The Texas Rangers

This is a re-post of a previous article

Well, this week I kind of wanted to write about something historical, but I also wanted to write about Texas; so I settled on writing about the Texas Rangers, and that would kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. Just to give a quick rundown on the Rangers, they were started in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin. They were unincorporated and loosely banded. In 1835, they were officially recognized as a “Ranging company”. In 1935, they were folded into what became the Texas Department of Public Safety. Nowadays, they aren’t the nomadic, ranging, bounty hunter types that were portrayed in the movies; they act as the state's intelligence agency. Basically, they are Texas’ version of the FBI.The following is a list, with a short profile, of some of the agency's more legendary lawmen. These men had a large part in Texas developing the reputation we have worldwide as rugged, independent individualists who feared nothing or no one. I feel that we are losing that identity as a state due to political correctness and a huge influx of out-of-staters who want us to be more like them, instead of them assimilating into our way of life. Here is my warning to all parents: Teach your kids about our history. You can’t really rely on the school systems anymore. Let your kids know what it is to be a Texan!

Frank Hamer 1884-1955

The name Frank Hamer is a synonym for “Bad#ss.” Frank was a typical lawman, in that he hated outsiders interfering in law enforcement business. He would never make it today in law enforcement. Between the ACLU and citizen review boards he would be run out of town on a rail. But back in the day (1920’s and 30’s), he brought law and order to a state that was still pretty wild and wooly. In 1932, he is said to have retired, but the truth was that he was ticked off at local politicians, so he quit. Sure enough, two years later, they needed him again, so they talked him into coming back. This time they needed him to find none other than Bonnie and Clyde. Frank tracked them down and got permission to cross into Louisiana. On May 23, 1934 they set up an ambush and pumped over 130 rounds into the car they were driving. The moral of the story kids…….don’t piss Frank Hamer off

Manuel Trazazas "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas 1891-1977

'Lone Wolf' Gonzaullas is pretty cool guy for a couple of reasons. First, he is the first Ranger of Spanish decent. He was born in Cadiz, Spain. Secondly, he is the namesake, at least his nickname is, of my favorite movie: Chuck Norris’ “Lone Wolf McQuade,” about a modern day Texas Ranger in El Paso. Lone Wolf’s biggest case was the notorious murders in Texarkana, Texas in 1946 just after World War II. If you can find it, there is an old movie called “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.” It dealt with those murders. After retiring from the Rangers he moved out to Hollywood to be a technical advisor for TV movies and radio. His most notable project was called “Tales of the Texas Rangers”. Like any good Texan, Manuel came back to Dallas so he could die in Texas.

Leander Harvey McNelly 1844-1877

McNelly was one of the first to really develop the rough and tough Ranger image. In the 1870’s, he was sent down to South Texas along the Nueces River. Mexico and Texas had argued for years on where the southern border was. Mexico said the Nueces River, and of course Texas said it was the Rio Grande, a little further south. That area of Texas was notorious for cattle thievery and lots of rough Mexican banditos. A special branch of Rangers, called “Special Force,” was commissioned and they specialized in carrying really big cans of whoop ass. Leander was rough as hell, but he did bring law and order to that area. He died of tuberculosis in 1877; God finally did what no man on Earth could. In 2001, they made a movie called "Texas Rangers" about McNelly. The movie starred Dylan McDermott. I don’t know why they chose him. Hell, they might as well have chosen Angelina Jolie. (in case you cant tell I’m not much of a Dylan McDermott fan!)

Samuel Hamilton Walker 1815-1847

There are not a whole lot of individual stories to tell about Sam. He served in the Mexican-American war in the 1840’s. In 1844, he was serving with Jack Hays' Ranger Company. They were 15 Rangers who took on 80 Comanche Indians near the Pedernales River. They had the the newest Colt Pistols available. Apparently, they made a hell of an impression on Sam. A couple of years, later he was in Washington D. C. and met Sam Colt. He would later help him develop what became the Walker .44. That became a legendary pistol in the old west. That gun killed more men than Cecil B. Demille.

