The Rangers: Famous Indeed!

READERS NARRATOR 1 RANGER 1 PRESIDENT LAMAR REPORTER NARRATOR 2 RANGER 2 VICE PRESIDENT BURNET CAPTAIN HAYS NARRATOR 3 RANGER 3 PRESIDENT HOUSTON CAPTAIN FORD CAPTAIN McNELLY

Learn about the Texas Rangers’ beginnings, their most colorful characters, and why they became one of the most famous law enforcement agencies in the world.

NARRATOR 1: The Texas Rangers are one of the state’s greatest legends.

NARRATOR 2: They were a force of select marksmen who rode out on short notice to defend the frontier for days or weeks at a time.

NARRATOR 3: In 1823, the first Rangers were organized by Stephen F. Austin to protect his settlement from native Texan raiders.

NARRATOR 1: Texas lawmakers created a “Corps of Rangers” as a special force to protect the frontier.

NARRATOR 2: Most Rangers served as couriers and scouts during the .

NARRATOR 3: They retrieved cattle, assisted citizens across rivers in the Runaway Scrape, and escorted the Texas army at the Battle of San Jacinto.

RANGER 1: Those weren’t exactly our glory days.

RANGER 2: Army escorts, my foot! We wanted to be part of the action!

RANGER 3: Hold it, fellas. You both know our story gets better.

NARRATOR 1: After the revolution, President Houston worked at friendly relations with the Indians. The Rangers didn’t see much action during his first term. NARRATOR 2: Yet they did grow in importance. Let’s travel back to 1838. Mirabeau B. Lamar, Vice President during Houston’s term, is now president.

NARRATOR 3: Lamar opposed Houston’s frontier policies. He wanted to wage war against the native Texans.

NARRATOR 1: David G. Burnet was vice president of Texas during Lamar’s term.

VICE PRESIDENT BURNET: Our Republic is in a dangerous situation, sir. The natives raid our forts and ranches on President Lamar horseback, terrorizing, kidnapping, and murdering Texan settlers.

PRESIDENT LAMAR: I foresee that Texas will one day be a great nation. We must gain control over this great land and drive out our enemies!

VICE PRESIDENT BURNET: Our southern border does not fare much better, sir. The Mexican government refuses to recognize Texas as a country. They will send an army into Texas at any moment.

PRESIDENT LAMAR: It is no longer possible to be friendly with the Indians as President Houston did. I will ask Congress to increase our force of Rangers.

NARRATOR 1: Congress grants Lamar’s request. Two companies of Rangers were created, one to fend off attacks on the western frontier and the other to defend the southern border with Mexico.

NARRATOR 2: War was waged against the native Texans.

RANGER 1: In 1839, we fought the Cherokee War in East Texas.

RANGER 2: We defeated the Cherokees at the Council House Fight in San Antonio.

RANGER 3: At the Battle of Plum Creek south of Austin, we fought 1,000 warriors.

NARRATOR 3: During his second term, President Houston continued to employ the Rangers to defend the frontier. Their fame spread, and they became a force to be reckoned with.

PRESIDENT HOUSTON: The Rangers have proven their worth. They are an effective fighting force, and we must still defend the

President Houston southern border against Mexico. The Ranger forces do not drain the Texas budget. They are our best hope for defending Texas.

NARRATOR 1: In 1841, Mexico still did not recognize Texas as an independent republic. Mexico wanted to win Texas back!

RANGER 1: During President Houston’s second term, our forces grew to 150 men.

RANGER 2: Houston appointed Captain John Coffee “Jack” Hays as our leader. Hays led us in the Mexican Invasions of 1942 and in defending the western frontier.

RANGER 3: Hays recruited the toughest frontier fighters and trained us in skilled warfare. We became a force to be reckoned with!

* * * *

NARRATOR 2: Join us as we listen to a reporter from an early Texas newspaper as he interviews the famous Captain Hays.

REPORTER: Captain Hays, the people of Texas recognize you as one of the Rangers’ greatest leaders. Can you tell me about their life in the early days? What was it like?

CAPTAIN HAYS: The life of a Texas Ranger was hard. A Ranger had to provide his own horse, guns, and bullets. They would volunteer for a mission an’ return home when the mission was done.

REPORTER: What made the Rangers such an effective fighting force?

CAPTAIN HAYS: My Rangers rode hard an’ fought hard. They could ride out on less than a day’s notice an’ track the enemy for John Coffee “Jack” Hays days or weeks at a time. We were the meanest, toughest, shootin’est lawmen of the West.

REPORTER: Who did the Rangers fight?

CAPTAIN HAYS: Why, my men could fight a passel of or track down the country’s worst outlaws!

REPORTER: As their leader, how did you sharpen their skills? CAPTAIN HAYS: I recruited only the toughest, ablest men and trained them to fight on the frontier. Most Rangers carried more than one gun.

REPORTER: I hear there’s a gun the Rangers made famous. Can you tell me about it?

CAPTAIN HAYS: We began using the Colt pistol, which could be loaded with five bullets at a time. One of my Rangers, Samuel H. Walker, suggested some improvements, and the new gun became known as the Colt Walker pistol.

