -for a chance to take his life. This caused him to drink, and when under -the influence of liquor he became mean and overbearing to some of his -most ardent supporters, so much so that by the spring of 1882 he was -asked to resign. In a dramatic and fiery speech Stoudenmire presented -his resignation and declared he had not been treated fairly by the -City Council and that he could straddle them all. - -Immediately on leaving the rangers, as narrated at the close of the -preceding chapter, I accepted a position of captain of guards on the -Santa Fe Railroad under my friend, Captain Thatcher. I did not long -remain in the railroad's employ, and after a few months I resigned my -position there to become assistant city marshal under Mr. Stoudenmire. - -Upon the resignation of Mr. Stoudenmire I was appointed city marshal -of El Paso. Upon my appointment the ex-marshal walked over, took me by -the hand and said, "Young man, I congratulate you on being elected city -marshal and at the same time I wish to warn you that you have more than -a man's size job on your hands." - -Stoudenmire at once secured the appointment as United States deputy -marshal of the Western District of Texas with headquarters at El Paso. -Stoudenmire always treated me with the greatest consideration and -courtesy and gave me trouble on only one occasion. I reproduce here a -clipping from an El Paso paper of the time: - -"Last Thursday night a shooting scrape in which ex-Marshal Stoudenmire -and ex-Deputy Page played the leading parts occurred at the Acme -saloon. It seems that early in the evening Page had a misunderstanding -with Billy Bell. Stoudenmire acted as peacemaker in the matter. In -doing so he carried Page to Doyle's concert hall, where the two -remained an hour or so and got more or less intoxicated. About midnight -they returned to the Acme and soon got into a quarrel. Stoudenmire -drew his pistol and fired at Page; the latter, however, knocked the -weapon upward and the ball went into the ceiling. Page then wrenched -the pistol from Stoudenmire and the latter drew a second pistol and the -two combatants were about to perforate each other when Marshal Gillett -appeared on the premises with a double-barrel shotgun and corralled -both of them. They were taken before court the following morning and -fined $25 each and Stoudenmire was placed under bond in the sum of $250 -to keep the peace." - -My election to the marshalship of El Paso I attribute solely to my -training as a ranger and to the notoriety my kidnapping of Baca out of -Mexico had given me, so that the marshalship of the town was one of the -direct fruits of my ranger service. - -I was an officer of El Paso for several years. Not very long after my -acceptance of the marshalship Captain C.L. Nevill, with whom I had -served in Lieutenant Reynolds' company, resigned his ranger command -and became sheriff and tax collector of Presidio County, Texas. The -Marfa country was now seen to be a very promising cattle section, so -Captain Nevill and myself formed a partnership and embarked in the -cattle business. This did not in the least interfere with our duties as -sheriff and marshal, respectively, and we soon built up a nice little -herd of cattle. - -In the spring of 1885 General Gano and sons of Dallas, Texas, formed a -company known as the Estado Land and Cattle Company. The new concern -arranged to open a big ranch in Brewster County and General Gano wrote -to Captain Nevill, asking him please to secure a good cattleman as -ranch manager for the new company. Nevill at once wrote me and advised -me to accept this position. In his letter he jokingly remarked: - -"Jim, you have had a quart cup of bullets shot at you while a ranger -and marshal, and now that you have a chance to quit and get something -less hazardous I advise you to do it. Besides you will be near our own -little ranch and can see your own cattle from time to time." - -I considered the proposition seriously, and on the 1st day of April, -1885, I resigned from the police force of El Paso and became a cowboy -again. In accepting the marshalship I reaped the fruits of my ranger -service and now, in resigning from that position I completely severed -all my connection with the ranger force and all that it had brought me. -Henceforth my ranger days and ranger service were to be but a memory, -albeit the most happy and cherished one of my life. - -I was manager of the Estado Land and Cattle Company's ranch for nearly -six years and during that period the herd increased from six to thirty -thousand head. When I resigned the ranch managership it was that I -might attend to my own ranch interests, which had also grown in that -period. Though today I own a large and prosperous ranch in the Marfa -country and though my business interests are many and varied, I still -cherish the memory of my ranger days and am never too busy to see an -old ranger comrade and re-live with him those six adventurous, happy -and thrilling years I was a member of the Frontier Battalion of the -Texas Rangers. - - -THE END - -[Illustration: - - _J.B. Gillett_ - IN - 1921] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS -RANGERS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Gillett</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Six Years with the Texas Rangers</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>1875 to 1881</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James B. Gillett</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 22, 2022 [eBook #65675]<br /> -[Most recently updated: April 23, 2022]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Graeme Mackreth and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS ***</div> - -<p class="center" id="illus01"> -<img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> - -<p class="caption"> SERGEANT J.B. GILLETT, TEXAS RANGER IN 1879</p> - - - - - -<p class="ph1">SIX YEARS WITH THE<br /> -TEXAS RANGERS</p> - -<p class="ph5">1875 TO 1881</p> - -<p class="ph5">BY</p> -<p class="ph3">JAMES B. GILLETT</p> - -<p class="ph4">Ex-Sergeant Company "A," Frontier Battalion</p> - - - -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 10em"><span class="smcap">Von Boeckmann-Jones Co., Publishers<br /> -Austin, Texas</span></p> - - - - - - -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 5em">Copyright 1921</p> -<p class="ph6">by</p> -<p class="ph5">James B. Gillett</p> - - - - - - -<p class="ph4" style="margin-top: 5em">TO MY OLD RANGER COMRADES<br /> -WHEREVER THEY MAY BE</p> - - - - - -<p class="ph2">FOREWORD</p> - - -<p>To write a true and complete history of the Texas Rangers as a state -organization would require much time and an able historian. I am not a -historian and could not undertake such an exhaustive treatise, which -would fill several volumes the size of this, 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 those the best.</p> - -<p>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 very 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 just one little boy that loves -to read about a real frontier, I will feel amply repaid for all the -time, trouble and expense expended in presenting this work.</p> - -<p>I wish sincerely to thank Miss Mary Baylor for placing at my disposal -all 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 had never been written.</p> - -<p>That I might show the training of the typical Texas Ranger, I have -ventured to include a short biography of my own life up to the time I -became a ranger, June 1, 1875.</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">TABLE OF CONTENTS</p> - - - - - - - -<table summary="toc" width="65%"> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td><td></td><td><span class="smcap">Page</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">I</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">The Making of a Ranger</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">II</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">The Texas Rangers</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">III</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">I Join the Rangers</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IV</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">My First Brush With the Indians</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">V</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">The Mason County War</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VI</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">Major Jones and His Escort</span></a></td><td align="right"> <a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">The Horrell-Higgins Feud</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VIII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Service With Reynolds, the Intrepid</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IX</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">Sam Bass and His Train Robber Gang</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">X</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">A Winter of Quiet and a Transfer</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XI</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">The Salt Lake War and a Long Trek</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">Our First Fight With Apaches</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">Scouting in Mexico</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIV</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">Treacherous Braves, a Faithful Dog, -and a Murder</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XV</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">Victorio Becomes a Good Indian</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVI</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><span class="smcap">Some Undesirable Recruits</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><span class="smcap">Last Fight Between Rangers and -Apaches</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVIII</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><span class="smcap">An International Episode</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIX</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><span class="smcap">Last Scoutings</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XX</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><span class="smcap">Fruits of Ranger Service</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<p class="ph2">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - - -<table summary="list" width="50%"> - - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus01"><span class="smcap">Sergeant J.B. Gillett</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus02"><span class="smcap">General Jno. B. Jones</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus03"><span class="smcap">Captain D.W. Roberts</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus04"><span class="smcap">Captain Neal Coldwell</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus05"><span class="smcap">Lieutenant N.O. Reynolds</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus06"><span class="smcap">Captain Geo. W. Baylor</span>_</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus07"><span class="smcap">Dallas Stoudenmire</span>_</a></td> </tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><a href="#illus08"><span class="smcap">James B. Gillett</span></a></td> </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<p class="ph2">SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> -<p class="center">THE MAKING OF A RANGER</p> - - -<p>The greatest shaping force in human life is heredity, and from my -father I inherited my love of the open frontier and its life of -danger and excitement. This inheritance was further strengthened by -environment and training, and finally led me to embrace the life of the -Texas Ranger. My father, James S. Gillett, was himself a frontiersman, -though born in the quieter, more settled east. At a very early age -his parents emigrated from his birthplace in Kentucky and moved to -Missouri. Here, after a short time, they died and the young orphan -lived with a brother-in-law. When still quite a youth my father, with -three other adventurous Missourians, set out on an expedition to Santa -Fe, New Mexico. While passing through Indian Territory, now the State -of Oklahoma, the little party was captured by the Osage Indians. -Fortunately for the youngsters, their captors did them no harm, but -turned them loose after two weeks' imprisonment in the redskin camp.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>Despite this first setback my father persevered and reached Santa Fe. -Here he lived several years and mastered the Spanish language. Not long -afterward the emigrating fever again caught him up and he journeyed to -Van Buren, Arkansas. While living there he studied law and was admitted -to the bar. Shortly thereafter he removed to Paris, Texas, from which -he was elected to the Texas Legislature as representative for Lamar and -adjoining counties.</p> - -<p>When Texas entered the Union and brought on the Mexican War with the -United States, my father enlisted in 1846 and rose to the rank of -major. In 1854 he was Adjutant-General of Texas. Between 1859 and 1860, -during the governorship of Sam Houston, my father was quartermaster of -a battalion of rangers, thus making it natural that I should also feel -drawn toward this famous organization.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of the Civil War my father was beyond military -age,—he was born in 1810—but as the South became hard pressed for men -he enlisted in the spring of 1864 and served in Captain Carington's -company until the end of the war.</p> - -<p>In 1850, a few years before he became Adjutant-General, my father -married Miss Bettie Harper, then a resident of Washington County, -Texas. My<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> mother's father, Captain Harper, was a southern planter who -emigrated from North Carolina between 1846 and 1848, and, settling -in Washington County, established a Dixie plantation with a hundred -slaves. My mother was a highly cultivated and refined woman. On her -marriage she brought several negro servants with her to her new home -in Austin. Of her union with my father five children were born. The -first two, both boys, died in infancy. I was the fourth child born -to my parents, and first saw the light of day in Austin, Texas, on -November 4, 1856. An older sister, Mary, and a younger, Eva, survived -to adulthood.</p> - -<p>At the close of the Civil War my father returned to his family pretty -well broken in health and probably also in spirit. His slaves were -all freed and his land holdings, about two hundred acres of cedar -land, some five or six miles from Austin, and a tract of pine land in -Grimes County, Texas, were not very productive. There was not much law -practice in Austin in the early post-war days, but my father set to -work resolutely to provide for his family. Though I did not realize -it then, I now know that he had a hard struggle. I was only eight -and a half years old when father returned to us from the Confederate -Army, but I remember he used to amuse himself by relating to us vivid -ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>counts of his Indian fighting and frontier adventures. What heredity -gave me a predilection for was strengthened by these narratives, and I -early conceived a passionate desire to become a frontiersman and live a -life of adventure.</p> - -<p>In those early days in Texas there were no free schools in Austin, -so my father sent the three of us, Mary, Eva, and myself, to the pay -schools. None of these was very good, and I lost nearly two years at -a German school, trying to mix German and English. I have never been -of a studious nature—the great out of doors always called to me, and -I found the desk's dead wood particularly irksome. When school closed -in the early summer of 1868, like some of Christ's disciples, I went -fishing and never attended school an hour thereafter. For books I -substituted the wide-open volume of nature and began the life of sport -and freedom that was to prepare me later for service with the rangers.</p> - -<p>As poor as he was my father always kept a pony, and I learned to ride -almost before I could walk. Raised on the banks of the Colorado River, -I learned to swim and fish so long ago that I cannot now remember when -I was unable to do either. I fished along the river with a few hand -lines and used to catch quantities of gaspergou or drums. These were -fine fish and sold readily on the streets of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> Austin, so I soon saved -money enough to buy a small skiff or fishing boat. I now bought a trot -line with a hundred hooks and began fishing in real earnest. About -five or six miles below Austin on the Colorado was Mathews' mill. Just -below the dam of this mill the fishing was always good, and here I made -my fishing grounds. I had a large dry goods box with inch auger holes -bored in it. This box, sunk in the river and secured by a rope tied to -a stob, made a capital trap, and into it I dropped my fish as they were -caught. In this way I kept them alive and fresh until I had enough to -take into town.</p> - -<p>Many free negroes were farming along the banks of the Colorado, and -I would hire a pony of them for twenty-five cents a trip when I was -ready to take my catch into town. Many times I have left the river by -starlight and reached the Old Market House at Austin at dawn, spread -out a gunny sack, bunch my fish and be ready for the first early -marketers. I kept up my fishing until the fish stopped biting in the -fall of 1868.</p> - -<p>Confederate soldiers returning home from the war brought with them many -old Enfield muskets. These were smooth bore and chambered one large -ball and three buckshot. These old guns, loaded with small shot, were -fine on birds and squirrels,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> but they had one serious objection—they -would kick like a mule. As the boys used to say, they "would get meat -at both ends!" A day's shooting with one of these muskets would leave -one's shoulder and arm black and blue for a week.</p> - -<p>When fishing failed I decided to become a hunter, and bought one of -these old guns for $3.50. It was as long as a fence rail, and at my age -I could not begin to hold it out and shoot off hand, so I had to use a -rest. The Enfield musket had the longest barrel I ever saw on a gun, -and the hammer was as long as a man's hand. I could cock my gun with -both hands, but if I failed to get a shot I was not strong enough to -let the hammer down without letting it get away, so I had to carry it -cocked to keep from losing the cap. I would take it off the tube and -put it in my pocket until I had a chance for another shot. I remember -once when I cocked my musket I could see no cap on the tube and, -thinking it had fallen off, I pulled the trigger. The cap had stuck up -in the old hammer and the gun roared like a cannon. I was always sure -to look for the cap after this. I did not make much headway using this -kind of weapon, but it taught me the use and danger of firearms,—a -knowledge I was to find very useful in later years.</p> - -<p>When fishing opened up in the spring of 1869 I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> returned to my fishing -lines, and in the fall of the same year I bought a double-barreled -shotgun for $12. With it I killed quail, ducks and other small game, -all of which I sold on the streets of Austin. By the fall of 1870 I was -fourteen years old and could handle a gun rather well for one of my age.</p> - -<p>Early that winter wild geese came south by the hundreds. I used to hunt -them down the Colorado River, ten or twelve miles below Austin. The -birds would feed in the corn fields in the early morning, then flock -to the sand bars in the river during the middle of the day. There was -nothing silly about those geese, for they were smart enough to frequent -only the big islands, three or four hundred yards from any cover. It -was impossible to reach them with any kind of a shotgun. I used to -slip up to them as close as I could and watch them for hours, trying -to think of some plan to get within gun shot of them. I saw as many -as a thousand geese on those bars at a single time. I have thought -regretfully of those birds many times since, and have wished I could -have shot into one of those flocks with a modern rifle—I could have -killed a dozen geese at a shot.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1871 I had my first trip to the frontier of Texas. My -father traded some of his Grimes County pine land for a bunch of cattle -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> Brown County, and took me with him when he went to receive the -herd. This was the first time I had ever been twenty-five miles from -Austin. I was delighted with the trip, the people, and the country. -Those big, fine frontiersmen, each wearing a pair of sixshooters and -most of them carrying a Winchester, fired my boyish imagination. Their -accounts of frontier life and their Indian tales fascinated me. I -wanted to stay right there with them and lost all interest in ever -living in town again. During the same year my father drove several -bunches of cattle to Austin and I helped him on those drives. Thus I -began to be a cowboy,—my first step toward the life of the open, upon -which I had set my heart.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1872 my mother's health began to fail and my father -took her to Lampasas Springs. The water seemed to help her so much that -he decided to make Lampasas our home. At that time Lampasas County was -strictly a cattle country, but there was not much cow hunting during -the winter in those days. The cattlemen and the cowboys spent a good -deal of time in town just having a good time. During this period I -became well acquainted with them. In the spring of 1873 my father made -a trip back to Austin on some business. The frontier had been calling -to me ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> since my first visit there, and I now took advantage of my -father's absence to slip out to Coleman County, at that time on the -frontier of Texas.</p> - -<p>Monroe Cooksey and Jack Clayton had bought a bunch of cattle in Coleman -County and I saw the outfit when it left Lampasas. I was slightly -acquainted with most of the men in this outfit, so I decided to follow -it and try to get work. It was an Indian country every step of the way, -and I was afraid to make the trip alone. In a day or two I met a man -named Bob McCollum. He was hauling a load of flour to Camp Colorado and -let me travel with him. I bade my mother and sisters good bye and did -not see them again until the next December.</p> - -<p>We reached old Camp Colorado without mishap in about five days. Clayton -and Cooksey's outfit was there loading up supplies for the spring work. -I stood around watching the cowboys making their preparations, but -lacked the courage to ask them for work. Finally, the outfit started -down on Jim Ned Creek to camp for dinner. I went with the men and at -last got up spunk enough to ask Mr. Monroe Cooksey for a job. He looked -at me for a minute and then asked, "What kind of work can a boy of your -size do?"</p> - -<p>I told him I was willing to do anything a boy of my age could do. He -made no reply and we went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> on and camped for dinner. After dinner the -men made ready to go over on Hoard's Creek to camp for the night. The -boys made a rope corral and began to catch their mounts. I just stood -there like an orphan watching them. Presently Mr. Cooksey dashed his -rope on a heavy set bay horse. The animal showed the whites of his -eyes, made a rattling noise in his nose and struggled so violently that -it took three men on the rope to hold him. Mr. Cooksey then turned -to me and said, "Here, boy, if you can ride this * * * (giving an -unmentionable name to the horse) you have a job cinched."</p> - -<p>I turned, grabbed my saddle, bridle and blanket and started to the -animal. An elderly man in the outfit headed me off.</p> - -<p>"Young man," he said, "this is an old spoiled horse, and unless you are -a mighty good rider you had better not get on him."</p> - -<p>I brushed him aside.</p> - -<p>"Pshaw, I'm hunting work, and while I'm not a broncho buster, I will -make a stab at riding him if he kills me."</p> - -<p>By this time one of the boys had caught the horse by both ears and was -holding him fast. They threw my saddle on him, tightened up the cinch, -and finally, after much trouble, got the bridle on him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> and lifted me -into the saddle. When I had fixed myself as best I could they let the -animal go. He made two or three revolting leaps forward and fell with -his feet all doubled up under him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cooksey seemed to realize the danger I was in, and shouted to me to -jump off. Before I could shake myself loose the old horse had scrambled -to his feet and dashed off in a run. I circled him around to the remuda -and rode him until night without further trouble. I had won my job, but -it was a dirty trick for a lot of men to play on a boy, and a small boy -at that. However, to their credit, I wish to say they never put me on a -bad horse again but gave me the best of gentle ponies to ride.</p> - -<p>Our first work was to gather and deliver a herd of cattle to the -Horrell boys, then camped on Home Creek. We worked down to the Colorado -River, and when we were near old Flat Top ranch the men with the outfit -left me to drive the remuda down the road after the mess wagon while -they tried to find a beef. I had gone only a mile or two when I saw a -man approaching me from the rear. As he came up I thought he was the -finest specimen of a frontiersman I had ever seen. He was probably six -feet tall, with dark hair and beard. He was heavily armed, wearing two -sixshooters and carry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>ing a Winchester in front of him and was riding -a splendid horse with a wonderful California saddle. He rode up to me -and asked whose outfit it was I was driving. I told him Cooksey and -Clayton's. He then inquired my name. When I told him he said, "Oh, yes; -I saw your father in Lampasas a few days ago and he told me to tell you -to come home and go to school."</p> - -<p>I made no reply, but just kept my horses moving. The stranger then -told me his name was Sam Gholston. He said it was dangerous for one so -young to be in a bad Indian country and unarmed, that the outfit should -not have left me alone, and counselled me to go back to my parents. I -would not talk to him, so he finally bade me good bye and galloped off. -His advice was good, but I had not the least idea of going home—I had -embraced the frontier life.</p> - -<p>The Cooksey and Clayton outfit did not stay in the cow business long. -After filling their contract with the Horrell boys they sold out to -Joe Franks. I suppose I was sold along with the outfit, at least I -continued to work for Mr. Franks. A kinder heart than that of Joe -Franks never beat in a human breast. He was big of stature and big -of soul. He seemed to take an interest in his youthful cow-puncher, -and asked me where I was raised and how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> I came to be away out on the -frontier. As cold weather came on that fall he gave me one of his top -coats. It made a pretty good overcoat for me and came down quite to -my knees. The sleeves were so long I could double them up and hold my -bridle reins, and in one garment I had both coat and gloves.</p> - -<p>During the summer of 1873 John Hitsons, Sam Gholston and Joe Franks -were all delivering cattle to old John Chislom, whose outfit was camped -on the south side of the Concho River, about where the town of Paint -Rock now stands. The other outfits were scattered along down the river -about half a mile apart. There were probably seventy-five or a hundred -men in the four camps and at least five hundred horses. One evening -just after dark the Indians ran into Gholston's outfit, captured about -sixty head of horses and got away with them. The redskins and the -cowboys had a regular pitched battle for a few moments, probably firing -two hundred shots. This fight was in plain view of our camp and I saw -the flash of every gun and heard the Indians and the cowboys yelling. -One of Mr. Gholston's men received a flesh wound in the leg and several -horses were killed. Two nights later the Indians ran upon Franks' -outfit and tried to take our horses. Bob Whitehead and Pete<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> Peck were -on guard and stood the redskins off. We saved our horses by keeping -them in a pen for the remainder of the night. I was beginning to get a -taste of frontier life early in the game.</p> - -<p>For years cattle had drifted south into Menard and Kimble Counties, -and Joe Franks was one of the first of the Coleman County outfits to -go south into the San Saba and Llano country. He worked the Big and -Little Saline Creeks, the Llano and San Saba Rivers and found many of -his cattle down there. By the last of November he had about finished -work for the year, and, gathering three hundred fat cows to drive to -Calvert, Texas, he left John Banister down on the Big Saline to winter -the horses.</p> - -<p>I passed through Lampasas with these cows, and saw my mother and -sisters for the first time in nine months. When we reached Bell County -a cow buyer met us and bought the cows at $10 per head. He just got -down off his horse, lifted a pair of saddle bags off and counted out -three thousand dollars in twenty dollar gold pieces, and hired some -of the boys to help him drive the cattle into Calvert. Mr. Franks, -with most of the outfit, turned back to Lampasas. When he settled with -me Mr. Franks owed me just $200, and he handed me ten twenty dollar -gold pieces. It was the most money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> I had ever earned and almost the -greatest amount I had seen in my life.</p> - -<p>I spent December and January at home, and early in February, 1874, I -started back to Menard County with Mr. Franks, as he was anxious to -begin work as early in the spring as possible. When we reached Parsons -Ranch on the Big Saline we learned that the Indians had stolen all his -horses,—seventy-five or eighty head, and he had left only eight or ten -old ponies. Mr. Franks sent Will Banister and myself back to Coleman -County to pick up ten or twelve horses he had left there the year -before, while he himself returned to Lampasas and Williamson Counties -to buy horses.</p> - -<p>This trip from Menard County to Coleman County, a distance of about one -hundred and fifty miles, was rather a hazardous trip for two boys to -make alone. However, we were both armed with new Winchesters and would -have been able to put up a stiff fight if cornered. Our ponies were -poor and weak, so that it would have been impossible for us to have -escaped had we met a band of Indians. And this is what we came very -near doing.</p> - -<p>There was no road from Menard to Coleman at that time, so we just -traveled north. I had cow hunted over most of that country the year -before and knew by landmarks pretty well how to go. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> reached the -head of Big Brady Creek one evening while a cold north wind was -blowing. We camped for the night right down in the bed of a dry creek -to get out of the wind. We saddled up next morning and had not gone -more than a hundred and fifty yards from camp before we discovered -where sixteen or seventeen Indians had just gone along,—at least there -was that number of pony tracks. These redskins had hopped a skunk, -gotten down and killed it with a chunk of wood. When we found the body -it had scarcely quit bleeding. We saw moccasin tracks as if the savages -had all gotten off their ponies for a few moments. Banister and I made -the trip safely, and returned to Menard County early in March. Mr. -Franks soon came with a new bunch of horses, and we went right to work -gathering and delivering cattle.</p> - -<p>About the first of June, Bee Clayton came to the outfit from Lampasas -County and told me my father had been dead more than a month. Mr. -Franks settled with me and I started for home the next day. Upon -reaching Lampasas I began work with Barrett and Nicholls' outfit. They -were the biggest cattle owners in that country and ran three large -outfits, one in Llano County, one in San Saba County, and another in -Lampasas. I worked with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> the last mentioned outfit that I might be near -my mother and sisters.</p> - -<p>I had now become familiar with most aspects of frontier life. I had cow -punched and seen Indian raids, but I had not yet met the Texas "bad -man"—the murderer and the bandit. My education was not long neglected, -for it was while working with Barrett and Nicholls that I made my -acquaintance with gentry of that ilk. One day five or six of our boys -were sitting down in a circle eating on a side of calf ribs. One of the -men, Jack Perkins, suddenly became involved in an altercation with Levi -Dunbar, and, without warning, jerked out his six-shooter and shot him -to death. In rising to my feet I had my right shoulder powder burned.</p> - -<p>I stayed with Barrett and Nicholls until they quit work about December -1, 1874. In those days cattle were not worked much in the winter -months, so I spent the winter at home. By spring I had become as -restless as a bear and longed to get back to the frontier. Finally -I could stand the idleness no longer and told my mother I was going -back to Menard County to work for Mr. Franks. I reached the town of -Menardville early in March, 1875. There I learned that Joe Franks was -then at work on South Llano in Kimble County, about sixty miles from -Menard. Wess Ellis had just bought the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> Rufe Winn stock of cattle -and was ready to start on a cow hunt. He wanted me to work for him, -declaring he could pay me as much as Joe Franks or anybody else, so I -hired to him for $30 a month,—the top wages for a cowboy at that time.</p> - -<p>During the year I was at home a company of Texas Rangers commanded -by Captain Dan W. Roberts had been stationed over on Little Saline. -This company received its mail at Menardville, and I became acquainted -with this famous organization. Their free, open life along the -frontier had fired me with longing to become one of them and join in -their adventurous lives. In the spring of 1875 the Governor of Texas -authorized Captain Roberts to increase his command to fifty men. Almost -immediately Captain Roberts announced in Menardville and vicinity that -he would enlist twenty good men on June 1st to bring his company to -full strength. Here was my opportunity, and I decided I would be one of -those twenty recruits.</p> - - -<p class="center" id="illus02"> -<img src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> <i>Jno. B. Jones</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> -<p class="center">THE TEXAS RANGERS</p> - - -<p>The Texas Rangers, as an organization, dates from the spring of 1836. -When the Alamo had fallen before the onslaught of the Mexican troops -and the frightful massacre had occurred, General Sam Houston organized -among the Texan settlers in the territory a troop of 1600 mounted -riflemen. This company, formed for the defense of the Texan borders, -was the original Texas Ranger unit, and it is interesting to note -that the organization from its very inception to the present moment -has never swerved from that purpose—the protection of Texan borders, -whether such protection be against the Indian, the bandit or marauding -Mexicans from beyond the Rio Grande. This little troop of rangers won -everlasting laurels in its stand against Santa Anna at the battle of -San Jacinto.</p> - -<p>When the Republic of Texas was organized in December, 1837, the new -state found herself with an enormous frontier to protect. To the south -was the hostile Mexico while to the west and northwest roved the Indian -and the bandit. To furnish protection against such enemies and to form -the nucleus of a national standing army the ranger troop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> was retained. -During the seven years that Texas had to maintain her own independence -before she was admitted into the American Union, her rangers repelled -hordes of Mexicans, fought the murderous Apaches, Comanches, and -Kiowas, and administered justice on a wholesale plan to a great number -of outlaws and ruffians that had flocked pell mell into the new -Republic from the less attractive parts of the United States.</p> - -<p>So vital was the service rendered by the rangers in protecting the -lives and property of the settlers along the frontiers of the state -that Texas retained twelve hundred rangers as mounted police for -patrol of the Mexican border and as a safeguard against the savage -redskins of the southwest. When the Civil War broke out between the -North and the South, Texas was drawn into the conflict on the side -of the Confederacy. General Con Terry, an old ranger, organized the -famous body of men known as Terry's Texas Rangers. This command was -composed almost exclusively of ex-rangers and frontiersmen. From Bull -Run to Appomattox this ranger troop rendered gallant service, and lost -seventy-five per cent of its original muster roll. General Sherman, in -his memoirs, speaks admiringly of the bravery of the rangers at the -battle of Shiloh.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>Return to peace and the days of reconstruction did not do away with -the necessity for the service that could only be rendered by the -ranger. Banditry, Indian uprisings and massacres, cattle thievery, -all flourished, for the bad man confidently expected the post-war -turmoil would protect him from punishment for his misdeeds. He was to -be undeceived, for the rangers effectively taught him that they were -in the state for the purpose of protecting lives and property, and -right royally did they perform that duty. From 1868 to 1873 the ranger -companies were gradually reduced from one thousand to about three -hundred men.</p> - -<p>The Federal Government adopted a most unfortunate policy toward the -Indians after the war. The tribes were removed to reservations and -rationed as public charges. Unscrupulous dealers, in their desire for -gain, illegally sold firearms to the Indians, and whenever a redskin -massacred a frontiersman he was sure to capture good weapons, so that -they soon became well armed and very expert in handling their new -weapons. As no attempt was made to confine them to the reservation -limits, the redskins, under their native chiefs, were always sneaking -off and raiding West Texas. These marauders stole thousands of horses -and cattle, and did not hesitate to murder and scalp the defenseless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> -people along the frontier. Numbers of women and children were carried -off as captives, a very small proportion of which were subsequently -ransomed. Repeated complaints to Washington brought no redress. Indeed, -some of the government officials calmly declared that the Indians were -doing no harm—it was white men disguised as redskins that caused the -trouble!</p> - -<p>In 1874 conditions along the frontier had become so acute that the -need for an organized mounted police for the protection of the -settlers against the continued Indian raids became apparent. As in -the past the state looked again to her rangers. Early in 1874, during -the administration of Governor Richard Coke, the first Democratic -governor since secession, the Legislature appropriated $300,000 for -frontier defense, thus authorizing the formation of the Texas Rangers -as now constituted. The governor immediately issued a call for four -hundred and fifty volunteers. These were formed into six companies of -seventy-five men each. Each of these units was officered by a captain -and a first and second lieutenant. The companies were designated A, -B, C, D, E, and F, and received the official name of the Frontier -Battalion of Texas Rangers. Major John B. Jones of Corsicana, Texas, -was commissioned major of the command. At this time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> captains -received a salary of $100 per month, lieutenants $75, sergeants $50, -and corporals and privates $40. Subsequently, as the Legislature -continually sliced into the ranger appropriation, the pay of the -private was reduced to only $30 a month, a mere pittance for the -hazardous service demanded of them.</p> - -<p>Early in 1874 the force took the field, and each company was assigned -a definite territory along the frontier. Company "A," being the -northernmost company, was camped on the main fork of the Brazos River; -Company "F," the southernmost, was stationed on the Nueces River. The -remaining four companies were posted along the line between the two -commands mentioned about one hundred and twenty-five miles apart, so -that the battalion of four hundred and fifty men was required to cover -a frontier of between five and six hundred miles.</p> - -<p>Major Jones was a very able commander, and quickly won the confidence -of his men and of the people along the border he was sent to protect. -The frontiersmen cooperated with him in every way possible, sending -runners to the various ranger camps whenever an Indian trail was found -or a bunch of horses stolen. During the very first six months of its -existence nearly every company in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> the battalion had had an Indian -fight and some of them two or three. This command finally cleared -the Texas frontier of the redskins and then turned its attention to -the other pests of the state,—thieves, bandits, and fugitives from -justice. In this work the ranger rendered service second to none, -and became in an incredibly short time the most famous and the most -efficient body of mounted police in the world.</p> - -<p>Between 1865 and 1883 the Texas Rangers followed one hundred and -twenty-eight Indian raiding parties, and fought the redskins in -eighty-four pitched battles. During this same period they recovered six -thousand stolen horses and cattle and rescued three citizens carried -off by Indians. In this period twelve rangers were killed. Despite this -record of service, the Legislature at Austin could not always be made -to see the advantages,—nay, the necessity,—for a ranger force, and it -was continually tinkering with the appropriations for the support of -the force. When the appropriation was small the command was reduced to -keep within the expenditure doled out by the parsimonious solons, and -recruited to full strength whenever the lawmakers could be prevailed -upon to increase the annual ranger budget.</p> - -<p>By 1885 conditions had changed. Texas was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> longer endangered by -Indians, for the rangers had done much to convert the red devils into -good Indians,—that is, into dead ones. Although the Indians had -utterly disappeared from the state, the activities of the rangers did -not cease. The white "bad man" who had stirred up the first Indian -troubles now began to plunder and murder his own race and indulge in -every form of lawlessness. From hunting the murderous redskins the -rangers became now stalkers of the man-killers and those who despoiled -their neighbors of their property. The local legal authorities could -not or would not handle this task themselves, so the rangers were -made peace officers and given the right of arrest without warrant in -any part of the state. They then became mounted constables to quell -disorder, prevent crime and bring criminals to justice and assist the -duly constituted authorities in every way possible. This new work was -less romantic than the old Indian warfare, but it was every bit as -dangerous and as necessary in the building up of the fast developing -state. As in every other task assigned him the ranger did his duty -fearlessly and well. Between 1889 and 1890 the rangers made five -hundred and seventy-nine arrests, among them seventy-six murderers. -With the coming of the railroads the rangers began to use them, as -they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> permitted speed and the covering of greater distances than were -possible on horseback. Moreover, commands could be dispatched from -one part of the state to another as occasion demanded. This greater -mobility led to larger usefulness and increasing number of arrests by -the ranger forces.</p> - -<p>The outbreak of the Spanish-American War found the ranger ready and -anxious for service in the defense of the Union. Large numbers of them -were enlisted in the world famous Rough Riders.</p> - -<p>"I have heard from the lips of reliable rangers," declared General -Miles, in speaking of the ranger service in Cuba, "tales of daring that -are incomparable. It is indeed too bad that the world knows so little -about those marvelous men. There have been hosts of men among the Texas -Rangers who were just as nervy as Davy Crockett, Travis, or Bowie at -the Alamo."</p> - -<p>Thanks to her rangers, Texas is now one of the most law-abiding, most -orderly states in the Union. And, today, more than forty-six years -since the organization of the battalion, the state still maintains -a tiny force of rangers numbering sixty-three officers and men. In -1920-21, the battalion was composed of a headquarters company and -Companies A, C, D, E, and F. As in the beginning of its history, the -force is stationed along the frontier.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> The headquarters company, under -command of Captain J.P. Brooks, was stationed at Austin and used for -emergency calls. Company "A," stationed at Presidio, and commanded -by Captain Jerry Gray, patrols the border between El Paso, Presidio, -and Jeff Davis Counties and the back country southward. Company "E," -Captain J.L. Anders, patrols the line of Presidio and Brewster Counties -to the line of Terrell and Val Verde Counties and eastward. Company -"F," under Captain W.W. Davis, was stationed at Del Rio and covered the -line from Terrell and Val Verde Counties down the river to the line -between Maverick, Dimmit and Webb Counties and the back country. Under -the command of Captain William Ryan, Company "C" was located at Laredo -and patrolled the line of Maverick, Dimmit and Webb Counties to the -line of Zapata and Starr Counties and the back country, while Company -"D," stationed at Brownsville, under Captain W.L. Wright, patrols from -the line of Zapata and Starr Counties down the Rio Grande to its mouth -and the adjacent back country.</p> - -<p>Sketchy as has been this history, it will show a ranger record of -continuous duty throughout the forty-six years of its existence in -guarding the lives, the liberty and the property of Texas citizens. And -the ranger has been content to perform his duty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> unheralded and almost -unsung. Performance of duty, it matters not where it may lead him, into -whatever desperate situation or howsoever dangerous the thing demanded, -has always been the slogan of the organization. For courage, patriotic -devotion, instant obedience and efficiency, the record of the Texas -Ranger has been equalled by no body of constabulary ever mustered.</p> - -<p>Though formed into military units and officered as a soldier, the -ranger is not a military man, for scant attention is paid to military -law and precedent. The state furnished food for the men, forage for -their horses, ammunition and medical attendance. The ranger himself -must furnish his horse, his accoutrements and his arms. There is, then, -no uniformity in the matter of dress, for each ranger is free to dress -as he pleases and in the garb experience has taught him most convenient -for utility and comfort. A ranger, as any other frontiersman or cowboy, -usually wears good heavy woolen clothes of any color that strikes -his fancy. Some are partial to corduroy suits, while others prefer -buckskin. A felt hat of any make and color completes his uniform. -While riding, a ranger always wore spurs and very high-heeled boots to -prevent his foot from slipping through the stirrup, for both the ranger -and the cowboy ride with the stirrup in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> the middle of the foot. This -is safer and less fatiguing on a long ride. For arms, the ranger after -1877 carried a Winchester rifle or carbine, a Colt's .45 revolver, and -a Bowie knife. Two cartridge belts, one for Winchester and one for -revolver ammunition, completed his equipment, and so armed he was ready -to mount and ride.</p> - -<p>"We live in the saddle and the sky is our roof," say the old rangers, -and this is literally true. The rangers are perfect centaurs and almost -live in the saddle. They take horse where they will and may arrest or -search in any part of the state. There is very little of what a West -Point graduate would call drill. A ranger is expected simply to be a -good rider and a quick and accurate shot. Every one of them are skilled -horsemen and crack shots. No crack cavalryman in any army can mount -a horse more quickly or more expertly than a ranger, and he can keep -a constant stream of fire pouring from his carbine when his horse is -going at top speed and hit the mark nine times out of ten! Should a -ranger drop anything on the ground that he wants he does not even check -the speed of his horse, but, bending from the saddle as if he were made -of India rubber, he picks up the object in full gallop.</p> - -<p>While not on active duty the rangers amuse themselves in various -ways. Some play cards, others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> hunt, while the studious spend their -time over books and good literature. Horse racing is popular, and the -fastest horse in the company is soon spotted, for the rangers match -their mounts one against the other. At night around their camp fires -the men are constantly telling stories of their own or some comrade's -adventures that put to shame all the inventions of the imaginative -fiction writers. But when on duty all this is changed. No pace is too -quick, no task too difficult or too hazardous for him. Night and day -will the ranger trail his prey, through rain and shine, until the -criminal is located and put behind the bars where he will not again -molest or disturb peaceful citizens. For bravery and endurance and -steadfast adherence to duty at all times the ranger is in a class all -to himself. Such was the old ranger, and such is the ranger of today. -Is it surprising, then, that I was early attracted to the force and -wished to join them in their open, joyous and adventurous life?</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus03"> -<img src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> <i>D.W. Roberts</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> -<p class="center">I JOIN THE RANGERS</p> - - -<p>The fame of the Texas Rangers had, of course, become common knowledge -among all Texans. Their deeds of adventure and their open, attractive -life along the frontier, had always appealed to me, and I had long -cherished the desire to enlist in the battalion. But the enlistment, as -announced by Captain Roberts, would not be made until June 1, 1875, and -I reached Menardville early in March. I had intended going on to join -Mr. Franks' outfit, but, as explained in a previous chapter, I hired -out to Mr. Ellis until I could enlist in Captain Roberts' company.</p> - -<p>About the middle of May, 1875, Joe Franks had worked back over into -Menard County. I wished to see my old friends in his outfit, and so -went over to meet them. While there I mentioned that I was going to -join the rangers. A cowboy named Norman Rodgers, who was working for -Mr. Franks, said he would also like to join, so we decided we would -go over to Captain Roberts together and see if we couldn't get him to -recruit us into his company.</p> - -<p>Rodgers and I rode over to the ranger camp be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>yond Menardville. Neither -of us had ever been in such a camp before nor did we know anyone in the -company. Of the first ranger we met we inquired where we could find the -captain. His tent was pointed out to us and we went toward it.</p> - -<p>"Jim," said Norman as we approached the tent, "you will have to do the -talking."</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts met us as we came up and invited us to be seated. I -told him at once that we had come to enlist as rangers. He asked us our -names, where we were working, and finally inquired if we had anyone -that would recommend us. We had not thought of references, but told him -that probably Mr. Franks or Mr. Ellis would stand for us, as they were -well known and prominent cattlemen for whom we had worked.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts looked straight at me and said, "Did you say your name -was Gillett?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Jim Gillett," I replied.</p> - -<p>He then asked me where I was born, and I told him at Austin, Texas.</p> - -<p>"Are you a son of James S. Gillett who was Adjutant-General under -Governor Sam Houston?"</p> - -<p>I told him I was.</p> - -<p>"I have often heard my father, Buck Roberts, speak of your father," he -said in a friendly tone.