Where did the west go?

This is a re-post of a previous article (March 27, 2006)

I’ve been looking around, metaphorically speaking that is, for the old west. Has anyone seen it? I sure haven’t; not in the last few years anyway. I’ll give you fair warning right now, don’t tell me Brokeback Mountain, because that’s a sure fire way to get sideways with me! A movie about a couple of rope smokin’ sheep herders is NOT the old west. That is a propaganda film.

That reminds me of a joke I heard a while back. St. Peter was walking around in heaven one day when he noticed John Wayne laying on the ground, passed smooth out. “John, John are you all right?” He asked him as he was slapping his face and shaking him. John finally came to and said “Yeah, yeah, Pete, I’m ok.” “Well what happened?” St. Peter asked. John told him “I just saw Brokeback Mountain!!”

Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. But I don’t want to spend this whole article on what’s wrong with Hollywood. I want to focus on what used to be right with Hollywood, as well as the real west.

I really feel I was born about 150 years too late. I’ve had people tell me that I’m crazy. They wonder how you could do without things like TV, computers, cell phones, etc. Yeah, I use those things too, but I would give them up for the chance to saddle a horse and just ride into some wide open land I’d never seen before. You know as far as I’m concerned, the best thing about TVs, radios, and the internet is that those are the things that we modern day wanna be’s use to pretend and recreate the old west. So, why not just live in the real thing instead of trying to recreate it?

When I say pretend, you have to understand the context that I’m using. There are still plenty of Sho’ Nuff cowboys out there. It’s just that most of these men and women would also tell you they feel like they were born too late.

I don’t really know what has happened to Hollywood, other than their ultra-liberal agenda, but maybe that is the problem. Hollywood was built on westerns, ever since “The Great Train Robbery” in 1903. Throughout the 1930’s and 40’s Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were box office kings. Those two were the heavyweights but there were plenty of others like Tom Mix and William Hart and the rest of the singing cowboys like Tex Ritter, Rex Allen and others. Also after becoming a star with Stagecoach in 1939 there was a new gunslinger in town. John Wayne was riding tall in the saddle (literally and figuratively).

He is my personal favorite. I’m his namesake (Wayne is my middle name, thanks Dad!) The Duke had about a 50 year career mostly in westerns. He became the epitome of what a man should be. As far as I’m concerned that man can do no wrong.

After the Duke died in 1979, the genre damn near died with him. Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott have done their best to keep it going, but most of their movies, which are excellent, are either made for TV or strait to video. Even the two westerns I personally consider to be the best ever, Lonesome Dove and The Good Old Boys, were both made for TV.

Off the top of my head I can’t think of a western made since Open Range in 2003. We are going on three years without a good old fashioned cowboy movie. What the hell is wrong with that picture?

Enough about Hollywood, lets look at the real modern west for a minute. I live here in the Austin area and this place is growing like a weed. People are being shoe-horned in here. I know that is a sign of a strong economy and that is a good thing but I hate to see all this good country getting developed into strip malls and gated communities.

These old farmers and ranchers who have had their land for generations are starting to sell it off in sub-divided tracts for huge payoffs. I can’t say I blame them for taking the money. I just hate to see all this beautiful hill country land disappear.

Where I live here in Lockhart is a little different. It is still a rural area for the most part but so many people are moving out of Austin that they are littering the countryside. You just can’t get away from your neighbor. I like to have good neighbors as much as the next guy; I just don’t want to have to look at them all the time. When I am out in the country I want to feel like I am in the middle of nowhere.

That brings me finally to those who are keeping it alive. I do a lot of research on people and organizations that are dedicated to keeping the old west alive. You know for years I have had this fantasy of building my very own old west town, just like a movie set, except actually functional. The only thing that has stopped me from doing it is a glaring lack of funds. So if any of you old west aficionados out there have some money you would like to invest give me a call and we will make this thing a reality! Ok, I’m getting sidetracked, dammit, back to the people keeping it alive.

Once again I have to thank my dad for stoking my interest in the west. When we were growing up he was a buckskinner. That is a person who does Mountain Man reenactments. It was a lot of fun for a boy to be involved with. It was like being in a movie, except you weren’t paid! From there I got into Civil War history and, finally, cowboys. Over the last several years this has led me to become huge fans of people like Red Steagall, Don Edwards, R.W. Hampton and Jeff Gore who also happens to be a friend of my parents.

