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eeecsi*noJudge Stephens Warmly DefendsHonor and BraVery of Old Rangers■»«!Wichita Palls, Texas, May 12.Editor The Times:In a number of Texas papers there has recently appeared the diary of Sergeant H. H. McCon-1 United States required that the nell of the Sixth U. S. Cavalry in j United States should protect the which he says:to Menu re a pension for the Rangers from the United States government. One of the articles of annexation of Texas to thetssfrontier of Texas from maraud During 1874 the garrison at I ing Indians and Mexicans. The Fort Richardson (Jack county federal government did not ef* Texas,) was small, most of the fectually do so and they should troops being on scouting duty, pay pension to the men who did and about this time state troops, | in fact protect our frontier, known as Rangers, had been organized and one company was lo- led I had a resolution pending in cated near Jacksboro. These Congress to ascertainMcnWhen my term of office expirIo01theRangers were tolerable Indian J amount of money expended on fighters, but most, of their time the Rangers by the State of Tex was occupied in terrorizing the as in protecting the frontier with citizens and taking in the town.” a view of having the United It is this last untrue and mis- States refund this money to the leading statement charging j State, as it is legally and morally these Texas Rangers with “tak- { bound to do at no distant date, ing up most of their time in ter- Judge Edgar Rye, a former rorizing the citizens and talcing worthy resident of this city, in in ttie town” that I resent. I his book entitled knew personally Major Jones the Spur”cNocThe Quirt and on page 345 and 346HowNocW1netW.I who commanded the Texas says: “During these years be-Rangers at that time and I knew i tween 1868 and 1876 the country the officers and many of the men was overrun with bands of hos of the Jack county Ranger Com- tile Indians and it sometimes ap-pany that Sergeant McConnell | peared that the settlers would accuses of “taking up most of be exterminated or compelled tooi-sanprop all n(iyi-nl-move back east.”This is just what happened.their time in terrorizing citizens ana taking in the town ” I wason duty as a volunteer scout I Clay and 'foung counties were with these Rangers part of that organized before the Civil War year (1874) and I know that Ma- the Indians drove the settlers ’■ j jor Jones and his Rangers did not back to Jack and Montague) ^ ^ I fre at any time, in any way, terror- counties. Henrietta, the county u I ize over any citizen. They were j seat of Clay county, and Belknap, the county seat of Young county, were abandoned and their houses burned and destroyed. The United States army furnished no adequate protec tion to these brave pioneers.Mr Rye in his book furthergentlemen, law-abiding citizens - I and officers of the State of Texas. They were a terror to evil doers and violators of the state laws. During that year several murders were committed by mobs in Montague county (where I then lived) and these Rangers, under Major Jones in person, aided the county officers in running down these criminals, in guarding our jails—and in doing everything in their power to aid the county in enforcing the laws.The friends of these lawless criminals often threatened to break our jail, and I and other gitizens of the town of Montague volunteered to guard the jail containing the imprisoned criminals. The governor, at the request of the county officers, ordered a squad of these Rangers to perform this duty, greatly to the re-3dtorsays:“Thechain of government posts from Fort Richardson (now Jacksboro) on the east to Port Bliss on the west proved very little protection to the set tiers and ranchmen scattered over the western range. Miles and miles of this vast territory was ranged by Indians and renegades with no protection save by the small bands of Texas Ran-i*kwrs.This writer in a few brave and true words utterly dispels false statements of Sergeant (Buzz-Puzz) H. H. McConnell relative tolief of myself-ana other citizens, the value of the Texas Rangers These Rangers were strict ob-! as Indian fighters and preserv servers of the law themselves as j ers of the pubJic peace on the well as rigid enforcers thereof, j Texas border.The United States troops did not j In concludiag this letter to the at that time, to my personal! public I desire to state that I am knowledge, adequately protect j daily receiving letters asking for our frontier from the Indians, information in regard to theDuring the fall of 1873 four: Ranger pension law, and if theyoung men, including myself, j editor of this paper will kindlywere delegated by the citizens of j publish the following statement Montague county to visit tne|fi'oman Associated Press dis* commanding officer at Port Sill J patch he will, I am sure, confer (Col. Grierson) and, if possible, a great favor on the old Rangers, have him station a suitable guard j their families and myself.3i'Dralt;foof soldiers in Clay or Montague counties, (on or near Red river)Respectfully submitted,John H. Stephens.so as to prevent the Comanche The dispatch to which Judge or Kiowa Indians from coming Stephens referred has been be-into Texas on their frequent fore published in The Times. It murderous raids. The request is better understood after readwas denied and these raids con-1 mg Judge Stephens’ communi-tinued. The State called out the cation above. It follows: Rangers the next spring and Ma- Austin, Texas, May 10.—Ap-jor Jones commander of Rangers I proximately 1,000 survivors of had several battles with these | the Texas volunteers who servedIndians (two ot them in Jack j in defense of the state against county) during the next two j the Indian depredations fromJanuary 1, 1859 to January 1, During all this time the regu- J1861 inclusive and from 1836 to lars did not even skirmish with 1877 inclusive, will receive pen* the Indians. The only shooting sions from the federal govern-they did, according to Sergeant j ment under the act passed byTiJ.tlCyears.chtioacBibMcConnoll’s diary, was in rows between citizens, soldiers andcongress,1917.approved March 4,rangers in the year 1874. I im- The adjutant general’s de-aglne that the Sergeant’s books partment here is now at work on (bearing the aforementioned the applications for such pen false and misleading statements sions as the records of these vol-against as brave and patriotic a unteers are in this department, body of soldiers as ever lived) When the list of such pen-will not have a very large circu* sion«rs has been completed and lation among the old settlers of properly authen-located it will be this state, although it may, as he sent to Washington and the pen says, contain 379 pages and put sion be issued. The pension is one dollar in his pocket for each $20 monthly payable quarterlybook he may sell.for survivors and $10 monthlyThe last act of my congression-1 for the widows of such survival AarflA.r. T am nroud to say. was ors.—Wichita Daily Times.
Newspaper Details
Nocona News
Nocona, Texas, US
Fri, May 18, 1917
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Max B.
USA 14 Jun 2020
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