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts then asked us what kind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> horses we had, telling -us that a ranger was required to have a good mount, for each man was -allowed to have only one horse, which had to be a good one, that could -be ridden every day for a month if necessary. I told the captain I had -two good pony mares. He burst out laughing, and said a mare was not -allowed in the service. He then told us to go and see what kind of a -mount we could get, come back and let him inspect the animals. The -captain never once said he would enlist us, but, as the interview was -now over and he had not refused us, we went back to camp feeling very -hopeful we would soon be rangers.</p> - -<p>I secured a big black pony and Norman a gray one, not so large as mine -but a much prettier horse. We returned to the ranger camp a few days -later mounted on these ponies. The captain looked them over, said they -were rather small but that he would accept them, and told us to be at -his camp by May 31st to be sworn into the service. We left camp that -evening all puffed up at the prospect of being Texas Rangers.</p> - -<p>The last day of May arrived. Norman Rodgers and myself with many other -recruits we had never seen before were at the ranger camp. On June 1, -1875, at 10 o'clock, we were formed in line, mounted, and the oath of -allegiance to the State of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> Texas was read to us by Captain Roberts. -When we had all signed this oath we were pronounced Texas Rangers. -This was probably the happiest day of my life, for I had realized one -of my greatest ambitions and was now a member of the most famous and -efficient body of mounted police in the world.</p> - -<p>Immediately upon being sworn in the men were divided into messes, ten -men to the mess, and issued ten days' rations by the orderly sergeant. -These rations consisted of flour, bacon, coffee, sugar, beans, rice, -pepper, salt and soda. No potatoes, syrup or lard was furnished, -and each man had to supply his own cooking utensils. To shorten our -bread we used bacon grease. Beef was sometimes supplied the men, but -wild game was so plentiful that but little other meat was required. -Furthermore, each recruit was furnished a Sharps carbine, .50 caliber, -and one .45 Colt's pistol. These arms were charged to each ranger, -their cost to be deducted from our first pay. Our salary of $40 per -month was paid in quarterly installments. The state also supplied -provender for the horses.</p> - -<p>Though a ranger was forced to supply his own mount, the state undertook -to pay for the animal if it were killed or lost in an Indian fight. To -establish the impartial value of our animals, Cap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>tain Roberts marched -us into Menardville and asked three citizens of the town to place a -value on each man's mount. This was done, and I was highly gratified -when old Coley, my mount, was appraised at $125. This formality over, -the company was moved from Little Saline to Camp Los Moris, five miles -southwest of Menardville, Texas. We were now ready to begin scouting -for Indians.</p> - -<p>As is usual under the same circumstances the new recruits came in for -their share of pranks and mishaps. One raw rooky in my mess, fired with -love of economy, undertook to cook ten days' rations for the whole mess -at one time. He put a quantity of rice on the fire. Soon it began to -boil and swell, and that surprised ranger found his rice increasing -in unheard of proportions. He filled every cooking vessel in the mess -with half-cooked rice, and still the kettle continued to overflow. In -desperation he finally began to pour it on the ground. Even then he had -enough rice cooked to supply the entire company.</p> - -<p>Another recruit, anxious to test his new weapons, obtained Captain -Roberts' permission to go hunting. He had not gone far from camp before -he began firing at some squirrels. One of his bullets struck the limb -of a tree and whizzed close to camp. This gave an old ranger an idea. -He hastened after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> the hunter and gravely arrested him, declaring that -the glancing bullet had struck a man in camp and that Captain Roberts -had ordered the careless hunter's arrest. The veteran brought in a pale -and badly scared recruit.</p> - -<p>One of the favorite diversions of the old rangers was to make a -newcomer believe that the state furnished the rangers with socks -and start him off to the captain's tent to demand his share of free -hosiery. The captain took these pranks in good part and assured the -crestfallen applicant that the rangers were only playing a joke on him, -while his tormentors enjoyed his discomfiture from a safe distance.</p> - -<p>When they had run out of jokes the rangers settled down to the regular -routine of camp. Each morning the orderly sergeant had roll call, at -which time he always detailed six or eight men with a non-commissioned -officer to take charge of the rangers' horses and the pack mules until -relieved the following morning by a new guard. The guard was mounted -and armed and drove the loose stock out to graze. The horses were never -taken far from camp for fear of being attacked by Indians, and also to -keep them near at hand in case they were needed quickly.</p> - -<p>The rangers not on guard spent their time as they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> wished when not on -duty, but no man could leave the camp without the captain's permission. -The boys played such games as appealed to them, horse-shoe pitching and -cards being the favorite diversions. As long as it did not interfere -with a man's duty as a ranger, Captain Roberts permitted pony racing, -and some exciting contests took place between rival horse owners. And -hunting and fishing were always available, for woods and streams were -stocked with game and fish.</p> - -<p>I soon had cause to congratulate myself on my enlistment in Company -"D," for I found Captain D.W. Roberts the best of company commanders. -At the time I joined his command he was just thirty-five years of age, -very slender and perhaps a little over six feet tall. His beard and -hair were dark auburn. He was always neatly dressed and was kind and -affable in manner,—looking more like the dean of an Eastern college -than the great captain he was.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts was a fine horseman and a good shot with both pistol -and rifle. He was also a fine violinist and often played for the boys. -He had been raised on the frontier and had such a great reputation as -an Indian fighter that the Fourteenth Legislature of Texas presented -him with a fine Winchester rifle for his gallantry in fighting the -red<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>skins. The captain had made a close study of the habits and actions -of the Indians and had become such an authority that their life was -an open book to him. This, of course, gave him a great advantage in -following and fighting them, and under his able leadership Company "D" -became famous. There was not a man in the company that did not consider -it a compliment to be detailed on a scout with Captain Roberts.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of the summer or early fall of 1875, Captain Roberts -visited Colorado County, Texas, and returned with a bride, a Miss Lou -Conway. Mrs. Roberts was a very refined and elegant lady, and soon -adapted herself to the customs of the camp. She was with her husband -on the San Saba River during the winter of 1875-76 and soon became as -popular with the company as Captain Roberts himself.</p> - -<p>Most people consider the life of the Texas Ranger hard and dangerous, -but I never found it so. In the first place, the ranger was always with -a body of well armed men, more than a match for any enemy that might be -met. Then, there was an element of danger about it that appealed to any -red-blooded American. All of western Texas was a real frontier then, -and for one who loved nature and God's own creation, it was a paradise -on earth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> The hills and valleys were teeming with deer and turkey, -thousands of buffalo and antelope were on the plains, and the streams -all over Texas were full of fish. Bee caves and bee trees abounded. -In the spring time one could travel for hundreds of miles on a bed -of flowers. Oh, how I wish I had the power to describe the wonderful -country as I saw it then. How happy I am now in my old age that I am -a native Texan and saw the grand frontier before it was marred by the -hand of man.</p> - -<p>The Lipans, Kickapoos, Comanches, and Kiowa Indians used to time their -raids so as to reach the Texas settlements during the light of the -moon so they would have moonlight nights in which to steal horses and -make their get-away before they could be discovered. By morning, when -their thefts became known, they would have a long lead ahead and be -well out on their way into the plains and mountains. The captains of -the ranger companies knew of this Indian habit, and accordingly kept -scouts constantly in the field during the period of the raids. The -redskins coming in from the plains where water was scarce generally -took the near cut to the headwaters of the Colorado, Concho, San Saba, -Llanos, Guadalupe, and Nueces Rivers. By maintaining scouts at or near -the heads of these streams the rangers frequently caught parties of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -Indians going in or coming out from the settlements, and destroyed them -or recaptured the stolen stock.</p> - -<p>The first light moon in June Captain Roberts ordered a detail of -fifteen men in command of Sergeant James B. Hawkins to make a ten -days' scout toward the head waters of the North Llano River. He was to -select a secluded spot near old abandoned Fort Territ and make camp -there. Each morning a scout of one or two men would be sent out ten or -fifteen miles south and another party a like distance toward the north -to hunt for Indian trails. The main body of rangers, keeping carefully -concealed, was in readiness to take up an Indian trail at a moment's -notice should one be found by the scouts.</p> - -<p>One morning Sergeant Hawkins ordered me to travel south from camp to -the head draws of the South Llano and watch for pony tracks.</p> - -<p>"Suppose the Indians get me?" I asked laughingly as I mounted my pony.</p> - -<p>"It's your business to keep a sharp lookout and not let them catch -you," he replied.</p> - -<p>However, though I watched very carefully I could find no pony tracks or -Indian trails.</p> - -<p>We had with us on this scout Mike Lynch, a pure Irishman. Though he was -old and gray-headed, he was a good ranger, and had much native wit. -One<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> morning it was Uncle Mike's turn to go on scout duty, but in a -few hours he was seen coming into camp with his horse, Possum, on the -jump. He reported a fresh Indian trail about ten miles north of our -camp. When asked how many pony tracks he had counted, Lynch at once -declared he had counted seventeen and thought there were more. As the -Indians usually came in on foot or with as few ponies as they could -get by on until they could steal others, Sergeant Hawkins suspected -the tracks Lynch had seen were those of mustangs. The excited scout -declared vehemently that the tracks were not those of wild horses but -of Indians. The sergeant was just as positive that no Indian party was -responsible for the trail, and the two had quite a heated argument over -the tracks.</p> - -<p>"But how do you know it is an Indian trail?" demanded Hawkins.</p> - -<p>"Because I know I know," cried out Lynch in a loud voice.</p> - -<p>That settled it. Horses were saddled and mules packed as quickly as -possible, and the rangers marched over to the suspicious trail. When -Sergeant Hawkins examined the trail he soon discovered that the sign -had been made by mustangs but could not convince the hard-headed -Irishman until he followed the trail two or three miles and showed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> him -the mustang herd quietly grazing under some shade trees. Uncle Mike did -not mention Indian trail any more on that scout.</p> - -<p>Though we did not find any trails or Indians the scouting party killed -two black bear, several deer and about fifteen wild turkey.</p> - -<p>Early in September, 1875, Captain Roberts again ordered Sergeant -Hawkins to take fifteen men and make a ten days' scout on the Brady -Mountains. To my great joy I was detailed on this expedition. When -near the head of Scalp Creek, Menard County, on our return trip, the -sergeant told the boys to keep a sharp lookout for a deer, as we would -reach the San Saba by noon and would camp on that stream for the night. -We had not traveled far before Ed Seiker killed a nice little spiked -buck. We strapped him on one of the pack mules, and when we arrived -at the river we came upon a flock of half-grown wild turkeys. Bill -Clements leaped from his horse and killed six of them.</p> - -<p>We then camped, hobbled and sidelined our horses and put a strong guard -with them. While some of the boys were gathering wood for our fire they -found an old elm stump ten to twelve feet high with bees going in at -the top. One of the rangers rode over to Rufe Winn's ranch and borrowed -an ax and a bucket. When he returned we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> cut the tree and got more -honey than sixteen men could eat, besides filling the bucket with nice -sealed honey, which we gave to Mrs. Winn in return for the use of her -ax. Then, after dinner, out came fishing tackle and, using venison for -bait, we caught more catfish than the entire crowd could eat.</p> - -<p>Hunting conditions in those days were ideal. I have known a single -scout to kill three or four bears on a single trip. The companies to -the north of us were never out of buffalo meat in season. Then, in the -fall, one could gather enough pecans, as fine as ever grew, in half a -day to last the company a month. I have seen hundreds of bushels of -the nuts go to waste because there was no one to gather them—besides -they sold on the market for fifty cents per bushel. No wonder that a -boy that loved the woods and nature was charmed and fascinated with the -life of the Texas Ranger. It was a picnic for me from start to finish, -and the six years I was with the battalion were the happiest and most -interesting of my life.</p> - -<p>But hunting and fishing and vacation scouts were not the sole duties of -a ranger. Pleasure was abundant, but there were times when all these -were laid aside. For the game guns and the fishing rod we exchanged our -carbines and our sixshooters and engaged in hazardous expeditions after -marauding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> redskins. I was soon to see this latter aspect of ranger -life, for in the latter part of August, 1875, I became a real ranger -and entered upon the real work of our battalion—that of protecting -the frontier against the roving Indians and engaging them in regular -pitched battles.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></p> - -<p class="center">MY FIRST BRUSH WITH INDIANS</p> - - -<p>The latter part of August, 1875, Private L.P. Seiker was sent on -detached service to Fort Mason, about fifty miles due east of our camp. -While there a runner came in from Honey Creek with the report that a -band of fifteen Indians had raided the John Gamble ranch and stolen -some horses within twenty-five steps of the ranch house. The redskins -appeared on their raid late in the evening and the runner reached Mason -just at dark.</p> - -<p>Lam Seiker had just eaten his supper and was sitting in the lobby of -the Frontier Hotel when the message came. He hurried to the livery -stable, saddled his horse, Old Pete, and started on an all-night ride -for the company. The nights in August are short, but Seiker rode -into our camp about 8 o'clock the following morning and reported the -presence of the Indians.</p> - -<p>The company horses were out under herd for the day, but Captain Roberts -sent out hurry orders for them. Sergeant Plunk Murray was ordered -to detail fifteen men, issue them ten days' rations and one hundred -rounds of ammunition each. Second Sergeant Jim Hawkins, Privates Paul -Durham, Nick<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> Donnelly, Tom Gillespie, Mike Lynch, Andy Wilson, Henry -Maltimore, Jim Trout, William Kimbrough, Silas B. Crump, Ed Seiker, -Jim Day, John Cupps and myself, under command of Captain Roberts, -were selected as the personnel of the scout. As can be imagined I was -delighted with my good fortune in getting on the party and looked -forward with intense satisfaction to my first brush with Indians.</p> - -<p>The mules were soon packed and by the time the horses reached camp the -scout was ready. Sergeant Hawkins, as soon as the men had saddled their -horses, walked over to the captain, saluted and told him the scout was -ready. Before leaving camp Captain Roberts called to Sergeant Murray -and told him that he believed the Indians had about as many horses as -they could well get away with, and that they would probably cross the -San Saba River near the mouth of Scalp Creek and follow the high divide -between the two streams on their westward march back into the plains. -If the redskins did not travel that way the captain thought they would -go out up the Big Saline, follow the divide between the North Llano -and San Saba Rivers westward and escape, but he was confident the band -would travel up the divide north of Menardville. He determined to scout -that way himself, and instructed Murray<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> to send two rangers south over -to the head waters of Bear Creek to keep a sharp lookout for the trail. -These two scouts were to repeat their operations the next day, and if -they discovered the Indian trail Murray was to make up a second scout -and follow the redskins vigorously.</p> - -<p>His plan outlined, Captain Roberts gave the order to mount, and we -rode toward Menardville, making inquiry about the Indians. All was -quiet at this little frontier village, so we crossed the San Saba River -just below the town, and after passing the ruins of the Spanish Fort, -Captain Roberts halted his men and prepared to send out trailers. Two -of the best trailers in the command were ordered to proceed about four -hundred yards ahead of the party and keep a close watch for pony tracks -while they traveled due north at a good saddle horse gait. The main -body of men, under the captain himself, would follow directly behind -the outposts.</p> - -<p>Our party had traveled about eight or nine miles when Captain Roberts' -keen eyes discovered a lone pony standing with his head down straight -ahead of us. He sighted the animal before the trailers did, and -remarked to us that there the trail was. The outposts halted when they -saw the pony and waited for us to come up. Sure enough, here was the -Indian trail probably twenty yards wide. Cap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>tain Roberts dismounted -and walked over the sign, scrutinizing every pony track, bunch of -grass and fallen leaf. He then examined the old pony. The animal was -cut with a lance, with his back sore and his feet all worn out. It was -then between 12 and 1 o'clock, and the captain thought the Indians had -passed that way about sunrise, for the blood and sweat on the horse was -now dry. The trail showed the raiders were driving rather fast and were -probably thirty-five or forty miles ahead of us. The captain decided it -would be a long chase and that we would just have to walk them down if -we caught them at all.</p> - -<p>There was no water on this divide so we took the trail without stopping -for dinner. Captain Roberts had a fine saddle horse, Old Rock, and we -followed the trail at a steady gait of five or six miles an hour. At -sundown we reached the old government road that runs from Fort McKavett -to Fort Concho. We were then about twelve or fifteen miles south of -Kickapoo Springs, so we turned up the road, reaching the springs late -at night. The horses had not had a drop of water since leaving the San -Saba that morning, and, facing a hot August sun all day, the men were -pretty well tired out when they reached camp, had supper and gotten to -bed. We estimated we had ridden about sixty miles since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> leaving camp. -During the day Captain Roberts' horse cast a shoe, so Tom Gillespie -shod him by firelight, as it was the captain's intention to resume the -trail at daylight.</p> - -<p>The following morning Captain Roberts took a southwest course from -Kickapoo Springs and paralleled the Indian trail we had left the -evening before. It was late in the day before we picked the trail up -again, and many of the boys were afraid we had lost it altogether, but -the captain laughed at their fears and never doubted that we should -find it again. The Indians, as their trail showed, were now traveling -over a tolerably rough country, which made our progress slow. About -noon we found some rain water, and, as it was fearfully hot, we camped -for dinner and to give the horses a short rest.</p> - -<p>When the boys went out to catch their mounts we found that we had -camped right in a bed of rattlesnakes. Two of our horses had been -bitten. Jim Day's Checo had a head on him as big as a barrel, while -the captain's horse, Old Rock, had been bitten on his front leg just -above the ankle, and it had swollen up to his body. Neither of the -animals was able to walk. Jim Day could not be left alone in that -Indian country, so Captain Roberts detailed Private Cupps to stay with -Day until the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> horses died or were able to travel,—in either case they -were then to return to camp. The animals soon recovered and Day and -Cupps beat us back to camp.</p> - -<p>The pack loads were now doubled on one mule so Captain Roberts could -ride the other. Reduced to thirteen men, we followed the Indians until -night. It was a hard day on both men and beasts, so we camped where -we found a little water in a draw that drained into the South Concho -River. Considering the way we had come the captain thought we had -covered sixty miles during the day's ride. We had two rather old men -on the scout, Mike Lynch and Andy Wilson, and they were nearly all in. -I awoke Andy at 2 a.m. to go on guard. The poor fellow was so stiff he -could hardly stand, and I tried to get him to go back to bed, telling -him I would stand his guard, but he was game, and in a few minutes -hobbled out to the horses and relieved me.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning we were up and traveling. The mule Captain Roberts -was riding did not step out as fast as Old Rock had done, and the boys -had an easier time keeping up. We camped at noon on just enough rain -water to do us and took up the trail again after dinner. The trailers -stopped suddenly, and as we rode up Captain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> Roberts asked what was the -matter. They said it seemed as though the Indians at this point had -rounded up the horses and held them for some cause or other.</p> - -<p>The captain dismounted and swept the country with his field glasses. -He circled around where the horses had been standing and found where -a lone Indian had walked straight away from the animals. He followed -the tracks to an old live oak tree that had been blown down. Then the -reason for the stop became apparent: the Indians had sighted a herd -of mustangs grazing just beyond this tree and the redskin had slipped -up on them and killed a big brown mare. Captain Roberts picked up the -cartridge shell the old brave had used and found it to be from a .50 -caliber buffalo gun. We also found the mustang, from which the Indians -had cut both sides of ribs and one hind quarter.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts was much elated.</p> - -<p>"Boys," he said with a smile, "we now have ninety-five chances out of -a hundred to catch those Indians. They will not carry this raw meat -long before stopping to cook some. We have followed them now over one -hundred and fifty miles, and they have never stopped to build a fire. -They are tired and hungry and probably know where there is water not -far away."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> - -<p>He spoke with such confidence that I marveled at his knowledge of the -Indian habits.</p> - -<p>We were now on the extreme western draw of the South Concho River, far -above the point at which the water breaks out into a running stream. -Finally the trail led out on that level and vast tract of country -between the head of South Concho and the Pecos on the west. These -Indians turned a little north from the general direction they had been -traveling, and all of a sudden we came to some rock water holes.</p> - -<p>Here the redskins had built three fires, cooked both sides of the -mustang ribs and had picked them clean. From this high table land they -could look back over their trail for fifteen miles. The captain thought -they had been there early in the morning, as the fires were out and -the ashes cold. We did not lose any time at this camp, but hurried on, -following the trail until late in the evening, when the trailers again -halted. When we came up we found that the trail that had been going -west for nearly two hundred miles had suddenly turned straight north.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts seemed to be puzzled for a time, and said he did not -understand this move. About one mile north there was a small motte of -mesquite timber. This he examined through his glasses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> seeming to me -to examine each tree separately. The trail led straight into these -trees, and we followed it. In the mesquite timber we found the Indians -had hacked some bushes partly down, bent them over, cut up the horse -meat they had been carrying with them into tiny strips, strung it on -the bushes and, building a fire beneath them, had barbecued their -flesh. The redskins had made the prettiest scafelo for meat cooking I -ever saw. We found plenty of fire here, and the captain was sure we -would have an Indian fight on the morrow.</p> - -<p>From the trees the trail swung west again. The redskins were traveling -slowly now, as they evidently thought they were out of danger. Just -before sundown the scout halted, and we were ordered not to let any -smoke go up lest the band we were trailing should spot it and take -alarm. As soon as we had cooked our supper Captain Roberts had the -fires carefully extinguished. It had been a good season on the table -lands and there were many ponds filled with water, some of them one -hundred yards wide. We camped right on the edge of one of these big -holes and where the Indians had waded into it the water was still -muddy. The boys were cautioned not to strike a match that night as we -were certain the Indians were not far ahead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> us. We covered between -forty and fifty miles that day.</p> - -<p>Camp was called at daybreak. We dared not build a fire, so we could -have no breakfast. We saddled our horses and again took the trail. -Old Jennie, the pack mule, was packed for the last time on earth, for -she was killed in the fight that shortly followed. As soon as it was -light enough to see a pony track two of the boys traced it on foot -and led their horses, the remainder of our party coming along slowly -on horseback. By sunrise we were all riding and following the trail -rapidly, eager to sight the marauding thieves. We had traveled some -five or six miles when Paul Durham called Captain Roberts' attention -to a dark object ahead that looked as if it were moving. The captain -brought his field glasses to bear on the object specified and exclaimed -it was the Indians.</p> - -<p>He ordered the boys to dismount at once, tighten their cinches, leave -their coats and slickers and make ready to fight. As we carried out -this order a distressing stillness came over the men. Captain Roberts -and Sergeant Hawkins were the only ones of our party that had ever -been in an Indian fight, and I suppose the hearts of all of us green, -unseasoned warriors beat a little more rapidly than usual at the -prospect of soon smelling powder.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> Captain Roberts called out to us in -positive tones not to leave him until he told us to go, and not to draw -a gun or pistol until ordered, declaring that he wanted no mistake on -the eve of battle. He ordered the pack mule caught and led until we -went into the fight, when she was to be turned loose.</p> - -<p>The Indians were out on an open prairie dotted here and there with -small skirts of mesquite timber. The captain thought our only chance -was to ride double file straight at them in the hope they would not -look back and discover us. We moved forward briskly, and as luck would -have it, we got within four or five hundred yards of the redskins -before they sighted us.</p> - -<p>At once there was a terrible commotion. The Indians rounded up their -stock and caught fresh mounts almost in the twinkling of an eye. Then, -led by their old chief, they took positions on a little elevated ground -some two hundred yards beyond the loose horses. The redskins stationed -themselves about fifteen or twenty feet apart, their battle line when -formed being about one hundred yards wide. As each warrior took his -station he dismounted, stood behind his horse and prepared to fire when -given the signal.</p> - -<p>The captain with a smile turned to us and said,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> "Boys, they are going -to fight us. See how beautifully the old chief forms his line of -battle."</p> - -<p>From a little boy I had longed to be a ranger and fight the Indians. At -last, at last, I was up against the real thing and with not so much as -an umbrella behind which to hide. I was nervous. I was awfully nervous.</p> - -<p>We were now within one hundred steps of the redskins. Then came the -order to dismount, shoot low and kill as many horses as possible. The -captain said as we came up that every time we got an Indian on foot in -that country we were sure to kill him. With the first shot everybody, -Indian and ranger, began firing and yelling.</p> - -<p>In a minute we had killed two horses and one Indian was seen to be -badly wounded. In another minute the redskins had mounted their horses -and were fleeing in every direction. Captain Roberts now ordered us to -mount and follow them. The roar of the guns greatly excited my pony -and he turned round and round. I lost a little time in mounting, but -when I did get settled in the saddle I saw an Indian running on foot. -He carried a Winchester in his hand and waved to another Indian who -was riding. The latter turned and took the one on foot up behind him. -As they started away for a race I thought to myself that no grass<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -pony on earth could carry two men and get away from me and Old Coley. -The Indians had a good animal, but I gradually closed on them. The -redskin riding behind would point his gun back and fire at me, holding -it in one hand. I retaliated by firing at him every time I could get -a cartridge in my old Sharps carbine. I looked back and saw Ed Seiker -coming to my aid as fast as old Dixie would run. He waved encouragement -to me.</p> - -<p>Finally the old brave ceased shooting, and as I drew a little closer -he held out his gun at arm's length and let it drop, probably thinking -I would stop to get it. I just gave it a passing glance as I galloped -by. He then held out what looked to be a fine rawhide rope and dropped -that, but I never took the bait. I just kept closing in on him. He now -strung his bow and began using his arrows pretty freely. Finally he -saw I was going to catch him, and turned quickly into a little grove -of mesquite timber. I was considered a fairly good brush rider, and -as we went in among the trees I drew right up within twenty steps of -the brave, jumped from my mount and made a sort of random shot at the -horse, Indian and all. The big .50 caliber bullet struck the Indian -pony just where its head couples on its neck, passed through the head -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> came out over the left eye. It killed the horse at once and it -fell forward twenty feet.</p> - -<p>The old warrior, hit the ground running, but I jumped my horse and ran -after him. As I passed the dead horse I saw the front rider struggling -to get from under it. To my surprise I saw he was a white boy between -fifteen and sixteen years old with long bright red hair.</p> - -<p>By this time Ed Seiker had arrived and was dismounting. The fugitive -warrior now peeped from behind a tree and I got a fine shot at his face -but overshot him six inches, cutting off a limb just over his head. He -broke to run again, and as he came into view Ed placed a bullet between -his shoulders. He was dead in a minute. As Ed and I walked up to the -dead Indian we found he had also been shot in one ankle and his bow had -been partly shot in two. In his quiver he had left only three arrows.</p> - -<p>Seiker and I hurried back to the dead horse to help the white boy, but -he had extricated himself and disappeared. We then returned to the -dead warrior and Seiker scalped him. We took the Indian's bow shield -and a fine pair of moccasins. I also found a fine lance near where the -horse fell, and I presume it was carried by the white boy. We found the -redskin had no Winchester cartridges,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> and this was why he dropped the -gun—he could not carry it and use his bow. We went back over the trail -but were unable to find the gun the brave had dropped as a bait.</p> - -<p>By noon that day the boys had all returned to where the fight had -begun and the Indian horses had been left. Jim Hawkins and Paul Durham -captured a Mexican boy about fifteen years old. He looked just like -an Indian, had long plaited hair down his back, was bare headed, wore -moccasins and a breech-clout. Had he been in front of me I would surely -have killed him for a redskin. Captain Roberts spoke Spanish fluently, -and from this boy he learned that the Indians were Lipans that lived in -Old Mexico. He was taken back to our camp and finally his uncle came -and took him home. He had been captured while herding oxen near old -Fort Clark, Texas, and an elder brother, who was with him at the time, -had been killed.</p> - -<p>The boys were then sent back by Captain Roberts to find the white lad -that had been with the Indian Seiker had killed. Though we searched -carefully we could find no trace of the mysterious youngster. Some -years later I learned that this boy's name was Fischer and that his -parents went into Old Mexico and ransomed him. He was from Llano -County, and after his return he wrote, or had written, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> small -pamphlet that contained an account of his life with the Indians. He -told of being with old Chief Magoosh in this fight. He declared he hid -in the grass within sight of the rangers while they were hunting him, -but was afraid to show himself for fear of being killed.</p> - -<p>When the rangers had all gathered after the fight our pack mule, -Jennie, was missing. We supposed in the run that she had followed the -Indians off. Six months later Ed Seiker was detailed to pilot a body of -United States soldiers over that same country to pick out a road to the -Pecos River. He visited our old battlefield and found Jennie's carcass. -She had a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. The Indians in -shooting back at their attackers probably hit her with a chance shot. -The pack saddle was still strapped to her body, but wolves had eaten -all the supplies. Five hundred rounds of ammunition were still with -her, showing that no one had seen her since the day of her death.</p> - -<p>Lacking Jennie's supplies, we did not have a blooming thing to eat but -the barbecued horse meat we had captured from the Indians. This had no -salt on it, and I just could not swallow it. In the fight we killed -three horses and one Indian and captured the Mexican lad. At least two -redskins were badly wounded, and as victors we captured fifty-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>eight -head of horses and mules, several Indian saddles and bridles and many -native trinkets. Not a man or a horse of our party was hurt, the pack -mule being our only fatality. All voted Captain Roberts the best man in -the world.</p> - -<p>We turned our faces homeward, hungry and tired but highly elated over -our success. The second day after the fight we reached Wash Delong's -ranch on the head waters of the South Concho River. Mr. Delong, a fine -frontiersman, killed a beef for us and furnished us with flour and -coffee without cost. Three days later we were back at our camp at Los -Moris. The stolen stock was returned to their owners, and thus ended my -first campaign against the Indians.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE MASON COUNTY WAR</p> - - -<p>Soon after our return from our first brush with Indians we were -introduced to yet another phase of ranger activity—the quieting -of feuds, for not only were the rangers employed in protecting the -frontiers against the Indians, but they were also frequently called -upon to preserve law and order within the towns and cities of the -state. In those early days men's passions were high and easily aroused. -In a country where all men went armed, recourse to fire arms was -frequent, and these feuds sometimes led to active warfare between the -adherents of each party to the great discomfort of the citizens among -whom such a miniature war was staged.</p> - -<p>Mason and the adjoining county, Gillespie, had been settled by Germans -in the early history of the state. These settlers were quiet, peaceful -and made most excellent citizens, loyal to their adopted country -and government when undisturbed. Most of these Germans engaged in -stock raising and were sorely tried by the rustlers and Indians that -committed many depredations upon their cattle.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of September, 1875, Tim Wil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>liamson, a prominent -cattleman living in Mason County, was arrested on a charge of cattle -theft by John Worley, a deputy sheriff of that county. Previous to that -time there had been a number of complaints about loss of cattle, and -the Germans charged that many of their cattle had been stolen and the -brands burned. Much indignation had been aroused among the stockmen of -the county and threats of violence against the thieves were common.</p> - -<p>As soon as the news of Williamson's arrest on charge of cattle thieving -became known a large mob formed and set out in pursuit of the deputy -sheriff and his prisoner. On his way to Mason, Worley was overtaken -by this posse. When he saw the pursuing men Williamson divined their -purpose and begged the sheriff to let him run in an effort to save his -life. Worley refused and, it is said, drew his pistol and deliberately -shot Williamson's horse through the loin, causing it to fall. Unarmed -and unmounted Williamson was killed without a chance to protect himself -and without any pretense of a trial. After the murder Worley and the -mob disappeared.</p> - -<p>Whether or not Williamson was guilty of the charge against him, he had -friends who bitterly resented the deputy sheriff's refusal to allow -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> murdered man a chance for his life and his death caused a great -deal of excitement and bitter comment in the county. A man named Scott -Cooley, an ex-ranger of Captain Perry's Company "D," was a particular -friend of Williamson and his family. Cooley had quit the ranger service -at the time of his friend's murder and was cultivating a farm near -Menardville. He had worked for the dead man and had made two trips up -the trail with him. While working with the murdered cattleman Cooley -had contracted a bad case of typhoid fever and had been nursed back to -health by Mrs. Williamson's own hands.</p> - -<p>When the news of Tim Williamson's murder reached Scott Cooley he was -much incensed, and vowed vengeance against the murderers of his friend. -He left his farm at once and, saddling his pony, rode into the town -of Mason heavily armed. He had worked out a careful plan of his own -and proceeded to put it into execution immediately on his arrival. -Stabling his horse in a livery stable, he registered at the hotel. As -he was entirely unknown in Mason, Cooley remained in town several days -without creating any suspicion. He proved himself a good detective, and -soon discovered that the sheriff and his deputy were the leaders in -the mob that had killed his friend. Biding his time and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> pursuing his -investigations he soon learned the names of every man in the posse that -murdered Williamson.</p> - -<p>His information complete, Cooley decided upon action. He mounted his -pony and rode out to the home of John Worley, the deputy sheriff -that had refused Williamson a chance to flee for his life. Cooley -found Worley engaged in cleaning out a well. The avenger dismounted, -asked for a drink of water and entered into conversation with the -unsuspecting man. Finally, as Worley was drawing his assistant out of -the well, Cooley asked him if his name was John Worley. The deputy -sheriff replied that it was. Cooley then declared his mission and shot -the sheriff to death.</p> - -<p>At the first crack of Cooley's pistol Worley let the windlass go, and -the man he was drawing up out of the well fell back about twenty-five -feet into it. Cooley deliberately stooped down, cut off both of -Worley's ears, put them in his pocket, and galloped off. Victim number -one was chalked up to Williamson's credit. Making a quick ride across -Mason County to the western edge of Llano County, Cooley waylaid and -killed Pete Brader, the second on his list of mob members.</p> - -<p>These two murders struck terror into the hearts of nearly every citizen -of Mason County. No one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> could tell who would be the next victim of -the unerring aim of Scott Cooley's rifle. The whole county rose up in -arms to protect themselves. Terrified lest he be the next victim of -the avenger, Cooley, the sheriff of Mason County promptly left Mason -and never returned. Tim Williamson had other friends anxious to avenge -him, and the killing of Brader was their rallying signal. John and Mose -Beard, George Gladden, and John Ringgold immediately joined Cooley in -his work of vengeance. The gang rode into the town of Mason, and in a -fight with a posse of citizens, killed another man.</p> - -<p>Fearing the outbreak of a real feud war in Mason, the Governor of Texas -ordered Major Jones to the relief of the frightened citizens. The order -reached Major Jones while he was on his way down the line near the head -of the Guadalupe River. He at once turned his company back, and with -a detachment of ten men from Company "D" he marched to Mason. Company -"A," Major Jones' escort, was then commanded by Captain Ira Long, and -the thirty men in that company and the ten boys of Company "D" gave the -major forty men for his relief expedition.</p> - -<p>Before the rangers could reach Mason, the sheriff's party had a fight -with Cooley's gang down on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> the Llano River and killed Mose Beard. On -his arrival in Mason, Major Jones sent scouts in every direction to -hunt Cooley. He kept this up for nearly two weeks but without result. -He finally learned that nearly the whole of his command, especially -the Company "D" boys that had ranged with Cooley, was in sympathy with -the outlaw and was making no serious attempt to locate or imperil him. -It was even charged that some of the Company "D" rangers met Cooley at -night on the outskirts of Mason and told him they did not care if he -killed every d—d Dutchman in Mason County that formed part of the mob -that had murdered Williamson.</p> - -<p>Major Jones saw he would have to take drastic steps at once. He drew up -his whole force of forty men and made them an eloquent speech. He said -he had a special pride in the Frontier Battalion and was making it his -life's study and that he personally had a kindly feeling for every man -in the service. He then reminded the men in the most feeling manner -of the oath they had taken to protect the State of Texas against all -her enemies whatsoever,—an oath every true man was bound to honor. He -declared he knew many of the command had a friendly feeling for Scott -Cooley, especially those boys who had shared the life of a ranger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> with -him, and that he, himself, felt keenly the position in which they were -placed. While Tim Williamson had met a horrible death at the hands of -a relentless mob, that did not justify Cooley in killing people in a -private war of vengeance in defiance of the law and the rangers.</p> - -<p>As the climax of his speech the major said, "Men, I now have a -proposition to make to you. If every man here who is in sympathy with -Scott Cooley and his gang and who does not wish to pursue him to -the bitter end will step out of ranks I will issue him an honorable -discharge and let him quit the service clean."</p> - -<p>The major paused and about fifteen men stepped to the front.</p> - -<p>"Gentlemen," continued Major Jones, "those who do not avail themselves -of this opportunity I shall expect to use all diligence and strength in -helping me to break up or capture these violators of the law."</p> - -<p>After the discharge of the Cooley sympathizers, the rangers went to -work with a new vigor, and finally captured George Gladden and John -Ringgold. Gladden was sent to the state penitentiary for twenty-five -years, while Ringgold received a life sentence. Probably Scott Cooley -was informed of Major Jones' appeal to the rangers, for he became<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> less -active around Mason after this. John Beard, it was reported, skipped -Texas and went to Arizona.</p> - -<p>Soon after Cooley killed John Worley, Norman Rodgers got permission -from Captain Roberts to ride over to Joe Franks' cow outfit to exchange -his horse for a better one. When Rodgers rode into the cowboy camp he -noticed a man resting under a tree near the fire. The stranger called -one of the cowboys and asked him who Norman was. As Rodgers left camp -this man followed him and asked if he were one of Roberts' rangers and -if he knew "Major" Reynolds. Rodgers replied that he knew Reynolds very -well.</p> - -<p>The man then declared he was Scott Cooley and, reaching into his -pocket, he pulled out John Worley's ears.</p> - -<p>"You take these ears to 'Major' Reynolds with my compliments, but don't -you tell anybody you saw me."</p> - -<p>Rodgers duly delivered the ears and Reynolds cautioned him to say -nothing about them. Forty years afterward, at an old settlers reunion -in Sweetwater, Norman Rodgers mentioned this incident in a speech—he -had kept his promise to Cooley and Reynolds all those years.</p> - -<p>Having lost his friends and his sympathizers in the rangers, Cooley -returned to Blanco County,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> where he had formerly lived. Here he was -stricken with brain fever, and though tenderly nursed, shielded by his -friends, he died without ever being brought to trial for his killings. -This ended the Mason County War, but before the feud died some ten or -twelve men were killed and a race war narrowly averted.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></p> - -<p class="center">MAJOR JONES AND HIS ESCORT</p> - - -<p>Despite their usefulness in protecting the frontiers and in maintaining -law and order, the Texas Rangers have always had to fight more or less -strenuously to obtain the necessary appropriation for their annual -maintenance from the State Legislature. Whenever the appropriation is -small there is but one remedy,—reduce the personnel of each company to -the lowest limits possible. In the fall of 1875 the Adjutant-General -notified the captains all along the line to reduce their companies to -twenty men each for the winter at the end of the current quarter. As -the day for reduction arrived there were some anxious moments among the -men of Company "D" as no one knew just who was to be retained in the -service.</p> - -<p>On December 1st Captain Roberts formed the command in line and -explained it was his sad duty to reduce the company to twenty men, and -announced that the orderly sergeant would read the names of those to be -retained in the company. The sergeant then stepped forward and began -to read. First Sergeant Plunk Murray, Second Sergeant James Hawkins, -First Corporal Lam Seiker, Sec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>ond Corporal Tom Griffin, and Privates -Charles Nevill, Tom Gillespie, Nick Donley, Jim Trout, Henry Maltimore, -Kit Maltimore, Jack Martin, W.T. Clements, Ed Seiker, Andy Wilson, J.W. -Bell, Norman Rodgers, Dock Long, Tom Mead, Frank Hill, and Jim Gillett -were the lucky ones to be retained in the command. The remainder of the -company was thereupon discharged. My relief may be imagined when my -name was read out, for I had learned to love the ranger life and was -loth to quit it.</p> - -<p>After reduction we went into winter camp in a bend of the San Saba -River about three miles east of Menardville. In the river bottom was -plenty of good timber, so each mess of five men built a log cabin, -sixteen to eighteen feet square, for their occupancy. These cabins, -each with a chimney and a fireplace, formed the western side of our -horse corral and made most comfortable winter abodes. During the winter -the boys played many tricks upon each other, for there were no Indian -raids during the time we were in this winter camp. One of the favorite -stunts was to extract the bullet from a cartridge, take out the powder -and wrap it in a rag, and then, while the inmates of a given cabin -would be quietly smoking or reading or talking around their fire, climb -upon the roof and drop the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> rag down the chimney. When the powder -exploded in the fire the surprised rangers would fall backward off -their benches,—to the huge glee of the prank player. At other times a -couple of rangers would post themselves outside a neighbor's cabin and -begin to yell, "Fire! Fire!!" at the top of their lungs. If the cabin -owners did not stand in the doorway to protect it all the rangers in -camp would rush up and throw bedding, cooking utensils, saddles and -bridles, guns and pistols outside as quickly as they could. In a jiffy -the cabin would be cleaned out and the victims of the joke would have -to lug all their belongings back in again.</p> - -<p>But not all our time was spent in practical joking. There were many -rangers of a studious mind, and during the long winter evenings they -pored over their books. Several of our boys, by their study here and -at other leisure hours, qualified themselves for doctors, lawyers, and -professional callings. And there were several writers in camp that -contributed more or less regularly to the magazines and newspapers.</p> - -<p>One of the rangers, Nick Donley, was a baker by trade, and he soon -built a Dutch oven and made bread for the rangers. We pooled our flour -and had fresh, warm bread every morning. This was so good and we ate so -much of it that our allow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>ance of flour would not last for the period -issued, and Captain Roberts was compelled to order the bake oven torn -down. Thereafter the boys baked their own bread and the flour lasted.</p> - -<p>Some of the rangers had captured young bear cubs, and we had them in -camp with us as pets. They grew rapidly and were soon big fellows and -immensely popular with the boys. Sometimes a bear would break loose -from its chain, and then all of us would turn out to hunt the escaped -pet. Most often we would soon find him seated in a tree which he had -climbed as soon as he had broken his shackles. And I cannot here -forbear mentioning the useful little pack mules that served the rangers -so long and so well. When the battalion was formed in 1874 a number -of little broncho mules were secured for packing. They soon learned -what was expected of them and followed the rangers like dogs. Carrying -a weight of one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, they would -follow a scout of rangers on the dead run right into the midst of the -hottest fight with Indians or desperadoes. They seemed to take as much -interest in such an engagement as the rangers themselves.</p> - -<p>These little pack animals had as much curiosity as a child or a pet -coon. In traveling along a road they sometimes met a bunch of horses -or several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> campers along the highway. Immediately they would run over -for a brief visit with the strangers and when the rangers had gone on -a thousand yards or more would scamper up to us as fast as they could -run. Later, when the rangers drew in from the frontier and scouted -in a more thickly settled country the mules with their packs would -march right up to strange horses and frighten them out of their wits. -Once, in Austin, one of our mules calmly trotted up to a mule that was -pulling a street car. As the pack burro would not give right of way the -street car mule shied to one side and pulled its conveyance completely -off the track to the surprise of its driver. The tiny animals pulled -off several stunts like this and caused so much complaint that -Adjutant-General Jones issued an order for all rangers to catch and -lead their pack mules when passing through a town.