It seems like they are fighting overwhelming odds, but these men are doing all they can through music, poetry and stories to keep the cowboy alive. I have become a regular listener to Red Steagall’s Cowboy Corner on Sunday mornings as I’m driving home from work. If you want to hear stories from real westerners, not just cowboys per say, but anything dealing with the west, I highly recommend it.

Speaking of 'not just cowboys', I would like to emphasize that the “Old West” was not just about cowboys. That is just a generic term that gets thrown around for anything that happened in the 1800’s. The west was actually full of all kinds of sub-genre’s from Mississippi river boat gamblers to mountain men, pioneers, chuck wagon cooks, prospectors, civil war soldiers, the western Calvary soldiers, Indian dancers, Buffalo Soldiers, gunfighters, and yes, the cowboy, whose heyday was from 1866 to 1886 roughly.

You know if I ever did get to build my old west town, I would like to have a yearly festival out there. I’d call it Jason Watson’s Old West Fest. Anything that happened from 1800 to 1900 would be welcome. Whatever your particular reenactment or craft is you could set up out there and show it off to the public. Once again if anyone reading this has lots of money please get in contact with me.In closing I want leave you with a line of one of the most popular cowboy songs ever written that pretty much sums it up for all of us who missed out on the good old days.Round up in the spring:

In the lobby of a big hotel in New York town one day, sat a bunch of fellers tellin yarns to pass the time away. They told of places where they had been and the different things they’d seen. Some preferred Chicago town, while others New Orleans. In a corner in an old armchair sat a man whose hair was gray. He listened to them eagerly to what they had to say. They asked him where he'd like to be, his clear old voice did ring, I'd like to be in Texas for the round-up in the spring.

So until next time, happy trails, keep yer back to the wind, keep yer powder dry, and all those other great western goodbyes.

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

Frontier Texas

I've always been a history buff and a fan of museums. I like to visit places that have to do with all kinds of history. One museum in particular really stands out for me though and that in Frontier Texas in Abilene.

The reason I'm such a fan of this one is because it tells about the history in my backyard. Sometimes it is hard to relate to a subject if you've never spent any time in that area. Frontier Texas basically covers east of Brownwood to San Angelo, up through Abilene and all the way up to Ft. Richardson in Jacksboro. In the mid to late 1800's that was the end of civilization, if you went west of San Angelo or Abilene you were pretty much on your own. You might as well leave your scalps at the door.

You could almost draw a line on a map from Del Rio to Wichita Falls. Some of the main ones were Ft. Duncan, Ft. Clark, Ft. McKavett, Ft. Concho, Ft. Chadbourne, Ft. Phantom Hill, Ft. Griffin and Ft. Richardson. The farther east you went from here, the better off you were. But with us being Americans and that whole Manifest Destiny thing we just had to keep pushing west and that caused lots of heartache but it did establish the land we have today.

The Frontier Texas museum guides you through this area of Texas during that time and it introduces you to real people who lived and helped settle this area. The actor Buck Taylor is the virtual guide through the museum and it focuses on people like Cynthia Ann Parker who was captured and raised by Indians and Britt Johnson who was a former slave who was a muleskinner in the area who had to rescue his family from Comanches.

If you haven't been you should really go. Take you kids, they will love it. They will also learn that there was some pretty cool stuff happening before Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers ever came along! It is high tech and very interactive. It has virtual tours, holograms and all kinds of special effects and of course it has plenty of authentic artifacts from that time. Spend the money, spend an afternoon in Abilene and you will not be disappointed.

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

From Vaqueros and Charros to Cowboys and 'Punchers

This is a re-post of a previous article

Everybody thinks the cowboy is a uniquely American creation. Well that is not entirely true. Yes, it has evolved into something totally American but like just about everything else in this country it has its roots from another land.

As you all know, Mexico had Texas long before we Americans did. Before that, Spain was in control of this land. The men that had first settled this land are the ones who brought the art of working cattle and taming horses. Americans did not start to settle here until 1821. Mexico had started to allow some Americans to come in and become citizens of Mexico.