REPORTER: What did the Rangers get in return for their bravery?

CAPTAIN HAYS: The Republic couldn’t pay ‘em much.’ They mostly did it ‘cause they loved their jobs and their country. They wanted to defend Texas!

REPORTER: Tell me about William Andrews Anderson “Big Foot” Wallace.

ALL: “Bigfoot” Wallace?

CAPTAIN HAYS: Wallace was a legend in his own right. He was unusually large, 6’2” and 260 pounds. Wallace was an expert tracker for the Rangers, but he’s mostly remembered for joinin’ the Mier Expedition in 1842 and for fightin’ in the Mexican War.

REPORTER: What happened in the Mier Expedition?

W.A.A. "Bigfoot" Wallace CAPTAIN HAYS: Well, when President Lamar’s idea to capture New Mexico failed, some Rangers went down into Mexico, but only to be captured. The Mexicans blindfolded our boys and made ‘em draw beans from a jar. Texans who drew black beans—19 in all—were executed, but Wallace and Walker survived ‘cause they drew white beans.

REPORTER: Did the people in Mexico call the Rangers “Los Diablos Tejanos”?

ALL: What does that mean?

CAPTAIN HAYS: In English that means “the Texas devils.” Some of the Ranger companies were too rough with the people of Mexico durin’ the war. Their job was to clear the way for the U.S. Army, but they abused Mexican citizens along the way.

REPORTER: I see. Are you proud of the Rangers’ tactics? CAPTAIN HAYS: No, I ain’t proud, but my men were rough ‘cause we lived an’ fought in tough times. By the time of the war, Texans were hoppin’ mad at Mexico for years of disregarded rights and treaties.

REPORTER: Thank you, Captain Hays.

* * * *

NARRATOR 1: The next ten years (1848-1858) saw less Ranger activity as the U.S. Army waged the Indian Wars. Captain John S. “Rip” Ford became senior commander of the Rangers in 1858. He’s here to tell us about his famous campaigns.

CAPTAIN FORD: Well, first, there were the frontier battles. The Comanches were mad at the settlers for takin’ their lands, so they raided the settlers’ farms. They wanted to roam free an’ hunt the buffalo.

NARRATOR 2: What happened?

CAPTAIN FORD: My boys were sent after the Comanches to fight them on their camping grounds in Oklahoma. We won a victory and killed Chief Iron Jacket at the Canadian River in 1858. We only made the natives angrier. The Comanche and Kiowa Indians stepped up their violence against the settlers. Folks got so mad they demanded an end to the reservations.

NARRATOR 3: And the second campaign?

CAPTAIN FORD: The next year, we went to fight the Cattle Wars in South Texas. Juan Cortina and his gang raided ranches south of the Nueces River, rounding up unbranded cattle in Mexico and driving them across the Rio Grande into Mexico. He became known as the “Red Robber of the Rio Grande.”

NARRATOR 1: The Rangers fought the Cattle Wars in South Texas until the late 1870s. They couldn’t recover the cattle, but they did send Cortina’s band running back to Mexico.

NARRATOR 2: During the Civil War (1861-1865), the Rangers went their separate ways. Most served in the Confederate army.

NARRATOR 3: After the war ended, frontier troubles and lawlessness were rampant. The Rangers were revived again in 1974 under the command of Captain Leander H. McNelly.

NARRATOR 3: Captain, what were the responsibilities of the Texas Rangers? CAPTAIN McNELLY: Let’s see….We collected taxes, suppressed riots, ensured safety, tracked down outlaws, and we protected the frontier, of course. We also went after some notorious criminals, includin’ the bank robber Sam Bass and the gunslinger John Wesley Hardin.

NARRATOR 1: The Rangers carried a big load! Was there anything not to like about them?

CAPTAIN McNELLY: Well….we sort’a took the law into our own hands at times.

NARRATOR 2: What do you mean?

CAPTAIN McNELLY: We entered Mexico a few times without permission when chasing cattle rustlers, for one.

ALL: And?

CAPTAIN McNELLY: And we….uhhh…killed some prisoners when they tried to escape. We knew it wasn’t right, but Santa Anna would’ve done the same to our own.

ALL: And?

CAPTAIN McNELLY: Oh! And we shot a few fellas when we were enforcin’ the law, but most of ‘em were criminals.

NARRATOR 3: Is there anything else you regret?

CAPTAIN McNELLY: Well, sure! I’m sorry the Rangers became so famous.

ALL: WHAT???

CAPTAIN McNELLY: You see we Rangers got all the fame and glory, even if we didn’t deserve it. Why, every county had a sheriff and deputies, but they never got near enough credit! Why should the Rangers get all the glory?

NARRATOR 1: There you have it, folks. The Rangers were famous beyond their deeds.

NARRATOR 2: The Rangers are still active after 150 years.

NARRATOR 3: They were famous in deeds and famous indeed. Would Texas be the same without them?

ALL: Famous in deeds, famous indeed!