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CAPTAIN"  BILL  McDONALD 
TEXAS  RANGER 

A.  Story  of  Fvorttier  Refovm 

BY 

ALBERT   BIGELOW   PAINE 

Author  of  "Th:  Naat— His  Period  and 
His  Pictures,"  etc.,  etc. 

With  Introductory  Letter  by  Theodore  Roosevelt 


'*  No  man  in  the  wrong  can  stand  up 
against  a  fellow  that's  in  the  right 
and  keeps  on  a-comin'." 

Bill  McDonald's  Crbbd. 


SPECIAL   SUBSCRIPTION  EDITION 

Made  by  J.  J.  Little  &  Ives  Co. 

New  Yoek,  1909 


OomnaHT,  IWO.  bt 
WILLIAM  J    M,  iiivM.D 


To 
EDWARD    M.   HOUSE 

WITHOUT  WHOSE  ENDURING 
FRIENDSHIP,  WISE  COUNSEL 
AND  ACTIVE  INTEREST  THIS 
BOOK  WOULD  NEVER  HAVE 
BEEN    WRITTEN 


CONTENTS 

Paob 
Foreword:  A  letter  from  Theodore  Roosevelt         .        .         ,11 

I. — Introducing  "Captain  Bill" 13 

II. — An  Old-Time  Mississippi  Childhood 

The  kind  of  education  for  a  young  Ranger.  Presence  of 
mind  early  manifested  ......       16 

III. — Emigration  and  Adventure 

A  boy  at  the  head  of  a  household.  Meeting  the  "Devil 
and  his  wife."    An  early  reform 21 

IV. — The  Making  of  a  Texan 

Reconstruction  and  "  treason . "  "  Dave ' '  Culberson  to  the 
rescue.     Education,  marriage  and  politics        ...       26 

V. — The  Beginning  op  Reform 

Subduing  a  bad  man.  First  official  appointment.  A 
deputy  who  did  things.  "  Bill ' '  McDonald  and  "  Jim ' '  Hogg      33 

VI. — Into  the  Wilderness 

A  New  Business  in  a  New  Land.     A  "  Sand-lapper "  shows 

his  "sand" 43 

VII. — Commercial  Ventures  and  Adventures 

Bill  McDonald's  method  of  collecting  a  bill ;  and  his  method 

of  handling  bad  men     .         .         .         .         .         .         .48 

VIII. — Reforming  the  Wilderness 

The  kind  of  men  to  be  reformed.  Early  reforms  in  Quanah. 
Bad  men  meet  their  match     ......       55 

IX. — Getting  Even  with  the  Brooken  Gang 

The  Brooken  Gang  don't  wait  for  callers.  One  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  years'  sentence  for  an  outlaw        .         .       65 

X. — New  Tactics  in  No-Man's  Land 

A  man  with  a  buck-board.  Holding  up  a  bad  gang  single- 
handed         .........       69 

XI. — Redeeming  No-Man's  Land 

Bill  McDonald  and  Lon  Burson  gather  in  the  bad  men. 
"  No  man  in  the  wrong  can  stand  up  against  a  fellow  that's 
in  the  right  and  keeps  on  a-comin'  "        .         .         .         .78 


6  Contents 

Page 
XII. — Some  op  the  Difficulties  of  Reform 

"  Frontier  "  law  and  practice.  Caught  in  a  Norther  in 
No-Man's  Land    .  .  .  .  .  .  .         .87 

XIII. — Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-Man 

The  lost  drove  of  Lazarus.     A  pilgrim  on  a  "paint-hoss." 

A  new  way  of  getting  information  in  the  "  Strip"       .         .       95 

XIV. — The  Day  for  "  Deliveries  " 

The  tree-man  turns  officer,  and  single-handed  wipes  out  a 
bad  gang       .........      106 

XV. — Cleaning  Up  the  Strip 

Deputy  Bill  gets  "stood  off,"  but  makes  good.  Bill  Cook 
and  "Skeeter,"  "A  hell  of  a  court  to  plead  guilty  in!"      .     115 

XVI. — Texas  Ranger  Service  and  Its  Origin 

The  massacre  of  Fort  Parker;  Cynthia  Ann  Parker's  capture. 
Rangers  and  what  they  are  for.  Their  characteristics 
and  their  requirements  .         .  .  .  .  .126 

XVII. — Captain  of  Company  B,  Ranger  Force 

Capture  of  Dan  and  Bob  Campbell.  Recommendations  for 
a  Ranger  Captain.  Governor  "  Jim  "  Hogg  appoints  his  old 
friend  on  the  strength  of  them      .  .  .  .  .136 

XVIII. — An  Exciting  Indian  Campaign 

First  service  as  Ranger  Captain.  Biggest  Indian  scare  on 
record  .........     145 

XIX. — A  Bit  of  Farming  and  Politics 

Captain  Bill  and  his  goats.     The  "car-shed"  convention     149 

XX. — Taming  the  Pan-handle 

The  difference  between  cowboys  and  "bad  men."  How 
Captain  Bill  made  cow-stealing  unpopular       .  .  .154 

XXI. — The  Battle  with  Matthews 

What  happened  to  a  man  who  had  decided  to  kill  Bill 
McDonald 165 

XXII. — What  Happened  to  Beckham 

An  outlaw  raid  and  a  Ranger  battle.     Joe  Beckham  ends 

his  career     .........     176 


Contents 


Page 


XXIII. — A  Medal  for  Speed 

Captain  Bill  outruns  a  criminal  and  wins  a  gold  medal        .     179 

XXIV. — Captain  Bill  in  Mexico 

Mexican  thieves  try  to  hold  up  Captain  Bill  and  get  a  sur- 
prise. Mexican  police  make  the  same  attempt  with  the 
same  result.     President  Diaz  tries  to  enlist  him    .  .     182 

XXV. — A  New  Style  in  the  Pan-handle 

Charles  A,  Culberson  pays  a  tribute  to  Ranger  marksman- 
ship.    Captain  Bill  in  a  "plug"  hat       .         .         .         .189 

XXVI. — Preventing  a  Prize-Fight 

The  Fitzsimmons-Maher  fight  that  didn't  come  off  at  El 
Paso,  and  why.      Captain  Bill  "takes  up"  for  a  Chinaman     194 

XXVII. — The  Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder 
Kid  Lewis  and  his  gang  take  advantage  of  the  absence  of 
the  Rangers.     They  make  a  bad   calculation  and   come 
to  grief.     Good  examples  of  Bill  McDonald's  single-handed 
work,  and  nerve        .......     199 

XXVIII. — Captain  Bill  as  a  Peace-maker 

He  attends  certain  strikes  and  riots  alone  with  satisfactory 
results.     Goes  to  Thurber  and  disperses  a  mob        .  .214 

XXIX. — The  Buzzard's  Water-Hole  Gang 

The  Murder  Society  of  San  Saba  and  what  happened  to  it 
after  the  Rangers  arrived     .  .  .  .221 

XXX. — Quieting  a  Texas  Feud 

The  Reece-Townsend  trouble,  and  how  the  factions  were 
once  dismissed  by  Captain  Bill  McDonald        .  .  .     243 

XXXI. — The  Trans-Cedar  Mystery 

The  lynching  of  the  Humphreys  and  what  happened  to  the 
lynchers        .........     250 

XXXII. — Other  Mobs  and  Riots 

Rangers  at  Orange  and  at  Port  Arthur.  Five  against  four 
hundred 260 

XXXIII.— Other  Work  in  East  Texas 

Districts  which  even  a  Ranger  finds  hopeless.  The  Touch- 
stone murder.     The  confession  of  Ab  Angle      .  .  .     265 


8  Contents 

Paok 
XXXIV. — A  Wolf-Hunt  with  the  President 

Captain  Bill  sees  the  President  through  Texas  and  accom- 
panies him  on  the  "best  time  of  his  life."  Quanah  Parker 
tells  stories  to  the  hunters  .....      273 

XXXV. — The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery 

A  terrible  crime  at  Edna,  Texas.  Monk  Gibson's  arrest 
and  escape.     The  greatest  man-hunt  in  history  .  .      .     290 

^XXXVI. — The  Death  of  Rhoda  McDonald 

The  end  of  a  noble  woman's  life.     Her  letter  of  good-by     304 

XXXVII. — The  Conditt  Mystery  Solved 

Captain  Bill  as  a  "sleuth."  The  tell-tale  handprint.  A 
Ranger  captain's  theories  established    ....     308 

XXXVIII. — The  Brownsville  Episode:    An  Event  of  Na- 
tional Importance 
The  Twenty-fifth  Infantry's  midnight  raid  .         .     315 

XXXIX. — Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene 

The  situation  at  Brownsville.  Rangers  McDonald  and 
McCauley  defy  the  U.  S.  army.  Captain  Bill  holds  a 
court  of  inquiry  ........     323 

XL. — What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville 

How  State  officials  failed  to  support  the  men  who  quieted 
disorder  and  located  crime    .  .  .  .  .  .341 

XLI. — The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande 

Assassination  of  Judge  Stanley  Welch.     A  Rio  Grande 

election.     Captain  Bill  ordered  to  the  scene.  An  ambush; 

a  surprise,  and  an  inquest.     Captain  Bill's  last  battle.     357 

XLII. — The  End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment 

State  Revenue  Agent  of  Texas.  The  "Full  Rendition" 
Bill  enforced.  A  great  battle  for  Tax  Reform,  and  a  blood- 
less triumph  ........     373 

XLIII. — Conclusion 

Captain  Bill  McDonald  of  Texas — what  he  has  been  and 
what  he  is  to-day 388 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Pagb 
Portrait  op  Capt.  Bill  McDonald         .         .         .        Frontispiece 

Facsimile  of  Letter  from  Theodore  Roosevelt  .  .  .11 

Introducing  Reform  in  the  Wilderness      .         .  .  .46 

Beginning  a  Campaign  in  No-man's  Land      .         .  .  .75 

The  Capture  of  Dan  and  Bob  Campbell      .         .  .  .138 

The  Battle  with  Matthews  at  Quanah        .  .     .  .173 

Quelling  a  Lynching  Mob  at  Wichita  Falls       .  ,  .211 

In  Camp  with  Theodore  Roosevelt 283 

Captain  Bill's  Last  Battle           .         .         .         .  .  .  367 


The  white  housc 

WASHINGTON 

December  19,  1908. 


My  dear  Captain: 

I  am  glad  you  are  to  publish  your  memorials.   I  shall 
alv;ays  look  back  with  pleasure  to  our  wolf  hunt  in  Oklahoma. 
Yours  has  been  a  most  interesting  life.   You  are  one  of  the 
few  men  now  living;  who  served  in  that  warfare  ajjainst  crime 
and  on  behalf  of  order,  which  has  well  nigh  passed  away  with 
the  old  frontier  conditions  which  called  it  into  being.   For 
a  number  of  years  you  wore  deputy  sheriff,  or  deputy  marshal, 
or  representative  of  the  cattle  men's  associations  employed 
by  them  to  put  a  stop  to  cattle  stealing  and  robbery  under 
arms,  and  you  served  for  twenty  years  in  that  unique  body, 
the  Texas  Rangers.   It  is  a  career  v/hich  henceforth  it  will 
be  difficult  to  parallel. 

With  all  cood  wishos,  believe  me. 
Sincerely  yours. 


Captain  W.  J.  McDonald, 
New  Amsterdam  Hotel', 
Kcw  York,  N.Y. 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT'S  LETTER  TO  CAPTAIN  McDONALD 


FOREWORD 

A  Letter  from  Theodore  Roosevelt  to  Captain 
McDonald 

The  White  House, 
Washington. 

December  19, 1908. 
My  deak  Captain:  I  am  glad  you  are  to  publish 
your  memorials.  I  shall  always  look  back  with 
pleasure  to  our  wolf -hunt  in  Oklahoma.  Yours  has 
been  a  most  interesting  life.  You  are  one  of  the  few 
men  now  living  who  served  in  that  warfare  against 
crime  and  on  behalf  of  order,  which  has  well-nigh 
passed  away  with  the  old  frontier  conditions  which 
called  it  into  being.  For  a  number  of  years  you 
were  deputy  sheriff,  or  deputy  marshal,  or  repre- 
sentative of  the  cattlemen's  associations,  employed 
by  them  to  put  a  stop  to  cattle  stealing  and  robbery 
under  arms,  and  you  served  for  twenty  years  in  that 
unique  body,  the  Texas  Rangers.  It  is  a  career 
which  henceforth  it  will  be  difficult  to  parallel. 
With  all  good  wishes,  believe  me, 
Sincerely  yours, 

Theodoke  Roosevelt. 


CAPTAIN  BILL  McDONALD, 
TEXAS  RANGER 


Introducing  **  Captain  Bill  '' 

Captain  Bill  McDonald  is  a  name  that  in  Texas 
and  the  districts  lying  adjacent  thereto  makes  the 
pulse  of  a  good  citizen,  and  the  feet  of  an  outlaw, 
move  quicker.  Its  owner  is  a  man  of  fifty-six,  drawn 
out  long  and  lean  like  a  buckskin  thong,  with  the 
endurance  and  constitution  of  the  same. 

In  repose,  Captain  Bill  is  mild  of  manner;  his 
speech  is  a  gentle  vernacular,  his  eyes  are  like  the 
summer  sky.  I  have  never  seen  him  in  action,  but 
I  am  told  that  then  his  voice  becomes  sharp  and 
imperative,  that  his  eyes  turn  into  points  of  gray 
which  pierce  the  offender  through. 

Two  other  features  bespeak  this  man's  character 
and  career :  his  ears  and  his  nose — the  former,  alert 
and  extended — the  ears  of  the  wild  creature,  the 
hunter;  the  latter  of  that  stately  Roman  architec- 
ture which  goes  with  conquest,  because  it  signifies 
courage,  resolution  and  the  peerless  gift  of  com- 
mand. 


14  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

His  nerves  are  of  that  quiet  and  steady  sort  whicli 
belong  to  a  tombstone  and  he  does  not  disturb  them 
with  tobacco  or  stimulants  of  any  kind — ^not  even 
with  tea  and  coffee.    In  explanation,  he  once  said: 

'^  Well,  you  see,  sometimes  I  have  to  be  about 
two-fifths  of  a  second  quicker  than  the  other  fellow, 
♦  and  a  little  quiver,  then,  might  be  fatal." 

Incidentally,  it  may  be  added  that  Captain  Bill 
— they  love  to  call  him  that  in  Texas — is  ranked  as 
the  best  all-round  rapid-fire  marksman  in  the  State, 
and  for  the  '*  other  fellow  "  to  begin  shooting  is 
believed  to  be  equivalent  to  suicide.  Add  to  these 
various  attributes  a  heart  in  which  tenderness,  strict 
honesty  and  an  overwhelming  regard  for  duty 
prevail,  and  you  have  in  full.  Captain  William  Jesse 
McDonald,  formerly  Deputy  Sheriff,  Deputy  U.  S. 
Marshal  and  Banger  Captain,  now  State  Eevenue 
Agent  of  Texas. 

It  is  the  story  of  this  man  that  we  shall  undertake 
to  tell.  During  his  twenty-five  years  or  more  of 
service  in  the  field,  he  reduced  those  once  lawless 
districts  known  as  the  Pan-handle,  No-man's  Land, 
and,  incidentally,  Texas  at  large  to  a  condition  of 
such  proper  behavior  that  nowhere  in  this  country 
is  life  and  property  safer  than  in  the  very  localities 
where  only  a  few  years  ago  the  cow-thief  and  the 
train-robber  reigned  supreme.  Their  species  have 
become  scarce  and  ^  *  hard  to  catch  ' '  there  now,  and 
the  skittish  officials  who  used  to  shield  them  have 
been  trained  to  **  stand  hitched.''    The  story  of  a 


Introducing  "  Captain  Bill  "  15 

reform  like  that  is  worth  the  telling,  for  it  is  the 
unwritten  history  of  a  territory  so  vast  that  if 
moved  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  it  would  extend 
from  New  York  to  Chicago,  from  Lake  Erie  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico — its  area  equal  to  that  of  France 
and  England  combined,  with  Wales,  Belgium,  the 
Netherlands  and  Switzerland  thrown  in,  for  good 
measure'  Furthermore,  it  is  the  story  of  a  man 
who,  in  making  that  history,  faced  death  almost 
daily,  often  under  those  supreme  conditions  when 
the  slightest  hesitancy — the  twitch  of  a  muscle  or 
the  bat  of  an  eyelid — a  *^  little  quiver,''  as  he  put 
it — ^would  have  been  fatal ;  it  is  the  story  of  a  man 
who  time  and  again  charged  into  the  last  retreat  of 
armed  and  desperate  murderers  and  brought  them 
out  hand-cuffed,  the  living  ones,  of  course;  it  is 
the  story  of  a  man  who,  according  to  Major  Block- 
som,  in  his  report  of  the  Brownsville  troubles  in 
1906,  would  * '  Charge  hell  with  a  bucket  of  water. ' ' 
In  a  word,  it  is  the  story  of  a  man  who  has  done 
things,  who  is  still  doing  them,  and  whose  kind  is 
passing  away  forever. 


n 

An  Old  Time  Mississippi  Childhood 

the  kind   of  an  education  for  a  young  ranger, 
presence  of  mind  early  manifested 

In  those  days  when  the  Mississippi  planter  was 
only  something  less  than  a  feudal  baron,  with  slaves 
and  wide  domain  and  vested  rights ;  with  horses, 
hounds  and  the  long  chase  after  fox  and  good  red 
deer;  with  horn  and  flagon  and  high  home  wassail 
in  the  hall — in  those  days  was  born  William  Jesse 
McDonald,  September  28th,  1852.  His  father, 
Enoch  McDonald,  was  the  planter  of  the  feudal 
type — fearless,  fond  of  the  chase,  the  owner  of  wide 
acres  and  half  a  hundred  slaves — ^while  his  grand- 
father, of  the  clan  McDonald  on  its  native  heath, 
was  a  step  nearer  in  the  backward  line  to  some  old 
laird  who  led  his  men  in  roistering  hunt  or  bloody 
fray  amid  the  green  hills  and  in  dim  glens  of  Scot- 
land. 

That  was  good  blood,  and  from  his  mother,  who 
was  a  Durham — Eunice  Durham — the  little  chap 
that  was  one  day  to  be  a  leader  on  his  own  account, 
inherited  as  a  clear  a  strain.  The  feudal  hall  in 
Mississippi,   however,   was   a   big   old   plantation 


An  Old  Time  Mississippi  Childhood  17 

house,  built  of  hewn  logs  and  riven  boards,  with 
woods  and  cotton-fields  on  every  hand;  with  cabins 
for  the  slaves  and  outbuildings  of  every  sort.  That 
was  in  Kemper  County,  over  near  the  Alabama  line, 
with  DeKalb,  the  county-seat,  about  twenty  miles 
away. 

It  was  a  peculiar  childhood  that  little  '*  Bill 
Jess  "  McDonald  had.  It  was  full  of  such  things 
as  the  home-coming  of  the  hunters  with  a  deer  or  a 
fox — sometimes  (and  these  were  grand  occasions) 
even  with  a  bear.  Then  there  were  wonderful  ball- 
games  played  by  the  Bogue  Chita  and  Mucklilutia 
Indians ;  exciting  shooting-matches  and  horse  races ; 
long  fishing  and  swimming  days  with  companions 
black  and  white,  and  the  ever  recurring  chase,  with 
the  bloodhounds,  of  some  runaway  slave.  There 
was  not  much  book-schooling  in  a  semi-barbaric 
childhood  such  as  that.  There  was  a  school-house, 
of  course,  which  was  used  for  a  church  and  gather- 
ings of  any  sort,  and  sometimes  the  children  had 
lessons  there.  But  the  Kemper  County  teaching  of 
that  day  was  mainly  to  ride  well,  to  shoot  at  sight, 
and  to  act  quickly  in  the  face  of  danger.  That  was 
the  proper  education  for  the  boy  who  was  one  day 
to  make  the  Texas  Pan-handle  and  No-man's  land 
his  hunting  ground,  with  men  for  his  quarry. 

Presence  of  mind  he  had  as  a  gift,  and  it  was 
early  manifested.  There  was  a  lake  not  far  away 
where  fishing  and  swimming  went  on  almost  con- 
tinuously during  the  summer  days,  and  sometimes 


18  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  small  swimmers  would  muddy  the  water  near 
the  shore  and  then  catch  the  fish  in  their  hands. 
They  were  doing  this  one  day  when  Bill  Jess  was 
heard  to  announce  excitedly: 

<<  IVe  got  him,  boys!  IVe  got  him!  You  can't 
beat  mine !  ' '  at  the  same  instant  swinging  his  catch 
high  for  them  to  see. 

That  was  a  correct  statement.  They  couldn't  beat 
his  catch  and  they  didn't  want  to.  What  they 
wanted  to  do  was  to  get  out  of  his  neighborhood 
without  any  unnecessary  delay,  for  the  thing  he 
held  up  to  view  was  an  immense  deadly  moccasin, 
grasped  with  both  hands  by  the  neck,  the  rest  of  it 
curling  instantly  around  the  lower  arm.  His  hold 
was  so  tight  and  so  near  its  head  that  the  snake 
could  not  bite  him,  but  the  problem  was  to  turn  it 
loose.  His  friends  were  all  ashore  and  at  a  safe 
distance.  He  did  not  lose  his  head,  however,  but 
wading  ashore  himself  he  invited  them  one  after 
another  to  unwind  that  snake.  Nobody  cared  for 
the  job  and  he  told  them  in  turn  and  collectively 
what  he  thought  of  them.  Then  he  offered  the  honor 
to  a  litle  slave  boy  on  attractive  terms. 

**  Alec,"  he  said,  **  ef  you-all  don't  come  an'  un- 
wind this  heah  snake,  I'll  beat  you-all  to  death  an' 
cut  off  yo'  ears  an'  skin  you  alive  and  give  yo' 
carcass  to  the  buzzards. ' ' 

Those  were  the  days  when  a  little  slave-boy  could 
not  resist  an  earnest  entreaty  of  that  sort  from  the 
son  of  the  household,  and  Jim  came  forward,  his 


An  Old  Time  Mississippi  Childhood  19 

face  gray  with  gratitude,  and  taking  hold  gingerly- 
he  unwound  a  yard  or  so  of  water-moccasin  from 
Bill  Jess,  who,  with  the  last  coil,  flung  his  prize  to 
the  ground,  where  it  was  quickly  killed,  it  being  well- 
nigh  choked  to  death  already. 

But  even  the  great  gift  of  presence  of  mind  will 
sometimes  balk  at  unfamiliar  dangers.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  and  Enoch 
McDonald  enlisted  a  company  to  defend  the  South- 
ern cause.  The  little  boy  left  behind  was  heart- 
broken. His  father  was  his  hero,  and  when  by  and 
by  the  news  came  that  the  soldiers  were  encamped 
at  Meridian — a  railway  station  about  fifty  miles 
distant — the  lad  made  up  his  mind  to  join  them. 
He  set  out  alone  afoot  and  being  used  to  finding 
his  way  in  unfamiliar  places  he  made  the  journey 
with  no  great  difficulty,  eating  and  sleeping  where 
opportunity  afforded.  He  arrived  at  Meridian  one 
morning,  and  began  to  look  over  the  ground  and  to 
make  a  few  inquiries  as  to  his  father's  headquarters. 
There  was  a  busy  place,  where  a  lot  of  supplies  were 
being  unloaded  from  what  appeared  to  be  little 
houses  on  wheels.  They  were  freight  cars,  but  Bill 
Jess  didn't  know  it.  He  had  never  seen  a  railroad 
before,  and  he  followed  along  the  track  with  increas- 
ing interest  till  he  reached  the  engine,  which  he 
thought  must  be  the  most  wonderful  and  beautiful 
thing  ever  created.  Then  suddenly  it  let  off  steam, 
the  bell  rang  and  the  air  was  split  by  a  screaming 
whistle.    It  was  too  sudden  and  too  strange  for  his 


20  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

gift  to  work.  The  son  of  all  the  McDonald's  and  of 
a  gallant  soldier  set  out  for  the  horizon,  never 
pausing  until  halted  by  the  sentry  of  his  father's 
camp. 

He  was  permitted  to  enter,  and  was  directed  to 
the  drill  ground,  where  his  father,  who  had  been 
promoted'  for  bravery  to  the  rank  of  Major,  was 
superintending  certain  maneuvers.  The  little  boy 
in  his  eagerness  ran  directly  into  the  midst  of 
things,  and  Major  McDonald,  suddenly  seeing  him, 
was  startled  into  the  conclusion  that  some  dire 
calamity  had  befallen  his  family  and  only  Bill  Jess 
had  escaped  to  tell  the  tale.  Half  sliding,  half  fall- 
ing he  dropped  from  his  horse  to  learn  the  truth. 
Then  gratefully  he  lifted  the  lad  up  behind  him  and 
continued  the  drill.  Eunice  McDonald  was  only  a 
day  or  two  behind  Bill  Jess,  for  her  instinct  told 
her  where  the  boy  had  gone.  They  remained  a  few 
days  in  camp  and  then  bade  their  soldier  good-bye. 
They  never  saw  him  again,  for  he  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Corinth,  October  3d,  1862,  charging  a 
breastworks  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  his  face  to 
the  enemy,  as  a  soldier  should  die.*  The  boy.  Bill 
Jess,  ten  years  old,  went  after  his  father's  effects, 
which  included  two  horses,  both  wounded.  These 
he  brought  home,  but  his  soldier  father  had  been 
buried  on  the  field,  where  he  fell. 

*  Col.  Rogers  of  Texas  was  killed  in  the  same  charge ;  Major  McDon- 
ald and  Col.  Rogers  fell  side  by  side,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  works. 


m 

Emigration  and  Adventure 

a  boy  at  the  head  of  a  household. 

devil  and  his  wife.''    an  early  reform 

The  boy  of  ten  was  now  the  head  of  the  household. 
He  had  his  mother  and  sister,  and  most  of  the 
negroes  still  remained ;  but  he  was  the  *  *  man  of  the 
house  ' '  and  was  mature  before  his  time.  Except  in 
the  matter  of  strength,  he  was  a  man's  equal — ^he 
could  do  whatever  a  man  could  do.  Already  he  was 
a  crack  shot,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  hunted 
deer,  and  killed  them,  alone.  Long  before,  even  dur- 
ing his  father's  first  absence,  he  had  followed  run- 
away slaves  with  the  bloodhounds  and  without  other 
assistance  had  captured  them  and  marched  them 
back  to  the  plantation.  It  was  not  a  child's  work, 
and  we  may  not  approve  of  it  to-day,  but  we  must 
confess  that  it  constituted  a  special  training  for  the 
part  he  was  to  play  in  after  years. 

The  war  ended  at  last,  and  with  it  the  McDonald 
fortune.  Slaves  and  cotton  were  gone.  Only  a  rem- 
nant of  land,  then  worthless,  remained.  Eunice 
McDonald,  widowed,  with  two  children — her  home 
left  desolate  by  the  ravages  of  war — knew  not  which 
way  to  turn.    A  bachelor  brother  with  his  face  set 


22  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Texasward  offered  to  make  a  home  for  her  in  the 
new  land.  She  accepted  the  offer,  and  in  1866  they 
reached  east  Texas  and  settled  in  Eusk  County, 
near  Henderson,  the  county-seat.  Here  the  brother 
and  sister  made  an  effort  to  retrieve  their  broken 
fortunes,  with  moderate  success.  All  the  family 
worked  hard,  and  young  McDonald,  now  in  his 
fifteenth  year  and  really  a  man  in  achievements, 
did  a  man's  part  on  the  farm,  attending  school  a 
portion  of  the  year.  His  uncle  permitted  him  to 
earn  some  money  for  himself  by  cutting  wood  and 
hauling  it  to  the  village,  and  a  part  of  this  money  he 
laid  away.  Such  leisure  as  he  had,  he  spent  in  fol- 
lowing the  hounds,  and  presently,  even  as  a  boy, 
became  famous  for  his  marksmanship.  Coon  hunt- 
ing was  perhaps  his  favorite  diversion,  and  fre- 
quently with  his  dogs  he  threaded  the  dark  woods  all 
night,  alone. 

But  he  had  not  as  yet  achieved  that  perfect  fear- 
lessness which  distinguished  him  in  later  years,  and 
there  is  still  another  instance  recorded  where  his 
presence  of  mind  failed  to  work.  This  latter  is  a 
curious  circumstance,  indeed,  and  should  be  inves- 
tigated, perhaps,  by  the  Society  of  Psychical  Re- 
search. 

He  had  been  out  on  one  of  his  long  night  tramps 
and  was  very  tired  next  evening  when  his  work  was 
done.  Coming  in,  he  threw  himself  down  on  a  lounge 
in  the  hallway  and  was  soon  sound  asleep.  By  and 
by  his  mother  came  along  and  wakened  him. 


Emigration  and  Adventure  23 

''It's  bed-time,  Bill  Jess,"  she  said. 

He  got  up,  walked  out  toward  the  gate,  and  she 
supposed  he  was  awake.  When  he  really  awoke,  he 
was  a  mile  from  there,  leaning  on  the  gate  of  one 
Jasper  Smith,  the  father  of  two  young  ladies  whom 
Bill  Jess  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting.  Eealizing 
where  he  was,  and  what  might  happen  to  him  if  dis- 
covered just  there,  he  set  out  for  home  down  the 
wide  public  road,  when  suddenly  a  little  way  ahead 
he  saw  two  objects  perched  on  the  top  of  the  rail 
fence.  At  first  he  thought  they  were  two  men,  and 
was  not  disturbed;  then  all  at  once  they  had  left 
the  top  of  that  fence  and  in  the  wink  of  an  eye,  lit 
in  the  road  directly  in  front  of  him. 

'*  It  was  the  devil  and  his  wife,"  McDonald  de- 
clared. ' '  They  had  horns  and  tails,  exactly  like  all 
the  pictures  of  the  devil  I  ever  saw.  Of  course  it 
might  have  been  the  devil  and  his  brother;  anyway 
they  belonged  to  that  family.  I  got  by  those  things. 
I  didn't  debate  a  minute,  but  went  home  as  fast  as 
my  legs  could  carry  me,  emptying  my  pockets  as  I 
ran,  which  I  had  always  heard  the  darkeys  say 
would  keep  off  witches.  There  was  a  short  way 
home  by  the  grave-yard,  but  I  didn't  take  it.  I  kept 
to  the  big  road,  and  when  I  did  get  home,  I  didn't 
wait  to  go  around  to  the  door,  but  went  right  in  the 
open  window  where  my  mother  was.  She  said  that 
I  had  imagined  everything,  but  I  hadn't.  There  was 
no  imagination  about  it." 

Curiously  enough,   soon  after  this  happened  a 


24  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

little  flock  of  school-children  passing  near  the  same 
rail  fence  in  daylight,  saw  something  that  scared 
them  so  badly  that  some  of  them  fainted.  But  by 
this  time  Bill  Jess  had  gathered  himself,  and  taking 
his  gun  he  loaded  it  heavily  and  went  devil  hunting. 
However,  without  success. 

In  spite  of  this  slight  lapse,  young  McDonald 
probably  considered  himself  a  man,  now.  We  have 
seen  that  he  was  already  calling  on  the  young  ladies, 
and  in  the  locality  where  he  lived  an  ability  to  drink 
whiskey  was  regarded  as  another  manly  achieve- 
ment. There  was  a  small  still-house  located  not  far 
from  his  home,  and  he  got  into  the  habit  of  visiting 
it  and  of  tasting  the  output.  One  day  he  tasted  too 
much  and  did  not  return  either  in  good  season  or 
condition.  When  his  mother  prepared  to  administer 
punishment,  he  pulled  away  from  her  and  stated 
that  he  would  not  take  a  whipping.  But  Eunice 
McDonald  was  not  one  to  condone  such  rebellion. 
She  put  away  the  rod  and  bided  her  time.  One  night 
when  Bill  Jess  was  fast  asleep  she  wrapped  and 
pinned  him  securely  in  a  sheet  and  laid  on  such  a 
thrashing  as  gave  him  a  permanent  distaste  both 
for  liquor  and  disobedience. 

At  another  time  it  was  attentions  paid  to  a  young 
lady  that  got  him  into  difficulties.  The  young  lady 
was  the  sister  of  his  school  teacher,  and  the  latter 
did  not  approve  of  anything  resembling  attachment 
between  the  two.  One  day  the  young  wooer  wrote 
a  letter  in  school,  ajad  passing  it  down  the  line  it 


Emigration  and  Adventure  25 

unluckily  fell  under  the  eye  of  the  teacher,  who 
captured  and  read  it,  forthwith. 

**  1*11  settle  with  you  at  recess,  sir,"  he  said,  nail- 
ing Bill  Jess  to  the  seat  with  his  eye. 

Bill  Jess  didn^t  care  to  have  him  settle.  He  was 
willing  to  let  the  account  run  right  along,  and  to 
knock  off  the  interest.  He  decided  not  to  wait. 
The  teacher  had  his  back  to  the  board,  working  out 
something  hard,  when  Bill  Jess  went  away.  He 
didn^t  rush  wildly.  He  didn^t  even  run — not  exactly 
— ^but  he  lost  no  time,  tip-toeing  out  of  there. 
Neither  did  he  go  home.  He'd  gone  home  once  in 
disgrace,  and  he  remembered  what  had  happened. 
Eunice  McDonald's  combination  of  sheet  and  horse- 
whip offered  no  fresh  inducements  in  that  direction. 
He  walked  twenty  miles  to  a  saw-mill  and  got  a  job. 
Then,  by  and  by,  everything  blew  over;  everybody 
was  sorry,  and  he  returned  home  to  forgiveness  and 
safety.  A  cyclone  hit  the  school-house  for  some 
reason  or  other  about  this  time  and  demolished  it. 
Bill  Jess  being  raked  out  of  the  debris  undamaged 
in  any  particular.    Perhaps  this  was  vindication. 


IV 

The  Making  of  a  Texan 

beconstruction  and  **  treason."    ^*  dave  "  culber- 
SON TO  THE  RESCUE.      EDUCATION,  MARRIAGE 
AND   POLITICS 

But  though  still  a  boy  in  years,  being  not  more 
than  sixteen,  his  youth  really  came  to  an  end  now. 
It  was  the  period  of  Keconstruction  in  the  South — 
a  time  of  obnoxious  enforcements  on  the  one  hand, 
and  rebellious  bitterness  on  the  other,  with  general 
lawlessness  in  the  back  settlements.  The  military 
dominated  the  towns  and  there  were  continuous  mis- 
understandings between  the  still  resentful  con- 
quered and  the  aggressive  and  sometimes  insolent 
conquerors.  Young  McDonald,  with  the  memory  of 
his  hero  father,  shot  dead  while  leading  his  regiment 
against  these  men  in  blue,  was  in  no  frame  of  mind 
to  submit  to  any  indignity,  real  or  fancied,  at  their 
hands.  It  happened  just  at  this  time  that  one 
Colonel  Greene,  a  relative  of  the  McDonalds,  was 
murdered  by  negroes,  who,  being  arrested,  con- 
fessed the  killing,  stating  that  they  had  mistaken 
Greene  for  a  mule-buyer  supposed  to  have  a  large 
sum  of  money.  The  men  were  lodged  in  jail,  but  it 
was  believed  that  under  the  ^  ^  carpet-bag  ' '  military 


The  Making  of  a  Texan  27 

law  then  prevailing  they  would  escape  punishment. 
In  later  years,  young  McDonald  was  to  become  one 
of  the  most  strenuous  defenders  of  official  procedure 
— one  of  the  bitterest  opponents  of  lynch-law  the 
State  of  Texas  has  ever  known;  but  he  was  hot- 
blooded  in  'sixty-eight,  and  the  situation  was  not 
one  to  develop  moral  principles.  When,  therefore, 
a  mob  formed  and  took  the  negroes  out  of  jail  and 
hanged  them,  there  is  no  record  of  Bill  Jesse  having 
distinguished  himself  in  their  defense  as  he  cer- 
tainly would  have  done  in  later  years.  Indeed,  it  is 
likely  that  if  he  did  not  help  pull  a  rope  that  night 
it  was  only  because  the  rope  was  fully  occupied  with 
other  willing  hands. 

Of  course  the  military  descended  on  Henderson 
and  set  in  to  discipline  it  for  this  concerted  lawless- 
ness. The  townspeople  as  a  whole,  and  the  relatives 
of  Colonel  Greene  in  particular,  resented  this  occu- 
pation. Charley  Greene,  a  brother  of  the  murdered 
man,  in  company  with  Bill  Jess,  presently  got  into 
trouble  with  some  soldiers  who  were  deporting 
themselves  in  a  manner  considered  offensive,  and 
the  result  was  a  running  fight  with  the  military  in 
the  lead.  The  soldiers  made  for  their  quarters  in 
the  court-house.  It  would  have  been  proper  to  leave 
them  alone,  then — to  retire  flushed  with  victory,  as 
the  books  say,  and  satisfied.  But  Greene  could  not 
rest.  He  persuaded  Bill  Jess  to  stay  with  him,  and 
they  rode  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  court-house, 
occasionally  taking  a  shot  at  the  windows,  to  punctu- 


28  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

ate  their  challenge  to  warfare.  Finally  Greene 
decided  that  they  could  charge  the  court-house  and 
capture  it.  He  primed  himself  with  liquor  for  the 
onset,  and  refused  to  heed  his  companion's  advice 
to  abandon  the  campaign.  The  two  ascended  the 
court-house  stairs,  at  last,  with  pistols  cocked. 
Greene  had  one  in  each  hand  and,  with  them,  shoved 
open  the  double  doors  at  the  head  of  the  stairs. 
That  was  another  mistake.  The  soldiers  were  * '  lay- 
ing for  him  ' '  just  inside,  and  in  an  instant  later  his 
arms  were  pinioned,  and  he  was  a  prisoner.  The 
doors  swung  to,  then,  and  Bill  Jess  stood  outside, 
wondering  whether  he  ought  to  charge  to  the  rescue, 
wait  there  and  be  captured,  or  retire  in  good  order. 
With  that  gift  of  logic  and  rare  presence  of  mind 
which  would  one  day  make  him  famous,  he  decided 
to  get  out  of  there.  He  had  a  plan  for  organizing 
a  rescue  party,  and  did  in  fact  get  a  crowd  together, 
but  in  the  meantime,  under  cover  of  rain  and  dark- 
ness, the  soldiers  had  taken  their  prisoner  from 
Henderson  and  he  was  well  on  the  way  to  Jefferson, 
where  there  was  a  stockade.  No  attempt  was  made 
at  the  time  to  arrest  young  McDonald,  though 
soldiers  frequently  loitered  about  his  home  premises, 
and  with  these  he  had  many  collisions,  usually  com- 
ing off  victorious.  He  was  strong,  wiry  and  fear- 
less, and  he  had  then,  as  always,  that  piercing  eye 
and  a  manner  of  going  straight  at  things  without 
flutter  or  hesitation. 

Still,  he  was  laying  up  trouble  for  himself,  for 


The  Making  of  a  Texan  29 

Greene's  court-martial  was  coming  off,  and  Bill 
Jess,  who  went  over  to  see  if  he  could  be  of  any 
assistance,  was  promptly  arrested  while  nosing 
about  the  stockade,  and  landed  with  his  relative  on 
the  inside.  This  was  a  serious  matter.  The  boy 
realized  that  it  was,  as  soon  as  the  gates  closed  be- 
hind him.  He  realized  it  still  more  forcibly  when  a 
few  days  later  he  and  Greene  were  led  into  the 
court-house  for  military  trial,  and  he  took  a  look  at 
the  men  who  were  to  prosecute  him  for  aiding  in 
the  crime  of  treason.  Nor  was  he  reassured  when 
one  of  the  lawyers  present  announced  that  he  would 
**  defend  that  boy's  case.''  For  there  was  nothing 
inspiring  about  this  champion's  appearance.  No- 
thing about  him  except  his  generosity  seemed  worth 
while.  He  wore  ill-fitting  homespun  clothes,  smoked 
a  common  clay  pipe  and  his  long  hair  straggled 
down  over  his  forehead.  His  shirt  collar  was  care- 
lessly unbuttoned,  and  his  trousers,  too  short  for 
him,  revealed  common  home-knit  yarn  socks.  More- 
over, his  eyes  were  half-closed  and  he  had  a  general 
air  of  sleepy  indifference  which  did  not  disappear 
until  it  came  his  turn  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings. 
Then  suddenly  the  sleepy  eyes  became  alive,  the 
shaggy  hair  was  tossed  back,  the  clay  pipe  was  laid 
on  the  table,  and  Dave  Culberson,  afterward  known 
as  an  eminent  lawyer  and  statesman,  arose  and 
made  such  a  plea  in  behalf  of  the  boy  whose  father 
had  died  at  Corinth,  and  whose  mother  and  sister 
relied  on  him  to-day  for  protection,  that  only  one 


30  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

verdict  remained  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers  when 
he  closed.  Bill  Jess  was  acquitted,  but  his  relative, 
Charley  Greene,  was  less  fortunate.  He  remained 
in  a  Northern  prison  several  years  before  he  was 
finally  released.  Dave  Culberson  afterward  repre- 
sented his  district  in  Congress,  and  the  boy  he  de- 
fended eventually  served  the  son,  Charles  A.  Culber- 
son— then  Governor — now,  in  1909,  United  States 
Senator  from  Texas. 

It  is  likely  that  this  bit  of  experience  with  hot- 
headed lawlessness,  and  the  result  thereof,  proved 
of  immense  value  to  young  McDonald.  From  that 
time  forward  we  find  him  a  peace-maker,  a  queller 
of  disturbances,  a  separator  of  combatants,  even  at 
great  personal  risk.  He  had  never  been  a  seeker 
after  trouble  and  he  seemed  now  to  develop  a 
natural  talent  for  preserving  the  peace.  Wherever 
guns  are  drawn,  and  they  were  drawn  pretty  fre- 
quently and  upon  small  provocation  in  that  day  and 
locality,  he  stepped  in  without  hesitation  and  the 
would-be  slayers  were  disarmed  by  what  seemed  a 
veritable  sleight-of-hand.  In  1871,  when  he  was  nine- 
teen years  old,  he  decided  to  follow  a  commercial 
life,  and  with  the  money  saved  from  the  sale  of  the 
wood  he  had  cut  and  hauled,  he  took  a  course  in 
Soule  's  Commercial  College,  at  New  Orleans,  gradu- 
ating in  1872.  Penmanship  came  easy  to  him,  and 
upon  his  return  to  Henderson  he  taught  a  writing 
class.  Within  the  year  he  was  able  to  establish  a 
small  store  in  connection  with  the  ferry  at  Brown's 


The  Making  of  a  Texan  31 

Bluff  on  the  Sabine  River,  between  Henderson  and 
Longview.  Here,  with  his  ferry  assistant  he  kept 
bachelor  ^s  hall,  not  the  most  congenial  existence, 
perhaps,  for  one  with  his  natural  leaning  toward 
female  society.  At  all  events,  he  gave  it  up,  by  and 
by,  and  after  a  brief  sojourn  in  Longview  esta- 
blished himself  in  Wood  County,  at  Mineola,  then 
a  newly  established  and  busy  railway  terminus. 
This  was  in  1875,  and  his  venture  was  a  success. 
Soon  he  was  considered  the  leading  grocer  of  the 
town. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  McDonald  made  the 
acquaintance  of  James  S.  Hogg,  who  in  later  life, 
as  Governor  of  Texas,  was  to  confer  his  most  useful 
official  appointment — that  of  Ranger  Captain,  thus 
enabling  him  to  do  much  of  the  work  which  has 
identified  his  name  with  the  State 's  constructive  his- 
tory. Hogg,  then  a  young  man,  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  at  the  county-seat,  Quitman,  a  few  miles 
distant  from  Mineola,  and  was  also  conducting  a 
paper  there.  He  bought  his  groceries  of  McDonald, 
and  the  account  ran  along  in  a  go-as-you-please  sort 
of  a  way.  They  were  good  friends,  and  courted  to- 
gether, and  it  was  through  Hogg  that  young  Mc- 
Donald met  Miss  Rhoda  Isabel  Carter,  a  young 
woman  with  fine  nerve  and  force  of  character — ^just 
the  girl  for  a  Texas  regulator's  wife.  And  such,  in 
due  season,  she  was  to  become,  for  he  married  her 
in  January,  1876.  His  friendship  for  Hogg  con- 
tinued for  some  time  after  that,  but  came  to  a 


32  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

sudden  end,  one  day,  when  Hogg,  who  had  been 
elected  County  Attorney,  with  characteristic  con- 
scientiousness prosecuted  McDonald  and  others  for 
carrying  concealed  weapons — McDonald's  posses- 
sion of  such  a  weapon  having  been  revealed  through 
his  aiding  in  the  capture  of  a  gang  of  boisterous 
disturbers  of  the  peace.  McDonald  rose  and  de- 
fended his  own  case,  declaring  he  had  quit  business 
to  do  his  duty  as  a  good  citizen,  and  that  he  would 
stay  in  jail  the  balance  of  his  days  before  he  would 
pay  a  fine. 

With  his  usual  frank  fearlessness  he  said  some 
hard  things  to  Hogg  in  the  presence  of  the  court, 
and  though  discharged,  the  two  were  estranged  for 
a  considerable  period.  Then  a  truce  was  patched 
up,  but  only  for  a  time.  Both  were  sharply  in- 
terested in  politics  and  on  opposing  sides  in  the  con- 
gressional convention.  They  were  near  coming  to 
blows  over  their  differences,  and  were  only  separated 
by  the  intervention  of  friends.  It  is  not  pleasant 
to  record  this  of  these  two  worthy  men,  but  after  all 
they  were  only  human  beings,  and  young,  and  then 
the  sequel  makes  it  still  further  worth  while. 


V 

The  Beginning  of  Eeform 

subduing  a  bad  man.    first  official  appointment. 
a  deputy  who  did  things. 


But  now  came  Bill  McDonald's  first  official  ap- 
pointment and  service.  Living  just  outside  of 
Mineola  was  a  man  named  Golden,  alias  George 
Gordon,  of  hard  character,  and  the  owner  of  several 
bulldogs,  similarly  endowed.  Man  and  dogs  be- 
came a  menace  to  travel  in  that  neighborhood,  as 
they  lived  near  a  public  road  and  were  allowed  at 
large.  The  man  was  particularly  quarrelsome  and 
ugly  and  was  said  to  have  killed  several  more  or  less 
inoffensive  persons.  He  always  carried  arms — the 
customary  pistol,  and  a  bowie  knife — the  latter  worn 
in  a  scabbard  ^ '  down  his  back.  *  *  He  was  an  expert 
at  throwing  this  weapon,  and  altogether  a  terror  to 
the  community.  Bill  McDonald  would  naturally 
resent  the  domination  of  a  man  like  Gordon,  and 
when  one  day  the  latter  came  to  town  with  one  of 
his  unruly  bulldogs,  and  the  dog  set  upon  and  in- 
jured McDonald's  prized  pointer,  there  was  trouble, 
active  and  immediate.    McDonald's  reputation  as  a 


34  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

good  man  to  let  alone  was  already  established  at 
Mineola.  He  was  known  as  a  capable  marksman — 
fearless,  resolute  and  very  sudden.  When,  there- 
fore, he  produced  a  six-shooter  for  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  killing  the  bulldog,  its  master,  who,  like 
every  bully  by  trade,  was  a  coward  at  heart,  in- 
terceded humbly  for  the  dog's  life,  promising  to  take 
the  animal  home  and  leave  him  there.  McDonald 
agreed  to  the  arrangement,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the 
community  at  large  he  promptly  applied  to  Sheriff 
Pete  Dowell  for  a  commission  as  deputy,  in  order 
that  in  future  he  might  restrain  officially  the  ob- 
noxious Gordon  and  others  of  his  kind.  The  com- 
mission was  promptly  conferred,  and  thus  Bill  Jess 
McDonald,  quietly  and  without  any  special  manifest, 
stepped  into  the  ranks  of  Texas  official  regulators, 
where,  in  one  capacity  or  another,  he  was  to  serve 
so  long  and  well. 

But,  however  quiet  his  enlistment,  his  service  was 
to  be  of  another  sort.  Those  were  not  quiet  days, 
and  the  officer  who  set  out  to  enforce  the  law  was 
apt  to  become  a  busy  person.  Gordon  very  soon  ap- 
peared again  in  Mineola,  and  after  investing  in  a 
good  deal  of  bad  whisky,  went  on  the  war-path, 
flourishing  a  six-shooter  and  giving  out  the  informa- 
tion that  nobody  could  arrest  him.  He  was  in  the 
very  midst  of  a  ipilitant  harangue  when  Deputy  Mc- 
Donald suddenly  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  before 
Gordon  could  gather  himself,  he  was,  by  some  magic 
*  *  twist  of  the  wrist, ' '  disarmed,  arrested  and  on  the 


The  Beginning  of  Reform  35 

way  to  the  calaboose.  He  demurred  and  resisted,  but 
slept  that  night  behind  lock  and  bars.  Next  morning 
he  refused  breakfast  and  demanded  release.  Deputy 
McDonald  left  him  in  a  mixed  condition  of  reflection 
and  profanity,  returning  at  noon  to  find  him  sober, 
subdued  and  hungry.  Upon  promise  of  good  be- 
havior for  the  future,  he  was  taken  before  a  justice, 
where  he  pled  guilty  and  paid  a  fine.  Then  he  took 
his  place  as  the  first  example  of  a  long  line  of 
wonderful  cures  set  down  to  Captain  Bill  Mc- 
Donald's credit,  to-day;  for  he  gave  little  trouble 
after  that  and  remained  mostly  in  retirement,  to  be 
set  upon,  at  last,  by  his  own  dogs,  who  inflicted 
terrible  wounds.  His  death  soon  afterward  was 
thought  to  be  the  result  of  this  attack. 

But  the  Gordon  experience  was  mild  enough,  after 
all,  compared  with  the  many  which  followed,  and  is 
only  set  down  because  it  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
career.  Indeed,  an  episode  of  larger  proportions  was 
already  under  way.  In  the  timber  lying  adjacent 
to  Mineola,  some  three  hundred  tie-cutters  were  en- 
camped, supplying  cross-ties  for  the  I.  &  G.  N.  road. 
They  were  a  drinking,  lawless  lot,  and  on  Saturday 
nights  the  Mineola  streets  were  filled  with  riot  and 
disorder.  The  city  marshal,  George  Beeves,  and 
Deputy  McDonald  had  on  several  occasions  made 
arrests  and  such  enforcement  of  the  law  had  been 
regarded  by  the  tie-gang  as  an  affront  to  all.  They 
sent  word  to  the  officers,  at  last,  that  they  would  be 
on  hand  in  full  force,  on  the  following  Saturday,  and 


36  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

that  the  calaboose  might  as  well  go  out  of  com- 
mission, so  far  as  they  were  concerned. 