</p> - -<p>As soon as we were located in the new camp, Privates Nevill, Bell and -Seiker obtained permission from Captain Roberts to visit Austin to buy -a case of ten Winchesters. Up to this time the company was armed with -a .50 caliber Sharps carbine. These guns would heat easily and thus -were very inaccurate shooters. The state furnished this weapon to its -rangers at a cost of $17.50, and at that time furnished no other class -of gun. The new center fire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> 1873 model Winchester had just appeared -on the market and sold at $50 for the rifle and $40 for the carbine. A -ranger who wanted a Winchester had to pay for it out of his own pocket -and supply his own ammunition as well, for the State of Texas only -furnished cartridges for the Sharps gun. However, ten men in Company -"D," myself included, were willing to pay the price to have a superior -arm. I got carbine number 13,401, and for the next six years of my -ranger career I never used any other weapon. I have killed almost every -kind of game that is found in Texas, from the biggest old bull buffalo -to a fox squirrel with this little .44 Winchester. Today I still -preserve it as a prized memento of the past.</p> - -<p>The boys were all anxious to try their new guns, and as Christmas -approached we decided to have a real Yule-tide dinner. Ed Seiker and -myself visited a big turkey roost on the head of Elm Creek and killed -seven big wild turkeys, and on our return Seiker bagged a fine buck -deer. J.W. Bell hunted on the San Saba and brought in six or eight -wild geese and about a dozen mallard ducks. Donley, the baker, cooked -up the pies, while Mrs. Roberts, wife of the captain, furnished the -fruit-cake. Some of the boys made egg-nog, and altogether we had the -finest Christmas dinner that ever graced the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> boards of a ranger camp. -The little frontier village of Menardville was not far away, and most -of the rangers visited it during Christmas week for the dancing. Jack -Martin once remarked to Mrs. Roberts that there was very little society -about a ranger camp. She told the joke on him and thereafter as long as -he lived he was known as "Society Jack."</p> - -<p>During the winter we laid out a race course and had much sport with our -horses. But there was work as well as play that winter. Though Captain -Roberts kept scouts in the field during the entire winter they never -discovered any Indian trails. The rangers had not yet turned their -attention to outlaws, so we were not burdened with chained prisoners as -we were in after years. This winter camp on the San Saba was the most -pleasant time in my service with the rangers.</p> - -<p>The first week in April, 1876, we moved out of our winter quarters -to a camp some six or seven miles above Menardville and located in a -pecan grove on the banks of the San Saba. We were all glad to get into -our tents again after four months spent in log cabins. I remember our -first night at the new camp. The boys set out some hooks and caught -four or five big yellow catfish weighing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> twenty-five or thirty pounds -each—enough fish to last the twenty men several days.</p> - -<p>As the spring opened, Captain Roberts began sending out scouts to -cut signs for Indians. I remember I was detailed on a scout that was -commanded by a non-commissioned officer. We were ordered to scout -as far north as the union of the Concho and Colorado Rivers. After -crossing the Brady Mountains we struck a trail of Indians going out. -The redskins had probably been raiding in San Saba or McCulloch -Counties. Their trail led west as straight to San Angelo as a bird -could fly. Though the Indians were not numerous and had only a few -horses, the trail was easily followed. As well as we could judge the -redskins had passed on a few days before we discovered their sign. We -found where they had stolen some horses, for we picked up several pairs -of hobbles that had been cut in two and left where they got the horses. -At that time there were several big cattle ranches in the Fort Concho -country, and in going to and from water the cattle entirely obliterated -the trail. We worked hard two days trying to find it and then gave up -the hunt. We needed the genius of Captain Roberts to help us out that -time.</p> - -<p>On June 1, 1876, the company was increased to forty men. Some of -the boys that had quit at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> Mason the fall before now re-entered the -service. Especially do I remember that "Mage" Reynolds enlisted with -Company "D" once more.</p> - -<p>During the summer of 1876, Major Jones planned a big scout out on the -Pecos to strike the Lipans and Kickapoos a blow before they began -raiding the white settlements. This scout started from Company "D" in -July. The major drafted about twenty men from my company, his whole -escort Company "A" of thirty men and marched into Kerr County. Here he -drafted part of Captain Coldwell's Company "F," making his force total -about seventy men with three wagons and about twenty pack mules.</p> - -<p>The column traveled down the Nueces, then by Fort Clark up the Devil's -River to Beaver Lake. Here Captain Ira Long with twenty men and the -wagon train was sent up the San Antonio and El Paso road to old Fort -Lancaster on the Pecos, where he was to await the arrival of Major -Jones with the main force.</p> - -<p>From Beaver Lake, the major with fifty men and the twenty pack mules -turned southwest and traveled down Johnston's Run to the Shafer -Crossing on the Pecos. From this crossing we scouted up the Pecos to -the mouth of Independence Creek. The country through this section was -very rough but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> very beautiful. We saw several old abandoned Indian -camps, especially at the mouth of the creek. Here we found the pits -and the scaffolds upon which the redskins had dried their meat, also -evidence that many deer hide had been dressed and made into buckskin. -Bows and arrows had also been manufactured in these camps. From this -section the Indians had been gone probably a month or more.</p> - -<p>After ten days of scouting we joined Captain Long at Fort Lancaster and -marched up Live Oak Creek to its head. Here we prepared to cross that -big stretch of table land between the Pecos and the head waters of the -South Concho. We filled what barrels we had with water, topped out from -the creek—and made about ten miles into the plains by night and made -a dry camp. We got an early start next day and traveled until night -without finding water. The stock suffered greatly from thirst and the -men had only a little water in their canteens. All the land ponds had -been dry two weeks or more, and I saw twelve head of buffalo that had -bogged and died in one of them. Here we found an old abandoned Indian -camp, where the redskins had dressed many antelope hides. At one old -bent mesquite tree the antelope hair was a foot deep, with thirty or -forty skulls scattered about.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p> - -<p>By the second morning both men and horses were suffering a great deal -from thirst, and Major Jones gave orders to begin march at 4 a.m. We -got away on time and reached water on the South Concho at 2 p.m., the -third day out from Live Oak Creek. As soon as we got near the water we -found a number of straggling buffalo, and killed two, thus securing a -supply of fresh meat. We camped two days at this water and then marched -back to Company "D" by easy stages. Here Major Jones turned back up the -line with his escort after being out on this scout about a month.</p> - -<p>On his return toward the Rio Grande, Major Jones reached Company -"D" the last week in August and camped with us until September 1st, -the end of the fiscal year for the rangers. On this date many men -would quit service to retire to private life, while some would join -other companies and new recruits be sworn into the service. This -reorganization usually required two or three days.</p> - -<p>Nearly every ranger in the battalion was anxious to be at some time -a member of Major Jones' escort company. The escort company was not -assigned a stationary post nor did it endeavor to cover a given strip -of territory. Its most important duty was to escort the major on his -periodic journeys of inspection to the other companies along the -line.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> The escort always wintered in the south and made about four -yearly tours of the frontier from company to company, taking part -in such scouts as the major might select and being assigned to such -extraordinary duty as might arise. In 1874, when the Frontier Battalion -was first formed, Major Jones recruited his escort from a detail of -five men from each of the other companies. However, in practice, this -led to some confusion and envy in the commands, so Major Jones found -it expedient to have a regular escort company, so he selected Company -"A" for that purpose. This remained his escort until he was promoted to -Adjutant-General.</p> - -<p>In September, 1876, there were several vacancies in Major Jones' -escort, and several old Company "D" boys, among them "Mage" Reynolds, -Charles Nevill, Jack Martin, Bill Clements, and Tom Gillespie, wished -to enlist in Company "A." They wanted me to go with them, but I -hesitated to leave Captain Roberts. My friends then explained that -we could see a lot more country on the escort than we could in a -stationary company; that we would probably be stationed down on the -Rio Grande that winter, and going up the line in the spring would see -thousands of buffalo. This buffalo proposition caught me, and I went -with the boys. After fifteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> months' ranging with Captain Roberts I -now joined Company "A."</p> - -<p>Early in September Major Jones marched his escort down to within five -or six miles of San Antonio and camped us on the Salado while he went -in to Austin. By the first of October he was back in camp and started -up the line on his last visit to the different companies before winter -set in.</p> - -<p>At that time Major John B. Jones was a small man, probably not more -than five feet seven inches tall and weighed about one hundred and -twenty-five pounds. He had very dark hair and eyes and a heavy dark -moustache. He was quick in action, though small in stature, and was an -excellent horseman, riding very erect in the saddle.</p> - -<p>The major was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, in 1834, -but emigrated to Texas with his father when he was only four years -old. He was prominent in Texas state affairs from a very early age -and served gallantly with the Confederate Army during the Civil -War. On the accession of Governor Coke in 1874 he was appointed to -command the Frontier Battalion of six companies of Texas Rangers. -From his appointment until his death in Austin in 1881, Major Jones -was constantly engaged in repulsing bloody raids of Indians, rounding -up outlaws and making Texas secure and safe for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> industrious and -peaceful citizen. In this work his wonderful tact, judgment, coolness -and courage found ample scope.</p> - -<p>From the organization of the battalion in 1874 until Major Jones was -made Adjutant-General, Dr. Nicholson was always with him. The doctor -was a quaint old bachelor who loved his toddy. The boys would sometimes -get him as full as a goose, and the major would give the doctor some -vicious looks at such times. Dr. Nicholson was a great favorite with -all the men, and it is said he knew every good place for buttermilk, -butter, milk, and eggs from Rio Grande City to Red River, a trifling -distance of eight hundred miles. The doctor always messed with Major -Jones, and, mounted on a fine horse, traveled by his side. I don't -think Dr. Nicholson ever issued a handful of pills to the boys during -the year—he was just with us in case he was needed. When the escort -was disbanded he retired to private life at Del Rio, Texas, and finally -died there.</p> - -<p>This inspection tour was a wonderful experience for me. The weather was -cool and bracing, and the horses had had a month's rest. We had with us -a quartet of musicians, among them a violinist, a guitar player and a -banjo picker, and after the day's march the players would often gather -around<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> the camp fire and give us a concert. The major would frequently -walk down and listen to the music. Nor was music our only amusement. -Major Jones had provided his escort with a fish seine, and when we were -camped on a big creek or river the boys would unroll the net, make a -haul and sometimes catch enough fish to supply the thirty men several -days.</p> - -<p>When recruited to its full strength Company "A" consisted of a captain, -orderly sergeant, second sergeant, first and second corporals, and -twenty-six privates. Two four-mule wagons hauled the camp equipage, -rations for the men and grain for the horses. One fight wagon drawn -by two mules and driven by George, the negro cook, carried the mess -outfit, bedding, tent, etc., of Major Jones and Dr. Nicholson.</p> - -<p>Each morning at roll call the orderly sergeant detailed a guard of nine -men and one non-commissioned officer to guard for twenty-four hours. -When ready to begin our day's journey the company was formed in line -and the men counted off by fours. On the march Major Jones and Dr. -Nicholson rode in front, followed by the captain of the company, the -orderly sergeant and the men in double file. Following these came the -wagons. An advance guard of two men preceded the column<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> about one-half -mile. Four men, known as flankers, two on each side of the company, -paralleled the column at a distance of one-half to one mile, depending -on the nature of the country. In a rough, wooded section the flankers -traveled close in, but in an open country they sometimes spread out -quite a distance. The non-commissioned officer with the remaining guard -covered the rear and brought up the pack mules. Thus protected it was -almost impossible for the command to be surprised by Indians.</p> - -<p>At one time Major Jones had with him two Tonkawa Indians as guides. For -protection this tribe lived near Fort Griffin, a large military post. -One of these old braves known as Jim had been given an old worn out -army coat with the shoulder straps of a general upon it. Jim wore this -coat tightly buttoned up and marched at the head of the column with as -much dignity and importance as a general-in-chief. His companion wore -a high crowned beaver stove-pipe hat with the top gone, and carried an -old umbrella that someone had given him. Fitted out in this ridiculous -and unique manner he marched for days with the umbrella over him. Think -of an Indian shading himself from the sun!</p> - -<p>Major Jones never paid much attention to these Indians unless he wished -to inquire the lay of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> country or the distance to some water hole. -They did pretty much as they pleased, sometimes riding in front with -the major, sometimes with the guard and at others with the men. These -old redskins were a constant source of amusement to the boys. Jim and -his pal were good hunters but as lazy as could be. They got into the -habit of killing a buffalo late in the evening when they knew it was -almost time to pitch camp, cutting out just enough meat for themselves -and letting the remainder go to waste. The major told these lazy-bones -when they killed a buffalo he wanted to know of it so he could secure -the meat for the company. The Tonks paid no attention to this request -and late one evening came into camp with five or six pounds of buffalo -meat.</p> - -<p>The orderly sergeant spied them, so he walked over to Major Jones and -said, "Major, those two old Tonkawas are back in camp with just enough -meat for themselves."</p> - -<p>"Sergeant, you get a pack mule, take a file of men with you and make -those Indians saddle their horses and go with you to get that buffalo," -the major commanded, determined that his order should be obeyed by the -Indians.</p> - -<p>The sergeant went to the Indians, who were busy about the fire roasting -their meat, and told them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> what the major had said. Jim declared that -he was tired and did not wish to go. The non-commissioned officer -replied that that made no difference and commanded him and his pal to -get their ponies and lead the way to the dead buffalo.</p> - -<p>"Maybe so ten miles to buffalo," protested Jim, trying to avoid going.</p> - -<p>The sergeant knew they were lying, for of all the Indians that ever -inhabited Texas the Tonkawas were the biggest cowards. Just mention -the Comanches or Kiowas to them and they would have a chill. It was -well known that the Tonks would not venture very far away from the -protection of the rangers for fear of being killed by their enemies. As -soon as they knew they had to do as ordered, they mounted their ponies -and led the sergeant over a little hill, and in a valley not more -than half a mile from camp, was the fine, fat buffalo the Indians had -killed. The animal was soon skinned and brought into camp, where all -had plenty of fresh meat.</p> - -<p>These Tonks were as simple as children and as suspicious as negroes. -The weather had been hot and dry for several days. Old Jim thereupon -killed some hawks with his bow and arrows, plaited the long tail and -wing feathers into his pony's mane and tail, and said it would make -"heap rain." Sure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> enough, in three or four days a hard thunder shower -came up and thoroughly wet everybody on the march. Jim, with only his -old officer's coat for protection, was drenched to the skin, and his -pony looked like a drowned rat. The wood, grass, everything was wet. -Jim stood by, shivering with the cold and watched the boys use up -almost their last match trying to make a fire. Suddenly, with a look of -disgust, he ran up to his horse, which was standing near, and plucked -every hawk feather out of the animal's tail and mane and, throwing them -on the ground, stamped upon them violently as if that would stop the -rain.</p> - -<p>After the escort had crossed the Colorado River on its way northward we -found an advance guard of buffalo on its way south, and it was an easy -matter to keep the company in fresh meat. We spent about one week with -Company "B" on the upper Brazos, then turned south again to make our -winter camp near Old Frio Town in Frio County. It was November now and -freezing hard every night.</p> - -<p>The last guard would call the camp early, so we generally had breakfast -and were ready to move southward by daylight. We did not stop a single -time for dinner on this return trip, just traveled at a steady gait -all day long without dinner until<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> nearly night. We all wondered why -we marched the live-long day without dinner, but it was not until many -years afterward when I became a Mason that I learned the reason for -our forced marches. Major Jones was in line to be made Most Worshipful -Grand Master of Masons in Texas and he had to be in Houston on the -first Tuesday in December for the annual meeting of the Most Worshipful -Grand Lodge of Texas. If there were other Masons in the company besides -Major Jones I never knew it.</p> - -<p>At this time we had for commander of the escort, Lieutenant Benton. He -was in bad health and rode most of the way back in one of the wagons. -On arriving at the end of the line he tendered his resignation and was -succeeded by Captain Neal Coldwell. The company camped for the winter -on Elm Creek, three miles southwest of Old Frio Town.</p> - -<p>Captain Neal Coldwell was born in Dade County, Missouri, in May, 1844, -and served gallantly throughout the Civil War in the Thirty-second -Regiment, Texas Cavalry, commanded by Col. W.P. Woods. At the -organization of the Frontier Battalion in 1874, Neal Coldwell was -commissioned captain of Company "F."</p> - -<p>It is difficult, in a single sketch, to do Captain Coldwell justice or -convey any correct idea of what he accomplished as a Texas Ranger. The -station<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> of Company "F," the southernmost company of the line, was the -most unfavorable that could well be given him. His scouting grounds -were the head of the Guadalupe, Nueces, Llanos, and Devil's Rivers—the -roughest and most difficult part of South Texas in which to pursue -Indians, yet he held them in check and finally drove them out of that -part of the state.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE HORRELL-HIGGINS FEUD</p> - - -<p>By the end of the year 1876 the Indians had been pretty well pushed -back off the frontier, so that there were very few fights with the -redskins after 1877. From the spring of 1877 onward the rangers were -transformed into what might properly be called mounted state police, -and accordingly turned their attention to ridding the frontier of the -outlaws that infested nearly every part of Texas. During the winter -of 1876-77 Captain Neal Coldwell broke up a band of thieves that was -operating in the northwestern part of Atascosa County. I remember -helping him capture a man named Wolf. He was wanted for murder, and we -made several scouts after him before we succeeded in landing him safely -in irons.</p> - -<p>In April, 1877, Major Jones reached Coldwell's company and at once -made arrangements to march up the line on a visit of inspection. When -the major reached the headwaters of the South Llano River he halted -his escort and detailed several small scouting parties of five or six -men, each with orders to arrest every man that could not give a good -account of himself. One scout was sent down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> South Llano, a -second down Johnson's Fork, while a third was ordered over the divide -with instructions to hit the head of the North Llano and sweep down -that river,—all three parties to rejoin Major Jones and the main -escort near where Junction City now stands. In these outlaw raids some -fifty or sixty men were arrested and brought in. Many of the suspects -were released upon examination, but I remember one scout brought in two -escaped convicts who had been captured up on Copperas Creek. We bagged -several men wanted for murder and some horse and cattle thieves. Old -Kimble County never had such a clean-up of bandits in her history.</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus04"> -<img src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> <i>Neal Coldwell</i></p> - -<p>While these prisoners were being held in camp other scouts were sent -out in the northern part of the county with orders to sweep Bear Creek, -Gentry, Red Creek, Big and Little Saline, to cross the San Saba River -in Menard County and sweep up that stream from old Peg Leg Station to -Menard. Many more suspects were caught in this haul.</p> - -<p>With a party of scouts I was detailed on a mission to Fort McKavett, -at that time one of the big military posts on the frontier. Many hard -characters and gamblers gathered about these posts to fleece the -soldiers out of their easy-made money. We made several arrests here, -and camped for noon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> one mile below the government post on the San -Saba River. During the dinner hour my horse, a gray, in lying down to -wallow, rolled on some broken beer bottles and cut his back so badly -that he was unfit for use for some time. When the escort moved north -I was left with old Company "D" until the return of Company "A" on -its return march some six weeks later. I thereby missed some of the -exciting scouts that took place on the march north.</p> - -<p>When Major Jones reached Coleman City he found orders from Governor -Coke to send a scout of rangers to Lampasas County to help the civil -authorities suppress a war known as the Horrell-Higgins feud. Second -Sergeant N.O. Reynolds was detached from Company "A" and with ten men -ordered to proceed to Lampasas and report to the sheriff of that county.</p> - -<p>After leaving Coleman, Major Jones visited the northernmost ranger -company and began his return march. This was to be his last trip -with his escort, for immediately upon his return to Austin he was -commissioned Adjutant-General of Texas. As there was no longer a major -of the battalion, there was no need of an escort, so old Company "A" -took its place on the line as a stationary company. Captain Neal -Coldwell was ultimately made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> quartermaster of the battalion, and I -believe ranked as major.</p> - -<p>I was picked up at Company "D" by the escort on their return march and -was with Company "A" when it was made a stationary command and located -in Frio County.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of 1877—during the late summer—a party of -filibusters under command of a Mexican general named Winkler assembled -in Maverick County, near Eagle Pass, and prepared to invade Mexico. -Captain Coldwell, then commanding Company "A," was ordered to the Rio -Grande to break up the expedition. This he did by arresting more than -fifty participants. I was with him on this expedition and saw much -border service during this summer.</p> - -<p>I remember a scout I was called upon to make with Captain Coldwell -over in Bandera County. The captain took with him John Parker, Hawk -Roberts, and myself. In one week's time we caught some ten or twelve -fugitives from justice and literally filled the little old jail at -Bandera. Captain Coldwell detailed Hawk Roberts and myself to capture -an especially bad man wanted in Burnet County for murder. The captain -warned us to take no chances with this man—that meant to kill him if -he hesitated about surrendering. I can't remem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>ber this murderer's name -at this late date, but I recall perfectly the details of his capture. -Sheriff Jack Hamilton of Bandera County sent a guide to show us where -this fugitive lived. The guide led us some fifteen miles northwest of -Bandera and finally pointed out the house in which the murderer was -supposed to be. He then refused to go any farther, saying he did not -want any of this man's game, for the fellow had just stood off a deputy -sheriff and made him hike it back to Bandera.</p> - -<p>It was almost night when we reached the house, so Roberts and I decided -to wait until morning before attempting the arrest. We staked our -horses, lay down on our saddle blankets without supper, and slept -soundly till dawn. As soon as it was daylight we rode over near the -house, dismounted, slipped up, and, unannounced, stepped right inside -the room. The man we wanted was sleeping on a pallet with a big -white-handled .45 near his head. Hawk Roberts kicked the pistol out -of the man's reach. The noise awakened the sleeper and he opened his -eyes to find himself looking into the business ends of two Winchesters -held within a foot of his head. Of course he surrendered without fight. -His wife, who was sleeping in a bed in the same room, jumped out of -it and heaped all kinds of abuse on us for entering her home without -cere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>mony. She was especially bitter against Sheriff Hamilton, who, she -said, had promised to notify her husband when he was wanted so he could -come in and give himself up. She indignantly advised her husband to -give old Sheriff Hamilton a d—d good whipping the first chance he had.</p> - -<p>While Company "A" was rounding up outlaws along the border, Sergeant -Reynolds was covering himself with glory in the north. Upon reaching -Lampasas and reporting to the sheriff as ordered by Major Jones, the -sergeant was told that the Horrell boys were living on the Sulphur Fork -of the Lampasas River and were defying the authorities to arrest them.</p> - -<p>The Horrells were native Texans and had been raised on the frontier. -These brothers, of which five were involved in the feud (the sixth, -John Horrell, had been killed at Las Cruces, New Mexico, previously) -were expert riders, and, having grown up with firearms in their -hands, were as quick as chained lightning with either Winchester or -pistol. Sam Horrell, the eldest, was married and had a large family of -children. He was a farmer and lived a quiet life over on the Lampasas -River. The other four boys, Mart, Tom, Merritt, and Ben, were all -cattlemen. They stood well in the community, but were considered -dangerous when aroused.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> - -<p>At this time Lampasas was a frontier town and wide open as far as -saloons and gambling were concerned. The Horrells, like most cattlemen -of the period, loved to congregate in town, go to the saloons and have -a good time, perhaps drink too much and sometimes at night shoot up -the town for fun, as they termed it. Some of the more pious and more -settled citizens of the town did not approve of these night brawls, and -called upon Governor Edmund J. Davis, Provisional Governor in 1873, -to give them protection. Governor Davis had formed in Texas a State -Police. Naturally they were rank Republicans, and many of them were -termed carpetbaggers. This body was never popular in Texas, especially -as many of the force were negroes.</p> - -<p>In answer to the call of the citizens, Governor Davis dispatched -Captain Williams with three white men and one negro to Lampasas. On -the way up Captain Williams met several freighters going to Austin and -stopped one of them, Tedford Bean, to ask the distance to Lampasas. The -captain had been drinking, and he told Mr. Bean he was going to town to -clean up those damn Horrell boys.</p> - -<p>The little squad of police reached Lampasas about 3 p.m., hitched its -horses to some live oak trees on the public plaza, left the negro to -guard them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> and then made a bee line to Jerry Scott's saloon on the -west side of the square. Mart, Tom, and Merritt Horrell, with some ten -or fifteen cow men, were in the saloon drinking, playing billiards and -having a good time generally. One man was picking a banjo and another -playing a fiddle. Captain Williams, an exceedingly brave but unwise -man, took in the situation at a glance as he walked up to the bar and -called for drinks.</p> - -<p>He turned to Bill Bowen, a brother-in-law to Merritt Horrell, and said, -"I believe you have a six-shooter. I arrest you."</p> - -<p>"Bill, you have done nothing and need not be arrested if you don't want -to," interrupted Mart Horrell.</p> - -<p>Like a flash of lightning Captain Williams pulled his pistol and fired -on Mart Horrell, wounding him badly. The Horrell boys drew their guns -and began to fight. Captain Williams and one of his men, Dr. Daniels, -were shot down in the saloon. William Cherry was killed just outside -the door, and Andrew Melville was fatally wounded as he was trying to -escape. He reached the old Huling Hotel, where he died later. At the -first crack of a pistol the negro police mounted his horse and made a -John Gilpin ride for Austin. Thus, within the twinkling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> of an eye, -four state police were killed and only one of the Horrells wounded.</p> - -<p>Tom and Merritt Horrell carried the wounded Mart to their mother's -home, some two hundred yards from Scott's saloon, then mounted their -horses and rode away. Great excitement prevailed in the town. The state -militia was called out, and Governor Davis hurried other state police -to Lampasas. They scoured the country for the Horrell boys, but to no -avail.</p> - -<p>Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott were arrested and carried to Georgetown, -Williamson County, and placed in jail. Mart Horrell's wife went to the -jail to nurse her husband and, of course, kept her brothers-in-law -informed as to Mart's condition. As soon as he was well the Horrell -boys made up a party and rode to Williamson County and assaulted the -jail at night. The citizens and officers of Georgetown, taken unawares, -put up a stiff fight, but the Horrells had ten or fifteen well -organized and armed men with them. They took stations at all approaches -to the jail and kept up a steady fire with their Winchesters at anyone -who showed up to oppose them. Mr. A.S. Fisher, a prominent lawyer of -the town, took an active hand in the fight and was badly wounded. Bill -Bowen was slightly hurt while battering in the jail door with a sledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -hammer. Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott were liberated and rode off with -their rescuers.</p> - -<p>By the next evening the Horrells were back on Lucies Creek. They at -once made arrangements to leave the country and go to New Mexico. They -had gathered about them Bill and Tom Bowen, John Dixon, Ben Turner, and -six or eight other men as desperate and dangerous as themselves. They -were so formidable that they no longer attempted to hide but openly and -without hindrance gathered their cattle, sold the remnant to Cooksey -and Clayton to be delivered to them in Coleman County. They even -notified the sheriff of Lampasas County just what day they would pass -with their herd through Russell Gap, but they were not molested.</p> - -<p>As a cowboy I had worked for Cooksey and Clayton, and was with them -when they delivered cattle to the Horrell boys on Home Creek, Coleman -County. I had dinner in camp with the outlaws and they made no effort -to hide from the authorities. I remember they sat about their camps -with Winchesters across their laps.</p> - -<p>When all was ready the Horrells moved slowly out of the country with -their families and cattle and finally reached New Mexico, settling on -the head of the Hondo River in Lincoln County. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> had not been at -their new home many months before Ben Horrell was shot and killed at a -fandango near old Fort Stanton. Ben's brothers at once repaired to the -dance hall and killed eight Mexicans and one woman.</p> - -<p>This brought on a war between the Horrell boys and the Mexican -population along the Hondo River, and it is said that in the fights -that followed thirty or forty Mexicans were killed between Fort Stanton -and Roswell. In one of those pitched battles Ben Turner was killed. -Turner was prominent in all of the fights staged by the Horrells, -was with them when Captain Williams was killed and was one of the -assaulting party on the Georgetown jail. His death was keenly felt by -his companions.</p> - -<p>Having now outlawed themselves in New Mexico, the Horrells could no -longer stay in that country. They turned back to Texas, and next year -showed up at their old haunts in Lampasas County. The shock of the -Civil War was beginning to subside and the State of Texas was then -under civil government with a Democratic governor in office. The -friends of the Horrells advised them to surrender to the authorities -and be tried for the killing of Captain Williams and his men. They -were assured a fair trial by the best citizens of Lampasas County.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -Accordingly, the Horrells gave up, and upon trial were acquitted of the -charges against them.</p> - -<p>The Horrells had not long been at ease before Merritt, the youngest of -the brothers, was accused by Pink Higgins of unlawfully handling his -cattle. Shortly afterward, while Merritt was seated unarmed in a chair -in the old Jerry Scott saloon, Pink Higgins stepped to the back door of -the place and shot him to death. Thus Merritt met his death in the same -saloon where four years before he had been a party to the killing of -Captain Williams. At this time Mart and Tom Horrell were living down on -Sulphur Fork of Lampasas River. The news of their brother's death was -quickly carried to them. They armed themselves and started in a run for -Lampasas.</p> - -<p>This move had been anticipated by the Pink Higgins party. They waylaid -the Horrell boys outside the town and at their first fire killed Tom -Horrell's horse and badly wounded Mart. Tom advanced single handed on -the attackers and put them to flight. He then partly supported and -partly carried his brother to the home of Mr. Tinnins, a neighbor, -where a doctor was hurried to the wounded man.</p> - -<p>Thus old Lampasas County was again the scene of war with Mart, Tom and -Sam Horrell, Bill and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> Tom Bowen, John Dixon and Bill Crabtree on one -side and Pink Higgins, Bob Mitchell and their friends on the other. -These two factions met in the town of Lampasas and a furious battle -followed. A man was killed on each side and the population greatly -endangered. Hence the governor's order to Major Jones to send rangers -to the aid of the officers at Lampasas.</p> - -<p>When Sergeant N.O. Reynolds reported to the sheriff of Lampasas he was -informed that the Horrell boys were living ten miles east of Lampasas -and had ten or twelve desperate men with them, so that it meant certain -death to anyone making an attempt to capture them.</p> - -<p>"But, Mr. Sheriff, I am sent here to effect the capture of all -offenders against the law, and it is my duty to at least make the -attempt," replied the brave Reynolds.</p> - -<p>"These men have never been arrested," declared Sheriff Sweet, "and it -is my honest opinion they cannot be."</p> - -<p>Reynolds then asked if the sheriff would send a guide to show him -where the Horrells lived. The rangers under the intrepid Reynolds -left Lampasas late in the night and finally the guide pointed at a -flickering light about a mile off.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> - -<p>"There is where the Horrell boys live. I am going back to town," he -said.</p> - -<p>When asked if he would not accompany the rangers to the house, the -guide replied, "No, not for a million dollars!"</p> - -<p>With that he turned his horse and rode away.</p> - -<p>Reynolds thought it would be best to wait until daylight before -attempting the arrest. He planned to surprise the outlaws, if such -a thing were possible, but if the rangers were discovered and an -engagement came on they were to fight to the last man. As soon as dawn -broke the rangers wended their way on foot to the Horrell brothers' -ranch. It was a moment of great anxiety as they approached the house, -but not a sound was heard, not a dog barked.</p> - -<p>Sergeant Reynolds and his men tiptoed right into the room in which the -Horrells were sleeping. Some of the men were on pallets on the floor, -while others slept in beds in the one big room. Each ranger pointed -a cocked Winchester at the head of a sleeper. Reynolds then spoke to -Mart Horrell. At the sound of his voice every man sat up in bed and -found himself looking into the muzzle of a gun. The sergeant quickly -explained that he was a ranger and had come to arrest them. Mart -replied they could not surrender, and Tom Horrell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> said it would be -better to die fighting than to be mobbed.</p> - -<p>This gave Reynolds his cue. He warned the outlaws that if anything was -started there would be a dozen dead men in that house in one minute and -advised them to listen to what he had to say. He then guaranteed the -Horrells upon his honor that he would not turn them over to the sheriff -to be put in jail and mobbed, but promised he would guard them in his -camp until they could secure a preliminary examination and give bond.</p> - -<p>"Boys, this seems reasonable," said Mart Horrell, rising to his feet. -"I believe these rangers can be relied upon to protect us. Besides this -fight has been thrust upon us. If we can get a hearing we can give -bond."</p> - -<p>They all agreed finally to this proposition of Sergeant Reynolds and -laid down their arms, mounted their horses and under guard of the -rangers were marched into the town of Lampasas.</p> - -<p>The news of the capture of the Horrells spread like wildfire through -the town and county. Hundreds of people flocked to Lampasas to see -Sergeant Reynolds, the man that had accomplished the impossible in -rounding up the most desperate band of men that ever lived. The news -was rushed to Austin, and General Jones himself hurried to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> scene. -This act of Sergeant Reynolds covered him with glory and brought to his -name imperishable renown. He was at once commissioned First Lieutenant, -commanding Company "E."</p> - -<p>The Horrell boys were admitted to bond after a preliminary hearing. -After their release Mart Horrell came to Lieutenant Reynolds and -feelingly thanked him for carrying out his promise. With tears -streaming down his face he grasped the lieutenant's hand and said, "You -are undoubtedly the bravest man in the world today." These unfortunate -men were later shot to death in the Meridian jail. The Higgins and -Mitchell parties surrendered to the authorities. Pink Higgins was tried -and acquitted of the murder of Merritt Horrell. This ended the feud, -but it started Lieutenant Reynolds on a new and important phase of his -career as a ranger.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">SERVICE WITH REYNOLDS, THE INTREPID</p> - - -<p>As soon as Sergeant Reynolds was commissioned first lieutenant he was -placed in command of Company "E," then stationed in Coleman County, but -immediately ordered to Lampasas. At this time Captain Sparks resigned -the command of Company "C," and this company was also ordered to -report to Lieutenant Reynolds at the same town. Late in August the two -commands went into camp at Hancock Springs. Major Jones then authorized -Lieutenant Reynolds to pick such men as he desired from these two -companies for his own company and either discharge or transfer the -remainder to other commands. No other officer in the battalion, I -believe, was ever accorded this privilege.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds had a week or ten days in which to make his -selection, so he studied the muster rolls of the companies carefully. -He had ranged under such great captains as Perry, D.W. Roberts, -Neal Coldwell, and with Major Jones himself. He knew what qualities -were needed in a good ranger and made his selections accordingly. -From old Company "A" Reynolds selected C.L. Nevill, Tom Gillespie, -Shape Rodgers, Jack Martin, John Gibbs,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> W.T. Clements, and four -others whose names I do not now remember. These were the scouts that -had helped him capture the Horrells and naturally were his first -choice. From Company "E" came Dick Ware, who one year later killed -the noted train robber, Sam Bass, then served Mitchell County as -its first sheriff for many years, and finally became United States -marshal for the Western District of Texas under President Cleveland's -administration. Henry Thomas, Miller Mourland, George Arnett, and other -Company "E" boys were selected. Henry Maltimore, Ben and Dock Carter, -Bill Derrick, Chris Connor, Henry McGee, Abe Anglin, J.W. Warren, Dave -Ligon, Lowe Hughes, George (Hog) Hughes, and others were picked from -Company "C."</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus05"> -<img src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> <i>N.O. Reynolds</i></p> - -<p>When he had exhausted the two companies Reynolds turned to General -Jones and said, "There is a ranger down on the Rio Grande in Neal -Coldwell's company that I want."</p> - -<p>"Who is it?" asked the general.</p> - -<p>"Private Jim Gillett."</p> - -<p>"You shall have him," promised General Jones. "I will send an order to -Captain Coldwell tonight to have Gillett report to you here."</p> - -<p>It was late in the evening when Company "A's" mail came in from Frio -Town, but Captain Coldwell sent for me as soon as General Jones' order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -arrived, and told me that I must leave the company next morning and -report to the Adjutant-General at Austin. I was nonplussed, for I did -not know what the order meant. Out on the frontier where we then were -operating we seldom read newspapers or heard what the other companies -were doing, so I did not even know that Reynolds had captured the -Horrell boys and had been commissioned to command Company "E." The -following morning I bade Captain Coldwell and the Company "A" boys -goodbye and started on my long ride to Austin.</p> - -<p>As I jogged along I asked myself many hundred times why I was ordered -to report at Austin, and, boy-like, it made me nervous and uneasy. It -took me two days to reach San Antonio and three more to get to Austin. -I arrived in the latter town just at nightfall, but I was at the -Adjutant-General's office as soon as it was opened next morning.</p> - -<p>Presently General Jones entered with some officers of the State -Militia. He shook hands with me and invited me to be seated, saying -he had some business to attend to for the moment. It was probably an -hour before the officers left and the general could turn to me. He -very kindly inquired as to my trip and asked about Captain Coldwell -and the company. He then told me about the arrest of the Horrell boys -and Sergeant Reynolds' commission as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> first lieutenant commanding -Company "E," vice Lieutenant Foster resigned. He explained Reynolds had -requested that I be attached to his command, and ordered me to report -to my new commander in Lampasas without delay.</p> - -<p>I excused myself at once and lost no time in getting my horse out of -the livery stable and resuming my way. A great load was lifted from my -mind, and I was about as happy as a boy could be. I sang and whistled -all the way to Liberty Hill, thirty miles from Austin. The following -day about 2 p.m. I rode into Reynolds' camp at Hancock Springs.</p> - -<p>I attracted some attention as I rode in, for I wore a big Mexican hat -mounted with silver, a buckskin jacket fringed from shoulder to elbow -with a bunch of flowers braided in highly colored silk on its back. On -my heels were enormous Mexican spurs. I never saw a ranger sent to the -Rio Grande for the first time that did not rig himself out in some such -outlandish attire, only to discard it a few weeks later, never to wear -it again. I was no exception, and I think every man in camp tried on my -hat.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds selected C.L. Nevill for first sergeant, Henry W. -McGee as second sergeant, and J.W. Warren and L.W. Conner, first and -second corporals, respectively. On September 1, 1877, the company was -sworn in. The new command was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> the most formidable body of men I had -ever seen. Our commander, Lieutenant Reynolds, was over six feet tall -and weighed probably one hundred and seventy-five pounds. He was a very -handsome man, a perfect blond, with steel blue eyes and a long, light -moustache. At that time he was about thirty years of age, vigorous in -mind and body, and had a massive determination to succeed as a ranger. -His mind was original, bold, profound and quick, with a will that -no obstacle could daunt. He was the best ranger in the world—there -was never another like him. The lieutenant was a native of Missouri, -and was always known as "Major" or "Mage" Reynolds. It was said that -Reynolds, though a mere boy, had served with the Confederates in the -latter part of the Civil War. He was one of a party that captured a -troop of Federal cavalry, the major of which was well supplied with -clothing. The captors, however, were very scantily clad and Reynolds -appropriated the major's uniform, hence his nick-name "Mage." In later -years when I had grown more intimate with him and was probably closer -to him than any other I mentioned this story. He neither affirmed nor -denied it, declaring he was a Missourian by birth, a bootmaker by -trade, and that his early history could interest no one.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p> - -<p>First Sergeant Nevill was six feet and one inch in height and weighed -one hundred and eighty-five pounds. All the non-commissioned officers -were at least six feet tall and built in proportion, and many of the -privates were from five feet eleven inches to six feet in height. I was -probably the lightest man in the company, being only five feet nine -inches and weighing but one hundred and forty pounds.</p> - -<p>When the company's roster was complete Lieutenant Reynolds had but -twenty-eight men,—lacking two of his full complement of thirty. The -company was then ordered to Austin, but before being assigned to -its position on the frontier the lieutenant enlisted John and Will -Bannister, two celebrated frontiersmen. They were old cowboys, splendid -shots, and well acquainted with every part of Kimble, Menard, Mason, -and Kerr Counties, in which Company "E" was destined to operate. In -appearance and ability this company compared favorably with any thirty -rangers ever sent to the Texas frontier. Nearly every member of the -company had had more or less experience as an officer, and all were -exceedingly fine marksmen. Sergeant Henry McGee had been marshal of -Waco and had figured in several pistol duels in that city. Dave Ligon, -the oldest man in the command, had been a Confederate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> soldier and had -served with General Forrest's cavalry.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1877, Lieutenant Armstrong of Captain Hall's -company, assisted by Detective Jack Duncan of Dallas, Texas, captured -the notorious John Wesley Hardin. It has been said that Texas, the -largest state in the Union, has never produced a real world's champion -at anything. Surely, such critics overlooked Hardin, the champion -desperado of the world. His life is too well known in Texas for me to -go into detail, but, according to his own story, which I have before -me, he killed no fewer than twenty-seven men, the last being Charley -Webb, deputy sheriff of Brown County, Texas. So notorious had Hardin -become that the State of Texas offered $4000 reward for his capture. -Hardin had left Texas and at the time of his capture was in Florida. -His captors arrested and overpowered him while he was sitting in a -passenger coach.</p> - -<p>In September, 1877, Sheriff Wilson of Comanche County, in whose -jurisdiction Hardin had killed Webb, came to Austin to convey the -prisoner to Comanche for trial. Wilson requested the governor for an -escort of rangers. Lieutenant Reynolds' company, being in Austin at -the time, was ordered to accompany Wilson and protect Hardin from mob<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> -violence. This was the first work assigned Company "E" under its new -commander.</p> - -<p>The day we left Austin between one and two thousand people gathered -about the Travis County jail to see this notorious desperado. The -rangers were drawn up just outside the jail, and Henry Thomas and -myself were ordered to enter the prison and escort Hardin out. Heavily -shackled and handcuffed, the prisoner walked very slowly between us. -The boy that had sold fish on the streets of Austin was now guarding -the most desperate criminal in Texas; it was glory enough for me.</p> - -<p>At his trial Hardin was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years -in the penitentiary. He appealed his case and was returned to Travis -County for safekeeping. The verdict of the trial court was sustained, -and one year later, in September, 1878, Lieutenant Reynolds' company -was ordered to take Hardin back to Comanche County for sentence. There -was no railroad at Comanche at that time, so a detachment of rangers, -myself among them, escorted Hardin to the penitentiary. There were ten -or twelve indictments still pending against him for murder in various -counties, but they were never prosecuted.</p> - -<p>Hardin served seventeen years on his sentence, and while in prison -studied law. Governor Hogg<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> pardoned him in 1894 and restored him to -full citizenship.</p> - -<p>In transmitting him the governor's pardon, Judge W.S. Fly, Associate -Justice of the Court of Appeals, wrote Hardin as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Dear Sir: Enclosed I send you a full pardon from the Governor of -Texas. I congratulate you on its reception and trust that it is -the day of dawn of a bright and peaceful future. There is time to -retrieve a lost past. Turn your back upon it with all its suffering -and sorrow and fix your eyes upon the future with the determination -to make yourself an honorable and useful member of society. The hand -of every true man will be extended to assist you in your upward -course, and I trust that the name of Hardin will in the future be -associated with the performance of deeds that will ennoble his family -and be a blessing to humanity.</p> - -<p>Did you ever read Victor Hugo's masterpiece, "Les Miserables"? If -not, you ought to read it. It paints in graphic words the life of -one who had tasted the bitterest dregs of life's cup, but in his -Christian manhood rose about it, almost like a god and left behind -him a path luminous with good deeds.</p> - -<p>With the best wishes for your welfare and happiness, I am,</p> - -<p> -Yours very truly,<br /> -W.S. Fly.<br /> -</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> - -<p>Despite all the kind advice given him by eminent lawyers and citizens, -Hardin was unequal to the task of becoming a useful man. He practiced -law for a time in Gonzales, then drifted away to El Paso, where he -began drinking and gambling. On August 19, 1895, Hardin was standing -at a bar shaking dice when John Selman, constable of Precinct No. -1, approached him from behind and, placing a pistol to the back of -Hardin's head, blew his brains out. Though posing as an officer Selman -was himself an outlaw and a murderer of the worst kind. He killed -Hardin for the notoriety it would bring him and nothing more.