Texas Rangers, a body of armed and
mounted men constituting a combined military and constabulary force. It
has been in existence for many years; is made up of carefully selected
men; and has many deeds of extraordinary daring credited to its memory.
As the name implies, this body ranges over the State in the performance
of its unique work, at one time assisting the officers of the law in
their duties, at others defending the Rio Grande border against raiding
cattle thieves from Mexico, and at others suppressing riots and other
disturbances of the peace. The best idea of the peculiar functions
of this body is obtained from a report of its operations in the single
month of December, 1897, when the members made forty arrests for various
crimes; were sent on seventy scouting expeditions; assisted sheriffs
forty-seven times; guarded jails nine times; attended district courts
thirty-four times; made nine attempts to arrest that failed; and
traveled 4,843 miles. |
The "Texas Ranger" from an 1861 Harper's Weekly
Newspaper |