Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald

Chapter 10. Finale of the Frontier Battalion

{ 1 8 6 } The troubles at Orange, Texas, where Fuller went down, led to the demise of the Frontier Battalion at the turn of the twentieth century. During the last half of the 1890s, the lifestyles of the members of the Frontier Battalion remained similar to the existence of those who served in the early Rangers. They still wore nondescript clothes, rode horses, carried revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, and lived under harsh conditions imposed by nature and distances traveled . In addition, the men in the four companies in the field continued under the command of Brooks, Hughes, McDonald, and Rogers. These captains tried to maximize the use of their time and energies in combating crime and maintaining order. At the start of the twentieth century, the Lone Star State faced a growing population and an increasing number of farms, ranches, towns, and larger urban centers. For some time the Rangers of Texas tried to change their operations to meet these new conditions. Although the headquarters of their companies remained in the less populated western and southern areas, they also established subcompanies in the towns and became more involved in combating crime and disorder in East Texas. Yet the Ranger service had to face these additional responsibilities with limited resources and manpower. Chapter 10  FINALE OF THE FRONTIER BATTALION On the killing of T. L. Fuller of Company B in the line of duty: shot “without warning.”1 Financial exigencies forced state officials to reduce the number of Rangers to a mere handful. In order to cover vast distances, this small band of peace officers increasingly traveled by rail and communicated by telegraph. Most important, the Rangers, like their counterparts elsewhere in the country, improved their investigative skills. The Rangers as detectives had gained acceptance in many quarters. For nearly two decades the central headquarters of the Ranger service remained stable under Adjutant Generals King and Mabry. This steadily directed command system came to an end with the resignation of Mabry in 1898 in order to serve in the SpanishAmerican War. He was replaced as adjutant general by Alfred P. Wozencraft, who served in the position for a short period of time. In 1899 Thomas Scurry then took Wozencraft’s place and held the office for several years. John A. Hulen became the fourth adjutant general in a decade, as he replaced Scurry and carried out his duties from 1903 to 1907. These adjutant generals ably headed both the military and police forces of the state. As these changes took place, turnover also occurred in the personnel of the office of battalion quartermaster at central headquarters in Austin. The long-standing career of Sieker in this role came to an end in 1893. During the rest of the 1890s, this key position in maintaining the Ranger companies in the field was filled by G. A. Wheatley (1893–1895), W. H. Owen (1895–1899), and E. M. Phelps (1899). At the turn of the century Sieker came back to direct the “Four Great Captains” as battalion quartermaster for six more years. Captain McDonald continued his dual roles in the Ranger service : running a company and investigating crime and disorder. By the opening of the 1900s, McDonald still had to manage the company, write reports, and deal with organizational problems. Cartridges for the revolvers and rifles had to be purchased, mostly .45 caliber handguns and 30/30 Winchesters. Then came the need for handcuffs and leg irons, feed for horses and mules (hay, corn, and oats), and rations for the men (in one monthly report more bacon than { 1 8 7 } FINALE OF THE FRONTIER BATTALION beef, more potatoes than beans, and a lot of flour). McDonald agreed with his superiors, in addition, that each Ranger company should be furnished with a two-horse hack. He felt that at times wagon travel was too slow. Most important, Private Eugene Bell got drunk and was put in jail. The Ranger captain took his commission away from him. At one point his superiors in the central office sent McDonald blank forms to be used in recording his actions in running Company B: forms for muster and payrolls, monthly reports, ration returns, vouchers, and discharge certificates.2 While McDonald and some of his Rangers went after feudists, lynchers, and mobs in high-profile cases from San Saba to Columbus and Athens, other members of Company...