hardcase60
Member
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
ONE RIOT, ONE RANGER
- Thread starter crazyphil
- Start date
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
And it still is. Man, is it remote.
steveno
Member
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
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
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keith44spl
Member
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.
.
DWalt
Member
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.
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.
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keith44spl
Member
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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DWalt
Member
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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keith44spl
Member
OP
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.
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.
DevilDog72
US Veteran
once a Ranger..... always a Ranger
keith44spl
Member
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!"
.
DWalt
Member
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.
okiegtrider
Member
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!
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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