TEXAS RANGERS

WE WERE IN A SCRIMMAGE LINE AT THE BASE OF ENCHANTED ROCK, CAPTAIN JACK AND FOURTEEN OF US RANGERS.  I WAS NEXT TO THE LAST MAN ON THE RIGHT END OF THE LINE.  BIG FOOT WALLACE WAS ON THE END OF THE LINE.  LITTLE 14 YEAR OLD BILLY WAS HOLDING OUR HORSES 20 YARDS BEHIND US.

WE HAD BEEN RIDING PATROL IN THE HILL COUNTRY OF TEXAS WHEN WE RODE SMACK DAB INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE CAMP OF A BUNCH OF COMANCHE WARRIORS.  WHEN CAPTAIN JACK SAW WHAT WE HAD DONE HE SPURRED HIS HORSE AND YELLED, “COME BOYS, LET’S SKEDADDLE OUT OF HERE.”  AND WE ALL TOOK OFF LIKE OUR SHIRT TAILS WERE ON FIRE.

NOW WE HAD ABOUT 80 COMANCHE WARRIORS COMING FOR US.  WHEN THE COMANCHE SAW US DISMOUNT, THEY LEFT THEIR HORSES IN THE BRUSH AND STARTED FORWARD ON FOOT.  THE COMANCHE WERE USE TO FIGHTING PEOPLE WITH SINGLE SHOT RIFLES AND PISTOLS.  THEY WOULD SNEAK UP CLOSE AND THEN JUMP UP AND HOLLER AND DROP BACK DOWN.

THEY WOULD CONTINUE DOING THIS UNTIL EVERY ONE WOULD FIRE AT THEM.  THEN THEY WOULD RUSH IN AND KILL EVERYONE BEFORE THEY COULD RELOAD.  THIS TACTIC WORKED SO WELL THAT EVERY INDIAN TRIBE IN TEXAS USED IT.

BUT THESE COMANCHE HAD A SURPRISE IN STORE FOR THEM.  CAPTAIN JACK HAD ISSUED EVERY ONE OF THE RANGERS ON THIS PATROL TWO OF THE NEW COLT SIX SHOOTERS.

WHILE WE WERE WAITING FOR THE COMANCHE TO SNEAK UP ON US, CAPTAIN JACK TOLD US WHAT HE WANTED US TO DO.  HE SAID WE WOULD LET THEM GET VERY CLOSE AND THEN ALL OF US WOULD FIRE ONE SHOT AT THE SAME TIME.  THEN WHEN THE COMANCHE CHARGED WE WOULD OPEN UP WITH ALL WE HAD.

JOHN COFFEE (JACK) HAYS WAS BORN IN 1817 AT LITTLE CEDAR LICK, TENNESSEE.  HE CAME TO TEXAS WHEN HE WAS 19 YEARS OLD.  HE FIRST JOINED THE RANGERS AT SAN ANTONIO, IN A COMPANY UNDER THE COMMAND OF ERASTUS (DEAF) SMITH.  THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR PATROLLING ALL THE LAND FROM SAN ANTONIO TO THE RIO GRANDE.

ONE DAY WHEN CAPTAIN JACK’S GROUP AND CAPTAIN WALKER’S GROUP WERE IN SAN ANTONIO AT THE SAME TIME, CAPTAIN JACK WAS TELLING WALKER ABOUT HITTING AN INDIAN OVER THE HEAD WITH HIS SIX SHOOTER AND BENDING THE LOADING RAM.  THIS MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO RELOAD THE GUN UNTIL HE COULD GET BACK TO HEAD QUARTERS TO HAVE IT FIXED.

WALKER TOLD JACK HE HAD SEEN THIS HAPPEN ALSO AND HE HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT.  HE HAD CONTACTED THAT MAN COLT AND BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM THEY HAD DESIGNED A HEAVIER, STRONGER PISTOL.  MR. COLT WAS GOING TO NAME IT THE “WALKER COLT.”