Saturday  night  came,  and  according  to  promise  the 
tie-cutters  were  on  the  street,  numerous  and  noisy. 
McDonald  and  Eeeves  were  among  them,  keeping  a 
general  lookout  for  trouble,  not  always  together. 
The  saloons  were  full,  presently,  and  the  men  getting 
constantly  more  noisy  and  quarrelsome.  Seeing  a 
commotion  at  the  rear  of  a  cheap  hotel  where  a  num- 
ber of  the  men  had  gathered,  McDonald  went  over 
there,  and  found  Eeeves  surrounded.  Without  hesi- 
tation he  shoved  a  way  through,  with  his  pistol, 
until  he  stood  by  Eeeves 's  side.  Eeeves  had  ar- 
rested a  man,  and  a  general  riot  was  imminent. 
The  prisoner  was  very  drunk  and  disorderly  and 
demanding  that  he  be  allowed  to  go  to  his  room 
before  accompanying  the  officer.  Of  course  the 
whole  intention  was  to  precipitate  a  general  fight, 
during  which  the  officers  were  to  be  pummeled  and 
battered  to  a  jelly.  Catching  the  drift  of  matters, 
McDonald  said: 

*  *  All  right,  take  him  to  his  room,  if  he 's  got  one. 
I'll  take  care  of  this  crowd." 

There  was  something  in  the  business-like  con- 
fidence of  that  statement  which  impressed  the  crowd. 
And  then  he  had  such  a  handy  way  of  holding  a 
six-shooter.  Nobody  quite  wanted  to  die  first,  and 
Eeeves  started  for  the  back  entrance  of  the  hotel 
with  his  man.  As  they  entered  the  door  the  fellow 
reeled  against  the  casing  and  fell  to  the  ground. 


The  Beginning  of  Reform  37 

Then  a  general  stampede  started,  for  it  was  called 
out  that  Reeves  had  struck  him.    McDonald  said : 

''  Stop  you  fellers !  The  fool  fell  down.  I'll  shoot 
the  first  man  that  interferes!  " 

That  was  another  discouraging  statement  from  a 
man  who  had  a  habit  of  keeping  his  word.  It 
seemed  to  the  crowd  that  an  officer  like  that  didn't 
play  fair.  He  didn't  argue  at  all.  Somebody  was 
likely  to  get  hurt,  if  they  didn't  get  that  gun  away 
from  him.  Movements  to  this  end  were  started  here 
and  there,  but  they  didn't  get  near  enough  to  the 
chief  actor  to  be  effective.  Finally  when  Reeves  and 
his  prisoner  set  out  for  the  calaboose,  the  crowd 
moved  in  that  direction,  timing  their  steps  to  a 
chorus  of  threats  and  profanity.  Reeves  and  Mc- 
Donald made  no  reply  until  they  arrived  at  the  lock- 
up; then,  the  disturbers  being  there  handy,  the 
officers  began  gathering  them  in,  a  dozen  at  a  time. 
It  was  a  genuine  surprise-party  for  the  tie-men. 
They  were  too  much  astonished  for  any  concerted 
movement,  and  when  invited  at  the  points  of  those 
guns  to  step  inside  and  make  themselves  at  home, 
they  did  not  have  the  bad  taste  to  refuse. 

**  Step  in,  gentlemen;  always  room  for  one  more," 
might  have  been  the  form  of  the  invitation,  but  it 
wasn't.  It  was  a  Bill  McDonald  invitation  and  it 
was  full  of  compliments  and  promises  that  burnt 
holes  wherever  they  hit  anything.  The  calaboose 
was  full  in  a  brief  time  and  a  box-car  on  a  near-by 
switch  was  used  as  an  annex.    By  the  time  it  was 


38  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

full,  there  were  no  more  disturbers.  The  outer 
edges  had  melted  away.  The  woods  were  full  of 
them.  The  turbulent  tie-men  of  Texas  were  sober 
and  sensible  by  Monday  morning  and  allowed  to  go, 
under  promise  of  good  behavior,  and  upon  payment 
of  adequate  fines. 

Mineola  suddenly  became  a  moral  town.  Amuse- 
ments of  the  old  sort  languished.  Drunk  or  sober, 
it  was  humiliating  to  flourish  a  gun,  only  to  be  sud- 
denly disarmed  and  marched  to  the  calaboose  by  a 
man  who  acted  as  if  he  thought  he  was  gun-proof. 
It  was  hard  to  understand — it  was  supernatural.  It 
was  better  to  go  to  the  next  town  to  flourish  the  gun. 

But  by  this  time  Deputy  Bill  Jess  was  not  satis- 
fied with  the  quiet  life.  He  had  found  his  proper 
vocation — that  of  active  enforcement  of  the  law — 
and  he  was  moved  to  pursue  it  in  remoter  places.  A 
certain  desperate  outlaw,  a  white  man  by  the  name 
of  Jim  Bean,  had  committed  crimes  in  Smith 
County,  whence  he  had  escaped  to  Kansas.  There 
he  had  killed  a  city  marshal  and  returned  once  more 
to  Smith  County,  which  adjoins  Wood  on  the  south. 
The  officers  of  Smith  County  had  surprised  Jim 
Bean  and  his  brother  Ed,  at  a  small  station  where 
they  had  gone  to  rob  some  freight  cars,  but  the  two 
men  had  handled  their  revolvers  so  desperately  that 
they  had  been  allowed  to  escape,  and  pursuit  of  them 
had  been  abandoned. 

This  was  the  kind  of  game  that  Deputy  Bill  al- 
ways enjoyed  hunting.     It  was  worth  while.     He 


The  Beginning  of  Reform  39 

made  frequent  still-hunts  along  the  Sabine  River, 
the  dividing  line  between  Wood  and  Smith,  hoping 
to  locate  his  quarry  on  the  side  of  his  jurisdiction. 
Perhaps  the  men  knew  of  these  excursions  and  re- 
mained safely,  as  they  believed,  on  the  other  side. 
At  last,  however,  the  temptation  to  cross  the  line 
became  too  strong  for  a  hunter  like  Bill  Jess.  The 
impulse  of  the  Ranger  was  already  upon  him.  He 
crossed  the  Sabine  River  into  Smith,  with  his  Win- 
chester on  his  saddle,  and  became  an  official  poacher. 
The  river  bottom  was  overgrown  in  places  with  tall 
cane-brake,  and  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Beans  were  hiding,  and  storing  their  loot,  in  the 
dense  growth.  He  had  heard  a  rumor,  too,  that  a 
certain  family  of  swamp-dwellers  (negroes)  were 
in  league  with  the  men,  and,  reflecting  on  the  matter, 
he  concluded  to  visit  this  house,  both  for  the  purpose 
of  investigation,  and  to  borrow  a  shot-gun,  which 
he  thought  might  be  more  useful,  in  a  man-chase 
through  a  thick  cane-brake  swamp,  than  his  rifle. 
Arriving  at  the  suspected  house,  he  told  in  his 
mildest  manner  a  tale  of  a  wounded  deer  not  far 
away,  and  borrowed  a  shot-gun,  as  well  as  the  in- 
formation that  the  men  and  dogs  of  the  place  were 
in  the  brakes.  He  now  began  a  careful  still-hunt 
for  his  game,  and  presently  came  full  upon  Jim  Bean, 
who  was  on  a  horse,  with  a  shot-gun,  guarding  some 
stolen  hogs.  Bean  was  a  great  burly  creature,  more 
animal  than  man,  from  having  lived  and  slept  so 
long  in  the  woods  and  brakes.    He  had  been  shot  at 


40  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

many  times,  and  had  been  desperately  wounded,  but 
such  was  his  natural  vitality,  and  so  hardened  was 
he  by  exposure  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  kill  him. 
Before  Bean  could  move,  now.  Deputy  McDonald 
had  him  covered  and  commanded  him  to  get  off  his 
horse  or  he  would  shoot  him  dead.  Bean  obeyed 
and  McDonald  threw  his  own  leg  over  his  saddle 
and  slid  to  the  ground,  still  covering  Bean  with  his 
gun.  Suddenly  Bean  made  a  dash  for  a  large  tree, 
turning  to  shoot  just  as  he  reached  this  cover. 
McDonald  was  too  quick,  however,  and  let  go  with 
two  loads  of  buckshot,  which  struck  Bean  in  several 
places,  knocking  him  down.  He  then  made  off  in  the 
direction  of  a  slough,  toward  thick  hiding.  The 
shot-gun  was  a  muzzle  loader  and  before  McDonald 
could  get  it  charged  again  he  heard  somebody  com- 
ing through  the  brush.  It  was  Ed  Bean  and  some 
negroes.  He  was  ready  for  them  by  the  time  they 
came  in  sight,  and  throwing  his  gun  to  position  he 
commanded  them  to  halt.  Instead  of  doing  so  they 
turned  and  disappeared  in  the  direction  from  which 
they  had  come.  McDonald  now  mounted  his  horse 
and  started  in  pursuit  of  the  wounded  Jim  Bean. 
He  found  where  he  had  crossed  the  slough,  and 
presently  came  to  the  desperado's  gun,  which  had 
been  thrown  away  in  his  hurry.  Blood-stains  made 
the  trail  easy  to  follow.  Soon  a  powder-horn  and 
then  a  pair  of  boots  lay  in  the  path  of  flight.  Mc- 
Donald followed  six  miles  to  a  cabin  occupied  by 
negroes.    Bean  was  not  in  the  cabin,  but  barefoot 


The  Beginning  of  Reform  41 

prints  led  into  the  woods.  The  man-hunter  followed 
them  and  finally  overtook  their  owner.  It  was  not 
Bean.  The  officer  had  been  tricked — Bean  had 
escaped  while  his  pursuer  had  been  following  this 
false  lead.  It  was  dark,  now,  and  further  search 
was  hopeless.  Next  morning  the  outlaws  had  van- 
ished from  the  country.  They  never  returned  and 
were  heard  of  no  more  until  some  time  after,  when 
news  came  from  Wise  County  that  both  the  Bean 
brothers  had  been  killed,  resisting  arrest. 

While  this  episode  did  not  turn  out  altogether 
successfully,  inasmuch  as  the  game  got  away,  it  had 
a  better  result  in  that  it  effected  a  complete  recon- 
ciliation between  McDonald  and  his  old,  and  what 
was  to  be  his  lifetime  friend,  James  S.  Hogg.  Cer- 
tain jealous  officials  were  bent  upon  making  trouble 
for  the  young  deputy  for  overstepping  his  authority 
by  working  outside  of  his  own  county,  and  especially 
for  shooting  a  man  in  attempting  an  illegal  arrest. 
McDonald  held  that  the  conditions  justified  his  act, 
and  was  going  to  make  his  fight  on  that  ground. 
But  it  never  came  to  a  fight,  for  when  the  matter 
was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  grand  jury,  Hogg, 
by  this  time  District  Attorney,  went  before  that 
body,  and  regardless  of  the  old  animosity  between 
McDonald  and  himself,  and  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  not  yet  on  speaking  terms,  declared  that  if  the 
jury  found  an  indictment  against  the  deputy  for 
so  worthy  an  undertaking  as  that  which,  irregular 
or  not,  had  resulted  in  ridding  the  country  of  a  gang 


42  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

of  outlaws,  he  would  nolle  pros  the  case— in  other 
words,  he  would  refuse  to  prosecute. 

When  McDonald  heard  of  this,  he  went  to  his  old 
friend  at  once. 

**  Jim,''  he  said,  *' you're  a  gentleman,  and  I 
know  I  want  to  act  right.  Let's  not  be  enemies 
any  more."    And  they  never  were. 

Ten  years  later,  Jim  Hogg,  as  Governor  of  Texas, 
would  make  it  possible  for  Bill  McDonald  to  bring 
down  criminals  in  any  county  of  that  mighty  State. 
But  this  is  further  along  in  our  story. 


VI 

Into  the  "Wilderness 

a  new  business  in  a  new  land, 
shows  his  sand 

Hard  times  came  on  in  Mineola.  Eailroad  build- 
ing was  at  an  end ;  crops  failed ;  men  who  had  bought 
goods  on  long  credit  could  not  pay.  *'  Bill  "  Mc- 
Donald, as  he  was  now  usually  called,  had  been  one 
to  carry  long  lines  of  credit  for  his  customers,  and 
he  was  hurt  accordingly.  He  gave  up  business,  at 
last,  and  in  1883  invested  in  cattle  whatever  remained 
to  him,  and  set  his  steps  further  westward  where 
there  was  free  grass.  He  headed  toward  Wichita 
County,  which  was  almost  an  unknown  land  in  that 
day,  driving  his  cattle  before  him,  his  young  wife  at 
his  side,  both  eager  to  begin  a  new  life  in  a  new  land. 

To  drive  cattle  across  the  wild  Texas  prairies, 
twenty-five  years  ago,  was  an  experience  worth 
while.  There  were  no  fences,  no  boundaries  and  few 
roads.  Settlers  were  far  between.  The  climate  in 
any  season  was  likely  to  be  mild;  the  air  was  pure 
and  stimulating;  society,  such  as  it  was,  had  not 
many  conventions. 

Yet,  few  and  fundamental  as  were  the  conditions, 
they  were  of  a  sort  to  develop  sudden  situations,  and 


44  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

one  had  to  be  ready  to  face  them  fairly  and  firmly 
or  write  himself  down  as  unfit  for  the  wild  free 
life  of  the  range.  The  grass  was  free,  but  there 
were  always  those  who  wanted  to  form  a  trust  of  its 
vast  areas  and  make  trespassers  of  the  smaller  men. 
McDonald  had  scarcely  located  his  herd  and  pitched 
his  tent  when  two  of  these  magnates  notified  him 
that  he  had  better  move.  It  was  a  bluff,  of  course, 
and  the  man  who  had  been  deputy  sheriff  for  half 
a  dozen  years  and  purified  a  bad  community  was  the 
wrong  man  to  use  it  on.  He  asked  in  that  quiet  way 
of  his,  to  let  him  have  a  look  at  their  titles,  and  when 
they  could  not  produce  them,  he  added  that  he 
thought  he'd  stay  where  he  was.  They  began  to 
tell  him  of  some  of  the  things  that  were  likely  to 
happen  if  he  did  that,  but  he  did  not  seem  impressed 
by  the  information.  He  repeated  that  he  would  stay 
where  he  was,  and  that  anyone  who  did  not  wish  to 
be  in  his  neighborhood  had  his  permission  to  move 
on,  to  other  free  grass.  Perhaps  they  looked  him 
over  a  bit  more  carefully,  then,  and  noticed  the  pecu- 
liarity of  his  nose  and  of  his  eyes,  and  the  handy 
and  casual  way  he  had  of  picking  off  the  heads  of 
rattlesnakes  and  such  things,  with  a  six-shooter, 
while  he  talked.  At  all  events  they  did  not  refer  to 
the  matter  again  and  even  cultivated  his  friendship. 
In  a  neighborhood  where  cattle  thieves  were  begin- 
ning to  be  troublesome  a  man  like  that  would  be 
handy  to  have  around.  They  were  to  have  an  ex- 
ample presently  of  his  willingness  and  ability  to 


Into  the  Wilderness  45 

defend  the  rights  of  ownershii^ — a  small  example, 
but  convincing. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  to  keep  a  herd  intact  in 
those  days.  In  a  land  of  free  grass,  where  the  cost 
of  cattle  was  chiefly  the  expense  of  herding,  it  was 
not  likely  that  the  moral  title  to  the  cattle  them- 
selves would  be  very  highly  regarded,  especially 
where  brands  had  been  obliterated,  or  where  a  few 
strays  mingled  with  a  larger  herd.  The  outlaw  pure 
and  simple  was  bad  enough,  but  to  the  newcomer 
with  a  small  bunch  of  **  cows  "  (cattle,  regardless 
of  gender),  the  vast  roaming  herd,  guarded  by  a 
veritable  army  of  punchers  whose  respect  for  any 
law  was  small  enough,  was  an  even  greater  menace. 
McDonald  knew  of  these  conditions,  and  when,  soon 
after  his  arrival,  some  of  his  cattle  strayed  away, 
he  set  out  to  inspect  the  surrounding  herds.  After 
riding  some  distance  he  came  upon  a  large  drove, 
evidently  on  its  way  to  market.  It  was  about  noon 
and  the  men  were  **  rounding-in  "  for  dinner.  Mc- 
Donald  started  to  address  a  herder,  when  the  man 
turned  abruptly  and  started  off.  McDonald  im- 
mediately began  looking  through  the  cattle,  where- 
upon the  herder  wheeled. 

**  What  do  you  want  in  there?  '*  he  asked  roughly. 

**  I  was  looking  for  hobbled  horses,''  was  the  easy 
reply.  The  puncher  made  some  surly  comment  and 
rode  away. 

McDonald,  presently  satisfied  that  his  stray  cattle 
were  not  with  that  portion  of  the  drove,  continued 


46  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

his  search  further  along  and  came  up  with  the 
^*  chuck- wagon  "  where  dinner  was  being  prepared. 
Cow-men  are  hospitable  and  the  foreman  invited 
him  to  dismount  and  join  them.  He  did  so,  and  a 
little  later  the  surly  puncher  came  in,  giving  the 
camp  guest  anything  but  a  friendly  look.  In  the 
course  of  the  meal  the  visitor  was  asked  where  he 
was  from. 

*'  Mineola/'  he  said,  *'  Wood  County.''  The  surly 
herder  spoke  up. 

**  These  d — d  sand-lappers  (east-Texans)  are  get- 
ting too  thick  out  here." 

McDonald  set  down  his  cofPee. 

'*  The  d — d  skunks  and  prairie  dogs  are  already 
too  thick,''  he  said. 

An  instant  later  the  puncher  had  out  his  pistol, 
but  the  sand-lapper  was  still  quicker.  The  puncher 
was  covered  before  he  could  bring  his  weapon  to 
bear.    McDonald  said: 

**  Turn  it  loose!    Drop  it!  " 

The  herder  still  clutched  the  weapon  which  he  was 
afraid  to  raise.  The  sand-lapper  stepped  nearer  to 
him,  and  with  a  sudden  movement  rapped  him 
smartly  on  the  head  with  the  heavy  barrel  of  his 
six-shooter.  It  was  a  thing  that  as  a  deputy  he  had 
done  often,  and  it  was  always  effective.  The 
puncher  dropped  his  gun.  One  of  his  comrades 
sprang  to  his  assistance,  but  was  covered  and  dis- 
armed with  amazing  suddenness.  The  foreman  in- 
terfered, now,  and  the  beginner  of  the  disturbance 


# 


INTRODUCING    RtFORM    IN    THh   WILDtRNESS. 
"  He  was  disarmed  with  amazing  suddenness." 


Into  the  Wilderness  47 

was  led  away  to  a  brook  to  have  his  head  bathed 
and  bandaged ;  whereupon  the  sand-lapper  quietly 
finished  his  dinner,  thanked  his  host,  continued  the 
search  for  his  missing  stock,  and  when  he  had  found 
them,  set  out  for  home.  Meeting  a  group  of 
punchers  among  which  was  his  surly  friend  with  a 
now  bandaged  head,  he  expected  further  trouble. 
Nothing  happened.  The  sand-lapper  and  his  missing 
cows  had  the  right  of  way. 


vn 

Commercial  Ventures  and  Adventures 
BILL  Mcdonald's  method  of  collecting  a  bill;  and 

HIS   METHOD   OF   HANDLING  BAD   MEN 

The  inclination  to  commercial  enterprise  still  sur- 
vived. At  the  end  of  a  year  McDonald  sold  his 
cattle  and  invested  in  the  lumber  business  at  Wichita 
Falls — another  railway  terminus,  dropped  down  in 
the  prairie,  with  a  population  of  about  two  thou- 
sand, at  that  time.  A  little  later  he  established  a 
branch  business  at  Harrold  when  the  railway  reached 
that  point.  Two  big  lumber  yards  were  already  es- 
tablished at  Wichita  Falls,  and  the  competition  was 
strenuous.  It  was  a  brief  experience  for  McDonald, 
for  he  presently  yearned  for  the  freer  life  of  the 
range,  and  soon  abandoned  commerce,  once  more, 
for  cattle — this  time  for  good.  Yet  the  experience 
was  not  without  valuable  return,  inasmuch  as  it  es- 
tablished for  him  in  Wichita  Falls,  quickly  and  per- 
manently, a  reputation  of  a  useful  kind  in  a  country 
where  law  and  order  are  likely  to  be  of  an  elemental, 
go-as-you-please  sort.    It  happened  in  this  wise : 

There  was  a  merchant  in  Baylor  County,  Texas, 
to  whom  Lumberman  McDonald  sold  a  good  bill,  on 
time.     The  account  ran  along,  until  one  day  the 


Commercial  Ventures  and  Adventures        49 

county  judge  of  Baylor,  one  Melvin,  dropped  in  and 
stated  that  he  had  called  to  settle  the  amount  for 
his  neighbor.  He  gave  his  own  check  for  it  and 
McDonald  supposed  the  matter  had  ended.  A  few 
days  later  the  bank  returned  Melvin 's  check  as 
worthless.  Evidently  the  quiet  unobtrusive  life 
which  Bill  Jess  had  been  living  as  a  lumber  mer- 
chant had  given  the  impression  that  he  was  an  in- 
offensive person  who  would  pocket  a  loss  rather 
than  make  trouble,  especially  with  a  county  judge, 
who  added  to  his  official  prestige  the  reputation  of 
being  a  very  bad  man  from  **far  up  Bitter  Creek.'' 
However,  this  impression  was  a  mistake.  McDonald 
ascertained  that  his  customer  had  really  sent  the 
money  by  Melvin,  to  pay  his  bill,  and  considered 
what  he  ought  to  do.  Morally,  perhaps  legally,  he 
could  have  demanded  payment  a  second  time,  on  the 
ground  that  the  said  customer,  being  acquainted 
with  Melvin,  should  have  selected  a  more  reliable 
messenger.  But  that  was  not  the  Bill  McDonald 
way.  What  he  did  was  to  write  to  Melvin,  demand- 
ing an  explanation ;  adding  in  pretty  positive  terms 
that  he  expected  immediate  settlement.  No  reply 
came  and  a  second  and  a  third  letter  followed,  each 
getting  more  definite  as  to  phrase.  Then  one  day 
Melvin  and  certain  henchmen  from  Baylor  appeared 
on  the  streets  of  Wichita  Falls.  McDonald  who  had 
heard  of  their  arrival,  suddenly  confronted  Melvin 
and  delivered  himself  in  whatever  terms  and  em- 
phasis as  he  had  on  hand  at  the  moment.    Melvin 


50  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

withdrew,  gathered  his  clans  and  laid  for  McDonald 
in  a  saloon  where  the  latter  had  to  pass.  Though 
previously  warned  of  the  ambush,  McDonald  did 
pass,  with  the  result  that  next  morning  Melvin 
settled  his  bill  in  full,  paid  for  a  glass  door  that  he 
had  broken,  and  a  fine  and  costs  amounting  to  sixty- 
five  dollars,  for  carrying  concealed  weapons.  What 
really  happened  to  Melvin  is  best  told  in  Bill  Jess 's 
own  testimony  when  that  same  morning  he  had, 
himself,  been  summoned  to  answer  a  charge  for 
carrying  concealed  weapons,  disturbing  the  peace, 
and  for  assault — said  action  being  the  result  of 
Melvin 's  judicial  pull.  Arriving  at  the  court-room 
the  prosecuting  attorney  asked  McDonald  if  he  had 
a  lawyer. 

**  No,''  he  said,  '*  I  don't  need  anybody  to  defend 
me  for  knocking  that  scoundrel  over.  I'll  attend  to 
my  own  case,  whatever  is  necessary. ' ' 

The  attorney  then  stated  the  charge  to  the  court. 
Bill  Jess  waited  until  he  was  through  and  then  asked 
permission  to  speak. 

**  Your  honor,"  he  said,  rising,  **  I'm  a  busy  man 
with  no  time  to  be  fooling  around  this  way  with  men 
who  give  bogus  checks  and  steal  horses  and  such 
like,  but  if  your  honor  will  spare  about  a  minute 
I'll  tell  the  court  what  happened."  He  then  gave 
a  history  of  the  lumber  transaction,  and  added  the 
sequel,  as  follows: 

* '  When  I  wrote  him  as  strong  a  letter  as  I  could 
frame  up,  and  as  would  go  through  the  mail,  he 


Commercial  Ventures  and  Adventures        51 

came  down  with  a  crowd  of  what  he  thought  was 
fighting  men,  and  I  met  him  and  tried  like  a  gentle- 
man to  persuade  him  to  settle  up  and  to  convince 
him  what  a  dad-blamed  rascal  he  was;  which  he 
pled  guilty  to,  and  didn't  deny.  Then  he  gathers 
his  feeble  bunch  of  fighters  together,  arms  them  up 
with  six-shooters  and  corrals  them  in  Bill  Holly's 
saloon,  that  I  had  to  pass,  going  home.  I  met 
Johnny  Hammond  who  tried  to  persuade  me  not  to 
take  that  street — said  those  fellows  were  up  there 
and  I'd  better  go  in  some  other  direction.  I  said 
I  wasn't  in  the  habit  of  going  out  of  my  way  for 
such  cattle,  and  proceeded  on  up  the  street.  When 
I  got  in  front  of  Bill  Holly's,  Melvin  and  his  war- 
riors stepped  out.  Melvin  wanted  an  explanation 
of  my  former  remarks,  and  I  gave  it  to  him  and 
added  some  more  which  I  would  not  like  to  mention 
in  the  presence  of  the  court.  Then  he  pulled  out  a 
big  white-handled  forty-five  six-shooter,  but  being 
a  little  slow  with  it,  I  grabbed  it  by  the  barrel  and 
hit  him  with  my  fist  two  or  three  times,  which  kind 
of  jarred  him  loose  from  his  gun.  Then  I  gave  him 
a  rap  on  the  head  with  it  and  knocked  him  through 
Bill  Holly's  glass-front  door,  into  the  saloon.  His 
pals  pulled  their  guns,  but  I  covered  them  with  the 
one  I  took  away  from  Melvin  and  they  nearly  broke 
the  furniture  to  pieces  getting  out  of  there.  I  didn  't 
see  any  more  of  any  of  them  until  next  morning. 
Then  I  looked  up  the  bunch  and  got  a  check  in 
full,  with  interest,  from  Melvin,  and  made  him  pay 


52  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Bill  Holly  ^ve  dollars  for  his  glass  door.  So  far 
as  carrying  a  gun  is  concerned,  I  had  one,  and  I  got 
another  from  this  fellow  here  who  had  pulled  it  on 
me.  I  took  it  away  from  him  and  hit  him  with  it, 
and  I  have  the  same  here  in  my  possession  now,  to 
turn  over  to  the  Court. ' ' 

Bill  Jess  reached  down  somewhere  and  drawing 
forth  the  big  white  handled  six-shooter,  laid  it  down 
in  front  of  the  court.  Then  suddenly  turning  upon 
Melvin  who  was  present,  he  looked  him  straight 
through. 

**  Melvin,  is  not  all  I  have  told  the  Court  true?  *' 
he  demanded. 

Melvin  found  himself  unable  to  tell  anything  but 
the  truth,  just  then. 

"  Yes,  sir,''  he  said,  quite  meekly. 

McDonald  was  discharged  and  Melvin  paid  a 
fine  as  before  noted.  Following  this  incident  came 
another  which  solidified  Bill  McDonald's  reputation 
for  nerve,  in  Wichita  Falls.  Bill  Holly,  the  afore- 
mentioned— whose  name  in  another  part  of  the  State 
had  been  Buck  Holly,  which  he  forgot  when  he  left 
East  Texas,  after  getting  into  a  mix-up,  during 
which  the  other  man  died — one  day  absorbed  an 
overdose  of  his  own  stock-in-trade  and  set  forth  to 
shoot  up  the  town.  He  went  afoot  and  let  go  at 
things  generally,  emptying  the  streets  and  bringing 
business  to  a  standstill.  The  city  marshal  was 
organizing  a  posse  to  take  him,  and  summoned 
McDonald,  when  McDonald  said : 


Commercial  Ventures  and  Adventures        53 

"  Give  me  the  key  to  the  calaboose,  and  the* 
won't  be  no  need  of  a  posse." 

He  took  the  key  in  one  hand  and  a  six-shooter  in 
the  other;  marched  up  to  where  Holly  was  prac- 
ticing on  front-doors  and  hardware  signs;  struck 
the  gun  close  up  under  the  nose  of  the  disturber, 
and  with  his  quick  magic,  disarmed  him  and  set  out 
with  him  for  the  lockup.  Holly  begged  and  pleaded 
and  was  finally  locked  in  a  room  in  the  hotel.  He 
broke  a  window  before  morning  and  promptly  paid 
for  it  by  McDonald's  request.  He  made  a  fairly 
quiet  citizen  during  the  remainder  of  McDonald's 
stay  in  Wichita  Falls. 

Removing  to  Hardeman  County  was  the  only 
thing  that  saved  Bill  McDonald  from  being  drafted 
into  official  service  where  he  was.  Law  abiding  citi- 
zens with  his  gifts  are  scarce  enough  anywhere,  and 
they  were  needed  in  the  cattle  districts  of  Texas. 
There  was  not  much  law  in  those  parts,  none  at  all 
outside  of  the  towns.  In  the  countries  bordering 
on  Indian  Territory  and  up  through  the  Pan-handle 
a  man  had  to  **  stand  pat  "  whatever  his  hand,  and 
hold  his  own  by  strength  of  arm  and  quickness  of 
trigger.  Cow  thieves  and  cut-throats  abounded. 
Officials  often  worked  in  accord  with  them,  or  were 
afraid  to  prosecute.  The  man  who  would  neither 
co-operate  with  outlaws  nor  condone  their  offences 
was  already  on  the  ground  and  would  presently  be 
in  the  field.  It  was  a  wide  field  and  a  fruitful  one 
and  the  harvest  was  ripe  for  the  gathering. 


54  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Hardeman  County  was  a  tongh  locality  in  the 
early  eighties.  It  had  lately  been  organized,  and 
the  settlers  were  cow-men,  cow-boys  and  gamblers 
— lawless  enough,  themselves — and  another  element, 
which  pretended  to  be  these  things,  but  in  reality 
consisted  of  outlaws,  pure  and  simple.  The  latter 
lived  chiefly  off  of  the  herds,  driving  off  horses  and 
cattle  and  hiding  them  in  remote  and  inaccessible 
places.  Often  cattle  were  butchered;  their  hides, 
which  were  marked  with  brand  and  ear-marks  were 
destroyed  to  avoid  identification,  and  the  meat  was 
sold.  Men  who  did  these  things  were  known  well 
enough,  but  went  unapprehended  for  the  reasons 
named.  In  certain  sections  of  the  Territory  itself 
and  in  No-man's  Land  (a  piece  of  disputed  ground 
lying  to  the  north  of  the  Pan-handle,  now  a  part  of 
Oklahoma)  matters  were  even  worse.  In  these 
places  there  was  hardly  a  semblance  of  law.  Cer- 
tainly the  need  of  active  reform — of  an  official  cru- 
sader, without  fear  and  above  reproach — was  both 
wide  and  vociferous. 


vm 

Eeforming  the  Wilderness 

the  kind  op  men  to  be  reformed.    early  reforms 
in  quanah.    bad  men  meet  their  match 

It  was  in  1885  that  Bill  McDonald  disposed  of  his 
lumber  interests  in  Wichita  Falls  and  at  Harrold, 
reinvested  in  cattle  and  set  out  once  more  for  the 
still  farther  west.  He  had  filed  on  some  school-land 
on  Wanderer's  Creek  in  Hardeman  County,  about 
four  miles  from  where  the  town  of  Quanah  now 
stands,  and  in  the  heart  of  what  was  then  the  wilder- 
ness. Somewhat  previous  to  this,  McDonald,  whose 
reputation  as  a  man  of  nerve  had  traveled  to  Har- 
rold, was  one  night  called  upon  by  Ranger  Lieu- 
tenant Sam  Piatt  to  assist  in  handling  a  gang  of 
outlaws,  known  as  the  Brooken  Band,  that  infested 
the  neighborhood.  The  Brookens  had  ridden  into 
Harrold  and  were  running  things  in  pretty  much 
their  own  way.  Piatt  and  McDonald  promptly 
bore  down  upon  them  and  a  running  fight  ensued 
as  the  Brookens  retreated.  About  one  hundred 
shots  were  fired  altogether,  but  it  was  dark  and  the 
range  was  too  great  for  accuracy.  Nothing  was  ac- 
complished, but  the  event  marked  the  beginning  of 
a  warfare  between  Bill  McDonald  and  a  band  of 


56  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

cut-throats,  the  end  of  which  would  be  history.  It 
was  soon  after  this  first  skirmish  that  McDonald 
sold  out  his  lumber  business  and  set  out  for  his 
Hardeman  County  ranch.  As  on  his  former  migra- 
tion he  drove  his  cattle  to  the  new  land,  and  after 
the  first  hard  day's  drive,  camped  at  nightfall  in 
a  pleasant  spot  where  grass  was  plentiful  and 
water  handy.  It  seemed  a  good  place,  and  man  and 
beast  gladly  halted  for  food  and  rest. 

But  next  morning  there  was  trouble.  When  prep- 
arations for  an  early  start  were  under  headway, 
it  was  suddenly  discovered  that  four  of  the  best 
horses  and  a  fine  Newfoundland  dog  were  missing. 
Investigation  of  the  surrounding  country  was  made, 
and  two  of  the  horses  were  found  astray,  evidently 
having  broken  loose  from  their  captors.  It  was  fur- 
ther discovered  that  the  Brooken  Band  had  a  ren- 
dezvous in  what  was  known  as  the  Cedar-brakes,  a 
stretch  of  rough  country,  densely  covered  with 
scrubby  cedar,  located  about  twelve  miles  to  the 
south  westward.  McDonald  naturally  felt  that  it 
was  again  his  *^  move  '^  in  the  Brooken  game,  but 
it  did  not  seem  expedient  to  stop  the  journey  with 
the  herd  and  undertake  the  move,  just  then,  so  bid- 
ing his  time  he  pushed  on,  to  his  land  on  Wanderer 's 
Creek,  where  he  established  his  ranch,  fenced  his 
property,  built  a  habitation  for  himself  and  the  wife 
who  was  always  ready  to  follow  him  into  the  wilder- 
ness; then  he  rode  over  to  Margaret,  at  that  time 
the  county-seat,  and  asked  Sheriff  Jim  Alley— a 


Reforming  the  Wilderness  67 

good  man  with  his  hands  over  full — to  appoint  him 
deputy  that  he  might  begin  the  work  which  clearly- 
must  be  done  in  that  country  before  it  could  become 
a  proper  habitation  for  law  abiding  citizens.  The 
commission  was  readily  granted,  and  from  that  ap- 
pointment dates  *'  that  tired  feeling  ''  which  the  bad 
men  of  Texas  began  to  have  when  they  heard  the 
sound  of  Bill  McDonald's  name. 

Another  word  as  to  the  kind  of  men  with  which 
an  officer  in  those  days  had  to  deal.  They  were  not 
ordinary  malefactors,  but  choice  selections  from 
the  world  at  large.  **  What  was  your  name  before 
you  came  to  Texas?  ''  was  a  common  inquiry  in 
those  earlier  days,  and  it  was  often  added  that  a 
man  could  go  to  Texas  when  he  couldn't  go  any- 
where else.  It  was  such  a  big  State,  with  so  many 
remote  fastnesses,  so  many  easy  escapes  across  the 
borders.  It  was  the  natural  last  resort  of  men  who 
could  not  live  elsewhere  with  safety  or  profit.  There 
is  a  story  of  a  man  arrested  in  Texas  in  those  days 
for  some  misdemeanor,  who  was  advised  by  hie 
lawyer  to  leave  the  State  without  delay. 

**  But  where  shall  I  go?  "  asked  the  troubled  of- 
fender, *  *  I  'm  in  Texas,  now, ' ' 

They  were  the  men  who  had  borne  other  names 
before  they  came  to  Texas  and  who  were  *  *  in  Texas, 
now,''  because  they  could  not  live  elsewhere  and 
keep  off  of  the  scaffold,  that  Bill  McDonald  under- 
took to  exterminate.  He  was  willing  to  undertake 
the  task  single  handed,  if  necessary,  and  in  reality 


58  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

did  much  of  his  work  in  that  manner,  as  we  shall 
see. 

With  his  commission  in  his  pocket  Bill  Jess  was 
not  long  in  getting  down  to  his  favorite  employ- 
ment, that  of  man-hunting.  He  began  quietly,  for 
he  wanted  to  identify  some  of  the  men  nearer  at 
hand  who  were  in  one  way  and  another  connected 
with  the  Cedar-brakes  gang.  Bill  Brooken,  a  no- 
torious outlaw,  was  the  head  of  the  band,  and  his 
brother  Bood  was  one  of  its  chief  members.  The 
Brookens  were  wanted  not  only  for  cattle  stealing, 
but  for  train-robbing  and  murder,  as  well.  A  cer- 
tain Bull  Turner  was  one  of  their  victims.  Turner 
was  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  Brooken  gang  at 
an  earlier  time,  but  had  abandoned  that  way  of  life 
and  made  an  effort  to  become  a  decent  citizen.  The 
gang  believed  he  had  given  information,  and  some- 
what later  when  he  was  driving  across  the  country 
with  a  prominent  stockman — a  Hebrew  named 
Lazarus — the  Brookens  and  half  a  dozen  of  their 
followers  suddenly  dashed  out  of  a  roadside  con- 
cealment and  began  firing.  Turner  was  instantly 
killed,  and  Lazarus  fell  over  the  dash-board  in  a 
wild  effort  to  get  behind  something.  The  frightened 
horses,  one  of  them  wounded  in  the  foot,  ran  madly 
all  the  way  to  town  with  Lazarus  still  clinging  to 
the  whiffletrees.  He  received  no  injury,  but  ac- 
quired a  scare  which  was  permanent. 

With  the  assistance  of  Sheriff  Alley — also  short 
a  horse,  through  the  industries  of  the  Brooken  gang 


Reforming  the  Wilderness  59 

— and  one  Pat  Wol forth,  who  was  acquainted  with 
certain  of  the  silent  partners  of  the  outlaws  and 
stood  ready  to  give  information,  several  arrests 
were  made,  presently,  and  trouble  filled  the  air. 

Threatening  letters  now  began  to  come  to  the  new 
deputy,  warning  him  against  further  procedure — 
promising  him  death  and  torture  of  many  varieties 
if  he  did  not  suspend  operations.  Such  letters  al- 
ways stimulated  Bill  McDonald  to  renewed  enter- 
prise. He  redoubled  his  efforts  and  brought  in 
offenders  of  various  kinds  almost  daily.  Cattle 
stealers  began  to  migrate  to  other  counties.  Their 
friends  and  beneficiaries  grew  nervous. 

Meantime,  the  railroad  had  reached  Hardeman 
and  the  town  of  Quanah — named  for  Chief  Quanah 
Parker,  son  of  the  historic  Cynthia  Ann  Parker — 
had  sprung  up.  It  was  the  typical  tough  place  and 
certain  bad  men  still  at  large  came  there  to  proclaim 
vengeance  and  to  **  lay  ''  for  the  men  who  were 
making  them  trouble.  Among  these  disturbers  was 
one  John  Davidson  of  Wilbarger  County,  on  the 
borders  of  which  the  Cedar-brakes  gang  was  located. 
Davidson  was  reputed  to  have  killed  several  men 
and  was  believed  to  be  an  accessory  of  the  Brooken 
Band,  but  was  thus  far  not  positively  identified,  and 
remained  unapprehended.  He  did  not  hesitate,  how- 
ever, to  boast  of  his  always  being  armed  and  ready 
for  men  like  Bill  McDonald,  and  especially  for  Pat 
Wolforth  who  was  getting  good  friends  and  neigh- 
bors into  trouble. 


60  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Davidson  appeared  presently  on  the  streets  of 
Qnanah,  flourishing  his  firearms  and  making  his 
boasts.  McDonald  suddenly  arrived  on  the  scene, 
and  without  any  parley  whatever  stepped  quickly 
up  to  Davidson  and  disarmed  him  so  suddenly  that 
the  terror  of  Wilbarger  stood  dazed,  and  did  not 
recover  himself  until  he  was  half  way  to  the  office 
of  justice,  where  he  paid  a  fine.  It  was  an  unusual 
proceeding.  It  was  unprecedented.  The  customary 
thing  was  a  noisy  warfare  of  words,  followed  by  a 
general  shooting,  with  the  bad  man  in  possession 
when  the  smoke  had  cleared  away.  This  new  method 
was  prosaic.  Davidson  couldn't  understand  it  at  all. 
He  tried  it  again  the  next  week,  with  the  same 
result.  He  kept  on  trying  it,  and  each  time  settled 
for  his  amusement  with  a  fine.  Why  he  did  not  kill 
somebody  he  couldn't  understand.  He  never  seemed 
to  get  in  action  before  Bill  McDonald  had  his  gun 
and  was  marching  him  to  the  **  Captain's  Ofiice." 
Finally  he  got  himself  appointed  Deputy  Sheriff  of 
Wilbarger  and-  came  triumphantly  to  Quanah,  with 
his  commission,  which  he  believed  would  entitle  him 
to  carry  arms.  Met  suddenly,  as  usual,  by  McDonald 
and  promptly  disarmed,  he  flourished  his  commis- 
sion. 

''  That's  all  right.  Bill  McDonald,  but  I'm  fixed 
for  you  this  time.    Give  me  back  that  gun. ' ' 

McDonald  said: 

*'  Your  commission  won't  do  you  much  good  up 
here.    If  Sheriff  Barker  wants  to  appoint  a  man 


Reforming  the  Wilderness  61 

that  throws  in  with  thieves,  all  right.  But  in  Harde- 
man County  we  don't  have  to  recognize  him.'' 

There  was  never  such  a  stubborn  man,  Davidson 
decided,  as  that  fool  deputy.  Bill  McDonald.  He 
decided  to  wait  until  McDonald  should  be  absent, 
and  then  have  it  out  with  Wolf orth.  When  the  time 
came,  Davidson  brought  a  gang  along  with  him  and 
they  followed  Wolforth  about  with  pestering  re- 
marks, until  their  victim  suddenly  grew  tired  of  the 
annoyance,  and  opened  fire.  This  was  unexpected 
and  the  gang  retired  for  reorganization.  Then  some 
rangers,  quartered  at  Quanah,  appeared  on  the 
scene,  and  Wolforth  was  put  under  arrest.  He  was 
taken  before  a  justice,  who  fixed  his  bond  at  a  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  he  was  unable  to  raise,  because 
of  the  dread  in  which  Davidson  and  his  crowd  were 
held.  It  was  just  about  this  moment  that  Deputy 
McDonald  returned,  and  the  Kangers  delivered 
Wolforth  into  his  hands. 

''  What's  the  matter,  Pat?  ''  McDonald  asked. 

His  co-worker  explained  how  he  had  fired  on  the 
Davidson  gang,  though  without  damage  to  anybody. 

* '  And  they  put  you  under  a  thousand  dollar  bond 
for  it?  ''  commented  Deputy  Bill. 

''  Yes.'' 

**  Well,  they  ought  t6  have  made  it  a  good  deal 
heavier  for  your  not  being  a  better  shot.  Never 
mind,  I'll  fill  your  bond  all  right,"  and  this  Mc- 
Donald did,  immediately. 

The  Davidson  crowd  was  still  in  town,  and  far 


62  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

from  satisfied.  Davidson  felt  that  he  had  support 
enough  now  to  tackle  even  that  hard-headed  Mc- 
Donald, and  he  enlisted  a  big  butcher  named 
Williams  to  stir  up  the  mess.  The  gang  armed 
themselves  with  long  butcher  knives  from  Williams' 
shop  and  started  out  to  hunt  up  their  victim.  They 
located  him  in  a  saloon  where  troubles  of  various 
kinds  were  likely  to  originate  and  the  presence  of 
an  officer  was  desirable.  Big  Bill  Williams,  the 
butcher,  entered  first  and  coming  near  to  McDonald, 
slightly  bumped  against  him.  Not  wishing  trouble, 
McDonald  walked  away,  followed  by  Williams  who 
bumped  against  him  again.  Deputy  Bill  then  walked 
to  the  other  side  of  the  room,  which  was  unoccupied, 
and  when  Williams  and  his  crowd  started  to  follow, 
he  warned  them  not  to  come  any  closer.  At  this  a 
number  of  cow-men  who  were  present  saw  the 
trouble  and  stepped  in,  and  Williams  and  his  crowd 
worked  toward  the  door.  Outside,  the  disturbers 
gave  vent  to  their  animosity  for  McDonald  in  violent 
language  and  opprobrious  names.  Suddenly  Mc- 
Donald himself  stepped  out  among  them  and  seeing 
a  piece  of  scantling  about  four  feet  long  lying  by 
the  door,  he  seized  it  and  as  Williams  started  to- 
ward him  he  gave  the  big  butcher  a  lick  across  the 
face  with  it  that  flattened  his  features  and  put  a 
habitual  crook  in  his  nose.  The  crowd  thought  Wil- 
liams was  killed  and  his  supporters  began  to  get  out 
of  the  way  of  the  scantling.  But  McDonald  dropped 
it  and  had  out  his  guns  in  a  moment. 


Reforming  the  Wilderness  63 

**  Halt!  '*  he  said,  **  every  one  of  you.  Hold  up 
there  I  * '  Then  to  the  Rangers  who  at  that  moment 
appeared  on  the  scene,  **  Search  those  men  for 
weapons. '  ^ 

Search  Tvas  made  and  the  long  butcher  knives,  in- 
tended for  McDonald,  came  to  light.  A  knife  of  the 
same  kind  was  found  on  Williams. 

**  Now  get  a  doctor  quick,''  commanded  Mc- 
Donald, **  that  fellow  looks  like  he's  pretty  badly 
hurt." 

A  doctor  was  found  and  Williams  was  removed. 
McDonald's  wife,  then  stopping  at  a  nearby  hotel, 
had  been  an  interested,  not  to  say  excited,  spectator 
of  the  proceedings,  and  now  called  down  a  few 
words  of  encouragement  and  approval.  Somewhat 
later,  word  was  brought  to  Deputy  Bill  that  what 
was  left  of  the  Davidson  and  Williams  crowd  had 
collected  in  Tip  McDowell's  saloon,  where  a  brother 
of  Williams  tended  bar,  and  these  were  declaring 
war  to  the  death.  McDonald  promptly  went  down 
there  and  entered,  with  a  revolver  in  each  hand. 
The  crowd  of  would-be  assassins,  about  a  dozen  or 
so,  took  one  look  and  made  a  break  for  the  back 
window,  climbing  over  chairs,  counters  and  billiard 
tables — some  of  them  almost  tearing  the  bar  down 
in  an  effort  to  get  behind  it.  Deputy  Bill  held 
enough  of  them  with  the  persuasion  of  his  two  six- 
shooters  to  give  them  some  useful  information  in 
the  matter  of  running  a  town  like  Quanah  and  the 
surrounding  country,  as  long  as  he  was  in  office. 


64  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  You  thieves  that  have  been  trying  to  run  over 
this  country,  and  stealing  cattle  and  shooting  the 
town  up,"  he  said,  *'  from  now  on  are  going  to  stop 
it.  And  you  fellows  like  Bill  Williams  that  are 
selling  stolen  beef,  are  going  to  stop  that,  too.  If 
any  one  of  you  sells  a  pound  of  beef  hereafter  with- 
out showing  me  the  hide  and  the  brand-marks,  you'll 
go  behind  the  bars  and  I'll  put  you  there.'' 

There  was  something  about  the  tone  of  that  brief 
address  that  made  it  sink  in,  and  from  that  time 
forward  when  beef  was  brought  to  Quanah  the  hide 
came  with  it,  and  they  would  wake  up  Deputy  Bill 
McDonald  to  show  it  to  him  as  early  as  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning. 

As  for  Davidson,  he  now  became  an  oflficer  of  the 
law,  in  reality.  Satisfied,  no  doubt,  that  the  Cedar- 
brakes  gang  was  doomed,  he  came  to  McDonald  and 
offered  to  guide  him  to  the  den  of  the  Brookens  if 
McDonald  would  cause  to  be  dismissed  certain  in- 
dictments which  had  been  lodged  against  him.  Mc- 
Donald consulted  Sheriff  Barker  of  Wilbarger  and 
the  arrangement  was  made.  Davidson  then  ascer- 
tained when  his  former  business  associates  would 
be  at  their  headquarters  in  the  brakes,  and  the  raid 
was  planned  accordingly. 


IX 

Getting  even  with  the  Brooken  Gang 

THE  BROOKENS  DON  't  WAIT  FOR  CALLERS.     ONE  HUNDRED 

AND   TWENTY-SEVEN   YEARS   SENTENCE   FOR 

AN   OUTLAW 

The  brakes  of  the  Big  Wichita  made  an  ideal 
cover  for  outlaws  engaged  in  the  industry  of  steal- 
ing cattle  and  horses.  There  were  plenty  of  grass 
and  water  there  and  the  ground  was  so  densely 
covered  with  scrub  cedar  as  to  afford  any  number 
of  hiding  places.  Moreover,  there  were  deep  gulches 
and  canyons  that  made  travel  dangerous  to  those  not 
familiar  with  the  region.  The  place  was  remote 
and  not  often  molested. 

Everything  being  arranged,  the  raiders  set  out — 
Sheriff  Barker  of  Wilbarger,  in  charge — the  party 
including  two  Rangers  from  Quanah.  On  drawing 
near  the  locality,  Barker  proposed  that  all  but  two 
men  should  halt,  several  hundred  yards  from  the 
stronghold — a  dug-out  occupied  by  the  gang  when 
at  home.  To  this.  Deputy  Bill  strenuously  objected. 
He  wanted  to  charge  forthwith,  believing  always  in 
a  surprise  attack.  Barker,  however,  being  in  his 
own  county,  was  in  command  and  was  for  more 
gradual  tactics.  He  added  that  McDonald's  big 
white  hat  would  attract  attention  before  they  could 


66  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

get  near  enough  to  charge.  Two  men  were  therefore 
sent  to  reconnoiter  and  report.  The  rest  lay  in  hid- 
ing. Presently  peering  through  the  trees  they  saw 
two  other  men  ride  up  to  the  dug-out  and  go  in. 
Deputy  Bill  was  all  excitment. 

a  There  they  are  now/*  he  said,  **  let's  get  down 
there  and  get  them.'' 

