Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Nineteenth Century

1. The Texas Rangers Revisited: Old Themes and New Viewpoints

24 ★ 1 ★ The Texas Rangers Revisited: Old Themes and New Viewpoints Harold J. Weiss, Jr. . . . there is glamor in the names Of the men who made the Rangers, as the record still proclaims: The lifter left the cattle and the outlaw hid his gat When they thought about the rider in the tall—white—hat.1 S uch verse conjures up timeless images of Rangers battling desperadoes in furious gun battles. The Rangers as heroic figures can be seen as Cossacks on horseback, Mounties without uniforms , six-shooter Sir Galahads who knew no fear and persevered as guardians of law and order. In their relentless pursuit of lawbreakers , these fearless Rangers “rode the border and the outlaw rode for life.”2 Continuity in historical analysis has two important elements: enduring traits in a time continuum, and the imprint of such longstanding characteristics on the public. From events in their early history the Texas Rangers gained a reputation as a mounted body of officers capable of pursuing their foes in Indian country or along the Mexican border; were identified with a particular weapon—the six-shooter—that contributed to their image as fighters who nei- The Texas Rangers Revisited: Old Themes and New Viewpoints ★ 25 ther gave nor asked for quarter; and were an irregular force with no uniforms, some privately supplied equipment and provisions, and a noticeable lack of military discipline. This rough-and-ready image, which first appeared in the fight for Texan independence and the Mexican War, left its imprint on the imagination of those writers who have recorded the exploits of outlaws and lawmen. Although tradition played an important part in Ranger affairs, different eras in Texas history produced different types of Rangers. Through the decades of settlement, revolution, and statehood; the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction; the growth of agriculture and industry; the rise of urban Texas; and American involvement in two world wars, the operations of the Texas Rangers can be divided into three distinct periods: 1. 1823–1874: the heyday of the Rangers as citizen soldiers. Within this time frame ranging companies and other volunteer units engaged in a military struggle with Indian tribes and Mexicans for control of the land. 2. 1874–1935: the age of the Rangers as old-time professional lawmen. In 1874, to protect the frontier and suppress lawless segments of the population, the legislature created a Special Force of Rangers under Capt. L. H. McNelly and the Frontier Battalion, commanded by Maj. John B. Jones. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Frontier Battalion had evolved into a complex organizational structure with a chain of command and career-minded officers who carried out administrative duties and investigative work, from tracking criminals to collecting and analyzing evidence. Such processes were the hallmarks of the old-style professional peace officers throughout the American West. 3. 1935–present: the period of the Rangers as new-style modern police. In 1935 the Rangers became part of the modern state police movement in the United States when they were transferred along with the Highway Patrol to the newly created Department of Public Safety. The move reinforced professionalism, as political patronage 26 ★ Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Nineteenth Century decreased and bureaus were created for communications, education , intelligence, and identification and records.3 Each generation must use its experiences to reinterpret—some might say reinvent—the actions of the Texas Rangers in the field. The historiographical map of the Ranger companies is covered with accounts that chronicle dates and events, narrate the adventures of intrepid Rangers, or criticize the same body of men for using force beyond the line of duty. The highlights of this historical literature are twofold. First, there is the professional stature of Walter Prescott Webb. Although it did not stress a central thesis as did his other works, Webb’s monumental study of the Rangers brought together a vast array of factual information and attracted public attention to the exploits of nineteenth-century Ranger captains. J. Frank Dobie called this classic work the “beginning, middle, and end of the subject .”4 Yet before his untimely death Webb realized that his Ranger book needed to address more fully events in the twentieth century, as did his articles for the Michigan State Trooper, and that a fresh approach to the conflict between Anglos and Hispanics would contribute to a more balanced view of law enforcement in modern Texas...