Texas Ranger Tales: Hard-Riding Stories from the Lone Star State

by Mike Cox

Overview

They were men who could not be stampeded, said the late Colonel Homer Garrison Jr. of the men who wore the badge of the Texas Rangers. Colonist Stephen F. Austin, during the earliest days of Anglo settlement in Texas, wrote that he would employ 10 men to act as 'rangers' for the common defense... and thus, the famous Texas Rangers came into being. An important part of Texas history, these few good men were distinguished, unique even among themselves, and soon, even mythical. The myths and traditions surrounding the Rangers have endured and evolved. Today the Texas Rangers are among the most respected law enforcement agencies in the world. Texas Ranger Tales is a collection of legendary Texas Ranger stories, from new takes on the famous tales to fresh stories few, if any, have heard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493025992
Publisher:	Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Mike Cox is a freelance writer, speaker, and author of numerous Texas- related books and magazine articles. Cox spent several years as Chief of Media Relations for the Texas Department of Public Relations and served as the department's principal spokesman during several national and international law enforcement crisis situations.

Table of Contents

Stories That Need Tellin': An Introduction ix

Part I The Nineteenth Century

Isaac Burton and His Horse Marines 2

It Would Never Do to Run 11

Samuel Walker's Last Fight 18

His Friends Called Him Foot 28

"Legs" Lewis Loses a Kingdom 40

"Rip" (Rest in Peace) Ford 47

What Goes Around, Comes Around 56

Hard and Bloody Work 60

Ropin the Bear Was the Easy Part 67

The Mutiny of Company H 69

"He Said Rangerin' Was a Easy Life" 77

"Pass the Coyote, Please!" 80

The Cry of the Death Bird 83

Fight at the Haunted Lake 87

Corporal Wilson's Ride 91

The Killing of "Caige" Grimes 94

Ranger, Texas 104

I Took a Notion I Wanted to Be a Ranger 110

O. Henry and Lee Hall 119

"Cap" Arrington 127

Being Robbed: A Vested Right 136

Ranger Oden's Diary 144

Did a Ranger Kill A. J. Royal? 149

Thalis Cook and the "Steer" Branded M-U-R-D-E-R 160

The Other Half of the "Four Great Captains" 169

Part II The Twentieth Century

Zane Grey and the Texas Rangers 180

Zane Grey and the Rangers II: Joe Sitters 190

Whispering Tom and the Plan of San Diego 197

A Killer Bullets Couldn't Stop 207

Iron Gray's Last Ride 216

The Readin' Ranger 224

Old Monk and Other Ranger Mules 231

Three Hours in the Rangers 237

Cowboy Tom Hickman 239

The Battle of Borger 252

"The Days of Our Boyhood" 260

The Sherman Riot 267

"I Asked for B. M. Gault…" 276

"Pappy" Davenport Invented Phone Raids 287

The "Eyes of Texas" on the Balinese Room 289

Lone Wolf Versus the Phantom Killer 300

Rx for Keeping the Peace: Laxatives and a .45 312

The Texas Ranger Motel 316

Part III Gear, Grub, Gab and Glory: Ranger Culture

The Story of the Silver Star 324

Ranger Grub 331

Shootin' from the Lip: The Quotable Ranger 339

Rangers Make 'Em Die Laughing 345

Hollywood Rangers 352

Tom Mix: Famous Ranger Who Wasn't 363

Space Rangers Defend a New Frontier 368

Texas Ranger Filmography 371

Sources 384

Index 405

About the Author 420