The title caught my eye, so I picked up a copy of the Winter 17
edition of GUNSLINGERS magazine. The article ONE RIOT, ONE
RANGER, although brief, is a good little history of the Texas
Rangers.

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In Omnia Paratus

I've read about that story. I also read about the one where a Texas Ranger attended a large party while wearing his side arm. A socialite saw the side arm and sniffed: "Expecting trouble?" The Ranger responded: "No, ma'am. If I was expecting trouble I would have brought my rifle."

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That's gonna leave a mark.

I was kinda expecting a photo of Jacob McQuade (aka) Chuck Norris. But seriously--love the story-heard it decades ago-have loads of respect for the Texas Rangers.

This guy was way better than a tv ranger

This thread deserves a photo or two. I'll share this one. Got a nice Christmas card from the Rangers last month.

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America First

From the Texas DPS archives.......

One Riot, One Ranger

Captain Bill McDonald: Texas Ranger. When sent to Dallas to prevent a scheduled prize-fight,
McDonald supposedly was greeted at the train station by the city's anxious mayor, who asked: "Where are the others?"

To that, McDonald is said to have replied, "Hell! ain't I enough? There's only one prize-fight!"

Captain McDonald's creed: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin."
Those words have evolved into the Ranger creed.


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

With Colt's Paterson's revolving belt pistol, Jack Coffee Hays was a true hero!!

A Texas Ranger "Company" has more than doubled in size I see-from 14 to 29-at least since the late 1860s to early 1870s size.

Do the Rangers continue to carry Colt's Single Action Armys? Or M1911s?

They should!

Texas Rangers can carry just about whatever sidearm they want
to carry. But the majority of them have carried the 1911 for
many years now.

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In Omnia Paratus

Another lady asked a Ranger why he carried the .45.
He said because they don't make a .50.
(That was before they did)

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In Omnia Paratus

Oh they did:



.50 Rimfire.

The book “ One Ranger “ , by H. Joaquin Jackson is great reading . I believe he just recently passed .

Love the Rangers. Have a few books myself

He passed in 2016.

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Jorge

Yes, there is now a .50 GI 1911 that shoots .50 cal. bullets.

Anything about Ranger Frank Hamer is a superb read. Frank was in at least 58 gunfights, including the ambush slayings of Bonnie and Clyde.

My father has lived an interesting life and often tells tales about it. I can tell when a story is being embellished. One story with a Ranger theme I can tell has nothing but the truth about it and I will tell for the first time.

Dalhart, Texas was a remote farming community in 1946. My father was working as a farm laborer along side Mexican migrant workers. He was 16 years old at the time. One night a pair of Mexican laborers got drunk and before you knew it, one had shot and killed his brother with a 410 shotgun. Harvesting stops for nothing so my dad being the youngest was tasked with taking the drunk to town to the sheriff. They tied him up and put him in the back seat of my dads car, gave him $3 for gas and off he went. He stopped in every little town and nobody wanted him. After several tries he was told to get ahold of a Texas Ranger living in the next town so off he goes. Finding the house the ranger lived in he woke him as it was now late evening. Explaining the situation the ranger didn't want him either and suggested my dad should "just go shoot him". Finally the ranger took the prisoner though reluctantly. My dad was now broke and out of gas so he was directed to a man who would open his station for him. He sold him his wrist watch for $4 worth of gas. Heading back to the farm he had to pass by the rangers home. All the lights were out and the prisoner was handcuffed over the clothesline post. Different times for sure.

I don't know, they seemed to even coddle them 70 years ago! Notice the Ranger didn't shoot him and was considerate enough to turn the lights out so the guy could sleep. Next thing we'll hear, those criminals will be wanting the Rangers to let them lie down at night.

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Dick Burg

I read a lot of this type stuff and the best I've read in a long time is the recent book about Frank Hamer. The title may be "Texas Ranger" or something similar. Much better than the Jackson book.

I have, oops had, a two book history of the Texas Rangers by a noted author from the University of Texas, and another one volume history as well. Great reading, but I loaned them out and they haven't found their way home yet. I should know better than to loan books!

My autographed "No Second Place Winner" got away too!

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Sometime in my misspent youth, apparently one time I was paying attention to what adults said, when I heard "never loan books, tools or guns". Fortunately it stuck. hardcase60

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You want me to do what?

And it still is. Man, is it remote.

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What, me worry?

in the "Gunslingers" magazine I thought it was interesting that in gunfights you have never heard of it was between cops and cops. I guess it was a different time back then

they could have made the magazine a little more "old eyes" friendly as some of it was hard to read.

Hot Springs gunfight - Wikipedia

Goingsnake massacre - Wikipedia

In my opinion, Capt. Frank Hamer was a Ranger's Ranger,
One Ranger, One Riot kinda Lawman.