Again  he  was  overruled.  In  a  few  minutes  a  num- 
ber of  men  issued  from  the  dug-out,  mounted  horses 
and  rode  away.  The  first  two  had  been  scouts,  and 
had  given  warning.  At  the  same  moment  Barker's 
two  men  came  running  back  with  the  information 
that  the  Brookens  were  getting  away. 

**  Of  course  they're  getting  away,"  said  Mc- 
Donald. '*  Do  you  suppose  they  are  going  to  wait 
and  hold  an  afternoon  tea  when  we  arrive!  " 

Accompanied  by  one  of  the  Eangers,  he  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  outlaws,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
follow  far  in  that  dense  unfamiliar  place.  Eeturri- 
ing  to  the  dug-out  they  were  rejoiced  to  find  Sheriff 
Alley's  horse,  so  something  was  accomplished, 
though  the  expedition  as  a  whole  had  failed,  through 
over-caution. 

McDonald  now  resolved  to  hunt  on  his  own  hook. 
As  deputy  sheriff,  he  was  restricted  to  his  own 
county,  but  this  handicap  was  speedily  removed, 
through  Eanger  Captain  S.  A.  McMurray,  who  had 
him  appointed  by  Governor  L.  S.  Eoss  as  special 
ranger,  with  sheriff's  rights  in  any  county  in  the 
State. 


Getting  Even  tvith  the  Brooken  Gang         67 

His  authority  was  to  be  still  further  extended, 
very  soon.  One  day  he  received  a  letter  from  Cap- 
tain George  A.  Knight  of  Dallas,  Texas,  U.  S. 
Marshal  of  the  Northern  District  of  Texas,  asking 
him  to  come  to  Dallas  and  be  made  U.  S.  Deputy 
Marshal,  with  authority  to  operate  in  Southern 
Indian  Territory  and  No-man's  land,  where  a  man 
like  him  was  sorely  needed.  McDonald  went  down 
without  delay  and  reported  at  Knight's  office. 

**  I  have  heard  about  you  and  your  work  up  in 
Hardeman,"  said  Captain  Knight,  **  and  I  want  you 
for  a  deputy.  But  first  tell  me  what  are  your 
politics?  '* 

McDonald  did  not  hesitate.  Knight  was  a  Re- 
publican. 

**  Captain  Knight,"  he  said,  **  I  am  the  damn- 
dest, hell-roaringest,  allfiredest  Democrat  you  ever 
saw.  If  politics  has  anything  to  do  with  this  ap- 
pointment I'd  just  as  well  go  back." 

**  "Well,"  said  Knight,  **  you're  pretty  emphatic, 
but  I  guess  you'll  do.  Your  kind  of  politics  seem 
to  suit  your  job  pretty  well." 

It  was  only  a  little  while  after  this  that  Bill  Mc- 
Donald was  also  made  Deputy  U.  S.  Marshal  of  the 
southern  district  of  Kansas,  which  enabled  him  to 
work  in  the  remaining  portion  of  the  Territory,  and 
now,  with  his  four  offices — two  Deputy  U.  S.  Mar- 
shalships.  Deputy  Sheriff  of  Hardeman  County,  and 
that  of  Special  Ranger — he  was  qualified  to  under- 
take at  any  time  any  sort  of  a  man-hunt  in  any 


68  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

territory  likely  to  invite  his  services.  He  went  after 
the  Brooken  gang  forthwith,  but  this  time  they  did 
not  wait  for  him.  His  fame  was  already  in  their 
ears. 

He  followed  them  like  a  hound  on  the  trail.  He 
never  recovered  his  two  horses  and  his  Newfound- 
land dog,  but  he  broke  up  the  gang,  utterly.  He 
brought  in  Bood  Brooken  at  last  and  got  him  sen- 
tenced for  five  years.  Bill  Brooken  himself  escaped 
to  Mexico,  was  captured  there,  brought  back  and 
sentenced  for  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  years. 
He  has  a  good  deal  of  that  time  still  to  serve. 

The  life  work  of  the  boy  who  long  ago  had  begun 
it  by  hunting  slaves  in  the  swamps  of  Mississippi 
was  well  started,  now;  his  name  as  a  thief -catcher 
was  beginning  to  be  known,  and  honored,  and  feared. 
Yet  his  more  active  days — his  more  valuable  days 
to  the  community  at  large — still  lay  all  ahead,  and 
of  these  we  shall  undertake  to  telL 


X 

New  Tactics  in  No-man's  Land 

a  man  with  a  buck-board.    holding  up  a  bad  gang 
single-handed 

Something  which  resembled  a  sense  of  security 
began  to  manifest  itself  in  Hardeman  and  the  sur- 
rounding counties.  There  were  still  cattle  thieves 
— plenty  of  them — but  with  their  rendezvous  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  broken  up,  their  work  be- 
came less  deliberate.  They  harbored  now  further 
away — in  the  remoter  places  of  the  Pan-handle,  in 
the  Cherokee  Strip  and  in  the  fastnesses  of  No-man's 
Land.  From  these  strong-holds  they  made  their 
raids,  which  though  more  sporadic  and  less  devas- 
tating were  still  a  vast  nuisance,  particularly  along 
the  border  counties,  where  the  outlaws  could  run 
over  at  night,  raid  a  herd  none  too  well  guarded,  and 
have  the  stolen  cattle  hidden  in  some  gully  or 
canyon  or  brake  in  their  own  lawless  land  by  morn- 
ing. 

No-man's  Land  waS  a  favorite  retreat  for  cattle 
thieves.  It  was  that  strip  of  public  land  which  was 
set  down  on  the  map  as  a  part  of  Indian  Territory, 
but  really  belonged  to  nobody  at  all.  Different  ones 
of  the  surrounding  States  claimed  it,  and  the  out- 


70  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

laws  owned  it,  by  possession  and  force  of  arms. 
There  was  no  law  there  and  few  law  abiding  citizens. 
"What  there  were,  were  hard  to  find,  and  they  didn't 
want  officers  to  stop  with  them  for  fear  of  the 
enmity  of  the  thieves,  who  were  so  greatly  in  the 
majority.  It  was  a  fine,  sightly  land — with  good 
♦  grass  and  plenty  of  water — level  land,  some  of  it, 
though  there  was  rough  country  there  too — with 
good  places  for  outlaws  to  hide.  Here  they  built 
their  dug-outs  or  cabins,  established  their  households 
and  herded  their  stolen  stock.  Some  of  the  cattle 
they  butchered,  peddling  the  meat  in  Kansas  or  the 
Pan-handle.  Some  of  the  beef  they  had  the  nerve 
and  assurance  to  drive  to  market — even  to  ship — 
openly,  to  Kansas  City  or  Chicago. 

It  was  necessary  that  No-man's  Land  should  be 
reclaimed,  and  it  was  partly  for  this  purpose  that 
U.  S.  Marshal  George  A.  Knight  had  commissioned 
Bill  McDonald  his  deputy.  Thus  far  all  statutory 
law  had  been  disregarded  in  No-man's  Land — all 
officers  had  been  defied.  When,  as  had  happened 
now  and  then,  an  officer  had  made  his  way  into  that 
wilderness,  he  either  lost  his  life,  or  had  his  revolver 
and  whisky  and  tobacco  taken  away  from  him  and 
was  booted  back  across  the  border.  It  had  been 
demonstrated  that  Bill  McDonald  had  a  convincing 
way  with  his  words  and  movements,  and  that  he  had 
a  nose  for  locating  cow  thieves.  Furthermore,  it 
was  believed  that  he  would  not  be  likely  to  submit 
to  any  liberties  taken  with  his  six-shooter  and  to- 


New  Tactics  in  No-man's  Land  71 

bacco,  or  to  indignities  of  any  sort.  So,  when  the 
Brookens  and  other  established  **  dealers  of  the 
range  ''  had  been  evicted  from  Hardeman  and  ad- 
joining counties,  it  fell  to  Bill  McDonald  to  begin 
the  No-man's  Land  crusade. 

He  was  working  over  in  the  Pan-handle  in  1887 
when  he  learned  of  a  horse  that  had  been  stolen 
somewhere  below,  and  he  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
thief.  Such  trail  as  he  could  find  led  straight  for 
No-man's  Land  and  he  knew  that  he  was  bound  at 
last  for  that  lawless  locality  where  U.  S.  deputy 
marshals  were  favorite  victims. 

He  was  alone,  but  this  fact  did  not  disturb  him. 
He  had  always  preferred  to  hunt  in  that  way.  There 
was  less  chance  of  frightening  the  game.  When  he 
reached  Hutchinson  County,  which  is  in  the  second 
tier  from  the  north  Texas  line,  he  stopped  at  Turkey 
Track  Ranch  and  borrowed  a  buck-board  in  which 
to  bring  home  his  catch.  It  was  still  seventy-five 
miles  to  the  No-man's  Land  line,  but  buck-boards 
were  few  in  the  Pan-handle  in  those  days  and  this 
was  likely  to  be  the  last  chance  to  get  one.  It  is 
possible  that  Turkey  Track  Ranch  said  good-by  to 
that  buck-board  when  he  drove  away,  for  while  they 
had  heard  of  Bill  McDonald,  they  also  knew  of  the 
usual  fate  of  the  U.  S.  deputy  marshals  who,  with  or 
without  a  buck-board,  set  out  on  an  invasion  of  No- 
man's  Land. 

It  was  a  long  lonesome  drive  across  Hutchinson 
and  Hansford  Counties,  and  up  through  No-man's 


72  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Land,  to  the  waters  of  Beaver  Creek.  The  trail  was 
not  very  difficult  here,  for  the  thief  probably  did 
not  expect  to  be  followed — certainly  not  farther  than 
the  border  line,  and  had  made  little  effort  to  cover 
his  track.  It  was  toward  the  end  of  the  second  or 
third  day,  at  last,  that  the  trail  became  very  fresh, 
and  the  man  in  the  buck-board  came  to  a  halt  and 
set  out  on  foot  to  locate  his  game.  As  silently  and 
cautiously  as  an  Indian  he  crept  through  the  brush 
until  he  reached  a  place  where  peering  through  he 
located,  some  distance  away  on  the  river  bank,  a 
camp  consisting  of  four  men  and  the  same  number 
of  horses.  His  man  had  found  comrades,  that  was 
evident,  and  it  was  likely  they  would  join  in  his 
defense.  McDonald  lay  in  the  brush,  watching  them, 
as  long  as  it  was  light  and  then  crept  closer,  trying 
to  identify  the  horse  he  was  after,  and  which  of  the 
men  had  him  in  charge.  He  had  no  intention  of 
beginning  operations  that  night,  for  he  had  long 
since  made  up  his  mind  that  the  proper  time  for  a 
surprise  attack  is  in  the  early  morning.  Men  have 
not  gathered  themselves,  then,  and  have  not  been 
awake  long  enough  to  be  fearless,  and  quick  of 
thought  and  action.  His  purpose  now  was  to  know 
his  ground  exactly,  so  that  with  daylight  he  could 
act  with  a  clear  understanding. 

He  was  obliged  to  wait  until  daylight  before  he 
could  be  sure  of  his  ground ;  then,  awake  and  watch- 
ing, he  saw  the  different  men  go  to  look  after  their 
horses.    He  located  a  bay  horse  that  answered  to 


New  Tactics  in  No-man\s  Land  73 

the  description  of  the  stolen  animal,  and  identified 
the  man  who  had  him  in  charge.  He  crept  back  to 
his  buck-board  now,  got  in  and  drove  up  leisurely 
to  the  outlaw  camp,  looking  as  inoffensive  and  guile- 
less as  any  other  fly  with  a  horse  and  buck-board, 
driving  straight  into  the  spider's  den. 

*  *  Good-morning,  boys, ' '  he  said  pleasantly,  ^  *  you- 
all  look  mighty  comfortable  with  that  fire  going.  I 
lost  my  way  and  laid  out  last  night.  Mebbe  you-all 
can  tell  me  something  about  the  trails  around  here. 
There  don't  seem  to  be  none  that  I  can  find." 

They  invited  him  cordially  to  get  down  and  warm 
himself  and  said  they  would  show  him  the  trail. 
McDonald  stepped  out  and  walked  over  to  the  fire, 
still  talking  about  the  country  and  the  weather, 
working  over  close  to  the  man  he  wanted.  The 
deputy  wore  a  short  overcoat,  and  he  had  a  pair  of 
hand-cuffs  in  the  left  side-pocket.  He  got  just  in 
front  of  his  man  at  last  and  reached  out  his  right 
hand  as  if  to  shake  hands  with  him.  Instinctively 
the  man  extended  his  own  right  hand  and  at  that 
instant  McDonald's  left  with  the  open  hand-cuffs 
was  out  like  a  flash — there  was  a  quick  snap,  a  sud- 
den movement — a  slight-of-hand  movement  it  was — 
then  another  quick  snap  and  the  horse  thief,  dazed 
and  half  stupefied  stood  gazing  down  at  the  manacles 
on  his  wrists,  while  Bill  McDonald,  a  gun  in  each 
hand,  quietly  regarded  the  other  three  members  of 
the  camp. 

The  captive  was  first  to  break  the  silence. 


74  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  Boys,"  he  said,  **  what  does  this  mean?  " 

One  of  the  men  turned  to  McDonald. 

"  Yes,''  he  said,  **  what  does  this  mean?  Who 
are  you  and  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 
man?  " 

**  I'm  Deputy  U.  S.  Marshal  McDonald,  of  Texas,'' 
was  the  cheerful  reply,  *  *  and  I  'm  going  to  take  this 
man  with  me  and  put  him  in  jail." 

''  What  for?  " 

**  For  stealing  that  bay  horse  out  there." 

The  outlaw  advanced  a  step. 

**  And  you'll  just  about  play  hell  doing  it!  "  he 
said. 

*'  All  right,  I  am  ready  to  start  the  game  right 
now,"  said  McDonald. 

The  men  whispered  a  little  among  themselves. 
Their  saddles  were  off  to  one  side  and  their  Win- 
chesters lay  across  them,  all  there  together.  They 
wore  six-shooters  also,  but  they  realized  who  their 
man  was,  now,  and  they  were  careful  to  make  no 
movement  toward  them.  Presently  one  of  the  men 
said : 

**  You  say  you  are  going  to  put  that  fellow  in 
jail?  " 

*'  That's  what  I'm  going  to  do." 

*^  Well,  now  let's  see  about  that." 

The  men  were  starting  in  as  if  to  make  an  argu- 
ment. One  of  the  party  began  working  a  little  in 
the  direction  of  the  guns.  The  idea  was  to  distract 
the  officer 's  attention  for  a  moment  and  get  the  drop 


BEGINNING   A   CAMPAIGN    IN   NO-MANS   LAND. 
"Three  pairs  of  hands  went  up." 


New  Tactics  in  No-man* s  Land  75 

on  him.  It  was  a  good  game,  but  it  failed  to  work 
in  this  instance.  McDonald  brought  his  guns  exactly 
to  bear  on  the  men  in  front  of  him. 

**  Throw  up  your  hands !  'Mie  commanded,  **  every 
one  of  you  quick!  Throw  them  up,  you  scoun- 
drels! '' 

Three  pairs  of  hands  went  up..  That  command 
from  Bill  McDonald  has  almost  never  been  dis- 
obeyed. Perhaps  it  is  the  tone  of  the  voice  that 
makes  it  convincing.  Perhaps  it  is  the  curious  look 
in  those  needle-pointed  eyes  of  his;  perhaps  it  is 
something  more  than  these — something  psychologi- 
cally imperative.  Whatever  it  is,  it  has  filled  the 
air  of  Texas  with  hands,  from  Red  River  to  the  Rio 
Grande. 

**  Now,  face  the  other  way!  ''  was  the  next  com- 
mand. 

The  men  faced  about,  their  hands  still  high  above 
their  heads.  With  one  six-shooter  still  on  them, 
McDonald  went  up  behind  each  man  and  disarmed 
him,  sticking  the  revolvers  in  his  own  belt.  Then 
he  went  over  and  took  the  cartridges  out  of  the 
Winchesters.  He  now  marched  his  men  to  where 
the  horses  were  hitched,  secured  the  stolen  one  and 
tied  him  to  the  buck-board.  Then  he  ordered  his 
prisoner  to  get  in  and  proceeded  to  shackle  him  to 
the  slats  of  the  vehicle.  The  other  three  men,  mean- 
time, were  kept  in  a  group,  a  rod  or  so  ahead  in  the 
direction  of  Texas. 

*  *  Now,  march  for  Texas,  you  devils !  ' '  McDonald 


76  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

said,  when  he  was  seated  beside  his  prisoner.  The 
procession  started,  the  men  complaining  that  they 
had  done  nothing,  and  that  he  had  no  right  to  take 
them  back,  even  if  he  were  authorized  to  take  the 
other  man. 

Deputy  Bill  said : 

**  You  fellows  have  been  in  the  habit  over  here 
of  resisting  and  killing  officers,  or  driving  them  out, 
and  doing  as  you  please.  I  just  want  to  show  you 
how  easy  it  is  to  take  your  kind.  Come,  move  right 
along  there,  now.  I  don't  know  what  you've  done, 
but  you  probably  stole  all  those  horses  back  yon- 
der.'' 

The  men  now  began  to  beg  for  their  horses,  com- 
plaining that  the  animals  left  behind  would  stay 
there  and  starve.  McDonald  really  had  no  intention 
of  taking  them  all  the  way  back  with  him.  He  had 
no  warrants  for  them,  and  besides  he  did  not  care 
to  march  and  camp  with  that  number  unless  neces- 
sary. His  purpose  was  to  get  them  far  enough  away 
so  that  they  would  not  be  likely  to  try  to  overtake 
him  and  catch  him  asleep  when  he  should  halt  for 
the  night.  He  made  no  concessions  however,  until 
they  were  well  along  toward  the  Texas  line.  Then 
he  said: 

*  *  Now,  if  you  fellows  think  you  can  behave  your- 
selves and  want  to  go  back  and  tend  to  your  horses, 
I  may  let  you  go  back  on  that  account.  But  you  can 
make  up  your  minds,  and  you  can  tell  your  friends 
about  it,  that  I'm  not  afraid  of  any  of  you,  and  I'm 


New  Tactics  in  No-man's  Land  77 

going  to  clear  you  dam'd  thieves  out  of  this  country. 
I'm  going  to  show  you  that  there's  one  man  you 
won't  kill  nor  run  out.  Now,  will  you  do  what  I  tell 
you?  " 

The  men  protested  that  they  were  good  citizens, 
and  that  if  he  would  let  them  off  they  would  under- 
take missionary  work  in  the  cause  of  law  and  order. 
He  let  them  go,  then,  and  handed  back  their  unloaded 
arms,  promising  them  another  fate,  if  he  ever 
caught  them  in  mischief.  He  watched  them  dis- 
appear behind  the  first  rise;  then,  whipping  up,  he 
made  the  best  time  he  could  for  Turkey  Track 
Eanch,  where  he  rested  a  day,  delivered  the  bor- 
rowed buck-board,  taking  his  prisoner  next  morning 
to  jail. 


XI 

Eedeeming  No-man's  Land 
bill  mcdonald  and  lon  bukson  gather  in  the  bad 

MEN.      ^^  NO   MAN  IN   THE   WRONG   CAN    STAND 

UP  AGAINST   A  FELLOW   THAT's   IN    THE 

RIGHT   AND    KEEPS   ON    A-COMIN'  *' 

It  was  natural  that  other  work  in  No-man's  Land 
should  follow  this  first  experiment.  It  having  been 
demonstrated  that  Bill  McDonald  could  go  into  that 
infested  place  and  not  only  come  out  alive,  but  bring 
back  his  man,  other  and  more  extensive  contracts 
were  laid  out  for  him.  There  were  several  bad 
gangs  there  to  be  broken  up  before  legitimate  settlers 
could  live  there,  and  it  was  decided  that  McDonald 
was  the  man  for  the  job. 

McDonald  on  his  part  was  ready  for  the  under- 
taking, it  being  of  a  sort  which  he  found  always  most 
congenial.  Deciding  that  it  was  a  good  thing  to  have 
a  reliable  partner  in  the  handling  of  a  gang,  he 
selected  for  his  associate  another  deputy  marshal — 
one  Lon  Burson  of  Henrietta — a  quiet  athletic  fellow 
with  plenty  of  grit  and  endurance. 

*  *  I  could  always  rely  upon  Lon, ' '  McDonald  said, 
in  speaking  of  that  period,  long  after;  *^  I  believed 
I  knew  just  what  he  would  do,  every  time,  and  he 
never  failed  me."    It  may  be  added  that  Burson  on 


Redeeming  tJo-man*s  Land  7d 

his  part  had  complete  faith  in  McDonald,  and  that 
their  ideas  of  conducting  a  campaign  were  in  exact 
accord. 

They  began  on  what  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the 
worst  gangs,  a  band  of  nine  who  had  established  on 
Beaver  Creek~a  general  headquarters  from  which 
they  conducted  a  miscellaneous  business  in  crime — 
stealing  cattle  and  horses,  robbing  trains  and  shoot- 
ing down  bank  officials  when  occasion  offered,  fre- 
quently crossing  over  into  adjoining  States  for  that 
purpose. 

McDonald  had  laid  out  the  plan  of  attack,  which 
was  to  arrive  on  the  scene  at  his  favorite  early 
hour — daybreak — and  then  to  do  no  parleying  or 
long  distance  firing,  but  to  charge  at  once  and  storm 
the  works.  His  theory  was — and  is  to-day — that  the 
criminal  cannot  stand  up  against  the  man  who  is  not 
afraid  of  him  and  does  not  hesitate. 

'*  If  you  wilt  or  falter  he  will  kill  you,''  he  has 
often  said,  *  *  but  if  you  go  straight  at  him  and  never 
give  him  time  to  get  to  cover,  or  to  think,  he  will 
weaken  ninety-nine  times  in  a  hundred.  No  man  in 
the  wrong  can  stand  up  against  a  fellow  that's  in  the 
right  and  keeps  on  a-comin'.  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
that  long  ago,  and  IVe  never  made  a  mistake  yet." 

Here  in  homely  vernacular  is  expressed  a  mighty 
truth.  Crime  is  always  coward  and  cannot  stand 
against  the  conviction  of  right.  Error  cannot  sur- 
vive in  the  face  of  truth  that  does  not  falter  and 
**  keeps  on  a-comin'." 


80  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

McDonald  and  Burson  proceeded  in  the  saddle  to 
Higgins,  in  Lipscomb  County — a  station  on  the 
Santa  Fe  Eailroad,  and  their  last  base  of  supplies. 
Here  they  chartered  a  big  three-seated  hack  in  which 
to  bring  back  their  prisoners,  should  their  raid 
prove  successful.  They  put  their  own  horses  to  this 
vehicle,  loaded  their  saddles  in  behind  and  continued 
their  journey. 

It  was  toward  evening  when  they  arrived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  outlaw  den  and  camped  in  a 
secluded  place,  to  wait  for  morning.  The  house 
stood  in  the  edge  of  the  prairie,  near  Beaver  Creek 
and  was  easy  of  access.  It  was  made  of  logs  and 
seemed  to  be  a  deserted  ranch  place,  probably  built 
by  some  adventurous  person  who  had  long  since 
departed  for  a  locality  where  there  was  more  law, 
even  if  less  grass. 

One  of  the  band — an  early  riser — had  just  gone 
out  to  round  up  the  horses  when  the  two  deputies, 
mounted,  made  their  approach,  next  morning.  He 
discovered  them  when  they  were  about  four  hun- 
dred yards  away  and  made  for  the  house,  McDonald 
and  Burson  following  at  full  speed.  The  outlaw  was 
a  little  in  advance,  and  his  eight  companions  were 
out  in  front  with  their  Winchesters  when  the  officers 
bore  down  on  them. 

* '  Go  round  the  house,  Lon,  and  come  in  from  be- 
hind. 1^11  'tend  to  them  on  this  side/'  said  Mc- 
Donald as  they  dashed  up. 

This  maneuver  was  immediately  put  into  action 


Redeeming  No-man* s  Land  81 

and  in  less  than  a  minute  later  the  deputies  were  on 
the  spot,  their  game  between  them.  In  another  in- 
stant both  deputies  had  slid  from  their  horses  and 
were  in  the  midst  of  the  confused,  half  awake  out- 
laws. 

*^  Drop  them  guns!  Drop  'em,  and  put  up  your 
hands!  **  commanded  McDonald — ^his  own  gun  and 
Burson's  leveled. 

There  was  not  even  an  attempt  at  resistance.  The 
bandits  were  simply  dazed,  overwhelmed  by  the 
suddenness  and  vigor  of  the  onslaught.  Heretofore, 
attacks — always  made  by  a  posse — had  begun  with 
scouting  and  skirmish  and  ended  with  a  running 
fight,  usually  at  long  range.  The  plan  of  two  mere 
deputies  coming  straight  upon  them  and  demanding 
sudden  and  complete  surrender  was  wholly  new. 
As  before  remarked,  there  was  something  about  it 
terribly  convincing — almost  supernatural. 

McDonald  kept  the  men  covered,  now,  while  Bur- 
son  secured  their  weapons.  Then,  hand-cuffed  and 
shackled,  they  were  marched  to  the  big  hack,  crowded 
into  it  and  driven  fifty  miles  to  Higgins ;  thence  by 
rail  to  the  United  States  Commissioner  at  Wichita 
Falls. 

McDonald,  as  usual,  was  sociable  enough  with  his 
prisoners,  once  secure,,  and  delivered  to  them  his 
customary  homily,  as  they  drove  along. 

**  I  just  want  to  show  you  fellows,  up  here,  how 
easy  it  is  to  take  you,*'  he  said  affably.  **  You-all 
have  got  the  notion  that  you  can  run  this  country 


82  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

your  own  way,  and  that  there  ain't  any  officers  that 
can  come  up  here  and  make  you  behave.  Now,  you- 
all  are  mightily  mistaken.  I'm  going  to  put  every 
one  of  you  fellows  in  jail  and  a  lot  more  like  you. 
You  know  well  enough  it  ain't  right  to  act  like  you- 
all  have  been  doing — driving  off  other  men's  cattle 
and  robbing  trains  and  shooting  men  that  you  had 
the  drop  on.  You  might  know  you'd  get  into  trouble. 
The  United  States  has  made  laws  against  such  busi- 
ness as  that,  and  them  laws  cover  this  country  the 
same  as  anywhere  else  and  every  one  of  your  kind 
up  in  here  is  going  to  find  it  out." 

The  gang  was  landed  safely  in  "Wichita  Falls. 
Some  of  them  were  eventually  convicted;  the  rest 
either  became  better  citizens  or  sought  quieter  ter- 
ritory for  their  industries.  The  cleaning  up  of  No- 
man's  Land  had  begun. 

The  work  of  active  reform  was  not  allowed  to 
languish.  News  of  the  first  successful  raid  traveled 
quickly,  and  State  Senator  Temple  Houston — son 
of  Governor  Sam  Houston — notified  McDonald  that 
the  Sheriff  of  Hansford  County  was  in  need  of  assis- 
tance to  cope  with  a  bad  gang  which  had  a  ren- 
dezvous just  across  the  border  from  Hansford,  in 
No-man's  Land.  These  bandits  had  been  carrying 
on  the  usual  business  of  horse  and  cattle  stealing 
and  general  highway  robbery.  Unlike  some  of  the 
officials,  the  sheriff  of  Hansford,  though  not  noted 
for  reckless  bravery,  was  in  no  way  in  league  with 
the  thieves  and  desired  only  their  extermination. 


Redeeming  No-man's  Land  83 

His  jurisdiction,  however,  extended  no  farther  than 
the  Texas  line,  and  thus  far  no  State  or  federal 
officer  had  rendered  any  assistance.  As  a  result, 
the  band,  becoming  very  bold,  had  pitched  their  camp 
just  over  the  line,  and  had  defied  arrest,  declaring 
they  would  shoot  the  first  man  that  stepped  across. 

When  Bill  McDonald  got  the  word  from  Senator 
Houston,  he  immediately  sent  over  for  Lon  Burson 
and  then  proceeded  to  Canadian,  Hemhill  County, 
where  Houston  lived.  Here  they  learned  more  fully 
what  work  was  cut  out  for  them,  and  presently  con- 
tinued their  journey  over  into  Hansford,  where, 
from  the  sheriff,  they  secured  the  names  of  the  of- 
fenders, as  far  as  possible,  and  a  partial  list  of  their 
misdeeds.  Complaints  were  now  filed  against  six 
men,  the  usual  commodious  hack  was  secured ;  also, 
a  light  buggy  for  possible  side  excursions,  and  Mc- 
Donald and  Burson,  accompanied  by  the  sheriff  as 
a  guide,  drove  through  the  gray  of  early  morning, 
to  the  line  which  divided  Hansford  County  from  No- 
man's  Land. 

Arriving  at  the  border,  the  sheriff  pointed  out 
where  the  robber  den — a  log  building — was  located, 
not  more  than  eight  hundred  yards  beyond.  Then 
he  said  he  would  wait  there  until  they  got  back. 

**  Come  right  along  with  us,'*  said  McDonald, 
**  we  need  you  to  identify  the  men.'' 

But  the  officer  said  **  No,"  that  the  men  knew  him, 
and  it  might  alarm  them  if  they  saw  him  coming. 
Besides,  he  had  no  authority  over  there. 


84  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

"■  Never  mind  that,''  urged  McDonald,  ''  I'll  risk 
the  consequences,  and  I'll  make  you  one  of  a 
deputy's  posse,  which  fixes  your  authority  all 
right." 

But  the  sheriff  still  said  '*  No,"  that  he  didn't 
care  for  any  more  authority  than  he  had — that  any- 
thing new  in  that  line  might  make  him  proud.  He 
said  he  thought  he  would  enjoy  sitting  there  in  the 
hack  where  he  would  have  a  good  view  of  what  hap- 
pened to  them  when  they  tackled  that  outfit. 

McDonald  and  Burson,  therefore,  set  out  in  the 
light  buggy,  driving  leisurely  across  the  intervening 
space.  Arriving  near  the  log-house,  they  discovered 
that  five  men  were  up,  and  sitting  sleepily  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  their  cabin,  their  Winchesters 
leaning  against  the  wall  behind  them.  Evidently 
they  did  not  look  for  any  attack,  and  even  when 
they  saw  the  approaching  buggy,  their  wits  were  not 
sufficiently  collected  to  suspect  that  these  might  be 
officers ;  nor  could  they  realize  that  any  two  men  in 
a  buggy  would  drive  over  to  attempt  their  cajpture. 
In  another  instant  they  were  covered. 

'  ^  Get  up  from  there  and  throw  up  your  hands !  ' ' 
was  the  word  of  greeting  they  received.  *^  And 
don't  try  to  touch  them  guns.  The  first  man  that 
tries  it  I'll  kill  him." 

The  five  men  rose — it  was  polite  to  do  so — also, 
they  refrained  from  offering  any  discourtesy  in  the 
matter  of  the  guns.  McDonald  now  called  the  roll 
of  the  names  he  wanted,  and  curious  as  it  may  seem, 


Redeeming  No-man* s  Land  85 

each  man  answered  to  his  name.  One  man  of  the 
six  wanted,  being  missing,  the  officers  proceeded  to 
hand-cuff  and  shackle  the  five  captured  men,  and 
marched  them  back  to  the  hack,  where  the  sheriff  of 
Hansford  was  waiting. 

Of  course  the  sheriff  didn't  believe  it  was  true. 
He  had  had  such  dreams  before  and  thought  he 
would  wake  up,  presently,  at  home,  in  bed.  When 
he  convinced  himself  at  last  that  he  was  not  asleep, 
he  offered  to  aid  in  the  search  for  the  sixth  man.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  Territory  trails,  and 
McDonald  decided  to  send  Burson  to  Hansford  with 
the  hack-load  and  to  proceed  with  the  buggy  and  the 
sheriff  after  Number  Six  of  the  gang  who,  it  ap- 
peared, had  a  place  of  his  own  some  twenty  miles 
away. 

Number  Six  was  out  looking  after  his  cattle — 
about  thirty  in  number — the  result  of  industry — 
when  McDonald  and  the  sheriff  of  Hansford  arrived, 
and  not  expecting  official  guests,  was  unprepared. 
He  had,  in  fact,  '*  no  more  gun  than  a  rabbit,"  as 
Deputy  Bill  said  afterward,  and  his  capture  was 
child's  play.  That  night  the  gang  complete  set  out 
for  Wichita  Falls,  to  be  tried  later  in  the  United 
States  Court  at  Dallas. 

Raids  followed  each  other  rapidly.  One  gang  of 
cattle  thieves  after  another  was  gathered  in,  and 
took  up  the  march  for  Dallas  and  trial.  Outlawing 
in  No-man 's  Land  became  an  unpopular  occupation. 
Men  of  more  legitimate  enterprise  began  to  wonder 


86  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

if  the  time  was  not  coming,  by  and  by,  when  they 
could  do  business  on  or  within  the  borders  of  that 
territory  without  the  protection  of  a  company  of 
soldiers.  The  fame  of  Bill  McDonald  was  on  every 
man's  tongue,  and  those  who  had  not  seen  him,  es- 
pecially the  outlaws  still  at  large,  usually  conceived 
him  to  be  a  very  terrible  person :  large,  bushy,  heavy 
of  voice  and  fierce  of  mien.  Yet  he  was  just  the  op- 
posite of  all  these  things.  He  was  slender,  quiet, 
blue-eyed,  and  gentle  of  voice — only,  he  had  that  gift 
of  command — that  look,  and  that  manner  of  speech 
with  law-breakers  which  they  did  not  disobey.  The 
time  came  presently  in  No-man's  Land  when  his 
name  alone  and  a  rumor  that  he  was  coming  was  suf- 
ficient to  cause  a  gang  to  contemplate  emigration. 
Perhaps  they  believed  he  bore  a  charmed  life,  and 
it  was  useless  to  resist  him.  If  so,  they  were  hardly 
to  be  blamed  for  such  a  conviction. 


xn 

Some  op  the  Difficulties  of  Kefoem 

**  frontier  ''  law  and  practice.    caught  in  a 
norther  in  no-man 's  land 

It  is  neither  necessary  nor  possible  to  give  a  full 
history  of  all  the  raids  that  during  the  brief  period 
of  little  more  than  a  year  broke  up  organized  law- 
lessness in  that  stray  corner  of  the  nation  and  re- 
deemed an  abandoned  land.  The  general  plan  was 
the  same  in  all.  The  early  morning  hour ;  the  hack 
and  the  Winchester;  the  surprise  attack,  and  the 
pleasant  drive  home  with  the  guests  duly  hand- 
cuffed and  shackled ;  these  were  features  common  to 
each  episode.  Though  conducted  against  desperate 
men,  it  was  a  bloodless  warfare.  Nobody  was  killed 
— scarcely  a  gun  was  fired.  Bill  McDonald's  career 
was  not  to  be  always  like  that.  There  was  to  be 
shooting  enough  and  blood-letting  too,  but  the  No- 
man's  Land  campaign  was  peculiar  in  the  absence 
of  these  customary  attributes  of  border  warfare. 

Yet  there  are  one  or  two  aspects  of  the  happen- 
ings of  that  period  which  may  not  be  overlooked 
here.  As  before  suggested,  the  administrators  of 
the  law  were  not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  Some  of 
them  were  actually  in  league  with  the  law-breakers; 


88  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

others  were  honest  enough,  but  afraid  of  them.  But 
there  was  still  another  sort,  who  being  both  honest 
and  courageous  lacked  information.  Sometimes  this 
resulted  in  curious  complications  which  were  annoy- 
ing and  discouraging  to  an  officer.  Often,  the  results 
were  rather  humorous  in  their  nature.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  illustration  of  frontier  jurisprudence. 

McDonald  had  heard  of  a  cow  thief  in  No-man's 
Land  who  was  working  on  his  own  hook — a  sporadic 
case,  as  one  might  say — and  went  over  to  arrest  him. 
He  descended  upon  him  in  an  unexpected  moment, 
and  though  the  outlaw  strenuously  protested  that  it 
being  Sunday  the  law  of  arrest  did  not  hold  good, 
Deputy  Bill  conveyed  him  across  the  border  and 
down  into  Koberts  County  where  the  cattle  had  been 
stolen  and  where  there  was  a  justice  of  the  peace — ^it 
being  hardly  worth  while  to  take  a  single  prisoner  to 
"Wichita  Falls.  McDonald's  idea  was  that  the  justice 
would  have  authority  to  bind  his  prisoner  over  until 
such  time  as  the  grand  jury  of  that  district  should 
meet  and  indict  him  in  regular  form. 

Now,  Eoberts  County  was  a  wild  desolate  place  in 
those  days.  There  was  no  town  anywhere  about, 
and  few  people.  There  had  been  no  previous  call 
for  administration  of  the  law  of  any  sort,  and  up 
to  that  time  no  case  had  come  before  this  justice 
of  the  peace.  On  the  arrival  of  McDonald  with  his 
prisoner,  his  honor  convened  court  with  a  sort  of 
a  helpless  look.  His  office  was  merely  a  title,  so  far 
as  he  was  concerned,  and  the  wide  realm  of  the  law 


Some  of  the  Difficulties  of  Reform  89 

was  to  him  an  unexplored  country.  He  had  a  copy 
of  the  **  Kevised  Statutes,'^  however,  which  he  now 
took  down  and  examined,  perhaps  for  the  first  time. 
With  McDonald  ^s  help  he  found  the  section  which 
related  to  cattle  stealing,  and  the  penalty.  Kegular 
procedure,  with  indictments  and  trial  by  jury  were 
as  nothing  to  him.  He  only  knew  that  he  had  been 
elected  to  his  office,  and  that  his  duty  was  to  ad- 
minister the  law  as  laid  down.  He  read  the  law  as 
pointed  out,  and  assumed  a  judicial  severity. 

**  You  own  up  that  you  stole  them  cattle?  *'  he 
said  to  the  prisoner. 

The  prisoner  nodded. 

**  Then  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  this  county  I 
hereby  send  you  to  the  penitentiary  for  ten  years.  * ' 

McDonald  gasped. 

**  Judge,'*  he  said,  *^  I  don't  believe  that's  quite 
regular. ' ' 

''  Why;  ain't  that  the  law?  " 

**  Well,  yes,  but  you  see  he's  entitled  to  trial,  an' 
mebbe  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  bind  him  over 
under  a  good  heavy  bond,  and  if  he  can't  raise  it 
send  him  to  jail  over  in  Canadian  until  the  grand 
jury  meets.  Of  course  I  only  mention  that  as  being 
the  usual  way  of  doing  things. ' ' 

The  justice  looked  a  little  disappointed. 

**  Why,  yes,  of  course,  if  you  want  it  that  way," 
he  said,  ^*  but  the  man's  guilty  and  I  thought  you'd 
like  to  put  the  thing  through  as  quick  and  easy  as 
possible,  and  save  expense.    Oh,  well,  any  way  to 


90  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

suit  you.  I'll  make  Ms  bond  heavy  enough,  any- 
way." He  paused  to  think,  perhaps  trying  to  im- 
agine a  sum  large  enough  for  a  man  who  had  plead 
guilty  to  the  heinous  crime  of  cattle  stealing.  **  I'll 
put  him  under  a  heavy  bond — a  good  heavy  bond — 
I'll  make  it  three  hundred  dollars !  " 

It  will  be  seen  that  an  official  who  was  given  to 
inspirations  such  as  these  could  become  a  trial,  even 
with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world ;  and  there  were 
others  who  added  arrogance  to  their  ignorance,  and 
connivance  at  crime.  Nor  were  the  raids  into  No- 
man's  Land  altogether  pleasure  excursions  even 
though  Deputies  Bill  McDonald  and  Lon  Burson, 
with  their  headlong  tactics  and  general  disregard 
of  death,  had  things  pretty  much  their  own  way 
when  it  came  to  the  final  show-down.  There  were 
long  wearying  journeys  in  a  trailless  land  and  long 
night  vigils  when  bone  and  muscle  and  nerve  were 
racked  and  the  whole  body  cried  out  for  sleep.  The 
onset  might  be  swift  and  reckless,  once  begun,  but 
the  preparation  for  that  moment  was  cautious  and 
slow  and  often  beset  with  difficulties.  The  few  dwel- 
lers in  No-man's  Land  really  desirous  of  getting 
rid  of  the  outlaws,  were  afraid  to  reveal  their 
anxiety,  to  give  anything  resembling  information, 
or  even  to  offer  shelter  to  the  officers.  They  knew 
that  to  manifest  any  interest  on  the  side  of  law  and 
order  would  incur  the  enmity  of  the  gangs  and  bring 
down  reprisal  swift  and  bloody.     McDonald  and 


Some  of  the  Difficulties  of  Reform  91 

Burson  realized  this,  and,  however  severe  the  con- 
ditions of  weather  and  weariness,  faced  theiii,  rather 
than  impose  any  risk  upon  men  whose  only  offense 
was  to  dwell  among  very  bad  neighbors. 

At  one  time  the  deputies  were  after  a  gang  of  five 
men,  wanted  for  murder  and  theft,  and  were  driving 
from  Higgins  into  No-man's  Land,  with  hack  and 
team,  their  saddles  loaded  in  behind,  as  usual.  It 
was  late  in,  the  year,  now,  and  suddenly  in  the  swift 
Texas  fashion  a  norther  came  down,  with  piercing 
wind  and  fine  driving  snow.  If  the  reader  has  never 
seen  a  Texas  norther,  or  a  Dakota  blizzard,  he  will 
hardly  understand  their  predicament.  The  wind 
leaps  up  in  a  wild  gale  almost  in  an  instant ;  the  air 
from  being  balmy  takes  on  a  sudden  bitterness  that 
wrings  the  body  and  numbs  the  heart  and  pinches 
the  very  soul.  Then  the  snow  comes,  fine  and  blind- 
ing— sharp  and  hard  as  glass.  No  living  being  was 
ever  created  that  could  survive  long  in  the  face  of 
a  storm  like  that.  Cattle  know  when  a  norther  is 
coming  and  find  shelter  in  canyons,  or  gather  into 
thick  bunches  in  the  open,  their  heads  to  the  center. 
Birds  speed  away  to  the  south,  ahead  of  it,  or  find 
shelter  in  hollows  and  crannies  until  the  demon  has 
passed  by.  A  storm  like  that  always  means  death. 
The  Texas  norther  and  the  Dakota  blizzard  have 
strewn  the  prairies  with  bones. 

McDonald  and  Burson  in  the  face  of  such  a  tem- 
pest tried  to  press  on,  hoping  to  find  a  shelter  of 


92  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

some  sort — anything  that  would  break  the  terrible 
wind.  But  everywhere  was  only  the  wide  prairie, 
level  as  the  sea  and  lost  now  in  the  swirling  drift. 
Night  was  coming  on  rapidly,  and  unless  a  place  for 
camp  was  found  soon,  their  case  would  be  hopeless, 
indeed.  It  seemed  to  them  that  they  had  drifted 
for  hours,  battling  against  the  norther — though  it 
probably  was  less  than  one  hour — when  they  came 
upon  some  stacks  of  prairie  hay,  which  indicated 
the  habitation  of  men.  Without  seeking  further, 
they  made  for  the  shelter  of  the  stacks,  burrowed 
themselves  and  their  horses  into  them,  allowing  the 
latter  to  feed  liberally  from  the  hay.  There  they 
remained  all  night  and  until  the  afternoon  of  the 
next  day,  the  men  without  food.  The  storm  abated 
then,  and  the  officers  undiscouraged,  pressed  on, 
reaching  the  outlaw  camp  late  in  the  afternoon,  in- 
stead of  at  their  favorite  morning  hour. 

The  surprise  was  quite  as  complete,  however,  for 
the  last  thing  that  those  bandits  expected  was  that 
two  officers  should  suddenly  appear  out  of  that  white 
devastation  to  take  them  to  jail.  They  were  too 
much  astonished  to  attempt  resistance  and  were  on 
their  way  to  Wichita  Falls  that  night,  following  the 
road  which  earlier  in  the  year  so  many  of  their  kind 
had  taken. 

Indeed  it  was  this  capture  at  the  end  of  1888  that 
marked  about  the  close  of  the  heaviest  work  in  that 
particular  section.  The  year's  crusade  had  demon- 
strated that  No-man's  Land  was  not  big  enough  to 


Some  of  the  Difficulties  of  Reform  93 

hold  a  band  of  cow  thieves  and  two  deputies  like 
Bill  McDonald  and  Lon  Burson  at  the  same  time.  It 
was  no  encouragement  to  a  band  of  hard-working 
outlaws,  just  as  they  had  got  their  plant  established 
and  things  well  under  way  to  be  suddenly  pounced 
down  upon  and  put  out  of  business  by  two  men  who 
had  no  regard  for  the  customary  rules  of  fighting, 
but  just  rushed  right  in  with  a  lot  of  impertinent 
orders  and  an  assortment  of  hand-cuffs  and  always 
had  a  big  hack  ready  to  start  at  a  moment's  notice 
for  Wichita  Falls. 

**  What  is  the  use?  '*  one  of  the  freebooters  is 
said  to  have  complained,  **  A  fellow  no  more  than 
gets  started  when  these  dam'  fools  come  in  and  upset 
everything. ' ' 

What  was  the  use?  Such  of  the  No-man's  Land 
fraternity  as  still  remained  unhung  and  out  of  jail 
set  out  for  other  fields  of  labor.  Some  of  them 
located  in  the  more  barren  districts  of  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona.  Some  of  them  settled  in  the  further 
places  of  what  was  then  known  as  the  Cherokee 
Strip,  where  they  joined  with  congenial  spirits  in 
that  territory,  and  pretending  to  be  engaged  in 
agriculture — for  they  were  in  a  more  settled  country 
— Indian  country — continued  their  old  business  at 
the  new  stand.  These  we  shall  meet  again  presently, 
for  if  they  had  said  good-by  to  Bill  McDonald,  he 
had  not  said  good-by  to  them.  It  would  require  new 
tactics  to  deal  with  the  new  conditions — to  identify 
the  outlaw  in  the  pretended  agriculturist,  and  to  get 


94  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

evidence  for  his  conviction.  It  would  require  the 
development  of  another  talent  in  Bill  McDonald's 
make-up,  and  that  talent  was  ready  for  cultivation, 
as  we  shall  see. 


XIII 

Captain  Bill  as  a  Tkee-man 


THE  LOST  DROVE  OP  LAZARUS. 

HOSS  ''      A   NEW   WAY  OP   GETTING   INFORMATION 


Meanwhile,  the  ranch  on  Wanderer's  Creek  had 
suffered.  Compelled  to  be  absent  most  of  the  time, 
McDonald  was  unable  to  give  his  herd  personal  pro- 
tection, and  now  and  again  bunches  of  his  cattle 
were  driven  off  by  outlaws  from  across  the  border. 
His  brave  wife,  facing  the  problem  of  the  wilderness 
with  only  a  few  hired  helpers,  did  her  best,  but  was 
not  always  able  to  prevent  these  raids.  The  thieves 
would  seem  to  have  taken  especial  delight  in  watch- 
ing for  the  times  when  Deputy  Bill  was  absent  and 
then  descending  on  his  herds,  mainly  for  the  booty, 
no  doubt,  but  also  by  way  of  retaliation.  It  was  a 
dangerous  thing  for  them  to  do,  and  though  they 
were  certain  to  pay  for  it  in  the  end;  the  double 
temptation  of  profit  and  revenge  was  not  to  be 
resisted. 

But  while  the  ranch  did  not  prosper,  its  owner 
was  in  no  immediate  danger  of  bankruptcy.  "With 
his  success  in  breaking  up  the  gangs  in  Hardeman 
and  adjoining  counties,  and  in  No-man's  Land,  Mc' 


96  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Donald's  fame  had  grown  amazingly.  As  a  thief - 
taker  he  was  regarded  as  a  past-master.  That  an 
outlaw  could  neither  intimidate  nor  elude  him,  and 
that  when  he  was  feeling  well  he  could  whip  any 
number  of  them  single-handed,  before  breakfast, 
was  the  current  belief.  The  Cattle-men's  Associa- 
tion— a  combination  of  law  abiding  ranchmen,  one 
of  the  strongest  organizations  ever  known — invited 
his  special  attention  to  their  herds  and  contributed 
a  monthly  acknowledgement  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  which  with  his  numerous  fees  made  his 
income  an  ample  one — often  as  large  as  five  hundred 
dollars  a  month — sometimes  double  this  amount. 

Among  the  members  of  the  association  was  Sam 
Lazarus,  who  was  with  Bull  Turner  when  he  was 
shot  by  the  Brookens,  and  who  came  into  town  on 
the  whiffletrees,  undamaged,  but  a  good  deal  shaken 
up  as  to  nerves.  Soon  after  McDonald's  arrange- 
ment with  the  cattlemen,  Lazarus  was  sending  a 
herd  of  perhaps  a  thousand  head  into  Kansas,  driv- 
ing them  across  the  Territory.  Pat  Wolf  orth,  whose 
name  may  also  be  recalled  in  connection  with  the 
Brookens,  was  in  charge  of  this  herd,  and  when  just 
beyond  the  Territory  line,  in  a  very  lonely  district, 
met  with  misfortune.  One  evening  near  nightfall 
the  cattle  suddenly  became  frightened,  doubtless 
through  some  device  of  the  outlaws,  and  Wolforth 
and  his  men  found  it  impossible  to  control  them.  A 
general  stampede  followed  and  Lazarus 's  cattle 
were  scattered  over  the  prairies  and  through  the 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-man  97 

fastnesses  of  the  Strip — a  prey  to  the  spoilers  lying 
in  wait  on  every  hand.  It  was  a  heavy  disaster  and 
there  seemed  little  hope  of  much  in  the  way  of  re- 
covery. The  spring  round-up  might  gather  in  a 
few  stragglers,  but  for  the  most  part  the  herds  of 
Lazarus  were  believed  to  be  beyond  all  hope  of 
restoration. 