Moses Austin was supposed to bring the first settlers but he became sick and later died so his son Stephen F. Austin began bringing the settlers and settling in central and east Texas. From 1821 until after the Civil War (1861-1865) there really was no American Cowboy. The people here in Texas at that particular time were just your typical pioneers and homesteaders just like you see in the old TV westerns.

The people who settled in Texas after 1866, for the most part, were poor farmers from the South. Most of these people had their homes and farms blown to bits from the Civil War. The main thing these people did with cows was milk them. As far as horses (and mules) go, they would either ride them for transportation or hitch them to a plow or buggy.

Once these people settled out west, especially in Texas, they saw all these wild longhorn cows running loose. They knew there was a new business to be tapped in to, but they didn’t yet know how to 'Cowboy.'

Enter the Charro; he is also known more commonly as a vaquero. A vaca is Spanish for cow, so vaquero literally translates into a “worker of cows”. Charro was sort of a nickname sort of the same way we call American cowboys 'punchers or waddies. The term 'buckaroo' is also a slang term for cowboys that has its origins in us white folk's inability to properly pronounce “va- ker-ooh”.

The Charro originates from Jalisco (which is where the Mariachi can also be traced back to in the mid 1800's) and Michoacan (where my in-laws happen to hail from), Mexico. This particular area of Mexico developed the traditional “cowboying techniques” that were eventually passed on to the Americans.

The charro participates in Las Charreadas, which is basically a Mexican rodeo. It is actually the national sport of Mexico. Most people, like me, would have guessed it was soccer or baseball. Anyway, the Charros are world renowned for their horsemanship.

Charros are also known for their colorful dress, known as trajes (trah hes). These costumes are what later evolved into the traditional Mariachi costumes. Anyone that knows Mexicans as well as I do, know that most of them have a flair for the dramatic, as you can see this tradition dates back many, many years.

Personally I believe a lot of racism and hatred that some people hold against each other could be overcome just by learning about our history. The Texicans and the Mexicans have much more in common than not. They developed the Charro and gave us the Cowboy. Their Charros also developed into their version of the “singing cowboys” more specifically Mariachis. Our cowboys developed into colorful singers as well, which I described in last weeks article. They have had the Charreada and we developed the rodeo in the 1880’s.

Another little known fact about the Mexican cowboys is Los Kinenos. In the 1850’s, Richard King began buying up a lot of land in South Texas and turned it into the world famous King Ranch, which is one of the largest ranches in the world. It has over 825,000 acres, which makes it larger than the state of Rhode Island. In 1854, he traveled to a village in Mexico that had been pretty much wiped out by a drought and he hired the entire town to come to Texas and work for him on the ranch. They later became known as Los Kinenos or the king’s men. To this day the descendants of the original Kinenos are still working, living and thriving on one of the greatest ranches ever known.

So the next time your watching Lonesome Dove, or at a rodeo, or just working on your own ranch, give a tip of the old sombrero to our partners from south of the border.

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

My Cold Dead Hands

For years now, actually as long as I can remember, liberals in this country have been looking for a way to outlaw guns but that damn Constitution kept getting in the way of their best laid plans. They may have finally come up with a plan though. Although I hate what they are doing I have to admit it was a pretty foxy move.

Since the Constitution says "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Some have tried to argue that what the amendment really means is that only state militias like your local national guard can keep weapons. Anyone with half a brain could see through that scheme though and the courts have upheld that individuals can keep their own personal weapons. For those of you who don't understand what the national guard is, I will try and explain. The guard is a reserve unit where people usually drill one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. When they are needed, they can be called to active duty by the governor of each state for emergencies, the kicker is that they not only belong to the state but they also fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force which makes them federal organizations. We can't fight against federal oppression if we are also employees of that same federal government. I hope that makes sense, it doesn't sound like it came out right.

The entire purpose of the second amendment was to keep the feds from becoming too powerful and oppressive. If we didn't own guns the people in Washington would have no reason to fear us. They would have total control over us. Even Adolf Hitler understood this concept when he said "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing." The point is it is all part of the checks and balances idea that our government was formed on.

Our founding fathers were no fools either. You have to remember they just left European countries where they were oppressed and they wanted no part of that in the brand new good old U.S.A. George Mason once said "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials." James Madison was quoted as saying "[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." And finally Thomas Jefferson said "What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms."