</p> - -<p>After delivering Hardin to the sheriff of Travis County in 1877, -Lieutenant Reynolds was ordered to Kimble County for duty. Of all the -counties in Texas at that time Kimble was the most popular with outlaws -and criminals, for it was situated south of Menard County on the North -and South Llano Rivers, with cedar, pecan and mesquite timber in which -to hide, while the streams and mountains furnished abundance of fish -and game for subsistence.</p> - -<p>Up on the South Llano lived old Jimmie Dublin. He had a large family -of children, most of them grown. The eldest of his boys, Dick, or -Richard, as he was known, and a friend, Ace Lankford, killed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> two men -at a country store in Lankford's Cove, Coryell County, Texas. The state -offered $500 for the arrest of Dublin and the County of Coryell an -additional $200. To escape capture Dick and his companion fled west -into Kimble County. While I was working as cowboy with Joe Franks -in the fall of 1873 I became acquainted with the two murderers, for -they attached themselves to our outfit. They were always armed and -constantly on the watchout for fear of arrest. Dublin was a large man, -stout, dark complected, and looked more like the bully of a prize ring -than the cowman he was. I often heard him say he would never surrender. -While cow hunting with us he discovered that the naturally brushy -and tangled county of Kimble would offer shelter for such as he, and -persuaded his father to move out into that county.</p> - -<p>Dublin had not lived long in Kimble County before another son, Dell -Dublin, killed Jim Williams, a neighbor. Thus two of the Dublin boys -were on the dodge charged with murder. They were supposed to be hiding -near their father's home. Bill Allison, Starke Reynolds and a number -of bandits, horse and cattle thieves and murderers, were known to be -in Kimble County, so Lieutenant Reynolds was sent with his company to -clean them up.</p> - -<p>It was late in October, 1877, before the company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> reached its -destination and camped on the North Llano River below the mouth of Bear -Greek. As soon as our horses had rested and camp was fully established -for the winter we began scouting. Several men wanted on minor charges -were captured. We then raided Luke Stone's ranch, which was about ten -miles from our camp, and captured Dell Dublin. He was fearfully angry -when he found escape impossible. He tore his shirt bosom open and -dared the rangers to shoot him. While he was being disarmed his elder -brother, Dick, rode out of the brush and came within gun shot of the -ranch before he discovered the presence of the rangers. He turned his -horse quickly and made his escape, though the rangers pursued him some -distance. When Dick learned that the Banister boys and myself were with -Lieutenant Reynolds' company and hot on his trail he declared he would -whip us with a quirt as a man would a dog if he ever came upon us, for -he remembered us as beardless boys with the Joe Franks' cow outfit. -However, despite his threat, he never attempted to make it good, but -took very good care to keep out of our way until the fatal January 18, -1878.</p> - -<p>There was no jail in Kimble County, so with a detachment of rangers I -took Dell Dublin and our other prisoners to Llano County lockup.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p>Shortly afterward Reynolds selected Sergeant McGee, Tom Gillespie, -Dick Harrison, and Tim McCarthy and made a scout into Menard County. -He also had with him his negro cook, George, to drive his light wagon. -On the return toward Bear Creek the scout camped for the night at -Fort McKavett. At that time each frontier post had its chihuahua or -scab town, a little settlement with gambling halls, saloons, etc., to -catch the soldiers' dollars. At Fort McKavett were many discharged -soldiers, some of them negroes from the Tenth Cavalry. These blacks -had associated with white gamblers and lewd women until they thought -themselves the equals of white men, and became mean and overbearing.</p> - -<p>On this particular night these negro ex-soldiers gave a dance in scab -town, and our negro, George, wanted to go. He was a light mulatto, -almost white, but well thought of by all the boys in the company. He -obtained Lieutenant Reynolds' permission to attend the dance, and -borrowed Tim McCarthy's pistol to carry to it. When George arrived at -the dance hall the ex-soldiers did not like his appearance, as he was -allied with the rangers, whom they despised. They jumped on George, -took his pistol and kicked him out of the place. The boys were all in -bed when George returned and told McCarthy that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> negroes at the -dance hall had taken his pistol from him.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds was sleeping nearby and heard what George said. He -raised up on his elbow and ordered Sergeant McGee to go with McCarthy -and George and get the pistol. The negroes saw McGee coming and, -closing the door, defied him to enter the dance hall.</p> - -<p>McGee was cool and careful. He advised the negroes to return -the pistol, but they refused, saying they would kill the first -white-livered s— o— b— that attempted to enter the house. The -sergeant then stationed himself at the front door, ordered McCarthy -to guard the back entrance of the place, and sent George for the -lieutenant. Reynolds hurried to the scene, taking with him Tom -Gillespie and Dick Harrison. The lieutenant knocked on the door and -told the blacks he was the commander of the rangers and demanded -their surrender. They replied with an oath that they would not do so. -Reynolds then ordered the house cleared of women and gave the negroes -just five minutes in which to surrender.</p> - -<p>Up to this time the women had been quiet, but they now began to scream. -This probably demoralized the negro men. One of them poked McCarthy's -pistol, muzzle foremost, out of a window.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Here, come get your d—n pistol," he said.</p> - -<p>McCarthy, a new man in the service, stepped up and grasped it. The -instant the negro felt the touch of McCarthy's hand on the weapon he -pulled the trigger. The ball pierced McCarthy's body just above the -heart, giving him a mortal wound.</p> - -<p>At the crack of the pistol the rangers opened fire through the doors -and windows on the negroes within the house. Reynolds and his men then -charged the place, and when the smoke of battle cleared they found -four dead negro men and a little negro girl that had been killed by -accident. Only one black escaped. He was hidden under a bed, and as -the rangers came in, made a dash to safety under cover of darkness. -McCarthy died the following day and was buried near old Fort McKavett. -Negro George fought like a tiger and won the boys' praise.</p> - -<p>A few days afterward the sheriff of Tom Green County, following the -trail of a bunch of stolen cattle from San Angelo, came into our -camp. Lieutenant Reynolds sent Sergeant Nevill and a scout of rangers -with the sheriff. The trail led over to the South Llano, where the -cattle were recovered. While scouting around the herd, Sergeant -Nevill discovered a man riding down the trail toward him. He and his -men secreted themselves and awaited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> the stranger's approach. It was -getting quite dark, and when the newcomer had ridden almost over -the concealed rangers without noticing their presence they rose up, -presented their guns and ordered him to halt.</p> - -<p>"Yes,—like hell!" he exclaimed, and, turning his horse, dived into a -cedar brake. A shower of bullets followed, but failed to strike the -fugitive. This was the notorious Dick Dublin with a $700 reward on his -head.</p> - -<p>Sergeant Nevill returned to camp with about fifty head of burnt cattle, -but let the most notorious criminal in the county escape. Lieutenant -Reynolds was disappointed at this, and said he did not understand how -four crack rangers could let a man ride right over them and then get -away. He declared his negro cook could have killed Dublin had he been -in their place. This mortified the boys a great deal.</p> - -<p>The latter part of December, 1877, Lieutenant Reynolds sent a scout -out on Little Saline, Menard County. On Christmas day this detail had -a running fight with four men. John Collins, the man who stole a yoke -of oxen at Fredericksburg and drove them up to within two miles of our -camp, was captured, as was also John Gray, wanted for murder in one of -the eastern counties. Jim Pope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> Mason, charged with the murder of Rance -Moore, was in this skirmish, but escaped.</p> - -<p>One cold morning about the middle of January Corporal Gillett, with -Privates John and Will Banister, Tom Gillespie, Dave Ligon, and Ben -Carter, was ordered on a five days' scout. We saddled our horses and -packed two mules. When all was ready I walked over to Lieutenant -Reynolds. He was sitting on a camp stool before his tent and seemed in -a brown study. I saluted and asked for orders.</p> - -<p>"Well, Corporal," he said, after a moment's hesitation, "it is a -scout after Dick Dublin again. That man seems to be a regular Jonah -to this company. He lives only ten miles from here and I have been -awfully disappointed at not being able to effect his capture. It is a -reflection on all of Company 'E.' There is one thing sure if I can't -capture him I will make life miserable for him. I will keep a scout in -the field after him constantly."</p> - -<p>I then asked if he had any instructions as to the route I should travel.</p> - -<p>"No, no," he replied. "I rely too much on your judgment to hamper you -with orders. After you are once out of sight of camp you know these -mountains and trails better than I do. Just go and do your best. If you -come in contact with him don't let him get away."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> - -<p>After riding a half mile from camp the boys began inquiring where we -were going and who we were after. I told them Dick Dublin. We quit the -road and traveled south from our camp over to the head of Pack Saddle -Creek. Here we turned down the creek and rounded up the Potter ranch, -but no one was at home, so we passed on into the cedar brake without -having been seen.</p> - -<p>On the extreme headwaters of South Llano River some cattlemen had built -a large stock pen and were using it to confine wild cattle. This was -far out beyond any settlement and probably fifty or sixty miles from -our camp. I thought it possible that Dick Dublin might be hanging -around the place, so we traveled through the woods most of the way to -it. Here I found that the cattlemen had moved.</p> - -<p>The scout had now been out two days, so we began our return journey. We -traveled probably twenty-five miles on the third day. On the fourth day -I timed myself to reach the Potter ranch about night. Old man Potter, -a friend and neighbor of Dublin's, lived here with two grown sons. It -was known that Dublin frequented the place, and I hoped to catch him -here unawares. About sundown we were within a mile of the ranch. Here -we unsaddled our horses and prepared to round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> up the house. If we -met with no success we were to camp there for the night. I left John -Banister and Ligon to guard camp while Gillespie, Will Banister, and -Ben Carter, with myself, approached the ranch on foot. If I found no -one there I intended to return to our camp unseen and round up the -ranch again the following morning.</p> - -<p>We had not traveled far before we discovered a lone man riding slowly -down the trail to the Potter ranch. We remained hidden and were able -to approach within fifty yards of the house without being seen. We now -halted in the bed of a creek for a short consultation. The one-room -cabin had only a single door, and before it was a small wagon. The -Potters cooked out of doors between the house and the wagon. We -could see a horse tied to the south side of the vehicle, but could -not see the camp fire for the wagon and the horse. To our right and -about twenty-five steps away old man Potter and one of his sons were -unloading some hogs from a wagon into a pen.</p> - -<p>We knew the moment we left the creek bed we would be in full view -of the Potters and the ranch house. We decided, then, that we would -advance on the house as fast as we could run and so be in good position -to capture the man who had ridden into the camp. We rose from the creek -running.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> Old man Potter discovered us as we came in view and yelled, -"Run, Dick, run! Here comes the rangers!"</p> - -<p>We then knew the man we wanted was at the camp. We were so close upon -Dublin that he had no time to mount his horse or get his gun, so he -made a run for the brush. I was within twenty-five yards of him when -he came from behind the wagon, running as fast as a big man could. I -ordered him to halt and surrender, but he had heard that call too many -times and kept going. Holding my Winchester carbine in my right hand I -fired a shot directly at him as I ran. In a moment he was out of sight.</p> - -<p>I hurried to the place where he was last seen and spied him running -up a little ravine. I stopped, drew a bead on him, and again ordered -him to halt. As he ran, Dublin threw his hand back under his coat as -though he were attempting to draw a pistol. I fired. My bullet struck -the fugitive in the small of the back just over the right hip bone and -passed out near his right collarbone. It killed him instantly. He was -bending over as he ran, and this caused the unusual course of my ball.</p> - -<p>The boys, whom I had outrun, now joined me, and Carter fired two shots -at Dublin after he was down. I ordered him to desist as the man was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> -dead. I examined the body to make sure it was Dublin, for I knew him -intimately, as I had cow hunted with him before I became a ranger. We -found him unarmed, but he had a belt of cartridges around his waist. -He was so completely surprised by our sudden appearance he could do -nothing but run. The $700 reward on him could never be collected, as it -was offered for his arrest and conviction. Dublin's brothers, Role and -Dell, swore vengeance against myself and the Banister boys, but nothing -ever came of the oath.</p> - -<p>In the month of February, 1878, Lieutenant Reynolds started to Austin -with five prisoners we had captured in Kimble and Menard Counties. -They were chained together in pairs, John Stephens, the odd man, was -shackled by himself. As guard for these prisoners Reynolds had detailed -Will and John Banister, Dave Ligon, Ben Garter, Dick Ware, and myself.</p> - -<p>On the Junction City and Mason road, some ten miles east of our camp, -was the small ranch of Starke Reynolds, a fugitive from justice, -charged with horse stealing and assault to kill. Company "E" had -scouted for him in Kimble County and had rounded up his ranch many -times. We knew he was in the county, but he always managed to escape -us. As we passed this ranch, Lieutenant Reynolds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> Privates Ware, -Carter, Ligon, and myself were marching in front, with a four-mule -wagon following us, in which were the chained prisoners. Behind it -came the Banisters, who were on guard that day and detailed to keep a -constant watch on the captive outlaws.</p> - -<p>We passed the Starke Reynolds' home about 10 o'clock in the morning, -and Lieutenant Reynolds remarked that it was hardly worth while to -round up the house as he had done so many times in the past without -result, but that he would surely like to capture the fellow. We had -not ridden more than half a mile beyond the ranch when we came face to -face with Starke himself. He was a small man and riding an exceedingly -good brown pony. We were about four hundred yards apart and discovered -each other at the same instant. The outlaw was carrying a small sack of -flour in front of him. He immediately threw this down, turned his horse -quickly and made a lightning dash for the Llano bottoms, some three -miles away.</p> - -<p>At that point the Junction City and Mason road winds along a range of -high mountains with the country sloping downward to the Llano River. -This grade was studded with scrubby live oak and mesquite brush not -thick enough to hide a man but sufficiently dense to retard his flight -through it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> We gave chase at once and for a mile and a half it was the -fastest race I ever saw the rangers run. We were closely bunched the -entire distance, with Lieutenant Reynolds—he was riding a fast race -horse—always slightly in the lead. He finally got close enough to the -fugitive to demand his surrender. Starke only waved his gun defiantly -and redoubled his speed. Lieutenant Reynolds then drew his six-shooter -and began firing at the outlaw. After emptying his pistol he began -using his Winchester.</p> - -<p>The Llano bottoms were now looming right up in front of us. The race -had been fast enough to run every horse into a big limber. Carter, -Ware, and Ligon dropped out of the race. Up to this time I had -contented myself by trying to keep up with Lieutenant Reynolds, for it -is always easier to follow a man through the brush than to run in the -lead. I had a good grip on my bridle reins and was trying to steady my -pony as best I could. I now saw that the outlaw was beginning to gain -on us. I ran up beside the lieutenant and said, "He is getting away -from us. Must I go after him?"</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds turned and looked at me with the wildest look -on his face that I ever saw. His hat was gone, his face was badly -scratched by the brush with the blood running down over his white shirt -bosom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, G— d—n him; stop or kill him!"</p> - -<p>I changed the bridle reins to my left hand, drew my gun with my right -and, digging my spurs deep into my pony's side, I was out of sight of -the lieutenant in three hundred yards. The fugitive saw that I was -alone and that I was going to overhaul him. He suddenly brought his -pony to a standstill, jumped down, took shelter behind the animal and -drew a bead on me with his gun.</p> - -<p>"G— d—n you, stop, or I'll kill you!" he cried.</p> - -<p>I tried to obey his order, but my pony was running down hill and ran -straight at him for twenty-five yards more before I could stop. I -jumped down from my horse and made ready to fight, but Starke broke for -a thicket on foot. As soon as he ran out from behind his pony I fired -at him. The bullet must have come rather close to him, for he turned -quickly and took shelter behind his mount again. As he peeped over his -saddle at me I attempted to draw a bead on his head, but I was tired, -nervous and unsteady. Before I could shoot Dave Ligon galloped right up -to the outlaw, ordered him to surrender and drop his gun, which Starke -did at once. The boys had heard me shoot and in five minutes were all -upon the scene.</p> - -<p>The captive was searched and ordered to remount his pony. With one -of the boys leading Starke's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> mount we started back to the wagon, -nearly three miles away. As soon as the outlaw was a prisoner and -knew he would not be harmed no matter what he said, he began a tirade -against the rangers. He declared the whole battalion was a set of d—d -murderers, especially Company "E," and said it was curbstone talk in -Menard, Mason and Kimble Counties that Lieutenant Reynolds' men would -kill a man and then yell for him to throw up his hands. He kept up this -running talk until he exhausted Lieutenant Reynolds' patience. The -latter then ordered Starke to shut up, and declared the speaker was a -d—d liar, for Company "E" never killed a man without first giving him -a chance to surrender. Lieutenant Reynolds then said that with the last -old brier-breaker captured he had accomplished the task set him and was -now ready to go elsewhere.</p> - -<p>As we rode along one of the boys remarked that my pony was limping -badly.</p> - -<p>"I wish his leg would come right off up to his shoulder," declared -Starke in disgust. "If it hadn't been for him I would have made it to -the bottoms and escaped."</p> - -<p>On approaching the wagon the prisoner Stephens, a man of some -intelligence and humor, stood up and called out to Starke, "By G—, old -man, they got you! They rode too many corn fed horses and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> carried too -many guns for you. I don't know who you are, but I'm sorry for you. -While they were chasing you I got down on my knees here in this wagon -and with my face turned up to the skies I prayed to the Almighty God -that you might get away."</p> - -<p>Starke was chained to this good-natured liar, and now, for the first -time, our prisoner seemed to realize his condition. He asked Lieutenant -Reynolds to send word to his family that he had been captured. The -lieutenant thereupon sent one of the boys to Starke's home to tell Mrs. -Reynolds that the rangers would camp on Red Greek for dinner, and if -she wished to see her husband we would be there probably two hours.</p> - -<p>Presently Starke's old gray-haired father came to our midday camp. When -he saw his son chained he burst out crying, saying, "My son, it is not -my fault that you are in this condition. I did my best to give you good -advice and tried to raise you right."</p> - -<p>After dinner we resumed our march toward Austin. Starke Reynolds was -finally turned over to the sheriff of Tarrant County. He was admitted -to bail and gave bond, but before he came to trial he was waylaid and -killed, supposedly by relatives of the man he had previously attempted -to murder.</p> - -<p>Early in the spring of 1878 a ranchman living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> five miles above our -camp saw a bunch of Indians on Bear Creek, Kimble County, and at once -reported to Lieutenant Reynolds. The redskins had been seen late in -the evening, and by the time a scout could be started after them it -was almost night. The lieutenant, however, followed the trail until it -entered a cedar brake. It was then too dark to work farther, so the -scout returned to camp to make arrangements to resume the trail the -following morning. On the march back to camp the rangers picked up a -paint pony with an arrow sticking in its hip. The Indians had probably -tried to catch the horse and, failing to do so, had shot it, as was -their custom.</p> - -<p>Just after dark a runner from Junction City came in and reported a -bunch of redskins had been seen near the town stealing horses. It was -a beautiful moonlight night and a close watch was kept on our horses. -Just at midnight John Banister, an alert man on guard, noticed that one -of our pack mules hitched at the end of our picket line was pulling -back on its rope and looking over a brush fence that enclosed the camp. -With Winchester in hand Banister passed through a gate, walked slowly -down the fence and into some small underbrush near the mule.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a man rose to his feet and fired on Ban<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>ister at a distance of -not more than ten steps, then broke and ran. Banister at once opened -fire on the Indian. The very first report of a gun brought every man -in camp out of his bed. We could see the flashes of Banister's gun and -went to his aid in our night clothes and barefooted. I ran down by the -picket line of horses and jumped the fence where the mule had seen the -redskin. By moonlight I could glimpse the Indian running down the river -bank. I shot at him nine times as he ran, but without effect. Some two -hundred yards below our camp was a ford on the Llano and the fugitive -was making for it.</p> - -<p>Just as soon as the Indian reached the crossing and plunged into the -river, eight or nine of the rangers that had followed Banister on the -high ground were in a position to shell the swimmer as he crossed. -There were probably a hundred shots fired at him, but he finally -disappeared in the brush on the south side of the river. Investigation -of the place where he crossed showed the timber cut all to pieces but, -strange to say, not a shot hit the Indian as far as we ever knew. We -found a blanket where the savage had risen and shot at Banister and, -measuring the ground, found that the ranger was just twelve short steps -from the Indian when fired upon by the redskin. It was a miracle that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> -Banister was not killed; the bullet, a .45 caliber, buried itself in -some sacks of corn in a tent just back of him.</p> - -<p>The next morning we found where ten or twelve Indians had waited under -some large pecan trees while this scout slipped up to our camp to -investigate and steal a horse. The trees were about four hundred yards -from camp and on the opposite side of the river. Some of the rangers -jokingly said those old braves must have thought this lone one stirred -up hell at the ranger camp.</p> - -<p>On account of the range cattle and horses along the Llano River, -Lieutenant Reynolds lost some eight or ten hours the next morning -before picking up the Indian trail. This gave the redskins ten or -twelve hours start, as they were at our camp just at midnight. The -trail passed out west between North and South Llano Rivers and followed -a rough mountain country that made pursuit difficult and slow. We -followed the savages five or six days and finally abandoned the trail -near the head of Devil's River after a heavy rain.</p> - -<p>While we had been active in rounding up the numerous outlaws and cattle -thieves that infested Kimble County, we had not been able to clean up -the mystery of the Peg Leg stage robbers, which had long baffled the -best detectives, sheriffs, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> rangers. Peg Leg was a small stage -station on the San Saba in the midst of a rough and very mountainous -country. Here the stage was repeatedly held up and as repeatedly the -robbers escaped. The scene of the hold-up was many times examined and -parties made determined efforts to trail the bandits but always without -success, for the trail was quickly lost in the rough mountains. One -of the features that proved particularly puzzling was the constant -recurrence of an exceedingly small footprint at each robbery. These -marks were so very small they convinced many observers that a woman -from Fort McKavett or Fort Concho was operating with the bandit gang. -Naturally the rangers were anxious to round up this group of outlaws -and put a stop to their depredations.</p> - -<p>In May, 1878, Sergeant Nevill made a scout up on the South Llano and -captured Bill Alison, a son-in-law of old Jimmie Dublin, father of the -bandit, Dick Dublin. Alison was wanted on several charges of cattle -theft, and was taken to Austin for safekeeping. After remaining in -the Travis County jail for nearly a year without being able to give -bond, Alison became discouraged. He believed his brothers-in-law, -the Dublins, were not aiding him to get bond and became bitter and -resentful toward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> them. This antagonism finally led to the unveiling of -the Peg Leg mystery.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1879 Dick Ware and myself took some prisoners to the -Austin jail. Bill Alison saw us and called out to me. He and I had been -cowboys together long before I became a ranger.</p> - -<p>"Jim," said Alison, "you know I have been cooped up here in this jail -for nearly a year. People who ought to be my friends have evidently -abandoned me and I am not going to stand it any longer. I can put the -Peg Leg stage robbers behind the bars, and I am going to do it."</p> - -<p>Ware, who was something of a diplomat, said, "Hold on, Bill. If you -have anything to confess we will get an order from the sheriff to take -you to see General Jones so you can talk to him."</p> - -<p>The general at once wrote a note to Dennis Corwin, sheriff of Travis -County, and asked that he let Alison accompany us to his office. The -sheriff turned his prisoner over to us and we took him to General -Jones, who had a private interview with him for over an hour. What -Alison confessed we did not know, but we returned him to the jail.</p> - -<p>General Jones moved quickly, for the very next day a scout of rangers -from Company "E" was sent back to Kimble County. I was just preparing -to go west to El Paso with Colonel Baylor, so I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> missed this last and -most important scout back into Kimble County. However, this final -expedition was so successful I cannot omit it from a history of the -rangers.</p> - -<p>Arriving at Kimble County the Company "E" detail arrested Role and -Dell Dublin, Mack Potter and Rube Boyce. In the running fight that -resulted in their capture Role received a bad wound in the hip. The -two Dublin brothers and Mack Potter when arraigned in Federal court -plead guilty to stage robbery and were sentenced to fifteen years at -hard labor. During their trial the mystery of the Peg Leg robberies -was finally cleared up. The Dublin boys were the guiding spirits in -the hold-ups and worked with great cleverness. Old man Jimmie Dublin's -ranch on the South Llano was their headquarters. From the ranch to -Peg Leg Station on the San Saba was not more than sixty miles across -a rough, mountainous country. As there were no wire fences in those -days the robbers would ride over to the station, rob the stage and in -one night's ride regain their home. Traveling at night they were never -observed. Dick Dublin, whose death while resisting capture has already -been described, was the leader of the bandit gang. Even the mystery of -the tiny footprints was disclosed;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> they were made by Mack Potter, who -had an unusually small foot for a man.</p> - -<p>While Rube Boyce was confined in the Travis County jail he made one of -the most sensational jail escapes in the criminal annals of Texas. Mrs. -Boyce called at the prison with a suit of clean underclothes for her -husband. The basket in which she carried them was examined and she was -admitted into the cell of her husband. However, she had hidden a big -.45 Colt's revolver about her person and smuggled it in. Rube changed -his underwear, put the soiled garments in the basket and hid the pistol -under them.</p> - -<p>At the end of her visit Mrs. Boyce started out and Rube accompanied her -down the corridor to the door. Mr. Albert Nichols, the jailer, opened -the door with his left hand to let the woman pass out, at the same -time holding his pistol in his right hand. As the door swung open Rube -reached into the basket he was carrying for his wife, whipped out the -hidden pistol, thrust it into the jailer's face and ordered him to drop -his .45 and step within the jail. Realizing that a second's hesitation -would mean his death, Nichols complied and was locked in by the outlaw.</p> - -<p>Boyce then ran out of the back yard of the jail, mounted a pony that -had been hitched there for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> him and galloped out of Austin, firing his -pistol as he ran. He made a complete get-away. Three or four years -later he was arrested at Socorro, New Mexico, and returned to Austin. -At his trial for participation in the Peg Leg stage robberies he was -acquitted, and perhaps justly so, for Bill Alison declared to me that -Dick Dublin with his brothers Dell and Role and Mack Potter were the -real robbers.</p> - -<p>The arrest and conviction of the Dublins, together with the other men -Lieutenant Reynolds had captured or killed completely cleaned out the -stage robbers, cattle and horse thieves and murderers that had made -Kimble County their rendezvous. Today Kimble County is one of the -most prosperous and picturesque counties in the state. Its citizens -are law-abiding and energetic. Junction City, the county seat, is a -splendid little city of probably twenty-five hundred inhabitants.</p> - -<p>Forty years ago, the time of which I write, there were no courthouses -in Kimble County. The first district courts were held under the -spreading boughs of a large oak tree. The rangers, of which I was -frequently one, guarded the prisoners under another tree at a -convenient distance from the judge and his attendants.</p> - -<p>Late in the spring or early summer of 1878 at a session of the County -Court of San Saba County,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> Billy Brown was being prosecuted by County -Attorney Brooks for a violation of the prohibition laws. Brown took -offense at a remark of the prosecuting attorney and attempted to draw -his six-shooter on him. T.J.T. Kendall, a law partner of Brooks, saw -Brown's move and quickly whipping out his own pistol, he killed Brown -in the courtroom. Then, fearing a mob if captured, Kendall fortified -himself in a second story of the courthouse and refused to surrender. -He held the whole town at bay while his wife administered to his wants. -Meantime, he sent a hurry call to the nearest rangers asking for -protection against mob violence. Captain Arrington received the message -and sent a detachment from Coleman to San Saba to preserve order.</p> - -<p>General Jones was notified and ordered Lieutenant Reynolds at Junction -City to march to San Saba with his company, take charge of Kendall and -relieve Captain Arrington's men. It was probably two weeks after the -killing before Company "E" reached San Saba, but Mr. Kendall was still -holding fort in the upper story of the courthouse.</p> - -<p>On the arrival of Reynolds' company, Kendall asked the court for a -preliminary examination. When court convened, the prisoner waived -examination and asked for transference to the Travis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> County jail at -Austin. The court, realizing the feeling against Kendall, ordered his -removal thither.</p> - -<p>When the time came for Kendall's removal a hack was driven up to the -courthouse door, where a great crowd had assembled to see the prisoner. -Jim Brown, sheriff of Lee County, Texas, and brother of Bill Brown, -heavily armed, had taken his station within ten feet of the prison -door. Just before Mr. Kendall descended the courthouse steps Lieutenant -Reynolds ordered the crowd to fall back fifty feet from the hack. The -people immediately obeyed with the exception of Jim Brown, who sat -perfectly still on his horse. The lieutenant looked at Brown for a -minute, then turned to his rangers and ordered them to draw their guns -and move everyone fifty yards from the courthouse. Like a flash every -ranger drew his gun, dismounted and waved the crowd back.</p> - -<p>Brown turned to Reynolds and said, "I am going to Austin with you."</p> - -<p>"If you do, you will go in irons. Move back!"</p> - -<p>Brown, who had killed several men, slowly turned his horse and rode -away. He did not know the man with whom he was dealing. Lawyer Kendall -was thereupon carried to Austin without incident.</p> - -<p>When we reached Austin, Jim Brown met Lieutenant Reynolds on the street -and apologized for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> the way he had acted at San Saba. He said he fully -intended to kill Kendall as he approached the hack, but the presence -of so many rangers caused him to change his mind. Lieutenant Reynolds -declared he was anticipating just such a move and had instructed his -men to shoot Brown into doll rags at his first move.</p> - -<p>Soon after this Lieutenant Reynolds moved Company "E" down on the San -Saba in a beautiful pecan grove, an ideal summer camp, about two miles -from the town of San Saba. From this point we scouted all over Llano, -Lampasas, Burnet and San Saba Counties at our favorite pursuit of -rounding up bad men. It was from this camp that we made our sensational -ride to Round Rock after Sam Bass, the notorious train robber.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></p> - -<p class="center">SAM BASS AND HIS TRAIN ROBBER GANG</p> - - -<p>Sam Bass, the noted train robber, was born in Indiana, July 21, 1851. -He came to Texas while quite a youth and worked for Sheriff Everhart of -Denton County until he reached manhood. While still an exemplary and -honest young man, Bass came into possession of a small race pony, a -little sorrel mare. On Saturday evenings, when most of the neighborhood -boys met in Denton, Bass raced his pony with much success. Mr. Everhart -soon noticed that Sam was beginning to neglect his work because of his -pony and, knowing only too well what this would lead to, he advised -Sam to sell his mare. Bass hesitated, for he loved the animal. Finally -matters came to such a point that Mr. Everhart told Sam he would have -to get rid of the horse or give up his job. Thereupon Bass promptly -quit, and this was probably the turning point in his life.</p> - -<p>Bass left Denton County in the spring of 1877 and traveled to San -Antonio. Here many cattlemen were gathered to arrange for the spring -cattle drive to the north. Joel Collins, who was planning to drive a -herd from Uvalde County to Deadwood, Dakota, hired Bass as a cowboy. -After six months<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> on the trail the herd reached Deadwood and was sold -and all the cowboys paid off by Mr. Collins.</p> - -<p>At that period Deadwood was a great, wide open mining town. -Adventurers, gamblers, mining and cattlemen all mingled together. -Though Joel Collins had bought his cattle on credit and owed the -greater part of the money he had received for them to his friends in -Texas, he gambled away all the money he had received for the herd. -When he sobered up and realized all his money was gone he did not have -the moral courage to face his friends and creditors at home. He became -desperate, and with a band of his cowboys held up and robbed several -stage coaches in the Black Hills. These robberies brought Collins very -little booty, but they started Sam Bass on his criminal career.</p> - -<p>In the fall of 1877, Collins, accompanied by Bass, Jack Davis, Jim -Berry, Bill Heffridge, and John Underwood, better known as Old -Dad, left Deadwood and drifted down to Ogallala, Nebraska. Here he -conceived, planned and carried into execution one of the boldest train -robberies that ever occurred in the United States up to that time. -When all was ready these six men, heavily armed and masked, held up -the Union Pacific train at Big Springs, a small station a few miles -beyond Ogallala. The bandits entered the express car and ordered the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -messenger to open the safe. The latter explained that the through safe -had a time lock and could only be opened at the end of the route. One -of the robbers then began to beat the messenger over the head with a -six-shooter, declaring he would kill him if the safe were not opened. -Bass, always of a kindly nature, pleaded with the man to desist, -declaring he believed the messenger was telling the truth. Just as the -robbers were preparing to leave the car without a cent one of them -noticed three stout little boxes piled near the big safe. The curious -bandit seized a coal pick and knocked off the lid of the top box. To -his great joy and delight he exposed $20,000 in shining gold coin! The -three boxes each held a similar amount, all in $20 gold pieces of the -mintage of 1877.</p> - -<p>After looting these boxes the robbers went through the train, and in -a systematic manner robbed the passengers of about $5000. By daylight -the bandits had hidden their booty and returned to Ogallala. They -hung around town several days while railroad officials, United States -marshals and sheriffs' parties were scouring the country for the train -robbers.</p> - -<p>While in Ogallala before and after the robbery, Collins and his men -frequented a large general merchandise store. In this store was a -clerk who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> once been an express messenger on the Union Pacific and -who was well acquainted with the officials of that company. I have -forgotten his name, but I will call him Moore for the sake of clearness -in my narrative. Of course the great train robbery was the talk of the -town. Moore conversed with Collins and his gang about the hold-up, and -the bandits declared they would help hunt the robbers if there was -enough money in it.</p> - -<p>Moore's suspicions were aroused and he became convinced that Collins -and his band were the real hold-up men. However, he said nothing to -anyone about this belief, but carefully watched the men. Finally, -Collins came to the store and, after buying clothing and provisions, -told Mr. Moore that he and his companions were going back to Texas and -would be up the trail the following spring with another herd of cattle. -When Collins had been gone a day's travel, Mr. Moore hired a horse and -followed him. He soon found the route the suspects were traveling, -and on the second day Moore came upon them suddenly while they were -stopping at a roadside farmhouse to have some bread cooked. Moore -passed by without being noticed and secreted himself near the highway. -In a short time Collins and his men passed on and Moore trailed them -until they went into camp. When it was dark the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> amateur detective -crept up to the bandits, but they had gone to sleep and he learned -nothing.</p> - -<p>The next day Moore resumed the trail. He watched the gang make -their camp for the night and again crept up to within a few yards -of his suspects. The bandits had built a big fire and were laughing -and talking. Soon they spread out a blanket, and to Moore's great -astonishment brought out some money bags and emptied upon the blanket -sixty thousand dollars in gold. From his concealed position the trailer -heard the robbers discuss the hold-up. They declared they did not -believe anyone had recognized or suspected them and decided it was now -best for them to divide the money, separate in pairs and go their way. -The coin was stacked in six piles and each man received $10,000 in $20 -gold pieces. It was further decided that Collins and Bill Heffridge -would travel back to San Antonio, Texas, together; Sam Bass and Jack -Davis were to go to Denton County, Texas, while Jim Berry and Old Dad -were to return to the Berry home in Mexico, Missouri.</p> - -<p>As soon as Mr. Moore had seen the money and heard the robbers' plans -he slipped back to his horse, mounted and rode day and night to reach -Ogallala. He notified the railroad officials of what he had seen, gave -the names and descriptions of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> the bandits and their destinations. -This information was sent broadcast over southern Nebraska, Kansas, -Indian Territory, and Texas. In the fugitive list sent to each of -the companies of the Frontier Battalion of rangers Sam Bass was thus -described: "Twenty-five to twenty-six years old, 5 feet 7 inches high, -black hair, dark brown eyes, brown moustache, large white teeth, shows -them when talking; has very little to say."</p> - -<p>A few days after the separation of the robbers, Joel Collins and Bill -Heffridge rode into a small place in Kansas called Buffalo Station. -They led a pack pony. Dismounting from their tired horses and leaving -them standing in the shade of the store building, the two men entered -the store and made several purchases. The railroad agent at the place -noticed the strangers ride up. He had, of course, been advised to be -on the lookout for the train robbers. He entered the store and in a -little while engaged Collins in conversation. While talking the robber -pulled his handkerchief out of his coat pocket and exposed a letter -with his name thereon. The agent was a shrewd man. He asked Collins if -he had not driven a herd of cattle up the trail in the spring. Collins -declared he had, and finally, in answer to a direct question, admitted -that his name was Joel Collins.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - -<p>Five or six hundred yards from Buffalo Station a lieutenant of the -United States Army had camped a troop of ten men that was scouting -for the train robbers. As soon as Collins and Heffridge remounted and -resumed their way the agent ran quickly to the soldiers' camp, pointed -out the bandits to the lieutenant and declared, "There go two of the -Union Pacific train robbers!"</p> - -<p>The army officer mounted his men and pursued Collins and Heffridge. -When he overtook the two men he told them their descriptions tallied -with those of some train robbers that he was scouting for, and declared -they would have to go back to the station and be identified. Collins -laughed at the idea, and declared that he and his companion were -cattlemen returning to their homes in Texas. They reluctantly turned -and started back with the soldiers. After riding a few hundred yards -the two robbers held a whispered conversation. Suddenly the two pulled -their pistols and attempted to stand off the lieutenant and his troop. -The desperadoes were promptly shot and killed. On examining their packs -the soldiers found tied up in the legs of a pair of overalls $20,000 in -gold, 1877 mintage. Not a dollar of the stolen money had been used and -there was no doubt about the identity of the men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> - -<p>Not long after the divide up in Nebraska Jim Berry appeared at his home -in Mexico, Missouri. At once he deposited quite a lot of money in the -local bank and exchanged $3000 in gold for currency, explaining his -possession of the gold by saying he had sold a mine in the Black Hills. -In three or four days the sheriff of the county learned of Berry's -deposits and called at the bank to see the new depositor's gold. His -suspicion became a certainty when he found that Berry had deposited $20 -gold pieces of 1877.</p> - -<p>At night the sheriff with a posse rounded up Berry's house, but the -suspect was not there. The home was well provisioned and the posse -found many articles of newly purchased clothing. Just after daylight, -while searching about the place the sheriff heard a horse whinny in -some timber nearby. Upon investigating this he suddenly came upon Jim -Berry sitting on a pallet. Berry discovered the officer at about the -same time and attempted to escape by running. He was fired upon, one -bullet striking him in the knee and badly shattering it. He was taken -to his home and given the best of medical attention, but gangrene set -in and he died in a few days. Most of his $10,000 was recovered. Old -Dad evidently quit Berry somewhere en route,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> for he made good his -escape with his ill-gotten gain and was never apprehended.</p> - -<p>Sam Bass and Jack Davis, after the separation in Nebraska, sold their -ponies, bought a light spring wagon and a pair of work horses. They -placed their gold pieces in the bottom of the wagon, threw their -bedding and clothes over it, and in this disguise traveled through -Kansas and the Indian Territory to Denton County, Texas. During their -trip through the Territory Bass afterward said he camped within one -hundred yards of a detachment of cavalry. After supper he and Davis -visited the soldiers' camp and chatted with them until bedtime. The -soldiers said they were on the lookout for some train robbers that had -held up the Union Pacific in Nebraska, never dreaming for a moment that -they were conversing with two of them. The men also mentioned that two -of the robbers had been reported killed in Kansas.</p> - -<p>This rumor put Bass and Davis on their guard, and on reaching Denton -County they hid in the elm bottoms until Bass could interview some -of his friends. Upon meeting them he learned that the names and -descriptions of every one of the Union Pacific train robbers were in -the possession of the law officers; that Collins, Heffridge, and Berry -had been killed; and that every sheriff in North Texas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> was on the -watch for Davis and himself. Davis at once begged Bass to go with him -to South America, but Bass refused, so Davis bade Sam goodbye and set -out alone. He was never captured. On his deathbed Bass declared he had -once received a letter from Jack Davis written from New Orleans, asking -Bass to come there and go into the business of buying hides.</p> - -<p>Bass had left Denton County early in the spring an honest, sincere and -clean young man. By falling with evil associates he had become within -a few months one of the most daring outlaws and train robbers of his -time. Before he had committed any crime in the state the officers of -North Texas made repeated efforts to capture him for the big reward -offered by the Union Pacific and the express company but, owing to the -nature of the country around Denton and the friends Bass had as long as -his gold lasted, met with no success.</p> - -<p>Bass' money soon attracted several desperate and daring men to him. -Henry Underwood, Arkansas Johnson, Jim Murphy, Frank Jackson, Pipes -Herndon, and Collins,—the last one a cousin of Joel Collins—and two -or three others joined him in the elm bottoms. Naturally Bass was -selected as leader of the gang. It was not long before the outlaw chief -planned and executed his first train robbery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> in Texas: that at Eagle -Ford, a small station on the T.P. Railroad, a few miles out of Dallas. -In quick succession the bandits held up two or three other trains, the -last, I believe, being at Mesquite Station, ten or twelve miles east -of Dallas. From this robbery they secured about $3000. They met with -opposition here, for the conductor, though armed with only a small -pistol, fought the robbers to a fare-you-well and slightly wounded one -of them.</p> - -<p>The whole state was now aroused by the repeated train hold-ups. General -Jones hurried to Dallas and Denton to look over the situation and, -strange to say, he arranged to organize a company of rangers at Dallas. -Captain June Peak, a very able officer, was given the command. No -matter how brave a company of recruits, it takes time and training to -get results from them, and when this raw company was thrown into the -field against Bass and his gang the bandit leader played with it as a -child plays with toys. Counting the thirty rangers and the different -sheriffs' parties, there were probably one hundred men in pursuit of -the Bass gang. Sam played hide-and-seek with them all and, it is said, -never ranged any farther west than Stephens County or farther north -than Wise. He was generally in Dallas, Denton or Tarrant Counties. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -would frequently visit Fort Worth or Dallas at night, ride up with his -men to some outside saloon, get drinks all around and then vamoose.</p> - -<p>Finally in a fight at Salt Creek, Wise County, Captain June Peak and -his rangers killed Arkansas Johnson, Bass' most trusted lieutenant. -Either just before or soon after this battle the rangers captured Pipes -Herndon and Jim Murphy and drove Bass and his two remaining companions -out of North Texas. At that time the state had on the frontier of Texas -six companies of veteran rangers. They were finely mounted, highly -equipped, and were the best mounted police in the world. Any company on -the line could have been marched to Denton in ten days, yet they were -never moved one mile in that direction. Any one of those highly trained -commands could have broken up the Sam Bass gang in half the time it -took a command of new men.</p> - -<p>After the fight on Salt Creek only Sam Bass, Sebe Barnes, and Frank -Jackson were left of the once formidable gang. These men had gained -nothing from their four train robberies in North Texas, and were -so hard pressed by the officers of the law on all sides that Bass -reluctantly decided to leave the country and try to make his way to Old -Mexico. Through some pretended friends of Bass, General<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> Jones learned -of the contemplated move. He, with Captain Peak and other officers, -approached Jim Murphy, one of Bass' gang captured about the time of the -Salt Creek fight, who was awaiting trial by the Federal authorities -for train robbery, and promised they would secure his release if he -would betray Bass. Murphy hesitated and said his former chief had been -kind to his family, had given them money and provisions, and that it -would be ungrateful to betray his friend. The general declared he -understood Murphy's position fully, but Bass was an outlaw, a pest -to the country, who was preparing to leave the state and so could -no longer help him. General Jones warned Murphy that the evidence -against him was overwhelming and was certain to send him to the Federal -prison—probably for life-and exhorted him to remember his wife and his -children. Murphy finally yielded and agreed to betray Bass and his gang -at the first opportunity.