Bill  McDonald  took  no  such  view  of  the  situation. 
With  Pat  Wol  forth  he  immediately  visited  the  scene 
of  the  stampede,  and  began  looking  for  cattle  with 
the  **  Diamond-tail  *'  brand,  such  being  the  symbol 
of  the  Lazarus  herd.  It  was  a  ticklish  undertaking. 
Some  of  the  cattle  had  been  butchered,  and  these  of 
course  were  lost.  Others  had  been  absorbed  by  the 
herds  of  men  who  though  not  regularly  engaged  in 
cow  stealing  were  in  nowise  particular  as  to  whose 
cows  they  got  and  welcomed  anything  that  browsed 
unguarded  on  the  range.  Still  others  had  been  col- 
lected in  '^  pockets  *' — small  gullies  or  canyons — 
where  they  were  retired  from  general  circulation, 
guarded,  as  a  rule,  by  one  or  two  ostensible  cow- 
boys. 

McDonald  began  by  prevailing  upon  the  honest 
ranchmen  in  that  section  to  join  at  once  in  a  general 
round-up  by  which  means  a  great  number  of  cattle 
could  be  collected  and  distributed  to  their  rightful 
owners.  The  result  was  fairly  satisfactory  and  a  good 
many  of  Lazarus 's  cattle  were  recovered,  though 
not  always  without  disputes  and  a  display  of  fire- 
arms, especially  where  the  brands  had  been  grown 


98  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

over  by  the  long  winter-coat  of  hair.  Such  cases 
were  settled  first  and  tried  afterward.  In  other 
words,  McDonald  and  Wolforth  possessed  them- 
selves of  the  cattle  and  then  at  their  leisure  '  ^  picked 
the  brand,''  which  is  the  range  idiom  for  picking 
the  hair  from  around  the  brand  with  a  pocket-knife, 
so  the  brand  may  be  seen.  If  the  brand  proved  to 
be  other  than  that  of  the  Lazarus  herd,  the  cattle 
were  turned  over  to  their  true  owners.  When  the 
round-up  was  over  the  cow-hunters  took  up  the 
search  in  other  directions. 

It  mattered  little  to  McDonald  and  Wolforth 
where  they  found  the  Diamond-tail  brand — they 
took  the  cattle,  peaceably  if  possible,  forcibly  if 
necessary.  They  conducted  the  campaign  with  an 
enthusiasm  and  vigor  which  did  not  invite  argument. 
Large  herds  they  searched  without  ceremony  and  if 
any  cattle  of  their  brand  were  found,  they  were  *  *  cut 
out  "  with  few  formalities  and  with  scant  courtesy. 
When  they  came  upon  bunches  of  the  Diamond-tail 
brand  in  secluded  places,  they  did  not  pause  to 
present  any  credentials  except  their  Winchesters 
which  they  carried  always  ready  for  instant  action, 
and  set  out  at  once  with  the  cattle ;  also,  sometimes, 
with  the  astonished  cowboys  as  well.  It  was  a  sud- 
den and  energetic  procedure  and  resulted  in  the  re- 
covery of  the  greater  number  of  the  lost  drove  of 
Lazarus. 

It  resulted  further  in  a  definite  plan  by  Bill  Mc- 
Donald for  the  discouragement  of  cattle  stealing  in 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-man  99 

the  Territory,  and  for  the  capture  of  the  most 
actively  engaged  in  that  industry.  As  set  down  in 
a  foregoing  chapter,  the  outlaws  in  the  Cherokee 
Strip  were  not  likely  to  be  congregated  in  a  single 
rendezvous,  as  had  been  the  case  in  No-man's  Land, 
but  were  scattered  as  individual  squatters  through 
neighborhoods  more  or  less  friendly  to  their  busi- 
ness, or  at  least  not  bold  enough  openly  to  oppose  it. 
Indeed,  the  back  country  was  very  sparsely  settled, 
and  the  Indians  and  half-breed  whites  and  negroes 
were  not  especially  interested  in  law  and  order,  even 
where  they  were  not  directly  concerned  in  opposing 
these  things.  Along  the  rivers — the  Cimmaron,  the 
Canadian,  the  Washita  and  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Eed  River,  the  country  was  rugged,  and  the  hiding 
places  for  plunder  were  good.  The  prairies  were 
nice  and  level  with  fine  land  and  plentiful  grass. 
White  men  had  no  legal  right  of  residence  there, 
except  where  they  were  intermarried  with  the 
Indians,  and  those  who  acquired  citizenship  in  this 
manner  were  not  likely  to  be  any  more  desirable 
than  those  others  whose  occupation  was  itself  an 
infringement  on  the  law. 

* '  Did  they  raise  anything  there.  Bill  ?  ' '  McDonald 
was  asked  in  discussing  the  conditions,  long  after- 
ward. 

**  Just  raised  hell!*'  the  old  Ranger  answered 
drily. 

Nearly  all,  however,  made  a  pretense  of  agricul- 
tural employments;  for  after  all,  the  country,  un- 


100  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

like  No-man's  Land,  was  really  under  a  regular  form 
of  government;  legitimate  settlement  was  consider- 
able, and  there  was  a  semblance,  at  least,  of  law  and 
order.  Also,  there  were  towns  of  considerable  size, 
and  railroads — the  latter  affording  liberal  returns 
now  and  then  when  some  train  was  waited  upon  in 
a  lonely  place  and  the  express  messengers,  mail 
agents  and  passengers  were  invited  at  the  point  of 
six-shooters  to  contribute  to  a  highway  development 
fund.  The  writer  of  these  chapters  was  himself  a 
resident  of  Kansas  during  this  earlier  period,  and 
he  recalls  now  what  an  uninteresting  month  it  was 
when  an  M.  K.  &  T.  or  Santa  Fe  or  Eock  Island 
train  did  not  come  up  out  of  the  Territory  with 
passengers  telegraphing  home  for  money  and  the 
express  and  mail  cars  full  of  bullet  holes. 

Bill  McDonald  decided  to  break  up  this  sort  of 
thing,  and  set  about  it  in  a  way  suggested  by  his  own 
peculiar  genius.  It  was  necessary  first  to  identify 
the  men  who  were  really  concerned  in  these  various 
employments,  for  in  a  country  where  all  were  *  ^  set- 
tlers,'^  even  if  unofficial  ones,  it  was  not  worth  while 
working  at  hap-hazard  and  bothering  men  whose 
only  offense  might  be  that  of  squatting.  Investiga- 
tion must  be  conducted  openly  and  yet  in  a  way  to 
avoid  suspicion.  His  gentle  manner  and  seemingly 
inoffensive  personality  suited  him  for  just  such  an 
undertaking,  and  he  prepared  and  **  made  up  '' 
carefully  for  the  part. 

Eeturning  to  Quanah  and  Wanderer's  Creek,  he 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-man  101 

bought  a  **  paint  horse  ''  (a  spotted  pony) ;  an  old 
tenderfoot  saddle,  such  as  a  plainsman  would  never 
use,  and  a  book  with  pretty  pictures  of  fruit  in  it 
— a  regular  nurseryman's  plate-book — the  kind  of 
a  book  fruit-tree  salesmen  always  carry.  Then 
dressed  as  unlike  an  officer,  or  a  cow-man,  or  a 
Texan  as  possible,  with  these  properties  he  set  out 
— to  all  appearances  a  genial,  garrulous,  easy-going 
tree-man,  inviting  orders  and  confidences — willing 
to  sit  around  all  day  and  whittle  and  swap  knives 
and  yarns,  and  to  express  any  kind  of  interest  or 
sympathy  necessary  to  encourage  a  man  to  tell  his 
business  ventures  and  those  of  his  neighbors. 

It  was  a  pleasant  excursion,  enough.  No  fruit- 
tree  man  had  been  through  that  section  before — 
none  ever  had  dared,  or  perhaps  thought  it  worth 
while,  to  go.  McDonald's  excursion  proved  that 
profit  awaited  the  seller  of  trees  who  should  first 
make  that  wilderness  his  territory.  He  had  expected 
not  much  in  the  way  of  sales,  for  he  did  not  imagine 
that  men  engaged  in  driving  off  and  slaughtering 
other  men's  cattle,  and  in  waylaying  trains  and  rob- 
bing banks  would  have  any  special  taste  for  horticul- 
ture. This  was  an  error  of  judgment.  Most  of  these 
bad  men  had  been  fairly  good  boys  at  home  at  some 
time  in  the  past,  and  the  sight  of  those  luminous 
plates  presenting  fruit  of  extravagant  size  and 
coloring,  made  their  mouths  fairly  water  at  the 
thought  of  its  cultivation  by  the  doorway  of  their 
own  dug-outs  or  sod  houses  or  log  cabins.     They 


102  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

turned  the  pages  lovingly,  and  lingered  over  tlie 
wonderful  plums  and  pears  and  peaches,  and  as  they 
turned  they  talked  and  somehow  almost  without 
realizing  it  they  told  a  great  many  things  about 
themselves  and  neighbors  which  no  well-trained  and 
properly  constructed  outlaw  should  tell,  even  to  a 
sympathetic  and  simple-hearted  fruit-tree  man  who 
wrote  down  the  orders  and  listened  and  chuckled  at 
some  of  the  yarns,  while  he  encouraged  further  con- 
fidences. 

He  would  drift  around  presently  to  his  customer's 
former  place  of  residence,  and  to  the  reason  for  his 
leaving.  It  was  easy  enough  for  an  alert  tree-man 
to  detect  a  lack  of  complete  frankness  in  the  replies, 
especially,  if  the  reason  had  ^'  something  about  a 
cow  or  horse  ''  in  it,  that  being  the  usual  first  ad- 
mission that  the  isolation  of  the  Strip  had  been 
found  congenial  for  other  reasons  than  those  con- 
nected with  its  soil  and  climate.  The  tree-man  did 
not  hesitate  to  give  a  generous  return  for  any  such 
confidences,  inventing  on  the  spot  some  of  his  own 
for  the  purpose.  The  number  and  character  of 
crimes  he  confessed  to  having  been  accused  of  in  the 
States  would  be  worth  recording  in  this  history  if 
they  could  be  remembered  now.  But,  alas,  like  other 
gay  bubbles,  they  were  blown  only  to  charm  for  the 
moment,  and  once  vanished  cannot  be  recalled.  The 
tree-man  would  then  fall  to  abusing  laws  in  general 
and  the  men  who  enforced  them,  and  end  by  declar- 
ing that  he  was  mightily  in  love  with  that  particular 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-man  103 

section  and  would  stay  where  there  was  little  or  no 
chance  of  meeting  any  of  those  obnoxious  officials, 
if  the  boys  would  consider  him  one  of  them  and  all 
stand  together  in  time  of  trouble.  Talk  like  this 
would  open  the  door  for  anything.  The  rest  of  the 
interview  was  likely  to  run  something  as  follows : 

Picture :  Two  men  seated  on  a  log,  or  down  on  the 
grass  cowboy  style,  in  front  of  a  dug-out;  one  the 
slim,  mild-looking  tree-man;  the  other  a  burly 
person,  very  dirty,  hairy  and  unkempt,  bent  over 
a  large  book  of  gay  pictures  which  the  tree-man 
leans  forward  to  explain.  Nearby,  two  horses  are 
grazing,  the  **  paint-hoss  ''  with  the  old  tenderfoot 
saddle  and  saddle-bags ;  the  other  a  very  good  look- 
ing animal,  often  saddled  and  bridled  for  prompt 
use. 

**  By  gum,"  nods  the  big  burly  individual,  staring 
at  a  picture  of  such  peaches  as  grow  only  in  para- 
dise, **  eating  peaches  like  them  would  be  like  holdin' 
up  the  Santa  Fe  express.'' 

**  That's  what,"  assents  the  salesman  gayly, 
**  regular  picnic  all  the  time.  I  s'pose  you  fellers 
in  here  have  money  to  throw  at  the  birds  after  that 
kind  of  a  job." 

**  Well,  not  so  much  after  all.  Too  many  have  to 
have  a  piece  out  of  it.  Everybody  wants  to  help. 
It  has  to  be  a  pretty  big  basket  of  money  to  cut  in 
two  more'n  twice  and  leave  enough  to  pay." 

The  salesman  shows  a  sympathetic  interest. 

**  Of  course,"  he  agrees,  **  it's  too  bad  to  spoil  a 


104  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

good  bunch  of  money  by  making  little  piles  of  it.  I 
guess  you  have  to  have  a  good  many  though  for  a 
job  like  that." 

*^  No,  two  can  do  it,  an'  there  ain't  no  need  of 
more'n  three.  One  to  take  care  of  the  engineer, 
another  to  pull  down  on  the  passengers  and  the  other 
man  to  go  through  'em.  It's  plum  easy.  They  give 
up  like  sinners  at  a  camp-meetin',  and  the  messen- 
gers and  mail  fellers  come  down  pretty  easy,  too. 
If  they  don't  we  put  a  few  shots  through  their  cars 
and  that  fetches  'em. ' ' 

**  But  you  had  to  kill  the  messenger  in  that  Rock 
Island  job,  last  fall." 

**  Well,  I  wasn't  in  that  mess — that  was  another 
outfit.  Them  boys  are  huntin'  trouble  and  '11  find  it 
some  day,  good  an'  plenty.  "When  I  put  a  job 
through,  the'  ain't  nobody  going  to  get  killed  unless 
they  commit  reg'lar  suicide.  You  ought  to  come 
down  here  an'  go  in  with  me.  You've  got  a  per- 
suadin'  way  about  you  that  would  make  a  man  give 
up  anything  he  had  and  thank  you  for  takin'  it.  It 
'ud  pay  yeh  better,  I  reckon,  than  ridin'  a  paint- 
hoss  over  the  country,  peddlin'  trees.  That  reminds 
me — you  c'n  give  me  six  o'  them  peaches,  an'  a 
few  o'  them  pears  an'  plums  an'  a  couple  o'  cherry- 
trees  and  some  grape-vines — the  big  yaller  ones — 
Niagaries,  I  think  you  said  they  was. ' ' 

And  this  was  the  drift  of  more  than  one  conversa- 
tion between  the  Cherokee  agriculturists  and  the 
genial  tree-man  who  certainly  did  have  a  **  per- 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Tree-tnan  105 

suadin*  way  '*  in  making  a  man  give  up  anything 
he  had,  in  the  way  of  information.  No  one  could 
dream  that  this  inoffensive  mild-eyed  pilgrim  on  a 
paint-hoss  could  ever  make  trouble  in  that  wilder- 
ness of  lawless  living  and  of  desperate  men. 

So  for  several  weeks  the  tree-man  on  his  paint- 
horse  with  his  old  tenderfoot  saddle  and  his  picture- 
book  loitered  up  through  the  Strip  and  on  over  into 
the  Territory,  on  the  surface  taking  orders  for 
spring  delivery,  and  beneath  it  all  locating  the  dif- 
ferent communities  of  offenders;  the  individuals  of 
the  same;  stolen  cattle  and  horses,  and  securing 
data  of  particular  crimes.  He  ended  his  canvass  at 
Guthrie,  a  busy  frontier  point  on  the  Santa  Fe,  with 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  worth  of  orders  for  trees 
— trees  which  might  be  bearing  to  this  day  if  the 
spring  deliveries  had  been  made  as  planned. 


XIV 

The  Day  foe  '*  Deliveeies  " 

the   teee-man   tukns   officee   and   single-handed 
wipes  out  a  bad  gang 

But  McDonald  was  ready  now  for  deliveries  of  a 
different  sort — deliveries  of  the  purchasers  them- 
selves, into  the  hands  of  the  law.  As  a  preliminary 
step  he  swore  out  warrants  for  eight  men — the  chief 
operators  in  a  very  bad  community  located  along 
a  small  creek  between  Guthrie  and  Kingfisher — about 
fifteen  miles  west  of  the  latter.  He  then  went  with 
his  warrants  to  a  deputy  marshal  at  Guthrie  and 
invited  his  co-operation  in  making  the  arrests.  The 
Guthrie  deputy  looked  at  him  with  curiosity,  won- 
dering perhaps  if  this  circuit-riding  Texas  person 
was  in  his  right  mind.  Clearly  the  fame  of  Bill 
McDonald  had  not  yet  penetrated  into  darkest  Okla- 
homa. Then,  when  he  had  looked  over  Bill  Jess's 
credentials,  and  perhaps  felt  his  pulse,  he  said: 

^  *  If  you  can  get  a  company  of  soldiers  to  go  along 
I  might  undertake  that  job  with  you.  You  don't 
know  that  Sand  Creek  crowd — I  do.  No  two  men 
nor  ten  men  could  go  up  against  that  outfit  and  get 
back  alive.  Bring  a  company  of  regulars  over  here, 
if  you  want  to  undertake  that  campaign. ' ' 


The  Bay  for  ''  Deliveries  ''  107 

McDonald  argued,  and  related  what  he  had  done 
in  No-man's  Land,  but  to  no  purpose.  A  sudden 
charge  might  work,  over  there,  the  deputy  said, 
where  the  gangs  were  bunched,  and  were  surprised 
before  they  were  awake  enough  to  fight.  But  it  was 
different  over  here.  The  bad  men  were  scattered  a 
mile  or  so  apart  and  while  you  might  get  the  drop 
on  one,  there 'd  be  a  lot  more  left  to  get  the  drop  on 
you,  and  you'd  be  full  of  lead  before  sunrise.  No- 
siree,  nothing  less  than  soldiers,  and  plenty  of  them, 
would  do  that  job. 

McDonald  went  about  the  town  trying  to  enlist 
volunteers.  He  realized  that  a  scattered  gang  would 
require  time  to  corral,  and  that  its  members  would 
be  likely  to  be  awake  and  busy,  before  he  got  them 
all  in.  He  did  not  want  a  company  of  soldiers,  for 
such  a  force  would  scare  the  gang  and  accomplish 
nothing;  but  he  did  want  a  few  quick  fearless  men 
for  this  work.  Finally  he  wired  U.  S.  Marshal 
Walker  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  to  come  on  first  train. 
Walker  came,  and  McDonald  explained  the  situation. 

*^  IVe  got  these  men  located,  and  warrants  for 
their  arrest,'*  he  said,  **  and  now  I  can't  get  your 
deputies  or  anybody  else  to  give  me  a  hand  on  the 
job.  It  ain't  just  the  sort  of  a  thing  I  want  to  do 
alone,  for  we  ought  to  get  to  several  of  these  men's 
houses  simultaneous  like,  an'  I  thought  you  might 
be  able  to  persuade  these  boys  to  come  along." 

''  Certainly,"  said  Walker,  ''  that's  all  right— 
they  don't  know  who  you  are.    I'm  satisfied  from 


108  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

what  U.  S.  Marshal  Knight,  of  Dallas,  has  written 
me  that  you  know  what  you  want  to  do,  and  how  to 
go  at  it.  I'll  get  the  men  together  and  explain  the 
situation. ' ' 

They  collected  about  a  dozen  deputies  and  posse- 
men,  and  Walker  explained  as  agreed.  It  was  no 
use.  The  men  declared  that  no  small  force  could  go 
into  the  Sand  Creek  neighborhood  and  come  out 
alive,  and  nothing  short  of  a  squad  of  trained 
soldiers  would  be  of  any  use.  McDonald  looked  them 
over  scornfully.    Then  he  turned  to  Walker, 

*  *  If  I  had  as  sorry  a  lot  of  men  as  that, '  *  he  said, 
''I'd  discharge  them  on  the  spot.  I'll  go  out  there 
alone,  if  I  can  get  a  man  with  nerve  enough  to  drive 
a  hack,  and  I'll  bring  back  a  load  of  criminals,  too." 

This  was  regarded  as  a  bluff.  Walker  returned 
to  Topeka,  and  Bill  McDonald's  fruit-tree  expedi- 
tion began  to  look  like  a  failure.  McDonald,  how- 
ever, was  not  the  sort  of  a  person  to  whom  the  words 
*'  bluff  "  and  ''  failure  "  were  likely  to  apply.  He 
discovered  a  man  presently  who  agreed  to  drive  a 
hack,  provided  he  would  be  asked  to  do  no  fighting, 
and  would  be  allowed  to  remain  out  of  range. 

''  If  you  ever  get  'em  to  the  hack  and  tied,  I'll 
haul  'em, ' '  he  said,  but  it  was  clear  that  he  expected 
to  haul  home  a  dead  deputy  marshal,  instead. 

They  set  out  long  before  day-break,  next  morning, 
with  a  big  three-seater — McDonald  with  an  extra 
horse — and  drove  to  the  home  of  what  was  con- 
sidered the  most  desperate  of  the  Sand  Creek  gang 


The  Day  for  ''  Deliveries  ''  109 

— a  very  hard  looking  customer  who  lived  with  his 
wife  in  a  dug-out  in  a  small  clearing.  When  they 
had  arrived  within  about  two  hundred  yards  of  the 
place,  the  driver  declared  that  he  was  satisfied  with 
his  position  and  did  not  think  it  necessary  by  the 
terms  of  his  contract  to  go  any  closer.  It  was  full 
early,  barely  daybreak,  and  everything  was  very 
still.  McDonald  lost  no  time,  therefore,  for  a  whinny 
of  the  horses  might  rouse  the  occupants  of  the 
dug-out,  and  with  his  Winchester  cocked  stepped 
across  the  little  clearing  and  without  ceremony 
pushed  open  the  door.  As  he  did  so  a  woman 
stepped  directly  in  front  of  him,  calling  out  a  warn- 
ing to  some  one  behind  her.  In  the  dimness  of  the 
place  McDonald  saw  a  man  on  a  bed  in  the  corner 
reaching  for  a  gun  which  lay  on  the  mattress  near 
him.  It  was  no  time  for  manners.  With  a  quick 
sweep  of  his  gun  the  officer  pushed  the  woman  aside 
and  covered  the  man  on  the  bed,  before  he  could 
bring  his  weapon  to  bear. 

**  Drop  it,''  he  said.    *'  Drop  it  or  you're  a  dead 
man!  " 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  sincerity  of  that 
order.  The  mild  fruit-tree  peddler,  was  merged 
completely  into  the  resolute  officer  with  eyes  of  steel 
and  a  crisp  voice  that  uttered  words  of  unmistakable 
meaning.  The  gun  fell  upon  the  bed.  McDonald 
stepped  forward  and  slipping  hand-cuffs  on  his 
prisoner,  ordered  him  to  start  for  the  hack  and  to 
make  no  suspicious  movements.     Arriving  at  the 


k 


110  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

awaiting  vehicle  he  invited  him  to  step  in  and  be 
shackled. 

^^  First  delivery, '*  he  said  to  the  astonished 
driver.    **  We'll  go  on  now  and  make  the  rest.'* 

The  next  hut  was  perhaps  a  mile  further  along, 
and  the  sun  was  getting  up  when  they  arrived.  As 
they  approached,  they  saw  the  occupant  standing  in 
the  doorway.  He  saw  them  about  the  same  time, 
and  suspected  trouble.  His  horse  was  hitched  to  a 
mesquite  tree,  and  making  for  it  he  mounted  and 
fled.  McDonald  was  mounted  also  and  gave  chase. 
The  race  continued  for  perhaps  half  a  mile  when 
the  officer  realized  that  his  man  had  the  better  horse 
and  would  presently  get  into  the  brakes  and  escape. 
He  dismounted  quickly,  therefore,  and  taking  care- 
ful aim  began  to  shoot  at  the  ground  near  the  flying 
horse  in  such  a  manner  that  the  bullet  striking  the 
earth  would  go  singing  by,  very  close  to  the  ears 
of  the  fugitive.  He  had  long  since  discovered  that  a 
bullet  singing  in  that  way,  close  to  a  man's  ears  has 
an  impressive  and  convincing  sound.  A  man  hear- 
ing a  bullet  sing  by  like  that  would  be  willing  to  bet 
any  reasonable  sum  that  the  next  one  would  hit  him, 
especially  when  the  command,  ^^  Halt!  or  I'll  get 
you,  next  time, ' '  came  with  it.  With  the  second  shot 
the  disturbed  rider  brought  his  horse  up  suddenly, 
dismounted  and  made  motions  of  surrender.  Mc- 
Donald signaled  him  to  approach,  still  keeping  him 
covered.  He  came  up  in  good  order,  and  was 
marched   toward   the   hack,    the   driver    of   which 


The  Day  for  ''  Deliveries  "  111 

headed  in  that  direction,  now  that  the  danger  was 
over. 

It  was  thought  that  the  sound  of  the  shooting 
might  have  aroused  the  neighborhood  by  this  time, 
and  the  thief-hunters  worked  more  cautiously. 
There  was  no  need,  however.  Gun-fire  was  of  too 
frequent  occurrence  to  create  alarm  in  that  locality, 
and  the  sense  of  immunity  from  the  law  had  become 
too  chronic  to  be  lightly  disturbed.  The  desperadoes 
had  been  left  unmolested  so  long  that  they  had  be- 
come established  in  their  security  and  careless  of 
intrusion.  Two  men  were  at  breakfast  at  the  next 
place,  and  deputy  Bill's  Winchester  covered  them 
before  they  fairly  realized  that  they  had  a  morning 
visitor.  These  two  were  hand-cuffed  together  and 
marched  to  the  hack.  The  driver  by  this  time  had 
picked  up  a  good  deal  of  courage  and  remained  only 
a  few  yards  behind.  As  for  the  outlaws,  they  were 
inclined  to  be  sociable,  and  with  the  true  Western 
American  spirit  discerned  a  certain  humor  in  the 
situation. 

**  Hello,  Jim,  you  been  buying  fruit  trees  too?  '' 
was  the  greeting  of  one  of  the  men  already  loaded 
as  the  hand-cuffed  pair  came  in.  **  What  did  you 
get,  peaches  or  pears?  '' 

**  You  go  to  hell,  will  you?  You'll  get  a  tree  with 
a  rope  on  it  before  you  get  out  of  this  mess. ' ' 

^*  That's  all  right — you  must  have  bought  sour 
grapes,  I  reckon,  the  way  you  talk. ' ' 

**  No,  his  got  frost-bit.    They'll  be  all  right  in  the 


112  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

spring.  My  apples  got  a  little  case  of  dry-rot,  too. 
I  wonder  how  Buck  Dillon  ^11  like  them  blue  plums  o ' 
his'n.'' 

McDonald,  always  good-natured  with  his  pris- 
oners, joined  in  the  bantering. 

^^  I^m  delivering, * '  he  said,  ''  I  brought  in  a  nice 
pair,  this  time, '  ^  as  he  loaded  his  double  capture  into 
the  hack.  Truly  no  situation  can  entirely  destroy 
the  breezy  Western  point  of  view. 

The  next  house  lay  across  quite  a  stretch  of 
prairie  and  the  hack  and  its  contents  were  discovered 
before  the  approach  was  near  enough  for  effec- 
tive action.  McDonald  on  horseback  immediately 
charged,  but  the  outlaw  suspected  the  nature  of  his 
visitor  and  mounting  his  horse  raced  away,  empty- 
ing his  six-shooter  at  his  pursuer.  Eiding,  and 
shooting  backward  disturbed  his  aim  and  his  bul- 
lets flew  wild.  McDonald  also  began  shooting,  to 
bring  him  to  a  halt,  not  to  kill.  As  the  outlaw  un- 
cased his  Winchester,  however,  the  officer  decided 
that  it  was  time  to  bring  matters  to  a  focus.  Drop- 
ping to  the  ground  he  knelt  and  set  some  bullets 
singing  close  to  the  ear  of  the  fugitive.  At  first  this 
only  had  the  effect  of  making  him  sink  his  spurs 
into  the  pony,  but  at  the  third  crack  of  the  gun  and 
just  as  Deputy  Bill  was  taking  careful  aim  for  a 
shot  that  would  be  likely  to  save  the  cost  of  prosecu- 
tion the  rider  dropped  his  gun  back  into  the  scab- 
bard, and  leaped  to  the  ground. 

"  Well,  you've  got  me,''  he  called  as  he  came  up. 


The  Day  for  "  Deliveries  "  113 

**  Hello,  Joe,  what  you  been  buyin'?  Prickly 
pears  I  reckon,**  was  the  greeting  from  the  hack  as 
he  came  nearer — the  latter  half  of  the  remark  due 
to  a  trickle  of  blood  on  the  man's  ear  where  the  last 
bullet  had  sung  its  warning  song  a  trifle  too  close. 

**  Must  a  struck  a  stone  and  glanced  a  little,*' 
commented  Bill  Jess  as  he  looked  at  it.  **  I  aim  to 
make  *em  miss  just  about  three  inches.  They  sing 
nicer  when  they  don't  really  hit.  That  either 
glanced  off  of  a  stone  or  else  it's  mighty  sorry  shoot- 
ing. Dad-slap  it,  that  sorter  makes  me  ashamed  of 
myself.  Oh,  well,  get  in  an'  make  yourself  com- 
fortable.   I  want  to  get  along. ' ' 

The  boy  who  had  been  ^^  born  with  a  gun  in  his 
hand  "  as  we  say,  and  could  pick  cherries  with  a  rifle 
was  humiliated  by  anything  that  resembled  bad 
marksmanship.  Still,  it  was  good  enough  under  the 
circumstances,  and  was  justified  by  the  result. 

That  was  a  busy  day.  His  favorite  hour  for  work- 
ing (day-break)  was  over,  now,  but  matters  were 
going  too  well  to  knock  off  on  that  account.  There 
were  at  least  three  more  of  this  gang,  and  he  would 
get  as  many  as  he  could. 

He  got  them  all  in  fact,  and  one  extra — a  bad  man 
who  happened  to  be  visiting  his  brother  at  a  bad 
time.  The  houses  being  a  good  way  apart,  and  the 
work  being  done  rapidly  and  with  such  system  and 
neatness,  the  alarm  had  no  time  to  spread.  Deputy 
Bill  knew  the  exact  location  of  each  house  and  of 
course  used  more  caution  in  making  the  approaches 


114  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

as  the  day  advanced.  He  stalked  his  game  like  the 
true  hunter  that  he  was,  creeping  up  unnoticed  un- 
til he  had  it  covered,  keeping  the  hack  well  out  of 
view,  though  by  this  time  the  driver  had  lost  all 
concern,  except  that  of  eagerness  to  see  the  fun,  and 
was  disappointed  as  were  the  captured  fruit-tree 
buyers  when  kept  out  of  view. 

The  hack  went  into  Kingfisher  next  morning  with 
every  seat  full  and  the  driver  sitting  on  the  knees 
of  two  prisoners.  The  Sand  Creek  gang — one  of  the 
toughest  gangs  in  the  Territory — in  the  space  of  a 
single  day  and  by  a  single  man  had  been  retired  from 
active  business. 

From  Kingfisher,  their  captor  wired  U.  S.  Marshal 
Walker  at  Topeka  that  he  had  his  men  and  would 
proceed  with  them  to  Wichita,  Kansas,  as  soon  as 
he  had  rested  a  little.  Within  a  few  days  the  men 
were  being  distributed  to  the  various  points  where 
they  were  wanted  for  an  assortment  of  crimes. 
When  McDonald  and  his  driver  returned  to  Guthrie, 
the  men  he  had  invited  to  assist  had  a  downcast 
look.  They  had  heard  the  news  of  the  Sand  Creek 
gang.  They  had  heard  also  from  Mr.  Walker.  Their 
excuses  were  many  and  various,  and  to  a  man  they 
offered  to  join  the  next  expedition. 

**  No,'*  said  Bill  Jess,  drily,  **  you  fellows  are  a 
little  too  slow.  My  deliveries  in  this  section  are  all 
made.  * ' 


XV 

Cleaning  up  the  Strip 

deputy  bill  gets  *'  stood  off,''  but  makes  good. 

bill  cook  and  **  skeeter.*'    **  a  hell  of 

a  court  to  plead  guilty  in  '' 

The  Cherokee  Strip  campaign  was  not  allowed 
to  languish.  An  outlaw  community  about  twenty- 
five  miles  north  of  Kingfisher,  and  seven  miles  west 
of  Hennessey,  on  Turkey  Creek,  was  raided  next. 
In  the  course  of  his  tree  selling,  McDonald  had  fallen 
in  with  a  man  who  was  peddling  stolen  beef.  He 
had  learned  that  this  man  was  operating  for  the 
Turkey  Creek  gang,  and  that  the  beef  he  was  selling 
was  really  the  property  of  the  Cherokee  Strip  Live- 
stock Association,  which,  it  may  be  mentioned,  at 
that  time  had  a  lease  on  the  Cherokee  grazing  lands 
for  which  they  paid  an  annual  rental  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

McDonald  now  went  over  to  Kingfisher  and  estab- 
lished headquarters;  took  the  beef  peddler  to 
Wichita,  Kansas,  put  him  in  jail,  and  got  on  friendly 
terms  with  him.  Then  he  gave  his  prisoner  some 
good  fatherly  advice  about  bad  company  and  the 
usual  rewards  of  becoming  the  tool  of  lawless  men. 
The  result  was  a  general  confession  and  turning 


116  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

of  State's  evidence.  The  peddler  of  beef  lodged  in- 
formation as  to  the  identity  of  his  employers;  the 
exact  nature  of  their  business;  the  hiding  place 
of  their  stolen  cattle,  and  the  locality  of  a  deep 
water-hole  where  they  had  sunk  the  hides  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  the  brands  and  earmarks.  McDonald 
returned  to  Kingfisher,  next  morning,  swore  out 
warrants  for  the  men  named,  and  with  a  deputy 
marshal,  who  declared  himself  willing  to  go,  set  out 
for  Turkey  Creek.  They  went  in  a  hack  as  usual 
and  arrived  before  daylight  at  the  house  of  one 
Charlie  Tex,  where  they  thought  it  likely  they  might 
find  most  of  the  men  wanted.  When  they  entered, 
however,  they  found  only  a  man  in  bed,  who  declared 
he  had  just  arrived  in  that  country;  that  there  was 
nobody  at  home,  and  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the 
owner's  whereabouts.  They  took  him  along,  how- 
ever, and  proceeded  to  another  house  not  far  away, 
but  found  it  also  empty.  The  officers  now  concluded 
that  the  men  had  in  some  manner  got  wind  of  their 
coming  and  were  hiding  in  the  bottoms.  They  fol- 
lowed a  way  down  the  creek,  breaking  through  to  the 
prairie  again,  not  far  from  the  Tex  house.  As  they 
did  so  they  noticed  the  man  with  them  apparently 
trying  to  signal  in  that  direction.  Then  they  became 
aware  that  several  men  with  Winchesters  were 
walking  leisurely  along  the  top  of  the  grassy  hill, 
either  unaware  of  the  presence  of  the  officers,  or  in- 
different to  it. 
McDonald  and  his  associate,  satisfied  that  these 


Cleaning  up  the  Strip  117 

were  the  men  wanted,  set  out  up  the  hill,  briskly. 
Their  companion  discouraged  this  movement,  insist- 
ing that  they  would  all  certainly  be  killed  if  they 
molested  that  crowd.  They  continued  to  advance, 
however,  and  presently  the  men  with  the  Winches- 
ters, without  appearing  to  have  noticed  the  deputies, 
dropped  leisurely  back  behind  the  hill-top.  Mc- 
Donald now  started  running,  straight  up  the  hill, 
while  his  brother  deputy  set  out  in  a  sort  of  diagonal 
flank  movement  around  it.  In  a  moment  or  two  he 
had  apparently  reached  a  place  where  he  could  see 
the  retreating  men,  for  he  called  out : 

**  Hey,  Mack,  they're  right  over  the  hill.  They'll 
get  you  sure.'' 

McDonald  was  too  interested  to  stop,  now.  He 
raced  to  the  top  of  the  rise,  his  gun  presented,  ready 
for  shooting,  expecting  to  see  the  flash  of  guns  as 
he  broke  the  sky-line.  Instead,  he  saw  the  men  run- 
ning for  Tex's  dug-out,  and  noticed  that  still  another 
fellow  was  already  there,  pacing  about,  like  a  picket, 
with  a  gun. 

McDonald  did  not  take  time  to  guess  at  their 
plans,  but  kept  straight  after  them,  supposing  his 
companion-in-law  was  following.  The  men  did  not 
pause  when  they  reached  the  house,  but  made  for  a 
half-built  log  stable,  which  formed  a  sort  of  pen,  and 
leaping  into  it  put  their  guns  through  the  spaces 
between  the  logs  and  yelled  at  McDonald  to  stop, 
swearing  they  would  kill  him  if  he  came  any  further. 

A  brave  man  is  not  necessarily  a  rash  man,  and 


118  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

to  establish  bravery  it  is  not  necessary  to  throw  one- 
self in  front  of  a  moving  train  or  to  charge  alone  a 
half-finished  log  stable  full  of  outlaws  who  poke 
their  Winchesters  through  the  cracks  at  you  and 
call  you  names.  McDonald  discovered  now  that  his 
partner  was  not  with  him,  or  anywhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  he  concluded  to  stop  and  negotiate. 
One  might  get  an  outlaw  or  two  through  the  cracks, 
but  on  the  whole  it  didn't  seem  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  play  the  game  in  that  way. 

He  checked  his  speed  when  he  was  about  sixty 
yards  from  the  fort,  though  he  continued  to  advance 
in  a  leisurely  walk,  talking  persuasively  meantime. 

'*  Now  you  fellers  better  have  some  sense,''  he 
said.  ^'  You're  going  up  against  the  United  States 
law,  and  even  if  you  killed  me  it  wouldn  't  make  any 
difference.  I've  got  a  posse  coming  that  would  be 
right  down  on  you  anyhow.  Besides  you'd  have  the 
United  States  army  after  you,  and  they'd  take  you 
and  hang  you  for  murder.  I  only  want  two  out  of 
your  bunch  anyway,  this  time;  that's  all  I  got  war- 
rants for,  and  maybe  none  of  you  are  the  right  ones. 
You'd  better  come  out  and  let  me  look  you  over." 

The  men  swore  they  would  do  nothing  of  the  sort, 
and  if  he  came  a  step  further  they  would  kill  him. 

McDonald  slackened  his  pace  a  bit — some  nervous 
man's  gun  might  go  oif  by  accident.  He  could  talk 
very  well  from  where  he  was. 

**  Oh,  pshaw!  "  he  said.  **  You  fellers  wouldn't 
kill  a  kitten.     Six  of  you  men  behind  breastworks 


Cleaning  up  the  Strip  119 

to  get  away  from  one.  Come  out  where  I  can  look 
at  you.    What  kind  of  men  are  you,  anyway?  *' 

**  Whereas  your  partner?  '*  called  the  outlaws. 

**  You  see  him,  way  up  yonder,  don't  you?  "  Bill 
Jess  said  quaintly — **  on  that  hill.  I  haven't  got  a 
rope  on  him;  I  couldn't  bring  him  along  unless  he'd 
come.  You-all  are  actin'  mighty  sorry  the  way 
you're  doin'.  Come  out  of  there  now,  and  quit  this 
foolishness." 

The  outlaws  repeated  their  refusal  and  their 
warning  that  if  he  came  another  step  they  would 
shoot  him  dead.    McDonald  took  out  his  watch. 

**  "Well,  boys,"  he  said,  **  if  you  want  to  make 
a  fight  you  might  as  well  get  at  it.  It's  time  for 
my  men  to  be  here.  Your  partner  I  got  yesterday 
said  you'd  likely  try  to  start  something,  so  I  come 
fixed  for  such  fellows  as  you.  Come,  let's  see  what 
you  can  do. ' ' 

McDonald  waved  his  hand  as  if  signaling  to  his 
companion  half  a  mile  in  the  rear  and  made  a  start 
toward  the  log  fort.  Before  he  had  taken  two  steps, 
out  of  it  piled  the  six  outlaws  and  broke  **  lickety 
brindle  "  for  the  creek  bottom,  like  a  bunch  of 
frightened  steers.  McDonald  ran  after  them  and 
saw  them  leap  on  their  horses  that  they  had  tethered 
in  the  bushes  and  go  tearing  down  the  creek,  without 
stopping  to  look  behind.  Evidently  they  did  not 
doubt  for  a  moment  that  the  deputy  had  a  posse, 
waiting  nearby,  for  they  would  not  be  likely  to  be- 
lieve that  he  had  dared  to  face  them  alone  unless 


120  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

assistance  was  close  at  hand.  Deputy  Bill,  on  his 
part  was  not  sorry  to  see  them  go,  for  they  had  him 
at  a  serious  disadvantage,  and  his  only  backing  had 
weakened. 

His  companion  was  at  the  hack  when  he  returned. 
The  one  man  they  had  taken  in  charge  had  disap- 
peared. Bill  Jess  made  a  few  choice  remarks  and 
they  set  out  for  Kingfisher  by  way  of  Hennessey. 

The  following  night  as  McDonald  came  out  of  a 
drug-store  in  Kingfisher,  several  shots  were  fired  at 
him  from  the  darkness.  He  pulled  his  six-shooter 
immediately  and  emptied  it  at  the  flash  of  the  guns, 
running  toward  them  as  he  did  so.  He  heard  re- 
treating footsteps,  but  did  not  follow,  as  he  dis- 
covered that  he  had  left  his  cartridge  belt  in  the 
hotel. 

He  was  satisfied  that  the  attack  had  been  made 
by  some  of  the  Turkey  Creek  gang  of  the  day  before, 
trying  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  resolved  to  delay  no 
further  in  putting  them  out  of  business.  He  enlisted 
a  man  whom  he  knew,  one  Charley  Meyers,  and  two 
other  young  men  anxious  for  adventure,  and  next 
morning  struck  the  trail  which  led,  as  they  expected, 
in  the  direction  of  Turkey  Creek.  They  followed 
it  rapidly  and  toward  evening  came  upon  their 
game.  There  was  no  parleying  this  time.  McDonald 
headed  his  force  and  they  charged  with  a  rush. 
Three  of  the  men  threw  down  their  arms  and  sur- 
rendered— the  others  fired  some  scattering  shots  as 
they  ran,  and  they  must  have  kept  on  running,  for 


Cleaning  up  the  Strip  121 

they  troubled  that  country  no  more.  The  Turkey 
and  Sand  Creek  gangs  no  longer  existed.* 

It  was  while  McDonald  was  at  Kingfisher  that  he 
came  in  contact  with  Bill  Cook  and  one  *^  Skeeter,** 
both  of  whom  were  later  to  become  notorious  in 
matters  connected  with  the  looting  of  banks  and 
trains.  The  deputy  was  making  some  purchases  in 
a  store  one  evening  when  Cook  attempted  to  ride  his 
horse  in  the  front  door.  McDonald  grabbed  the 
animal's  bridle  and  set  him  back  on  his  haunches, 
and  before  Cook  could  draw  his  gun — had  him 
covered  and  under  arrest.  Immediately  Cook's 
^*  side-partner,''  Skeeter,  came  up  swearing  ven- 
geance, and  was  also  suddenly  disarmed  and  landed 
in  jail.  The  incident  closed  there,  but  a  sort  of 
sequel  was  to  come  along  a  good  many  years  later, 
as  we  shall  see  presently. 

Meanwhile  the  work  of  **  delivery  "  by  the  erst- 
while tree-man  was  not  delayed.  Following  the 
backward  track  he  gathered  up  one  undesirable  citi- 
zen after  another,  until  by  the  end  of  the  season  he 
had  established  official  relations  with  no  less  than 

*  Somewhat  later  when  McDonald's  work,  as  Ranger  Captain,  was 
confined  to  Texas,  another  gang  did  rendezvous  in  this  section — the 
gang  headed  by  the  Dalton  boys  (formerly  deputy  marshals) ;  and  for 
a  period  terrorized  the  surrounding  country.  Their  crimes  were  daring 
and  bloody  and  their  end  was  sudden  and  violent.  They  were  shot, 
one  after  another  by  a  brave  and  accurate  liveryman  as  they  came  out 
of  a  bank  they  had  been  looting,  in  daylight,  in  Coffeyville,  Kansas. 
According  to  Bill  Dalton  two  of  the  Daltons  were  United  States  deputy 
marshals  and  lived  near  Hennessey  at  the  time  McDonald  was  selling 
trees  in  that  section. 


122  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

fifty  of  his  former  customers,  and  the  rest  had  con- 
cluded not  to  wait.  The  story  of  the  work  of  tliat 
year  alone  would  fill  a  volume  if  fully  told,  but  the 
telling  is  not  necessary.  Having  planned  a  campaign 
along  special  lines  it  is  only  needful  to  give  one  or 
two  examples  of  Bill  McDonald  ^s  work  to  see  what 
the  rest  would  be  in  that  particular  field.  Each 
field  of  labor  was  different  and  called  for  different 
treatment — requiring  as  much  genius  to  conceive 
the  method  as  bravery  and  presence  of  mind  to  carry 
it  out.  We  have  now  seen  what  he  accomplished  in 
reclaiming  a  land  so  lost  that  it  was  called  No-man's 
Land,  and  in  cleaning  up  a  strip  of  country  infested 
by  desperadoes  supposed  to  be  invincible.  We  have 
seen  that  he  could  do  these  things  with  thoroughness 
and  despatch  and  with  little  bloodshed.  The  old 
manner  of  going  in  with  a  big  posse  and  engaging  in 
a  general  fight  in  which  men  were  killed  on  both 
sides  and  nothing  of  value  accomplished  he  had  ren- 
dered obsolete.  Men  politically  and  personally  op- 
posed to  Bill  McDonald  have  referred  to  him  in  print 
and  in  spoken  word  as  bloodthirsty,  and  a  des- 
perado. Certainly  the  reader  who  has  followed 
these  chapters  thus  far  will  find  it  hard  to  agree 
with  such  opinions.  That  he  was  fearless  almost  to 
the  point  of  rashness  we  may  believe,  but  that  he 
ever  wantonly  shed  blood,  or,  with  all  his  oppor- 
tunities, deliberately  took  human  life  will  be  harder 
to  demonstrate. 

**  I  never  was  a  killer/'  he  said  once.    **  Some 


Cleaning  up  the  Strip  123 

fellows  seem  to  want  to  kill,  every  chance  they  get, 
and  in  a  business  like  mine  there's  plenty  of  chances. 
But  I  never  did  want  to  kill  a  man,  and  I  never  did 
it  when  there  was  any  other  way  to  take  care  of  his 
case.'' 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  refer  to  the 
method  of  disarming  men  which  McDonald  used. 
The  author  has  been  asked  how  this  sudden  and 
efficient  action  was  performed.  His  reply  is  that  it 
is  just  about  as  hard  to  explain  as  those  sleight-of- 
hand  tricks  which  depend  on  deftness  and  exactness 
of  motion — the  result  of  a  natural  ability  combined 
with  long  practice.  Bill  McDonald  was  born  **  as 
quick  as  a  cat,"  and  disarming  became  his  special 
sleight-of-hand  trick.  He  could  locate  a  man's 
weapon  and  could  daze  and  disarm  him  with  a  sud- 
den movement  that  even  he  himself  could  not  convey 
in  words,  and  it  was  this  performance  that  saved 
the  lives  of  many  men,  good  and  bad,  and  often- 
times his  own. 

It  was  some  six  years  after  the  Kingfisher  in- 
cident that  McDonald  was  to  renew  relations  with 
the  *  *  Cook-Skeeter  ' '  outfit.  He  had  become  Ranger 
Captain  meantime  and  was  engaged  in  some  work 
in  North  Texas  when  he  heard  of  a  suspicious  gang, 
heavily  armed,  camped  in  a  vacant  house  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bellevue,  in  Clay  County.  Unable 
to  go  himself,  he  sent  his  sergeant,  J.  L.  Sullivan, 
his  nephew,  W.  J.  McCauley  and  another  ranger 
named  Bob  McClure,   to  investigate.     Before  the 


124  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Rangers  reached  the  house  a  picket  discovered  them 
and  set  out  to  give  warning  to  his  associates.  The 
Eangers  overtook  and  captured  him,  but  by  this 
time  they  had  been  discovered  by  the  occupants  of 
the  shanty  who  began  firing  through  the  cracks  in 
the  walls. 

The  Rangers  promptly  returned  the  fire  and 
charged,  shooting  as  they  came  on.  The  fire  became 
very  hot,  but  McCauley,  who  had  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  his  **  Uncle  Bill,''  kicked  in  the  door, 
though  the  bullets  were  coming  through  it  from  the 
other  side.  The  outlaws  now  took  refuge  in  the  loft 
and  began  shooting  down  through  the  floor,  the 
Rangers  shooting  straight  up  from  below.  The 
Rangers  would  seem  to  have  had  the  best  luck  in 
this  blind  warfare  for  one  of  the  men  above  was 
wounded;  another  had  his  gun  shot  from  his  hand, 
and  a  third  had  his  hat  shot  through.  One  of  them 
came  to  the  opening,  presently,  and  offered  his  six- 
shooter  as  a  sign  of  surrender.  Four  were  captured, 
including  the  aforenamed  ^  ^  Skeeter, ' '  but  Bill  Cook, 
though  a  member  of  the  gang,  was  absent  at  the  time, 
and  escaped.  The  captured  men  were  taken  to 
Wichita  Falls  and  one  of  them,  a  young  fellow 
named  Turner,  turned  State 's  evidence,  through  Mc- 
Donald's  persuasive  probing,  and  detailed  their  plan 
for  robbing  the  Fort  Worth  and  Denver,  next  day, 
giving  a  list  of  their  crimes.  Skeeter  and  the  others 
were  taken  to  the  United  States  courts  at  Fort  Smith 
for  trial,  and  pleaded  guilty.     Skeeter  was  given 


Cleaning  up  the  Strip  125 

thirty  years  and  upon  hearing  the  verdict  made  his 
now  famous  remark : 

*  *  Well,  this  is  a  hell  of  a  court  for  a  man  to  plead 
guilty  in.'' 


XVI 

Texas  Eangee  Service  and  its  Origin 
the  massacre  of  fort  parker. 

CAPTURE. 

THEIR   CHARACTERISTICS  AND   THEIR 
REQUIREMENTS 

The  early  history  of  Texas  was  written  in  blood 
and  fire.  Her  counties  preserve  the  names  of  her 
martyrs.  Parker,  Coleman,  Crockett,  Fannin, 
Travis,  Bowie  and  a  hundred  others  have  the  map 
for  their  monument;  their  names  are  given  daily 
utterance  by  those  for  whom  their  deeds  have  little 
meaning. 

In  the  beginning,  after  the  Indian  tribes — ^friendly 
at  first — ^became  hostile,  the  warfare  was  almost 
solely  with  the  savages.  For  a  full  half  century 
every  settler  who  built  his  campfire  on  the  frontier 
did  so  at  the  risk  of  his  property  and  his  scalp. 
Those  who  established  homes  and  settlements  must 
have  been  a  daring  race  indeed,  for  raids  upon 
horses  and  herds  were  always  imminent  and  mas- 
sacres were  as  regular  as  the  seasons. 