The point is that these men got it. They understood why people should be able to keep arms as long as they are peaceful law abiding citizens. Now we are the exact people who are being targeted. What President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have finally figured out is that it is OK to let them keep the guns but they have no constitutional right to own ammunition. So hey, lets go after the ammo. Anyone who has been to Wal-Mart, Academy, Cabela's or any other sporting goods store lately have noticed two things. The ammunition shelves are nearly empty and whats left is priced through the roof. It is a back door gun control policy and it is wrong!

Your federal government is looking for another way to cheat you out of one of your basic rights. This is not what our government was created for. We don't need a nanny state. The basic job of the federal government is to defend us against all enemies foreign and domestic and to make treaties and trade agreements with other countries and that is about it. Anything that is not specifically spelled out in the Constitution is left up to the state's discretion.

This is just one component of the Tea Parties that have sprung up all over the country on April 15th and July 4th. The people (of both parties) feel like they are not being represented properly. The taxes and spending is the main issue but the assault on the bill of rights is also a big concern of everyone too.

I don't have a quick fix answer to this problem. The best advice I can give is to research your congressmen and senators and vote in people who share your values. If they go to D.C. and forget all about you then vote them out every two or six years. The next Congressional election is 2010. Get involved learn about the issues and candidates and you can make a difference, you can give your kids and grand kids the same country we enjoyed years ago. Also I would advise you to join organizations like the N.R.A. and the Heritage Foundation. These are organizations dedicated to defending the traditional American rule of law. I am begging all of you who read this, change the leadership in Washington. Fall is coming up soon and I want to go hunting!

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

Do you still recognize your country?

With the Fourth of July coming up I started feeling patriotic, proud and depressed all at the same time. When I used to write my old blog I used to talk a lot about politics and current events. I wanted to focus this new blog more on western themes but I said I would dabble in politics from time to time and the week of the Fourth of July is as good a time as any.

This current president has done more to damage this country than anyone else I can think of. That includes Jimmy Carter and Franklin Roosevelt. I don't doubt that he is sincere in what he is doing but we are not socialists and he doesn't seem to be able to grasp this concept. He seems like a nice guy, a good father and would probably be a nice neighbor to have but that is not qualifications for leader of the free world.

I sincerely believe that the nation got caught up in the notion of electing our first black president (well half black anyway). Yes it was a milestone for us as a country I am glad that as a society we have moved passed those kind of racial divisions and deep seeded hatred for our brothers and sisters. But this goes back to prove my point that I've always made about quotas and affirmative action. Dont give someone a position based on the color of their skin. Martin Luther King died protesting this kind of thing. We need the most qualified and best suited candidates to fill positions, whether it is president, general, teacher, doctor or quarterback. I am not opposed to a black president but give me J.C. Watts, or Michael Steele or Condoleeza Rice. Any of them would do a better job than the current commander in chief.

It is not just the president though. There are two houses of Congress that act like crackheads who just won the lottery. There are a few good ones there like John Cornyn, Tom Coburn and even Joe Lieberman who I almost always disagree with but I believe he is a dedicated principled man. Over in the house you have people like Mike Conoway, Duncan Hunter and a few others.

Then there is the supreme court which is barely in our favor right now. When I say our favor I really mean in the country's favor when they defend individual rights, property rights and religous freedoms. That could change in the next few years.

Sometimes people feel so overwhelemed that they dont know what to do and they feel like giving up. Don't, you really do have a voice. You have to write, call or email you represenatives in congress. Any of you who listen to talk radio know this is effective. If you burn up the lines to D.C. they start to get scared and worry about their next election. They will tend to do what is right if you scare them enough. It has worked on drilling and illegal immigration, of course we have a new administration now so that went out the window, but before the elections there was real progress being made on that.

People remember you do not work for the government. Your hard earned money does not belong to them. Your property does not belong to them. Your rights as human beings, men and women, are bestowed to you by God almighty! Barak Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can not bestow inalienable rights to you only our creator can and as much as Obama thinks he is God, he isn't and he is up for another job interview in 2012.