</p> - -<p>According to the plan agreed upon Murphy was to give bond and when the -Federal court convened at Tyler, Texas, a few weeks later he was not to -show up. It would then be published all over the country that Murphy -had skipped bond and rejoined Bass. This was carried out to the letter. -Murphy joined Bass in the elm bottoms of Denton County and agreed -to rob a train or bank and get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> out of the country. Some of Bass' -friends, suspicious of Murphy's bondsmen, wrote Sam that Murphy was -playing a double game and advised him to kill the traitor at once. Bass -immediately confronted Murphy with these reports and reminded him how -freely he had handed out his gold to Murphy's family. Bass declared he -had never advised or solicited Jim to join him, and said it was a low -down, mean and ungrateful trick to betray him. He told Murphy plainly -if he had anything to say to say it quickly. Barnes agreed with his -chief and urged Murphy's death.</p> - -<p>The plotter denied any intention of betraying Bass and offered to take -the lead in any robbery Bass should plan and be the first to enter the -express car or climb over the bank railing. Bass was mad and so was -Barnes. They elected to kill the liar at once. Frank Jackson had taken -no part in the conversation, but he now declared he had known Murphy -since he was a little boy, and he was sure Murphy was sincere and meant -to stand by them through thick and thin. Bass was not satisfied, and -insisted that Murphy be murdered then and there. Jackson finally told -Bass and Barnes that they could not kill Murphy without first killing -him. Although the youngest of the party—Frank was only twenty-two -years old—Jack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>son had great influence over his chief. He was brave -and daring, and Bass at that time could not very well get along without -him, so his counsel prevailed and Murphy was spared. The bandits then -determined to quit the country. Their plan was to rob a small bank -somewhere en route to Old Mexico and thus secure the funds needed to -facilitate their escape, for they were all broke.</p> - -<p>Bass, Sebe Barnes, Frank Jackson, and Jim Murphy left Denton County -early in July, 1878. With his usual boldness, Bass, after he had passed -Dallas County, made no attempt at concealment, but traveled the public -highway in broad daylight. Bass and Barnes were still suspicious of -Murphy, and never let him out of their sight, though they refused to -talk to or to associate with him in any way. When Bass reached Waco the -party camped on the outskirts of the town and remained there two or -three days. They visited the town each day, looked over the situation, -and in one bank saw much gold and currency. Jackson was enthusiastic -and wanted to rob it at once. Bass, being more careful and experienced, -thought it too hazardous an undertaking, for the run through crowded -streets to the outskirts of the city was too far; and so vetoed the -attempt.</p> - -<p>While in Waco the gang stepped into a saloon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> to get a drink. Bass laid -a $20 gold piece on the bar and remarked, "There goes the last twenty -of the Union Pacific money and d—n little good it has done me." On -leaving Waco the robbers stole a fine mare from a farmer named Billy -Mounds and traveled the main road to Belton. They were now out of money -and planned to rob the bank at Round Rock, Williamson County.</p> - -<p>General Jones was now getting anxious over the gang. Not a word had -been heard from Jim Murphy since he had rejoined the band, for he had -been so closely watched that he had had no opportunity to communicate -with the authorities, and it seemed as if he would be forced to -participate in the next robbery in spite of himself.</p> - -<p>At Belton Sam sold an extra pony his party had after stealing the -mare at Waco. The purchaser demanded a bill of sale as the vendors -were strangers in the country. While Bass and Barnes were in a store -writing out the required document, Murphy seized the opportunity to -dash off a short note to General Jones, saying, "We are on our way to -Round Rock to rob the bank. For God's sake be there to prevent it." As -the postoffice adjoined the store the traitor succeeded in mailing his -letter of betrayal just one minute before Bass came out on the street -again. The gang continued their way<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> to Round Rock and camped near the -old town, which is situated about one mile north of New Round Rock. The -bandits concluded to rest and feed their horses for three or four days -before attempting their robbery. This delay was providential, for it -gave General Jones time to assemble his rangers to repel the attack.</p> - -<p>After Major Jones was made Adjutant-General of Texas he caused a small -detachment of four or five rangers to camp on the Capitol grounds at -Austin. He drew his units from different companies along the line. Each -unit would be detailed to camp in Austin, and about every six weeks -or two months the detail would be relieved by a squad from another -company. It will readily be seen that this was a wise policy, as the -detail was always on hand and could be sent in any direction by rail or -on horseback at short notice. Besides, General Jones was devoted to his -rangers and liked to have them around where he could see them daily. At -the time of which I write four men from Company "E"—Corporal Vernon -Wilson and Privates Dick Ware, Chris Connor, and Geo. Harold—were -camped at Austin. The corporal helped General Jones as a clerk in his -office, but was in charge of the squad on the Capitol grounds, slept in -camp and had his meals with them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> - -<p>When General Jones received Murphy's letter he was astonished at -Bass' audacity in approaching within fifteen or twenty miles of the -state capitol, the very headquarters of the Frontier Battalion, to -rob a bank. The letter was written at Belton, Texas, and received at -the Adjutant-General's office on the last mail in the afternoon. The -company of rangers nearest Round Rock was Lieutenant Reynolds' Company -"E," stationed at San Saba, one hundred and fifteen miles distant. -There was no telegraph to San Saba then. General Jones reflected a few -moments after receipt of the letter and then arranged his plan rapidly.</p> - -<p>He turned to Corporal Wilson and told him that Sam Bass and his gang -were, or soon would be, at Round Rock, Texas, to rob the bank there.</p> - -<p>"I want you to leave at once to carry an order to Lieutenant Reynolds. -It is sixty-five miles to Lampasas and you can make that place early -enough in the morning to catch the Lampasas and San Saba stage. You -must make that stage at all hazards, save neither yourself nor your -horse, but get these orders to Lieutenant Reynolds as quickly as -possible," he ordered.</p> - -<p>Corporal Wilson hurried to the livery stable, saddled his horse and -got away from Austin on his wild ride just at nightfall. His horse was -fresh and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> fat and in no condition to make such a run. However, Wilson -reached Lampasas at daylight next morning and made the outgoing stage -to San Saba, but killed his gallant little gray horse in the doing of -it. From Lampasas to San Saba was fifty miles, and it took the stage -all day to make the trip. As soon as he landed in town Corporal Wilson -hired a horse and galloped three miles down to Lieutenant Reynolds' -camp and delivered his orders.</p> - -<p>After dispatching Corporal Wilson to Lieutenant Reynolds, General Jones -hurried over to the ranger camp on the Capitol grounds and ordered the -three rangers, Ware, Connor, and Harold, to proceed to Round Rock, -put their horses in Highsmith's livery stable and keep themselves -concealed until he could reach them himself by train next morning. The -following morning General Jones went to Round Rock. He carried with -him from Austin, Morris Moore, an ex-ranger but then deputy sheriff of -Travis County. On reaching his destination the general called on Deputy -Sheriff Grimes of Williamson County, who was stationed at Round Rock, -told him Bass was expected in town to rob the bank, and that a scout -of rangers would be in town as soon as possible. Jones advised Deputy -Grimes to keep a sharp lookout for strangers but on no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> account to -attempt an arrest until the rangers could arrive.</p> - -<p>I well remember the hot July evening when Corporal Wilson arrived -in our camp with his orders. The company had just had supper, the -horses fed and tied up for the night. We knew the sudden appearance -of the corporal meant something of unusual importance. Soon Sergeant -Nevill came hurrying to us with orders to detail a party for an -immediate scout. Lieutenant Reynolds' orders had been brief but to the -point: "Bass is at Round Rock. We must be there as early as possible -to-morrow. Make a detail of eight men and select those that have the -horses best able to make a fast run. And you, with them, report to me -here at my tent ready to ride in thirty minutes."</p> - -<p>First Sergeant C.L. Nevill, Second Sergeant Henry McGee, Second -Corporal J.B. Gillett, Privates Abe Anglin, Dave Ligon, Bill Derrick, -and John R. and W.L. Banister were selected for the detail. Lieutenant -Reynolds ordered two of our best little pack mules hitched to a -light spring hack, for he had been sick and was not in condition to -make the journey horseback. In thirty minutes from the time Corporal -Wilson reached camp we were mounted, armed and ready to go. Lieutenant -Reynolds took his seat in the hack, threw some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> blankets in, and -Corporal Wilson, who had not had a minute's sleep for over thirty-six -hours, lay down to get a little rest as we moved along. Say, boys, did -you ever try to follow on horseback two fast traveling little mules -hitched to an open-topped spring hack for one hundred miles? Well, it -is some stunt. We left our camp on the San Saba River just at sunset -and traveled in a fast trot and sometimes in a lope the entire night.</p> - -<p>Our old friend and comrade, Jack Martin, then in the mercantile -business at the little town of Senterfitt, heard us pass by in the -night, and next morning said to some of his customers that hell was to -pay somewhere as the rangers had passed his store during the night on a -dead run.</p> - -<p>The first rays of the rising sun shone on us at the crossing of North -Gabriel, fifteen miles south of Lampasas. We had ridden sixty-five -miles that short summer night—we had forty-five miles yet to go before -reaching Round Rock. We halted on the Gabriel for breakfast of bread, -broiled bacon and black coffee. The horses had a bundle of oats each. -Lieutenant Reynolds held his watch on us and it took us just thirty -minutes to breakfast and be off again. We were now facing a hot July -sun and our horses were beginning to show the effects of the hard ride -of the night before and slowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> down perceptibly. We never halted again -until we reached the vicinity of old Round Rock between 1 and 2 o'clock -in the afternoon of Friday, July 19, 1878. The lieutenant camped us on -the banks of Brushy Greek and drove into New Round Rock to report his -arrival to General Jones.</p> - -<p>Bass had decided to rob the bank at Round Rock on Saturday, the 20th. -After his gang had eaten dinner in camp Friday evening they saddled -their ponies and started over to town to take a last look at the bank -and select a route to follow in leaving the place after the robbery. As -they left camp Jim Murphy, knowing that the bandits might be set upon -at any time, suggested that he stop at May's store in Old Round Rock -and get a bushel of corn, as they were out of feed for their horses. -Bass, Barnes and Jackson rode on into town, hitched their horses in an -alley just back of the bank, passed that building and made a mental -note of its situation. They then went up the main street of the town -and entered Copprel's store to buy some tobacco. As the three bandits -passed into the store, Deputy Sheriff Moore, who was standing on -the sidewalk with Deputy Sheriff Grimes, said he thought one of the -newcomers had a pistol.</p> - -<p>"I will go in and see," replied Grimes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I believe you have a pistol," remarked Grimes, approaching Bass and -trying to search him.</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course I have a pistol," said Bass. At the words the robbers -pulled their guns and killed Grimes as he backed away to the door. -He fell dead on the sidewalk. They then turned on Moore and shot him -through the lungs as he attempted to draw his weapon.</p> - -<p>At the crack of the first pistol shot Dick Ware, who was seated in a -barber shop only a few steps away waiting his turn for a shave, rushed -into the street and encountered the three bandits just as they were -leaving the store. Seeing Ware rapidly advancing on them, Bass and his -men fired on the ranger at close range, one of their bullets striking a -hitching post within six inches of Ware's head and knocking splinters -into his face. This assault never halted Ware for an instant. He was as -brave as courage itself and never hesitated to take the most desperate -chances when the occasion demanded it. For a few minutes Dick fought -the robbers single handed. General Jones, coming up town from the -telegraph office, ran into the fight. He was armed with only a small -Colt's double action pistol, but threw himself into the fray. Connor -and Harold had now come up and joined in the fusillade. The general, -seeing the robbers on foot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> and almost within his grasp, drew in close -and urged his men to strain every nerve to capture or exterminate the -desperadoes. By this time every man in the town that could secure a gun -joined in the fight.</p> - -<p>The bandits had now reached their horses, and realizing their situation -was critical fought with the energy of despair. If ever a train robber -could be called a hero this boy, Frank Jackson, proved himself one. -Barnes was shot down and killed at his feet, Bass was mortally wounded -and unable to defend himself or even mount his horse while the bullets -continued to pour in from every quarter. With heroic courage, Jackson -held the rangers back with his pistol in his right hand while he -unhitched Bass' horse with his left and assisted him into the saddle. -Then, mounting his own horse, Jackson and his chief galloped out of -the jaws of hell itself. In their flight they passed through Old Round -Rock, and Jim Murphy, standing in the door of May's store, saw Jackson -and Bass go by on the dead run. The betrayer noticed that Jackson was -holding Bass, pale and bleeding, in the saddle.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds, entering Round Rock, came within five minutes of -meeting Bass and Jackson in the road. Before he reached town he met -posses of citizens and rangers in pursuit of the robbers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> When the -fugitives reached the cemetery Jackson halted long enough to secure a -Winchester they had hidden in the grass there, then left the road and -were lost for a time. The fight was now over and the play spoiled by -two over-zealous deputies in bringing on an immature fight after they -had been warned to be careful. Naturally Moore and Grimes should have -known that the three strangers were the Sam Bass gang.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds started Sergeant Nevill and his rangers early -next morning in search of the flying bandits. After traveling in the -direction the robbers were last seen we came upon a man lying under a -large oak tree. Seeing we were armed as we advanced upon him he called -out to us not to shoot, saying he was Sam Bass, the man we were hunting.</p> - -<p>After entering the woods the evening before, Bass became so sick -and faint from loss of blood that he could go no farther. Jackson -dismounted and wanted to stay with his chief, declaring he was a match -for all their pursuers.</p> - -<p>"No, Frank," replied Bass. "I am done for."</p> - -<p>The wounded leader told his companion to tie his horse near at hand -so he could get away if he felt better during the night. Jackson was -finally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> prevailed upon to leave Bass and make his own escape.</p> - -<p>When daylight came Saturday morning Bass got up and walked to a nearby -house. As he approached the place a lady, seeing him coming holding -his pants up and all covered with blood, left her house and started -to run off, as she was alone with a small servant girl. Bass saw she -was frightened and called to her to stop, saying he was perishing for -a drink of water and would return to a tree not far away and lie down -if she would only send him a drink. The lady sent him a quart cup of -water, but the poor fellow was too far gone to drink it. We found him -under this tree one hour later. He had a wound through the center of -his left hand, the bullet having pierced the middle finger.</p> - -<p>Bass' death wound was given him by Dick Ware, who used a .45 caliber -Colt's long barreled six-shooter. The ball from Ware's pistol struck -Bass' belt and cut two cartridges in pieces and entered his back just -above the right hip bone. The bullet badly mushroomed and made a -fearful wound that tore the victim's right kidney all to pieces. From -the moment he was shot until his death three days later Bass suffered -untold agonies. As he lay on the ground Friday night where Jackson -had left him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> the wounded man tore his undershirt into more than one -hundred pieces and wiped the blood from his body.</p> - -<p>Bass was taken to Round Rock and given the best of medical attention, -but died the following day, Sunday, July 21, 1878. While he was yet -able to talk, General Jones appealed to Bass to reveal to the state -authorities the names of the confederates he had had that they might be -apprehended.</p> - -<p>"Sam, you have done much evil in this world and have only a few hours -to live. Now, while you have a chance to do the state some good, please -tell me who your associates were in those violations of the laws of -your country."</p> - -<p>Sam replied that he could not betray his friends and that he might as -well die with what he knew in him.</p> - -<p>Sam Bass was buried in the cemetery at Old Round Rock. A small monument -was erected over his grave by a sister. Its simple inscription reads:</p> - -<p class="center"> -SAMUEL BASS<br /> -Born July 21st, 1851<br /> -Died July 21st, 1878<br /> -A brave man reposes in death here. Why was he<br /> -not true?<br /> -</p> - -<p>Frank Jackson made his way back into Denton County and hung around some -time hoping to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> an opportunity to murder the betrayer of his chief, -an ingrate whose cause he himself had so ably championed. Jackson -declared if he could meet Jim Murphy he would kill him, cut off his -head and carry it away in a gunny sack.</p> - -<p>Murphy returned to Denton, but learned that Jackson was hiding in -the elm bottoms awaiting a chance to slay him. He thereupon asked -permission of the sheriff to remain about the jail for protection. -While skulking about the prison one of his eyes became infected. A -physician gave him some medicine to drop into the diseased eye, at -the same time cautioning him to be careful as the fluid was a deadly -poison. Murphy drank the entire contents of the bottle and was dead in -a few hours. Remorse, no doubt, caused him to end his life.</p> - -<p>Of the four men that fought the Round Rock battle with Sam Bass and his -gang all are dead: General J.B. Jones, and Rangers R.C. Ware, Chris -Connor, and George Harold. Of the ten men that made the long ride from -San Saba to Round Rock only two are now alive—Lieutenant N.O. Reynolds -and myself.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></p> - -<p class="center">A WINTER OF QUIET AND A TRANSFER</p> - - -<p>In the fall of 1878 a man named Dowdy moved from South Texas and -settled on the headwaters of the Johnson Fork of the Guadalupe River -in Kerr County. His family consisted of himself, wife, three grown -daughters, a grown son, and a young son twelve or fourteen years old. -Mr. Dowdy owned two or three thousand sheep and was grazing them on -some fine upland pasture just above his home. He contracted for his -winter supply of corn, and when the first load of grain arrived at the -ranch the three girls walked out half a mile to where the sheep were -grazing to stay with their younger brother while the elder returned -to the ranch to measure and receive the corn. When young Mr. Dowdy -returned to the sheep an hour later he was horrified to find that his -three sisters and his little brother had been massacred by a band of -roving Indians. From the signs on a high bluff nearby the sheep and -their herders had been under observation by the redskins for some -time and, seeing the only man leave, the Indians descended upon the -defenseless girls and boy and killed them. As there was no ranger -company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> within one hundred miles of Kerr County at the time, a party -of frontiersmen quickly gathered and followed the murderers, but after -pursuing them for nearly two hundred miles the posse lost the trail in -the rough Devil's River country.</p> - -<p>Kerr County then called for rangers, and General Jones ordered -Lieutenant Reynolds to proceed to that county and go into camp for -the winter at the Dowdy ranch. This descent upon the Dowdy family was -the last raid ever made by Indians in Kerr County, and was perhaps -the most heart-rending. We herded our horses that winter on the very -ground where the unfortunate young Misses Dowdy and their brother were -killed. At the time they were murdered the ground was soft and muddy -from a recent rain, so one could see for months afterward where the -poor girls had run on foot while the Indians charged on horseback. I -remember one of the young ladies ran nearly four hundred yards before -she was overtaken and shot full of arrows by a heartless redskin. These -murderers were probably Kickapoos and Lipans that lived in the Santa -Rosa Mountains, Old Mexico, and frequently raided Southwest Texas, -stole hundreds of horses and killed many people. While guarding their -horses on the ground where the Dowdy family was killed the ranger boys -built a rock monument<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> eight or ten feet high to mark the spot where -the victims fell.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Reynolds kept scouting parties in the field at intervals -throughout the winter but, like lightning, Indians never strike twice -in the same place. The winter of 1878-79 was the quietest one I ever -spent as a ranger. Kerr County was pretty well cleaned of outlaws and -we made fewer arrests that season than ever before.</p> - -<p>The rangers encountered but one real bad man in Kerr County. His name -was Eli Wixon, and he was wanted for murder in East Texas. It was known -that Wixon would be at the polls of the county precincts to vote on -election day, November, 1878, so Lieutenant Reynolds sent Corporal -Warren and Privates Will Banister and Abe Anglin to arrest Wixon. -Corporal Warren found his man at the polls and lost no time in telling -Wixon what he was there for, and ordered him to unbuckle his belt and -drop his pistol. Wixon hesitated and finally called on his friends to -protect him from the rangers.</p> - -<p>The crowd came to his relief, and for a time it looked as if there -would be trouble. Wixon abused the rangers, called them a set of dirty -dogs, and dared them to shoot him. Corporal Warren was brave and -resolute. He told Wixon his abuse did<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> not amount to anything; that the -rangers were there to arrest him and were going to do it. The corporal -warned the citizens to be careful how they broke the law and if they -started anything he declared Wixon would be the first man killed.</p> - -<p>Then, while Banister and Anglin held the crowd back with their drawn -Winchesters, Warren disarmed Wixon, grasped his bridle reins and led -him away without further trouble. Lieutenant Reynolds took no chances -with that sort of man, and as soon as Wixon was in camp he was promptly -handcuffed and shackled. This usually took the slack out of all -so-called bad men and it worked like a charm with our new prisoner.</p> - -<p>As the winter wore on Lieutenant Reynolds, with but little to do, -became restless. He once said of himself that he never had the patience -to sit down in camp and wait for a band of Indians to raid the county -so he might get a race. Action was what he wanted all the time, and he -chaffed like a chained bear when compelled to sit idly in camp.</p> - -<p>When the Legislature met early in 1879 it was known that it would be -difficult to get an appropriation for frontier defense. From time -immemorial there has been an element from East Texas in the Legislature -that has fought the ranger appropriation, and in this instance that -element fought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> the ranger bill harder than ever. The fund appropriated -for frontier defense two years before was now running short and in -order to make it hold out until it could be ascertained what the -Legislature would do it became necessary for General Jones to order -the various captains to discharge three men out of each company. In -a week a similar order was promulgated, and this was kept up until -the battalion was reduced to almost one-half its former strength. -Lieutenant Reynolds was compelled to sit idly by and see his fine -experienced rangers dwindle away before his eyes, and what he said -about those short-sighted lawmakers would not look nice in print.</p> - -<p>In March, 1879, Captain Pat Dolan, commander of Company "F," then -stationed on the Nueces River, seventy-five miles southwest of -Reynolds' company, wrote to Lieutenant Reynolds that a big band of -horse and cattle thieves were reported operating in the vicinity of the -head of Devil's River and along the Nueces. He wished to take a month's -scout out in that country, but since the ranger companies had been so -reduced he did not feel strong enough to operate against them alone -and leave a reserve in his own camp. He, therefore, asked Lieutenant -Reynolds to send a detachment to cooperate with him. I was then second -sergeant,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> and with five men I was ordered to report to Captain Dolan -for a three weeks' scout on Devil's River and the Pecos. I reported to -the commander of Company "F" and we scouted up the Nueces River, then -turned west to Beaver Lake on the head of Devil's River. From the lake -we went over on Johnson's Run and covered the country thoroughly but -without finding the reported outlaws.</p> - -<p>One morning after starting out on our day's scout Captain Dolan halted -the command and, taking with him Private Robb, went in search of water. -A heavy fog came up after he left us and hung over the country the -greater part of the day. The captain did not return to us, and Sergeant -G.K. Chinn ordered his men to fire their guns to give the lost ones our -position. We remained in the vicinity until night and then returned to -Howard's Well, a watering place on Johnson's Run. The following morning -we scouted out to the point from which the captain had left us the -day before. It was now clear, the sun shining brightly, but the lost -men could not be found. Dolan was an experienced frontiersman, and we -concluded that, after finding himself lost in the fog, he would return -to his headquarters on the Nueces, one hundred and twenty-five miles -away. Sergeant Chinn, therefore, headed the command for this camp, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> -when we reached it we found Captain Dolan and Private Robb had preceded -us. They had traveled through a bad Indian country with nothing to eat -but what venison they had killed.</p> - -<p>From Dolan's Company I marched my detail back to Company "E" by easy -stages and reached our camp at Dowdy's ranch the last week in March -with our horses ridden down. We had covered something like five hundred -miles without accomplishing anything.</p> - -<p>As soon as I arrived I walked up to the lieutenant's tent to make my -report. I was met by First Sergeant C.L. Nevill, who told me that -Lieutenant Reynolds had resigned and left the company. At first I -thought the sergeant was only joking, but when I was convinced that the -lieutenant had really gone I was shocked beyond measure. The blow was -too strong and sudden for me, and I am not ashamed now at sixty-five -years of age to admit that I slipped out of camp, sat down on the bank -of the Guadalupe River and cried like a baby. It seemed as if my best -friend on earth had gone forever. Reynolds had had me transferred from -Coldwell's company to his own when I was just a stripling of a boy. -As soon as I was old enough to be trusted with a scout of men and the -vacancies occurred I was made second corporal, first corporal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> and -then second sergeant. I was given the best men in the company and sent -against the most noted outlaws and hardened criminals in the State of -Texas. Lieutenant Reynolds gave me every chance in the world to make a -name for myself, and now he was gone. I felt the loss keenly. I feel -sure the records now on file in Austin will bear me out when I say -Reynolds was the greatest captain of his time,—and perhaps of all -time. The State of Texas lost a matchless officer when "Mage" Reynolds -retired to private life. After leaving the ranger service he made -Lampasas his home and served that county as its sheriff for several -terms.</p> - -<p>The Legislature finally made a small appropriation for frontier -defense. Sergeant Nevill was ordered to report at Austin with Company -"E" for the reorganization of the command. Reynolds' resignation -practically broke up the company, and though Sergeant Nevill was made -Lieutenant of Company "E" and afterward raised to a captaincy and left -behind him an enviable record, yet he was not a "Mage" Reynolds by a -long shot.</p> - -<p>On reaching Austin, R.C. Ware and the Banister boys secured their -transfers to Captain Marshes' Company "B," while the Carter boys, -Ben and Dock, C.R. Connor, and Bill Derrick resigned the service and -retired to private life. Abe Anglin became a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> policeman at Austin, -Texas. Henry Maltimore and myself, at our requests, were transferred -to Lieutenant Baylor's Company "C" for duty in El Paso County. With my -transfer to this command the winter of inaction was over, and I was -soon to see some exciting times along the upper Rio Grande.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE SALT LAKE WAR AND A LONG TREK</p> - - -<p>At the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains, one hundred miles east of El -Paso, Texas, are situated several large salt deposits known as the -Salt Lakes. These deposits were on public state land. For a hundred -years or more the residents along the Rio Grande in El Paso County and -in northern Mexico had hauled salt from the lakes free of charge, for -there was no one to pay, as the deposits were not claimed by any owner. -All one had to do was to back his wagon to the edge of the lake and -shovel it full of salt and drive off.</p> - -<p>From San Elizario to the Salt Lakes was just ninety miles, and there -was not a drop of water on the route. The road that had been traveled -so long by big wagon trains was almost as straight as an arrow and in -extra fine condition. The salt haulers would carry water in barrels to -what was known as the Half-way Station, about forty-five miles from -San Elizario. Here they would rest and water their horses and leave -half their water for the return trip. The teamsters would then push on -to the lakes, load their wagons, rest the teams a day or two, and on -their return trip stop at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> Half-way Station, water their animals, -throw the empty barrels on top of the salt and, without again halting, -continue to San Elizario on the Rio Grande.</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus06"> -<img src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> <i>Geo. W. Baylor</i></p> - -<p>Charley Howard, after his election as judge of the El Paso District, -made his home at the old town of Franklin, now known as El Paso. He saw -the possibilities of these salt lakes as a money-making proposition -and, knowing they were on public land, wrote his father-in-law, George -Zimpleman, at Austin, to buy some land certificates and send them to -him so he could locate the land covering the salt deposits. As soon as -the land was located Judge Howard forbade anyone to haul salt from the -lakes without first securing his permission. The Mexicans along both -sides of the Rio Grande adjacent to El Paso became highly indignant -at this order. A sub-contractor on the overland mail route between -El Paso and Fort Davis named Luis Cardis, supported the Mexicans and -told them Howard had no right to stop them from hauling salt. Cardis -was an Italian by birth, had come to El Paso County in 1860, married a -Mexican wife, identified himself with the county, and become prominent -as a political leader. He was a Republican, while Judge Howard was -a Democrat. Cardis and Howard soon became bitter enemies, and in -September, 1878, this conflict between them became so acute that -Howard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> killed his opponent with a double-barreled shotgun in S. Shultz -and Brothers' store in Franklin. This at once precipitated the contest -known as the Salt Lake War, for grave threats were made against Howard -by the Mexicans.</p> - -<p>After killing Cardis, Judge Howard fled to New Mexico, and from -his seclusion in that state he called on the governor of Texas to -send rangers to El Paso to protect him and the courts over which he -presided. At that time not a company of the Frontier Battalion was -within five hundred miles of that town. El Paso was seven hundred -and fifty miles by stage from San Antonio or Austin and the journey -required about seven days and nights' travel over a dangerous route—an -unusually hard trip on any passenger attempting it.</p> - -<p>The governor of Texas, therefore, sent Major John B. Jones from Austin -to Topeka, Kansas, by rail and thence as far west into New Mexico as -the Santa Fe Railroad ran at that time, and thence by stage down to -El Paso. Major Jones dropped into the old town of Franklin (now El -Paso) unheralded and unknown. He sat about the hotel and gained the -information he needed, then made himself known to the authorities and -proceeded at once to organize and equip a company of twenty rangers. -John B. Tays, brother to the Episcopal minister of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> that district, was -made lieutenant of the new command, which was known as a detachment of -Company "C" and stationed in the old town of San Elizario, twenty-five -miles southeast of El Paso.</p> - -<p>Soon after this detachment of rangers had been authorized, Judge Howard -appeared at San Elizario and sought protection with it. No sooner had -it become known that Judge Howard was back in Texas than the ranger -company was surrounded by a cordon of armed Mexicans, two or three -hundred in number, who demanded the body of the jurist. Lieutenant Tays -refused to surrender Howard, and the fighting began, and was kept up -two or three days at intervals. Sergeant Maltimore, in passing through -the court yard of the buildings in which the rangers were quartered was -shot down and killed by Mexican snipers located on top of some adobe -buildings within range of the quarters. Then an American citizen, a Mr. -Ellis, was killed near Company "C's" camp.</p> - -<p>After several days of desultory fighting, the leaders of the mob, under -flag of truce, sought an interview with Lieutenant Tays. The lieutenant -finally agreed to meet two of the leaders, and while the parley was in -progress armed Mexicans one at a time approached the peace party until -forty or fifty had quietly surrounded Lieutenant Tays and put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> him at -their mercy. The mob then boldly demanded the surrender of the ranger -company, Judge Howard, and two other Americans, Adkinson and McBride, -friends of the judge, that had sought protection with them.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt that the Mexicans intimidated Lieutenant Tays after -he was in their hands and probably threatened him with death unless -their demands were granted. The lieutenant returned to the ranger camp -with the mob and said, "Boys, it is all settled. You are to give up -your arms and horses and you will be allowed to go free."</p> - -<p>The rangers were furious at this surrender, but were powerless to help -themselves, for the mob had swarmed in upon them from all sides. Billie -Marsh, one of the youngest men in the company, was so indignant that -he cried out to his commander, "The only difference between you and a -skunk is that the skunk has a white streak down his back!"</p> - -<p>Judge Howard, seeing the handwriting on the wall, began shaking hands -and bidding his ranger friends goodbye. As soon as the Mexicans had -gotten possession of the rangers' arms they threw ropes over the -heads of Howard, McBride and Adkinson. Then, mounting fast running -ponies, they dragged the unfortunate men to death in the streets of -San Elizario and cast their mutilated bodies into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> pososas or shallow -wells. The Mexicans then disappeared, most of them crossing the Rio -Grande into Mexico.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Tays at once resigned as commander of the rangers, and -Private Charles Ludwick was made first sergeant and placed in charge -of the company until the governor of Texas could send a commissioned -officer to take command of it. Had Lieutenant Tays held out twenty-four -hours longer, a thing which he could easily have done, he would have -escaped the disgrace and mortification of surrendering himself and his -company to a mob of Mexicans, for within that time John Ford with a -band of New Mexico cowboys swept into the Rio Grande valley to relieve -the besieged rangers. On learning of the fates of Howard, McBride, -Adkinson, Ellis, and Sergeant Maltimore, the rescue party raided up -and down the valley from San Elizario to El Paso and killed several -armed Mexicans accused of being part of the mob that had murdered the -Americans. The present battalion of Texas Rangers was organized May 1, -1874, and in all their forty-six years of service this surrender of -Lieutenant Tays was the only black mark ever chalked up against it.</p> - -<p>Afterward, when I arrived in El Paso with Lieutenant Baylor I had -many talks with Privates<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> George Lloyd, Dr. Shivers, Bill Rutherford, -and Santiago Cooper,—all members of Tays' company—and most of them -believed Lieutenant Tays had a streak of yellow in him, while a few -thought he made a mistake in agreeing to an interview with the mob, -thereby allowing himself to be caught napping and forced to surrender.</p> - -<p>Conditions in El Paso County were now so bad that Lieutenant Baylor was -ordered into the country to take command of the ranger company. Before -leaving to assume his command, Lieutenant Baylor was called to Austin -from his home in San Antonio and had a lengthy interview with Governor -Roberts. Baylor was instructed by his excellency to use all diplomacy -possible to reconcile the two factions and settle the Salt Lake War -peaceably. The governor held that both sides to the controversy were -more or less to blame, and what had been done could not be undone, and -the restoration of order was the prime requisite rather than a punitive -expedition against the mob members.</p> - -<p>On July 28, 1879, Private Henry Maltimore and myself reached San -Antonio from Austin and presented our credentials to Lieutenant Baylor, -who thereupon advised us that he had selected August 2nd as the day to -begin his march from San Antonio to El Paso County. In his camp on the -San Antonio<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> River in the southern part of the city the lieutenant had -mustered myself as sergeant, and Privates Henry Maltimore, Dick Head, -Gus Small, Gus Krimkau, and George Harold.</p> - -<p>Early on the morning of August 2, 1879, our tiny detachment left San -Antonio on our long journey. One wagon carried a heavy, old-fashioned -square piano, and on top of this was loaded the lieutenant's household -goods. At the rear of the wagon was a coop of game chickens, four -hens and a cock, for Lieutenant Baylor was fond of game chickens as a -table delicacy, though he never fought them. His family consisted of -Mrs. Baylor, two daughters—Helen, aged fourteen, and Mary, a child -of four or five years—and Miss Kate Sydnor, sister of Mrs. Baylor. -The children and ladies traveled in a large hack drawn by a pair of -mules. Rations for men and horses were hauled in a two-mule wagon, -while the rangers rode on horseback in advance of the hack and wagons. -Two men traveling to New Mexico in a two-wheeled cart asked permission -to travel with us for protection. Naturally we made slow progress -with this unique combination. As well as I can remember, 1879 was a -rather dry year, for not a drop of rain fell upon us during this seven -hundred-mile journey. When we passed Fort Clark, in Kinney County, -and reached Devil's River<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> we were on the real frontier and liable to -attack by Indians at any time. It was necessary, therefore, to keep a -strong guard posted at all times.</p> - -<p>Around our camp fires at night Lieutenant Baylor entertained us with -accounts of early days on the frontier. He was born August 24, 1832, -at old Fort Gibson in the Cherokee nation, now the State of Oklahoma. -His father, John Walker Baylor, was a surgeon in the United States -Army. Lieutenant Baylor was a soldier by training and by inheritance. -In 1879 he was in his forty-seventh year and stood six feet two inches -tall, a perfect specimen of a hardy frontiersman. He was highly -educated, wrote much for papers and magazines, was a fluent speaker -and a very interesting talker and story-teller. He was less reserved -than any captain under whom I ever served. He had taken part in many -Indian fights on the frontier of Texas, and his descriptions of some -of his experiences were thrilling. Lieutenant Baylor was a high-toned -Christian gentleman and had been a member of the Episcopal Church -from childhood. In all the months I served with him I never heard him -utter an oath or tell a smutty yarn. He neither drank whisky nor used -tobacco. Had he written a history of his operations on the frontier and -a biog<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>raphy of himself it would have been one of the strangest and -most interesting books ever written.</p> - -<p>I have not the power of language to describe Lieutenant Baylor's -bravery, because he was as brave as it is possible for man to be. He -thought everyone else should be the same. He did not see how a white -man could be a coward, yet in a fierce battle fought with Apache -Indians on October 5, 1879, I saw some of his rangers refuse to budge -when called upon to charge up a mountainside and assault the redskins -concealed above us in some rocks. George Harold, one of the attacking -party, said, "Lieutenant, if we charge up that hill over open ground -every one of us will be killed."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose you are right," declared Baylor, a contemptuous smile -on his face. Then, pointing to some Mexicans hidden behind some -boulders below us, he added, "You had better go back to them. That is -where you belong."</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Baylor was as tender hearted as a little child and would -listen to any tale of woe. He frequently took men into the service, -stood good for their equipment and often had to pay the bill out of his -own pocket. All men looked alike to him and he would enlist anyone when -there was a vacancy in the company. The result was that some of the -worst San Simone Valley rustlers got into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> the command and gave us no -end of trouble, nearly causing one or two killings in our camp.</p> - -<p>Baylor cared nothing for discipline in the company. He allowed his men -to march carelessly. A scout of ten or fifteen men would sometimes -be strung out a mile or more on the march. I suppose to one who had -commanded a regiment during the Civil War a detachment of Texas -Rangers looked small and insignificant, so he let his men have pretty -much their own way. To a man like myself, who had been schooled under -such captains as Major Jones, Captain Coldwell, Captain Roberts, -and Lieutenant Reynolds, commanders who were always careful of the -disposition and conduct of their men, this method of Baylor's seemed -suicidal. It just seemed inevitable that we would some time be taken by -surprise and shot to pieces.</p> - -<p>Another peculiarity of this wonderful man was his indifference to -time. He would strike an Indian trail, take his time and follow it to -the jumping off place. He would say, "There is no use to hurry, boys. -We will catch them after a while." For instance, the stage driver and -passenger killed in Quitman Canyon, January, 1880, had been dead two -weeks before the lieutenant returned from a scout out in the Guadalupe -Mountains. He at once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> directed me to make a detail of all except three -men in camp, issue ten days' rations, and have the men ready to move -early next morning. An orderly or first sergeant is hardly ever called -upon to scout unless he so desires, but the lieutenant said, "You -had better come along, Sergeant. You may get another chance to kill -an Indian." It seemed unreasonable to think he could start two weeks -behind a bunch of Indians, follow up and annihilate the whole band, but -he did. Give Comanches or Kiowas two weeks' start and they would have -been in Canada, but the Apaches were slow and a different proposition -with which to deal.</p> - -<p>Baylor was one of the very best shots with firearms I ever saw. He -killed more game than almost the entire company put together. When we -first went out to El Paso he used a Winchester rifle, but after the -first Indian fight he concluded it was too light and discarded it for -a Springfield sporting rifle 45-70. He always used what he called rest -sticks; that is, two sticks about three feet long the size of one's -little finger. These were tied together about four or five inches from -one end with a buckskin thong. In shooting he would squat down, extend -the sticks arm's length out in front of him with the longer ends spread -out tripod-fashion on the ground. With his gun resting in the fork -he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> had a perfect rest and could make close shots at long range. The -lieutenant always carried these sticks in his hand and used them on his -horse as a quirt. In those days I used to pride myself on my shooting -with a Winchester, but I soon found that Lieutenant Baylor had me -skinned a mile when it came to killing game at long distance. I never -could use rest sticks, for I always forgot them and shot offhand.</p> - -<p>I cannot close this description of Lieutenant Baylor without mentioning -his most excellent wife, who made the long, tedious journey from San -Antonio to El Paso County with us. She was Sallie Garland Sydnor, born -February 11, 1842. Her father was a wholesale merchant at Galveston, -and at one time mayor of that city. Mrs. Baylor was highly educated and -a very refined woman and a skillful performer on the piano. Her bright, -sunny disposition and kind heart won her friends among the rangers -at once. How sad it is to reflect that of the twelve persons in that -little party that marched out of San Antonio on August 2, 1879, only -three are living: Gus Small, Miss Mary Baylor, and myself.</p> - -<p>When we had passed Pecan Springs on Devil's River there was not another -cattle, sheep or goat ranch until we reached Fort Stockton, two -hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> miles to the west. It was just one vast uninhabited country. -Today it is all fenced and thousands of as fine cattle, sheep and goats -as can be found in any country roam those hills. The Old Spanish Trail -traverses most of this section, and in traveling over it today one will -meet hundreds of people in high powered automobiles where forty years -ago it was dangerous for a small party of well armed men to journey. -While ascending Devil's River I learned that Lieutenant Baylor was not -only a good hunter, but a first class fisherman as well, for he kept -the entire camp well supplied with fine bass and perch, some of the -latter being as large as saucers.</p> - -<p>Forty miles west of Beaver Lake we reached Howard's Well, situated in -Howard's Draw, a tributary of the Pecos River. Here we saw the burned -ruins of a wagon train that had been attacked by Indians a few months -before. All the mules had been captured, the teamsters killed and the -train of sixteen big wagons burned. Had the same Indians encountered -our little party of ten men, two women and two children we would all -have been massacred.</p> - -<p>Finally we reached old Fort Lancaster, an abandoned government post, -situated on the east bank of Live Oak Creek, just above the point -where this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> beautiful stream empties into the Pecos. We camped here -and rested under the shade of those big old live oak trees for several -days. From this camp we turned north up the Pecos, one of the most -curious rivers in Texas. At that time and before its waters were much -used for irrigation in New Mexico, the Pecos ran bank full of muddy -water almost the year round. Not more than thirty or forty feet wide, -it was the most crooked stream in the world, and though only from -four to ten feet deep, was so swift and treacherous that it was most -difficult to ford. However, it had one real virtue; it was the best -stream in Texas for both blue and yellow catfish that ranged in weight -from five to forty pounds. We were some days traveling up this river to -the pontoon crossing and we feasted on fish.</p> - -<p>At Pontoon Crossing on the Pecos we intercepted the overland mail route -leading from San Antonio to El Paso by way of Fredericksburg, Fort -Mason, Menard, Fort McKavett, Fort Concho, Fort Stockton, and Fort -Davis, thence west by Eagle Springs through Quitman Canyon, where more -tragedies and foul murders have been committed by Indians than at any -other point on the route. Ben Fricklin was the mail contractor. The -stage stands were built of adobe and on the same unchanging plan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> On -each side of the entrance was a large room. The gateway opened into a -passageway, which was roofed, and extended from one room to the other. -In the rear of the rooms was the corral, the walls of which were six to -eight feet high and two feet thick, also of sun dried brick. One room -was used for cooking and eating and the other for sleeping quarters and -storage. The stage company furnished the stage tender with supplies and -he cooked for the passengers when there were such, charging them fifty -cents per meal, which he was allowed to retain for his compensation.</p> - -<p>When the stage rolled into the station the tender swung open the gates -and the teams, small Spanish mules, dashed into the corral. The animals -were gentle enough when once in the enclosure, but mean and as wild as -deer when on the road. The stage company would buy these little mules -in lots of fifty to a hundred in Mexico and distribute them along the -route. The tiny animals were right off the range and real unbroken -bronchos. The mules were tied up or tied down as the case might be -and harnessed by force. When they had been hitched to the stage coach -or buckboard the gates to the corral were opened and the team left -on the run. The intelligent mules soon learned all they had to do -was to run from one station to the next, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> could not be stopped -between posts no matter what happened. Whenever they saw a wagon or a -man on horseback approaching along the road they would shy around the -stranger, and the harder the driver held them the faster they ran.</p> - -<p>On our way out our teams were pretty well fagged out, and often -Lieutenant Baylor would camp within a few yards of the road. The -Spanish stage mules would see our camp and go around us on the run -while their drivers would curse and call us all the vile names they -could lay their tongues to for camping in the road.</p> - -<p>When we camped at a station it was amusing to me to watch the stage -attendants harness those wary little animals. The stage or buckboard -was always turned round in the corral and headed toward the next -station and the passengers seated themselves before the mules were -hitched. When all was ready and the team harnessed the driver would -give the word, the station keeper threw open the gates and the stage -was off on a dead run.</p> - -<p>There should be a monument erected to the memory of those old stage -drivers somewhere along this overland route, for they were certainly -the bravest of the brave. It took a man with lots of nerve and strength -to be a stage driver in the Indian days, and many, many of them were -killed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> The very last year, 1880, that the stage line was kept up -several drivers were killed between Fort Davis and El Paso. Several -of these men quit the stage company and joined Lieutenant Baylor's -company, and every one of such ex-drivers made excellent rangers.