We  have  already  mentioned  in  these  chapters  the 
name  of  Chief  Quanah  Parker  (still  living)  for 
whom  the  town  of  Quanah,  Texas,  was  named. 
Quanah  Parker's  mother  was  Cynthia  Ann  Parker, 


Texas  Banger  Service  and  its  Origin       127 

a  little  white  girl  captured  by  the  Tehaucano  In- 
dians, during  a  raid  on  what  was  known  as  the 
Austin  Colony,  in  1836.  A  brief  story  of  that  raid 
will  serve  as  an  example  of  a  thousand  others  of  a 
similar  sort.  The  Austin  Colony  settled  in  what 
in  now  Grimes  County,*  and  consisted  of  something 
more  than  a  score  of  persons,  including  women  and 
children.  The  Indians  who  dwelt  in  the  neighbor- 
hood seemed  friendly  enough  until  a  small  party  of 
unknown  settlers  came  along  and  attempted  to  steal 
their  horses.  Immediate  trouble  was  the  result  and 
the  loss  of  Tehaucano  friendship  for  the  entire 
settlement.  When  the  reader  considers  what  fol- 
lows, I  believe  I  shall  be  forgiven  for  hoping  that 
those  newcomers  who  stirred  up  the  first  trouble 
received  the  sort  of  a  reward  which  only  an  Indian 
would  know  how  to  confer. 

As  the  Austin  Colony  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
Parker  family,  a  rude  fortification  which  they 
erected  was  called  Fort  Parker,  a  name  that  to-day 
still  suggests  something  of  shuddering  horror  to 
those  who  have  heard  its  history. 

It  was  a  fair  May  morning  when  that  history  was 
made.  The  early  risers  noticed  that  a  body  of  rest- 
less Indians  had  collected  within  about  four  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  fort.  .  A  white  flag  was  hoisted  by 
the  savages  to  signify  their  peaceable  intentions, 

*  The  scene  of  the  Parker  Massacre  is  located  by  some  authorities,  in 
Limestone  County,  somewhat  further  north.  Accounts  of  the  event 
itself  also  differ.  The  details  here  given  are  from  "Texas  Rangers"  by 
A.  J.  Sowell,  and  are  said  to  have  been  supplied  by  eye-witnesses. 


128  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  a  warrior  approached  as  if  for  conference. 
Benjamin  Parker,  commander  of  the  fort,  went  out 
to  meet  him.  He  came  back  presently  with  the  word 
that  he  believed  the  Indians  intended  to  fight.  He 
returned,  however,  to  the  hostile  camp,  where  he 
was  at  once  set  upon  and  literally  chopped  to  pieces 
by  the  savages,  who  then  with  wild  yells  and  blood- 
curdling war-whoops  charged  on  the  fort.  Some  of 
the  inmates  had  already  left  the  stockade.  Others 
were  trying  to  escape,  John  Parker  and  wife  and  a 
Mrs.  Kellogg  were  overtaken  a  mile  away.  Parker 
was  killed  and  scalped,  his  wife  was  speared  and  Mrs. 
Kellogg  was  made  captive.  Other  members  of  the 
colony  were  butchered  right  and  left,  and  mutilated 
in  the  barbarous  fashion  which  seems  to  give  an 
Indian  joy.  Silas  Parker  was  brutally  killed  and 
his  two  children,  one  of  whom  was  the  little  girl, 
Cynthia  Ann,  were  carried  away.  A  Mrs.  Plummer 
— daughter  of  Eev.  James  W.  Parker — attempted 
to  escape,  carrying  her  little  son  in  her  arms.  A 
huge  painted  savage,  begrimed  with  dust  and  blood 
overtook  her,  felled  her  with  a  hoe,  and  seizing  her 
by  the  hair  dragged  her,  still  clinging  to  her  child, 
back  amid  the  butchery  and  torture  of  her  friends. 
She  and  the  others  who  were  living  were  beaten 
with  clubs  and  lashed  with  rawhide  thongs.  That 
night  such  of  the  captives  as  remained  alive,  and 
these  included  three  children,  were  flung  face  down 
in  the  dust,  their  hands  bound  behind  their  backs 
while  the  Indians,  waving  bloody  scalps  and  shriek- 


Texas  Ranger  Service  and  its  Origin       129 

ing,  danced  about  them  and  beat  them  with  their 
bows  until  the  prisoners  were  strangling  with  their 
own  blood.  Later,  they  took  the  infant  child  of  Mrs. 
Plummer  and  slowly  choked  it  before  her  eyes. 
When  it  was  not  quite  dead  they  flung  it  again  and 
again  into  the  air  and  let  it  fall  on  the  stones  and 
earth.  Then  they  tied  a  rope  around  its  neck  and 
threw  its  naked  body  into  the  hedges  of  prickly 
pear,  from  which  they  would  jerk  it  fiercely  with 
demoniacal  yells.  Finally  they  fastened  the  rope  at- 
tached to  its  neck  to  the  pommel  of  a  saddle  and  rode 
round  and  round  in  a  circle  until  the  body  of  the 
child  was  literally  in  shreds.  The  poor  fragments 
were  then  thrown  into  the  mother  *s  lap.  For  some 
reason,  the  little  girl,  Cynthia  Ann  Parker,  received 
better  treatment,  and  lived.  She  grew  up  an  Indian, 
forgot  her  own  race  and  tongue,  married  a  chief  and 
became  the  mother  of  another  chief,  Quanah,  sur- 
named  Parker,  to-day  a  friend  of  the  white  race. 

It  was  the  massacre  of  Fort  Parker  and  events 
of  a  similar  nature  that  resulted  in  the  organization 
of  the  Texas  Rangers.  The  Rangers  were  at  first  a 
semi-official  body,  locally  enlisted  and  commanded, 
with  regulations  and  duties  not  very  clearly  defined. 
Their  purpose,  however,  was  not  in  doubt.  It  was 
to  defend  life  and  property,  and  their  chief  quali- 
fications were  to  be  able  to  ride  and  shoot  and  stand 
up  against  the  warfare  of  bloodthirsty  savages. 

*  *  Exterminate  the  Indians  ' '  became  a  watchword 
in  those  days,  and  the  warfare  that  ensued  and  con- 


130  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

tinued  for  forty  years,  can  be  compared  with  nothing 
in  history  unless  it  be  with  the  fierce  feuds  of  the 
ancient  Scottish  clans. 

Early  in  1836  Texas  fought  for  and  gained  her 
independence,  the  only  State  in  the  Union  to  achieve 
such  a  triumph.  On  the  following  year  the  Texas 
congress  recognized  the  Eanger  movement  and  au- 
thorized several  persons  to  raise  Eanger  companies 
to  scour  the  country  and  annihilate  marauding 
bands.  Indians  and  low  class  Mexicans  ('^  greas- 
ers '')  often  consorted,  and  the  work,  desperate 
and  bloody,  continued  along  the  ever  widening  and 
westering  frontier  up  to  within  a  period  easily  re- 
membered to-day  by  men  not  beyond  middle  age. 
Many  names  of  those  early  Eangers  have  been 
preserved  in  Texas  annals  and  in  local  song  and 
traditions,  and  it  would  take  many  volumes  to  re- 
count their  deeds.  Jack  Hays,  James  and  Eesin 
Bowie,  ''  Big-foot  ''  Wallace,  Kit  Ackland,  Tom 
Green  *  ^  Mustang  ' '  Grey,  of  whom  the  song  says : 

"  At  the  age  of  sixteen 

He  joined  that  jolly  band 
And  marched  from  San  Antonio 
Out  to  the  Rio  Grand," 

these  and  a  hundred  others  are  names  that  thrilled 
the  Texan  of  that  elder  day  and  they  are  still  re- 
peated and  linked  with  tales  of  wild  warfare  and 
endurance  that  are  hardly  surpassed  in  the  world's 
history  of  battle.  A.  J.  Sowell,  himself  a  Eanger 
in  the  early  seventies,  when  Indian  outbreaks  were 


Texas  Ranger  Service  and  its  Origin       131 

still  frequent  and  disastrous,  speaking  of  the  Ranger 
equipment  says : 

*  *  We  had  to  furnish  our  own  horses,  clothing  and 
six-shooters.  The  State  furnished  us  carbines, 
cartridges,  provisions,  etc.,  and  we  got  fifty  dollars 
a  month. '^* 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  how  different 
the  Ranger  service  and  regulations  were  from  those 
of  either  the  federal  or  state  troops.  Unlike  the 
army  they  wore  no  uniform,  and  they  provided,  for 
the  most  part,  their  own  equipment.  They  differed 
from  State  and  county  officials  in  that  they  were 
confined  to  no  county  or  portion  of  the  State,  but 
could  **  range  '*  wherever  their  service  was  needed 
and  with  little  or  no  direction  from  headquarters 
until  their  mission  was  accomplished.  It  will  be 
clearly  seen  that  men  constituting  such  a  band  must 
be  not  only  brave,  and  quick  and  accurate  with  fire- 
arms, but  must  be  men  of  good  character  and  high, 
firm  principle  as  well.  It  is  the  moral  qualification 
more  than  any  other  that  has  given  the  Ranger 
organization  its  efficiency  and  power.  A  force,  how- 
ever small,  composed  of  men  who  can  shoot  straight 
and  are  brave,  and  who  believe  in  the  right,  is  well- 
nigh  invincible.  The  Rangers,  originally  organized 
for  a  great  and  sacred  purpose,  the  defense  of 
homes,  went  forth  like  knights  inspired  by  lofty 
motives  and  high  resolves,  and  during  whatever 
change  that  has  come  in  the  aspect  of  their  duties 

*  "Texas  Rangers,"  by  A.  J.  Sowell,  of  Seguin,  Tex.,  1884. 


132  Captain  BUI  McDonald 

the  tradition  of  honor  seems  to  have  been  preserved. 
Indeed  they  have  been  from  the  beginning  not  un- 
like the  knights  of  old  who  rode  forth  without  fear 
and  without  reproach  to  destroy  evil  and  to  redress 
wrong. 

Speaking  further  of  Eanger  equipment  Sowell 
says : 

'  ^  In  the  first  place  he  wants  a  good  horse ;  strong 
saddle,  double-girted;  a  good  carbine  (this  was  be- 
fore the  day  of  Winchesters) ;  pistol  and  plenty  of 
ammunition.  He  generally  wears  rough  clothing, 
either  of  buckskin  or  strong  durable  cloth  and  a 
broad-brimmed  hat  of  the  Mexican  style ;  thick  over- 
shirt,  top  boots  *  and  spurs,  and  a  jacket  or  short 
coat  so  that  he  can  use  himself  with  ease  in  the 
saddle." 

And  the  author  adds: 

*'  A  genuine  Texas  Eanger  will  endure  cold, 
hunger  and  fatigue,  almost  without  a  murmur,  and 
will  stand  by  a  friend  and  comrade  in  the  hour  of 
danger  and  divide  anything  he  has  got  from  a 
blanket  to  his  last  crumb  of  tobacco. ' ' 

So  much  for  the  Eanger  and  his  origin.  As  the 
years  went  by  and  the  Indian  was  conquered  or 
driven  away,  the  Eanger 's  work  changed,  but  his 
personality  remained  the  same.     The  Eanger   of 

*  The  Ranger's  boots  like  those  of  the  cowboy  are  made  with  high  heels 
to  prevent  his  foot  from  slipping  through  the  stirrup  Both  the  Ranger 
and  the  cowboy  ride  with  the  stirrup  in  the  middle  of  the  foot,  it  being 
safer  and  also  less  fatiguing  on  a  long  ride,  sometimes  a  distance  of  a 
hundred  miles  between  daylight  and  dark. 


Texas  Ranger  Service  and  its  Origin       133 

seventy  years  ago  is  the  Ranger  of  to-day — only, 
his  duties  have  altered.  Long  before  the  conquest 
of  the  savages  a  new  element  of  disorder  had  en- 
tered the  field.  The  desperado  who  had  stirred  up 
the  first  Indian  troubles  had  survived  and  increased, 
to  plunder  his  own  race.  The  new  and  sparsely 
settled  land  invited  every  element  of  lawlessness  and 
every  refugee  of  crime.  Local  authorities  would 
not  or  could  not  contend  with  them.  It  was  for  the 
Rangers,  now  much  reduced  in  numbers,  to  solve  the 
problem  of  destroying  the  disturber  in  their  midst 
as  they  had  driven  the  savage  enemy  from  their 
frontiers.  They  were  made  peace  officers,  and  be- 
came a  mounted  constabulary,  their  duties  being  to 
quell  disorders,  to  prevent  crime  and  to  bring  crimi- 
nals to  justice.  It  was  new  work — less  romantic 
than  the  wild  Indian  warfare  of  the  frontier;  work 
full  of  new  dangers  and  what  was  still  worse  it  was 
work  which  instead  of  inviting  the  encouragement 
and  enthusiasm  of  a  community,  was  of  a  sort  to 
incur  its  displeasure,  for  the  desperadoes  of  a  neigh- 
borhood were  either  the  heroes  or  the  terrors  of  it, 
and  in  either  case  to  molest  them  was  likely  to  prove 
unpopular.  So  it  was,  during  this  new  order  of 
things,  that  the  Ranger  service  had  to  contend  not 
only  with  the  offenders  but  sometimes  with  the  very 
people  whom  they  were  hoping  to  protect.  This 
made  the  work  hard  and  discouraging,  as  work  al- 
ways is  hard  and  discouraging  when  it  is  done  amid 
enemies  who  wear  the  guise  of  friends.    How  well 


134  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

they  have  succeeded  is  told  in  the  official  reports. 
W.  H.  Mabry,  Adjutant  General  of  Texas  in  1896, 
says  in  his  report  for  that  year,  referring  to  the 
Rangers : 

*  *  This  branch  of  the  service  has  been  very  active 
and  has  done  incalculable  good  in  policing  the 
sparsely  settled  sections  of  the  State  where  the  local 
officers,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  conditions,  could 
not  afford  adequate  protection.  Including  the  mean- 
derings  of  the  Rio  Grande  we  have  about  3,000  miles 
of  frontier  line.  Part  of  this  borders  on  a  foreign 
country,  with  different  customs,  law  and  language. 
Only  a  river  fordable  at  most  any  point  intervenes. 
But  for  the  Ranger  force,  specially  equipped  for 
continued  rapid  movements,  this  border  line  would 
be  the  rendezvous  for  criminals  of  nearly  every 
description  and  class.'' 

General  Mabry  then  sets  down  the  fact  that  the 
Ranger  service  has  increased  the  State  revenues  by 
something  like  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
the  year  through  the  protection  of  leased  frontier 
State  lands  which  otherwise  could  not  be  inhabited 
and  would  yield  no  return  in  either  rental  or  taxes. 

In  concluding  he  adds :  *  *  It  is  true  that  the  frontier 
force  does  not  and  could  not  cover  all  this  territory, 
but  the  fact  that  they  exist  and  are  scouting  over 
every  foot  they  can  travel  prevents  organized  bands 
from  being  established  along  this  border  line.  .  .  . 
They  are  circumscribed  by  no  county  limits;  can 
easily  and  rapidly  move  from  one  section  to  another 


Texas  Ranger  Service  and  its  Origin       135 

and  criminals  do  not  care  to  invite  their  pursuit. 
Specially  equipped  for  continued  rapid  motion, 
they  take  up  the  trail  and  follow  it  with  a  persistency 
of  the  sleuth  hound,  until  the  criminal  is  either  run 
out  of  the  country,  captured  or  killed. 

*^  In  every  train  robbery  which  has  occurred  in 
Texas,  the  robbers  have  been  either  captured  or 
killed,  whenever  it  was  possible  to  carry  the  Kangers 
to  the  scene,  so  they  could  take  the  trail.  The  broad 
expanse  of  sparsely  settled  territory  in  this  State 
would  offer  easy  opportunity  for  such  crimes,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  protection  given  by  our  mobile  and 
active  Eanger  force." 


XVII 

**  Captain  of  Company  B,  Eanger  Force  " 

CAPTURE  of  dan  AND  BOB  CAMPBELL.     RECOMMENDATIONS 

FOR  A  RANGER   CAPTAIN.      GOVERNOR   '^  JIM  '' 

HOGG  APPOINTS   HIS   OLD   FRIEND   ON 

THE   STRENGTH   OF   THEM 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing,  and  from  the 
chapters  already  published  of  these  memoirs,  that 
a  man  like  Bill  McDonald  would  be  well  qualified 
for  Eanger  service.  Already  he  had  been  appointed 
a  special  Eanger  in  Company  B.,  commanded  by 
Captain  S.  A.  McMurray,  but  his  duties  as  U.  S. 
Deputy  Marshal,  in  No-man's  Land  and  in  the 
Cherokee  Strip,  had  been  his  chief  work.  Neverthe- 
less, he  had,  on  occasion,  engaged  in  bandit-hunting 
in  his  own  State,  during  this  period,  either  alone  or 
in  company  with  other  officials,  usually  with  good 
results.  An  instance  of  this  kind  was  the  capture  of 
Dan  and  Bob  Campbell  which  occurred  about  the 
time  of  his  concluding  the  Cherokee  Strip  campaign. 

With  his  wife,  McDonald  was  on  the  way  from 
Quanah  to  Fort  Worth,  when,  at  a  switch  now  known 
as  Iowa  Park,  they  met  a  special,  standing  on  a  side- 
track, waiting  for  them  to  pass.  It  was  the  sort  of 
train  that  is  made  up  for  an  urgent  purpose,  con- 
sisting only  of  an  engine  and  a  single  car,  and  Mc- 


''  Captain  of  Company  B,  Ranger  Force  "  137 

Donald  recognized  upon  it  the  sheriff  of  Wichita 
Falls,  also  the  marshal  and  others  of  a  posse,  evi- 
dently out  for  action.  Upon  inquiry,  he  learned  that 
the  Campbell  boys,  two  well-known  desperadoes  of 
that  time,  were  believed  to  be  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood,  preparing  to  waylay  a  train.  A 
good  reward  had  been  offered  for  the  Campbells  and 
the  sheriff  and  his  men  were  considerably  moved. 
McDonald  asked  if  they  would  like  his  assistance, 
and  being  assured  that  they  would,  sent  word  back 
to  his  wife  by  the  conductor  of  the  down  train  that 
he  was  going  to  catch  some  bad  men,  and  boarding 
the  special  already  impatient  to  start,  took  the  back 
track  toward  Burke,  a  small  station  where  the  out- 
laws had  been  seen.  Wlien  they  reached  there,  it 
was  McDonald's  wish  to  procure  horses  and  begin 
the  search  at  that  point,  but  the  sheriff  and  his  posse 
thought  better  to  proceed  to  Harrold,  some  twenty 
miles  further  along,  in  which  direction  it  was  sup- 
posed the  bandits  had  traveled. 

Leaving  word  at  Burke  that  they  were  to  be  noti- 
fied in  case  of  any  fresh  discoveries,  the  ofi&cers 
again  boarded  the  special,  and  upon  arriving  at  Har- 
rold found  a  telegram  that  the  outlaws  had  been  seen 
entering  a  thicket  not  far  from  Burke.  Horses,  and 
a  freight  car  in  which  to  load  them,  were  immediately 
secured,  and  the  train  was  backed  to  Burke.  Here 
the  officials  separated,  the  sheriff  directing  Mc- 
Donald and  the  guide  who  had  located  the  burglars, 
with  a  man  selected  from  the  posse,  to  go  in  one 


138  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

direction,  while  the  sheriff  with  the  remainder  of  the 
posse,  took  another  course;  the  general  plan  being 
to  round  in  on  the  thicket  where  the  outlaws  were 
supposed  to  be  concealed.  Arriving  near  the  place. 
Deputy  McDonald  and  the  two  men  with  him  dis- 
covered two  horses  hitched  in  the  brush — un- 
doubtedly the  mounts  of  the  two  Campbells.  It  was 
certain  now  that  the  quarry  was  near  by,  and  the 
three  men  waited  a  little  for  the  sheriff  and  his  party 
to  come  up.  It  became  evident,  however,  that  their 
tactics  were  of  a  different  sort.  The  posse  was  scat- 
tering out  as  if  they  were  deer-hunting,  taking 
stands  at  various  distant  and  semi-distant  points, 
evidently  expecting  McDonald  and  his  companions  to 
go  in  and  start  up  the  game.  McDonald  noticed  now 
that  his  guide  was  not  armed,  and  was  therefore  of 
no  further  service.  Turning  to  his  other  com- 
panion, he  said: 

*'  I  don't  like  this  kind  of  performance.  I'm  in 
favor  of  charging  straight  in  on  them.'' 

His  companion  seemed  to  agree  to  this  plan,  and 
without  further  word  Deputy  Bill  put  spurs  to  his 
horse,  charged  straight  into  the  thicket,  and  sud- 
denly found  himself  almost  on  top  of  Dan  and  Bob 
Campbell.  Without  a  breath  of  hesitation,  he  leaped 
to  the  ground,  leveled  at  the  former,  who  was  al- 
ready in  the  act  of  shooting,  and  commanded  him  to 
drop  his  gun.  The  order  was  obeyed;  but  Bob 
Campbell,  who  would  seem  to  have  been  asleep, 
reached  for  his  six-shooter,  and  though  commanded 


THE   CAl'TURH   OF   DAN    AND    HOli   CAMPBELL. 
He  charged  straight  into  the  thicket,  and  suddenly  found  himself  almost  on  top  of  them. 


"  Captain  of  Company  B,  Ranger  .Force  "  139 

not  to  touch  it  upon  penalty  of  death,  paid  small  at- 
tention to  that  order.  He  did  not  attempt  to  fire 
the  weapon,  but  lay  there  on  the  ground  with  it 
raised,  defying  his  would-be  captor  with  language 
that  was  both  violent  and  uncomplimentary.  Mc- 
Donald now  suddenly  realized  that  he  was  alone; 
that  his  companion  had  failed  to  join  in  the  charge. 
Bob  Campbell  realized  this  too,  and  became  mo- 
mentarily more  defiant.  Then,  all  at  once,  help  ar- 
rived. A  dentist  who  had  joined  the  sheriff  ^s  posse, 
had  observed  Deputy  McDonald's  single-handed 
charge,  and  now  came  bravely  to  his  assistance.  The 
Campbells  both  surrendered,  then,  for  the  posse  was 
not  far  behind.  They  were  taken  to  Wichita  Falls, 
where  the  sheriff  promptly  claimed  credit  for  the 
capture — also,  the  reward.  Later,  the  Campbells 
broke  jail,  but  were  eventually  recaptured,  and 
served  a  long  sentence. 

Events  of  this  sort  kept  Bill  McDonald's  name 
fresh  in  the  Texas  mind,  and  made  him  seem  pecu-. 
liarly  eligible  for  regular  service.  The  resignation 
of  Captain  S.  A.  McMurray,  who  had  long  and 
bravely  commanded  Company  B  became  his  op- 
portunity, and  he  hurried  to  Austin  to  try  for  that 
command. 

His  old  friend,  James  Hogg,  was  now  governor  of 
the  State.  Since  the  settlement  of  their  differences 
so  long  before,  there  had  been  no  discord  of  any 
kind,  and  each  had  admired  the  other 's  career,  proud 
to  remember  the  friendship.    Arriving  at  the  capital, 


140  Captain  Bill  McDonald  . 

McDonald  was  shown  into  the  governor's  room. 
Greeting  him,  he  said : 

*  *  Well,  I  hardly  know  what  to  call  you,  since  you 
got  to  be  governor.  I  don't  know  whether  to  call 
you  *  Jim  '  or  *  Mister.'  I'll  have  to  call  you 
*  Governor, '  I  guess,  as  I  want  to  get  a  place. ' ' 

They  shook  hands  cordially.    Governor  Hogg  said : 

''  What  is  it.  Bill?    What  can  I  do  for  you!  " 

<<  Why,"  said  McDonald,  ''  I  came  down  to  get 
to  be  Eanger  Captain — to  take  McMurray's  place 
in  Company  B." 

Hogg  looked  at  him  reprovingly. 

<<  Why  didn't  you  let  me  know  sooner?  "  he  said. 
a  There  are  two  other  applications  for  the  place; 
both  from  good  men,  with  long  petitions  and  fine 
endorsements. ' ' 

The  applicant  for  position  forgot  his  old  friend's 
title. 

<■'  Why,  Jim,"  he  said,  *'  I  never  thought  of  it 
until  a  day  or  two  ago.  I  didn't  have  time  to  get 
endorsements,  but  I  can  get  'em,  if  you  want  them. 
I  have  been  working  mostly  in  No-man's  Land  and 
the  Territory  lately,  but  have  done  work  in  Texas 
too,  and  I  can  get  about  any  kind  of  endorsement 
you  want." 

Hogg  laughed.    He  had  a  robust  sense  of  humor. 

**  By  gatlins!  "  he  said,  using  his  favorite  ex- 
pression. *^  That's  all  right,  Bill,  you  have  already 
got  the  best  endorsement  I  ever  saw. ' ' 

McDonald  looked  puzzled. 


"  Captain  of  Company  By  Ranger  Force  ''  141 

^*  I  don't  understand,'*  he  said,  **  I  didn't  know 
anybody  knew  I  wanted  a  place. ' ' 

^*  All  the  same,  you  have  got  the  endorsements," 
insisted  Hogg. 

He  turned  to  his  desk,  and  got  out  a  bundle  of 
letters. 

*^  Look  over  these,"  he  said.  **  You  probably 
know  some  of  the  writers." 

McDonald  took  the  letters,  and  read  them  one 
after  another.  They  were  from  well-known  crimi- 
nals, their  lawyers,  their  friends  and  their  associates. 
They  had  been  received  by  Hogg  while  he  was  at- 
torney-general, and  each  was  a  protest  and  a 
complaint  against  McDonald,  declaring  him  to  be 
a  ruthless  and  tyrannical  official,  whose  chief  recrea- 
tion was  hounding  good  citizens  for  the  sake  of 
revenge  or  glory,  enforcing  laws  that  were  not  on 
the  statute  books,  adding  that  it  was  not  unusual  for 
him  to  put  the  said  citizen  in  jail,  or  in  box-cars, 
declaring  further  that  he  sometimes  hitched  them 
to  posts  with  chains,  and  that  he  was  a  menace  to 
legitimate  settlement  and  society  in  general. 

McDonald  looked  over  some  of  these  documents, 
and  grinned. 

**  That's  so,  Jim,"  he  said,  **  I  do  put  'em  in 
box-cars  when  there  ain't  a  jail;  the  way  I  used  to 
do  back  in  Mineola — you  recollect,  when  the  jail  was 
full — and  I  lariat  'em  out  with  a  chain  and  a  post 
when  there  ain't  a  box-car  handy;  but  I  don't  reckon 
they're  innocent." 


142  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Hogg  nodded. 

''  By  gatlins!  Those  endorsements  are  good 
enough  for  me,''  he  said.  ^*  They  carry  the  flavor 
of  conviction,  I  appoint  yon  Eanger  Captain  on  the 
strength  of  them.'' 

McDonald  returned  to  Quanah  with  his  appoint- 
ment as  captain  of  ^'  Company  B,  Frontier  Bat- 
talion." The  headquarters  of  the  company  were 
then  at  Amarillo,  in  the  southern  part  of  Potter 
County,  near  the  Eandall  County  line.  This  was  al- 
most the  exact  center  of  the  Pan-handle,  and  in  a 
locality  sparsely  settled,  untamed,  and  lawless. 

Since  the  early  days  of  **  Banging  "  there  had 
been  not  much  change  in  Eanger  regulations  and 
equipment.  The  character  of  the  work,  however, 
had  changed  and  the  force  had  been  reduced  in  num- 
bers. Company  B  now  consisted  of  only  eight  mem- 
bers all  told.  These  were  supposed  to  range  over 
all  that  vast  section  known  as  the  Pan-handle,  and 
were  subject  to  orders  that  might  take  them  to  any 
other  portion  of  the  State  where  their  assistance  was 
needed.  The  Eangers  were  peace-officers,  their  duty 
being  to  assist  the  local  officers,  rather  than  to  take 
the  initiative  and  predominate.*  In  the  Pan-handle, 
however,  and  in  many  other  portions  of  the  State, 
the  Eangers  were  obliged  to  lead,  for  the  reason 
that  the  local  officers  were  either  incapable,  indif- 
ferent, or  incriminated,  as  we  have  already  seen. 

*  This  came  into  dispute  somewhat  later  and  the  Twenty-seventh 
Legislature  passed  an  Act  confirming  what  had  always  been  their 
custom. 


''  Captain  of  Company  B,  Ranger  Force  "  143 

The  Ranger  camp  at  Amarillo — besides  the  eight 
men  mentioned — consisted  of  tents,  furnished  by  the 
State,  a  wagon  and  mule  team,  a  hack,  and  two  pack- 
mules.  Each  Eanger  furnished  his  own  horse  and 
arms ;  the  State  paid  for  food  and  ammunition,  also 
for  transportation  when  necessary.  In  Company  B 
were  enrolled  Sergeants  J.  M.  Brittain  and  W.  J. 
Sullivan ;  Privates  Jolm  and  Tom  Piatt,  Jim  Green, 
John  Bracken  and  John  Bishop;  also  somewhat 
later,  W.  J.  McCauley — McDonald's  nephew — a  dar- 
ing youth — then  about  eighteen  years  old,  but  a 
natural  plainsman,  dashing  and  fearless;  an  ideal 
Ranger. 

Expeditions  were  always  made  with  horses.  When 
the  distance  was  far,  the  horses  and  pack-mules  were 
shipped  to  the  nearest  railway-point,  sometimes  by 
special  train;  an  engine  and  car  being  secured  for 
such  excursions.  This  train  would  stop  at  any  point 
required;  the  horses  and  pack-mules  were  jumped 
from  the  door  of  the  car  to  the  ground — sometimes 
a  distance  of  several  feet — and  when  the  point  of 
attack  was  close  by,  this  wild  little  army  would 
sweep  across  the  prairie  or  through  the  bushes ;  the 
pack-mules,  loaded  with  cooking  utensils  and  tin- 
ware, often  clattering  ahead — riderless,  but  seeming 
to  know  by  instinct  where  to  go — braying,  with  tail  in 
air,  constituting  an  advance  guard  of  reform.  It 
would  seem  that  such  a  charge  might  have  given  the 
alarm  and  frightened  every  outlaw  within  a  radius 
of  several  miles;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  these 


144  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

charges  were  generally  planned  and  undertaken  with 
great  secrecy,  and  the  sudden  clamor  of  such  an 
approach  was  likely  to  create  an  amazement  which 
did  not  subside  to  the  point  of  action  before  the  time 
for  escape  had  slipped  by.  Speaking  of  it  after- 
wards, Captain  McDonald  said: 

*  ^  That  infernal  racket  seemed  to  jar  the  nerve  of 
a  criminal,  for  I  never  knew  a  pack-mule  charge 
where  the  men  we  wanted  seemed  to  have  either 
spunk  enough  to  put  up  a  good  fight  or  sense  enough 
to  get  away/^ 


xvin 

An  Exciting  Indian  Campaign 

FIEST    service    AS    RANGER    CAPTAIN.       BIGGEST    INDIAN 
SCARE   ON   RECORD 

It  was  in  January,  1891,  that  Bill  McDonald  re- 
ceived his  appointment  as  Ranger  Captain,  and  his 
first  official  service  was  not  long  delayed.  He  ar- 
rived at  Amarillo  about  midnight,  and  was  received 
with  congratulations,  for  the  news  had  traveled 
ahead  of  him.  He  was  tired,  however,  and  the  hour 
was  late,  so  he  presently  slipped  away  to  bed.  He 
had  hardly  fallen  asleep  when  he  was  rudely  awak- 
ened and  handed  a  telegram  which  stated  that  the 
Indians  had  made  a  raid  across  the  border,  and  were 
killing  and  robbing  in  Hall  County,  near  Salisbury. 

Captain  McDonald  read  the  telegram  and  laughed. 
There  had  been  no  Indian  troubles  in  Texas  for  a 
number  of  years.  AVhite  renegades  there  were  in 
plenty,  but  Indian  outbreaks  had  long  since  ceased. 

**  I  guess  the  boys  are  trying  to  have  some  fun 
with  me  on  my  first  night,''  he  said,  and  turned  in 
once  more  to  sleep.  But  a  few  minutes  later  an- 
other telegram  came;  and  another;  this  time  from 
the  superintendent  of  the  railroad  company — a  Mr. 
Good,  whom  McDonald  knew  as  a  man  not  given  to 
practical  joking. 


146  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

The  Ranger  Captain  dressed  himself,  hurried  over 
to  the  telegraph  office  and  got  the  operator  there  to 
talk  over  the  wire  to  the  operator  where  the  scare 
had  originated.  He  learned  that  it  seemed  to  be 
genuine,  and  that  everybody  was  leaving  the  neigh- 
borhood. The  operator  at  Salisbury  ended  his  in- 
formation with  '^  Good-by,  I'm  going  now  myself. '^ 

Captain  Bill  still  could  not  believe  it  a  genuine 
Indian  incursion.  Hall  County  was  in  the  second 
tier  from  the  Territory  line,  and  the  Indians  would 
have  had  to  cross  Childress  County  to  get  to  it.  He 
did  not  believe  that  they  would  undertake  to  do  this, 
or  that  they  could  have  accomplished  it  without 
previous  alarms.  Still,  it  was  his  duty  to  inves- 
tigate. He  got  a  special  train;  loaded  in  men, 
horses  and  pack-mules,  and  set  out  on  a  hunt  for 
Indians.  It  was  about  a  hundred  miles  to  Salisbury, 
and  they  reached  there  early  in  the  day.  Not  a 
soul  was  in  sight  anywhere.  The  inhabitants  were 
hidden,  some  in  dug-outs,  some  in  haystacks,  some 
in  the  tall  grass.  Here  and  there,  as  the  train  pulled 
in,  McDonald  saw  a  head  stick  out  from  a  sod  house 
far  out  on  the  prairie,  then  suddenly  disappear,  like 
a  prairie-dog  dropping  into  his  hole.  He  set  out  to 
interview  some  of  these  wary  settlers,  and  learned 
that  the  Indian  alarm  had  been  given  by  a  man — a 
new  settler  just  arrived  in  the  country — who  had 
ridden  his  horse  to  death  and  lost  one  of  his  children 
— ^having  left  him  far  behind  somewhere — in  his  wild 
eagerness  to  escape  the  savages  who,  he  declared, 


An  Exciting  Indian  Campaign  147 

were  burning  and  scalping  not  far  away.  Captain 
Bill  found  this  man,  and  after  a  little  talk  with  him 
was  convinced  that  what  he  had  seen  was  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  some  cowboys  on  a  round-up, 
disporting  themselves  around  their  camp-fire  at 
night,  as  cowboys  will— dancing  and  capering  in  the 
mad  manner  of  young  plainsmen  whose  ideas  of 
amusement  are  elemental,  and  whose  opportunities 
for  social  diversions  are  few.  The  man  and  the 
neighborhood,  however,  remained  unconvinced,  so 
it  was  decided  to  visit  the  scene  of  the  disturbance. 
Horses,  men  and  pack-mules  unloaded  themselves 
from  the  freight  car,  and  went  racing  over  the 
prairie ;  the  pack-mules,  as  usual,  plunging  and  bray- 
ing with  tail  in  air,  their  tinware  clattering  in  a 
manner  calculated  to  put  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians 
into  a  panic  and  send  them  capering  across  the 
eastern  horizon  into  their  own  domain.  But  there 
were  no  Indians.  It  was  as  Captain  Bill  had 
thought ;  a  gang  of  cowboys,  the  evening  before,  had 
rounded  up  some  cattle;  killed  a  beef;  carried  it  to 
their  camp  near  by,  where  they  had  built  a  great 
fire  and  roasted  it,  doing  a  wild  war-dance  of  celebra- 
tion, and  shooting  off  their  six-shooters  in  their 
prodigal  expression  of  joy.  Viewed  from  a  little  dis- 
tance, through  a  sort  of  mirage  condition  which  had 
exaggerated  the  whole  effect,  the  scene  to  the  new- 
comers was  a  horrifying  picture  of  savages  about 
a  burning  home,  with  the  inhabitants  fleeing  for  their 
lives. 


148  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

The  man  who  had  just  moved  in  had  stampeded 
for  his  own  safety  and  started  a  general  alarm, 
which  did  not  subside  even  when  the  cowboys  them- 
selves came  in  and  testified  to  the  truth.  The  panic 
spread  throughout  that  section  of  the  country  and 
other  reports  of  Indian  outbreaks  were  circulated, 
becoming  magnified  until  it  was  believed  that  the 
Indians  had  broken  out,  and  were  making  a  general 
raid  on  the  Pan-handle.  The  inhabitants  of  one 
town,  south  of  Amarillo,  threw  up  breastworks,  got 
behind  them,  and  put  out  pickets  in  preparation  for 
the  arrival  of  the  Indians.  Every  man  seen  loping 
across  the  prairie  was  reported  as  an  Indian;  and 
all  this  happened  as  late  as  1891,  when  there  had 
been  no  Indian  outbreaks  for  years,  and  when  there 
was  scarcely  a  possibility  of  anything  of  the  sort. 
It  was  a  big  joke,  of  course,  afterward,  but  it  seemed 
no  joke  at  the  time,  and  it  was  Bill  McDonald  ^s 
initiation  as  Captain  of  Company  B. 


XIX 

A  Bit  of  Farming  and  Politics 

CAPTAIN  BILL  AND   HIS  GOATS.      THE   **  CAR-SHED  " 
CONVENTION 

There  were  to  be  plenty  of  real  alarms  soon 
enough,  with  plenty  of  desperately  hard  work.  Be- 
fore taking  up  this  part  of  the  story,  however,  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  to  dwell  briefly  on  certain 
other  labors  and  interests  incident  to  this  period  in 
Captain  McDonald's  career. 

The  ranch  on  Wanderer's  Creek,  conducted  for 
the  most  part  by  his  plucky  wife,  remained  one  of 
his  possessions  and  in  time  became  not  unprofitable. 
McDonald  was  one  of  the  first  to  break  land  in  that 
section  and  when  he  put  in  a  sowing  of  wheat  it 
was  thought  that  he  had  gone  daft.  But  the  fol- 
lowing year  when  the  plowed  land  turned  off  a  crop 
of  from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre,  those 
who  had  been  first  to  scoff  were  likewise  the  earliest 
to  imitate. 

Captain  Bill  now  became  chief  promoter  in  a  plan 
for  the  irrigation  of  this  fruitful  soil — the  water  to 
be  obtained  by  damming  Wanderer's  Creek.  Sev- 
eral years  later,  two  men  of  influence  and  substance, 
Cecil  Lyon  and  Joseph  Eice,  gave  able  support  to 
this  project  with  the  result  that  thousands  of  acres 


150  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

of  grazing  land  became  fertile  farms — the  cowman's 
domain  passing  into  the  hands  of  tillers  of  the  soil. 
The  town  of  Quanah  reflected  the  steady  agricul- 
tural increase,  and  what  had  been  an  antelope  range 
when  McDonald  and  his  wife  first  drove  their  herds 
to  that  region,  became  a  bustling  city — in  due  time 
law-abiding — with  a  population  steadily  increasing 
to  this  day. 

The  mention  of  the  McDonald  herds  opens  a  way 
here  for  recording  an  incident  connected  with  the 
stocking  of  the  Wanderer's  Creek  range.  McDonald 
and  his  wife  had  decided  that  they  would  raise  goats 
as  a  sort  of  by-product  and  began  business  in  this 
line  by  introducing  a  flock  of  considerable  size. 
However,  it  was  a  mistake.  The  goats  were  a  great 
nuisance.  They  would  be  feeding  quietly  on  the 
range,  when  suddenly,  without  warning,  they  would 
be  seized  with  an  impulse  for  violent  exercise,  and 
would  break  away  and  go  racing  over  the  prairie 
for  seven  or  eight  miles,  to  the  brakes  of  the  Pease 
River,  where  it  was  very  mountainous  and  hilly — 
altogether  in  accord  with  a  goat's  idea  of  landscape. 
All  the  horses  on  the  range  were  in  danger  of  being 
run  to  death  chasing  goats,  getting  them  together 
and  bringing  them  back  to  the  range.  Finally  it  got 
to  be  a  regular  occupation,  when  there  was  nothing 
else  to  do,  to  head  for  the  Pease  Eiver  and  chase 
goats.  One  of  the  men  came  in  one  morning  when 
Captain  Bill  happened  to  be  at  home,  and  asked : 

''  Well,  Cap,  what  shall  I  do  to-day!  " 


A  Bit  of  Farming  and  Politics  151 

**  Oh,  I  don't  know.    Go  chase  goats,  I  reckon/' 

''  All  right;  but  if  you  want  me  to  do  that,  you'll 
have  to  get  you  some  goats.  I  rode  all  my  horses 
down  a  couple  o'  days  ago,  hunting  for  them  in  the 
brakes,  and  there  ain't  a  goat  to  be  found  within 
forty  miles. 

**  D n  the  goats,"  said  Captain  Bill,  **  I  don't 

care  much  for  goats,  anyhow." 

There  had  been  about  two  hundred  of  them,  and 
for  several  years  afterward,  hunters  from  other 
States  in  these  wilds  used  to  bring  down  '  *  mountain 
sheep  "  and  **  antelope,"  which  bore  strong  resem- 
blance to  the  flocks  which  had  once  been  Captain 
Bill's. 

It  was  not  long  after  McDonald's  appointment  as 
Ranger  Captain  that  the  State  political  campaign 
came  on.  He  had  never  lost  his  interest  in  politics 
since  the  first  awakening  in  the  old  Mineola  days, 
when  he  and  Jim  Hogg  had  been  ranged  against 
each  other,  ready  to  shed  blood  for  their  candi- 
dates. Now,  Hogg  was  governor  and  a  candidate 
for  reelection,  with  Bill  McDonald  ready  to  show 
what  he  could  do  in  the  way  of  gratitude  for  favors 
past  and  present.  The  convention  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  the  State  officials  was  to  be  held  at  Houston, 
and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  excitement,  as  the 
opposition  was  likely  to  be  strong,  with  nominations 
closely  contested.  McDonald  resolved  to  be  on  hand 
and  ready  for  any  condition  or  emergency.  Arriv- 
ing in  Houston  he  learned  upon  investigation  that 


152  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  supporters  of  Hogg's  opponent,  George  Clark 
of  Waco,  had  laid  a  plan  to  pack  the  convention  with 
Clark's  friends;  to  occupy  it  so  fully  in  fact,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  regular  delegates  to  get 
seats.  This  would  make  it  necessary  for  them  to 
meet  elsewhere,  and  would  cause  them  to  be  re- 
garded as  bolters  from  the  regular  convention. 
Upon  satisfying  himself  that  this  was  to  be  the  pro- 
gram. Captain  McDonald  promptly  went  to  his 
old  friend  and  other  leaders,  and  proposed  to  take 
charge  of  matters.  As  Captain  of  the  Eangers,  he 
was  under  the  Governor's  orders,  and  with  Hogg's 
sanction  he  could  use  his  own  methods  for  preserv- 
ing the  peace  and  for  the  prevention  of  scrambling 
and  riot. 

The  convention  was  to  be  held  in  the  *  ^  car-shed, ' ' 
a  very  large  building,  which  had  been  seated  for 
the  purpose.  It  had  a  wide  entrance  to  admit  cars, 
and  it  could  easily  have  been  filled  and  crowded  by 
a  mob.  Captain  Bill's  plan  was  to  put  a  good 
capable  fence  across  this  wide  opening,  leaving  a 
narrow  passageway  for  a  gate,  which  would  be  com- 
pletely guarded.  No  one  unable  to  show  credentials 
as  a  delegate  would  be  permitted  to  enter  until  the 
delegates  were  in  and  seated. 

Governor  Hogg  approved  of  the  idea  and  issued 
an  order  accordingly.  There  was  no  delay  in  carry- 
ing it  out.  Captain  Bill  got  some  men  together, 
worked  all  night,  and  by  sunrise  the  wide  gateway 
of  the  car-shed  had  beeji  narrowed  down  to  the  little 


A  Bit  of  Farming  and  Politics  153 

wicket-gate  of  official  admission.  It  was  a  complete 
surprise  to  the  opposition.  The  gang  that  had  ar- 
ranged to  rush  and  pack  the  convention,  regarded 
the  barrier  and  the  men  delegated  to  defend  it,  with 
amazement  and  profanity.  They  began  with  epi- 
thets, and  these  they  followed  with  more  tangible 
missiles,  such  as  umbrellas,  old  shoes,  and  hand- 
bags. In  another  part  of  the  State  they  might  have 
attempted  the  use  of  more  effective  ammunition.  As 
it  was,  they  were  obliged  to  confine  themselves  to 
protests  more  spectacular  than  effectual.  The 
regular  delegates  filed  in  and  were  seated.  Then 
the  crowds  were  permitted  to  enter  in  the  usual  way, 
whereupon  another  convention  was  immediately 
organized  in  the  same  hall,  with  another  chairman 
on  the  same  platform,  and  for  a  time  two  conven- 
tions were  running  side  by  side. 

Captain  McDonald  was  finally  called  to  the  plat- 
form to  preserve  order.  There  was  a  lively  scene. 
The  Eanger  was  kept  busy  keeping  the  two  factions 
separate,  taking  away  their  knives,  a  few  pistols, 
canes,  umbrellas  and  such  other  weapons  and  mis- 
siles as  they  attempted  to  bring  into  action.  The 
final  result  was  that  both  Clark  and  Hogg  were 
nominated,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  same  convention, 
and  by  the  same  political  party,  though  the  Clark 
followers  were  styled  **  Anti-Democrats  '*  and 
bolters. 

Hogg  was  re-elected  in  due  time,  by  a  good  ma- 
jority. The  episode  passed  into  history  as  the 
**  Car-shed  '^  Convention. 


XX 

Taming  the  Pan-handle 

the  difference  between  cowboys  and 

how  captain  bill  made  cow-stealing 
unpopular 

The  Texas  Pan-handle  is  that  portion  of  the  State 
which  lies  directly  south  of  what  was  No-man's 
Land,  extending  from  parallels  100  to  103,  east  and 
west.  Its  shape  suggests  its  name,  and  its  name 
suggests  limitless  areas  of  waving  grass ;  vast  roving 
herds;  cowboys  and  ponies — both  of  the  unbridled 
variety;  bad  men  whose  chief  business  was  to  start 
graveyards,  and  the  glad  primeval  lawlessness  that 
prevails  when  worlds  are  new. 

Not  so  many  years  ago  the  Pan-handle  was  dis- 
tinctly a  world  apart,  and  a  new  one.  With  No- 
man's  Land  on  the  north,  Indian  Territory  on  the 
east  and  New  Mexico  on  the  west,  civilization  could 
come  only  from  the  south,  and  it  did  not  come  very 
fast.  Indeed  there  was  still  plenty  of  territory  to 
the  southward  to  be  subdued — two  or  three  tiers  of 
counties  in  fact — before  the  Pan-handle  would  be 
reached.  So,  it  was  a  place  apart — an  isolated 
fertile  land,  justifying  the  assertion  of  a  tramp  that 
he  had  lost  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  there  in  one 
year  by  not  having  cattle  to  eat  up  the  grass. 

The  cattle  came  in  due  time,  fighting  back  the 


Taming  the  Pan-handle  155 

Apache  and  the  Comanche,  protected  by  Rangers 
from  Ft.  Griffin,  accompanied  by  stockmen  of  every 
nation,  cowboys  of  every  grade  and  criminals  of 
every  breed.  That  was  a  wild  epoch — chaotic  and 
picturesque — a  time  of  individual  administration 
and  untempered  justice. 

It  was  also  a  time  of  mighty  domain.  Ranches 
there  were  as  big  as  some  kingdoms.  One,  the  X. 
I.  T.,  covered  a  good  portion  of  the  northern  part  of 
the  Pan-handle.  Another,  the  Matador,  spread  it- 
self into  five  counties.  When  settlement  became 
thicker — when  there  were  ranch-houses  not  more 
than  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  apart — official  allot- 
ment of  the  lands  was  made.  Then  there  was  a 
grand  gobble.  The  big  stockmen  fenced  everything 
with  little  regard  for  boundaries  and  less  for  the 
law. 

With  such  examples  as  these  in  high  places,  it  is 
not  strange  that  a  general  indifference  for  legal 
rights  and  possessions  prevailed.  Next  to  cattle  rais- 
ing, cattle-stealing  was  the  chief  industry.  The  cow- 
boy proper  was  not  concerned  in  such  work.  He  was 
likely  to  be  a  clean-handed,  straightforward,  even 
if  reckless,  individual,  honest  according  to  his  lights. 
True,  loyalty  to  his  employer  might  render  him  a 
trifle  indifferent  as  to  brands  and  marks  when 
strays  mixed  with  the  herd,  but  it  was  the  employer 
and  not  the  cowboy  who  profited  by  such  laxity. 
The  cowboy  was  a  retainer  who  would  fight  for  his 
ranch,  would  die  for  it  when  circumstances  seemed 


156  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

to  require  such  a  sacrifice,  and  the  increase  of  the 
ranch  herd  by  any  means  short  of  actual  raid  and 
theft  was  a  custom  which  bore  no  relation  to  dis- 
repute. But  individually  the  cowboy  was  likely  to 
be  the  soul  of  honor  and  good-nature,  troublesome 
only  on  holidays  when  he  was  moved  to  ride  into  the 
nearest  settlement,  drink  up  all  the  whisky  he  could 
buy,  and  then,  with  six-shooter  drawn,  go  careering 
up  and  down  the  streets,  shooting  in  random  direc- 
tions, explaining  meantime  with  noisy  and  repeti- 
tious adjectives,  that  he  was  a  bad  man — a  very  bad 
man  from  very  far  up  the  Creek. 

