“Pidge,” Texas Ranger by Chuck Parsons (review)

The more one examines this work, the more one becomes interested in the author, Chuck Parsons, and the subject matter, Texas Ranger Thomas C. Robinson, alias “T. Chanders,” alias “Pidge” (with the last pseudonym probably showing his affection for a woman named Pidgie Mitchell). Robinson rode with the legendary Leander McNelly and wrote letters, poems, and reports in a lively fashion. Parsons, a freelance writer and diligent researcher, has put together a book that is readable, informative, and a source of stimulation. It is a book to savor.

Robinson migrated to Texas from Virginia in the 1870s and did two things of note: he enlisted in a ranging company under the command of McNelly and corresponded with two Texas newspapers. With wit and satire, “Pidge” enlightened his readers about topics that ranged from a cattle drive to the movements, some well-planned, some not, of the Texas Rangers. More than the other “Little McNellys,” Robinson had literary talent.

Readers will be intrigued by Robinson’s comments about the doings of McNelly’s men at arms in the Sutton-Taylor feud in DeWitt County (including John Wesley Hardin) and in their actions against cattle thieves on the Rio Grande frontier. Promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, Robinson and other members of McNelly’s company tried to keep the feuding factions apart, even exchanging gunfire at one point. Yet without local support the feud would go on. In their actions against raiding parties at the Mexican border, the Rangers sent scouts to gather information, took part in shootouts, and recovered stolen cattle. At one point McNelly even crossed the Mexican border in a controversial operation. From Camp Texas Rangers in 1876, Robinson wrote that a “few more such lessons as this one given them by Capt. M------would teach them that on their own side of the river they are not always perfectly safe, as they have heretofore considered themselves” (103). In that same year Lieutenant Robinson took leave from his Ranger duties, returned to Virginia, and was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Jesse Mitchell (brother of Pidgie).

This work is a revised edition of an earlier self-published volume (1985). Parsons as editor improved the readability of his extensive introduction, updated the bibliography, and used less photographs in the new edition. In addition, his explanatory notes about classical and modern literature found in the writings by Robinson make him an editor par excellence; yet, Robinson remains an elusive character. In his role as “Pidge,” though, he should be considered a Ranger literary virtuoso.