Lone On The Range: Texas Lawmen
A history of the Texas Rangers.
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On the Scout
In the old days, when Rangers went “on the scout” to apprehend a band of cattle thieves or other desperados, they depended on a fast horse, a trusty Walker Colt revolver, and not much else. Today, we can retrace their steps in relative comfort and safety, with the aid of a fast modem or a car with a tank of gas.
One of the first things you learn when grazing the Internet for Ranger info is that there’s a virtual galaxy of information on the Texas Rangers—the professional baseball team, that is. There’s also a hockey team in New York called the Rangers. So you have to do more than a simple search for the term “Texas Ranger.” To save you a little time and wear and tear on your fingertips, check out these links first:
OUTLAW/LAWMAN HISTORIANS
Don’t know much about Rangers, or would like to know more about them, their counterparts, and the folks on the other side of the law, too? National Association for Outlaw and Lawman History (NOLA) is a wonderful historical association devoted to that sort of thing. They put out a great quarterly journal and host annual conferences, such as the most recent one, held in Harker Heights, TX last July. This year’s conference was almost exclusively devoted to the latest in Texas Ranger historical research. Just to keep things from getting redundant, the fabulous Leon Metz of El Paso gave a talk on John Wesley Hardin. Be sorry you missed it. For information, write to: Paula Miller, Membership Secretary, 1201 Holly Court, Harker Heights, TX 76548-1538.
MUSEUMS
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum, at Fort Fisher Park in Waco, is the second most visited museum between San Antonio and Dallas (number one is, you guessed it, the Alamo). If you have any interest in Ranger history at all, plan to spend at least a couple of hours here, because there’s plenty of cool stuff to see, including Texas Ranger badges, firearms, tack, and personal gear; a Bowie Knife owned by its namesake; a shotgun and rifle owned by Billy-the-Kid, and weapons and other stuff that belonged to Bonnie & Clyde. Cool souvenirs abound in the gift shop. Future plans for the museum include an interactive web site by early fall, and a museum expansion program that will focus even more on the broad cultural impact of the Texas Ranger legacy, with an interactive exhibit gallery.
Texas Pioneer, Trail Driver, and Texas Ranger’s Museum, located next door to the Witte Museum and Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, has a much smaller collection of artifacts and exhibits than the museum in Waco, but it’s still a pleasant and rewarding place to visit. Talk about interactive, the guides here may buttonhole you as soon as you walk in the door, so be prepared for a dose of Texas Ranger history from the git-go. The place has a low-tech, homey feel, not unlike perusing a big scrapbook in an up stairs attic, except in this case the attic is a fine, WPA deco style limestone building constructed in 1936, in the same style as the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, but on a smaller scale. Two fine bronze statues out front tell you that you’ve come to the right place; the Texas Ranger statue is by Richard O. Cook, the other, the Texas Trail Driver is the work of John Gutzon Borglum, who also did Mount Rushmore. The museum is located at 3805 Broadway. Call (210) 822-9011 for hours.
TEXAS RANGERS ON THE CYBERFRONTIER:
Lone Star Junction is a worthwhile place to check out all sorts of Texana. Of particular interest is an electronic version of The Evolution of a State, by Noah Smithwick, former Texas Ranger, pioneer, and memoirist. You can also check out a compilation of Mike Cox’s weekly Texana columns, many of which are about, naturally, Texas Ranger books.
HISTORICAL MARKERS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY
Before you head out on your next road trip, be sure you have a copy of Roadside History of Texas, by Leon Metz, and be sure you’ve already checked in at the Texas Historical Commission, because they’re probably the only people in the state who know where each and every Texas Ranger-related historical marker is located, roadside or other. For the past three years, THC has been working on their Texas Historic Sites Atlas, a searchable database which they hope to have fully operational in 1998. They’ve got a Beta version up now. Check it out.
FOR THE WEBB-SAVVY
No Texana scouting expedition will be complete without a visit to the watering hole of the Texas State Historical Association, whose site is nicknamed, quite appropriately, “The Webb Site” (as in Walter Prescott Webb, the giant of Texas historical letters). TSHA also publishes some of the finest Texas and Southwestern history publications to be found, check out their list.
COLLECTIVE MEMORIES
Looking for that extra special Ranger history item, some that even your bibliomaniac friends don’t have? How about an obscure oral history recorded during the WPA years? Go straight to the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress and do a search for documents and/or photographs relating to “Texas Ranger.” I’ve found some great stuff here.
DPS HQ
Maybe you’re new to the state and you think the Department of Public Safety is the agency in charge of sorting through Halloween trick or treat candy for razor blades and making sure that people who buy mattresses don’t remove those DO NOT REMOVE tags, and you’re wondering just what in the heck the Texas Rangers have to do with the DPS. Wonder no more. Go straight to the DPS home page and you’ll find info on the who/what/where of not only the DPS but the agencies under its jurisdiction, including the Texas Rangers and their history, requirements for becoming a Ranger, and all sorts of other stuff, including the answer to that big DPS FAQ: Is it legal to pick bluebonnets from the side of the road in Texas? You can also send email to their PIO (Public Information Office), which is where Ranger expert number one Mike Cox hangs his hat during the day.
THE END OF THE TRAIL
For the lucky few statesmen, politicians, heroes, and those allowed access by special legislative decree, the Texas State Cemetery in Austin is the last place we’ll go on our journey of life. For the curious and information-hungry virtual Ranger, however, the State Cemetery is just another ramp on the information super trail, and it’s a darn good one, too. Edward Burleson, John Reynolds Hughes, D. W. Roberts, William “Big Foot” Wallace, and John Lemon Wilbarger are just some of the Texas Rangers resting here who prove the old adage, “Texas heroes never die, they just get a new home page at the State Cemetery.” Look up Edward Burleson (who served not only a former Ranger but as vice president of the Republic of Texas) and you’ll find a 1,300-word biography, a daguerreotype, a history of said daguerreotype, a photo of his tombstone, the inscription of said tombstone, and the location of the grave. There’s also an image of the towering statue of Stephen F. Austin, father of Texas and the man who authorized the first company of Rangers to protect his infant colony. And while you’re here, pay your respects to that larger than life Texas Ranger, frontiersman, storyteller, and folk hero, Bigfoot Wallace, whose epitaph reads: “Here lies he who spent his manhood defending the homes of Texans.”
My Library