On  such  inspired  occasions  he  would  sometimes 
exclaim : 

'  ^  Hide  out  little  ones !  Dad 's  come  home  drunk !  ' ' 
after  which  he  would  let  go  a  round  of  ammunition 
and  the  inhabitants  of  that  neighborhood,  regard- 
less of  size,  would  proceed  to  hide  out,  as  ad- 
monished. Sometimes  a  whole  group  of  cowboys 
would  engage  in  this  pastime,  whereupon  the  rest 
of  the  town  disappeared  and  sat  in  cellars  or  flat- 
tened themselves  under  beds  until  the  cyclone  passed 
by.  _ 

It  was  in  such  manner  that  the  cowboy  found 
relaxations  and  social  joy.  He  was  not  a  bad  man, 
in  spite  of  his  declaration.  He  was  not  really  hunt- 
ing for  trouble  and  would  be  the  last  to  kill,  without 
offense.* 

*  "  The  Kansas  City  Journal "  recently  printed  the  following  cowboy 
song,  with  comments,  offering  it  as  a  side-light  on  cowboy  life  and  char- 
acter.    The  Journal  said  : 

"The  night  guards  of  cattle  or  horse  herds  were  wont  to  sing  to  their 


Taming  the  Pan-handle  157 

The  truly  bad  man  was  of  entirely  different  make- 
up.   Always  posing,  and  sometimes  accepted,  as  a 

charges  as  they  slowly  rode  round  and  round  them,  keeping  watch.  If 
the  cattle  stampeded,  and  were  then  brought  together  again  and  began 
moving  in  a  circle,  which  the  punchers  called  'milling,' and  on  all  occa- 
sions of  fear  or  uneasiness  among  the  stock,  the  boys  sang  to  them,  and 
it  had  a  quieting  effect.  These  night  riders  were  perfect  horsemen  and 
seasoned  to  the  trail  and  range.  Their  hours  were  endless;  the  calls 
upon  them  for  endurance  were  almost  beyond  human  strength.  Picture 
a  night  on  a  lonely  prairie,  wild,  disconcerting,  hoarse  elements,  a 
stampede  among  half-wild  cattle,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  know  the  task 
that  the  cowboy  confronted.  It  is  something  fine  to  think  that  in  such 
hours  of  danger  the  cattle  could  be  *  crooned '  back  to  normal  quiet. 
Out  of  such  occasions  were  the  cowboy  songs  born."  Then  follow  the 
words  of 

The  Dim  and  Narrow  Wat. 

"  Last  night  as  I  lay  on  the  prairie. 
Looking  up  at  the  stars  in  the  sky, 
I  wondered  if  ever  a  cowboy 
Would  go  to  that  sweet  by  and  by; 
I  wondered  if  ever  a  cowboy 
Would  go  to  that  sweet  by  and  by. 

The  trail  to  that  fair  mystic  region 

Is  narrow  and  dim  so  they  say. 

While  the  broad  road  that  leads  to  perdition 

Is  posted  and  blazed  all  the  way; 

While  the  broad  road  that  leads  to  perdition 

Is  posted  and  blazed  all  the  way. 

They  say  there  will  be  a  grand  round-up, 
Where  cowboys  like  cattle  must  stand. 
To  be  cut  out  by  riders  of  judgment, 
Who  are  posted  and  know  every  brand; 
To  be  cut  out  by  riders  of  judgment. 
Who  are  posted  and  know  every  brand. 

Perhaps  there  will  be  a  stray  cowboy, 
Unbranded  by  anyone  nigh, 
Who'll  be  cut  out  by  riders  of  judgment 
And  shipped  to  the  sweet  by  and  by; 
Who'll  be  cut  out  by  riders  of  judgment 
And  shipped  to  the  sweet  by  and  by." 


158  Captain  Bill  McDonald  . 

man  of  valor,  lie  was  in  nearly  every  case  merely 
a  boaster  and  a  coward.  He  would  kill  when  he  got 
the  drop  on  his  man,  and  he  built  his  reputation  upon 
such  murders.  He  passed  as  a  cowboy,  when  he  was 
merely  a  cow-thief;  as  a  hero,  when  he  was  only  an 
assassin.  Driven  into  a  corner  he  would  fight,  but 
his  favorite  method  was  to  slay  from  ambush.  It 
was  seldom  that  his  reckless  disregard  for  human 
life  included  his  own. 

The  Pan-handle  was  full  of  bad  men  in  the  early 
nineties.  Most  of  them  had  graduated  from  other 
schools  of  crime  and  found  here  a  last  resort.  Some 
of  them — a  good  many  of  them — ^had  obtained  official 
positions  and  were  outlaws  and  deputies  by  turns, 
or  worked  conjunctively  as  both.  As  a  rule  they 
were  in  one  way  and  another  associated  with  a  gang. 

Local  authorities,  even  when  conscientious,  were 
poorly  equipped  to  cope  with  such  an  element,  and 
it  was  for  Company  B,  Eanger  Force,  consisting  of 
eight  men  with  quarters  at  Amarillo,  Captain  W. 
J.  McDonald  commanding,  to  police  this  vast  wilder- 
ness, and  to  capture  and  convert,  or  otherwise  tame, 
its  undesirable  citizens. 

Some  of  them  would  not  wait  to  be  captured ;  some, 
of  course,  could  not  be  tamed  alive.  Others,  and 
these  were  not  a  few,  would  be  able  to  wield  official 
influence  through  which  they  would  escape  convic- 
tion, regardless  of  the  evidence. 

Soon  after  McDonald's  appointment  he  was  noti- 
fied of  a  marauding  band  that  across  in  Hutchinson 


Taming  the  Pan-handle  159 

County  were  committing  the  usual  crimes.  They  had 
burned  the  hay  belonging  to  a  ranchman  on  Turkey 
Creek — several  hundred  tons  in  quantity — they  had 
cut  his  wire  fences;  they  had  killed  cows  for  their 
calves,  butchered  beef  cattle,  cut  out  brands — in  a 
word  they  had  conducted  the  business  of  cattle- 
stealing  and  general  depredation  on  a  large  scale. 

Taking  a  portion  of  his  force,  Captain  McDonald 
went  over  to  investigate.  There  seemed  to  be  a  good 
deal  of  mystery  concerning  the  identity  of  the  of- 
fenders; but  a  mystery  of  that  sort  does  not  stand 
a  very  good  chance  when  it  is  operated  upon  by  a 
man  with  eyes  like  those  of  Captain  Bill  and  with  a 
nose  and  pair  of  ears  of  his  peculiar  pattern.  In  a 
short  time  he  had  identified  one  member  of  the  band 
in  a  young  man  prominently  connected  in  that  sec- 
tion. This  young  fellow — a  dupe,  no  doubt,  of  pro- 
fessional cow-thieves,  whose  glittering  reputation  as 
bad  men  had  dazzled  him — was  the  son  of  an  able 
and  reputable  lawyer,  a  member  of  the  State  legis- 
lature. The  son,  supposed  to  be  a  cowboy,  had  be- 
come in  reality  an  outlaw. 

Captain  McDonald  took  him  in  charge  one  day, 
questioned  him  and  secured  sufficient  evidence  to  file 
a  complaint.  The  prisoner  was  turned  over  to  the 
sheriff  of  Hutchinson  County,  and  Captain  Bill 
pursued  his  investigation.  He  located  a  bunch  of 
stolen  calves,  herded  in  the  brakes  of  the  Canadian 
River,  guarded  by  another  member  of  the  gang.  He 
brought  a  man  who  had  lost  a  number  of  milk  cows 


160  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  calves  to  identify  the  calves;  no  very  difficult 
matter,  for  the  man  declared  that  he  knew  them  as 
well  as  he  knew  his  own  children.  The  cows  had 
been  killed  for  their  calves — and  the  latter  had  been 
*'  hobbled  and  necked/'  After  locating  the  calves, 
Captain  McDonald  investigated  the  canyons  and 
after  several  days  found  the  cows  that  had  been 
shot  and  killed.  One  after  another  the  missing 
bunches  of  cattle  were  located,  and  the  members  of 
the  band  were  brought  in,  and  lodged  in  jail.  The 
case  against  them  was  clear.  They  were  found  with 
the  stolen  property;  some  of  them  did  not  even 
attempt  to  make  denial.  Their  examining  trial  was 
held  at  Plemons,  the  county  seat  of  Hutchinson 
County,  and  the  settlers  gathered  from  far  and  near 
for  the  event.  The  trial  was  held  in  a  big  barn  of 
a  court  house,  and  the  prisoners  were  bound  over 
to  the  district  court.  The  Eangers  were  preparing 
to  take  them  to  Pan-handle  City,  where  there  were 
safer  and  more  commodious  quarters,  when  the 
sheriff — who  had  already  distinguished  himself  by 
setting  free  the  prominent  young  outlaw  first  cap- 
tured— appeared  and  demanded  the  prisoners,  on 
the  ground  that  being  sheriff  of  that  county,  they 
could  not  be  removed  without  his  consent.  The 
Kanger  Captain  promptly  informed  him  that,  sheriff 
or  no  sheriff,  he  had  shown  his  disqualifications  for 
office,  and  that  these  prisoners  would  be  taken  to 
more  secure  quarters  than  he  seemed  willing  to 
provide.    The  officer  departed,  and  presently  mus- 


Taming  the  Pan-handle  161 

tered  a  crowd,  armed  with  Winchesters.  Then  he 
appeared  once  more  before  Captain  Bill,  produced 
the  law  which  under  proper  conditions  might  have 
supported  him  in  his  demand,  and  again  declared 
that  he  would  have  those  prisoners,  or  that  there 
would  be  bloodshed  and  several  Kanger  funerals. 
Captain  Bill  promptly  called  his  men  together. 

*  *  We  are  not  going  to  stand  any  foolishness, '  ^  he 
said.  *^  If  an  attempt  is  made  to  take  these  pris- 
oners, cut  down  on  any  one  who  takes  a  hand  in  it. 
Come,  let 's  move  on  now,  and  get  these  men  in  jail. ' ' 

The  crowd  that  had  gathered  expected  battle, 
then  and  there,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  took 
place.  The  sheriff's  armed  bluff  had  been  called. 
Later,  he  obtained  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  but  it 
was  not  effective  for  the  reason  that  the  men  had 
been  committed  under  bond.  At  all  events  it  was 
not  effective  so  long  as  McDonald  and  his  Rangers 
were  in  charge  of  the  jail. 

It  was  now  evident  that  conviction  of  these  of- 
fenders was  not  to  be  expected  in  that  county.  Most 
of  them  had  official  influence  of  one  kind  or  another. 
In  fact,  there  appeared  to  be  nobody  except  those 
whose  property  had  suffered  who  seemed  concerned 
in  bringing  these  bandits  to  justice. 

With  such  overwhelming  evidence  McDonald  was 
determined,  if  possible,,  to  secure  their  punishment. 
He  kept  them  in  jail  several  months  and  eventually 
was  instrumental  in  getting  their  cases  distributed 
and  sent  to  other  counties  for  trial.    Even  so,  they 


162  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

managed  to  evade  the  law.  Through  influence  of  one 
kind  or  another,  and  the  cooperation  of  officials — 
former  associates,  perhaps,  in  the  business  of  crime 
— their  cases  were  one  by  one  dismissed. 

In  spite  of  this  miscarriage  of  justice,  the  general 
effect  of  McDonald's  vigorous  prosecution  was 
wholesome.  The  members  of  that  band  either  left 
for  the  far  isolations,  or  decided  to  reform.  The 
case  is  given,  one  of  many  such,  as  an  example  of 
what  the  honest  official  had  to  contend  with  in  the 
early  Pan-handle  days.  Sometimes,  indeed,  justice 
was  even  more  openly  and  briskly  side-tracked. 
Once,  when  Captain  Bill  had  caught  a  notorious 
cattle-thief,  red-handed;  brought  him  to  trial  and 
secured  his  conviction  by  jury ;  the  judge,  instead  of 
passing  sentence,  took  the  law  wholly  into  his  own 
hands,  and  administered  it  in  a  manner  rather 
startling  for  its  unexpectedness  and  originality.  He 
delivered  an  elaborate  oration,  which  no  one  in  the 
court  room  comprehended  in  any  large  degree — ^him- 
self included,  perhaps — and  then  read  a  lengthy 
decision  concerning  captures  made  upon  the  high 
seas ;  closing  with  his  own  decision  to  the  effect  that 
the  clause  covered  this  particular  case  as  perfectly 
as  if  it  had  been  made  for  it,  and  that  the  entire 
proceedings  were  irregular,  irrelevant,  without  war- 
rant and  without  effect;  concluding  his  amazing 
declaration  with  the  statement  that  the  prisoner  was 
discharged. 


Taming  the  Pan-handle  163 

Cases  like  these  would  have  discouraged  and  dis- 
gruntled a  man  of  less  resolution  and  character  than 
Bill  McDonald.  To  him  such  things  meant  only 
renewed  determination.  Strong  in  the  knowledge 
that  unless  he  happened  to  be  killed  he  would  eventu- 
ally make  criminals  scarce,  and  corrupt  or  weak- 
kneed  officials  unpopular  in  that  section,  he  gave 
neither  rest  nor  respite  to  those  who  broke  the  law 
in  the  field,  or  to  those  who  warped  and  disfigured 
it  in  the  courts.  Individually  and  in  groups  he 
brought  the  bad  men  in  and  filled  the  jails  with  them, 
and  the  box-cars,  and  when  neither  was  handy  he 
lariated  them  out,  set  a  guard,  and  rode  off  after 
more.  When  he  failed  to  convict  in  one  court  he 
tried  another,  and  when  he  found  an  honest  official 
he  kept  him  busy.  In  a  recent  letter  written  by  Col. 
W.  B.  Camp  of  San  Antonio,  to  Edward  M.  House, 
one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of  Texas,  the  writer 
says: 

'*  When  he  (Captain  McDonald)  was  captain  of 
the  Eangers  in  Texas,  and  doing  his  most  effective 
work,  I  was  District  Attorney  of  the  Thirty-fifth 
Judicial  District,  in  the  Pan-handle,  and  I  learned  to 
love,  respect  and  admire  this  fearless  officer,  who  al- 
ways placed  duty  before  his  own  life.  In  those  days 
on  the  frontier  of  Texas,  it  was  almost  worth  a 
man's  life  to  uphold  the  majesty  of  the  law,  and  the 
five  years  of  such  experience  I  had  in  doing  so 
teaches  me  the  value  of  such  men  as  Captain  Bill 


164  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

McDonald.  History  should  hand  down  his  name  for 
the  coming  generations  by  the  side  of  the  heroes  of 
the  Alamo  and  San  Jacinto/'  * 

*  That  Captain  McDonald  and  his  little  force  had  the  entire  supervision 
of  that  vast  district  is  shown  by  Adjutant-General  Maby's  report  for 
1896.    See  Appendix  A. 


XXI 

The  Battle  with  Matthews 

WHAT  happened  TO  A  MAN  WHO  HAD  DECIDED  TO  KILL 
BILL   MCDONALD 

It  was  strange,  indeed,  that  McDonald  did  not 
**  happen  to  get  killed  **  in  those  busy  days  of  the 
early  nineties.  One  of  the  favorite  vows  of  tough 
**  pan-handlers  "  was  to  shoot  Bill  McDonald  on 
sight.  But  the  reader  will  remember  that  there  was  a 
suddenness  and  vigor  about  Bill  McDonald's  manner 
and  method  that  was  very  bad  for  a  vow  like  that 
when  the  moment  for  its  execution  arrived.  Still, 
there  were  those  who  tried  to  make  good,  and  one  of 
these,  duly  assisted,  came  near  being  successful.  He 
would  have  succeeded,  no  doubt,  if  he  had  had  time. 

This  man's  name  was  John  Pierce  Matthews, 
which  became  simply  John  Pierce  after  its  owner 
had  got  the  drop  on  a  steamboat  captain  one  day  in 
Louisiana  and  shot  him  dead.  He  took  the  new 
name  with  him  to  the  Pan-handle,  where  in  due  time 
he  got  the  drop  on  another  man,  somewhere  up  in 
the  northern  tier  of  counties,  with  the  same  result. 
This  was  a  good  while  before  he  came  down  to  Chil- 
dress County  and  got  to  be  sheriff,  but  there  were 
those  who  had  not  forgotten,  and  among  them  was 


166  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Captain  Bill  McDonald,  then  stopping  at  Wichita 
Falls.  Matthews,  or  Pierce,  as  he  was  called,  fre- 
quently came  down  to  the  Falls  for  a  spree,  and  on 
one  such  visit  made  application  to  join  a  secret 
society.  McDonald  was  a  prominent  member  of  that 
society  and  Matthews  did  not  get  in.  This  stirred 
the  animosity  of  Matthews,  and  he  began  to  clean 
his  six-shooter  daily  and  to  practise  sudden  and  ac- 
curate firing,  which  he  knew  would  be  necessary  in 
case  of  a  show-down. 

By  and  by  there  was  a  sheriff  ^s  convention  at 
Houston,  and  on  a  boat  excursion  between  Houston 
and  Galveston,  Matthews  spoke  disrespectfully  to 
Governor  Hogg,  who  was  on  board.  McDonald,  who 
was  also  present,  promptly  called  Matthews  to  ac- 
count, and  a  general  settlement  might  have  been 
reached  then  and  there  had  well-meaning,  but  mis- 
guided friends  of  both  parties  not  interfered,  and 
spoiled  a  very  pretty  sheriff 's-picnic  newspaper 
story.  As  it  was,  Matthews  kept  on  oiling  his  pistol 
and  practising,  meantime  enlisting  the  sympathy  of 
friends,  to  whom  he  confided  that  some  day  when  he 
had  a  little  leisure  he  was  going  to  look  up  Bill  Mc- 
Donald and  kill  him,  suggesting  that  they  be  present 
and  take  a  hand;  they  being  of  the  sort  naturally 
interested  in  such  an  enterprise. 

Matthews  also  had  another  enemy,  one  Joe  Beck- 
ham, sheriff  of  Motley  County,  an  officer  of  his  own 
kind,  who  presently  got  as  short  as  possible  in  his 
accounts,  absconded,  and  set  out  for  Indian  Ter- 


The  Battle  with  Mattheivs  167 

ritory.  Matthew  had  no  right  to  go  outside  of  his 
own  county  after  a  fugitive,  and  no  business  in  this 
matter,  any  way,  as  he  wanted  Beckham  only  for  a 
misdemeanor,  whereas  he  was  charged  in  his  own 
county  with  felony.  But  Matthews  had  an  itch  for 
Beckham  on  his  own  account,  so  he  picked  up  an- 
other enemy  of  Beckham,  named  Cook,  a  citizen  of 
Motley  with  an  ambition  for  Beckham's  office,  and 
the  two  came  with  peaceful  attitude  and  fair  words 
to  Quanah  where  Captain  Bill  was  then  stopping, 
requesting  the  loan  of  a  Ranger  to  go  over  into  the 
Territory  after  the  defaulting  officer.  McDonald 
refused,  but  said  he  would  send  a  man  as  far  as  the 
Territory  line — Ranger  authority  not  extending 
beyond  that  border.  He  did  send  one  Ranger  Mc- 
Clure,  who  being  strongly  persuaded,  overstepped, 
at  the  same  instant,  his  authority  and  the  State  line ; 
captured  Beckham,  whom  he  lost  through  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus ;  fell  into  a  plot  devised  by  Matthews 
and  Cook  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  was  finally  brought 
back  to  Quanah  by  Captain  Bill,  who  drove  a  hundred 
miles  on  a  bad  night  to  get  him  out  of  the  mess ;  after 
which  McClure  was  a  wiser  and  better  Ranger. 

Beckham,  meanwhile,  had  fallen  a  victim  to  re- 
morse, or  more  likely  had  been  promised  immunity, 
and  now  hurried  over  to  Quanah  and  gave  himself 
up  again  to  Ranger  McClure,  Captain  Bill  being 
absent  from  Quanah  at  the  time.  Beckham  asked 
to  be  taken  to  Matador,  county  seat  of  Motley,  for 
trial,  and  begged  McClure  to  see  him  through  Chil- 


168  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

dress,  where  he  expected  to  be  killed  by  Matthews 
and  Cook. 

McClure  assured  Beckham  that  he  would  see  him 
safely  to  Matador,  and  they  set  out  by  rail  for 
Childress,  at  which  point  they  would  take  a  team  for, 
the  Motley  county  seat. 

Matthews  was  on  hand  at  Childress.  He  de- 
manded Beckham  of  McClure,  who  refused  to 
deliver  his  prisoner.  Matthews  then  started  to 
organize  a  posse  to  take  Beckham.  Word  of  this 
came  to  McClure  who  promptly  gave  his  prisoner  a 
revolver  and  told  him  to  help  defend  himself. 
Matthews  and  his  crowd  now  tried  to  enlist  the  co- 
operation of  Sheriff  Cunningham  of  Abilene  who, 
as  soon  as  he  understood  the  situation,  resigned 
from  the  Matthews  force  and  offered  to  assist  the 
McClure  contingent.  McClure  thanked  him,  but  said 
he  guessed  he^d  go  along  to  Matador,  now,  with  his 
prisoner,  as  the  team  was  waiting.  Captain  Bill  was 
in  Matador  when  Eanger  and  prisoner  arrived,  and 
Beckham  was  jailed  without  further  difficulty.  Cook 
got  appointed  sheriff,  by  the  Commissioners'  Court, 
but  the  District  Judge  refused  to  accept  him  and 
selected  a  man  named  Moses  for  the  job,  whereupon 
Cook  refused  to  resign  and  Captain  Bill  was  sent 
over  to  turn  him  out,  which  he  did  with  promptness 
and  vigor.  On  his  way  back  to  Quanah,  waiting  for 
a  train  in  Childress,  Matthews  appeared  and  de- 
manded that  McDonald  dismiss  Eanger  McClure  on 
general  charges  connected  with  the  Beckham  epi- 


The  Battle  with  Matthews  169 

sode.  McDonald  mildly  but  firmly  refused  and  spoke 
his  mind  pretty  freely  on  the  subject.  All  of  which 
added  fuel  to  the  old  resentment  which  Matthews 
nursed  and  nourished  in  his  bosom  for  Captain  Bill. 

If  Matthews  wanted  to  commit  suicide  he  began 
preparing  for  it,  now,  in  the  right  way.  He  gave  it 
out  openly  that  he  was  going  to  wander  over  to 
Quanah  some  day  and  kill  Bill  McDonald,  just  as  a 
matter  of  pastime,  and  he  sent  word  to  the  same 
effect  by  any  of  Captain  Bill 's  friends  that  he  found 
going  that  way.  Perhaps  he  thought  these  messages 
of  impending  death  would  unnerve  the  Eanger  Cap- 
tain and  interfere  with  his  sleep.  That  was  bad 
judgment.  Bill  McDonald  needed  only  the  anticipa- 
tion of  a  little  pistol  practice  like  that  to  make  him 
sleep  like  an  angel  child. 

**  I  didn't  talk  as  loud  as  he  did — ^nor  as  much,'* 
Captain  Bill  said  afterward.  **  I  reckon  he  thought 
I  was  afraid  of  him. ' ' 

Matthews  had  really  cut  the  work  out  for  himself, 
however,  and  had  enlisted  help  for  the  occasion.  He 
was  satisfied  with  his  target  practice  and  the  con- 
dition of  his  firearms,  and  he  had  taken  to  wearing 
a  plug  of  tobacco  or  a  Bible  or  something  solid  like 
that  in  the  coat-pocket  just  over  his  heart,  about 
where  one  of  Bill  McDonald's  bullets  would  be  apt 
to  strike,  provided  the  Ranger  happened  to  get  a 
bead  on  him,  though  he  had  planned  against  that, 
too. 

It  was  in  December,  1895,  at  last  that  Matthews 


170  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  his  pals  came  down  to  Quanah  for  the  declared 
purpose  of  killing  a  Ranger  Captain.  It  was  a  cold, 
dreary  day  and  they  visited  one  saloon  after  an- 
other, getting  a  supply  of  courage  for  the  job  and 
explaining  what  they  were  going  to  do.  Then  they 
took  to  following  McDonald,  always  in  a  group,  evi- 
dently waiting  the  proper  opportunity,  confident 
enough  that  McDonald  would  not  take  the  offensive. 
Finally,  however,  they  pressed  him  so  close  that  he 
suddenly  turned  and  told  them  to  quit  following  him 
or  trouble  would  ensue.  Perhaps  it  did  not  seem  a 
good  place  to  do  the  job — there  being  no  sort  of  pro- 
tection ;  perhaps  there  was  something  disquieting  in 
the  manner  of  Captain  BilPs  warning.  They  drop- 
ped away,  for  the  time,  and  McDonald  gave  the 
matter  no  further  thought.  Men  threatening  to  kill 
him  was  an  item  on  every  day's  program. 

It  was  nearly  dusk  of  that  bleak  day,  and  Mc- 
Donald was  in  the  railway  station,  sending  an  official 
telegram  to  his  men  at  Amarillo,  when  an  old  man 
named  Crutcher,  whom  McDonald  knew,  came  in 
with  the  word  that  Matthews  wanted  to  see  him  and 
fix  up  matters  without  any  more  trouble. 

Captain  Bill  regarded  Crutcher  keenly ;  evidently 
he  was  sincere  enough. 

* '  John  says  he  wants  to  see  you  and  fix  up  every- 
thing right,"  repeated  the  old  man  persuasively. 

Captain  Bill  finished  writing  his  telegram  and  sent 
it.  Then  turning  to  Old  Man  Crutcher  he  said  in  his 
slow  mild  way : 


The  Battle  with  Matthews  171 

**  Well,  that  all  sounds  mighty  good  to  me.  I 
never  want  any  trouble  that  I  can  help.  Come  on, 
let 's  go  find  him. ' ' 

They  left  the  depot  on  the  side  toward  the  town, 
and  as  they  did  so  they  saw  the  sheriff  of  Hardeman 
County,  whose  name  was  Dick  Coffer,  with  Matthews 
and  two  of  the  latter  *s  friends,  coming  to  meet  them. 
Sheriff  Coffer  was  a  step  ahead  of  Matthews  when 
they  started  across  the  street.  Old  Man  Crutcher  in 
a  friendly  way  put  his  arm  through  McDonald's  as 
they  advanced.  When  they  were  but  four  or  five  feet 
between  the  groups,  all  stopped  and  there  was  a  little 
silence. 

Then  McDonald  said : 

''  Well?  " 

And  Matthews  answered,  keeping  Coffer  just  a 
trifle  in  advance : 

''  Well,  what  is  it,  Bill?  '' 

Captain  Bill  began  quietly. 

**  I  understand,''  he  said,  ^*  that  you  Tiave  been 
saying  some  pretty  hard  things  about  me,  and  that 
you-all  are  going  to  wipe  up  the  earth  with  me.  Is 
that  so?  " 

Matthews  edged  a  trifle  nearer  to  Coffer. 

**  No,"  he  said,  ''  I  didn't  say  that,  but  by  God 
I'll  tell  you  what  I  did  say,"  at  the  same  moment 
pointing  his  left  index  finger  in  McDonald's  face, 
while  his  right  hand  slipped  in  the  direction  of  his 
hip  pocket. 

Captain  Bill  saw  the  movement  and  his  own  hand 


172  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

dropped  into  his  side  overcoat  pocket  where  in 
winter  he  carried  a  part  of  his  armament.  Mat- 
thews' practice  in  drawing,  for  some  reason  failed 
to  benefit  him.  His  gun  seemed  to  hang  a  little  in 
the  scabbard.  A  second  later  he  had  jerked  it  free 
and  stepping  behind  Coffer  fired  at  Captain  Bill 
over  the  sheriff's  right  shoulder.  But  the  slight 
hitch  spoiled  his  aim,  perhaps,  for  the  bullet  missed, 
passing  through  McDonald's  overcoat  collar,  though 
the  range  was  so  short  that  the  powder  burned  his 
face. 

The  game  could  now  be  considered  open.  Captain 
Bill  with  a  quick  movement  that  was  between  a  skip 
and  a  step,  got  around  Coffer  and  let  go  two  shots 
in  quick  succession,  at  Matthews.  But  the  latter 's 
breast-piece  was  a  success.  Both  of  McDonald's  bul- 
lets struck  within  the  space  of  a  fifty-cent  piece,  just 
above  Matthews'  heart,  penetrated  a  thick  plug  of 
Star  Navy,  found  a  heavy  note-book  behind  it  and 
stopped. 

With  a  thought  process  which  may  be  regarded  as 
cool  for  such  a  moment.  Captain  Bill  realized  that 
for  some  reason  he  could  not  kill  Matthews  by  shoot- 
ing him  on  that  side,  and  shifted  his  aim.  Matthews, 
meantime,  had  again  dodged  behind  Coffer,  who  now 
dropped  flat  to  the  ground,  where  it  was  quieter. 
Captain  Bill  was  bending  forward  at  the  time,  try- 
ing to  get  a  shot  around  Coffer,  and  as  the  latter 
dropped,  Matthews  fired,  the  bullet  striking  Mc- 
Donald in  the  left  shoulder,  ranging  down  through 


THE   BATTLE   WITH   MATTHEWS  AT   QUANAH. 
He  started  to  cock  his  gun,  when  he  received  another  ball  in  his  right  shoulder. 


The  Battle  with  Matthews  173 

his  lung  to  the  small  of  his  back,  traveling  two-thirds 
the  length  of  his  body  for  lodgment. 

The  Ranger  was  knocked  backward,  but  did  not 
fall.  Matthews  quickly  fired  again,  but  McDonald 
was  near  enough  now  to  knock  the  gun  aside  with  his 
own,  and  the  ball  passed  through  his  hat-brim.  Aim- 
ing at  Matthews*  other  shoulder,  McDonald  let  go 
his  third  shot  and  Matthews  fell. 

Meantime  the  two  deputy  assassins  had  opened 
fire,  and  one  of  them  had  sent  two  bullets  through 
McDonald  *s  left  arm.  To  these  he  gave  no  atten- 
tion until  Matthews  dropped.  Wheeling  now  he 
started  to  cock  his  gun,  when  he  received  another 
ball,  this  time  in  his  right  shoulder,  along  which  it 
traveled  to  his  neck,  thence  around  the  wind-pipe  to 
the  left  side.  His  fingers  were  paralyzed  by  this 
wound  and  he  made  an  effort  to  cock  his  gun  with 
his  teeth ;  but  there  was  no  further  need,  for  with  the 
collapse  of  Matthews  his  co-murderers  fled  wildly 
to  cover,  behind  the  depot,  nearly  upsetting  A  box- 
car in  their  hurry,  as  a  spectator  remarked. 

Captain  Bill  walked  a  few  steps  to  the  side-walk. 
There  was  a  post  there,  and  holding  to  this  he  eased 
himself  to  a  sitting  position.    A  man  ran  up  to  him. 

"  Cap,  how  about  it?  '' 

''  Well,  I  think  I'm  a  dead  rabbit." 

They  gathered  him  up  and  took  him  to  a  drug- 
store, and  they  took  Matthews  to  a  drug-store  across 
the  street.  By  and  by  they  carried  Captain  Bill 
home  and  a  doctor  came  to  hunt  for  the  bullets. 


174  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

'^  Don't  fool  around  with  that  one  in  my  neck, 
Doc,"  Captain  Bill  said.  ''  Go  after  the  one  in  the 
small  of  my  back,  and  let  out  the  blood.  There's  a 
bucket  of  it  sloshin'  around  in  there." 

The  doctor  obeyed  orders.  It  was  proper  to 
gratify  a  dying  man. 

*'  Now,  Doc,"  the  Eanger  Captain  said  when  the 
operation  was  over,  and  the  surplus  cargo  had  been 
removed,  **  now,  I'll  get  well,"  and  Ehoda  Mc- 
Donald, his  nervy  wife,  who  had  arrived  on  the  scene, 
echoed  this  belief. 

''  If  Bill  Jess  says  he'll  get  well,  he'll  do  it!  " 
she  declared. 

But  this  was  a  minority  opinion,  and  that  night 
when  it  was  rumored  that  Captain  Bill  would  not 
pull  through,  there  were  threats  that  in  case  he 
didn't,  the  two  men  who  had  trained  with  Matthews 
would  be  strung  up  without  further  notice.  Some 
word  of  this  was  brought  to  Captain  Bill,  perhaps 
as  a  message  of  comfort. 

**  Don't  you  do  it,  boys,"  he  said.    **  I'm  going  to  * 
get  well,  and  even  if  I  don't,  I  want  the  law  to  take 
its  course.    I'm  opposed  to  lynching." 

Matthews  died  in  a  few  days.  He  was  removed  to 
Childress  and  died  there.  Before  his  death  he  sent 
word  to  McDonald. 

**  You  acted  the  man  all  through,"  was  his  mes- 
sage. ''I'm  only  sorry  that  I  can't  see  you  and 
apologize. ' ' 

''  Tell  him  that  I'm  doing  all  right,"  was  the 


The  Battle  with  Matthews  175 

answer  returned,  '^^  and  that  I  hope  he'll  get  well.'* 
The  mending  of  Captain  Bill  was  a  slow  process. 
For  about  two  months  he  was  laid  up,  and  then  with 
his  wife  he  sojourned  for  a  time  at  a  sanitarium. 
After  that,  he  was  up  once  more,  pale  and  stooped 
but  ready  and  eager  for  action.  In  time  he  was 
apparently  as  fit  as  ever;  though,  in  truth,  the 
physical  repairing  was  never  quite  complete. 


XXII 
What  Happened  to  Beckham 

AN  outlaw  KAID  AND  A  KANGEK  BATTLE.     JOE  BECKHAM 
ENDS   HIS   CAKEER 

Meantime  the  cause  of  the  final  and  fatal  dif- 
ference between  Matthews  and  McDonald — Joe 
Beckham,  former  sheriff  of  Motley — was  out  on 
bond,  disporting  himself  in  picturesque  fashion.  He 
got  a  change  of  venue,  and  when  his  case  came  up 
in  Baylor  County,  Cook — his  old  rival  and  now  his 
successor,  by  election — started  over  to  testify; 
whereupon  Beckham  met  the  train  and  promptly  shot 
Cook  dead  as  he  struck  the  platform.  Beckham  then 
mounted  a  fast  horse  and  cantered  away  into  the  Ter- 
ritory, where  he  joined  in  organizing  a  new  gang 
made  up  of  old  offenders,  with  a  view  to  doing  a 
wholesale  general  business  in  crime.  In  this  gang 
were  Eed  Buck,  and  Hill  Loftus,  both  justly  cele- 
brated; also  Kid  Lewis — later  hung.  They  estab- 
lished headquarters  in  a  neighborhood  thought  to  be 
comparatively  safe,  since  Bill  McDonald  *s  work  had 
been  confined  to  Texas,  and  opened  business  with 
every  prospect  of  reaping  the  natural  reward  of 
perseverance  and  industry. 

They  began  by  making  a  general  raid  on  what  is 


What  Happened  to  Beckham  111 

now  Electra,  Texas,  where  they  cleaned  out  some 
stores  and  knocked  a  storekeeper  on  the  head ;  after 
which,  they  looted  a  country  store  and  post  office, 
kept  by  one  Al  Bailey,  then  rode  away  in  the  direc- 
tion of  their  Territory  headquarters. 

Company  B,  Kanger  Service,  was  promptly  noti- 
fied, and  Captain  McDonald,  not  yet  able  to  under- 
take a  hard  chase,  sent  his  nephew  McCauley  with 
Jack  Harwell  and  two  other  Rangers  to  join  the 
sheriff  of  Wilbarger  County  at  Electra,  in  the 
pursuit.  The  Rangers  quickly  struck  the  trail  and 
had  followed  forty  miles  toward  the  Territory  at  a 
hard  gait  when  they  spied  a  dug-out,  not  far  ahead. 
At  the  same  moment  they  met  an  ostensible  cowboy 
— a  **  line-rider,'*  he  said,  on  his  rounds.  The  dug- 
out, he  told  them,  was  his,  and  that  they  would  find 
something  to  eat  there. 

The  party  hurried  on  in  the  hope  of  food  and 
warmth,  for  with  the  coming  of  evening  it  had  grown 
very  cold,  and  snow  was  beginning  to  fall.  They 
were  a  little  surprised  to  see  a  light  in  the  dug-out, 
but  pushed  on  toward  it,  when  suddenly  a  volley  of 
shots  rang  out  from  that  cover,  and  three  horses 
dropped  dead.  Not  one  of  the  riders  was  injured, 
and  they  promptly  returned  the  fire.  Then  followed 
a  regular  exchange  of  shots  which  kept  up  to  some 
extent  all  that  bitter  cold;  snowy  night.  When  morn- 
ing came,  only  McCauley  and  Harwell  of  the  Ranger 
Force  remained  in  action,  the  others  having  been 
driven  by  the  cold  and  storm  to  find  shelter. 


178  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

The  dug-out  was  silent  enough,  now,  but  McCauley 
and  Harwell,  nearly  dead  from  exposure,  were  in  no 
condition  to  charge  it,  alone.  They  were  without 
horses,  and  set  out  for  Waggoner's  ranch  twenty- 
five  miles  away,  afoot.  Eed  Eiver  lay  between,  and 
when  they  arrived  there  the  prospect  of  wading  that 
icy  current  was  miserable  enough.  Nevertheless, 
they  did  it,  arriving  at  Waggoner's  ranch,  frost- 
bitten and  almost  dead  of  hunger.  The  others  had 
reached  there  several  hours  earlier. 

When  all  were  in  condition  again,  they  returned 
to  investigate  the  dug-out.  The  place  was  deserted. 
Eed  Buck  (wounded,  as  they  learned  later)  with  Hill 
Loftus,  had  been  able  to  get  away;  also.  Kid  Lewis, 
for  whom  a  telephone  pole  was  already  waiting  at 
Wichita  Falls. 

Joe  Beckham  lay  stretched  upon  the  floor,  dead. 


xxm 

A  Medal  for  Speed 

CAPTAIN   BILL  OUTRUNS  A   CRIMINAL  AND   WINS  A  GOLD 

MEDAL 

We  are  not  through  with  the  Pan-handle,  but  we 
will  relate  here  an  incident  which  belongs  outside  of 
that  district,  though  within  the  period.  It  seemed 
always  a  part  of  Bill  Jess  McDonald's  peculiar  for- 
tunes that  wherever  he  went  he  found  work  suited 
to  his  hand. 

He  had  been  in  Fort  Worth  on  official  business,  in 
this  instance,  and  boarded  the  north-bound  train 
just  as  it  was  pulling  out  of  the  station.  As  he  did 
so,  he  noticed  two  disreputable-looking  characters 
crowding  against  a  well-dressed  old  gentleman,  and 
an  instant  later  heard  the  latter  exclaim,  '*  I  have 
been  robbed !  * '  At  the  same  moment  the  two  toughs 
started  to  leap  from  the  car-steps. 

Captain  Bill's  presence  of  mind  responded 
promptly.  His  six-shooter  was  out  with  small  delay, 
and  seizing  one  of  the  men,  he  called  to  the  other  to 
halt.  The  man  detained  made  an  attempt  to  strike 
his  captor,  who  promptly  **  bent  ''  his  gun  over  his 
head — mildly  at  first,  then  with  force,  bringing  the 
offender  to  his  knees.  The  Ranger  Captain  now 
pulled  the  bell-cord;  brought  the  train  to  a  stand- 


180  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

still;  turned  his  prisoner  over  to  a  policeman  who 
had  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  set  out  in  pursuit  of 
the  other  thief,  who  by  this  time  had  obtained  a 
healthy  start. 

Captain  Bill  is  built  like  a  greyhound,  with  long 
hind  legs,  and  a  prow  designed  for  splitting  the  wind. 
The  thief  was  active,  and  making  good  time,  but  he 
was  no  match  for  a  Eanger  of  that  architecture. 
The  distance  between  them  closed  up  rapidly,  and 
after  a  race  of  over  a  mile  the  fugitive,  having 
reached  what  was  known  as  **  Niggertown, ' '  dived 
into  one  of  the  houses,  causing  a  regular  stampede 
among  the  inhabitants.  Men,  women,  and  a  rabble  of 
little  pickaninnies  fell  out  in  every  direction.  Cap- 
tain Bill,  now  close  behind,  added  to  the  excitement 
as  he  plunged  in,  only  to  find  the  room  vacant.  A 
quilt,  however,  hung  across  a  second  doorway,  and 
stepping  over  to  it,  his  six-shooter  ready  for  emer- 
gency, he  drew  the  hanging  quickly  aside.  As  he  did 
so,  he  was  confronted  by  a  man  standing  on  a  chair, 
holding  in  his  hand  a  bottle  filled  with  some  trans- 
parent liquid,  which  he  was  in  the  act  of  throwing. 
The  crack  of  McDonald's  revolver  was  followed  by 
such  a  sudden  collapse  of  the  would-be  vitriol- 
thrower,  that  the  Eanger  Captain  thought  he  had 
wounded  him  seriously,  though  his  intention  had  been 
merely  to  disable  the  arm  in  action.  Investigation 
showed,  however,  that  the  thief  was  only  frightened ; 
that  the  ball  had  grazed  his  arm,  also  his  ear,  cutting 
a  hole  through  the  rim  of  his  hat. 


A  Medal  for  Speed  181 

Securing  the  vitriol  as  evidence,  Captain  Bill 
marched  his  man  back  to  where  he  had  left  thief 
Number  One,  only  to  find  that  the  inexperienced 
policeman  had  allowed  him  to  escape.  He  did  not 
trust  him  with  his  second  capture,  but  personally 
saw  him  safely  locked  up,  and  then  set  out  for  home 
by  the  next  train. 

Not  long  after,  a  package  arrived  one  day  in 
Amarillo,  and  upon  being  opened,  it  was  found  to 
contain  a  handsome  gold  medal,  contributed  by  a 
prominent  jeweler  and  others  of  Fort  Worth. 

This  decoration  was  engraved  with  Captain  Mc- 
Donald's name  and  official  title;  and  an  accompany- 
ing letter  stated  that  it  was  awarded  as  a  token  of 
appreciation  of  his  efforts  in  bringing  criminals  to 
justice,  and  as  a  premium  for  his  superior  swiftness 
of  foot  on  a  mile  and  a  quarter  track. 


XXIV 

Captain  Bill  in  Mexico 

mexican  thieves  try  to  hold  up  captain  bill  and 

get  a  sueprise.     mexican  police  make  the 

same  attempt  with  the  same  result. 

president  diaz  tries  to 

enlist  him 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Quanah  failed  in  1893, 
and  one  of  the  head  officials,  wanted  for  embezzle- 
ment and  forgery,  made  his  escape  to  Mexico,  where 
he  was  arrested.  Governor  Hogg  immediately  made 
requisition  for  him,  and  Captain  McDonald  was 
detailed  to  bring  him  back  across  the  line.  Accom- 
panied by  one  of  the  bank  directors,  McDonald  set 
out  for  Mexico,  only  to  find  that  his  man  had  been 
set  free,  and  was  then  making  his  way  to  remoter 
hiding.  It  was  no  difficult  matter,  however,  to  trace 
him,  and  the  Eanger  Captain  presently  overhauled 
him  and  put  him  in  jail,  there  to  await  certain  red- 
tape  formalities  incident  to  the  deliberate  Mexican 
official  methods. 

Having  a  good  deal  of  time  on  his  hands,  Captain 
Bill  spent  it  in  sight-seeing.  It  was  interesting 
enough,  but  he  could  not  understand  why  he  used  up 


Captain  Bill  in  Mexico  183 

so  many  handkerchiefs.  They  seemed  to  disappear 
from  his  pockets  in  some  magic  way,  and  no  matter 
how  many  he  set  out  with,  he  presently  found  his 
supply  entirely  exhausted.  He  realized  at  last  that 
this  curious  condition  was  not  due  altogether  to  ac- 
cident, nor  to  carelessness  on  his  own  part.  Laying 
in  a  fresh  stock  of  handkerchiefs,  he  strolled  warily 
along,  seemingly  unconscious  of  those  who  loitered 
near  him,  apparently  absorbed  in  sight-seeing. 
Presently,  from  the  corner  of  his  eye,  he  noticed  a 
Mexican  passing  near  him  make  a  quick  movement 
with  his  hand,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  white  passing 
from  his  pocket  to  that  of  the  Mexican.  His  sudden 
grab  so  startled  this  industrious  person  that  he  did 
not  even  attempt  flight.  Captain  Bill  thereupon 
promptly  recovered  his  handkerchief,  which  he  found 
had  been  lifted  with  a  slender  wire  hook;  an  effec- 
tive implement  in  busy  and  skilful  hands.  Without 
any  further  preliminaries,  he  set  out  for  the  jail 
with  his  prisoner,  but  meeting  an  American  acquaint- 
ance to  whom  he  explained  the  situation,  he  was 
advised  to  proceed  no  further  with  the  case. 

*  *  If  you  take  him  there,  they  will  lock  you  up  with 
him,'*  he  said. 

**  Well,  I  guess  they  won%''  said  McDonald. 

'*  They  certainly  will,''  insisted  his  friend.  **  The 
law  here  is  to  confine,  the  witness  with  the  prisoner, 
and  there  is  no  telling  when  you'll  get  out." 

Captain  Bill  reconsidered,  whirled  his  prisoner 
around,  gave  him  an  impetuous  kick  or  two,  and 


184  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

some  advice,  which  perhaps  reached  his  comprehen- 
sion, though  in  an  unknown  tongue. 

The  man  fled ;  it  is  not  known  whether  he  took  the 
advice  or  not. 

Captain  Bill's  adventures  in  Mexico  were  not 
over.  A  few  nights  later  he  visited  a  large  casino 
where  gambling  was  conducted  openly,  and  mildly 
diverted  himself  by  taking  a  hand  at  bucking  the 
national  game,  monte.  He  played  in  luck,  and  the 
stakes  became  high.  His  winnings  grew  to  a  con- 
siderable sum,  and  there  were  greedy  eyes  in  the 
group  who  watched  his  play.  "When  he  left  the  place, 
at  last,  and  descended  the  stairway,  he  noticed  that 
two  men  seemed  to  be  following  him.  As  he  reached 
the  dim  hallway  below,  he  stopped;  they  stopped 
also. 

Captain  Bill  was  pleased.  This  was  a  game  he 
preferred  even  to  monte,  he  had  played  it  so  much 
oftener.  He  stepped  out  into  the  middle  of  the 
street,  where  he  would  have  a  clear  field  of  observa- 
tion, and  set  out  leisurely,  as  if  he  had  not  noticed 
anything  wrong.  The  men  following  gained  upon 
him,  one  dropping  a  little  in  the  rear,  the  other  work- 
ing his  way  to  the  front.  As  they  reached  a  dark 
locality,  the  man  in  front  began  to  drop  back  a  little, 
evidently  getting  ready  to  close  in,  while  the  one 
behind  stepped  up  a  little  more  lively,  until  he  was 
about  on  a  line  with  Captain  Bill,  who  now  noticed 
him  throw  back  his  serape  as  if  to  free  his  arm  for 
action.    No  longer  in  doubt  as  to  what  they  meant 


Captain  Bill  in  Mexico  185 

to  do,  the  Captain  brought  out  his  **  forty-five  '* 
with  a  swing  that  landed  the  barrel  of  it  with  full 
force  on  the  head  of  the  man  in  front.  Wheeling,  he 
covered  the  other,  who,  seeing  his  companion  drop 
with  a  thud,  promptly  fled,  the  Eanger  Captain  close 
behind.  They  raced  down  the  dim  street,  and  the 
Mexican,  trying  to  keep  his  eye  on  his  pursuer  and 
turn  a  comer  at  the  same  time,  ran  into  a  stone  wall 
and  nearly  knocked  his  head  off. 

Captain  Bill  was  satisfied  with  the  game  as  it 
stood,  and  set  out  for  his  hotel.  He  was  not  to 
arrive  there,  however,  without  further  complications. 
The  commotion,  of  the  foot-race  had  aroused  a  squad 
of  police — a  poor  lot,  in  greasy  white  uniforms — and 
these  bore  down  upon  him  now  with  a  good  deal  of 
excited  talk  and  gesticulation,  none  of  which  he 
understood.  Apparently  they  thought  he  was  a 
bloodthirsty  person,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  knock- 
ing men  over  the  head  with  his  gun  and  chasing 
others  into  stone  walls,  for  amusement.  He  ex- 
plained in  the  best  Texan  he  could  muster  that  the 
men  had  been  trying  to  rob  him,  but  it  was  no  use. 
They  insisted  by  signs  that  he  must  come  with  them. 
When  he  shook  his  head  in  refusal,  they  began 
reaching  for  their  long  revolvers,  which  they  wore 
in  clumsy  holsters. 

Captain  Bill  knew  this  game,  also.  He  had  played 
it  in  No-man  \s  Land,  in  the  Cherokee  Strip,  and  he 
was  still  playing  it  in  the  Pan-handle.  It  was  his 
favorite  and  daily  occupation.     Before  their  guns 


186  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

were  half  way  to  any  effective  position,  lie  had  them 
covered,  and  in  tones  that  are  universally  under- 
stood, even  when  they  convey  words  of  strange 
meaning,  he  warned  them  to  desist. 

Men  are  in  the  habit  of  obeying  Bill  McDonald 
^  under  such  conditions.  The  Mexican  police  obeyed 
him,  and  when  he  indicated  that  they  were  to  march 
in  front  of  him,  they  did  so  in  a  formation  at  once 
'  orderly  and  well-maintained.  He  directed  them  to- 
ward the  Hotel  Guadaola,  where  he  was  stopping. 
Arriving  there,  he  explained  to  the  guard,  who 
understood  English,  what  had  happened,  and  in- 
structed him  to  convey  the  information  to  the  police, 
with  his  thanks  for  their  courteous  and  prompt  at- 
tention, and  a  request  that  they  should  meet  him  at 
the  office  of  President  Diaz  at  ten  o  'clock  the  follow- 
ing morning.  The  guard  undertook  to  do  this,  and 
the  police  went  away,  dazed  and  muttering. 

They  were  on  hand  next  morning  at  the  Presi- 
dent 's  office  when  Captain  Bill  arrived.  During  his 
sojourn  in  the  city,  McDonald  had  come  in  contact 
a  number  of  times  with  President  Diaz,  and  a  pleas- 
ant friendship  had  sprung  up  between  them.  Diaz, 
who  has  an  excellent  knowledge  of  English,  heard 
the  Captain's  explanation  now  with  a  good  deal  of 
amusement,  and  after  dismissing  his  policemen  with 
some  paternal  advice,  he  presented  Captain  Bill  with 
a  pass  which  gave  him  the  freedom  of  any  portion 
of  the  city  at  any  hour  and  under  all  circumstances. 

The  friendship  between  Diaz  and  Captain  Bill 


Captain  Bill  in  Mexico  187 

ripened  into  something  like  intimacy  now,  and  a  few 
days  later,  the  Mexican  President,  in  discussing  the 
nation's  troubles  with  Guatemala,  invited  the  Ranger 
Captain's  opinion  of  the  situation,  and  of  the  force 
in  the  field. 

*MVell,-Mr.  President,"  said  Captain  Bill,  '' 1 
don't  think  much  of  your  Mexican  soldiers,  but  I 
could  take  a  squad  of  Texas  Rangers  and  go  down 
to  Guatemala  and  clean  up  that  outfit  down  there, 
capture  their  finances  and  bring  their  Government 
to  terms  in  twenty-four  hours. ' ' 

The  Mexican  President 's  eyes  showed  his  approval 
of  this  scheme. 

*  *  I  think  a  good  deal  of  your  Texan  rurales, ' '  he 
said,  *  *  but  they  have  killed  a  lot  of  our  people,  too. ' ' 

Captain  Bill  nodded. 