CAPTAIN WALKER TOLD JACK THAT THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF THE NEW PISTOL WOULD BE TO THEIR COMPANY OF TEXAS RANGERS.  BUT CAPTAIN JACK’S GROUP DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO WAIT FOR THE NEW WALKER COLTS.  THEY WERE SENT TO THE PEDERNALES RIVER AREA WHERE THERE WAS A BUNCH OF COMANCHE ON THE WAR PATH.

THE COMANCHE WARRIORS WERE RAIDING FARMS AND KILLING EVERY ONE AND DRIVING OFF THEIR LIVESTOCK.  THEY WERE KEEPING ALL THE HORSES AND KILLING ALL THE CATTLE.  A COMANCHE WOULD EAT HIS HORSE BEFORE HE WOULD EAT A COW.

WHEN WE FOUND THE FIRST FARM THAT THE COMANCHE HAD HIT WE FOUND A MAN, HIS WIFE AND TWO KIDS DEAD AND THEY HAD ALL BEEN SCALPED.  BILLY WENT INTO THE HOUSE AND FOUND SOME BLANKETS TO WRAP THEM IN WHILE SOME OF US DUG GRAVES FOR THEM.  WE COMMITTED THEIR BODIES TO THE EARTH WHILE PREACHER PROCTOR COMMITTED THEIR SOULS TO GOD.

THEN WE WENT ON DOWN THE RIVER TO THE NEXT FARM.  THE COMANCHE HAD ALREADY BEEN THERE AND ALL THE FAMILY WAS DEAD AND ALL THE HORSES GONE.  CAPTAIN JACK SENT BILLY BACK FOR HELP BECAUSE THE TRACKS SHOWED US THAT THERE WAS A VERY LARGE PARTY OF COMANCHE THIS TIME.

WE WENT ON DOWN THE RIVER AND FOUND TWO MORE FARMS.  BOTH HAD BEEN HIT.  BY THE TIME WE BURIED THE LAST FAMILY IT WAS DARK AND WE COULDN’T SEE TO TRACK THE INDIANS SO WE SPENT THE NIGHT AT THIS FARM.

CAPTION JACK SENT BIG FOOT AND LITTLE IKE ON DOWN THE RIVER TO LOOK FOR OTHER FARMS.  WHEN THEY GOT BACK AT FIVE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, THEY TOLD CAPTAIN JACK THAT THEY HAD COVERED ABOUT TWENTY MILES DOWN RIVER WITH OUT FINDING ANY MORE FARMS.

WHEN IT GOT LIGHT ENOUGH TO SEE TRACKS, CAPTAIN JACK SAW THAT THE COMANCHE HAD TURNED SOUTH AWAY FROM THE RIVER,  SO WE STARTED AFTER THEM.  THERE HAD BEEN RUMORS OF A BIG COMANCHERO CAMP ON THE NUECES RIVER AND WE WANTED TO CATCH THEM BEFORE THEY GOT THERE.  CAPTAIN JACK FIGURED THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY THERE TO TRADE THE HORSES FOR WHISKEY AND GUNS.

IF THE COMANCHE RAIDING PARTY MADE IT TO THAT COMANCHERO ENCAMPMENT BEFORE WE CAUGHT UP WITH THEM, THE WHOLE OF SOUTH TEXAS WAS IN TROUBLE. EVERY COMANCHE IN SOUTH TEXAS WOULD BE LOOKING FOR HORSES TO STEAL SO THEY COULD TRADE THEM FOR WHISKY AND GUNS.

CAPTAIN JACK DIDN’T KNOW IT AT THE TIME BUT LITTLE BILLY HAD MET CAPTAIN WALKER SOUTH OF SAN ANTONIO.  CAPTAIN WALKER HAD BEEN SENT OUT TO CHECK ON THE RUMOR OF A COMANCHERO CAMP ON THE NUECES RIVER.