</p> - -<p>From Pontoon Crossing on the Pecos River we turned due west and -traveled the stage route the remainder of the way to El Paso County. -At Fort Stockton we secured supplies for ourselves and feed for our -horses, the first place at which rations could be secured since leaving -Fort Clark. Fort Stockton was a large military post and was quite -lively, especially at night, when the saloons and gambling halls were -crowded with soldiers and citizen contractors. At Leon Holes, ten miles -west of Fort Stockton, we were delayed a week because of Mrs. Baylor -becoming suddenly ill. Passing through Wild Rose Pass and up Limpia -Canyon we suffered very much from the cold, though it was only the last -of August. Coming from a lower to a higher altitude we felt the change -at night keenly. That was the first cold weather I had experienced in -the summer.</p> - -<p>Finally, on the 12th day of September, 1879, we landed safe and sound -in the old town of Ysleta, El Paso County, after forty-two days -of travel from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> San Antonio. Here we met nine men, the remnant of -Lieutenant Tays' Company "C" rangers. The first few days after our -arrival were spent in securing quarters for Lieutenant Baylor's family -and in reorganizing the company. Sergeant Ludwick was discharged at -his own request, and I was made first sergeant, Tom Swilling second -sergeant, John Seaborn first corporal, and George Lloyd second -corporal. The company was now recruited up to its limit of twenty men. -Before winter Lieutenant Baylor bought a fine home and fifteen or -twenty acres of land from a Mr. Blanchard. The rangers were quartered -comfortably in some adobe buildings with fine corrals nearby and within -easy distance of the lieutenant's residence. We were now ready for -adventure on the border.</p> - -<p>When we arrived at Ysleta the Salt Lake War had quieted down and order -had been restored. Although nearly a hundred Mexicans were indicted -by the El Paso grand jury, no one was ever punished for the murder -of Judge Howard and his companions. In going over the papers of -Sergeant Ludwick I found warrants for the arrest of fifty or more of -the mob members. Though most of the murderers had fled to Old Mexico -immediately after the killing of the Americans, most of them had -returned to the United States and their homes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> along the Rio Grande. -I reported these warrants to Lieutenant Baylor and informed him that, -with the assistance of a strong body of rangers I could probably -capture most of the offenders in a swift raid down the valley. The -lieutenant declared that he had received instructions from Governor -Roberts to exercise extreme care not to precipitate more trouble over -Howard's death, and, above all things, not incite a race war between -the Mexican offenders and the white people of the country. He decided, -therefore, that we had better not make any move at all in the now dead -Salt Lake War. And of course I never again mentioned the matter to him.</p> - -<p>Though the Salt Lake War was over, new and adventurous action was in -store for us, and within less than a month after our arrival in Ysleta -we had our first brush with the Apaches, a tribe of Indians I had never -before met in battle.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></p> - -<p class="center">OUR FIRST FIGHT WITH APACHES</p> - - -<p>On October 5, 1879, at midnight, Pablo Mejia brought Lieutenant Baylor, -from Captain Gregorio Garcia of San Elizario, a note stating that a -band of Apaches had charged a camp of five Mexicans who were engaged in -cutting hay for the stage company fourteen miles north of La Quadria -stage station and killed them. As first sergeant I was ordered to make -a detail of ten men and issue them five days' rations. I detailed -Second Sergeant Tom Swilling, Privates Gus Small, George Lloyd, John -Thomas, George Harold, Doc Shivers, Richard Head, Bill Rutherford, and -Juan Garcia for the scout, and myself made the tenth man. It required -an hour to arouse the men, issue the rations and ammunition and pack -the two mules, so it was 1 o'clock a.m. when we finally left Ysleta.</p> - -<p>By daylight we reached Hawkins Station, near where Fabins Station -now is. Here we were told we would find the survivor of the terrible -massacre. Riding up to the door of the stage house we had to thump some -time before we had evidence that anyone was alive on the premises. -Finally the door opened about an inch very cautiously and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> Mexican -peeped out. Lieutenant Baylor asked him if he had been one of the -grameros or hay cutters.</p> - -<p>"Si, senor," replied the sleepy Mexican.</p> - -<p>Asked for an account of the massacre, the native said it was nearly -dark when the Indians, numbering from twenty-five to fifty, charged -the camp and uttered such horrid yells that everyone took to his heels -and was soon in the chaparral. The speaker saw his pobrecita papa -(poor papa) running, with the Indians about to lance him, and knew -that he and the remainder of the party were killed. He himself only -escaped. As he mentioned the tragic death of his beloved parent the -tears rolled down his cheeks. Lieutenant Baylor comforted the weeper as -best he could and asked if the Mexican would not guide the rangers to -the raided camp, but the survivor declined with thanks, saying he must -stay to help the station keeper take care of the stage mules, but he -directed us to the ranch where some of the dead men's families lived -and at which a guide could be obtained.</p> - -<p>When we arrived at the ranch below Hawkins Station it was sunrise and -we halted for breakfast after a night ride of forty miles. The people -at the ranch were very uneasy when we rode up, but were rejoiced when -they realized we were Texas Rangers and learned our mission. They -showed us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> every attention. Among the first to come out to us was an -old Mexican who had been in the hay camp when it was attacked. He gave -a lurid account of the onset. His son had been one of the grameros, and -when he mentioned this the tears began to flow.</p> - -<p>"Ah, hijo de mi cara Juan. I shall never see him again," he lamented. -"All were killed and I alone escaped!"</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Baylor then explained to the weeping father that his son -was very much alive and that we had seen him that very night bewailing -the death of the father he thought killed. And it now developed that -all the dead men were alive! When the camp was attacked each Mexican -had scattered, and the Apaches had been too busy looting the stores -to follow the fugitives. Moreover, those ranchers would fight and the -Indians did not care to follow them into the brush.</p> - -<p>A bright young Mexican went with us to the hay camp, which was about -six miles toward Comales, where Don Juan Armendaris now has a cow -ranch. The Apaches had made a mess of things in camp sure enough. -They had broken all the cups and plates, poured salt into the sugar, -this combination into the flour and beans and the conglomeration of -the whole on the ground, as the sacks were all they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> wanted. The -Indians smashed the coffee pot, the frying pan, the skillet and the -water barrels with an ax. Then taking all the blankets, the raiders -started eastward as though they intended to go to the Sierra Priela, -but after going a mile the trail turned south. We found the redskins -had come from the north by way of Los Cormuros and were probably from -Fort Stanton, New Mexico, on their way to raid Old Mexico. They were -in a dry country and making for the Rio Grande, fourteen miles to the -south. When they discovered the hay camp on their route they charged -it and fired on the hay cutters. The Mexicans scattered and made their -escape in the darkness, each thinking himself the sole survivor and so -reporting on reaching his home, though as a matter of fact not a single -life was lost.</p> - -<p>Our guide went back to give the alarm to the ranches below and we -followed the trail down the mesa until opposite Guadalupe. There we -crossed the overland stage route near the present Rio Grande Station -and found our guide waiting for us. He had discovered the trail, and -fearing the Indians might ambush the road below, he had awaited our -arrival. The trail made straight for the Rio Grande, crossing about -one mile west of the Mexican town of Guadalupe. From the pony and mule -tracks Lieutenant Baylor judged there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> were fifteen to twenty Indians -in the band. We had some trouble following the trail after we got to -the river bottom, where loose horses and cattle ran, but a few of us -dismounted and worked the trail out, crossed the river and struck camp -for dinner.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Baylor sent Pablo Mejia into town to inform the president -of Guadalupe that we had followed a fresh Apache trail to the Rio -Grande going south into Mexico, and asked permission to follow the -Indians into his country. The scout soon returned and reported that the -president was not only pleased that we had pursued the redskins, but -would willingly join us himself with all the men he could muster. Just -after we crossed the river we came across a Mexican herder with a flock -of goats. As soon as he heard we were trailing the Apaches he began -yelling at the top of his voice and soon had the goats on the jump for -town, though the Indians had passed the night before. We were quickly -in saddle again, and as we rode into the pueblo we were kindly received -by the people. We found a mare the Apaches had killed just on the edge -of town and from which they had taken some of the choice steaks.</p> - -<p>After leaving Guadalupe the trail went south, following closely the -stage road from Juarez to Chihuahua. Not long after leaving town we -met<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> a courier coming to Guadalupe from Don Ramon Arrandas' ranch, San -Marcos de Cantarica, twenty-one miles distant, who informed us that the -Apaches had killed a herder on that ranch and had taken four horses -and sixteen mules of the stage company. We hurried onward and reached -Cantarica at sunset, having traveled seventy-eight miles since 1 a.m. -that morning. Both men and horses were rather tired.</p> - -<p>All was confusion at the ranch. The Mexican herder had been shrouded -and laid out with a cross at his head and several little lighted -candles near the body. Many women were sitting around the room with -black shawls pulled up over their heads. The Apaches, numbering sixteen -well armed and well mounted warriors, had slain their victim and -captured the stock near the ranch just about noon. Mexican volunteers -from Guadalupe and San Ignacio began to ride in until our combined -force numbered twenty-five or twenty-six men. Everyone was excited at -the thought of a brush with the redskins responsible for the murder.</p> - -<p>Accompanied by our volunteer allies we left the ranch at daylight next -morning and picked up the trail at once. It led off south along the -base of the Armagora Mountains or Sierra Bentanos. As the Mexicans -were familiar with the country they took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> the lead and followed the -trail rapidly. About 11 o'clock the trailers halted at the mouth of the -Canyon del Moranos, an ugly black hole cut in the mountains, looking -grim and defiant enough without the aid of Apache warriors. When we -had joined the Mexicans—we were traveling some half a mile behind -them—Lieutenant Baylor and Captain Garcia held a short conference. -The lieutenant turned to me and said that Captain Garcia declared the -Indians were in the canyon among the rocks, and ordered me to detail -two men to guard our horses while we scaled the mountain on foot and -investigated it. I could not bring myself to believe that a band of -Indians that had killed a man and driven off all the stage stock the -day before had gone only thirty miles and was now lying in wait for us.</p> - -<p>"You don't know the Apaches," Lieutenant Baylor declared when I voiced -my thoughts. "They are very different from the plains Indians, the kind -you have been used to following. These Apaches delight to get into the -rocks and lay for their enemies."</p> - -<p>At the conference the Mexicans suggested that Lieutenant Baylor should -take nine of his men and ten of their volunteers and follow the trail -up the canyon, but the lieutenant declared that this would never do, -as the Apaches had no doubt anticipated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> just such a move and hidden -themselves in the cliffs where they could kill their attackers without -exposing themselves in the least. He proposed scaling the mountain and -following them down on top of the ridge in the Indians' rear. And this -was the strategy finally adopted.</p> - -<p>The Mexicans dismounted and started up the mountainside about one -hundred yards to our left. Lieutenant Baylor and his eight rangers -marched straight forward from our horses and began the ascent. As we -went along the lieutenant pulled some bunch grass and stuck it all -around under his hat band so his head would look like a clump of grass -and conceal his head and body if he should have to flatten himself -on the ground. He counselled us to follow his example. I had taken -some Mexican cheese out of my saddle pockets and was eating it as we -marched carelessly up the mountain. Honestly, I did not believe there -was an Indian within a hundred miles of us, but it was not long before -I changed my mind. Suddenly there came a loud report of a gun and then -another. I looked up to where the Mexicans had taken position behind a -ledge of rocks and saw where a bullet struck the stones a foot above -their heads. I did not want any more cheese. I threw down what I had in -my hand and spat out what I had in my mouth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p> - -<p>These old Apache warriors, high in the cliffs above us, then turned -their attention to our little band of eight rangers and fired -twenty-five or thirty shots right into the midst of us. One of these -big caliber bullets whizzed so close to my head that it made a noise -like a wild duck makes when flying down stream at the rate of fifty to -sixty miles an hour. Lieutenant Baylor ordered us to charge at once.</p> - -<p>In running up the mountain I was somewhat in advance of the boys. We -came to a rock ledge three or four feet high. I quickly scaled this, -but before I could straighten up an Indian rose from behind a rock -about fifteen to twenty yards ahead and fired point-blank at me. The -bullet struck a small soap weed three feet in front of me and knocked -the leaves into my mouth and face. I felt as if I had been hit but it -was leaves and not blood that I wiped out of my mouth with my left -hand. I turned my head and called to the boys to look out, but the -warning was unnecessary,—they had already taken shelter under the -ledge of rock.</p> - -<p>Just as I turned my head a second shot from the Apache carried away -the entire front part of my hat brim. I saw the warrior throw another -cartridge in his gun and brought my Winchester quickly to bear upon -him. When he saw that I was about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> to shoot he shifted his position and -turned sideways to me. We both fired at the same instant. My bullet hit -the redskin just above his hip and, passing straight through his body, -broke the small of his back and killed him almost instantly. This old -brave was a big man, probably six feet tall, with his face painted in -red and blue paint. He used an old octagon barrel Winchester rifle and -he had with him an old shirtsleeve tied at one end in which were two -hundred and fifty Winchester cartridges.</p> - -<p>Some Indians fifty yards up the mountain now began to shell our -position, so I took shelter behind the ledge of rock. Fifteen or twenty -feet to our left and a little higher up the mountain, Lieutenant Baylor -was sheltered behind some boulders. He raised his head slightly above -his parapet for a peep at the Indians and those keen sighted warriors -saw him; a well directed shot cut part of the grass out of his hat. Had -the bullet been six inches lower it would have struck him full in the -face.</p> - -<p>"Darn that old Indian," exclaimed Baylor, ducking his head. "If I had a -shot gun I would run up and jump right on top of him."</p> - -<p>The lieutenant was mad now and ordered a charge. The boys hesitated, -and George Harold, an old scout, said, "Lieutenant, if we leave this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -shelter and start up the mountain the Indians hidden behind those rocks -seventy-five yards above will kill us all."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose you are right; they would be hard to dislodge," replied -Baylor.</p> - -<p>The Apaches evidently had plenty of ammunition, as they kept up a -desultory fire all day. Seeing we were not going to fall into their -trap they turned their attention to our horses. Although the animals -were four or five hundred yards from the foot of the mountain they -killed Sergeant Swilling's horse, the bullet passing entirely through -the body just behind the shoulders. When his horse, a large white one, -staggered and tumbled over, Swilling began to mourn, for he had the -horror of walking all Western men have. John Thomas, however, got the -laugh on him by saying, "Sergeant, you had better wait and see if you -are going back to camp." We could see the Indians' bullets knocking up -dust all around the horses and the guard replying to the fire. Baylor -now sent a man and had the guard move the horses out of range.</p> - -<p>During the afternoon the Apaches moved up higher toward the crest of -the mountain, and in doing so one of the Indians exposed himself. The -Mexicans to our left spotted him and killed him with a well directed -shot. The warrior fell out in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> open ground where he was literally shot -all to pieces.</p> - -<p>We had been without water all day and when night came Lieutenant Baylor -and Captain Garcia decided it was useless to continue the fight any -longer, so we withdrew toward our horses. After reaching the animals -we could still hear the Indians firing on our positions. We might have -captured the Apaches' horses by a charge, but we would have had to go -down the side of the mountain and across a deep canyon where we would -have been compelled to pick our way slowly under a constant cross fire -from the concealed riflemen, and neither Baylor nor Garcia thought the -horses worth the sacrifice required to capture them.</p> - -<p>As the nearest water was thirty miles away and our men and horses -weary and thirsty, we rode back to our hospitable friend, Don Ramon -Arrandas' ranch, where our horses were fed and we ourselves supplied -with fresh milk and cheese. On our return to Guadalupe we were most -kindly entertained by Mr. Maximo Arrandas, custom house officer at -San Elizario, and brother to Don Ramon. We reached our headquarters -at Ysleta after being out five days and traveling two hundred and -twenty-two miles, sustaining no other damage than a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> bruises -from scaling the mountain and the loss of Sergeant Swilling's horse. -This first brush with Apaches, however, was but a prelude to other -expeditions after this tribe, and we were soon hot on the trail of -Victorio, the Apache Napoleon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">SCOUTING IN MEXICO</p> - - -<p>About a month after our first brush with Apaches, during November, -1879, Chief Victorio quit the Mescalero Reservation and with a party of -one hundred and twenty-five warriors and a hundred women and children, -traveled south into Mexico on a raid. This old chief was probably the -best general ever produced by the Apache tribe. He was a far better -captain than old Geronimo ever was and capable of commanding a much -larger force of men. His second in command was Nana, also a very able -officer.</p> - -<p>Victorio knew every foot of the country and just where to find wood, -water, grass and abundance of game, so he took his time and, coming -from New Mexico down into the state of Chihuahua, stopped first at -the Santa Maria. The country about this stream is very mountainous, -especially to the south, and here he could find refuge in case of an -attack from Mexican soldiers. Of this, however, there was not much -danger at that time, for the country was thinly settled, farming and -stock raising being confined to the neighborhood of the small towns. -Gradually Chief Victorio moved down into the Can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>delaria Mountains, -approaching them from the northwest. Here he could get fresh range for -his large band of horses and be near the settlement of San Jose, owned -by Don Mariano Samaniego. Here, also, he could watch the public road -between Chihuahua and El Paso del Norte, the present Juarez.</p> - -<p>One of the saddest and most heart-rending tragedies resulted from this -move. Victorio was camped at the large tanks on the north side and -almost on top of the Candelaria Mountains, where he had fine range for -his stock and plenty of game and wood. From those almost inaccessible -peaks he could see for twenty or thirty miles in every direction and -watch every move of travelers or hostile forces. The old chief now sent -a small band of Indians, some six or seven in number, on a raid against -the little settlement of San Jose. Here the Indians stole a bunch of -Mexican ponies and hurried back to their camp on top of the Candelaria -Mountains. The citizens of San Jose discovered the loss of their -ponies, and on examining the trail, found there was only a small band -of Indians in the raiding party. A company of the principal Mexicans -of San Jose, under the command of Don Jose Rodriguez, and augmented by -volunteers from the little town of Carrajal, left to locate the Indians -and recover the stolen horses. The little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> band of fifteen brave men -went to the northern side of the mountains and struck the trail of -Victorio's band on an old beaten route used by the Indians, which -passed from the Santa Maria River to the Candelaria Mountains. This -road wound between two rocky peaks and then down the side of the hills -to the plain between them and the Candelaria, ending at last at the big -tank.</p> - -<p>From his position on the tall peaks Victorio had seen the little body -of Mexicans long before they struck his trail and, knowing they would -never come upon the Candelaria after seeing the size of his trail, -sent forty or fifty of his warriors to form an ambuscade where the -trail crosses the crest between the two peaks. He must have been with -the braves himself, for the thing was skillfully planned and executed. -On the north side of the trail there were only a few boulders, but on -the south the hills were very broken, rising in rough tiers of stones. -The Apaches hid in these rocks and awaited their victims. On November -7, 1879, the Mexicans entered the narrow defile and as soon as they -were between the two parties of Indians concealed on each side of the -pass the Apaches on the north side of the trail fired a volley upon -them. The Mexicans thereupon made for the rocks on the south, as was -natural. As they sought refuge there the redskins<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> in the cliffs above -the gallant little band opened fire on them. Caught in a real death -trap the entire punitive force was massacred. When I walked over the -ground some time afterward I saw where one Mexican had gotten into -a crevice from which he could shoot anyone coming at him from the -east or west. He was hidden also from the Indians in the cliffs above -him, but his legs were exposed to the warriors on the north side and -they had literally shot them off up to his knees. I also found seven -dead Mexicans in a small gulley, and on a little peak above them I -discovered the lair of one old Indian who had fired twenty-seven shots -at the tiny group until he had killed them all, for I found that number -of 45-70 cartridge shells in one pile. Practically all the horses -of the Mexicans were killed. Some of the animals had been tied to -Spanish dagger plants and when shot ran the length of their rope before -falling. Some of the bodies rolled down the deep canyon until they -reached the bottom of what we called the Canado del Muerte (Canyon of -Death), and the Indians removed none of the saddles or ropes from the -dead horses.</p> - -<p>When the company of Mexicans did not return there was great sorrow -and alarm in the little town of Carrajal. As it was supposed that -only a small band of Apaches bent on horse stealing was in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> -Candelarios, another small band of fourteen men volunteered to go -and see what had become of their friends and kindred. Don Jose Mario -Rodriguez was appointed commander, and the little party took the trail -of their comrades with sad forebodings. Old Victorio, from his watch -towers in the Candelarios, saw this rescue party and prepared for its -destruction. The signs indicated that the second party had walked into -the same death trap as the first, but the second band had scattered -more in fighting and a good many of the Mexicans were killed on the -southern slope of the hills. Two had attempted to escape on horseback -but were followed and killed. I found one of these unfortunates in -an open plain some six hundred yards from the hills. He had been -surrounded, and, seeing escape was impossible, had dismounted, tied his -horse to a Spanish dagger plant and put up a good fight. I found thirty -or forty cartridge shells near where he had fallen. His pony had been -killed and the dagger plant shot to pieces. The Apaches had cut off his -right hand and had carried away his gun, six-shooter, saddle and bridle.</p> - -<p>When neither party returned then, indeed, was there sorrow in the -town of Carrajal, for twenty-nine of her principal citizens had left -never to return. Wives, mothers, and sweethearts mourned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> the loss -of their dear ones. A runner was sent to El Paso del Norte and the -citizens began to organize a punitive expedition at once, calling on -Saragosa, Tres Jacalas, Guadalupe, and San Ignacio for their quotas. -These towns responded quickly and soon a hundred Mexicans were ready -to take the field. A note was sent to Lieutenant Baylor at Ysleta -requesting the rangers to go with the command. Baylor readily agreed -to accompany the Mexicans, for he knew it was only a question of time -before old Victorio would again be murdering and robbing on our side -of the Rio Grande. A detachment of Company "C" had been in one Apache -fight in Mexico and the Mexicans had a very kindly feeling for us. -Lieutenant Baylor's detachment of ten rangers crossed the Rio Grande at -Saragosa, a little town opposite Ysleta, and joined the Mexicans under -Senor Ramos. We marched to the ranch of Don Ynocente Ochoa until the -volunteers from the other towns came to Samalaejuca Springs. When they -had done so the rangers moved down and our combined command amounted to -one hundred and ten men.</p> - -<p>After organizing their force the Mexicans sent Senor Ramos to inform -Lieutenant Baylor that, on account of his experience as a soldier and -as a compliment to the rangers, they had selected him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> to command the -entire party. The lieutenant thanked the messenger, but declared, as -the campaign was on Mexican soil to rescue or bury Mexicans, it would -be more proper to appoint one of their own men commander, and that he -himself would cheerfully serve under any leader so chosen. Senor Ramos -returned shortly and notified Lieutenant Baylor that the Mexicans had -selected Don Francisco Escapeda of Guadalupe as commander-in-chief and -Lieutenant Baylor second in command.</p> - -<p>This solution of the leadership problem pleased us, as there was an -element among the Mexican party that might have caused friction. -Old Chico Barelo, the pueblo cacique and principal commander of -the mob that had killed Judge Howard, Ellis, Adkinson, and McBride -at San Elizario, was with the expedition, and we had at our Ysleta -headquarters warrants for the arrest of himself and many others, so we -gave the old fellow to understand we were now fighting a common enemy -and should act in harmony together. We did this more willingly, because -we had learned that after killing Judge Howard and the others the mob -wanted to murder all the rangers barricaded in an old adobe house, but -had been dissuaded from this purpose by old Chico, who declared the -rangers could only be killed after he had first been slain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p> - -<p>Leaving one wagon at the Ochoa ranch and taking three days' rations -cooked and more in case of a siege, we went out in the night to avoid -Victorio's spies. Don Francisco Escapeda with Lieutenant Baylor were -at the head of the column. Sergeant James B. Gillett and eight rangers -followed in Indian file, each ranger with a Mexican by his side, -showing they looked on us as volunteers in the Mexican service. We rode -out along the hard sand road beyond Samalaejuca and sent spies ahead -to locate the Apaches if possible. Before we reached the Candelarios -we halted behind some mountains to await their report, but they could -learn nothing certain. It was a bitterly cold night and a few of us -made fires in the deep arroyos. We moved on toward the mountains north -of the Candelarios and reached them early next morning to find a large -fresh trail about two days old going in the direction of Lake Santa -Maria, but, for fear of some stratagem, we divided our men. One party -took the crest south of the trail where the massacre took place while -the other went to the right.</p> - -<p>It was soon evident that the entire Apache band had left and that -nothing remained for us but the sad duty of collecting the bodies of -the dead Mexicans for burial. The second, or rescue party, had found -the bodies of their kinsmen killed in the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> ambuscade and had -collected them and put them in a big crevice in the rocks. When they -began to cover the corpses with loose stones the Indians, who had been -watching them all the while just as a cat plays with a mouse before -killing it, opened fire on the burial party and killed the last one -of the unfortunate men. The saddest scene I ever witnessed was that -presented as we gathered the bodies of the murdered men. At each fresh -discovery of a loved friend, brother or father and the last hope fled -that any had escaped, a wail of sorrow went up, and I doubt if there -was a dry eye either of Mexican or Texan in the whole command.</p> - -<p>While the immediate relatives were hunting for those who had -scattered in trying to escape, we moved south to the main tank in the -Candelarios. The ascent was up a winding path on the steep mountainside -to the bench where the tank, one of the largest in the west, was -situated. The water coming down from a height, and big boulders falling -into the tank, had cut a deep hole in the solid rock in which the water -was retained. Although Victorio's band of three hundred animals and two -hundred or more Indians and our command had been using the water it -could scarcely be missed.</p> - -<p>We sent scouts to the left and right to make sure no game was being -put upon us, for the cunning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> old chief, after sending his women and -children off, could have hidden his warriors in the rough cliff that -towered high above and commanded the tank of water and slaughtered all -those below. We remained all day and night at this place. It was the -most picturesque spot I had ever seen. We rangers rambled all over this -Indian camp and found many of the Mexican saddles hidden in the cliffs -and several hats, each with bullet holes in it. We also discovered -two Winchester rifles that had been hit in the fight and abandoned as -useless. I saw a hundred or more old rawhide shoes that had been used -to cover the ponies' feet and dozens of worn-out moccasins. This party -of Apaches had killed and eaten more than seventy-five head of horses -and mules in this camp.</p> - -<p>I followed a plain, well-beaten foot path to the topmost peak of -the Candelario or candle mountain, so called from the candle-like -projection of rocks that shot skyward from its top. The Candelario is -in an open plain fifty miles south of El Paso, Texas, and from its top -affords one of the grandest views in northern Mexico. To the south -one could see San Jose and Carrajal, to the north the mountains at El -Paso del Norte, to the west the mountains near Santa Maria River and -Lake Guzman were in plain view, while to the east the Sierra<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> Bentanos -loomed up, apparently only a few miles away. On this peak old Victorio -kept spies constantly on the lookout, and it would have been impossible -for a party of men to have approached without having been seen by these -keen-eyed watchers.</p> - -<p>All the bodies having been recovered they were buried in a crevice of -the mountain where they had been killed. All were in good preservation -owing to the pure cold air of the mountains. It is a strange fact, but -one beyond question, that no wild animal or bird of prey will touch -the body of a Mexican. These corpses had lain on the ground nearly -two weeks and were untouched. If they had been the bodies of Indians, -negroes or Americans the coyotes, buzzards and crows would have -attacked them the first day and night.</p> - -<p>Nothing of interest occurred on our return trip. The rangers, as -usual, always ate up their three days' rations the first camp they -made and got out of bread, but our Mexican allies divided with us. Don -Ynocente Ochoa's major-domo or ranch boss gave us all the fresh beef -we could eat and a supply of carne seco (dried beef) to take with us -on campaign. Quite a company had come out to see us from Carrizal and -we returned sadly to the widows of the brave men who fell in this, -probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> the most wholesale slaughter ever made by Victorio's band. -The citizens of Galena were nearly as unfortunate, but it was old Hu -and Geronimo who massacred them. All the Saragosa men made for their -church to offer up thanks for a safe return. Men, women and children -uttered their "Gracias, senors," as the Texas Rangers rode through -their town. We arrived safely in our adobe quarters at Ysleta and -appreciated them after sleeping out of doors.</p> - -<p>Though Victorio had escaped us on this scout, and though he was to -murder and pillage for a time, yet his days were numbered. Our company -of rangers were again to cross into Mexico in pursuit of him, but, -though, one year later, he and eighty-nine of his braves were killed -by the Mexicans under Colonel Joaquin Terrazas, the rangers were not -to take part in defeating him. However, our rangers were destined to -annihilate a small band that escaped deserved destruction at that time -when it resumed its depredations in Texas.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></p> - -<p class="center">TREACHEROUS BRAVES, A FAITHFUL DOG, AND A MURDER</p> - - -<p>During the latter part of January, 1880, two mining engineers named -Andrews and Wiswall from Denver, Colorado, appeared at the ranger camp -in Ysleta. They had a new ambulance pulled by two elegant horses and -led a fine saddle pony. They were well fitted out for camping and had -the finest big black shepherd dog I had ever seen. Mr. Andrews used a -Springfield while Mr. Wiswall carried a Sharps sporting rifle, besides -they had shotguns and sixshooters. These miners wanted to buy one -hundred pack burros and, not finding what they wanted in the Rio Grande -Valley, decided to go over in the upper Pecos Valley near Eddy or -Roswell, New Mexico, for pack animals. They consulted Lieutenant Baylor -about the best route they should follow. He advised them to travel down -the overland stage route to Fort Davis, thence by Toyah Creek and on up -the Pecos, but the engineers thought this too much out of their way and -concluded to travel by the old abandoned Batterfield stage route, which -leads by Hueco Tanks, Alamo Springs, Cornudos Mountain, Crow Flat, -Guada<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>lupe Mountain and thence to the Pecos River. Lieutenant Baylor -warned the men that this was a very dangerous route, without a living -white man from Ysleta to the Pecos River, more than one hundred and -fifty miles distant, and through an Indian country all the way.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Andrews and Wiswall selected this latter route, and the -third day out from our camp reached the old abandoned stage station -at Crow Flat about noon. This was in an open country and from it one -could see for miles in every direction. A cold north wind was blowing, -so, for protection, the two men drove inside the old station walls, -unhitched and hobbled their horses and pony and were soon busily -baking bread, frying bacon and boiling coffee, not dreaming there was -an Indian in the country, though they had been warned to look out for -them. Like all men traveling in that country the two miners had the -appetite of coyotes and became deeply absorbed in stowing away rations. -Unnoticed, the horses had grazed off some three or four hundred yards -from the station and the two men were suddenly startled by a yelling -and the trampling of horses' feet. Looking up, Andrews and Wiswall saw -ten or twelve Indians driving off their horses.</p> - -<p>Seizing their guns, the two white men started<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> after the thieves at top -speed. Both being Western men and good shots, they hoped, by opening on -the redskins with their long range guns, to get close enough to prevent -them from taking the hobbles off the horses. But the animals made about -as good time as if they had been foot loose. This fact was well known -to the Texas Rangers, who hobbled and side lined also and, even then, -their horses when stampeded would run as fast as the guards could keep -up with them on foot. The Apaches can't be taught anything about horse -stealing—they are already past masters at the art. And while some of -the Indians halted and fought Andrews and Wiswall the others ran the -horses off and got away with them. The two miners returned to camp -feeling very blue indeed.</p> - -<p>A council of war was held and they were undetermined the best course -to pursue. To walk back one hundred miles to El Paso and pack grub, -blankets and water was no picnic. On the other hand, it was probably -seventy-five miles to the Pecos, but they finally decided to take -the shortest way to assistance, which proved the traditional longest -way. They determined to stay within the friendly adobe of the old -stage stand until night. To keep up appearances they rigged up two -dummy sentinels and put them on guard. They had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> fear of an attack -at night, especially as they had a dog to keep watch. They left the -station at dark. Shep, the dog, wanted to go with them, but the men put -a sack of corn and a side of bacon under the ambulance and made him -understand he was to guard it. They then set out and followed the old -stage route along a horrible road of deep sand. At daybreak they were -near the point of the Guadalupe Peak, and after having traveled on foot -about twenty-five miles they were pretty well worn out.</p> - -<p>The old stage road here turns to the right and gradually winds around -the mountain to get on the mesa land. It makes quite a circuit before -getting to the next water, Pine Springs, but there was an old Indian -trail that leads up the canyon and straight through. As Andrews and -Wiswall were afoot and taking all the short cuts, they took this trail. -It was late in the day when, in a sudden bend of the trail, they came -in full view of an entire village of Indians coming towards them. The -redskins were only two or three hundred yards off and discovered the -white men at once.</p> - -<p>Under such circumstances the two pedestrians had to think quickly and -act at once. They could not hope to escape by running, for most of the -Indians were mounted. Fortunately, to the south of the trail there was -a sharp sugar loaf peak, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> for this Andrews and Wiswall made with -all speed. Reaching the summit they hastily threw up breastworks of -loose rocks and as soon as the Indians came into sight they opened fire -on them. The redskins returned the fire, but soon discovered they were -wasting ammunition and ceased firing. The besieged, suspicious of some -stratagem, kept a sharp lookout, and soon discovered the Indians were -crawling upward to the barricade and pushing boulders before them to -shelter their bodies. The boys decided to keep perfectly still, one on -each side, and watch for a chance to kill a savage.</p> - -<p>The watcher on the west side, where the fading light still enabled him -to see, saw a mop of black hair rise cautiously over an advancing rock. -He fired at once. The head disappeared and the boulder went thundering -down the hill with the two white men running over the warrior, who -was kicking around like a chicken with its head cut off. As good luck -would have it most of the attackers were on the east side, taking it -for granted the men would try to escape in that direction. Before the -astonished Apaches could understand just what was occurring, the men, -running like old black-tailed bucks, were out of hearing, while night -spread her dark mantle over them in kindness. Being good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> woodsmen, the -fugitives had no trouble in shaping their course to Crow Flat again.</p> - -<p>Worn out and weary after traveling more than fifty miles on foot and -with not a wink of sleep for thirty-six hours, they made the old stage -stand and found their dummy sentinels still on guard with the faithful -shepherd dog at his post. He was overjoyed at the return of his -masters. At the old adobe station Andrews and Wiswall were in a measure -safe, for they had water and grub and the walls of the stand, five feet -or more high, would shelter them. Since the Apaches had made no attempt -to kill the dog or rob the ambulance, the miners were satisfied that -the Indians, after stealing their horses, had kept on their way to the -Mescalero Agency, near Tularosa. This stage station was on the highway -of these murderous, thieving rascals, who were constantly raiding Texas -and Chihuahua, and in their raids they had made a deep trail leading -north from Crow Flat or Crow Springs, as some call it, toward the -Sacramento Mountains.</p> - -<p>After the fugitives had rested they decided they would pull out after -dark and hoof it for Ysleta. The fifty miles' walk over a rough country -had pretty well worn out their shoes, so they used gunny sacks to tie -up their sore and bleeding feet. Again giving Shep his orders, with -heavy hearts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> Andrews and Wiswall turned their faces to the Cornudos -Mountains, with the next stage station twenty-five miles distant -without one drop of water on the way. They were so tired and foot-sore -they did not reach Cornudos until late the next day. Here they hid in -the rocks, among the shady nooks of which they found cold water and -sweet rest. After several days the two men dragged their weary bodies, -more dead than alive, into Ysleta and to the ranger camp.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Baylor ordered me to take eight rangers, and with two mules, -proceed to Crow Flat to bring in the ambulance Andrews and Wiswall -had abandoned there. The first day we made the Hueco Tanks. Hueco is -Spanish for tanks, and in the early days travelers spelled it Waco. -Many wild adventures have occurred at these tanks—fights between the -Mexicans and the Comanches. During the gold excitement this was the -main immigrant route to California. Here, too, the overland stage route -had a stand. The names of Marcy, General Lee, and thousands of others -could be seen written on the rocks. The Indians themselves had drawn -many rude pictures, one of which was quite artistic and depicted a huge -rattlesnake on the rock under the cave near the stage stand on the -eastern side of Hueco.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> - -<p>Many times when scouting in the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains I -have camped for the night in the Huecos. Sometimes the water in the -tanks had been all used up by the travelers but there was always plenty -of good cool rain water twenty-five feet above the main ground tanks. -Often I have watered my entire command by scaling the mountain to those -hidden tanks and, filling our boots and hats with water, poured it on -the flat, roof-like rocks so it would run down into the tanks below -where our horses and mules would be watered in good shape. The city of -El Paso, I am told, now has a fine graded road to those old historic -mountains and many of its citizens enjoy an outing there.</p> - -<p>Our next halt was at the Alamose, across the beautiful plains, at that -time covered with antelope that could be seen scudding away with their -swift change of color looking like a flock of white birds. Here we -found some Indian signs at the flat above the springs, but it was at -Cornudos that we again saw the old signs of the Apaches. This Cornudos -is a strange conglomeration of dark granite rocks shot high in the air -in the midst of the plains by some eruption of the earth in ages past. -This was the favorite watering place of the Tularosa Agency Indians on -their raids into Texas and Mexico.</p> - -<p>From Cornudos to Crow Flat is a long, monot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>onous tramp of twenty-five -or thirty miles, and we arrived in the night and were promptly -challenged by the faithful sentinel, old Shep. Although we were -strangers, the dog seemed to recognize us as Americans and friends. -He went wild with joy, barked, rolled over and over and came as near -talking as any African monkey or gorilla could. We gave him a cheer. -The faithful animal had been there alone for nearly fifteen days. His -side of bacon was eaten and the sack of corn getting very low. The -rangers were as much delighted as if it had been a human being they had -rescued. The dog had worn the top of the wall of the old stage station -perfectly smooth while keeping off the sneaking coyotes. Tracks of the -latter were thick all around the place, but Shep held the fort with -the assistance of the dummy sentinels. We found everything just as the -owners, Andrews and Wiswall, had left it.</p> - -<p>As was my custom, I walked over the ground where the Apaches and -Messrs. Andrews and Wiswall had had their scrap. Near an old dagger -plant I found where an Indian had taken shelter, or rather tried to -hide himself, and picked up a number of Winchester .44 cartridge -shells. We secured the ambulance and our return journey was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> without -incident. We arrived back in our camp after making the two hundred -miles in a week.</p> - -<p>Mr. Andrews presented Lieutenant Baylor with a beautiful Springfield -rifle. I don't know whether Andrews or Wiswall are alive, but that -Mexican shepherd dog is entitled to a monument on which should be -inscribed, "FIDELITY."</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1880 two brick masons, Morgan and Brown, stopped at -our quarters in Ysleta on their way from Fort Craig, New Mexico, to San -Antonio, Texas. They had heard that some freight wagons at San Elizario -would soon return to San Antonio and were anxious to travel back with -them. These men spent two or three days in the ranger camp and seemed -very nice chaps and pleasant talkers. One of them, Mr. Morgan, owned -one of the finest pistols I ever saw. It was pearl handled and silver -mounted. Our boys tried to trade for it, but Morgan would not part with -the weapon.</p> - -<p>After the two men had been gone from our camp three or four days word -was brought to Lieutenant Baylor that two men had been found dead near -San Elizario. The lieutenant sent me with a detail of three rangers -to investigate. At San Elizario we learned that the dead men were at -Collins' sheep ranch, four miles from town. On arriving there we found, -to our surprise and horror, that the dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> men were Morgan and Brown, -who had left our camp hale and hearty just a few days before. It was -surmised that the men had camped for the night at the sheep ranch and -had been beaten to death with heavy mesquite sticks. They had been dead -two or three days and were stripped of their clothing, their bodies -being partly eaten by coyotes.</p> - -<p>On repairing to his sheep ranch Mr. Collins found the dead bodies of -Morgan and Brown, his shepherds gone and his flocks scattered over -the country. Mr. Collins gave the herders' names as Santiago Skevill -and Manuel Moleno. After beating out the brains of their unfortunate -victims the Mexicans robbed the bodies and lit out for parts unknown.</p> - -<p>As the murderers were on foot and had been gone three or four days, I -found it very difficult to get their trail, as loose stock grazed along -the bosques and partially obliterated it. As there was a number of -settlements and several little pueblos along the river, I knew if I did -not follow the Mexicans' tracks closely I could never tell where they -had gone, so I spent the remainder of the day trying to get the trail -from camp. We were compelled to follow it on foot, leading our horses. -We would sometimes be an hour trailing a mile.</p> - -<p>On the following day I was able to make only ten miles on the trail, -but I had discovered the gen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>eral direction. I slept on the banks of -the Rio Grande that night, and next morning crossed into Mexico, and -found that the murderers were going down the river in the direction of -Guadalupe. I now quit the trail and hurried on to this little Mexican -town. Traveling around a short bend in the road I came suddenly into -the main street of Guadalupe, and almost the first man I saw standing -on the street was a Mexican with Morgan's white-handled pistol strapped -on him.</p> - -<p>I left two of my men to watch the suspect and myself hurried to the -office of the president of Guadalupe, made known my mission and told -him I had seen one of the supposed murderers of Morgan and Brown on -the streets of his city, and asked that the suspect be arrested. The -official treated me very cordially and soon had some police officers -go with me. They found the two suspected Mexicans, arrested them and -placed them in the housgow. The prisoners admitted they were Collins' -sheep herders and said their names were Moleno and Skevill but, of -course, denied knowing anything about the death of Morgan and Brown. -All my rangers recognized the pistol taken from the Mexican as the -weapon owned by Mr. Morgan. The Mexican officers reported to the -alcalde or town president that the suspects had been arrested. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> -latter official then asked me if I had any papers for these men. I told -him I did not, for at the time I left my camp at Ysleta we did not know -the nature of the murder or the names of the parties incriminated. I -declared I was sure the men arrested had committed the murder and that -I would hurry back to Ysleta and have the proper papers issued for the -prisoners' extradition. The alcalde promised to hold the suspects until -the proper formalities could be complied with.</p> - -<p>From Guadalupe to Ysleta is about fifty or sixty miles. I felt the -importance of the case, and while I and my men were foot-sore and -weary, we rode all night long over a sandy road and reached camp -at Ysleta at 9 o'clock the following morning. Lieutenant Baylor at -once appeared before the justice of the peace at Ysleta and filed a -complaint of murder against Manuel Moleno and Santiago Skevill, had -warrants issued for their arrest and himself hurried to El Paso, -crossed the river to El Paso del Norte and, presenting his warrants to -the authorities, asked that the murderers be held until application for -their extradition could be made.</p> - -<p>Within a week we learned, much to our disgust, that the two murderers -had been liberated and told to vamoose. I doubt whether the warrants -were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> ever sent to the alcalde at Guadalupe. A more cruel murder than -that of Morgan and Brown was never committed on the Rio Grande, yet the -murderers went scot-free. This miscarriage of justice rankled in my -memory and subsequently it was to lead me to take the law into my own -hands when dealing with another Mexican murderer.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a></p> - -<p class="center">VICTORIO BECOMES A GOOD INDIAN</p> - - -<p>As soon as the summer rains had begun in 1880 and green grass and -water were plentiful, old Victorio again began his raids. He appeared -at Lake Guzman, Old Mexico, then traveled east to Boracho Pass, just -south of the Rio Grande. This old chief was then reported making for -the Eagle Mountains in Texas. The Mexican Government communicated this -information to General Grierson at Fort Davis, Texas, and Lieutenant -Baylor was asked to cooperate in the campaign to exterminate the wily -old Apache.