*  *  Only  the  kind  that  needed  killing, ' '  he  said. 

*  *  Very  likely, ' '  assented  Diaz ;  then  added,  a  mo- 
ment later, 

*  *  Captain,  I  propose  that  you  enlist  with  us  for 
the  purpose  you  mentioned  just  now,  and  bring  over 
five  hundred  of  your  Texas  cowboys  to  assist  in  the 
undertaking. ' ' 

Diaz  waxed  enthusiastic  over  this  idea,  and  Cap- 
tain Bill  was  not  unwilling  to  enter  into  the  scheme. 
The  matter  went  so  far  as  to  get  into  the  news- 
papers, but  at  that  point  it  came  to  a  sudden  end. 
Governor  Hogg  and  Adjutant-General  W.  S.  Mabry 
— a  fine  soldier,  who  later  died  in  the  Cuban  war — 
did  not  propose  to  have  their  Ranger  Captain  go  oflf 


188  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

on  any  such  filibustering  expeditions,  and  promptly 
nipped  the  whole  matter  in  the  bud. 

Captain  Bill  stayed  for  a  considerable  time  in  the 
Mexican  capital,  for  his  companion,  the  bank  official, 
fell  very  ill,  and  the  Captain  turned  nurse  to  pull 
him  through.  He  very  soon  became  a  well-known 
figure  in  the  city,  being  often  pointed  out  as  the  man 
who  had  taken  a  squad  of  police  in  charge ;  who  was 
going  to  bring  his  Rangers  down  to  whip  the  Guate- 
malans, and  whose  skill  with  the  six-shooter  was 
nothing  short  of  miraculous.  This  last  belief  was  in 
some  manner  sustained  one  day  when  he  visited  a 
shooting  gallery  in  company  with  an  American  den- 
tist, who  had  taken  pleasure  in  showing  him  the 
sights  of  the  quaint  old  town. 

'*  Captain,  suppose  you  shoot  at  those  targets  as 
rapidly  as  you  can,  and  see  how  many  you  '11  miss, ' ' 
he  said,  when  they  were  inside. 

Without  hesitation,  McDonald  drew  his  revolver 
and  opened  a  perfect  fusilade,  hitting  a  target  at 
each  shot.  Two  Mexicans  who  were  practising  in 
the  gallery  made  a  wild  break  for  the  open  air  and 
safety.  Soldiers  and  police  came  running  in  excite- 
ment and  confusion  to  discover  the  cause.  It  was  all 
over  by  this  time,  and  the  officers,  seeing  only  Cap- 
tain Bill  and  the  dentist,  stood  gaping,  waiting  an 
explanation. 

*  ^  It  is  nothing, ' '  said  the  dentist,  in  Spanish ;  ^  ^  my 
friend  the  Captain  was  only  practising  a  little  to 
keep  his  hand  in." 


XXV 

A  New  Style  in  the  Pan-handle 

CHARLES    A.     CULBERSON    PAYS    A    TRIBUTE    TO    RANGER 

MARKSMANSHIP.      CAPTAIN   BILL  IN    A 

*^  PLUG  *'    HAT 

It  was  during  the  Pan-handle  period  that  Charles 
A.  Culberson — son  of  the  Dave  Culberson  who 
nearly  thirty  years  before  had  cleared  the  boy,  Bill 
Jess  McDonald,  from  a  charge  of  treason — was 
Attorney-General  for  the  State  of  Texas.  Captain 
Bill  was  at  Quanah,  one  day,  when  he  received  notice 
from  Culberson  that  the  latter  was  anxious  to  locate 
the  100th  meridian,  preliminary  to  beginning  a  suit 
against  the  United  States  to  test  the  claim  made  by 
Texas  for  Greer  County — now  a  portion  of  Okla- 
homa. The  Attorney  General  invited  Captain  Bill 
to  accompany  him  as  guide  and  body  guard,  know- 
ing him  to  be  familiar  with  the  district  and  capable 
of  taking  care  of  such  an  expedition. 

They  left  the  railroad  at  Vernon,  "Wilbarger 
County,  proceeded  in  a  buck-board  to  Doan's  Store 
on  the  Eed  Eiver,  and  crossed  over  into  Greer 
County.  It  was  a  pleasant  drive  across  the  prairies, 
and  Captain  Bill  who  felt  in  good  practice  beguiled 
the  time  by  bringing  down  prairie  dogs,  running 
rabbits,  sailing  hawks  and  the  like,  using  his  six- 
shooter  with  one  hand  and  his  Winchester  with  the 


190  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

other,  riding  along  as  they  were,  without  stopping. 
To  Culberson,  this  performance  was  amazing 
enough. 

^  ^  Captain, ' '  he  said,  ^  ^  that  beats  anything  I  ever 
saw.  Why,  I  believe  you  could  throw  a  nickle  up 
in  the  air  and  hit  it  before  it  touched  the  ground." 

McDonald  smiled  in  his  quiet  way. 

'^  Do  you  think  so!  ''  he  said.  **  Well,  I  reckon  I 
might,  but  I  wouldn't  want  to  waste  a  nickel  that 
way. ' ' 

Captain  Bill  then  gave  a  few  exhibitions  of  what 
he  really  could  do  in  the  way  of  shooting,  and  Cul- 
berson declared  without  hesitation  that  there  was 
not  such  another  marksman  in  the  State  of  Texas. 
The  Attorney  General  was  enjoying  himself  im- 
mensely. 

They  camped  that  night,  and  next  morning  were 
continuing  their  journey  toward  Mangum,  the  county 
seat  of  Greer,  when  they  began  to  meet  men  and 
women  on  horseback,  evidently  getting  out  of  that 
section  of  the  country  without  much  waste  of  time. 
Captain  Bill  inquired  the  reason  of  this  exodus  and 
was  told  that  a  cowboy  had  killed  an  Indian  over  on 
the  North  Fork  of  the  Red,  and  that  the  Indians  were 
getting  on  their  war-paint,  preparatory  to  making  a 
raid — Comanches  and  Kiowas. 

**  General,''  said  Captain  Bill,  *^  I'll  have  to  look 
into  this  thing.  You  can  go  on  to  Mangum  with  the 
team  and  I  '11  get  me  a  horse  and  go  over  and  take  a 
hand  in  the  trouble." 


A  New  Style  in  the  Pan-handle  191 

**  Not  at  all,"  said  Culberson,  **  youVe  under- 
taken to  see  me  through  this  trip  and  I'm  not  going 
to  let  you  desert  now,  Indians  or  no  Indians. ' ' 

**  But  I've  got  to,  General.     This  is  a  pleasure 
trip,  and  that's  business.    Them  devils  are  goin'  to 
start  something  over  there  and  it's  my  duty  as  " 
Eanger  to  investigate  it." 

Culberson  laughed. 

**  Now,  Captain,"  he  said,  **  you  know  very  well 
that  all  you  want  is  to  get  over  there  where  there's 
a  chance  to  give  a  shooting  exhibition.  You've  got 
tired  of  hawks  and  prairie  dogs  and  want  to  try  your 
hand  on  Indians. ' ' 

A  new  arrival  just  then  furnished  the  information 
that  the  offending  cowboy  had  been  jailed  at  Man- 
gum,  and  that  the  Indians  were  likely  to  storm  the 
jail.  This  settled  the  matter,  for  Ranger  duty  and 
inclination  now  lay  in  the  same  direction.  McDonald 
and  Culberson  drove  as  rapidly  as  possible  toward 
Mangum,  then  about  fifty  miles  away,  changing  * 
horses  once  on  the  hard  journey.  The  town  was  well- 
nigh  deserted,  as  nearly  everyone  who  could  get  a 
gun  had  gone  to  the  scene  of  the  killing.  Captain 
Bill  therefore  established  himself  as  guard  of  the 
jail  where  the  cowboy  was  confined,  and  waited 
results.  Nothing  of  consequence  happened.  The 
country  quieted  down,  Culberson  and  Captain  Bill 
presently  returned  to  Quanah. 

But  a  few  days  later  when  the  Attorney  General 
had  arrived  in  Austin,  Captain  Bill  received  a  pack- 


192  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

age  by  express,  prepaid.  On  opening  it  he  was 
stupefied  to  find  that  it  contained  a  **  plug  ''  hat 
of  very  fine  quality.  It  was  the  first  silk  hat  in  the 
Pan-handle,  where  the  soft  wide-rimmed  cowboy 
Stetson  predominated,  and  it  took  more  courage  to 
wear  it  than  to  face  an  assault  with  intent  to  kill. 

But  Captain  Bill  was  game.  He  was  a  '*  brother- 
in-law  to  the  church  ''  as  he  said — ^his  wife  being  a 
member — and  the  following  Sunday  he  put  on  the 
silk  hat  and  accompanied  her  to  meeting. 

Their  seat  was  up  near  the  front,  only  a  step  from 
the  pulpit — a  good  thing  for  the  minister,  otherwise 
nobody  would  have  looked  in  his  direction.  As  it 
was,  all  eyes  were  aimed  toward  Captain  Bill  and 
his  hat.  The  congregation  had  seen  him  come  in 
with  it  in  his  hand,  and  they  could  still  observe  the 
wonder,  for  it  would  not  do  to  put  so  fine  a  piece 
of  property  on  the  floor,  while  to  set  it  toppling  on 
his  lap  would  be  to  court  disaster.  It  seemed  neces- 
sary therefore  to  hold  it  in  his  hand,  raised  a  little, 
and  at  a  distance  from  his  body,  in  order  that  by  no 
chance  movement  the  marvelous  gloss  of  it  should 
be ,  marred.  The  people  of  Quanah  who  attended 
church  that  day  were  glad  to  be  there.  They  are 
still  glad.  They  do  not  remember  the  sermon  they 
heard,  but  they  do  remember  that  hat.  Even  the 
minister  wandered  from  his  text  in  his  contempla- 
tion of  that  splendid  exhibition.  Those  of  Quanah 
who  remained  away  from  service  on  that  memorable 
Sunday  have  never  entirely  recovered  from  their 


A  New  Style  in  the  Pan-handle  193 

regret.  For  it  was  their  only  opportunity  ever  to 
see  Captain  Bill  in  a  plug  hat.  When  services  were 
over,  the  congregation  crowded  about  for  a  nearer 
view.  Cowboys  stood  up  on  the  backs  of  the  pews 
to  look  over  the  shoulders  of  those  in  front  of  them. 
Homesick  women  who  remembered  such  things  back 
east,  shed  tears.  Many  wanted  to  touch  the  precious 
thing — to  stroke  its  silken  surface,  and  among  these 
were  little  children  who  insisted  on  rubbing  the  fur 
the  wrong  way. 

Captain  Bill  got  out  at  last  and  headed  for  home. 
Once  there,  the  gift  of  the  Attorney  General  was 
reverently  damned  and  laid  away.  Somewhere  in 
a  secret  stronghold,  deep  buried  from  mortal  eye, 
it  exists  to  this  hour. 


XXVI 

Pkeventing  a  Peize-fight 

THE    FITZSIMMONS-MAHEE    FIGHT    THAT    DIDN't     COME 

OFF   AT   EL   PASO,   AND   WHY.      CAPTAIN   BILL 

'^  TAKES    UP  ''   FOR  A   CHINAMAN 

Culberson  became  Governor  in  the  course  of 
time,  and  remembering  Captain  BilPs  peculiar 
talents  was  wont  to  rely  upon  him  for  special  work 
in  any  portion  of  the  State  where  nerve,  determina- 
tion and  prompt,  accurate  marksmanship  were  likely 
to  be  of  value. 

During  February,  1896,  a  national  sporting  event 
— a  ring  contest  between  Bob  Fitzsimmons  and  Pete 
Maher — was  advertised  to  take  place  at  El  Paso,  a 
busy  city  dropped  down  on  the  extreme  western 
point  of  the  Texas  desert,  on  the  banks  of  the  Bio 
Grande.  Governor  Culberson,  speaking  for  himself 
as  well  as  for  the  better  class  of  citizens  in  his  State, 
announced  that  so  long  as  he  was  in  office,  Texas 
would  not  go  on  record  as  a  prize-fighting  common- 
wealth, and  that  the  fight  would  not  take  place. 
Thereupon  there  came  a  crisis.  Certain  interested 
citizens  of  El  Paso  had  made  up  a  purse  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  bring  this  event  to  the  '*  Paris 
of  Texas  ''  and  these  and  their  friends  were  filled 


Preventing  a  Prize-fight  195 

with  indignation.  Dan  Stuart,  prominent  in  Texas 
sporting  matters  and  promoter  of  this  particular 
event,  issued  a  proclamation  which  bore  not  only 
the  announcement  that  the  fight  would  take  place 
as  advertised,  but  a  picture  of  Dan  himself.  Also, 
it  was  declared  that  there  was  no  law  in  Texas 
which  would  prevent  prize-fighting,  and  the  prep- 
arations for  this  particular  event  continued ;  where- 
upon Governor  Culberson  promptly  called  a  special 
session  of  the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  which  would 
be  effective,  and  Adjutant-General  Mabry  ordered 
the  State  Ranger  Service  to  assemble  at  El  Paso  to 
see  that  this  law  was  enforced — it  having  been 
widely  reported  that  Bat  Masterson  with  a  hundred 
fighting  men  would  be  present  to  see  that  the  fight 
came  off.  Then,  when  it  was  rumored  that  the  con- 
test would  take  place  in  either  Old  or  New  Mexico 
— the  boundaries  of  both  being  near  El  Paso — Presi- 
dent Cleveland  ordered  the  United  States  Marshal 
of  New  Mexico  to  proceed  to  the  vicinity  of  El  Paso 
and  guard  the  isolated  districts  of  that  territory, 
while  the  Governor  of  Chihuahua  took  measures  to 
discourage  the  enterprise  in  that  State. 

Things  began  to  look  pretty  squally  for  the  sport- 
ing fraternity,  both  in  El  Paso  and  at  large,  and 
they  were  mad  clear  through.  The  city  council 
assembled  and  passed  a  denunciatory  measure,  con- 
demning the  Governor  for  asking  for  Rangers;  the 
Adjutant-General  for  sending  them,  and  the  Rangers 
for  being  present. 


196  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

It  was  no  use.  The  Eangers  went  quietly  about 
the  streets,  paying  no  attention  to  unfriendly  looks 
and  open  threats  as  they  passed  along.  Efforts 
were  made  by  the  principals  and  their  friends  to 
elude  the  Eangers,  but  with  no  other  result  than  that 
a  Eanger  was  appointed  as  a  special  body-guard  to 
each  of  the  pugilists,  while  a  third,  Captain  Mc- 
Donald, became  the  temporary  associate  of  Dan 
Stuart.  They  had  nothing  particular  to  do — these 
Eangers — except  to  be  companionable,  and  pleasant, 
and  to  stay  with  their  men.  Wherever  Stuart  and 
Maher  and  Fitzsimmons  went  their  official  attend- 
ants went  with  them,  and  even  if  not  always  welcome 
they  were  entertained  with  sufficient  courtesy,  for 
the  person  of  a  Eanger  is  sacred — besides,  he  is  re- 
puted to  be  quick  and  fatal. 

Such  sport  became  monotonous.  The  pugilists 
and  their  friends  gave  up  the  El  Paso  idea,  and, 
still  accompanied  by  the  Eangers,  took  the  train  for 
Langtry,  a  point  where  the  Southern  Pacific  Eailway 
touches  the  Eio  Grande.  The  State  of  Coahuila  lay 
across  the  river,  and  Langtry  itself  was  at  that 
period  the  proper  gateway  to  a  pugilists '  paradise, 
its  law  being  administered  by  one  Eoy  Bean, 
justice  of  the  peace  and  saloon-keeper,  whose  sign 
read: 

MIXED   DRINKS 
LAW   WEST   OF   THE   PECOS. 

It  is  said  that  Bean's  drinks  were  about  on  a 


Preventing  a  Prize-fight  197 

par  with  his  law,  and  that  the  latter  was  adminis- 
tered with  a  gun.  He  tried  court  cases,  granted 
divorces,  and  handed  down  decisions  without  the 
trammel  of  a  jury  or  other  assistance.  Once  when 
a  citizen  killed  a  Chinaman  in  his  place,  Bean  con- 
sulted the  statutes,  and  finding  nothing  in  reference 
to  the  murder  of  a  Chinaman  in  his  saloon,  dis- 
charged the  prisoner  as  having  committed  no  of- 
fense. At  another  time,  when  a  man  walking  across 
a  high  bridge  over  the  Pecos  had  fallen  and  broken 
his  neck,  and  the  matter  was  brought  before  Bean, 
the  dispenser  of  ^*  Law  West  of  the  Pecos,''  dis- 
covered that  the  pockets  of  the  unfortunate  con- 
tained a  six-shooter  and  forty-one  dollars  in  money ; 
whereupon  he  fined  the  dead  man  twenty-five  dol- 
lars and  costs  for  carrying  a  concealed  weapon,  and 
appropriated  the  forty-one  dollars  and  the  six- 
shooter,  in  settlement.  A  whole  chapter  could  be 
written  about  Bean  and  his  official  service,  but  this 
is  not  the  place  for  it.  It  is  the  place,  however,  for 
another  incident  concerning  a  Chinaman — a  case  in 
which,  though  tried  west  of  the  Pecos,  the  China- 
man's rights  were  sustained. 

The  train  bound  for  Langtry  with  the  pugilistic 
party  and  Rangers  aboard  stopped  at  Sanderson,  a 
small  wayside  station  in  the  desert,  for  lunch. 
Everybody  was  hungry  and  hurried  over  to  a 
Chinese  restaurant  for  something  to  eat,  and  the 
Chinese  waiters  scurried  about  to  serve  them.  They 
were  doing  their  best,  but  it  was  not  easy  to  satisfy 


198  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

everybody  at  once.  Next  to  Captain  McDonald  sat 
Bat  Masterson.  Bat  has  since  given  up  all  his  reck- 
less ways  and  become  a  good  citizen,  but  at  that  time 
he  was  training  with  the  unreformed  and  not  feel- 
ing very  well,  anyhow.  It  seemed  to  Bat  that  a 
Chinese  waiter  was  not  getting  around  as  promptly 
with  food  as  he  might  and  he  set  in  to  admonish 
him.  The  Chinaman  replied  to  the  effect  that  he 
was  doing  his  best,  whereat  Masterson  decided  to 
correct  him  with  a  table-castor.  Captain  Bill  had 
been  sitting  quietly,  saying  nothing ;  but  as  Master- 
son  raised  the  castor  the  Eanger  Captain  clutched 
his  arm. 

*^  Don't  you  hit  that  man!  *'  he  said. 

Masterson  wheeled. 

**  Maybe  you'd  like  to  take  it  up!  '* 

Captain  Bill  regarded  him  steadily  for  an  instant. 

*^  I  done  took  it  up!  ''  was  his  quiet  answer. 

The  castor  was  put  down.  Masterson  reflected 
silently  while  he  waited  for  his  food.  Perhaps  that 
was  the  beginning  of  his  reform. 

Arriving  at  Langtry,  Stuart,  Fitzsimmons  and 
Maher  were  escorted  to  the  Eio  Grande,  where, 
with  all  their  fraternity,  they  crossed  over  to  Mexi- 
can soil  and  the  fight  was  pulled  off  in  good  order. 
It  was  a  good  fight,  as  fights  go,  and  Fitzsimmons 
won  with  a  knock-out  landed  on  Maher 's  jaw;  but 
it  did  not  take  place  on  Texas  soil.* 

*  For  official  details  of  the  situation  at  El  Paso,  etc.,  see  Appendix  A, 
Adjutant-General  W.  H.  Mabry's  report. 


XXVII 

The  Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbeky  and  Murdeb 

kid  lewis  and  his  gang  take  advantage  op  the 

absence  of  the  rangers.    he  makes  a  bad 

calculation  and  comes  to  grief 

The  absence  of  Captain  Bill  and  his  Rangers  from 
the  Pan-handle,  was  construed  by  Kid  Lewis  as  an 
invitation  to  rob  a  bank.  He  selected  the  City  Na- 
tional of  Wichita  Falls  for  his  purpose  and  with  a 
partner  named  Crawford  rode  up  to  that  institu- 
tion one  day  about  noon,  and  entering,  demanded 
the  bank  funds.  Cashier  Frank  Dorsey  failing  to 
comply  with  that  demand,  was  shot  dead;  H.  H. 
Langford,  bookkeeper,  was  wounded,  and  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  bank  escaped  by  having  in  his  left 
breast-pocket  a  small  case  of  surgical  instruments. 
This  deflected  the  ball  which  otherwise  would  have 
entered  his  heart. 

The  robbers  then  secured  whatever  money  was  in 
sight — about  six  hundred  dollars  in  gold  and  silver 
— ran  out  the  back  door,  mounted  their  waiting 
horses  and  galloped  away.  The  citizens  were  by 
this  time  alarmed  and  a  number  set  out  in  pursuit, 
full  speed.  There  was  a  running  fight,  during  which 
Lewis*  horse  was  shot,  but  an  instant  later  he  was 


200  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

clear  of  it,  and  leaping  behind  Crawford  the  two 
went  plunging  away  double  until  they  met  an  old 
man  driving  into  town  with  a  single  horse.  This 
they  appropriated  forthwith,  leaving  their  pursuers 
a  good  way  behind.  Still  further  on,  they  crossed 
Holiday  Creek  and  came  to  a  field  where  a  man 
was  plowing.  They  now  abandoned  their  blown 
horses  and  at  the  point  of  a  gun  took  his  heavy 
Clydesdale  team  and  once  more  dashed  away,  mak- 
ing for  the  Wichita  Eiver.  Their  pursuers  gained 
on  the  clumsy  animals  and  fired  several  more  shots 
at  the  fugitives,  then  decided  to  return  and  organize 
a  posse,  which  they  raised  in  short  order.  This 
posse  followed  the  track  of  Lewis  and  Crawford 
beyond  the  Wichita  Eiver,  to  a  place  where  the  rob- 
bers had  taken  to  the  thick  brush  overgrowing  the 
river  bottom.    Here  the  trail  was  lost. 

Captain  McDonald,  returning  from  the  Fitzsim- 
mons-Maher  contest,  via  Fort  Worth,  had  got  as 
far  as  Bellvue  in  the  adjoining  county  when  he  was 
met  by  a  telegram,  containing  the  news  of  what  had 
happened  that  morning  at  Wichita  Falls.  He  im- 
mediately wired  the  authorities  at  the  Falls  to  have 
horses  in  readiness  for  himself  and  men. 

The  Eangers  reached  the  city  about  two  in  the 
afternoon  and  mounting  the  horses,  already  waiting, 
dashed  away  in  the  direction  the  robbers  had  taken. 
With  him,  Captain  Bill  had  Eangers  McCauley,  Har- 
well, Sullivan,  Queen,  and  McClure — the  tried, 
picked  men  whom  Lewis  and  Crawford  had  been 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder  201 

most  anxious  to  avoid.  The  horses  were  picked, 
too,  for  speed  and  endurance  and  went  at  a  wild 
headlong  gait — almost  too  headlong  for  safety.  A 
small  creek  that  had  become  a  bed  of  mud  lay  across 
the  road  and  Captain  Bill  *s  horse,  stumbling  on  the 
brink,  sent  him  head  first  into  the  soft  mixture, 
which  literally  daubed  him  from  head  to  foot  before 
he  could  get  on  his  feet.  His  men  thought  for  a 
moment  that  he  was  killed,  but  he  rose  spluttering 
and  swearing,  wholly  unhurt,  though  fearfully  dis- 
figured, and  with  no  time  to  remove  his  disguise. 
Instantly  mounting,  he  galloped  on,  a  sight  to  be- 
hold, the  others  respectfully  restraining  any  ten- 
dency to  mirth. 

Presently  they  met  the  local  posse  coming  back. 
The  posse  had  given  up  the  chase,  but  was  able  to 
furnish  information.  Captain  Bill  and  his  Kangers 
learned  where  the  robbers  had  disappeared,  and 
pressed  on  in  that  direction,  the  posse  following. 

It  was  now  getting  toward  evening  and  would 
soon  be  dusk.  It  was  desirable  to  make  an  end  of 
matters  by  daylight,  if  possible,  and  the  Rangers 
wasted  no  time.  They  picked  their  way  rapidly  into 
the  thick  undergrowth  of  the  bottoms,  and  suddenly 
in  a  bend  of  the  river  discovered  the  Clydesdale 
horses  tied  close  to  the  bank.  Their  riders  were 
believed  to  be  close  by,  and  the  Rangers  expected 
to  be  fired  upon  at  any  moment.  Without  waiting 
for  any  such  reception  they  charged  in  the  direction 
of  the  horses,  with  no  other  result  than  that  Ranger 


202  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Sullivan  broke  a  stirrup,  fell,  and  with  a  fractured 
rib,  retired  from  action. 

Lewis  and  Crawford  bad  abandoned  the  horses, 
and  their  trail  led  down  the  river  bank.  The 
Eangers  also  left  their  horses  at  this  point,  for  it 
was  hard  going.  McDonald  now  took  Queen  and 
Harwell,  one  on  either  side  of  him,  their  guns  in 
readiness  while  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  trail. 
The  light  was  getting  very  dim  where  they  were, 
but  Captain  Bill  is  a  natural  trailer  and  followed 
the  tracks  without  difficulty.  Here  and  there  they 
found  stray  articles  which  the  men  had  dropped  in 
their  flight.  Finally  the  tracks  led  to  the  river  where 
it  was  evident  the  bandits  had  crossed. 

It  was  February  and  the  water  was  very  cold. 
Captain  Bill  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  terrible 
bullet  wounds  received  in  the  fight  with  Matthews, 
two  months  before,  and  was  bent  and  debilitated, 
but  he  did  not  falter.  With  Queen  and  Harwell 
he  plunged  in  and  waded  the  icy  water,  chin  deep, 
to  the  other  side.  Twice  more  the  trail  led  to  the 
river  and  crossed,  and  twice  more  McDonald  and  his 
men  waded  that  bitter  current,  holding  their  fire- 
arms above  their  heads,  their  bodies  literally  numb 
with  cold.  It  was  a  severe  experience,  but  as  Captain 
Bill  said  afterwards,  it  removed  a  good  deal  of  his 
mud. 

McDonald  now  made  up  his  mind  that  the  rob- 
bers would  be  likely  to  cross  a  road  that  had  been 
cut  through  the  bottoms,  and  head  toward  the  Ter- 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Rohhery  and  Murder   203 

ritory,  which  they  were  evidently  trying  to  reach, 
believing  the  Rangers  would  not  follow  them  across 
the  line.  He  called  to  one  of  his  men — Ranger  Mc- 
Clure,  who  appeared  just  then,  a  little  distance  away 
— to  get  all  the  force  he  could  and  guard  that  road, 
while  he,  McDonald,  with  Queen  and  Harwell,  would 
continue  to  beat  the  brush  and  search  carefully 
through  the  bottoms.  At  that  moment  Lewis  and 
Crawford  were  near  enough  to  hear  this  order,  and 
the  realization  that  it  was  Bill  McDonald  and  his 
Rangers  who  were  on  the  trail  gave  them  a  sudden 
and  more  severe  chill  than  the  icy  water  they  had 
waded. 

They  had  been  heading  for  the  Territory,  as  Mc- 
Donald suspected,  but  decided  to  change  their  course 
toward  a  creek  that  ran  parallel  with  the  river.  On 
their  way  to  it  they  were  obliged  to  cross  an  open 
field,  and  though  by  this  time  it  was  night — between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock — a  full  moon  had  risen  and 
they  were  discovered  by  the  men  guarding  the  road, 
and  fired  upon.  They  returned  the  fire  as  they  ran, 
but  no  damage  was  done  on  either  side.  Meantime, 
McDonald  and  his  two  companions,  nearly  perish- 
ing with  wet  and  cold,  having  come  upon  a  house 
in  their  search,  had  stopped  to  try  for  a  cup  of  hot 
coffee.  At  the  sound  of  the  shots  they  rushed  out. 
A  horse  was  hitched  at  the  door  and  Captain  Bill 
leaped  into  the  saddle  and  hurried  in  the  direction 
of  the  alarm.  As  he  approached,  he  saw  in  the 
moonlight  a  crowd — the  local  posse — gathered  on 


204  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  little  hill  overlooking  the  wheatfield  where  the 
robbers  had  crossed.  The  Eanger  Captain  fully  ex- 
pected to  find  the  captured  or  dead  bandits  in  that 
crowd,  and  called  out  as  he  came  up: 

**  Boys,  where  are  they?  Where  are  the  rob- 
bers? '' 

They  pointed  in  the  direction  of  some  brush  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

*'  They  went  into  that  creek  bottom,  over  yonder. '^ 

'*  Well,  then,  what  in  the  devil  are  you  all  doing 
up  here?  '* 

Somebody  answered: 

*'  You  must  think  we're  dam'  fools  to  go  in  there 
after  those  fellows.  Of  course  we  didn't  go  in  there, 
and  don't  intend  to." 

''  Well,"  said  Captain  Bill,  *'  I'm  going,  and  if 
any  of  you  fellows  want  to  go,  come  ahead,  but  I 
don't  want  any  man  that  don't  go  willingly." 

Eanger  McCauley  had  ridden  up. 

'*  You  can't  get  away  from  me,  Uncle  Bill,"  he 
said. 

The  two  loped  off  in  the  direction  of  the  thicket, 
but  presently  found  their  way  barred  by  a  wire 
fence.  Leaving  their  horses  they  made  a  circuit 
around  the  enclosure  and  soon  struck  what  seemed 
to  be  a  road,  leading  into  the  bottom.  Hurrying 
along  they  came  upon  Eanger  McClure,  who  had 
been  in  charge  of  the  posse  when  the  shooting  had 
occurred,  and  had  set  out  alone  to  locate  the  rob- 
bers. 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder   205 

*^  Hello,  Bob,  where  are  they?  ''  asked  Captain 
Bill,  as  he  and  McCauley  came  up. 

**  Right  over  there,  Cap.  They  ran  in  the  brush, 
over  by  yonder  big  tree.*' 

*'  Well,  boys,  we  Ve  got  to  get  them.  We'll  charge 
in  there. '* 

They  pushed  rapidly  into  the  bushes  without  fur- 
ther parley — McDonald  heading  for  the  tree,  Mc- 
Cauley and  McClure  spreading  out  to  the  right. 

Captain  Bill  made  straight  for  the  big  tree 
pointed  out  by  McClure,  his  gun  ready  for  quick 
service.  It  was  a  still,  moonlit  place,  but  brushy  and 
full  of  shadows,  and  not  easy  going.  The  crack  of 
Winchesters  might  be  expected  at  any  moment. 

Suddenly  the  Captain  found  himself  confronted 
by  a  creek,  and  looking  across  saw  two  men  with 
guns,  squatting  in  the  weeds.  They  appeared  to  be 
on  the  point  of  raising  their  guns  to  fire,  but  with 
McDonald's  appearance  and  his  sharp  command, 
**  Hold  up  there!  ''  made  from  behind  his  own 
leveled  Winchester,  they  were  unable  to  complete 
the  action.  Their  guns  dropped  into  their  laps — 
they  seemed  stupefied. 

*  *  Throw  up  your  hands  I  ' '  was  the  next  order. 

The  hands  went  up. 

**  Get  up  from  there  I  " 

One  of  the  men  found  his  voice. 

**  We  can't,  Captain,  our  guns  are  lying  across 
our  laps,  cocked.    They'll  go  off  if  we  get  up.'* 

**  Get  up  or  I'll  turn  you  over!  " 


206  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

They  rose  hastily,  their  guns  sliding  to  the 
ground. 

'*  Back  off  there,  now,  and  face  the  other  way.'' 

They  obeyed  like  soldiers  on  drill. 

Captain  Bill  stepped  into  the  creek,  about  three 
feet  deep,  and  waded  across.  He  noticed  a  bag, 
doubtless  containing  the  stolen  money,  and  observed 
that  the  robbers  had  laid  their  cartridges  out  on  a 
log  for  convenient  use.  At  that  moment  McCauley 
and  McClure  came  hurrying  up,  apparently  ready 
to  shoot. 

**  Hold  up  boys!  It's  all  right,"  said  McDonald, 
''  IVe  got  'em!  " 

McCauley  and  McClure  waded  across  and  assisted 
in  searching  the  prisoners.  A  purse  of  gold  waS' 
found  in  one  of  the  men's  pockets;  the  sack  on  the 
ground  contained  silver. 

**  Now,  let's  get  out  of  this,"  said  McDonald, 
*  *  and  get  where  it 's  warm. ' ' 

**  You're  not  going  to  make  us  wade  that  cold 
creek,  are  you    "  said  Lewis,  shivering. 

*^  Look  here,"  said  Captain  Bill.  ''  If  you  don't 
get  across  there  and  pretty  quick,  too,  I'll  duck  you, 
head  first.  You've  made  me  wade  water  up  to  my 
neck,  all  the  afternoon." 

They  all  crossed,  then — the  fifth  time  in  the  cold 
water  that  day  for  McDonald — and  made  their  way 
to  where  he  and  McCauley  had  left  their  horses. 
Here  they  got  a  rope  and  bound  the  prisoners,  their 
arms  behind  them.    Captain  Bill  then  called  to  the 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder   207 

posse,  still  waiting  in  the  road  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away  listening  for  the  sound  of  the  shots  that  would 
probably  bring  down  Rangers. 

'*  Come  on,  boys,*'  he  yelled,  **  we've  got  emi  *' 

So  they  came  **  lickety  brindle,''  but  presently 
stopped. 

'*  Captain,  are  you  sure  you  got  'em?  *' 

'*  Yes,  I've  got  'em,  and  got  'em  tied.  Come  on 
— there 's  no  danger,  now !  ' ' 

The  crowd  tore  through  the  brush  to  get  over 
there,  and  some  of  them  began  abusing  the  captured 
men,  declaring  they  had  murdered  the  best  man  in 
Wichita  Falls,  and  furnishing  a  graphic  outline  of 
what  would  happen  to  them,  in  consequence.  What 
they  said  was  all  true  enough,  maybe,  but  the  saying 
of  it  seemed  in  rather  poor  taste  to  Captain  Bill. 

**  Look  here,"  he  said,  **  these  men  are  my  pris- 
oners, now;  you  let  them  alone." 

He  marched  Lewis  and  Crawford  over  to  Mart 
Boger's  ranch,  where  all  got  some  hot  coffee  and 
something  to  eat.  Boger  also  supplied  a  wagon  in 
which  to  haul  the  prisoners. 

It  was  McDonald's  first  intention  to  take  the  men 
to  Henrietta,  for  safe  keeping,  but  against  his  judg- 
ment he  was  persuaded  to  take  them  to  Wichita 
Falls.  He  gave  orders,  however,  that  none  of  the 
crowd  should  leave,  as  he  did  not  wish  the  news 
of  the  capture  to  travel  ahead  of  them — realizing 
that  a  mob  of  citizens  would  be  likely  to  gather. 

On  the  way  to  the  Falls  the  Rangers  fell  into  con- 


208  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

versation  with  Lewis;  and  McCauley  and  Harwell 
discussed  with  him  the  fight  that  he  and  Hill  Loftus 
and  the  others  had  made,  that  night  in  the  dug-out 
when  Joe  Beckham  had  been  killed.  Lewis  explained 
how  he  and  Eed  Buck  and  Loftus  had  managed  to 
slip  away  without  being  seen.  Then  McDonald 
said : 

**  Boys,  how  was  it  you  didn't  shoot  me  a  while 
ago,  when  you  saw  me  coming  through  the  bushes? 
You-all  had  your  guns  cocked  and  ready — and  you 
knew  you  'd  be  hung,  anyway,  if  you  got  caught.  You 
saw  me  first — why  didn't  you  shoot?  '* 

*'  Cap,"  said  Lewis,  **  we  thought  you  were  out 
of  the  country  and  wouldn't  get  back  before  we 
could  get  to  the  Territory.  When  we  heard  you 
giving  orders  and  knew  who  it  was,  we  lost  our 
nerve,  and  when  we  saw  you,  we  somehow  got 
paralyzed.'' 

When  the  procession  had  arrived  within  a  mile  or 
two  of  the  Falls,  Captain  McDonald,  realizing  that 
some  one  had  doubtless  slipped  away  and  carried 
the  news,  sent  one  of  his  men  to  have  the  jail  door 
open  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  delay  in  enter- 
ing. His  suspicion  was  correct,  for  the  news  had 
traveled,  and  though  it  was  then  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  several  hundred  men  were  congregated 
about  the  jail  when  the  Eangers  with  their  prisoners 
arrived.  Captain  Bill  rode  ahead  and  opened  the 
way  with  his  gun. 

*'  Give  room,  here,  men!  "  he  commanded,  and 
the  way  opened. 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder   209 

Lewis  and  Crawford  were  marched  into  the  jail 
— Rangers  McCauley  and  Queen  being  left  to  guard 
the  door.  The  prisoners  were  taken  to  cells,  care- 
fully searched,  and  locked  in.  Captain  McDonald 
then  descended  to  disperse  the  crowd,  which  had 
grown  noisy  and  ugly  in  its  demands  for  the  pris- 
oners, and  was  apparently  making  ready  to  attack 
the  jail.    Captain  Bill  addressed  this  assembly. 

**  Boys,''  he  said,  ^*  I  reckon  you-all  are  my 
friends,  and  if  you  are,  you'll  go  home  now  and  go 
to  bed.  My  Rangers  and  I  captured  these  men  and 
they  are  our  prisoners.  We've  got  them  locked  up, 
and  they'll  have  a  fair  trial.  You  men  didn't  cap- 
ture them,  and  you  have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 
They're  unarmed  now,  and  can't  defend  themselves, 
but  if  you  make  an  attack  on  this  jail  I'll  give  the 
prisoners  their  guns,  and  we'll  lick  this  crowd.  I 
command  you  to  disperse  immediately.  If  you  don 't, 
we'll  begin  business  right  now." 

The  mob  dispersed.  Some  of  the  leaders  wanted 
to  call  Captain  Bill  away  to  discuss  matters,  but  he 
would  have  none  of  it,  and  cleared  the  grounds. 
Then  in  spite  of  his  wet,  cold,  weary  condition,  and 
the  terrible  wounds  received  less  than  three  months 
before,  he  stayed  with  his  men,  on  guard,  till  morn- 
ing. Then  a  message  was  brought  to  him  that  Hill 
Loftus  had  been  concerned  in  the  robbery  and  that 
he  was  hiding  in  a  dug-out  near  town. 

Knowing  that  Loftus  and  Lewis  trained  together. 
Captain  McDonald  did  not  discredit  this  report,  or 


210  Captain.  Bill  McDonald 

suspect  that  it  was  part  of  a  ruse  to  get  Mm  away 
from  the  jail.  He  ordered  a  horse  from  the  stable 
at  once  and  made  ready  to  start. 

''  Aren't  you  going  to  take  your  men  with  you?  '' 
asked  the  men  who  had  brought  the  word. 

"•  No,"  said  Captain  Bill.  **  I  want  them  to  stay 
here.'' 

**  But  Loftus  is  a  bad  man,  and  will  have  the 
advantage  of  you,  being  in  the  dug-out." 

**  That's  all  right — I  can  take  care  of  him;  but  I 
do  want  somebody  to  come  and  show  me  the  place. ' ' 

A  man  volunteered  to  do  this,  and  rode  with  Cap- 
tain Bill  to  a  dug-out  some  distance  away,  in  the 
edge  of  the  town.  The  place  was  empty,  but  an- 
other man  appeared  just  then  who  claimed  to  have 
seen  Loftus  leave,  a  little  while  before,  taking  a 
northerly  direction. 

Still  unsuspecting.  Captain  Bill  set  out  at  full 
speed,  but  after  riding  three  miles  and  seeing  no 
sign  of  Loftus,  or  his  trail,  he  rode  back  to  Wichita 
Falls.  At  the  edge  of  the  town  he  was  met  by  his 
nephew,  Henry  McCauley,  with  the  news  that  every- 
body who  could  get  a  gun  had  marched  on  the  jail, 
and  that  no  doubt  Lewis  and  Crawford  were  already 
hung. 

Captain  Bill  did  not  wait  for  another  word.  A 
mob  of  several  hundred  men  had  gathered  about  the 
jail,  wild  with  excitement,  determined  to  have  Lewis 
and  Crawford  and  to  lynch  them,  forthwith.  Sud- 
denly this  multitude  saw  Captain  Bill  bearing  down 


QUELLING  A   LYNCHING   MOB  AT  WICHITA   FALLS. 
"  Boys,  have  you  still  got  the  prisoners?" 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder   211 

on  them — his  Winchester  in  position  for  business 
and  fury  in  his  eye. 

"  Boys,"  he  called  to  his  Rangers,  as  he  dashed 
up,  '*  have  you  still  got  the  prisoners?  " 

**  Yes,'*  they  called  back,  **  they're  still  in  the 
jail  I'' 

Captain  Bill  wheeled  on  the  mob. 

**  Nowl  "  he  shouted,  **  damn  your  sorry  souls! 
march  out  of  here  and  get  away  from  this  jail,  every 
one  of  you,  or  I'll  fill  this  yard  with  dead  men!  *' 

He  had  his  Winchester  leveled  as  he  spoke  and 
those  who  considered  themselves  in  range  made  a 
wild,  hasty  effort  to  get  into  some  safer  locality. 
Captain  Bill  swung  the  point  of  his  gun  a  little  so  it 
covered  a  good  many  in  its  orbit,  and  nobody  knew 
when  it  might  go  off.  They  knew  if  it  did  go  off 
it  would  hit  whatever  spot  he  selected,  and  nobody 
wanted  to  own  that  spot.  The  crowd  moved — some 
of  it  hurried  a  good  deal — and  Captain  Bill  helped 
things  along  with  language.  He  escorted  the  mob 
well  into  town. 

The  Ranger  Captain  now  prepared  to  move  the 
prisoners  to  Fort  Worth,  but  was  notified  by  the 
District  Judge  that  this  could  not  be  done — that  any 
attempt  to  do  so  would  result  in  general  trouble  with 
the  citizens  of  Wichita  Falls.  McDonald  protested 
that  the  citizens  had  already  shown  that  they  were 
unable  to  take  care  of  the  prisoners  in  a  legal  way. 
The  judge  said : 

^^  I  will  appoint  twenty-five  men  to  guard  the 
jail.- 


212  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  You  mean  you  will  appoint  twenty-five  men  to 
keep  me  from  taking  Lewis  and  Crawford  away/' 
McDonald  said: 

* '  No,  only  to  help  you  guard  them. ' ' 

*  *  But  if  you  have  a  guard  of  twenty-five  men  you 
don't  need  the  Eangers." 

The  judge  argued  for  the  moral  support  of  the 
Eangers.  McDonald  informed  him  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  his  force  to  remain  in  Wichita  Falls, 
guarding  prisoners;  that  other  work  was  waiting 
for  them;  that  there  was  already  a  requisition  for 
them  at  Quanah;  that  furthermore  they  had  been 
away  from  their  headquarters  for  two  weeks,  be- 
sides being  wet  and  cold  and  worn  out  from  ex- 
posure and  want  of  sleep. 

'*  Let  the  others  go.  Captain,  and  you  stay,''  urged 
the  judge. 

**  Judge,"  said  Captain  Bill,  '*  you  know  I'm  all 
shot  up,  and  it's  the  first  time  I've  rode  any,  and 
what  with  yesterday,  and  last  night,  and  to-day  I'm 
about  used  up,  and  likely  to  be  sick.  Now,  if  you 
can  take  care  of  those  prisoners  with  your  guard, 
all  right.  If  you  think  you  can't,  I'll  take  'em  to 
Fort  Worth,  where  they'll  be  safe.  But  I'm  going 
to  get  out  of  here  to-night,  unless  you  get  an  order 
from  Governor  Culberson  for  me  to  stay.  It  ain't 
far  to  the  telegraph  office,  only  about  thirty  steps — 
you  can  go  and  wire  him,  if  you  want  to.  If  he  says 
for  me  to  stay,  I  will,  of  course.  But  otherwise  I'm 
going.    I've  done  my  whole  duty,  now.    When  I  get 


Wichita  Falls  Bank  Robbery  and  Murder  213 

prisoners  in  jail,  and  guarded,  my  duty  ends.  Your 
guard  of  twenty-five  men  with  your  local  officers  can 
hold  that  jail  if  they  want  to.    I  could  hold  it  alone. '' 

No  order  came  to  the  Eangers  from  Governor 
Culberson,  and  they  left  that  afternoon,  when  the 
local  guard  had  been  duly  installed.  That  night  the 
mob  once  more  marched  on  the  jail,  and  in  spite  of 
the  armed  guard  and  the  sheriff,  deputies  and  con- 
stables, Lewis  and  Crawford  were  taken  from  their 
cells  and  hung  to  telephones  poles,  close  to  the  bank 
where  they  had  committed  their  crime. 

Citizens  of  Wichita  Falls  complained  to  Governor 
Culberson  that  Captain  McDonald  and  his  Eangers 
had  gone  away,  leaving  the  prisoners  to  the  mercy 
of  the  mob.  Culberson  wired  to  McDonald,  and  re- 
ceiving the  facts  in  reply,  commended  him  through- 
out. 

A  reward  of  two  thousand  dollars  for  the  capture 
of  Lewis  and  Crawford  was  paid  by  the  two  banks 
of  Wichita  Falls.  The  local  posse  divided  it  into 
thirty-two  equal  parts,  in  which  they  generously 
permitted  the  Rangers  to  share. 


xxvin 

Captain  Bill  as  a  Peacemaker 

he  attends  certaiit  strikes  and  riots  alone  with 

satisfactory  results.    goes  to  thurber 

and  disperses  a  mob 

During  the  years  that  ended  the  old  century  and 
began  the  new — from  about  1896  to  1902,  or  later — 
there  occurred  in  Texas  a  series  of  strike  and  mob 
disorders  of  various  kinds.  To  quiet  troubles  of 
this  sort  is  the  special  province  of  the  Eanger  Ser- 
vice, and  as  the  Pan-handle  became  more  tractable 
— more  range-broken,  as  one  may  say — Captain  Bill 
McDonald  and  his  little  force  were  summoned  to 
points  far  and  near  to  put  down  disturbance  and  to 
check  agitation. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  bank  murder  at  Wichita 
Falls,  and  the  capture  of  Lewis  and  Crawford,  that 
Captain  McDonald  was  summoned  there  again,  this 
time  to  investigate  a  strike  on  the  Port  Worth  and 
Denver  Eailroad.  Things  were  in  bad  shape  at  the 
Falls.  Trains  were  not  allowed  to  run,  engines  were 
not  permitted  to  move.  Kiot  and  bloodshed  were 
imminent. 

Captain  Bill  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  take  his 
men.  He  went  up  to  Wichita  Falls  alone,  and  learn- 
ing where  the  main  body  of  the  strikers  were  assem- 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Peacemaker  215 

bled,  went  over  there.  They  had  gathered  in  a  hall, 
and  were  holding  a  secret  meeting  when  he  arrived. 
The  Captain  knocked  on  the  door.  A  doorkeeper 
came,  but  refused  admission. 

*  *  I  am  Captain  McDonald,  of  the  Eangers, ' '  said 
McDonald  quietly,  '*  and  I'm  here  to  talk  to  you 
men  and  see  what  the  trouble  is.    You're  all  here  * 
now,  and  I  think  I'll  talk  to  you  together." 

The  doorkeeper  went  away  and  reported,  and 
presently  returned. 

**  Where  are  your  Eangers?  ''  he  asked. 

**  I  didn't  bring  any.  I  don't  need  any.  I'm  a 
pretty  good  single-handed  talker,  myself." 

There  was  another  consultation  inside,  and  the 
door  opened.  Captain  Bill  went  in  with  a  friendly 
greeting  for  everybody,  given  in  his  genial  natural 
way.  Then  he  got  up  where  he  could  see  his  audi- 
ence. 

**  Boys,"  he  said,  in  his  slow,  friendly  way,  **  I 
understand  you-all  are  acting  mighty  sorry  over 
here,  interfering  with  business  and  making  out  like  ' 
you're  going  to  tear  up  things  generally.  Now,  you 
know  me,  and  you  know  that  I  don't  want  anything 
that  ain't  right,  and  if  a  man  behaves  himself  I'll 
try  to  get  him  what's  right,  if  I  can.  I  suppose  you 
think  you  have  a  grievance  and  perhaps  you  have, 
but  you'll  never  get  it  settled  this  way,  and  it's  my 
business,  as  you-all  know,  not  to  have  this  sort  of 
work  going  on.  You  have  a  perfect  right  to  quit 
work,  but  you  haven't  any  right  to  keep  other  men 


216  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

from  working,  or  to  injure  people's  business  or  to 
break  up  property.  Nothing  good  can  come  out  of 
such  doings.  I  didn't  bring  any  of  my  men  along, 
because  I  didn't  believe  I'd  need  'em,  and  I  don't 
think  so  now,  but  of  course  if  this  thing  goes  on, 
I'll  have  to  bring  'em,  and  then  it  will  be  too  late  to 
talk  all  friendly  here  together  as  we  're  talking  now. 

^*  I'm  well  acquainted  with  President  Good  of  this 
road,  and  I  know  you  can't  get  anything  this  way; 
and  if  you  take  my  advice  you'll  go  back  to  work 
and  tell  him  your  troubles  afterward.  Now,  boys, 
that's  all  I've  got  to  say,  and  I  reckon  if  you  listen 
to  it  you'll  come  out  a  good  deal  better  than  if  you 
listen  to  one  or  two  men  that  for  some  reason  of 
their  own  are  trying  to  stir  up  a  lot  of  trouble,  and 
will  be  in  jail  before  night,  as  like  as  not. ' ' 

Captain  Bill  went  down  on  the  street  and  the 
crowd  soon  followed.  A  good  many  came  to  him 
and  expressed  willingness  to  go  to  work.  Here  and 
there  he  talked  to  a  little  group  in  his  friendly, 
earnest  way.    The  strike  at  Wichita  Falls  was  over. 

From  Wichita  Falls  McDonald  went  over  to 
Fort  Worth,  where  there  was  similar  trouble,  but 
learned  that  a  more  serious  situation  existed  at  the 
Thurber  coal-mines,  in  Erath  County.  The  miners 
were  of  many  nationalities — ignorant  and  brutish — 
and  they  were  swayed  by  anarchical  leaders.  The 
Eanger  Captain  was  urged  to  take  his  men  to  Thur- 
ber, but  decided  to  go  alone. 