People are always saying "God bless America" that is much more than a song and a bumper sticker. Folks God has blessed America, over and over and over again. I read a book once called The Greatest Virtue by Reverend Pat Robertson. The theme of the book was that we have to be humble in our lives in order to be blessable by God. We have lost that, we have become very secular and very arrogant and that is why we don't always recieve the blessings we want when we do come running back to God asking him to bail us out of our latest problem. Here are a couple of quotes to make my point.

"By meditating on Christ's humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble."- Saint Teresa of Avila

"Unless humility precede, accompany, and follow up all the good we accomplish, unless we keep our eyes fixed on it, pride will snatch everything right out of our hands"- Saint Augustine

If you want another book that really explains what it means to be a conservative and what the role of America's government is all about you should really read "Liberty and Tyranny" by Mark Levin. It is the perfect guide to remind us what America was, how we lost it and more importantly how we get it back!

Here are a few more quotes about our liberty and our faith to remind you why there is no place else like the good old U.S.A.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take it away"- Thomas Jefferson

"They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety"- Benjamin Franklin

"The constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness, you have to catch it yourself"- Benjamin Franklin

"That government is best, that governs least"- Thomas Paine

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then the dumb and silent may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington

"All men having power should be distrusted to a certain degree." -James Madison

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."- James Madison

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."- Patrick Henry

"It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men's lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible."- Theodore Roosevelt

"I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning...."
"A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district; all studied and appreciated as they merit; are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty."- Ben Franklin

"It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness..."
"I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book upon reason that you can, and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man."- Abraham Lincoln

"Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty." – Abraham Lincoln

"The laws of nature are the laws of God, whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth."- George Mason

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

Coleman PRCA Rodeo

Coleman Texas has about 5,500 residents, give or take. Like most other small towns there is not much to do around here. This town fits all the usual stereotypes. We roll up the sidewalks at sundown and the little old ladies just drive their cars to church on Sunday.

With that being said there is one thing that Coleman is known for and that we do really well. I'm talking rodeo. Not just any rodeo mind you, a real live PRCA rodeo just like the kind you see on RFD-TV and ESPN 8 (the ocho!) Since it is a PRCA event some of the top cowboys in the country come out of their way to find little old Coleman Texas. No it's not Houston and it's not Cheyenne or Las Vegas but "the cowboys are the toughest and the stock's the best there is" to borrow a line from Red Steagall.

The Coleman rodeo started in 1936 during the Texas Centennial. Some local citizens were looking for a fun way to commemorate Texas 100th birthday and what better way for a small town in West Central Texas to do that than to do what they know best? They came out and cowboyed!

The rodeo came from humble beginnings; using the local football field for an arena. It steadily grew and gained popularity throughout the region and it began to grow. They bought some land south of town and built an arena, grandstands and other things such as show barns, breeder-feeder buildings and a dance pavilion.

It seems like the rodeo kind of went through a lull for a few years where it just wasn't as good a show as it used to be. I don't have anything to base that on it is just one fans perception. Whatever the problem may have been they have come back with a vengeance the last few years. I know the prize money has been upped and the Stace Smith Contractors have provided excellent stock to show the cowboys off. The dances have also been much improved, I know over the last few years big Texas acts such as Kevin Fowler, Pauline Reese and one of my personal favorites Ricky Calmbach have all come through Coleman to play. Also in the last few years they have added the Bill Franklin Center and a new Expo center both of which have been huge improvements not just for the rodeo but for all the local events our town hosts.

What would a rodeo be without a parade? As usual the folks of Coleman did not disappoint. The parade was full of everything you would expect in a Norman Rockwell style town. We had homemade floats, local cheerleaders, various civic organizations, fire trucks, police cars and lots and lots of horses and cowboys to ride them. Of course you cant have a rodeo without your rodeo queen. My buddy Doug Burks and his band Barbwire also provided music and entertainment after the parade was over.

One other thing that the Coleman rodeo has that almost no one else does is an equestrian drill team. This team is made up of local cowgirls, they have no sponsors or endorsements, they do this all on their own. They are a really talented bunch of cowgirls, if you ever get the chance to attend a rodeo in Coleman they are worth the price of admission themselves.

Well that about does it for this year. I attended the Friday night show. We had a great time, my oldest daughter wants to be a barrel racer (among other things). My youngest daughter thought seeing all those cows and horses was about the coolest thing around.

God and Texas,

Jason Watson

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