</p> - -<p>General Grierson, on receipt of this information, at once put his -cavalry in motion for Eagle Springs, and on August 2, 1880, Baylor -left his camp at Ysleta with myself and thirteen rangers equipped for -a two weeks' campaign. On August 4th our little band reached old Fort -Quitman, eighty miles down the Rio Grande from El Paso, and Lieutenant -Baylor reported to General Grierson by telegraph. His message was -interrupted, for the Apaches had cut the wires between Bass' Canyon -and Van Horn's Well, but the general ordered him by telegram to scout -toward Eagle Springs until his command<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> should meet the United States -cavalry. We were to keep a sharp lookout for Indian trails, but we -saw none until we reached Eighteen Mile water hole, where General -Grierson's troops had had an engagement with Victorio. From here the -Indians went south and around Eagle Mountains, so we continued down -the road beyond Bass' Canyon and found the Apaches had crossed the -road, torn down the telegraph wire, carried off a long piece of it, -and destroyed the insulators. The Indians also dragged some of the -telegraph poles two or three miles and left them on their trail. The -signs indicated they had from one hundred and eighty to two hundred -animals. After destroying the telegraph the raiders finally moved north -toward Carrizo Mountains.</p> - -<p>At Van Horn, Lieutenant Baylor could learn nothing of General Grierson -or his movements. We thereupon took the general's trail leading north -and overtook him in camp at Rattlesnake Springs, about sixty-five -miles distant. Here we joined Company "K," Eighth Cavalry, and Captain -Nolan's company, the Tenth. The cavalry camped at Carrizo Springs and -our scouts found Victorio's trail the next day leading southwest toward -the Apache Tanks. We left camp at dusk and rode all night and struck -the redskins' trail next morning at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> stage road where General -Grierson had fought. The Indians crossed the road, but afterwards -returned to it and continued toward old Fort Quitman.</p> - -<p>The overland stage company kept a station at this abandoned frontier -post, situated on the north bank of the Rio Grande, eighty or ninety -miles east of El Paso, Texas. On August 9, 1880, Ed Walde, the stage -driver, started out on his drive with General Byrnes occupying the rear -seat of the stage coach. The stage, drawn by two fast running little -Spanish mules, passed down the valley and entered the canyon, a very -box-like pass with high mountains on either side,—an ideal place for -an Indian ambuscade. Walde had driven partly through this pass when, -around a short bend in the road, he came suddenly upon old Victorio and -his band of one hundred warriors. The Indian advance guard fired on the -coach immediately, and at the first volley General Byrnes was fatally -wounded, a large caliber bullet striking him in the breast and a second -passing through his thigh. Walde turned his team as quickly as he could -and made a lightning run back to the stage stand with the general's -body hanging partly out of the stage. The Apaches followed the stage -for four or five miles trying to get ahead of it, but the little mules -made time and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> beat them into the shelter of the station's adobe walls.</p> - -<p>It was a miracle that Walde, sitting on the front seat, escaped -without a scratch and both of the mules unharmed. At old Fort Quitman -I examined the little canvas-topped stage and found it literally shot -to pieces. I noticed where a bullet had glanced along the white canvas, -leaving a blue mark a foot long before it passed through the top. -Three of the spokes of the wheels were shot in two and, as well as I -remember, there were fifteen or twenty bullet marks on and through the -stage. Lieutenant Baylor and his rangers buried General Byrnes near -old Fort Quitman and fired a volley over his grave. Subsequently Walde -joined Lieutenant Baylor's command and made an excellent ranger. It was -from him that I obtained the particulars of the fight that resulted in -the general's death.</p> - -<p>En route the Apaches raided Jesus Cota's ranch, killed his herder and -drove off one hundred and forty head of cattle. In crossing the river -forty of the animals mired in the quicksands. The heartless Indians -thereupon pounced upon the unfortunate cattle and cut chunks of flesh -out of their living bodies. Many of the mutilated animals were still -alive when we found them. The redskins, with a freakish sense of humor, -perpetrated a grim joke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> on the murdered herder. He was rendering out -some tallow when surprised and killed, so the murderers rammed his head -into the melted tallow to make him a greaser!</p> - -<p>After the fight at Quitman, Victorio and his band crossed into Mexico -and there found temporary safety, as the United States troops were -not permitted to enter that country in pursuit of Indians, though -negotiations to permit such pursuit of Indians were even then pending -between the two governments. Alone, we were no match for Victorio's -hundred braves, so we returned to our camp.</p> - -<p>Victorio, however, did not remain idle in Mexico. He made a raid on Dr. -Saminiego's San Jose ranch and stole one hundred and seventeen horses -and mules, besides killing two Mexican herders. Don Ramon Arranda, -captain of the Mexican Volunteers, invited the rangers to Mexico to -cooperate with him in exterminating the Apaches, so, on September 17, -1880, Lieutenant Baylor with thirteen rangers, myself included, entered -Mexico and marched to Tancas Cantaresio, Don Arranda's ranch. Here we -were joined by Mexican volunteers from the towns of Guadalupe, San -Ignacio, Tres Jacalas, Paso del Norte, and from the Texan towns of -Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario, until our combined force numbered -over a hundred men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the night of the 19th we crossed an Indian trail south of the -Rancheria Mountains, but could not tell the number of redskins in the -party, as it was then dark and the trail damaged by rain. The same -night we saw Indian signal fires to the east of the Arranda ranch. Next -morning, with a detail of five rangers and ten Mexican volunteers, -I scouted out in the direction of the fires but did not have time -to reach the sign, as I was ordered to take and hold the Rancheria -Mountains before old Victorio and his band reached them.</p> - -<p>At Lucero, the first stage stand, the Apaches were reported within -a league of Carrizal. We made a night march with our rangers and -seventy-three volunteers, but found the Indians had left, and, as -a heavy rain had put out the trail, we struck east toward El Copra -Mountains. Here we again picked up the trail and, following it until -night, we found a few loose horses of Saminiego's. The marauders now -went west toward some tanks and we returned to Candelario, where -Victorio's entire band had crossed the Chihuahua stage road. Thence we -marched back to San Jose and went into camp to await the arrival of -General Joaquin Terrasas.</p> - -<p>The Mexican general made his appearance on the 3rd day of October -with two hundred cavalry and one hundred infantry. This general, a -member of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> a well known family of Chihuahua, was more than six feet in -height, very dark and an inveterate smoker of cigarettes. He used four -milk white horses, riding one while his aides led three. His cavalry, -well armed with Remington pistols and carbines, was nicely uniformed -and mounted on dark colored animals of even size. The infantry were -Indians from the interior of Mexico. These foot soldiers wore rawhide -sandals on their feet and were armed with Remington muskets. Each -soldier carried two cartridge belts, containing one hundred rounds of -ammunition. I was impressed with the little baggage and rations these -infantrymen carried. On the march each man had a little canvas bag that -held about one quart of ground parched corn, sweetened with a little -sugar—and a table-spoonful of this mixture stirred in a pint cup of -water made a good meal. Of course when in a cattle country plenty of -beef was furnished them, but when on the march they had only this -little bag of corn. This lack of baggage and rations enabled them to -move quickly and promptly. This light infantry had no trouble at all in -keeping up with the cavalry on the march and in a rough country they -could move faster than the horsemen.</p> - -<p>With General Terrasas' three hundred soldiers and our hundred -volunteers we could bring to bear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> against Victorio about four hundred -men. From San Jose the combined command marched to Rebosadero Springs, -twenty miles south of El Caparo, on the new Chihuahua stage road. There -we rested two days and then marched forty miles to Boracho Pass, where -the Apaches had camped after killing General Byrnes and stealing Jesus -Cota's stock. We crossed the Indians' trail twenty miles west of the -pass and formed our line of battle, as we expected the enemy was camped -at some tanks there. He did not appear, so we camped at the pass to -await supplies.</p> - -<p>When the supply wagons arrived, General Terrasas sent an orderly to -Lieutenant Baylor and invited him to send his men to draw ten days' -rations. While I was standing in my shirtsleeves near the wagon one -of the Mexican soldiers stole from my belt a fine hunting knife that -I had carried ten thousand miles over the frontier. I discovered the -loss almost immediately and reported it to Lieutenant Baylor, who, in -turn, mentioned it to General Terrasas. The Mexican general at once -had his captains form their respective companies and had every soldier -in camp searched, but the knife was not found. The thief had probably -hidden it in the grass. The Mexican volunteers remained with General -Terrasas until after the defeat of Vic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>torio, and one of them told me -afterward he had seen a Mexican soldier scalping Apaches with it. Just -one year later an orderly of General Terrasas rode into the ranger camp -at Ysleta and presented Lieutenant Baylor, then a captain, with the -missing weapon and a note stating that Terrasas was glad to return it -and to report that the thief had been punished.</p> - -<p>While at Boracho we were joined by Lieutenant Shaffer, the Twenty-third -United States Cavalry (negroes), Lieutenant Manney, Captain Parker and -sixty-five Apache scouts. These latter were Geronimo's Chiricauhaus, -who later quit their reservation and wrought such death and destruction -in Arizona, New Mexico, and Old Mexico. From the first General Terrasas -viewed these Indian allies with distrust, and as soon as we had scouted -southeast from Boracho to Los Pinos Mountains, about seventy-five miles -distant, and learned that Victorio's trail turned southwest toward -Chihuahua, General Terrasas called Captain Parker, Lieutenants Baylor, -Shaffer and Manney to his camp and informed them that, as the trail had -taken a turn back into the state of Chihuahua and was leading them away -from their homes, he thought it best for the Americans to return to -the United States. I was present at this conference and I at once saw -my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> chance for a scrap with old Victorio go glimmering. But there was -nothing to do but obey orders, pack up and vamoose.</p> - -<p>While on scouts after Victorio's band I met many United States -officers, and often around the camp fire discussed this old chief. The -soldiers all agreed that for an ignorant Indian Victorio displayed -great military genius, and Major McGonnigal declared, with the single -exception of Chief Crazy-horse of the Sioux, he considered Victorio the -greatest Indian general that ever appeared on the American continent. -In following this wily old Apache Napoleon I examined twenty-five or -more of his camps. Victorio was very particular about locating them -strategically, and his parapets were most skillfully arranged and -built. If he remained only an hour in camp he had these defenses thrown -up. He had fought in over two hundred engagements, but his last fight -was now very close at hand.</p> - -<p>The very next morning after the United States troops, the Apache scouts -and the Texas rangers turned homeward General Terrasas' scouts reported -to him that Victorio with his entire band of followers was camped at -Tres Castilos, a small group of hills about twenty-five miles southwest -of the Los Pinos Mountains. General Terrasas at once set his column in -motion for that place. Captives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> afterward declared that Victorio's -spies reported the presence of the Mexican cavalry early in the day and -thereafter kept him informed hour by hour as to the movements of the -approaching enemy.</p> - -<p>Victorio had just sent his war chief, Nana, and fifty of his best -young warriors away on a raid, so he had left in his camp just an even -hundred braves, some of them very old men. He also had ninety-seven -women and children and about five hundred head of horses and mules, yet -the remarkable old Indian made no move to escape. By nightfall General -Terrasas drew up near the Apache camp, surrounded the three hills as -best he could and waited until morning before assaulting the enemy. -During the night twelve of Victorio's warriors, with four women and -four children, deserted the old chief and made their way back to the -Eagle Mountains in Texas. Here they committed many depredations until -exterminated three months later in the Diablo Mountains by Lieutenants -Baylor and Nevill.</p> - -<p>Early the following morning Victorio mounted a white horse and, in -making some disposition of his braves to meet the expected onset of the -enemy forces, exposed himself unnecessarily. The Mexicans fired on him -at long range and two bullets pierced his body. He fell from his horse -dead,—a good Indian at last.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p> - -<p>The loss of Victorio and the absence of Nana demoralized the Apaches, -and a vigorous assault by Terrasas and his army resulted in a complete -victory for the Mexicans. Eighty-seven Indian warriors were killed, -while eighty-nine squaws and their children were captured with a loss -of only two men killed and a few wounded. This victory covered General -Terrasas with glory. The Mexican Government never ceased to shower -honors upon him and gave him many thousands of acres of land in the -state of Chihuahua. The general was so elated over the outcome of the -battle that he sent a courier on a fast horse to overtake Lieutenant -Baylor and report the good news. The messenger caught us in camp near -old Fort Quitman. Every ranger in the scout felt thoroughly disgusted -and disappointed at missing the great fight by only two days after -being with General Terrasas nearly a month.</p> - -<p>The captured women and children were sent south of Mexico City into -a climate perfectly unnatural to them. Here they all died in a few -years. When Nana heard of the death of Victorio and the capture of the -squaws and children he fled with his fifty warriors to the Sierra Madre -Mountains in the State of Sonora, Mexico. There he joined forces with -old Geronimo and massacred more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> people than any small band of Indians -in the world. To avenge himself on Terrasas for killing his friends -and carrying away their wives and children, Nana and his band killed -more than two hundred Mexicans before joining Geronimo. Nana, with his -new chief, surrendered to General Lawton in 1886 and, I believe, was -carried away by our government to Florida, where he at last died.</p> - -<p>On our return to camp at Ysleta a commission as captain was waiting -Lieutenant Baylor, since Captain Neal Coldwell had been named -quartermaster of the battalion, his company disbanded and its letter, -"A," given to our company.</p> - -<p>Though we missed the fight with Victorio it was not long before we -were called upon to scout after the band of twelve warriors that had -deserted the old chief on the night before the battle of Tres Castilos. -However, we had first to clean up our company, for many undesirable -recruits had seeped into it. This accomplished, we were ready to resume -our Indian warfare.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></p> - -<p class="center">SOME UNDESIRABLE RECRUITS</p> - - -<p>In the early fall of 1880 two well mounted and well armed men appeared -at the ranger camp at Ysleta and applied to Captain Baylor for -enlistment in his company. After questioning the applicants at some -length the captain accepted them and swore them into the service. One -gave his name as John (Red) Holcomb and the other as James Stallings. -Unknown to us, both these men were outlaws and joined the rangers -solely to learn of their strength and their methods of operations. -Holcomb was a San Simone Valley, Arizona, rustler and was living under -an assumed name. Stallings, though he went by his true name, had shot a -man in Hamilton County, Texas, and was under indictment for assault to -kill.</p> - -<p>These two recruits came into the service just before we started on our -fall campaign into Mexico after old Victorio and were with us on that -long scout. Although one was from Texas and the other from Arizona, the -two chummed together and were evidently in each other's confidence. -Stallings had not been long in the company before he showed himself a -trouble maker.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p> - -<p>As orderly sergeant it was my duty to keep a roster of the company. -Beginning at the top of the list and reading off the names in rotation, -I called out each morning the guard for the day. We had in the company -a Mexican, Juan Garcia, who had always lived in the Rio Grande country, -and Captain Baylor had enlisted him as a ranger that he might use him -as a guide, for Garcia was familiar with much of the country over which -we were called upon to scout. It so happened that Jim Stallings and -Garcia were detailed on the same guard one day. This greatly offended -Stallings, and he declared to some of the boys that I had detailed him -on guard with a Mexican just to humiliate him and he was going to give -me a d—n good whipping. The boys advised him he had better not attempt -it. I could see that Stallings was sullen, but it was not until months -afterward that I learned the cause.</p> - -<p>After our return from our month's scout in Mexico, Captain Baylor -received a new fugitive list from the Adjutant-General, and in looking -over its pages my eyes fell on the list of fugitives from Hamilton -County, Texas. Almost the first name thereon was that of James -Stallings with his age and description. I notified Captain Baylor that -Stallings was a fugitive from justice. Baylor asked me what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> Stallings -had been indicted for and I replied for assault to kill.</p> - -<p>"Well, maybe the darned fellow needed killing," replied the captain. -"Stallings looks like a good ranger and I need him."</p> - -<p>Not many days after this I heard loud cursing in our quarters and went -to investigate. I found Stallings with a cocked pistol in his hand -standing over the bed of a ranger named Tom Landers, cursing him out. -I could see Stallings had been drinking and finally persuaded him to -put up his pistol and go to bed. The next morning I informed Captain -Baylor of the incident, and suggested that if we did not do something -with Stallings he would probably kill someone. The captain did not seem -inclined to take that view. In fact, I rather believed Captain Baylor -liked a man that was somewhat "on the prod," as the cowboys are wont to -say of a fellow or a cow that wants to fight.</p> - -<p>John Holcomb soon found out as much about the rangers as he desired -and, fearing he might be discovered, asked Captain Baylor for a -discharge. After obtaining it he took up his abode in El Paso.</p> - -<p>Not long afterwards one morning at breakfast, while the twenty rangers -were seated at one long dining table, Jim Stallings had a dispute -with John Thomas, who was seated on the opposite side of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> the table -and, quick as a flash, struck Thomas in the face with a tin cup of -boiling coffee. Both men rose to their feet and pulled their pistols, -but before they could stage a shooting match in the place the boys on -either side grabbed them.</p> - -<p>I at once went to Captain Baylor and told him that something had to be -done. He seemed to be thoroughly aroused now and said, "Sergeant, you -arrest Stallings, disarm and shackle him. I'll send him back where he -belongs."</p> - -<p>I carried out the order promptly and Captain Baylor at once wrote to -the sheriff of Hamilton County to come for the prisoner. Hamilton -County is seven hundred miles by stage from El Paso and it took a week -to get a letter through. There was no jail at Ysleta at that time, so -we were compelled to hold this dangerous man in our camp.</p> - -<p>Stallings was shrewd and a keen judge of human nature. We would -sometimes remove the shackles from him that he might get a little -exercise. Finally it came the turn of a ranger named Potter to guard -the prisoner. Potter had drifted into the country from somewhere up -north, and Captain Baylor had enlisted him. He knew very little about -riding and much less about handling firearms. Stallings asked Potter -to go with him out into the corral. This enclosure was built of adobe -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> about five feet high. It was nearly dark and the prisoner walked -leisurely up to the fence with Potter following close behind with -Winchester in hand. All of a sudden Stallings turned a hand-spring -over the fence and hit the ground on the other side in a run. Potter -began firing at the fugitive, which brought out all the boys in camp. -Stallings had only about one hundred yards to run to reach the Rio -Grande, and before anything could be done he was safe in Mexico. He -yelled a goodbye to the boys as he struck the bank on the opposite side -of the river. Captain Baylor was furious over the prisoner's escape -and promptly fired Potter from the service and reprimanded me for not -keeping Stallings shackled all the time.</p> - -<p>Though we had lost the man we had his horse, saddle, bridle and arms. -Stallings at once went to Juarez and John Holcomb met him there. The -fugitive gave his pal an order on Captain Baylor for his horse, saddle, -and pistol, and Holcomb had the gall to come to Ysleta and present -this order. He reached our camp at noon while the horses were all in -the corral. At the moment of his arrival I happened to be at Captain -Baylor's home. Private George Lloyd stepped over to the captain's and -said to me, "Sergeant, John Holcomb is over in camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> with an order from -Jim Stallings for his horse and outfit."</p> - -<p>"Gillett, you go and arrest Holcomb and put him in irons and I'll see -if I can find where he is wanted," ordered Captain Baylor, who heard -what Lloyd said.</p> - -<p>Holcomb, seeing Lloyd go into Captain Baylor's, got suspicious, jumped -on his horse and left for El Paso in a gallop. I detailed three men to -accompany me to capture Holcomb, but by the time we saddled our horses -and armed ourselves the fugitive was out of sight. We hit the road -running and after traveling two or three miles and inquiring of people -we met in the road I became convinced that Holcomb had quit the road -soon after leaving our camp and was striking for Mexico. I turned back -in the direction of camp and followed the bank of the river.</p> - -<p>We had probably traveled a mile on our way home when we discovered -Holcomb coming up the river toward us. He was about four hundred yards -away and discovered us about the same time. Turning his horse quickly -he made a dash for the river. Where he struck it the bank was ten feet -high, but he never hesitated, and both man and horse went head first -into the Rio Grande. The three men I had with me outran me and when -they reached the point where the fugitive had entered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> the water they -saw him swimming rapidly to the Mexican side and began firing at him. I -ran up and ordered them to cease, telling them not to kill Holcomb, as -he was in swimming water and helpless. Just at this moment the swimmer -struck shallow water and I ordered him to come back or I would shoot -him.</p> - -<p>"I'll come if you won't let the boys kill me," he called back.</p> - -<p>I told him to hit swimming water quickly, which he did, and swam back -to the American side. He was in his shirtsleeves and with his hat gone. -His horse, meantime, had swam back to our side of the river.</p> - -<p>We all mounted and started back to camp, two of the rangers riding in -front with Holcomb. I had not searched the prisoner because he was in -his shirtsleeves. As we rode along Holcomb reached into his shirt bosom -and pulled out an old .45 pistol and handed it to one of the boys, -saying, "Don't tell the sergeant I had this." The rangers at camp gave -the prisoner some dry clothes and dinner, then put him in chains and -under guard.</p> - -<p>Captain Baylor went on to El Paso, crossed the river to Juarez and had -Stallings arrested. In two days we had him back in camp and chained to -Holcomb. The captain then wrote to Bell County,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> Texas, as he had heard -John Holcomb was wanted there for murder. Holcomb had a good horse -and he gave it to a lawyer in El Paso to get him out of his trouble. -Of course we had no warrant for Holcomb's arrest and Judge Blacker -ordered our prisoner brought before him. The county attorney made every -effort to have Holcomb held, while his lawyer tried his best to have -the suspect released. The judge finally said he would hold Holcomb -for one week and unless the officers found some evidence against him -during that time he would order the prisoner freed. It was nearly dark -before we left El Paso on our return to Ysleta, twelve miles distant. -Holcomb had, in some manner, gotten two or three drinks of whisky and -was feeling the liquor. I had one ranger with me leading the prisoner's -horse. The road back to camp followed the river rather closely and the -country was very brushy all the way.</p> - -<p>As soon as we had gotten out of El Paso Holcomb sat sidewise on his -horse, holding the pommel of his saddle with one hand and the cantle -with the other, all the while facing toward Mexico. I ordered him to -sit straight in his saddle, but he refused. We were riding in a gallop -and I believe he intended to jump from his horse and try to escape in -the brush. I drew my pistol and hid it behind my leg.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> Although Holcomb -had the cape of his overcoat thrown over his head he discovered I had a -pistol in my hand and began a tirade of abuse, declaring I had a cocked -gun in my hand and was aching for a chance to kill him. I told him I -believed from his actions he was watching for a chance to quit his -horse and escape, and that I was prepared to prevent such a move. We -reached camp safely and chained Holcomb to Stallings.</p> - -<p>These boys, although prisoners, were full of life, and laughed and -talked all the time. Holcomb played the violin quite well. We held the -two suspects several days and finally one night one of the rangers came -to my room and said, "Sergeant, I believe there is something wrong with -those prisoners. They are holloaing, singing and playing the fiddle."</p> - -<p>I was busy on my monthly reports and told him to keep a sharp lookout -and before I retired I would come and examine the prisoners. On -examination I found that while Holcomb played the violin Stallings had -sawn their shackles loose. They laughed when I discovered this and said -that when the boys had all gone to bed they intended to throw the pack -saddle, which they used for a seat, on the guard's head and escape. We -could get no evidence against John Holcomb and the judge ordered his -release.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p> - -<p>While a prisoner Holcomb swore vengeance against myself and Prosecutor -Neal. Mr. Neal heard of this threat, met Holcomb on the streets of El -Paso afterward and, jerking a small Derringer pistol from his pocket, -shot Holcomb in the belly. Holcomb fell and begged for his life. He -was not badly hurt, and as soon as he was well he quit El Paso, went -to Deming, New Mexico, where he stole a bunch of cattle. He drove the -stolen herd to the mining camp of Lake Valley and there sold them. -While he was in a saloon drinking and playing his fiddle the owner -of the cattle appeared with a shotgun and filled the thief full of -buckshot. As he fell Holcomb was heard to exclaim, "Oh, boys, they have -got me at last."</p> - -<p>Jim Stallings was sent to Fort Davis and placed in the jail there, from -which he and half a dozen other criminals made their escape.</p> - -<p>A man named John Scott came to Captain Baylor, told a hard luck story, -and asked to be taken into the service. Captain Baylor enlisted the -applicant and fitted him out with horse, saddle, bridle and armed him -with gun and pistol, himself standing good for the entire equipment. -Scott had not been in the service two months before he deserted. I was -ordered to take two men, follow him and bring him back. I overtook -Scott up in the Canutillo,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> near the line of New Mexico, and before -I even ordered him to halt, he jumped down, sought refuge behind his -horse and opened fire on us with his Winchester. We returned the fire -and killed his horse. He then threw down his gun and surrendered. -We found the deserter had stopped in El Paso and gotten a bottle of -whisky. He was rather drunk when overtaken, otherwise he probably would -not have made fight against three rangers. Captain Baylor took Scott's -saddle, gun and six-shooter away from him and kicked him out of camp, -but was compelled to pay $75 for the horse that was killed.</p> - -<p>Another man, Chipman, deserted our company and stole a bunch of horses -from some Mexicans down at Socorro. The Mexicans followed the trail out -in the direction of Hueco Tanks, where it turned west and crossed the -high range of mountains west of El Paso. The pursuers overtook Chipman -with the stolen horses just on the line of New Mexico. The thief put up -a fierce fight and killed two Mexicans, but was himself killed. Captain -Baylor had a scout following the deserter but the Mexicans got to him -first and had the fight before our men arrived. However, the ranger -boys buried the body of Chipman where it fell. This chap had made a -very good ranger and we all felt shocked when we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> learned he had stolen -seven ponies and tried to get away with them single-handed.</p> - -<p>Yet another San Simone Valley rustler, Jack Bond, enlisted in the -company. A band of rustlers and cow thieves were operating up in the -Canutillo, eighteen miles above El Paso, about the time he joined the -command. I did my best to break up this band and made scout after scout -up the river, but without success. Finally Captain Baylor learned -that Bond and another ranger, Len Peterson, were keeping the thieves -posted as to the rangers' movements. The captain fired these two men -out of the company and within ten days I had captured Frank Stevenson, -the leader of the Canutillo gang, and broken up the nest of thieves. -Stevenson was later sent to the penitentiary for fifteen years. Bond -and Peterson went to El Paso, stole Mayor M.C. Goffin's fine pair of -carriage horses and fled to New Mexico. Subsequently Bond was killed at -Deming by Deputy Sheriff Dan Tucker in an attempted arrest.</p> - -<p>Captain Roberts, Coldwell or Lieutenant Reynolds would never have let -such a bunch of crooks get into their companies, for they had to know -something about a man before they would enlist him. However, there was -some excuse for Baylor at the time he was on the Rio Grande. It was a -long way<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> from the center of population and good men were hard to find. -Then, too, it looked as if all the criminals in Texas had fled to New -Mexico and Arizona, from which states they would ease back into the -edge of Texas and join the rangers. Captain Baylor was liberal in his -views of men: they all looked good to him until proven otherwise. If -there was a vacancy in the company any man could get in. And if they -lacked equipment the captain would buy the newcomer a horse, saddle, -and arms and then deduct the cost thereof from the man's first three -months' pay. However, Baylor had generally to pay the bill himself. The -captain also liked to keep his company recruited to the limit and this -made enlistment in his command easy.</p> - -<p>In all the years I was with Captain Baylor I never knew him to send a -non-commissioned officer on a scout after Indians. He always commanded -in person and always took with him every man in camp save one, who -was left to guard it, for he liked to be as strong as possible on the -battlefield.</p> - -<p>Captain Baylor never took much interest personally in following cattle -thieves, horse thieves, murderers and fugitives from justice. He left -that almost entirely to me. Sometimes we would have as many as six or -eight criminals chained up in camp at one time, but the captain would -never come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> about them, for he could not bear to see anyone in trouble. -His open, friendly personality endeared Baylor to the Mexicans from El -Paso down the valley as far as Quitman. They were all his compadres and -would frequently bring him venison, goat meat and mutton. Always they -showed him every courtesy in their power.</p> - -<p>Now, having freed the company of its undesirable recruits, we were -once more a homogeneous force ready and anxious to perform our duty in -protecting the frontier and bringing criminals to justice. Almost as -soon as the last undesirable had been fired from Company "A" we started -on the scout that was to culminate in our last fight with the Apaches.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></p> - -<p class="center">LAST FIGHT BETWEEN RANGERS AND APACHES</p> - - -<p>Despite General Terrasas' great victory at Tres Castilos as recorded in -a preceding chapter, he did not entirely destroy all the Apaches that -had been with old Victorio. Nana and fifty warriors escaped and finally -joined Geronimo in his campaign of murder and destruction. On the night -preceding the battle in which Victorio was killed and his band of -warriors exterminated, twelve braves with four squaws and four children -deserted the old chief and made their way to those rough mountains that -fringe the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Springs. At once this -band of twenty Indians began a series of pillages and murders that has -no parallel considering the small size of the party.</p> - -<p>The little band of Apaches soon appeared at Paso Viego and began their -depredations by an attack on Lieutenant Mills and his cavalry. Paso -Viego is a gap in the mountains that parallel the Rio Grande from Eagle -Mountains on the west to Brites' ranch on the east, and is situated ten -or twelve miles west of and in plain view of the present little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> town -of Valentine, Texas, on the G., H & S.A. Railroad. The tribe of Pueblo -Indians has lived at the old town of Ysleta, El Paso County, Texas, -for more than three hundred years. They have always been friends to -the Americans and inveterate enemies to the Apaches. It was customary, -therefore, for the United States troops at Fort Davis to employ the -Pueblos as guides during the Indian disturbances along the border. In -1881 Bernado and Simon Olgin, two brothers, were the principal chiefs -of this tribe. Bernado was the elder and looked it. Both chiefs dressed -in the usual Indian fashion, wore moccasins, buckskin leggins and had -their long black hair braided and hanging down the back. Simon was a -very handsome Indian, and he, with four of his tribe—all nephews of -his, I think—were employed by General Grierson during the troublesome -times of 1880-1881.</p> - -<p>Simon and his four scouts had been detailed to make scouts down on the -Rio Grande with Lieutenant Mills, commander of the Tenth United States -Cavalry (colored). On their way out the troops reached Paso Viego early -in the evening, and after they had eaten supper Simon Olgin advised -the lieutenant to move out on the open plains three or four miles -north of the pass where they would be safe from attack. Olgin declared -Paso Viego was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> a favorite camping place for the Indians going to and -returning from Mexico because of the fine water and good grass. He -stated that should a band of redskins appear at the pass during the -night and find it occupied by soldiers they would attack at daylight -and probably kill some of the troopers.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Mills, fresh from West Point, replied that he was not afraid -of Indians and did not propose to move. During the night the little -band of twenty Apaches reached the pass, just as Olgin had prophesied, -and hid themselves in the rocks. The next morning the soldiers had -breakfast, packed their mules, and as they were standing by their -horses ready for the order to mount a sudden fusillade of bullets was -fired into their midst at short range. Other volleys came in quick -succession. At the very first fire that grand old Indian, Simon Olgin, -was shot down and killed, as were five or six of the negro cavalry. The -remainder of the company thereupon fled, but the four Pueblo scouts, -Olgin's nephews, took to the rocks and fought until they had routed -the Apaches and saved the bodies of their old beloved uncle and the -soldiers from falling into the hands of the attackers to be mutilated.</p> - -<p>Repulsed at Paso Viego the twenty Apaches next appeared at Bass' -Canyon, a gap in the mountains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> on the overland stage road about -twelve or fourteen miles west of Van Horn. Here the redskins waylaid -an immigrant train on its way to New Mexico. At the very first fire of -the Indians Mrs. Graham, who was walking, jumped upon the tongue of -the wagon and reached for a Winchester, but was shot and killed. A man -named Grant was killed at the same time, while Mr. Graham had his thigh -broken. From Bass' Canyon the Indians turned south, crossed around the -east end of the Eagle Mountains and again entered Old Mexico, where -they were for a time lost to view.</p> - -<p>We next hear of this band at Ojo Calienta, some hot springs on the Rio -Grande southwest from Eagle Mountains. A captain of cavalry with some -colored troops near old Fort Quitman detailed seven men and instructed -the sergeant in charge to scout down the river as far east as Bosque -Bonita, keep a sharp lookout for Indian signs and report back to camp -in one week. These troopers followed orders, and on their return -journey camped for the night at Ojo Calienta. Next morning at break of -day the soldiers were preparing to cook breakfast when the Apaches fell -upon them and killed all save one at their first assault. This single -survivor made his escape on foot, and after two days in the mountains -without food finally reached the soldier<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> camp and reported to his -captain. The Indians evidently located the soldier scout the evening -before but, as they never make a night attack, waited until daylight -to massacre their victims. The redskins captured all the soldiers' -equipment and baggage, including seven horses and two pack mules. They -pillaged the camp and took everything movable away with them. Before -resuming their journey the Apaches took six stake-pins made of iron -and about twenty inches long that were used by the soldiers to drive -into the ground as stakes to which to fasten their horses and drove -one through each soldier's corpse, pinning it firmly to the earth. The -captured stock was killed and eaten, for the soldiers' animals were fat -while most of the ponies and little mules of the Apaches were worn out -by constant use in the mountains, and consequently very poor.</p> - -<p>This band was not heard of again for nearly two months—until the -warriors set upon the stage at Quitman Canyon and killed the driver, -Morgan, and the gambler, Crenshaw, a passenger. The reports about -this stage robbery and murder were so conflicting and the impression -so strong that the driver and the passenger had themselves robbed the -stage and made Indian signs to avert suspicion that Captain Baylor -deemed it best to go down to the canyon and investigate for himself. -Accordingly, the cap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>tain made a detail of fourteen privates and one -corporal, and with ten days' rations on two pack mules left Ysleta on -January 16th to ascertain if possible whether the stage had been robbed -and the driver and passenger killed by Indians or by white men, and to -punish the robbers if they could be caught. To keep down disorder and -violence threatened at El Paso, the captain left me and a detail of -three men in our camp at Ysleta.</p> - -<p>At Quitman, Captain Baylor learned that the trail of the stage robbers -bore southwest to Ojo Calienta, and as the foothills of Quitman -Mountains are very rough, he went down the north bank of the Rio -Grande, as he felt quite certain he would cut signs in that direction. -About twenty-five miles below Quitman he struck the trail of a freshly -shod mule, two barefooted ponies and two unshod mules, and within -fifty yards of the trail he found the kid glove thought to have been -Crenshaw's. The trail now bore down the river and crossed into Mexico, -where the Indian band made its first camp. Captain Baylor followed, -and the next day found the Apaches' second camp near the foothills -of the Los Pinos Mountains, where we had left General Terrasas the -fall before. Here all doubts about the Indians were dispelled, as the -rangers found a horse killed with the meat taken as food and a pair of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> -old moccasins. Besides, the camp was selected on a high bare hill after -the custom of the Indians. The same day Captain Baylor found another -camp and a dead mule, and on the trail discovered a boot-top recognized -as that of Morgan, the driver. Here also was the trail of some fifteen -or twenty mules and ponies, quite fresh, coming from the direction of -the Candelario Mountains with one small trail of three mules going -toward the Rio Grande. The rangers passed through some very rough, deep -canyons and camped on the south side of the Rio Grande, this being -their second night in Mexico.</p> - -<p>Next morning the trail crossed back into Texas. Going toward Major -Carpenter's old camp above the Bosque Bonito the scouting party found a -camp where the Indians had evidently made a cache, but Captain Baylor -only tarried here a short time and followed on down the river a few -miles when he found the Apaches had struck out on a bee line for the -Eagle Mountains. The captain felt some hesitation about crossing the -plains between the Eagle Mountains and the Rio Grande in the daytime -for fear of being seen by the Indians, but as the trail was several -days old he took the risk of being discovered. He camped within three -or four miles of the mountains and at daybreak took the trail up a -canyon leading into the peaks. The party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> came suddenly upon an Apache -camp which had been hastily deserted that morning, for the Indians left -blankets, quilts, buckskins and many other things useful to them. They -had just killed and had piled up in camp two horses and a mule, the -blood of which had been caught in tin vessels. One mule's tongue was -stewing over a fire and everything indicated the redskins were on the -eve of a jolly war dance, for the rangers found a five-gallon can of -mescal wine and a horse skin sunk in the ground that contained fifteen -or twenty gallons more. Here Captain Baylor found the mate to Morgan's -boot-top and a bag made from the legs of the passenger's pantaloons, -besides express receipts, postal cards and other articles taken from -the stage. The night before had been bitterly cold and the ground had -frozen hard as flint rock, so the rangers could not get the trail, -though they searched the mountains in every direction, and the three -Pueblo Indians, Bernado Olgin, Domingo Olgin, and Aneseta Duran, looked -over every foot of the ground. The scouting party now turned back -toward Mexico to scout back on the west side of the Eagle Mountains -around to Eagle Springs in search of the trail.</p> - -<p>At Eagle Springs, as good luck would have it, Captain Baylor learned -that Lieutenant Nevill and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> nine men had just gone toward Quitman to -look for him. As soon as Lieutenant Nevill returned to the Springs he -informed Baylor that he had seen the trail six miles east of Eagle -Springs and that it led toward the Carrizo Springs or Diablo Mountains.</p> - -<p>Captain Baylor's rations were out and Lieutenant Nevill had only -supplies enough to do the combined force five days, but the two -commanders trusted either to catch the Indians or get in striking -distance of the Pecos settlements within that time. The Apaches made -pretty good time across the plain in front of Eagle Springs, and did -not seem to recover from their scare until they reached the Diablo -Mountains. Here they killed and cooked meat from one horse and obtained -water by melting snow with hot rocks.</p> - -<p>The trail led northward by Chili Peak, a noted landmark to be seen -from Eagle Station. Here the rangers quit the trail and went into the -Diablo Mountains to camp at Apache Tanks, where General Grierson cut -off Victorio from the Guadalupe Mountains the summer before. Next -morning Captain Baylor followed the trail north and camped on the brow -of cliffs overlooking Rattlesnake Springs. The sign now led to the edge -of the Sierra Diablo, where the Indians camped and slept for the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> -time since leaving Eagle Mountains. They were still watchful, as they -were near a most horrible looking canyon down which they could have -disappeared had the scouting party come upon them. Their next camp was -about ten miles farther on, and Captain Baylor saw they were getting -more careless about camping. On the 28th he came across another horse -and fire where the Apaches had eaten some meat. The leg of the horse -was not yet stiff and blood dropped from one when picked up. The chase -was getting to be exciting, and Captain Baylor and his men felt their -chance to avenge the many outrages committed by this band was now near -at hand.</p> - -<p>The trail led off north as though the redskins were going toward the -Cornudos in New Mexico, but turned east and entered Sierra Diablo -Mountains. In a narrow gorge the rangers found where the Indians had -eaten dinner, using snow to quench their thirst, but their horses -had no water. From this camp the Apaches made for the cliffs on the -northeast side of Devil Mountains. The scouting party now felt the -Indians were nearby, as they were nearly all afoot. The danger of -being discovered if they passed over the hills during the daylight was -so apparent that the rangers decided to make a dry camp and pass the -mountain's brow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> before day the next morning. All the signs were good -for a surprise; the trail was not over two hours old, and a flock of -doves passing overhead going in the direction of the trail showed that -water was nearby.</p> - -<p>The morning of the 29th of January the party was awakened by the guard, -and passed over the mountain's brow before daylight. There was some -difficulty in picking up the trail, though Captain Baylor, Lieutenant -Nevill and the Pueblo trailers had been up the evening before spying -out the land. By stooping down with their faces close to the ground the -Pueblos got the trail leading north along the crest of the mountains. -Soon the Indian guides said in low voices: "Hoy esta los Indias." And -Captain Baylor perceived the Apaches' camp fires not over half a mile -distant.</p> - -<p>Leaving a guard of five men with the horses the rangers advanced -stealthily on foot. By taking advantage of the crest of the mountain -they crept within two hundred yards of the camp, supposing the Indians -were camped on the western slope of the hill. The Apaches, however, -were cautious enough to put one tepee on the eastern slope overlooking -the valley and the approaches from that direction. Captain Baylor -thereupon ordered Sergeant Carruthers of Lieutenant Nevill's company -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> take seven men and make a detour to the left and attack that wigwam -while Lieutenant Nevill and himself with seventeen men advanced on the -eastern camp. Sheltering themselves behind some large Spanish dagger -plants and advancing in Indian file the attackers got within one -hundred yards of the enemy, who was apparently just out of bed, for it -was then sunrise. Halting the men deployed to the right and left and -then, kneeling, the rangers gave the astonished Indians a deliberate -volley. At the second fusillade the Apaches broke and fled, the rangers -charging the flying foe with a Texas yell.</p> - -<p>Sergeant Carruthers executed his orders in gallant style. The Apaches -on his side, alarmed and surprised by the fire of Captain Baylor's -force, huddled together and three were killed within twenty yards of -their camp fire. The redskins ran like deer and made no resistance, -for it was each man for himself. Nevertheless, as they fled they were -thickly peppered, as there were but two or three out of the party of -sixteen or eighteen but left blood along their trail as they ran off.</p> - -<p>One Indian the rangers named Big Foot (from his enormous track) ran up -the mountain in full view for four hundred yards, and not less than two -hundred shots were fired at him, but he passed over the hill. Sergeant -Carruthers and several men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> pursued the fugitive for a mile and a half -and found plenty of blood all the way. Another warrior was knocked down -and lay as though dead for some time, but finally regained his feet -and made two-forty time over the hills with a running accompaniment of -Springfield and Winchester balls. One brave stood his ground manfully, -principally because he got the gable end of his head shot off early in -the action.</p> - -<p>Of course the women were the principal sufferers. As it was a bitterly -cold, windy morning and all ran off with blankets about them few of -the rangers could tell braves from squaws, and in the confusion of -battle two women were killed and one mortally wounded. Two children -were killed and a third shot through the foot. One squaw with three -bullets in her hand and two children were captured. Seven mules and -nine horses, two Winchester rifles, one Remington carbine, one United -States cavalry pistol and one .40 double action Colt's, six United -States cavalry saddles taken from the troops killed at Ojo Calienta and -some women's and children's clothing, American made,—evidently those -of Mrs. Graham,—a Mexican saddle with a bullet hole in it and fresh -blood thereon and over a hundred and fifty yards of new calico fell as -spoil to the victors. All the Indians' camp equipage was burned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p> - -<p>The victorious rangers breakfasted on the battleground, as they had -eaten nothing since dinner the day before. Some of the men found horse -meat good, while others feasted on venison and roasted mescal. The -band of scouts could not remain long at this camp for water was very -scarce. They had forty head of stock to care for, and the Indians, in -their flight, ran through the largest pool of water and liberally dyed -it with their blood, and as none of the men were bloodthirsty enough to -use this for making coffee or bread they were short of water. However, -the rangers found enough pure good water for their use but the horses -had to wait until the force reached Apache Tanks, thirty miles distant. -This scarcity of water made it impossible to remain at this Apache -camp, otherwise Captain Baylor could have added three or four scalps -to his trophies. The return march was begun, and at Eagle Station -Lieutenant Nevill and Captain Baylor separated. The captured squaw and -the two children were sent to Fort Davis to be turned over to the post -commander for medical attention, for the rangers had neither a surgeon -nor a hospital.