An old Hamer recount;

In 1948, Stevenson led the Democratic primary with 39.7% to 33.7% against Lyndon B. Johnson.
LBJ won the runoff by only 87 votes out of a total of 988,295.

When Stevenson sent lawyers to Alice demanding to see the voting records
(pursuant to Texas voting statutes) their lawful demands were refused.
Stevenson and Hamer met the lawyers at the Alice Hotel and Hamer told them to take off their coats
so that the well-armed gangs employed by the Duke of Duvall,George Parr, would know that they were unarmed.

Hamer also took off his own coat and displayed the weapon that he was still authorized to carry in retirement as a “Special Ranger”.

Hamer and Stevenson were both tall with big shoulders and carried themselves in a way that stated they meant business.
The young lawyers following those two Texas legends saw groups of armed men standing all around the street.

There were about five men directly in Hamer’s path wearing guns.
A larger group stood in the doorway of the bank where Johnson’s cronies illegally kept the election records.

It was well known in Texas that Hamer had killed fifty-three men, been wounded seventeen times and left for dead more than once.

Such a reputation is in itself a most intimidating weapon and Hamer never slowed down as he approached Parr’s gunmen.

“Git!”, he admonished and then, “Fall back!”. When he got to the next group, his hand poised just above the grip of his pistol.
The gun men fell back but then they tried to follow Stevenson into the bank.
Hamer stood in the doorway of the bank and a long confrontation ensued until finally Parr’s gunmen walked away.


And we all know the rest of the story of the 'Ballot Box 13"....



* This is not a political post.....But a historical one.


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Anyone interested in Ranger lore should read "The Epic Life of Frank Hamer - The Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde" by John Boessenecker. It covers a great deal of Ranger history and lore.

Being a Texas Ranger back in the early part of the 20th century was nothing like it is today. Many of those guys drifted in an out of being a Texas Ranger. They would be a Ranger for awhile, then become a sheriff, city marshal, city cop, livestock inspector, railroad cop, etc., then maybe go back to being a Ranger again. And there was a lot of politics involved. Frank Hamer wasn't even a Texas Ranger when he was hunting down Bonnie and Clyde.

I believe Hamer was a Special Ranger working the docks in Houston when
Lee Simmons, the Director of the Texas Prison Systems request that he (Hamer)
be put on the trail of Barrow & Parker.

What with Governor Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson signing off on Simmons request.

I think it was written up in Hamer's book, "I'm Frank Hamer"


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Hamer, along with the entire Ranger force, was fired by Ma Ferguson in 1933 when she became Governor of Texas. He later got an unpaid position as an officer with the Texas Highway Patrol (but he was attempting to get an appointment as a U. S. Marshal at the time). Lee Simmons, superintendant of the Texas Prison System, approached Hamer with an offer to take on the duty of tracking down Bonnie and Clyde's gang. Hamer accepted, so Simmons approached Governor Ferguson for permission to hire Hamer as a special investigator for a salary of $180 per month. She approved. And the rest is history. Hamer was not a Ranger or even a Special Ranger at that time but instead was a special investigator for Simmons and the Texas Prison System.

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If you say so...........I stand corrected.


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Bill Jordan wasn't a Ranger but he well could have been. I like a story
he told. He was taking two bus loads of illegals back home. It was night
time. Some of them was making trouble on the bus.

Bill had both busses stop. He took the ringleader of the trouble makers
off the bus, and walked him over to the other bus. Then on his way
back to the original bus, in the dark, he fired a few shots into the barrow
pit.

When he got back on the bus, all of the trouble makers acted like perfect
gentlemen.

Jordan, Hamer, and a lot of other old timers knew how to win with
intimidation.

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In Omnia Paratus

once a Ranger..... always a Ranger

One time when they's was forming Texas Ranger Asso.

Someone suggested they call it the Ex-Ranger's Association......

Ranger Charlie Miller spoke up and reportly sed,

"Hell, I ain't no Ex!"


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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Anyone traveling I-35 between Dallas-Ft Worth and San Antonio should visit the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco. Much good Ranger stuff is on display.

Have a visit to the Rangers Museum pencillled in for my road trip later this years.

This thread sent me to the web in search of other Ranger material. Of course I landed on the page of the Ranger museum. A great find on that site was the archive of, "The Texas Ranger Dispatch", an historical magazine once published by the museum. The Dispatch is a treasure trove of Ranger history, some old and some more recent, weapons and exploits.

The Official Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas | Learn About the History or Rangers Past and Present

Lot of great stuff there that I'm sure many of you would like. I really enjoyed reading the eighteen year saga of Ranger Bob Favors and criminal nemesis David Myers. A good read with the story culminating with the murder of Myers by some of his criminal cohorts here in Oklahoma. I liked that one because I knew some of the people and places in the story. Enjoy!

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America First