Pidge, Texas Ranger

Pidge and the Rio Grande Frontier

Pidge and the Rio grande Frontier T he​concluding​paragraph​of​Pidge’s​last​letter​from​DeWitt​ County​ended​on​a​note​of​optimism.​Why​his​writing​then​ ceased​to​appear​in​the​Statesman​is​unknown;​no​additional ​contributions​appeared​there.​There​was​no​farewell ​from​Pidge​announcing​his​departure,​as​there​had​ been​when​T.​Chanders​left​Austin​with​other​Rangers​for​the​“seat​of​ war”​in​DeWitt​County.​The​company​was​temporarily​disbanded​in​the​ latter​part​of​February.​The​pay​rolls​identify​an​aggregate​of​seventy​men​ comprising​the​company,​including​officers.​Payment​was​through​February ​24,​1875,​for​those​who​had​not​previously​been​mustered​out.​The​ next​document​in​the​records​is​the​muster​and​pay​roll​from​the​reorganization ​date​of​April​1​to​August​31,​1875.​Apparently​the​sentiment​was​ that​the​company​was​no​longer​needed​in​DeWitt​County,​or​perhaps​ simply​that​the​funds​to​support​it​had​ended. ​ The​letter​of​December​9,​1874,​was​the​last​to​appear​in​the​Statesman .​Whether​there​were​others​written​but​not​accepted​cannot​now​ be​determined.​Why​the​correspondence​stopped​cannot​now​be​determined ​either:​presumably​differences​between​Pidge​and​editor​Cardwell ​caused​the​discontinuance.​But​readers​in​Austin​could​continue​ to​enjoy​Pidge’s​writings​since​they​continued​after​McNelly’s​company​ arrived​on​the​Rio​Grande​frontier,​where​it​was​sent​to​combat​cattle​ thieves.​The​letters​would​now​appear​in​the​Daily State Gazette,​edited​ by​John​D.​Elliott.​In​the​Gazette​of​April​17,​1875,​appeared​this​brief​ item:​“We​have​arranged​with​Capt.​McNally​[sic]​for​regular​contributions ​for​the​GAZETTE​and​telegrams,​from​the​seat​of​the​west.”​Strangely​ the​first​letter​would​not​appear​until​October​3,​1875.​Were​there​others​ contributed​but​for​some​reason​editor​Elliott​rejected​them? ​ It​is​impossible​to​determine​what​Pidge​did​during​the​interim.​There​ are​few​reports​from​McNelly​that​could​provide​information.​His​last​ report​was​dated​November​30,​1874;​other​than​this​there​are​only​pay​ vouchers.​Consequently​we​know​virtually​nothing​of​McNelly​himself​or​ of​any​members​of​the​company. ​ On​January​10,​1875,​McNelly​wrote​to​General​Steele​that​unless​instructed ​to​the​contrary​he​would​leave​Clinton​for​Austin​on​either​Janu- PIdge and the rIo grande FrontIer ★ 75 ary​16​or​17.​It​is​believed​he​did​go​to​Austin,​but​whether​his​lieutenant​ accompanied​him​or​remained​in​Clinton​is​not​known.​The​lieutenant​ and​some​of​the​command​may​have​remained​in​DeWitt​County​to​determine ​if​it​was​indeed​proper​for​the​company​to​leave​the​troubled​ area. ​ The​captain​was​back​in​Clinton​in​March.​On​March​4​he​wrote​to​ General​Steele​that​it​was​becoming​more​and​more​difficult​for​merchants ​to​accept​warrants​because​of​the​uncertainty​of​the​length​of​stay​ of​the​company​there.​But​his​letter​ended​with​an​optimistic​“All​quiet.” ​ Even​though​McNelly​may​have​felt​confident​about​the​situation​he​ The Nueces Strip was contested ground between Texas ranchers and bandits from across the Rio Grande. Map by Donald S. Frazier. 76 ★ “PIdge,” texas ranger was​leaving​in​DeWitt​County,​some​felt​quite​differently.​In​the​San Antonio Daily Express​of​March​26​appeared​a​negative​report.​“Frontier​ Protection​Falls​Through”​was​the​headline​of​the​article: The​State​Troops,​organized​with​such​a​flourish​at​the​beginning​of​ Coke’s​reign,​are​to​be​withdrawn​soon​and​disbanded.​The​Legislature ​gets​the​credit​of​doing​it,​because​they​failed​to​make​the​requisite ​appropriation​to​keep​these​troops​in​the​field. ​ During​the​winter​there​was​little​use​for​these​troops​on​the​frontier ,​and​Coke​used​them​as​a​kind​of​State​Police​force​to​regulate​ some​of​his​unruly​partisans​in​DeWitt​county​and​elsewhere. Whatever​inactivity​the​Washington​County​Volunteer​Militia​Company​ experienced​during​the​winter​was​to​be​made​up​for​on​the​border.​San​ Antonio’s​Daily Express​kept​its​readers​well​informed​of​McNelly’s​activities ,​eager​to​find​opportunities​to​use​these​as​a​vehicle​to​condemn​ Coke. ​ The​company​reorganized​on​April​1,​1875,​and​started​for​the​Rio​ Grande​ frontier​ on​ April​ 10.​ The​ Daily Express​ of​ April​ 24​ reported​ that​the​company​had​arrived​at​Corpus​Christi.​In​this​tense​situation​ John Elliott edited the Daily State Gazette, which published Pidge’s letters from...