</p> - -<p>On their return from the battle of the Diablos, Captain Baylor's Pueblo -Indian scouts, Chief Bernado Olgin, Domingo Olgin, and Aneseta Duran, -suddenly halted about one mile from Ysleta, un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>saddled and unbridled -their tired little ponies and went into camp. This was their custom -after a successful campaign against their Apache enemies so that their -comrades might come out and do honor to the returning heroes. For three -days and nights a feast and a scalp dance was held by the whole of the -Pueblo tribe of Ysleta. They feasted, wined and dined their returning -warriors and invited the rangers to the festivities. The boys all went -and reported they had a fine time generally. This celebration was the -last scalp dance the Pueblo Indians ever had, for the destruction of -the Apaches in the Diablos exterminated the wild Indians and there were -no more of them to scalp.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE</p> - - -<p>The American citizens of Socorro, New Mexico, during Christmas week -of 1881, held a church festival, and Mr. A.M. Conklin, editor of the -"Socorro Sun," was conducting the exercises. Abran and Enofrio Baca -appeared at the church under the influence of liquor. Their talk and -actions so disturbed the entertainment that Mr. Conklin went to them -and requested them to be more quiet, at the same time telling the -offenders they were perfectly welcome in the church but that they must -behave. The brothers, highly indignant, invited Mr. Conklin to fight, -but Mr. Conklin declined and again assured the two that they were -welcome but must act as gentlemen. Abran and Enofrio at once retired -from the church.</p> - -<p>After the social had ended and as Mr. Conklin with his wife at his side -passed out of the church door, Abran Baca caught Mrs. Conklin by one -arm and jerked her away from her husband. At the same instant Enofrio -shot and killed the editor on the church steps.</p> - -<p>This foul murder created no end of indignation in the little town of -Socorro. Scouting parties were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> sent in all directions to try and -effect the capture of the murderers. However, the two Bacas managed to -elude their pursuers and made their way into the Republic of Mexico. -The governor of New Mexico at once issued a proclamation offering $500 -for their capture and the citizens of Socorro offered a like amount -for the murderers, dead or alive. The proclamation, with a minute -description of the Baca boys, was sent broadcast over the country. And, -of course, the rangers at Ysleta received several of the circulars.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1881 the county judge of El Paso County was Jose Baca, -an uncle of the two murderers. He was also a merchant at Ysleta, then -the county seat of El Paso County. Captain Baylor's company of rangers -was quartered in the west end of Ysleta, about one-half mile from the -public square. On receiving the New Mexico proclamation I set a watch -over the home and store of Judge Baca and kept it up for nearly a month -but without success. We finally concluded that the Baca boys had not -come our way and almost forgot the incident.</p> - -<p>However, one morning in the latter part of March, 1881, Jim Fitch, one -of our most trustworthy rangers, hurried back to camp from Ysleta and -informed me that he had seen two well dressed Mex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>ican boys, strangers -to him, sitting on the porch of Judge Baca's home. I at once made a -detail of four men. We saddled our horses, rode to town, rounded up the -Baca home and captured two strange Mexicans. I believed them to be the -Baca brothers, and left at once for New Mexico with my prisoners.</p> - -<p>Before we had reached El Paso on our journey we were overtaken by Judge -Baca, who had with him an interpreter. He asked me to please halt as he -wished to talk with the prisoners. After a short conversation with the -boys the judge asked me what was the reward for the capture of Abran -Baca. I replied, "Five hundred dollars."</p> - -<p>"If you will just let him step out in the bosque and get away I will -give you $700," Judge Baca finally said with some hesitation.</p> - -<p>Subsequently the judge raised the bribe to one thousand dollars, but -I informed him there was not enough money in El Paso County to buy -me off, so he returned to Ysleta and I continued my journey to New -Mexico, feeling assured I had at least captured one of the Conklin -murderers. On arriving at Socorro I was at once informed that I had -Abran all right but my second prisoner was Massias Baca, a cousin of -the murderers, but not incriminated in the crime.</p> - -<p>I was treated royally by the citizens and officers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> of Socorro. They -were delighted that one of the murderers had been captured and promptly -counted out to me $250 as their part of the reward offered for the -apprehension of one of the criminals. Colonel Eaton, head deputy -sheriff of the county, issued me a receipt for the body of Abran Baca -delivered inside the jail of Socorro County, New Mexico. This receipt, -forwarded to the governor of the territory, promptly brought me a draft -for $250 and a letter of thanks from his excellency.</p> - -<p>Early in April, about one month after the capture of Abran Baca, I -learned from Santiago Cooper, a friend that lived in Ysleta, that he -had seen a man at Saragosa, Mexico, who, from the description, he -believed to be Enofrio Baca. I told Cooper I would give him $25 if he -would go back to Saragosa and find out to a certainty if the person he -had seen was Enofrio Baca. A week later Cooper came to me and said the -man at Saragosa was Baca and that the murderer was clerking in the one -big store of the town. This store was a long adobe building situated -against a hill with the front facing so that one riding up to the front -of it would bring his saddle skirts almost on a level with the building -because of the terraces in front of it made necessary by the slope of -the hill. Enofrio was of florid com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>plexion with dark red hair, which -made it easy to identify him.</p> - -<p>I kept this information about the murderer to myself for nearly a week -while I pondered over it. I was anxious to capture Baca, yet I well -knew from previous experience that if I caused him to be arrested in -Mexico the authorities there would turn him loose, especially when the -influence of wealthy relatives was brought to bear. Knowing he would -follow the law to the letter I dare not take Captain Baylor into my -confidence. Saragosa, a little town of about five hundred inhabitants, -is situated about four miles southwest of Ysleta. While it is only -about a mile from the Rio Grande as the crow flies, yet, because of -the many farms and big irrigation ditches, it was impossible to enter -or leave the town only by following the public road between Ysleta and -Saragosa. It has always been the delight of border Mexicans to get -behind an adobe wall or on top an adobe house and shoot to ribbons any -hated gringo that might be unfortunately caught on the Mexican side of -the river. I knew only too well from my own experience that I could not -go into Saragosa, attempt to arrest a Mexican, stay there five minutes -and live, yet I determined to take the law in my own hands and make the -attempt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p> - -<p>I took into my confidence just one man, George Lloyd. If ever there was -an ace in the ranger service he was one. I unfolded my plans to him. I -did not have to point out the danger to him for he had lived on the Rio -Grande ten times as long as I.</p> - -<p>"Sergeant, that is an awful dangerous and risky piece of business and -I will have to have a little time in which to think it over," he said -when I talked with him.</p> - -<p>The next day Lloyd came to me and said, "Sergeant, I will go anywhere -in the world with you."</p> - -<p>Though willing to accompany me I could tell he doubted our ability to -execute the capture.</p> - -<p>I planned to attempt the capture of Baca the next morning and sent -Cooper back to Saragosa to look over the situation there once more. He -informed me on his return that Baca was still clerking in the store. I -now told Lloyd to keep our horses up when the animals were turned out -to graze next morning. This move caused no especial thought or comment, -for the men frequently would keep their horses to ride down town. As -soon as we had crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico I planned to quit -the public road, travel through the bosques, pass around on the west -side of Saragosa and ride quickly up to the store in which our man was -work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>ing. Lloyd was to hold the horses while I was to dismount, enter -the store and make the arrest. Then, if possible, I was to mount Baca -behind Lloyd and make a quick get-away.</p> - -<p>Our plans were carried out almost to the letter. We reached Saragosa -safely, and while Lloyd held my horse in front of the store I entered -and discovered Baca measuring some goods for an old Mexican woman. I -stepped up to him, caught him in the collar, and with a drawn pistol -ordered him to come with me. The customer promptly fainted and fell on -the floor. Two other people ran from the building, screaming at the -top of their voices. Baca hesitated about going with me, and in broken -English asked me where he was to be taken. I informed him to Paso del -Norte. I shoved my pistol right up against his head and ordered him to -step lively. When we reached our horses I made Baca mount behind Lloyd. -I then jumped into my saddle and, waving my pistol over my head, we -left Saragosa on a dead run. Our sudden appearance in the town and our -more sudden leaving bewildered the people for a few minutes. They took -in the situation quickly, however, and began ringing the old church -bell rapidly, and this aroused the whole population.</p> - -<p>As I left Saragosa I saw men getting their horses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> together and knew -that in a few minutes a posse would be following us. When we had gone -two miles almost at top speed I saw that Lloyd's horse was failing, -and we lost a little time changing Baca to my mount. We had yet two -miles to go and through deep sand most of the way. I could see a cloud -of dust and shortly a body of mounted men hove in view. It was a tense -moment. Lloyd thought it was all off with us, but we still had a long -lead and our horses were running easily. As our pursuers made a bend -in the road we discovered nine men in pursuit. As soon as they had -drawn up within six hundreds yards they began firing on us. This was -at long range and did no damage. In fact, I believe they were trying -to frighten rather than to wound us as they were just as likely to hit -Baca as either of us. We were at last at the Rio Grande, and while it -was almost one hundred yards wide it was flat and shallow at the ford. -I hit the water running and as I mounted the bank on good old Texan -soil I felt like one who has made a home run in a world series baseball -game. Our pursuers halted at the river so I pulled off my hat, waved to -them and disappeared up the road.</p> - -<p>We lost no time in reaching camp, and our appearance there with a -prisoner and two run-down horses caused all the boys in quarters to -turn out.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> Captain Baylor noticed the gathering and hurried over to -camp.</p> - -<p>"Sergeant, who is this prisoner you have?" he asked, walking straight -up to me.</p> - -<p>I replied it was Enofrio Baca, the man that had murdered Mr. Conklin. -The captain looked at the run-down horses, wet with sweat, and asked me -where I had captured him.</p> - -<p>"Down the river," I replied, trying to evade him.</p> - -<p>"From the looks of your horse I would think you had just run out of a -fight. Where down the river did you capture this man?"</p> - -<p>I saw the captain was going to corner me and I thought I might as well -"fess up." I told him I had arrested Baca at Saragosa and kidnaped him -out of Mexico. Captain Baylor's eyes at once bulged to twice their -natural size.</p> - -<p>"Sergeant, that is the most imprudent act you ever committed in your -life! Don't you know that it is a flagrant violation of the law and is -sure to cause a breach of international comity that might cause the -Governor of Texas to disband the whole of Company "A"? Not only this, -but it was a most hazardous undertaking and it is a wonder to me that -the Mexicans did not shoot you and Lloyd into doll rags."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p> - -<p>Captain Baylor was plainly out of patience with me.</p> - -<p>"Gillett, you have less sense than I thought you had," he declared, -heatedly. "If you have any explanation to make I would like to have it."</p> - -<p>I reminded the captain of the tragic fate of Morgan and Brown and how -the authorities at Guadalupe had turned their murderers, Skevill and -Molina, loose. I declared that had I had Baca arrested in Mexico he -would have gone scot-free with his rich and influential friends to help -him. Baylor declared that two wrongs did not make one right, and said -I should have consulted him. I finally told the captain frankly that I -had been in the ranger service six years, had risen from the ranks to -be orderly sergeant at a salary of only $50 a month. I pointed out that -this was the highest position I could hope to get without a commission, -and while one had been promised me at the first vacancy yet I could see -no early hope of obtaining it, as every captain in the battalion was -freezing to his job. This remark seemed to amuse Captain Baylor and -somewhat eased his anger.</p> - -<p>I went on to say that I not only wanted the $500 reward offered for -Baca, but I wanted the notoriety I would get if I could kidnap the -murderer out of Mexico without being killed in the attempt, for I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> -believed the notoriety would lead to something better than a ranger -sergeancy. And this is what really happened, for I subsequently became -First Assistant Marshal of El Paso under Dallas Stoudenmire at a salary -of $150 per month, and in less than a year after my arrest of Enofrio -Baca I was made Chief of Police of that city at a salary that enabled -me to get a nice start in the cattle business.</p> - -<p>"Sergeant, you can go with your man," Captain Baylor finally said, "but -it is against my best judgment. I ought to escort him across the Rio -Grande and set him free."</p> - -<p>I lost no time in sending a ranger to the stage office at Ysleta with -instructions to buy two tickets to Masilla, New Mexico, and one to El -Paso. The stage was due to pass our quarters about 12 o'clock, so I -did not have long to wait. I took Lloyd as a guard as far as El Paso -and there turned him back, making the remainder of the journey to -Socorro, New Mexico, alone with the prisoner. I reached the old town of -Masilla, New Mexico, at dark after a rather exciting day. I was afraid -to put Baca in jail at that place, as I had no warrant nor extradition -papers upon which to hold him and feared the prison authorities might -not redeliver Baca to me next morning. The stage coach from Masilla -to Rincon did not run at night so I secured a room<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> at the hotel and -chaining the prisoner to me we slept together.</p> - -<p>On the following day we reached Rincon, the terminus of the Santa Fe -Railroad at that time. I wired the officers of Socorro, New Mexico, -from El Paso that I had captured Baca and was on my way to New Mexico -with him. Baca's friends had also been informed of his arrest and lost -no time in asking the Governor of New Mexico to have me bring the -prisoner to Santa Fe as they feared mob violence at Socorro. When I -reached San Marcial I was handed a telegram from the governor ordering -me to bring Baca to Santa Fe and on no account to stop with him in -Socorro.</p> - -<p>Because of delay on the railroad I did not reach Socorro until late -at night. The minute the train stopped at that town it was boarded -by twenty-five or thirty armed men headed by Deputy Sheriff Eaton. I -showed Eaton the governor's telegram, but he declared Baca was wanted -at Socorro and that was where he was going. I remonstrated with him -and declared I was going on to Santa Fe with the prisoner. By this -time a dozen armed men had gathered around me and declared, "Not much -will you take him to Santa Fe." I was furious, but I was practically -under arrest and powerless to help myself. Baca and I were transferred -from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> train to a big bus that was in waiting. The jailer entered -first, then Baca was seated next to him and I sat next the door with my -Winchester in my hand. The driver was ordered to drive to the jail.</p> - -<p>It was a bright moonlight night and we had not traveled far up the -street before I looked out and saw at least a hundred armed men. They -came from every direction. Boys, did you ever encounter a mob? I assure -you it is far from a pleasant feeling when you face one. The men -swarmed around the bus, three or four of them grabbed the horses by the -bridle reins and held them, while others tried to force the bus doors. -I asked the jailer if I could depend on him to help me stand the mob -off, but he replied it would do no good. I was now madder than ever, -and for the first time in my life I ripped out an oath, saying, "G— -d—n them, I am going to stand them off!"</p> - -<p>As the doors were forced I poked my Winchester out and ordered the mob -to stand back or I would shoot. The men paid no more attention to my -gun than if it had been a brown stick. A man standing beside the bus -door seized the muzzle of my rifle and, with a quick jerk to one side, -caused it to fly out of my hand and out upon the ground.</p> - -<p>By this time another of the mob grabbed me in the collar and proceeded -to pull me out of the bus.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> I spread my legs and tried to brace myself, -but another hard and quick jerk landed me out on the ground, where one -of the men kicked me. I was tame now and made no effort to draw my -pistol. One of the crowd said to me, "What in h—do you mean? We do not -wish to hurt you but we are going to hang that d—n Mexican right now!"</p> - -<p>I then informed the mob of the nature of Baca's arrest and told them -that the hanging of the prisoner would place me in an awkward position. -Then, too, the reward offered by the territory of New Mexico was for -the delivery of the murderer inside the jail doors of Socorro County. -The leaders of the crowd consulted for a few minutes and then concluded -I was right. They ordered me back into the bus, gave me my Winchester -and we all started for the jail. As soon as Baca had been placed in -prison Deputy Sheriff Eaton sat down and wrote me a receipt for the -delivery of Baca inside the jail doors.</p> - -<p>By this time day was just beginning to break and I tried to stay the -hanging by making another talk. The mob interpreted my motive and -invited me to step down a block to their community room where they -would talk with me. I started with them and we had gone only a hundred -yards before the whole mob broke back to the jail. I started to go -with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> them but two men held me, saying, "It's no use; they are going to -hang him."</p> - -<p>The men took Baca to a nearby corral and hanged him to a big beam of -the gate. The next morning Baca's relatives came to me at the hotel -with hats in their hands and asked me for the keys with which to remove -the shackles from the dead man's legs. As I handed them the keys I -felt both mortified and ashamed. A committee of citizens at Socorro -waited on me just before I took the train for home, counted out to -me $250 as their part of the reward and thanked me for capturing the -two murderers. The committee assured me that it stood ready to help -me financially or otherwise should I get involved with the Federal -Government over the capture and kidnapping of Enofrio Baca.</p> - -<p>I presume the relatives of young Baca reported his kidnapping to our -government, for a few weeks after his capture Mr. Blaine, Secretary of -State, wrote a long letter to Governor Roberts regarding a breach of -international comity. Governor Roberts wrote Captain Baylor for a full -explanation of the matter. Captain Baylor, while never countenancing -a wrongdoing in his company, would stand by his men to the last ditch -when they were once in trouble. He was a fluent writer and no man in -Texas understood better than he the many foul and outrageous murders -that had been committed along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> the Rio Grande, the perpetrators of -which had evaded punishment and arrest by crossing over into Mexico. -Baylor wrote so well and so to the point that nothing further was said -about the matter. Only an order came to Captain Baylor admonishing him -never again to allow his men to follow fugitives into Mexico.</p> - -<p>Soon afterward the Safety Committee of Socorro, New Mexico, wrote to -Captain Baylor saying, "We are informed by a reliable party that Jose -Baca of Ysleta, Texas, has hired a Mexican to kill Sergeant Gillett. -Steps have been taken to prevent this. However, he would do well to be -on the lookout." Baylor at once went to Judge Baca with this letter, -but the jurist denied in the most emphatic terms any knowledge of -the reported plot. Also, there was a report current in both Ysleta -and El Paso that a reward of $1500 had been offered for the delivery -of Sergeant Gillett's body to the Mexican authorities at El Paso del -Norte. Upon investigation I found that no such offer had ever been -made, but for safety's sake I kept out of Mexico for several years.</p> - -<p>The kidnapping of Baca aroused much comment and gave me a deal of -notoriety and, as I had anticipated, it was not long in bearing the -fruit I desired,—promotion into larger and more remunerative fields of -work.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></p> - -<p class="center">LAST SCOUTINGS</p> - - -<p>During the summer of 1881 Captain Baylor's company made several scouts -out to the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains. These were reported to -the Adjutant-General as scouts after Indians, but there were no more -redskins in Texas, for the rangers had done their work effectively. -These expeditions were, therefore, more in the nature of outings for -the boys. And it was quite a pleasure to get away from camp in the -hot Rio Grande Valley and scout in those high mountains covered with -tall pine timber that teemed with game such as deer, bear and wild -turkey. The plains between the Guadalupe Mountains and Ysleta contained -hundreds of antelope, thus affording the rangers the best of sport.</p> - -<p>Turning over the pages of my old scrap book I find this little -announcement taken from the El Paso Times: "Colonel Baylor and twenty -of his rangers have just returned from a scout in the Guadalupe -Mountains, in which they killed twenty-five turkeys, fifteen deer and -two antelope."</p> - -<p>On one of these hunting expeditions we had with us George Lloyd, who -had been a ranger under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> Lieutenant Tays when his company was first -mustered into service in El Paso County. We camped at Los Cornuvas, and -here Lloyd had had an engagement with Indians. He went over the ground -and gave us an interesting account of his fight. He said there were -but twelve men in the scout, including Lieutenant Tays. In marching -from Crow Springs to Los Cornuvas, a distance of thirty miles, six -of the rangers were riding nearly a mile ahead of the others and on -approaching Los Cornuvas made for some tinajas (water holes) up in -those mountains. They rode around a point of rocks and met face to -face some ten or twelve Indians coming out from the water. Indians and -rangers were within forty feet before they discovered each other's -presence and paleface and redskin literally fell off their horses,—the -Indians seeking cover in the rocks above the trail while five of the -rangers turned a somersault into a friendly arroyo.</p> - -<p>A ranger said to be a Russian nobleman and nihilist was killed early -in the fight and buried on the spot where he fell. A headboard was -placed to mark the grave, but the Indians soon defaced it by hacking -at it with their knives whenever they passed the spot. Though he could -have had splendid cover, the Russian stood upright according to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> the -etiquette prevailing among British officers in the Transvaal and was -shot through the brain.</p> - -<p>In dismounting, Lloyd held on to the end of a thirty-foot stake rope -that was tied around his horse's neck. Four of the dismounted scout -wriggled their way down the creek and got away. In reloading his -Winchester after shooting it empty Lloyd unfortunately slipped a .45 -Colt's pistol cartridge into the magazine of his .44 Winchester and in -attempting to throw a cartridge into his gun it jammed—catching him in -a serious predicament. However, taking his knife from his pocket this -fearless ranger coolly removed the screw that held the side plates of -his Winchester together, took off the plates, removed the offending -cartridge, replaced the plates, tightened up the screw, reloaded his -gun and began firing. It takes a man with iron nerve to do a thing like -that, and you meet such a one but once in a lifetime. Is it any wonder, -then, that when I cast around for a man to go into Mexico with me to -kidnap Baca I selected Lloyd out of the twenty men in camp?</p> - -<p>Seeing that the Russian was dead and his companions gone, Lloyd crawled -back down the arroyo, pulling his horse along the bank above until he -was out of danger. The five rangers' horses, knowing where the water -was, went right up into the rocks,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> where they were captured, saddles, -bridles and all, by the Indians.</p> - -<p>The redskins, as soon as Lloyd was gone, came out of hiding, took the -Russian's Winchester and pistol and left. Lloyd was the only man of the -six to save his horse, for the Indians, with their needle guns high up -in the rocks, held Lieutenant Tays and the remainder of his force at -bay.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of the summer of 1881 Captain Baylor moved his -company of rangers from Ysleta to a site three miles below El Paso. -While camped there the captain was warned by the sheriff of Tombstone, -Arizona, to be on the lookout for four San Simone Valley rustlers, -supposed to be a part of Curley Bill's gang. The robbers' names were -given as Charley and Frank Baker, Billie Morgan and a fourth person -supposed to be Curley Bill himself. These outlaws had stolen sixteen -big work mules and four horses at a wood camp some twelve miles from -Tombstone. They had also robbed a store and, assaulting the proprietor -with pistols, left him for dead. A $500 reward was offered for the -capture of the desperadoes and the stolen stock. The robbers' trail led -down into New Mexico and it was believed Curley Bill and his gang were -headed for western Texas, where they would try to dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>pose of their -stolen stock at some of the railroad grading camps near El Paso.</p> - -<p>Captain Baylor at once ordered me to take seven men and five days' -rations and scout up the Rio Grande to the line of New Mexico for the -bandits' trail, and, if I found it, to follow it up. I worked up the -river but found no trail. Neither could I learn anything about any -strange men driving stock through the country. My time was nearly -up and I concluded to return to camp through a gap in the Franklin -Mountains, some thirty or forty miles north of El Paso. We left the Rio -Grande late in the evening, passed out through the gap and made a dry -camp on the plains east of the mountains.</p> - -<p>Early the following morning we rode to a watering place known as -Monday's Springs and stopped for breakfast. Here the boys discovered -some horse and mule tracks. At first we thought nothing of this, -supposing the trail had been made by some loose stock grazing near -the water. From Monday's Springs a dim road led along the east side -of the mountains to El Paso and we took this route home. Before we -had traveled very far we noticed that some of the stock was traveling -the same road, though even then I never suspected that these tracks -might be the trail of the bandits for whom we were scouting. Finally -we came to footprints made by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> some men as they adjusted their saddles -or tightened their packs. It here dawned upon me that the tracks might -have been made by the parties we wanted.</p> - -<p>I thereupon followed the trail carefully and it led me through what is -today the most beautiful residential portion of the city of El Paso. -The tracks led to a big camp yard where now stands the $500,000 Federal -building and postoffice. In the description of the stolen stock we were -told one of the mules carried a small Swiss stock bell. As I neared the -wagon yard I heard the tinkle of this bell and felt sure we had tracked -our quarry. We dismounted, and with our Winchesters cocked and ready -for action, our little party of rangers slipped quickly inside the -large corral gate and within ten feet of it we came upon three heavily -armed men bending over a fire cooking their breakfast. Their guns were -leaning against the adobe fence near at hand, so the surprise was -complete.</p> - -<p>The outlaws rose to their feet and attempted to get their guns, but -my men held their cocked Winchesters at their breasts. I told our -captives that we were rangers ordered to arrest them and demanded their -surrender. The robbers were undecided what to do; they were afraid -to pull their pistols or seize their guns, yet they refused to hold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> -up their hands. Finally one of the Baker brothers turned slightly -toward me and said they would rather be shot down and killed than give -up—surrender meant death anyway. I thereupon answered that we had no -desire to hurt them, but declared that the least attempt to pull a gun -would mean instant death to them all, and again ordered them to raise -their hands. They slowly obeyed. I stepped up to them, unbuckled their -belts and took their weapons.</p> - -<p>In looking over their camp I found four saddles and Winchesters but I -had captured only three men. I mentioned this fact to the prisoners and -they laughingly said one of their number had stepped down town to get a -package of coffee, had probably noticed our presence and lit out. The -two Baker boys and Billie Morgan were the men captured, and I asked if -the missing man was Curley Bill himself. They replied it was not, but -refused to tell who the fourth member of their party was. As we had no -description of him and he was on foot in a town full of armed men we -had no means of identifying him and he was never captured.</p> - -<p>From the captured robbers we learned that they had run out of -provisions, and for this reason they had not camped at Monday Springs. -They had risen early and come into El Paso for breakfast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> They -declared it was a good thing for us that they had built their camp fire -so near the gate, for had they been thirty feet from it they would have -put up a fight we should have remembered for a long time. I replied -that the eight of us could have held our own no matter where they had -camped.</p> - -<p>These robbers were held in our camp some ten days or more until the -proper extradition papers could be had from the State Capitol at -Austin, as they refused to be taken back to Arizona without the proper -authority. They owned horses, which they gave to some lawyers in El -Paso to prevent their being taken back to the scene of their crimes. We -secured all the stolen stock—sixteen mules and four horses. The owners -came and claimed them and paid the rangers $200 and the Arizona sheriff -paid a like amount for the capture of the rustlers.</p> - -<p>Our rangers became well acquainted with these thieves while we held -them in our camp. The robbers admitted they were going under assumed -names and said they were Texans but refused to say from what part of -the state they came. The three of them were taken back to Arizona, -tried for assault to kill and the theft of the horses at Tombstone -and sent to the prison at Yuma for twenty-five years. They frequently -wrote to our boys from there and seemed to hold no grudge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> against us -for capturing them. The scout to capture these men was the last one of -importance I took part in, for my work with the rangers was now growing -toward its close.</p> - -<p>In the fall of 1881 Captain Baylor received word from Israel King of -Cambray, New Mexico, that a band of thieves had stolen a bunch of -cattle from him and at last reports were headed toward El Paso with -them. With a detail of four men I was ordered to make a scout up -the river and into the Canutillos to intercept the rustlers. After -traveling some ten miles up the Rio Grande we crossed the river into -New Mexico to get on more even ground. Some eighteen miles above El -Paso we found the trail of the stolen stock and followed it back across -the Rio Grande into Texas.</p> - -<p>While working our way along the trail through almost impassable brush -we entered a small glade and came upon the stolen stock quietly -grazing. On the opposite side of them a Mexican with a Winchester stood -guard while his horse grazed nearby. The guard fired on us as he ran to -his horse and we were compelled to run around the cattle to get to the -thief. We fired our guns as we ran and this sudden noise frightened the -loose pony so the fugitive was unable to mount. He was then forced to -dive into the brush on foot. Knowing we could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> make no headway through -the heavy tornilla bosque we dismounted and charged it on foot. The -fleeing Mexican undertook to run through a muddy slough formed by back -water from the Rio Grande. Here he bogged but, extracting himself, he -backed out the way he had entered and found safety in the friendly -brush. In running to where he was last seen we found his gun abandoned -in the mud. Some twenty or thirty shots were fired at him and while -none found the mark we captured his Winchester, his pony and thirty-six -head of stolen cattle and gave him a scare that he will remember so -long as he lives. The cattle were returned to Mr. King, who kindly -presented us with $200 for their recovery.</p> - -<p>We learned later that Frank Stevenson, a notorious rustler, whose -rendezvous was in this Canutillo brush, had stolen these cattle and -had left the Mexican in charge of them while he had gone into El Paso -to effect their sale. As described in a previous chapter, I finally -captured Stevenson and he was sent to the penitentiary for fifteen -years for horse stealing. His capture and imprisonment broke up the -Canutillo gang, and today, forty years after his arrest, the upper Rio -Grande Valley is almost an Eden on earth with its fine apple and peach -orchards, its alfalfa fields, big<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> dairy herds and elegant homes. It -is one of the beauty spots adjacent to the now fine city of El Paso. -The Santa Fe Railroad traverses this valley, and I sometimes travel -over it. As I sit in an easy seat in the Pullman and look out over the -country I always reflect on the past and wonder how many of its present -inhabitants know what a wilderness and what a rendezvous it once was -for all kinds of cutthroats, cattle thieves and murderers.</p> - -<p>While the rangers were camped near El Paso during the fall of 1881 I -met Captain Thatcher, then division superintendent of the Santa Fe -Railroad. He told me, because of the stage and train robberies in New -Mexico and Arizona, the railroad and the Wells-Fargo Express companies -feared that their trains would be held up near El Paso. To protect -themselves they had, therefore, decided to place armed guards of three -men on the main line of the Santa Fe to run between Deming and Las -Vegas, New Mexico, and a similar guard on the branch from El Paso, -Texas, to Rincon, New Mexico. Captain Thatcher had known me as a ranger -and my kidnapping of Enofrio Baca out of Mexico had won me no little -notoriety, so he now offered me a position with the railroad company as -captain of the guard at a salary of $150 per month. I would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> allowed -to select my own men for guards and would be responsible for their acts.</p> - -<p>I requested time to consider the proposition. While the position as -captain of the railroad guard might not be permanent—might not hold -out more than six months—yet the salary attached was exactly three -times what I received from the State of Texas as sergeant of rangers. -I discussed Thatcher's offer with Captain Baylor and finally prevailed -upon him to give me my discharge. And on the 26th of December, 1881, -after serving the State of Texas as a ranger for six years and seven -months I laid down my Winchester with the satisfied consciousness -that I had done my duty ever. My term of service embraced one of the -happiest portions of my life, and recollections of my ranger days are -among my most cherished memories. Among my dearest possessions, though -preserved in an old scrapbook, is my discharge. It reads simply:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>DISCHARGE</p> - -<p>This is to certify that James B. Gillett, 1st Sergeant of Captain -Geo. W. Baylor's Company "A" of the Frontier Battalion of the -State of Texas, is hereby honorably discharged from the service of -the state by reason of his own request. I take great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> pleasure in -testifying to his uniform good conduct and gallant service in my -company.</p> - -<p>Given at El Paso, Texas, this, the 26th day of December, 1881.</p> - -<p> -GEORGE W. BAYLOR<br /> -<br /> -Commanding Company.<br /> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The personnel of Captain Baylor's company changed rapidly, so that at -the time of my discharge there was scarcely a man in the company that -had served longer than six months. There was, therefore, no wrenching -or straining of strong friendship ties when I left the command, -save only for my leaving of Captain Baylor. To part from him did, -indeed, make me feel sad. My farewell and departure was simple and -unimpressive. I sat down with my comrades for a last ranger dinner of -beans, bacon, bread and black coffee. After the meal I arose from the -table, shook hands with Captain Baylor and the boys, mounted my horse -and rode away from the ranger camp forever. Yet, though my term of -actual service was over and though I had garnered a host of memories -and experiences, I had not quite finished with the rangers—I had not -gathered all the fruits of my ranger-ship,—an appointment to the -police force of El Paso in the vicinity of which city I had so often -scouted.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</a></p> - -<p class="center">FRUITS OF RANGER SERVICE</p> - - -<p>Early in the spring of 1881 the old town of El Paso awoke out of her -Rip Van Winkle sleep to find that four grand trunk railroad lines,—the -Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, G.,H & S.A., and the Texas & Pacific—were -rapidly building toward her and were certain to enter the town by the -end of the year. Situated as it was, many hundreds of miles from any -other town, it was a foregone conclusion that El Paso had the making of -a great city and was a fine field for investment. Bankers, merchants, -capitalists, real estate dealers, cattlemen, miners, railroad men, -gamblers, saloon-keepers and sporting people of both sexes flocked -to the town. They came in buggies, hacks, wagons, horseback and even -afoot. There was not half enough hotel accommodations to go around, so -people just slept and ate at any old place. El Paso Street, the only -business thoroughfare at that time, was flooded with crowds.</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus07"> -<img src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> DALLAS STOUDENMIRE</p> - -<p>At night there was not enough room for people to walk on the sidewalks -and they filled the streets. To me it looked just a miniature midway -at a world's fair. A saloon was opened on almost every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> corner of -the town with many in between. Each drinking place had a gambling -house attached where the crowds played faro bank, monte, roulette, -chuck-a-luck, stud poker and every gambling game on the calendar. If -one wished a seat at the gaming tables he had to come early or he could -not get within thirty feet of them. Two variety theaters, the Coliseum, -operated by the Manning Brothers,—the largest in the southwest—and -Jack Doyle's, were quickly opened.</p> - -<p>An election was called in El Paso and the city was duly incorporated -and a mayor and board of aldermen installed. George Campbell was -elected city marshal and given one assistant, Bill Johnson. The new -marshal had come to El Paso from Young County, Texas, where he had been -a deputy sheriff. Campbell had done some good detective work and was -a fairly good and efficient officer, but his assistant was much below -ordinary.</p> - -<p>The city marshal soon found that with but one man to aid him he had -the biggest kind of a job on his hands with something doing every hour -in the twenty-four. Campbell decided he was not getting enough pay for -the work he had to do and asked the City Council for a raise in his -salary, but the council refused it. The marshal at once resigned and -left Bill Johnson to hold the town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> Campbell was very friendly with -the sporting element in El Paso, especially with the Manning Brothers, -who were running two saloons and a big variety theater. Campbell and -his friends decided to use strategy to force the council to increase -his salary and planned to shoot up the town, thinking this would cause -the city fathers to reinstate Campbell in his old position with a -substantial increase in pay. At 2 o'clock one morning the town was shot -up, some three or four hundred shots being fired promiscuously and with -no attempt to make arrests.</p> - -<p>The following morning Mayor McGoffin sent a hurry call to Captain -Baylor at Ysleta and asked that a detachment of Texas Rangers be sent -to El Paso to help police the town. At that time I had not severed my -connection with the rangers, so I was ordered to make a detail of five -rangers, issue them fifteen days' rations and have them report at once -to the mayor of El Paso.</p> - -<p>The peace loving citizens of the town welcomed the rangers, secured -nice quarters for them and furnished the detachment with a stove on -which to cook its meals. The rangers had been in El Paso on police duty -about a week when there appeared in the town from New Mexico the famous -Dallas Stoudenmire. The newcomer was six feet two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> inches in height, a -blonde and weighed one hundred and eighty-five pounds. Stoudenmire had -a compelling personality and had been a Confederate soldier, having -served with General Joe Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. -Stoudenmire applied to the mayor and City Council for the position of -city marshal. He presented good references and was duly appointed town -marshal.</p> - -<p>George Campbell now saw his chances for reinstatement as an officer in -El Paso go glimmering. Marshal Stoudenmire called on Bill Johnson for -the keys of the city jail, but the latter refused to surrender them. -Thereupon Stoudenmire seized the recalcitrant assistant, shook him up -and took the keys from his pocket, thereby making his first enemy in El -Paso.</p> - -<p>About ten days after the new marshal had been installed it was reported -in El Paso that two Mexican boys had been found murdered some ten or -twelve miles from town on the Rio Grande. The rangers stationed in the -city went out to the ranch to investigate. The bodies were brought to -El Paso and a coroner's inquest was held in a room fronting on El Paso -Street. Johnnie Hale, manager of Manning's little ranch, was summoned -to appear before the coroner, and it was believed by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> rangers that -Hale and an ex-ranger named Len Peterson had committed the double -murder.</p> - -<p>The inquest, being held in such a public place, attracted a crowd -of onlookers. Besides the rangers, Marshal Stoudenmire, ex-Marshal -Campbell, and Bill Johnson were present. A man named Gus Krempkau acted -as interpreter. The trial dragged along until the noon hour and the -proceedings were adjourned for dinner. The rangers went at once to -their quarters to prepare their meal, though there was still a crowd -standing about the scene of the inquest. Krempkau came out of the room -and was accosted by John Hale, who had become offended at the way the -interpreter had interpreted the evidence. After a few hot words Hale -quickly pulled his pistol and shot Krempkau through the head, killing -him instantly. Marshal Stoudenmire ran up, shot at Hale but missing -him killed a Mexican bystander. At the second shot from the marshal's -pistol John Hale fell dead. George Campbell had pulled his pistol and -was backing off across the street when Stoudenmire suddenly turned and -shot him down. Four men were thus killed almost within the twinkling of -an eye.</p> - -<p>Stoudenmire was held blameless by the better class of citizens for the -part he had played, but a certain sporting element—mostly friends of -Camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>bell—was highly indignant at Marshal Stoudenmire for killing -Campbell, and declared the latter had been murdered. The Manning -Brothers were especially bitter against the marshal, as he had killed -their ranch foreman, Hale, and their friend, Campbell. This feeling -against Marshal Stoudenmire never subsided, and just a little more than -one year after, Dallas Stoudenmire was shot and killed in a street -fight by Jim and Dr. Manning within fifty feet of the spot where -Stoudenmire himself had killed the three men the year before.</p> - -<p>The friends of George Campbell now sought to take the life of Marshal -Stoudenmire, and they used as their instrument Bill Johnson, a man -almost simple mentally. The plotters furnished Johnson with plenty of -free whisky and when they had made him drunk they told him Stoudenmire -had no right to catch him in the collar and shake him as if he were -a cur dog. Johnson finally agreed to kill the marshal. Armed with a -double-barreled shotgun the tool of the plotters took up a position one -night behind a pile of bricks in San Antonio Street where it enters El -Paso and lay in wait for his intended victim.</p> - -<p>Marshal Stoudenmire was then down at Neal Nuland's Acme saloon, and it -was well known he would soon make his round up the street. Shortly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> -afterward he was seen coming, and when he had approached within -twenty-five feet of the brick pile Bill Johnson rose to his feet and -fired both barrels of his shotgun. Unsteady with drink, Johnson's fire -went over the marshal's head and left him unharmed. The marshal pulled -his pistol and with lightning rapidity filled Johnson's body full of -holes. At the same moment Campbell's friends, posted on the opposite -side of the street, opened fire on Stoudenmire and slightly wounded him -in one foot, but the marshal charged his attackers and single-handed -put them to flight.</p> - -<p>From this day Marshal Stoudenmire had the roughs of El Paso eating out -of his hand. There was no longer any necessity for the rangers to help -him police the town and they were withdrawn. Stoudenmire's presence on -the streets was a guarantee of order and good government. He was a good -man for the class of people he had to deal with, yet he knew there were -those in El Paso that were his bitter enemies and always on the alert -for a chance to take his life. This caused him to drink, and when under -the influence of liquor he became mean and overbearing to some of his -most ardent supporters, so much so that by the spring of 1882 he was -asked to resign. In a dramatic and fiery speech Stoudenmire presented -his resignation and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> declared he had not been treated fairly by the -City Council and that he could straddle them all.</p> - -<p>Immediately on leaving the rangers, as narrated at the close of the -preceding chapter, I accepted a position of captain of guards on the -Santa Fe Railroad under my friend, Captain Thatcher. I did not long -remain in the railroad's employ, and after a few months I resigned my -position there to become assistant city marshal under Mr. Stoudenmire.</p> - -<p>Upon the resignation of Mr. Stoudenmire I was appointed city marshal -of El Paso. Upon my appointment the ex-marshal walked over, took me by -the hand and said, "Young man, I congratulate you on being elected city -marshal and at the same time I wish to warn you that you have more than -a man's size job on your hands."</p> - -<p>Stoudenmire at once secured the appointment as United States deputy -marshal of the Western District of Texas with headquarters at El Paso. -Stoudenmire always treated me with the greatest consideration and -courtesy and gave me trouble on only one occasion. I reproduce here a -clipping from an El Paso paper of the time:</p> - -<p>"Last Thursday night a shooting scrape in which ex-Marshal Stoudenmire -and ex-Deputy Page played the leading parts occurred at the Acme -saloon. It seems that early in the evening Page had a mis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>understanding -with Billy Bell. Stoudenmire acted as peacemaker in the matter. In -doing so he carried Page to Doyle's concert hall, where the two -remained an hour or so and got more or less intoxicated. About midnight -they returned to the Acme and soon got into a quarrel. Stoudenmire -drew his pistol and fired at Page; the latter, however, knocked the -weapon upward and the ball went into the ceiling. Page then wrenched -the pistol from Stoudenmire and the latter drew a second pistol and the -two combatants were about to perforate each other when Marshal Gillett -appeared on the premises with a double-barrel shotgun and corralled -both of them. They were taken before court the following morning and -fined $25 each and Stoudenmire was placed under bond in the sum of $250 -to keep the peace."</p> - -<p>My election to the marshalship of El Paso I attribute solely to my -training as a ranger and to the notoriety my kidnapping of Baca out of -Mexico had given me, so that the marshalship of the town was one of the -direct fruits of my ranger service.</p> - -<p>I was an officer of El Paso for several years. Not very long after my -acceptance of the marshalship Captain C.L. Nevill, with whom I had -served in Lieutenant Reynolds' company, resigned his ranger command -and became sheriff and tax collector of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> Presidio County, Texas. The -Marfa country was now seen to be a very promising cattle section, so -Captain Nevill and myself formed a partnership and embarked in the -cattle business. This did not in the least interfere with our duties as -sheriff and marshal, respectively, and we soon built up a nice little -herd of cattle.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1885 General Gano and sons of Dallas, Texas, formed a -company known as the Estado Land and Cattle Company. The new concern -arranged to open a big ranch in Brewster County and General Gano wrote -to Captain Nevill, asking him please to secure a good cattleman as -ranch manager for the new company. Nevill at once wrote me and advised -me to accept this position. In his letter he jokingly remarked:</p> - -<p>"Jim, you have had a quart cup of bullets shot at you while a ranger -and marshal, and now that you have a chance to quit and get something -less hazardous I advise you to do it. Besides you will be near our own -little ranch and can see your own cattle from time to time."</p> - -<p>I considered the proposition seriously, and on the 1st day of April, -1885, I resigned from the police force of El Paso and became a cowboy -again. In accepting the marshalship I reaped the fruits of my ranger -service and now, in resigning from that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> position I completely severed -all my connection with the ranger force and all that it had brought me. -Henceforth my ranger days and ranger service were to be but a memory, -albeit the most happy and cherished one of my life.</p> - -<p>I was manager of the Estado Land and Cattle Company's ranch for nearly -six years and during that period the herd increased from six to thirty -thousand head. When I resigned the ranch managership it was that I -might attend to my own ranch interests, which had also grown in that -period. Though today I own a large and prosperous ranch in the Marfa -country and though my business interests are many and varied, I still -cherish the memory of my ranger days and am never too busy to see an -old ranger comrade and re-live with him those six adventurous, happy -and thrilling years I was a member of the Frontier Battalion of the -Texas Rangers.</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - -<p class="center" id="illus08"> -<img src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> - - -<p class="caption"> -<i>J.B. Gillett</i><br /> -IN<br /> -1921 -</p> - - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX YEARS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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