AT THE SAME TIME CAPTAIN FORD WAS RETURNING FROM A PATROL ALONG THE RIO GRANDE, AND WAS HEADING BACK TO SAN ANTONIO.  ALL HAD BEEN QUITE ALONG THE RIO GRANDE AND HE WAS HAPPY THEY HADN’T HAD ANY TROUBLE.  HIS GROUP WAS DIVIDED, HALF WERE HAPPY THERE HADN’T BEEN ANY PROBLEMS AND THE OTHER HALF WERE BORED BECAUSE THERE HADN’T BEEN ANY FIGHTING.

AS CAPTAIN FORD’S GROUP WAS APPROACHING THE NUECES RIVER THEY SAW DEEP CART TRACKS IN THE DIRT.  THEY KNEW WHAT THESE TRACKS MEANT.  THE COMANCHERO USED THESE CARTS TO CARRY THEIR TRADE GOODS IN.  THERE WAS A COMANCHERO CAMP SOME WHERE ON THE RIVER AND FROM THE LOOKS OF THE TRACKS IT WAS A BIG ONE.  CAPTAIN FORD KNEW HIS 15 MAN PATROL WOULDN’T EVEN MAKE A DENT ON THE COMANCHEROS, SO HE FIGURED HE BETTER GET BACK TO SAN ANTONIO AND REPORT TO COMMANDER SMITH.  HE TURNED UP MULBERRY CREEK TO GO AROUND THE COMANCHEROS.

CAPTAIN JACK’S GROUP CAUGHT UP WITH THE TAIL END OF THE COMANCHE HORSE HERD IN A NARROW CANYON ON THE MULBERRY CREEK.  THERE WERE ABOUT 75 COMANCHE WARRIORS BEHIND THE HORSES HERDING THEM.  WHEN WE CHARGED THEM THEY PUSHED THE HORSE HERD INTO A RUN AND STARTED SHOOTING AT US WITH GUNS ABD ARROWS.  THERE WERE ABOUT 50 COMANCHE IN FRONT OF THE HORSE HERD AND THEY HAD TO RUN AHEAD OF THE HORSES TO KEEP FROM BEING RUN DOWN.

WHEN THEY RAN, THEY RAN RIGHT INTO CAPTAIN FORD’S PATROL.  CAPTAIN FORD’S GROUP WADED INTO THEM AND WAS HAVING THEM SELF’S A HIGH OLD TIME KILLING COMANCHE.  IT SOUNDED LIKE A REAL WAR GOING ON AT EACH END OF THE HORSE HERD.  SOME OF THE INDIANS BROKE AND RAN ACROSS THE CREEK AND STARED UP A HILL ON THE OTHER SIDE.

THAT’S WHEN CAPTAIN WALKER’S GROUP TOPPED THE HILL AND SAW WHAT WAS HAPPENING DOWN BELOW.  THEY DREW THEIR GUNS AND CHARGED THE COMANCHE TRYING TO GET AWAY.  THEY MADE SHORT WORK OF THEM AND THEN CAME TO GIVE US A HAND WITH OUR LARGE GROUP OF COMANCHE.

WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER THERE WERE 93 DEAD COMANCHE AND WE KNEW WE HAD WOUNDED SEVERAL MORE.  WE ROUNDED UP 166 HORSES, COUNTING THE INDIAN PONIES.  WE HAD LOST TWO RANGERS AND HAD EIGHT WOUNDED.  THE THREE CAPTAINS DECIDED THE THING TO DO WAS TO TAKE THE HORSE HERD BACK TO SAN ANTONIO.

HALF OF THE PROCEEDS OF THE SALE OF THE HORSES WOULD GO TO THE 43 RANGERS AND THE FAMILIES OF THE TWO DEAD RANGERS.  THE OTHER HALF WOULD GO TO RANGER HEAD QUARTERS TO PAY EXPENSES.

COMMANDER “DEAF SMITH” GAVE US ALL A DAY OFF FOR BREAKING UP THE COMANCHE HORSE STEALING.  MOST OF US WENT DOWN TO THE LONG HORN SALOON AND GOT DRUNK. 

NOW I WOULD TELL YOU WHAT I DID WITH MY SHARE OF THE MONEY BUT THAT’S A WHOLE NOTHER STORY FOR A DIFFERENT TIME.