John Salmon “R.I.P.” Ford 1815-1897

“R.I.P.” is another nickname that Hollywood borrowed for a fictional Texas Ranger. Kris Kristofferson played Texas Ranger Cecil “R.I.P.” Metcalf in a couple of made for TV movies called “A Pair of Aces” and “Another Pair of Aces." The real RIP was mostly known for creating the Ford and Neighbors Trail between San Antonio and El Paso. He was later made a Ranger Captain in that area where he was an Indian fighter in the early 1850’s. That might not sound like much but you have to understand that the area of Texas between San Antonio and El Paso was some of the roughest, toughest country in the entire United States. To tell you the truth; even today, once you get past San Angelo it still not the most welcoming country in the world!

Ramiro “Ray” Martinez

I wrote about Ray several months ago after reading his book “They call me Ranger Ray.” It was fascinating. It really makes you proud to be a Texan. I could personally relate to the book because of the places he talked about. He grew up in the Rotan and Sweetwater area. He later lived in Austin. He is most famous for what he did before he became a Ranger. Ray is the man who killed Charles Whitman; the sniper on the UT observation tower. He later joined the Rangers and served down in South Texas fighting political corruption. You can check him out at http://www.rangerray.net/.

William Alexander Anderson (Bigfoot) Wallace 1817-1899Bigfoot Wallace wasn’t famous so much for a single event. He is more famous for what he encompassed. He is the stuff that Hollywood likes to make movies out of. He was a larger than life character. It is said that he is a descendant of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. He moved to Texas from Virginia after hearing that some of his family had been murdered in the Goliad massacre. So like his purported Braveheart ancestors he went to Texas to kill those that were responsible. Another legend of Bigfoot was the following passage from the Texas Handbook Online: He drove a mail hack from San Antonio to El Paso and on one occasion, after losing his mules to Indians, walked to El Paso and ate twenty-seven eggs at the first Mexican house he came to-before going on to town for a full meal.

Ben McCullough 1811-1862
Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. McCullough had decided to follow Davy Crockett to San Antonio and fight at the Alamo. Ben came down with the measles though and was bedridden in Nacogdoches. By the time he was healed up, it was too late. Everyone at the Alamo was dead. Instead he joined up with Sam Houston and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto. He later became a Ranger and like most of your typical, individualist Texans, he liked to fight with his own weapons; shotguns and Bowie knives instead of the standard issue saber and carbine rifle.

John B. Jones 1834-1881

He was involved in one of the most legendary old west shootouts. He was a Major in the Texas Rangers and he set up an ambush for the notorious outlaw Sam Bass in Round Rock, Texas in 1878. I am personally interested in this one because I believe one of the Rangers involved was named William Ware. I am related to a William Ware who also lived in the 1800’s but I have not been able to connect the dots on this one yet.

Joaquin Jackson
Joaquin is where Hollywood meets reality. He was a real Texas Ranger who retired in 1993 and got into movies. His biggest role was Sheriff Wes Wheeler in the Tommy Lee Jones western “The Good Old Boys”. He is also the man who discovered country singer Johnny Rodriguez singing while he was in jail. He is also on the board of directors of the NRA. Jackson is an expert with firearms, so in the words of Willie Nelson, “Don’t boss him; don’t cross him, just wait till tomorrow, maybe he’ll ride on again.”

Well as you can see they are some colorful characters. They have developed a few nicknames and mottos over the years. They have been called “Los Diablos Tejanos” the Texas Devils, “Los Pinche Rinches” the f#cking Rangers. They have also developed the motto “One Riot, One Ranger”. That phrase was coined in 1896 when Ranger Captain Bill McDonald was sent to Dallas to stop an illegal heavyweight boxing fight. When he got to town the local sheriff asked him where his help was and McDonald replied: Hell! Ain't I enough? There's only one prize-fight!

God and Texas,

Jason Watson