Texas Ranger John B. Jones and the Frontier Battalion, 1874-1881

17. Sober, Steady, and Respectable Man

271 SOBER, STEADY, AND RESPECTABLE MAN 17 IN EARLY AUGUST 1880, the Sheriff ’s Association of Texas met at the Dallas Opera House. Sheriff Eugene Glover of Duval County offered a resolution that the Frontier Battalion and Oglesby’s Special Troops “were recognized as an auxiliary to the regular constabulary force of Texas indispensable at present to the frontier counties, and in those officers we recognize the right men in the right place.” The resolution was unanimously adopted.1 Quartermaster Neal Coldwell made an inspection of George Baylor’s Company C detachment at Ysleta in El Paso County. He was appalled at the lack of discipline: The men do no guard duty at quarters except day guard over the horses while out grazing. On scout the men march as they please, and are generally scattered over the country. No precaution is used on approaching the water holes when Indians are likely to be camped, but the men go along shooting at any game that may be within range. Coldwell did note that Baylor strictly enforced sobriety among his men, and that he was well liked by the company as well as the citizenry. The company had very little to do, and probably the only reason to maintain 272 TEXAS RANGER JOHN B. JONES AND THE FRONTIER BATTALION, 1874–1881 it there was to head off a recurrence of the Salt War violence.2 On August 4, Lieutenant Baylor and thirteen men united with the troops under army Colonel Benjamin Grierson at Eagle Springs for the hunt after Victorio, Jones ordering Nevill and his men to join with them as soon as possible.3 Grierson had received information from a patrol that Victorio and his braves were west of Van Horn (in what is now Culberson County) headed north. The colonel had just come off a recent skirmish and defeat at the hands of the Indians. Keeping the mountains between himself and the Indians, Grierson marched his approximately 200 troops to Rattlesnake Springs, arriving ahead of the Indians. The soldiers ambushed the Indians in a canyon on August 5. The Indians attempted a counterattack , but were driven off, scattering among the hills and mountains in the area. The Indians were also repulsed in an attack on a nearby wagon train guarded by an escort of soldiers.4 After another fight on the 11th in which the Indians lost a large number of horses, Victorio retreated back into Mexico.5 Baylor and his men accompanied army troops to Quitman, and Nevill went to Eagle Springs, subsequently uniting with Baylor on August 15. They remained camped on the Rio Grande until the 21st, when Nevill returned to his camp at Fort Davis and Baylor returned to Ysleta.6 Interestingly, Nevill intercepted a letter from the prisoners at Fort Davis to “Billy Antrim” asking his help to rescue them. “Antrim” was the noted outlaw Billy the Kid. Nevill observed: “If he comes down, and I expect he will, I will enlist him for a while and put him in the same mess with Evans & Co.”7 Evans and his followers were continually trying to escape, even trying to dig out of jail with a spoon. August Gross (alias John Gunter), who was captured and jailed with Evans, pretended that he was suffering from a paralysis of a leg and arm, but Lieutenant Nevill caught him in an off-moment when he was tapping his foot while a violin was being played.8 Jesse Evans was subsequently convicted in October in the district court of Presidio County and sentenced to two ten-year terms for robbery and murder, although he later escaped from prison and disappeared from history in May of 1882.9 Sober, Steady, and Respectable Man 273 In the meantime, other border problems continued to plague Texas. On July 28, Mexican Consul Ornelas directed a letter to Governor Roberts complaining of “outrages” being committed against Mexican citizens in Bee County. He pointed out what he called persecution of Mexican nationals the previous July in the aftermath of the disappearance of a Timothy Heart. “Grounded on these speculations the local authorities have imprisoned several Mexicans, burned their fields & houses, tortured them in the most brutal manner, hung one & left still in prison three men and an elderly woman.” The consul inquired as to the protection to be afforded such citizens. Jones sent a copy of the letter to Lieutenant Oglesby and asked him to...