Arriving  at  Thurber,  he  hunted  up  the  mine  offi- 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Peacemaker  217 

cials,  for  consultation.  Colonel  Hunter,  President 
of  the  mines,  looked  at  Captain  Bill — bent  over 
from  his  wounds  and  battered  up  from  illness  and 
exposure — and  shook  his  head. 

**  You  should  have  brought  your  men,''  he  said. 
**  You  can't  do  anything  with  a  gang  like  ours, 
alone. ' ' 

^*  Well,  Colonel,  I'm  using  my  men  in  other 
places.  I'll  look  around  a  little  and  do  what  I  can, 
anyway. ' ' 

Loitering  about  the  town,  he  discovered  that  a 
number  of  kegs  of  beer  were  going  out  to  a  high  hill, 
beyond  the  outskirts — headquarters  of  the  striking 
miners.  He  learned  that  there  was  to  be  a  sort  of 
mass  meeting  there  that  night,  when  the  leaders  and 
chief  agitators  would  be  on  hand.  He  decided  to  be 
present. 

It  was  well  after  dark  when  he  set  out,  and  a 
good  crowd  had  assembled  when  he  reached  the 
place.  It  was  out  on  a  mountain  where  the  timber 
had  been  cut  off,  about  half  a  mile  from  Thurber, 
and  there  was  no  light  except  from  a  misty  moon. 
At  one  place  there  was  a  big  log,  used  by  the 
speakers  to  stand  on,  and  about  this  the  crowd  and 
the  beer-kegs  were  gathered.  Captain  Bill,  unnoticed, 
blended  with  the  outer  edges. 

It  was  near  eleven  o'clock,  and  a  speaker  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  crowd  was  in  the 
proper  condition  to  take  some  good  radical  advice 
— which  might  be  followed  by  prompt  action — so 


218  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

he  proceeded  to  give  it.  He  told  them  how  they  had 
been  mistreated  and  what  they  should  do.  They 
were  to  begin  by  blowing  up  the  mines  and  the 
superintendent's  office,  and  he  told  them  which  mine 
to  blow  up  first.  Then  he  told  them  what  they  were 
to  do  to  ^'  Old  Hunter,"  and  it  was  clear  from  the 
faces  and  the  muttering  of  the  listeners  that  they 
were  ready  to  do  these  things. 

Captain  Bill  worked  his  way  through  the  crowd 
until  he  was  close  to  the  speaker's  log.  When  the 
agitator  reached  what  seemed  a  good  stopping  place, 
the  Eanger  Captain  suddenly  stepped  up  beside 
him.  The  speaker  stopped  dead  still,  in  his  surprise. 
It  was  Captain  Bill's  turn. 

''  Men,"  he  said,  ''  this  rascal  that  has  been  talk- 
ing to  you  is  an  enemy  to  you  and  to  the  country. 
He's  trying  to  get  you  to  commit  murder,  and  to 
get  you  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  or  hung.  You  can 
quit  work,  but  you  can't  kill  people  and  destroy 
property,  not  in  this  State.  These  walking  delegates 
and  leaders  that  are  telling  you  to  do  these  things 
are  just  a  sorry  lot  of  damned  scoundrels,  and  I'm 
going  to  put  them  where  they  belong,  and  where 
they're  trying  to  get  you.  I'm  Captain  of  Company 
B,  Eanger  Service,  and  I'm  here  alone,  but  I'll  have 
my  men  here,  if  I  need  them,  and  I'll  hang  just  such 
fellows  as  this  man — " 

Captain  Bill  turned  to  indicate  his  selected  victim, 
but  he  was  no  longer  there.  He  had  melted  into  the 
crowd,  and  was  seen  no  more.  .  A  man  from  the 


Captain  Bill  as  a  Peacemaker  219 

assembly  came  up  and  urged  the  Ranger  Captain  to 
desist — warning  him  that  there  were  desperate  men 
there,  and  that  he  would  be  killed. 

*^  Don't  mind  me/'  Captain  Bill  proceeded, 
**  that's  been  tried  on  me  more  than  once  without 
much  success.  You  see  I'm  here  yet — spared,  I 
reckon,  to  give  you  some  good  advice.  Now,  you 
men  had  better  take  it  and  give  up  these  meetings, 
and  if  you've  got  to  jump  onto  anybody,  jump  onto 
the  fellows  that's  trying  to  get  you  into  trouble. 
Good-night!  " 

Captain  Bill  walked  back  to  Thurber  and  next 
morning  a  messenger  came  to  his  room  to  tell  him 
that  there  was  a  big  crowd  outside,  hunting  for  him. 
He  rose  and  dressed,  and  taking  his  Winchester 
went  out  to  see  what  was  going  on.  When  he  ap- 
peared he  was  waited  on  by  some  miners  who  wanted 
him  to  talk  a  little  more  to  the  men.  He  was  told 
that  a  number  of  them  had  decided  to  go  to  work 
and  wanted  to  know  what  kind  of  protection  they 
would  have.  Captain  Bill  assured  them  of  protec- 
tion and  fair  treatment.  Then  he  asked  where  their 
leaders  had  gone — the  men  who  had  been  urging 
them  to  do  murder.  But  they  could  not  tell.  Those 
ill-advisers  had  vanished  over  night.  Within  a  brief 
time  the  men  were 'nearly  all  back  at  work,  doing 
better  than  ever  before. 

At  other  points  McDonald  or  his  Rangers  quieted 
the  strikers  and  prevented  trouble  of  various  kinds. 
Usually  Captain  Bill  went  alone.    It  was  his  favorite 


220  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

way  of  handling  mob  disorders,  as  we  have  seen. 
It  is  told  of  him  in  Dallas  how  once  he  came  to  that 
city  in  response  to  a  dispatch  for  a  company  of 
Eangers,  this  time  to  put  down  an  impending  prize- 
fight. 

'^  Where  are  the  others?  "  asked  the  disap- 
pointed Mayor,  who  met  him  at  the  depot. 

*  *  Hell !  aint  I  enough  1  ' '  was  the  response, 
**  there's  only  one  prize-fight!  '' 


XXIX 

The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang 

the  murder  society  of  san  saba  and  what  hap- 
pened to  it  after  the  rangers  arrived 

But  the  San  Saba  affair  was  a  different  matter. 
It  was  in  1897  that  certain  citizens  of  San  Saba 
County  petitioned  the  Governor  to  send  Rangers  to 
investigate  the  numerous  murders  which  had  been 
committed  in  that  locality — the  number  of  assassina- 
tions then  aggregating  forty-three  within  a  period 
of  ten  years. 

In  fact,  San  Saba  and  the  country  lying  adjacent 
was  absolutely  controlled  at  that  time  by  what  was 
nothing  less  than  a  murder  society.  San  Saba 
County,  situated  about  the  center  of  the  State,  lies 
on  the  border  of  the  great  south-west  wilderness, 
and  is  crossed  by  no  railroad.  In  an  earlier  day  a 
sort  of  Vigilance  Committee  or  mob  had  been  or- 
ganized to  deal  with  lawless  characters,  but  in  the 
course  of  time  the  usual  thing  happened  and  the 
committee  itself  became  the  chief  menace  of  the 
community.  Whatever  worthy  members  it  had 
originally  claimed,  either  dropped  out  or  were  **  re- 
moved,'*  and  were  replaced  by  men  who  had  a 
private  grudge  against  a  neighbor;  or  desired  his 
property;  or  were  fond  of  murder  on  general  prin- 


222  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

ciples.  In  time  this  deadly  organization  became  not 
only  a  social  but  a  political  factor,  and  as  such  had 
gathered  into  its  gruesome  membership — active  and 
honorary — county  officials  ranging  from  the  deputy 
constabulary  to  occupants  of  the  judicial  bench. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  that  a  majority  of  the  citizens  of 
San  Saba  were  associated  together  for  the  purpose 
^of  getting  rid — either  by  assassination  or  intimida- 
tion— of  the  worthier  element  of  the  community. 

This  society  of  death  was  well  organized.  It  had 
an  active  membership  of  about  three  hundred,  with 
obligations  rigid  and  severe.  Their  meeting  place 
was  a  small  natural  pool  of  water,  almost  sur- 
rounded by  hills.  It  bore  the  curiously  appropriate 
name  of  ''  Buzzard's  Water  Hole,"  and  here  the 
Worthy  Order  of  Assassins  assembled  once  a  month, 
usually  during  full  moon,  to  transact  general  busi- 
ness and  to  formulate  plans  for  the  removal  of  of- 
fending or  superfluous  friends.  Sentinels  were 
posted  during  such  gatherings,  and  there  were  pass- 
words and  signs.  These  were  forms  preserved 
from  the  original  organization;  hardly  necessary 
now  it  would  seem,  since  the  majority  of  the  inhabi- 
tants were  in  sympathy  with  the  mob,  while  those 
who  were  not  could  hardly  have  been  dragged  to 
that  ghastly  spot.  They  preserved  other  things — 
they  kept  up  the  semblance  of  being  inspired  by  lofty 
motives,  and  they  maintained  the  forms  that  go  with 
religious  undertakings;  wherefore,  being  duly  as- 
sembled to  plot  murder,  they  still  opened  their  meet- 
ings with  prayer! 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  223 

After  which,  the  real  business  came  up  for  transac- 
tion. Members  in  good  standing  would  make  known 
their  desires,  setting  forth  reasons  why  citizens  in 
various  walks  of  life  were  better  dead,  and  the  cases 
were  considered,  and  the  decrees  passed  accordingly. 
Sometimes  when  a  man's  offense  was  only  that  he 
owned  a  piece  of  desirable  real  estate,  a  resolution 
was  passed  that  a  committee  of  fifty  should  wait  on 
that  citizen  and  give  him  from  three  to  five  days  to 
emigrate,  this  to  be  supplemented  by  a  second  com- 
mittee of  one  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  call  next  day 
and  make  the  said  undesirable  citizen  a  modest,  not 
to  say  decent,  offer  for  his  holdings.  It  was  not  in 
human  nature  to  resist  a  temptation  like  that.  The 
man  would  be  likely  to  go.  He  would  accept  that 
offer,  whatever  it  was,  and  he  would  get  out  of  there 
before  night.  The  organization  acquired  a  good 
deal  of  choice  property  by  this  plan.  When  an  elec- 
tion was  coming  on,  the  society  decided  who  was  to 
be  chosen  for  office,  and  who  for  assassination,  and 
committees  were  likewise  appointed  to  see  that  all 
was  duly  performed.  It  was  a  remarkable  society, 
when  you  come  to  think  about  it — a  good  deal  like 
Tammany  Hall,  only  more  fatal. 

To  break  up  the  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  roost,  and 
to  discourage  its  practices  in  and  around  San  Saba, 
was  the  job  cut  out  for  Bill  McDonald  and  his 
Rangers  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1897. 

Captain  McDonald  began  the  work  by  sending 
over  three  of  his  men — John  Sullivan,  Dud  Barker 


224  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  Edgar  Neil — to  investigate.  There  was  plenty 
of  trail  and  the  Kangers  ran  onto  it  everywhere. 
It  wound  in  and  out  in  a  hundred  directions,  and 
gathered  in  a  regular  knot  around  the  seat  of  justice. 
Perhaps  there  were  town  and  county  officials  who 
were  not  in  the  toils  of  the  deadly  membership,  but 
if  so  they  were  not  discoverable.  Sullivan  promptly 
got  into  trouble  with  the  sheriff  by  re- jailing  a  man 
whom  he  found  outside,  holding  a  reception  with  his 
friends,  when  the  State  had  paid  a  reward  for  his 
capture.  Sullivan  and  the  sheriff  both  drew  guns, 
but  were  kept  apart,  and  the  District  Judge,  who 
seemed  to  have  been  a  sort  of  honorary  ^^  Buzzard," 
holding  his  office  by  virtue  of  society  favor,  under- 
took to  get  rid  of  Sullivan  by  sending  him  a  long  way 
off,  after  some  witness  supposed  to  be  wanted; 
though  why  they  should  want  any  witness,  in  a  court 
like  that,  would  be  hard  to  guess. 

Captain  Bill  himself  now  came  down  to  look  over 
the  field.  He  had  his  hands  full  from  the  start. 
When  he  arrived,  Eangers  Barker  and  Neil  were 
patrolling  the  town  with  guns,  while  a  number  of 
citizens  similarly  armed  were  collected  about  the 
streets. 

''  Hello,  Dud,"  he  said,  *'  are  you-all  going  to 
war?  " 

''  Looks  like  it.  Cap,"  returned  Barker. 

Captain  Bill  looked  over  at  the  armed  citizens, 
and  raised  his  voice  loud  enought  for  them  to  hear. 

''  Well,  Dud,  if  that's  the  best  they  can  do,"  he 
said,  ''  we  can  lick  'em.  can't  we?  " 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  225 

*'  Yes,  sir,  if  you  say  so,  Cap/^ 

The  armed  citizens  showed  a  reluctance  in  the 
matter  of  hostilities  and  began  to  edge  away.  Mc- 
Donald now  got  his  mail  and  reviewed  the  situation, 
for  prior  to  his  coming  he  had  scarcely  known  what 
the  trouble  in  San  Saba  was  all  about.  By  and  by 
he  went  to  his  hotel.  It  was  about  ten  o  ^clock  and  he 
was  sitting  out  in  front,  when  he  saw  flashes  and 
heard  shots  across  the  public  square.  The  mob  was 
shooting  up  the  town  for  his  benefit.  Captain  Bill 
seized  his  gun  and  went  up  there.  The  main  dis- 
turbance seemed  to  be  in  and  about  a  saloon.  The 
Eanger  Captain  pushed  into  the  place  alone,  com- 
pelled every  man  of  the  assembly  to  put  up  his  hands 
and  allow  himself  to  be  disarmed.  He  then  re- 
quired them  to  appear  for  examination,  next  morn- 
ing. They  did  appear,  and  were  discharged,  of 
course,  but,  nevertheless,  it  was  evident  that  a  man 
who  would  not  be  scared  and  who  was  not  afraid  to 
do  things,  was  among  them.  Members  of  the  society 
felt  a  chill  of  uneasiness.  Worthy  citizens,  hereto- 
fore silent  through  fear  of  their  lives  and  property, 
began  to  take  heart. 

McDonald  now  interviewed  the  sheriff  and  county 
officials  in  general  and  delivered  his  opinion  of  them, 
individually  and  collectively,  concluding  with  the 
statement  that  he  would  bring  Sullivan  back  as  soon 
as  a  message  and  steam  would  get  him.  The  sheriff 
replied  that  Sullivan  and  he  could  not  stay  in  the 
same  town. 

*'  Then  move,''  said  Captain  Bill.    ^'  The  county 


226  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

will  be  rid  of  one  damned  rascal.  It  will  be  rid  of 
more  before  I  get  through  here/' 

Captain  Bill  went  to  Austin,  himself,  after  Sul- 
livan, so  that  there  might  be  no  mistake  about  his 
coming.  He  presented  the  case  to  Governor  Cul- 
berson and  got  his  sanction,  then  sent  word  to  his 
men  at  San  Saba  to  meet  them,  and  he  arrived  with 
Sullivan,  promptly  on  time.  He  had  expected  that 
there  would  be  a  demonstration  by  the  sheriff  and 
his  friends,  instead  of  which  the  streets  of  the  little 
town  were  deserted.  Perhaps  the  sheriff  and  his 
party  had  given  out  that  war  was  imminent  and  this 
was  the  result. 

It  was  clear  now  that  to  obtain  evidence  and  con- 
victions under  such  conditions  as  they  prevailed  in 
San  Saba  was  going  to  be  a  long,  slow  job.  "With 
officials  incriminated  and  good  citizens  intimidated; 
with  witnesses  ready  to  come  forward  and  swear 
)  anything  in  defense  of  the  murderers,  knowing  they 
would  be  upheld  in  their  perjury,  the  securing  of 
good  testimony  and  subsequent  justice  would  be  dif- 
ficult. 

The  Eangers  went  into  camp  in  a  picturesque  spot 
on  the  banks  of  the  San  Saba  River,  a  mile  from 
town;  pitched  their  tents  under  the  shelter  of  some 
immense  pecan  trees;  arranged  their  *^  chuck 
boards,''  staked  their  horses  and  made  themselves 
generally  comfortable.  Then  they  posted  sentinels 
(for  a  fusillade  from  the  society  was  likely  to  come 
at  any  time),  and  settled  down  to  business.     Evi- 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  227 

dently  they  had  come  to  stay.  The  society  post- 
poned its  meetings. 

Captain  Bill  now  began  doing  quiet  detective 
work,  a  labor  for  which  he  has  a  natural  aptitude; 
anybody  can  see  from  the  shape  of  his  ears  and 
nose,  and  from  the  ferret  look  of  his  eyes  that  this 
would  be  so.  Good  citizens  took  further  courage  and 
came  to  the  camp  with  information.  The  Eanger 
Captain  looked  over  the  field  and  undertook  a  case 
particularly  coldblooded  and  desperate. 

A  man  named  Brown,  one  of  the  society's  early 
victims,  had  been  hanged  by  that  mob  some  ten  or 
twelve  years  before,  and  his  son  Jim,  though  he  had 
never  attempted  to  avenge  his  father's  death,  had 
fallen  under  the  ban.  Jim  Brown  never  even  made 
any  threats,  but  he  must  have  been  regarded  as  a 
menace,  for  one  Sunday  night  while  riding  from 
church  with  his  wife  and  her  brother,  he  was  shot 
dead  from  ambush;  his  wife,  whose  horse  became 
frightened  and  ran  within  range,  also  receiving  a 
painful  wound. 

Captain  Bill  secured  information  which  convinced 
him  that  one  Bill  Ogle  had  been  the  chief  instigator 
in  this  crime,  and  that  the  father  and  brother  of 
Brown's  wife  were  likewise  members  of  the  society 
and  concerned  in  the  plot.  He  learned,  in  fact,  that 
the  plan  had  been  for  Mrs.  Brown's  brother  to  ride 
with  her,  and  for  her  father,  Jeff  McCarthy,  to 
carry  her  baby  by  a  different  route  to  keep  it  out  of 
danger.     The  brother,  Jim  McCarthy,  was  to  stay 


228  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

close  to  his  sister,  to  look  after  her  horse  and  keep 
her  out  of  harm's  way  while  her  husband  was  being 
murdered.  It  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Jim  Mc- 
Carthy did  not  perform  his  work  well,  that  the  sister 
was  wounded.  McDonald  in  due  course  uncovered 
the  whole  dastardly  plot. 

The  murderers  now  realized  that  trouble  was  in 
store  for  them.  Some  of  the  men  began  quietly  to 
leave  the  country.  Others  consulted  together  in 
secluded  places  and  plotted  to  ^  ^  kill  Bill  McDonald. ' ' 
Sympathizing  citizens  encouraged  this  movement, 
and  anonymous  warnings — always  the  first  resort 
of  frightened  criminals — began  to  arrive  in  the 
Kanger  camp.  Captain  Bill  paid  no  attention  to  such 
communications;  he  was  used  to  them.  He  went 
on  gathering  and  solidifying  his  evidence,  prepara- 
tory to  the  arrest  of  Ogle  and  such  of  his  associates 
as  the  proofs  would  warrant.  Ogle,  the  ^^  tiger  '* 
of  the  society,  as  he  was  considered,  McDonald  had 
not  yet  seen,  for  the  reason  that  the  tiger  did  not 
live  in  the  town,  and  for  some  cause  had  lately 
avoided  those  precincts.  He  arrived,  however,  in 
due  season.  Perhaps  the  brotherhood  let  him  know 
that  it  was  time  he  was  taking  a  hand  in  the  game. 

Captain  McDonald,  one  hot  afternoon,  was  talking 
to  an  acquaintance  on  the  streets  of  San  Saba,  when 
he  noticed  a  stout  surly-looking  man,  with  the  vil- 
lage constable,  not  far  away.  Now  and  then  they 
looked  and  nodded  in  his  direction  and  presently  an 
uncomplimentary  name  drifted  to  his  ear. 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  229 

**  Who  is  that  fellow  talking  to  that  sorry  con- 
stable? '*  he  asked. 

His  companion  lowered  his  voice  to  a  discreet 
whisper. 

''  That  is  Bill  Ogle,''  he  said,  ''  the  worst  man  of 
the  murder  mob. ' ' 

Captain  Bill  looked  pleased. 

*  *  Good-by, ' '  he  nodded,  *  *  I  want  to  see  Bill  Ogle. ' ' 

He  stepped  briskly  in  the  direction  of  the  two  men 
who,  seeing  him  approach,  separated  and  loafed  off 
in  different  directions.  Captain  Bill  overhauled  the 
constable. 

*^  See  here,''  he  said  composedly,  **  I  heard  you 
call  me  a  name  a  while  ago  when  you  were  talking 
to  that  murderer,  Bill  Ogle,  who  is  going  down  the 
street  yonder.  Now,  an  officer  that  throws  in  with 
a  murder  mob,  ain't  worth  what  it  would  cost  to  try, 
and  hang,  and  if  I  hear  any  more  names  out  of  you 
I'll  save  this  country  the  expense  of  one  rope, 
anyway. ' ' 

The  constable  attempted  to  mutter  some  denial. 
Captain  Bill  left  him  abruptly  with  only  a  parting 
word  of  advice  and  set  off  down  the  street  after 
Ogle.  Ogle  had  crossed  the  street  and  passed 
through  the  court-house  to  a  hardware  store  on  the 
other  side — where  a  number  of  his  friends  had  col- 
lected. 

**  Don't  go  over  there.  Captain,"  cautioned  his 
friend,  ^*  you'll  be  killed,  sure." 

**  Well,  I'll  go  over  and  see,"  Captain  Bill  replied 


230  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

quaintly,  continuing  straight  toward  the  mob  store. 

As  he  entered  there  was  a  little  stir,  then  silence. 
Evidently  those  present  had  not  expected  that  he 
would  walk  straight  among  them.  Here  he  was — 
they  could  kill  him  and  put  an  end  to  all  this  trouble 
in  short  order.  But  somehow  they  didn't  do  it. 
There  seemed  no  good  moment  to  begin.  Captain 
Bill  walked  over  and  faced  Ogle. 

^  *  Come  outside, '  *  he  said  quietly,  * '  I  want  to  talk 
to  you. ' ' 

Ogle  hesitated. 

**  What  do  you  want  to  say?  ''  he  asked  sullenly. 

Captain  Bill  laid  his  hand  on  Ogle's  shoulder. 

^^  I  want  to  say  some  things  that  you  might  not 
want  your  friends  to  hear,''  he  said — and  a  quaver 
in  his  voice  then  would  have  been  death — ^^  Come 
outside!  "  t 

He  applied  a  firm  pressure  to  Ogle's  shoulder  and 
steered  him  for  the  door.  The  others,  as  silent  as 
death,  made  no  move.  They  did  not  offer  to  inter- 
fere— they  did  not  attempt  to  shoot.  They  simply 
looked  on,  wondering. 

Outside,  Captain  Bill  led  Ogle  to  the  middle  of  the 
street.  It  was  blazing  hot  and  the  sand  burned 
through  his  boots,  but  he  could  talk  to  Ogle  out  there 
and  keep  an  eye  on  the  others,  too. 

*  ^  Now,  Bill  Ogle, ' '  he  said,  in  his  deliberate  calm 
way — ^  ^  I  know  all  about  you.  I  know  how  you  and 
your  outfit  murdered  Jim  Brown — just  how  you 
planned  it,  and  how  you  did  it.     I've  got  all  the 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  231 

proof  and  I  'm  going  to  hang  you  if  there  is  any  law 
in  this  country  to  hang  a  man  for  a  foul  murder  like 
that.  That^s  what  I'm  here  for,  and  I  am  not  afraid 
of  you,  nor  of  any  of  the  men  over  there  in  that  store 
that  heli)ed  you  do  your  killing.  You  are  all  a  lot 
of  cowardly  murderers  that  only  shoot  defenseless 
men  from  ambush,  and  I'm  going  to  stay  here  until 
I  break  up  your  gang  if  I  have  to  put  you  every  one 
on  the  gallows  or  behind  the  bars,  and  I'm  going  to 
begin  with  you. ' ' 

As  Captain  Bill  talked  the  sweat  began  to  pour  off 
of  Ogle  and  his  knees  seemed  to  weaken.  Presently 
they  could  no  longer  support  his  stout  body  and  he 
sat  heavily  down  in  the  hot  sand,  trying  weakly  to 
make  some  defense. 

**  Get  up,"  said  Captain  Bill,  **  haven't  you  got 
your  gun?  " 

'*  No,  sir,  Captain,  I  haven't." 

**  Well,  you'd  better  get  one  if  you're  going  to  go 
hunting  for  me.  And  there's  the  m^n  over  there 
who  helped  you  kill  Jim  Brown,  and  your  Greaser- 
lookin'  constable  and  your  sorry  sheriff.  Get  your 
whole  crowd  together,  and  get  ready  and  then  I'll 
gather  in  the  whole  bunch.  Go  on,  now,  and  see  what 
you  can  do. " 

'*  Yes,  sir.  Captain." 

Ogle  made  several  attempts  to  get  on  his  feet, 
finally  succeeded,  and  went  back  to  his  friends.  Cap- 
tain Bill  immediately  set  about  getting  out  a  war- 
rant for  his  arrest,  but  after  some  delay,  found  he 


232  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

could  not  get  the  papers  until  next  morning.  Ogle, 
meantime,  had  been  to  his  friend,  the  District  Judge, 
who  now  appeared  before  the  Eanger  Captain  with 
the  statement  that  Ogle,  whom  he  believed  to  be  a 
square  man,  had  said  he  wanted  to  leave  the  country 
for  fear  McDonald  would  kill  him;  McDonald,  he 
said,  having  the  reputation  of  being  a  killer  and  a 
^  bad  man  generally. 

**  Yes,  Judge,''  said  Captain  Bill,  ^^  that's  the 
proper  reputation  to  give  me,  so  that  some  of  your 
crowd  of  murderers  can  assassinate  me  and  your 
court  can  deliver  a  verdict  that  I  was  a  bad  citizen 
and  ought  to  have  been  killed  sooner,  the  way  you  've 
done  about  all  the  rest  of  the  forty-three  that  have 
been  murdered  and  no  one  tried  for  it  in  this  section. 
Now,  I  intend  to  see  that  he  don't  leave  this  country, 
unless  he  leaves  it  in  shackles.  He  committed  this 
murder,  and  I  can  prove  it.  I've  got  one  of  the 
members  of  the  mob  as  a  witness." 

^^  You  will  stir  up  old  trouble  and  get  things  in 
worse  shape  than  ever, ' '  protested  the  judge. 

^^  If  I  can't  get  things  in  better  shape,  I'll  lay 
down  my  hand,"  said  McDonald. 

A  little  later,  on  the  street,  Captain  Bill  saw  Ogle 
approaching.  He  was  armed  this  time — with  a  big 
watermelon.    He  approached  humbly. 

*^  Captain,"  he  said,  *^  you've  done  me  a  great 
wrong,  and  I  want  you  to  accept  this  watermelon." 

Captain  Bill  did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  to 
swear.    Presently  he  said : 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  233 

'*  You  scoundrel!  I  suppose  that  thing  is  poi- 
soned.   I  believe  I'll  make  you  eat  it,  rind  and  all.*' 

Ogle  backed  away  with  his  melon  and  presently 
set  out  for  home.  Fearing  now  that  he  would  escape 
before  the  warrant  could  be  issued,  Captain  Mc- 
Donald instructed  Rangers  McCauley,  Barker,  Neil 
and  Bell,  members  of  his  camp,  to  keep  watch,  and 
if  Ogle  attempted  to  leave  the  county  to  hold  him 
until  he  (McDonald)  could  arrive  with  the  proper 
papers.  These  were  obtained  next  morning,  about 
ten  0  'clock,  and  Captain  Bill  starting  out  with  them, 
met  his  Rangers  with  Ogle,  who  had,  in  fact,  at- 
tempted to  escape.  He  was  taken  to  jail  and  a  strong 
guard  was  set. 

Consternation  now  prevailed  among  the  society 
and  its  friends ;  in  the  cowboy  term  they  were  *  *  mill- 
ing.'* Members  of  the  mob  were  to  turn  State's 
evidence ;  one  Josh  McCormick,  who  had  been  made 
a  member  by  compulsion — ^having  run  into  one  of 
their  meetings — had  been  brought  from  an  adjoin- 
ing county  and  would  testify;  a  grand  jury  com- 
posed of  exemplary  citizens  had  been  secured. 

And  that  was  not  all.  Captain  Bill  one  day  went 
to  the  District  Judge,  ostensibly  for  advice. 

**  Judge,"  he  said,  *^  I  want  some  legal  informa- 
tion." 

The  judge  was  attentive,  and  took  him  to  a  quiet 
place. 

**  Now,  Judge,"  said  Captain  Bill,  **  you  know 
that  the  Buzzard  Water  Hole  mob  holds  its  meetings 


234  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

over  there  once  a  month,  and  the  monthly  meeting 
is  about  due.  You  know  that  they  meet  there  to 
decide  to  kill  somebody  or  to  run  him  out  of  the 
country  and  take  his  property,  and  that  they've  al- 
ready done  such  deviltry  as  that  here  for  years/' 

The  judge  assented  uneasily. 

'*  Well,  then,"  continued  the  Eanger  Captain,  ^^  I 
want  to  know  if  it  will  be  all  right  for  me  to  charge 
in  there  on  that  meeting  with  my  RangjBrs  and  kill 
any  of  them  that  might  make  any  resistance,  and 
round  up  the  rest  and  drive  them  into  town  and  put 
them  in  jail — just  drive  them  afoot  like  a  lot  of 
cattle  and  let  their  horses  be  sent  for,  later;  would 
that  be  all  right.  Judge?  '' 

The  District  Judge  was  a  good  deal  disturbed. 

*'  No,  Captain,''  he  said,  **  I  don't  think  you'd 
better  undertake  that,  I  should  advise  against  such 
a  move." 

**  Well,  Judge,"  said  Captain  Bill,  *'  that's  exactly 
what  I  propose  to  do.  I'll  take  chances  on  the 
results  and  I'll  bring  in  the  prettiest  bunch  of  mur- 
derers you'll  find  anywhere.  Good-day,  Judge,  and 
thank  you  for  the  advice." 

However,  this  program  was  not  carried  out — not 
in  full.  There  was  no  material  with  which  to  make 
it  complete.  Within  a  brief  time  from  his  talk 
with  the  District  Judge,  Captain  Bill's  purpose  was 
known  to  every  member  of  the  mob.  It  was  a  time 
to  take  to  tall  timber  and  high  trees.  The  society 
adjourned  sine  die. 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  235 

The  Eangers  did,  however,  visit  the  Buzzard's 
Water  Hole  at  the  time  when  the  mob  meeting  was 
due.  Not  a  soul  was  to  be  found  anywhere.  Then 
knowing  certain  members  of  the  gang,  and  having 
learned  the  society  signals,  Captain  Bill  and  his 
men  went  riding  over  the  country  from  house  to 

house,  halting  outside  to  call  *  *  Hello ! Hello ! 

Hello!  "  which  was  a  signal  call  between  members 
of  the  society.  In  reply  to  each  such  call  a  door 
opened  and  a  man  came  out  quickly,  only  to  find 
the  Rangers,  who  inquired  if  he  were  going  to  attend 
the  meeting  at  Buzzard's  Water  Hole;  whereupon, 
as  Captain  Bill  put  it  later,  **  they  like  to  died," 
and  vigorously  pretended  ignorance  of  the  meaning 
of  the  *  *  Hello  ' '  signal.  Next  morning  the  Rangers 
were  back  in  San  Saba,  and  when  the  news  came  in 
that  they  had  been  around  calling  on  mob  members 
there  was  not  only  anxiety,  but  mystery,  for  some 
of  these  members  of  the  society  lived  a  distance  of 
twenty-five  miles  away.  But  a  fifty  or  seventy-five 
mile  ride  in  a  night  on  an  errand  of  that  kind  was 
merely  a  little  diversion,  to  a  Ranger. 

The  grand  jury's  work  was  difficult.  It  found  in- 
dictments against  many  of  the  assassins,  but  the 
district  judge  made  an  effort  to  annul  most  of  these 
actions  on  one  ground  and  another,  and  to  trump  up 
charges  against  the  Rangers.  McDonald  finally 
gave  this  official  a  lecture  which  he  probably  remem- 
bers yet,  if  he  is  alive.  About  the  same  time  one  of 
the  gang  leveled  a  Winchester  at  Ranger  Barker, 


236  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

wlio  with  Ms  revolver  shot  him  five  times  before  he 
could  pull  the  trigger,  and  was  promptly  cleared— 
all  of  which  had  a  wholesome  effect  on  the  community 
as  a  whole. 

With  the  arrest  of  Ogle,  the  anonymous  letters 
became  very  terrible  indeed.  Captain  Bill  had 
brought  his  wife  to  the  San  Saba  camp  for  the 
winter,  and  one  morning  appeared  before  her  with 
one  of  these  letters  in  his  hand. 

'*  Well,  IVe  got  to  leave  San  Saba,*'  he  said. 

'*  Why,''  she  asked.  '*  Has  the  Governor  ordered 
you  away?  " 

"  No,  the  Governor  hasn't,  but  read  this." 

He  handed  her  the  letter  which  informed  him  that 
if  he  did  not  leave  San  Saba  in  two  days  he  would 
be  filled  so  full  of  lead  that  it  would  require  a  freight 
train  to  haul  him  to  the  graveyard.  Ehoda  Mc- 
Donald read  the  communication  through.  Then  she 
said: 

'*  Bill  Jess,  if  you  leave  here  on  account  of  a 
thing  like  that,  Pll  leave  you.^^ 

*'  Well,"  said  Captain  Bill,  sorrowfully,  ^*  I  seem 
to  be  in  a  mighty  bad  fix.  If  I  stay,  I'll  be  filled  with 
bullets,  and  if  I  go,  I'll  lose  my  wife.  I  s'pose  I'll 
have  to  stay." 

The  examining  trial  of  Bill  Ogle  was  an  event 
in  San  Saba.  Josh  McCormick  was  chief  witness 
for  the  State,  and  was  a  badly  scared  man,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  Eangers  had  taken  him  to  their 
camp  and  guaranteed  him  protection  from  the  mem- 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  237 

bers  of  the  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  crowd.  Other 
witnesses  on  both  sides  were  frightened  enough,  for 
nobody  knew  what  might  happen  before  this  thing 
ended.  It  was  the  program  of  the  mob  forces,  of 
which  Ogle  and  his  lawyers  were  the  acting  prin- 
cipals, to  impeach  the  State's  witnesses  and  thus 
break  down  their  evidence  before  the  court,  as  was 
their  custom.  Unfortunately  for  them  they  selected 
as  one  of  their  perjurers  old  Jeff  McCarthy,  father 
of  Brown's  wife,  himself  accessory  to  the  crime  for 
which  Ogle  was  being  tried.  Captain  Bill  knew  of 
McCarthy's  relation  to  the  affair,  though  the  evi- 
dence had  not  been  sufficient  for  his  indictment. 
Furthermore,  Captain  Bill  believed  that  the  old  man, 
like  McCormick,  whose  uncle  he  was,  had  been  forced 
into  the  band,  and  had  acted  under  compulsion 
throughout. 

McCormick  was  placed  on  the  stand,  and  told 
what  he  knew  about  the  society  and  its  crimes  in 
general,  and  about  the  killing  of  Jim  Brown  in  par- 
ticular. His  absolute  knowledge  did  not  extend  to 
the  connection  of  the  two  McCarthy's  with  the  kill- 
ing, and  they  were  not  mentioned  in  his  evidence. 
"When  he  left  the  stand,  a  number  of  nervous  wit- 
nesses were  called  by  the  other  side  to  swear  that 
they  would  not  believe  him  on  oath.  Finally  old 
Jeff  McCarthy  was.  reached.  He  was  frightened 
and  trembling  and  in  a  wretched  state  altogether. 
Captain  Bill  watched  him  closely  while  he  was  mak- 
ing his  statement  concerning  the  worthless  character 


238  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

of  his  nephew,  McCormick,  and  the  old  man  shifted 
and  twisted  to  evade  those  eyes  that  were  piercing 
his  very  soul.  Now  and  then  the  Eanger  Captain 
leaned  toward  him  and  lifted  his  finger  like  the  index 
of  fate,  prompting  the  District  Attorney  mean- 
time as  to  what  questions  to  put  to  the  witness.  The 
old  man  became  more  and  more  confused  and  miser- 
able, and  when  at  last  he  was  excused  he  tottered 
from  the  stand.  He  lingered  about  the  place,  how- 
ever, seemingly  unable  to  leave,  and  by  and  by,  when 
court  adjourned  for  the  day,  McDonald  found  him 
just  outside  the  door,  with  others  of  his  kind. 

*^  Jeff,''  Captain  Bill  said  in  his  calm  drawl,  '*  you 
did  not  tell  the  truth  on  the  stand ;  you  know  every 
word  you  said  was  a  lie." 

Old  Jeff  McCarthy  gasped,  tried  to  get  his  words, 
gasped  again  and  failed. 

^^  I  don't  blame  you  so  much,"  Captain  Bill  went 
on,  ^  ^  for  you  were  afraid  this  mob  would  kill  you  if 
you  didn't  testify  according  to  orders — now,  wasn't 
you?  " 

Again  the  wretched  old  man  made  an  effort  to 
reply,  but  he  was  past  speech. 

Captain  Bill's  finger  was  pinning  him  fast. 

*^  They  frightened  you  and  made  you  join  their 
gang,  didn't  they?  And  now  you  would  like  to  get 
out,  but  you  don't  know  how — ain't  that  so?  " 

The  old  man  was  on  the  verge  of  utter  collapse. 
He  backed  off  and  slunk  away.  After  that  Old 
Jeff  haunted  the  Eanger  Camp  and  finally  when  he 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  239 

could  stand  it  no  longer  made  full  confession  to 
Captain  Bill  of  his  connection  with  the  mob,  reveal- 
ing the  mob's  secrets,  its  signs  and  passwords,  the 
names  of  its  members  and  its  gruesome  oath. 

*^  They  will  kill  me,''  he  said,  ^'  but  I  don't  care. 
I'm  happier  now  than  I've  been  for  years !  " 

**  I  don't  reckon  they'll  try  that,"  said  Captain 
Bill.    *^  That  thing's  about  over,  around  here." 

They  formed  a  guard,  and  escorted  the  old  man 
home,  for  he  was  full  of  fear. 

When  the  court  of  examination  adjourned.  Ogle 
was  held  without  bail.  Through  the  efforts  of  Dis- 
trict Attorney  Lynden  it  was  decided  to  transfer 
Ogle's  case  to  Llano  County  for  final  trial,  Lynden 
making  his  fight  for  this  change  on  the  grounds  that 
no  fair  trial  could  be  obtained  in  the  San  Saba  court. 

In  Llano  County,  Ogle 's  case  was  fairly  tried,  and 
he  received  a  life  sentence.  Two  accessories  to  the 
killing  of  Brown,  were  arrested,  but  just  then  war 
was  declared  with  Spain;  the  Kangers  were  hastily 
ordered  off  to  protect  the  Rio  Grande  frontier,  where 
a  Mexican  incursion  was  expected,  and  without 
Captain  Bill  to  keep  up  the  vigorous  action,  and  a 
sharp  oversight  on  the  witness  stand,  convictions 
were  not  obtainable. 

However,  the  San  Saba  campaign  was  a  success. 
The  society  that  murdered  men  for  spite,  or  gain, 
or  pastime,  no  longer  existed.  When  the  next  elec- 
tion of  county  officials  came  around  the  old  lot  was 
wiped  out  clean,  and  men  of  character  and  probity 


240  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

came  into  power.  The  roads  that  led  to  the  Bad 
Lands  were  kept  dusty  with  the  emigration  of  men 
who  had  formerly  gathered  at  Buzzard's  Water 
Hole,  and  in  their  stead  came  those  who  would  give 
to  San  Saba  nobler  enterprise  and  worthier  fame. 
Eight  Eangers  were  among  the  new  blood  that  came 
to  rehabilitate  San  Saba  County.  That  long  winter 
of  '97-98  had  not  been  altogether  spent  in  chasing 
criminals.  These  eight  had  found  wives,  or  rumors 
of  wives ;  in  due  time  they  were  all  married,  and  with 
eight  established  resident  Eangers,  how  could  any 
county  help  becoming  as  serene  and  safe  as  a  Sun- 
day-school 1  Eanger  Edgar  Neil  was  elected  sheriff ; 
Ollie  Perry  was  chosen  constable ;  Dud  Barker,  Ed. 
Donnelly,  Forest  Edwards  and  Bob  McClure  also 
settled  in  San  Saba,  and  caused  Company  B  to  go 
recruiting  for  Eangers. 

Bill  Ogle  is  still  in  the  Penitentiary  at  Huntsville, 
Texas.  As  late  as  May,  1908,  he  wrote  to  Captain 
McDonald  as  follows : 

''  Huntsville,  Texas,  5/21/08. 
''  Capt.  W.  J.  McDonald, 

**  Austin,  Texas. 
**  Dear  Sir: 

*^  It  has  come  to  my  ears  from  some  of  my  friends, 
who  have  recently  visited  Austin  in  my  behalf,  that 
you  are  bitterly  opposed  to  my  being  released  from 
the  Penitentiary.  I  regret  very  much  that  you  are 
taking  this  stand  against  me.  My  friends  also  told 
me  that  one  of  your  reasons  of  being  in  opposition 
to  my  release  was,  that  you  had  fears  of  your  own 
life,  should  I  be  pardoned. 


The  Buzzard's  Water  Hole  Gang  241 

**  Capt.  McDonald,  I  want  to  assure  you  that  I 
have  no  feeling  of  bitterness  against  you,  and  you 
may  rest  assured,  that  I  would  never  harm  you  in 
the  least  or  try  to  injure  you  in  any  way,  should  I 
regain  my  liberty.  I  feel  that  in  doing  what  you 
did,  you  were  doing  your  duty  as  an  officer. 

**  My  conduct  in  the  Penitentiary  ought  to  be  a 
guarantee  to  you  of  my  intention  to  lead  a  correct 
life,  when  I  get  out,  and  I  feel,  that  if  you  will  in- 
vestigate my  standing  here,  and  find  out  what  the 
officers  here  think  about  me,  you  will  be  convinced 
of  this. 

*  *  I  trust  that  you  will  reconsider  this  matter,  and 
soften  your  heart  in  my  case,  and  you  may  rest  as- 
sured, that  I  will  appreciate  anything  you  will  do 
for  me  as  long  as  life  shall  last. 

**  I  would  be  pleased  to  hear  from  you,  and  I  hope 
that  you  will  give  me  some  little  encouragement. 

*  *  Thanking  you  in  advance  for  anything  you  may 
say  or  do  for  me,  I  am, 

*'  Yours  respectfully, 

''  Will  Ogle.'' 

Captain  McDonald's  reply  to  Ogle's  letter  was,  in 
part,  as  follows: 

**  Austin,  Texas,  June  4, 1908. 
''  Mr.  Bill  Ogle, 

**  Huntsville,  Penitentiary. 
''  Dear  Sir: 

**  Your  letter  of  the  21st  inst.  received,  and  con- 
tents duly  and  carefully  noted. 

**  I  note  what  you  say  in  regard  to  what  your 
friends  say  about  my  opposing  your  pardon,  claim- 
ing that  in  case  of  your  release  I  had  fears  of  my 


242  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

own  life.  Now,  Bill,  .  .  .  my  advice  to  you  is  to 
make  a  clear  truthful  statement,  giving  all  the  facts 
connected  with  numerous  murders  committed  by  this 
mob,  and  thereby  secure  your  liberty. 

^'  You  know  Pm  not  in  the  Ranger  service  now, 
and  it  makes  no  difference  to  me  who  is  released,  and 
I  so  notified  the  Board  of  Pardons. 

*^  You  say  you  have  no  feeling  of  bitterness 
against  me,  and  that  you  would  not  attempt  to  harm 
me.  You  can  rest  assured  that  I  have  no  fears  in 
that  line.  I  only  did  my  duty  as  an  ofificer,  as  you 
say  I  did,  and  I  have  no  animosity  against  you ;  and 
would  not  have  gone  before  the  Board  of  Pardons, 
had  I  not  been  sent  for. 

^*  I  understand  your  conduct  has  been  all  right 
while  in  jail,  and  in  the  Penitentiary,  and  I  am  sorry 
that  your  conduct  wasn't  better  before  you  got  into 
that  mob,  because  you  know  that  was  an  awful  thing. 
Now,  don't  you? 

^  ^  You  asked  me  to  consider  this  matter,  and  that 
you  will  appreciate  it  as  long  as  life  shall  last.  I 
certainly  will  not  utter  any  protest,  unless  the 
Governor  asks  me  what  I  know  about  it,  and  I'll 
then  tell  the  truth  about  it. 

<«  Very  respectfully, 

W.  J.  McDoi^ALD." 

"What  Captain  Bill  had  said  before  the  Board  of 
Pardons  was : 

*'  I  don't  know  the  gentleman  that  is  presenting 
this  petition  and  making  this  talk  to  you,  but  I  do 
know  the  names  of  a  good  many  of  those  signers, 
and  I  know  Bill  Ogle  is  guilty  of  this  murder,  and  I 
know  that  a  good  many  of  these  other  fellows  ought 
to  be  where  Bill  is  now. ' ' 


XXX 

Quieting  a  Texas  Feud 

the  reece-townsend  trouble,  and  how  the  factions 
were  once  dismissed  by  captain  mc  donald 

As  the  old  century  drew  near  its  end,  a  wave  of 
disorder  and  crime  that  amounted  to  an  inundation 
swept  over  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  portion  of 
Texas.  Murders,  lynchings,  mobs  and  rumors  of 
mobs,  were  reported  daily.  The  Pan-handle,  even 
in  its  palmiest  days,  had  been  a  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  as  compared  with  the  older,  more 
thickly  settled  portions  of  the  State.  In  the  Pan- 
handle, crime  was  likely  to  be  of  a  primitive,  ele- 
mental kind — the  sort  of  crime  that  flourished  in  the 
old,  old  days  when  the  Patriarchs  pastured  their 
flocks  on  a  hundred  hills  and  protected  them  with  a 
club. 

In  the  long-settled  districts  to  the  eastward,  crime 
had  ripened,  as  it  were,  and  manifested  itself  in 
more  finished  forms.  Feuds  had  developed,  and 
race  prejudice.  Communities  had  been  established 
which  found  it  necessary  to  hang  their  only  respect- 
able citizens  in  order  to  preserve  peace.  In  other 
places  old  ladies,  supposed  to  have  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  were  murdered  by  relatives  who  could  not 
wait  for  them  to  die.    These  are  the  things  that  come 


244  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

only  with  long  settlement,  and  where  certain  human 
impulses  have  been  carefully  bred  and  nourished. 

The  Eeece-Townsend  feud  in  Colorado  County 
gave  the  State  no  end  of  trouble.  The  Eeece  and 
Townsend  families  killed  one  another  in  the  regula- 
tion way,  when  good  opportunities  offered.  They 
had  a  fashion  of  gathering  in  the  streets  of  Colum- 
bus, the  county  seat,  for  their  demonstrations,  and 
sometimes  on  a  field-day  like  that  they  killed  mem- 
bers of  other  families,  by  mistake.  But  errors  of 
this  sort  were  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  cen- 
tral idea  of  the  feud;  they  apologized  and  went  on 
killing  one  another,  just  the  same. 

It  was  when  a  boy  who  belonged  to  neither  faction 
was  shot  and  killed,  at  one  of  these  reunions,  that 
Captain  Bill  McDonald  and  his  Eangers  were 
ordered  to  Columbus  to  put  down  what  seemed 
about  to  become  a  general  war. 

Captain  Bill  failed  to  receive  the  order  in  time  to 
get  his  men  the  same  day,  but  did  not  wait.  He 
wired  two  to  follow  him  on  first  train  and  set  out 
for  Columbus  alone.  Arriving  on  the  streets  of 
Columbus  he  saw  detachments  of  armed  men  gath- 
ered here  and  there — the  streets  being  otherwise 
deserted.  He  set  out  at  once  for  the  home  of  Dis- 
trict Judge  Kennon  to  whom  he  had  been  ordered 
to  report.  After  the  exchange  of  greetings,  Mc- 
Donald said  : 

**  We  haven't  much  time,  Judge,  from  appear- 


Quieting  a  Texas  Feud  245 

ances.  I  saw  a  lot  of  armed  men  as  I  came  along, 
and  it  looks  like  we're  going  to  have  war.'' 

**  You  are  right,'*  Judge  Kennon  said,  **  we  are 
expecting  it  any  minute.  Where  are  your  men,  and 
how  many  have  you  ?  ' ' 

**  None,  Judge.  I  came  alone,  but  I  expect  two 
in  the  morning." 

**  In  the  morning!  ^Hiy,  man,  by  that  time  the 
fight  will  be  over!  And  what  can  you  do  with  two 
men  here?  Nothing  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty 
will  help  this  case." 

*  ^  Judge, ' '  said  Captain  Bill,  in  his  deliberate  way, 
**  I  believe  I  can  stop  this  thing  if  you  will  come 
down  to  the  court-house  with  me.  Anyhow,  it's  my 
duty  to  try;  and  we'd  better  be  getting  over  there, 
now.  Judge,  for  this  ain't  going  to  wait  long.  If  we 
can't  stop  it  we  can  see  a  mighty  good  fight,  any- 
how. ' ' 

They  set  out  together.  The  court-house  in  Colum- 
bus stands  in  the  middle  of  a  big  square,  with  a 
street  on  each  of  its  four  sides.  On  one  corner  of 
the  square,  was  gathered  the  Reece  faction,  and  near 
another  corner  the  Townsend  crowd  had  assembled. 
Both  were  fully  armed.  They  were  making  no  active 
demonstrations  as  yet,  but  were  evidently  organiz- 
ing for  business.  It  was  a  still,  sunny  summer  day, 
and  both  crowds  were  in  easy  calling  distance  of  the 
court-house. 

**  Now,  Judge,"  said  Captain  Bill,  when  they  had 


246  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

arrived  at  the  court-house,  *  *  who  is  your  sheriff,  and 
where  is  he. ' ' 

**  His  name  is  Burford,  J.  C.  Burford,  and  he's 
over  there  with  the  Townsend  crowd.  He  belongs  to 
that  faction/' 

Captain  Bill  stepped  to  the  window  and  called  in 
the  strong  official  manner  of  a  witness  summons: 
*^  J.  C.  Burford,"  repeated  three  times. 

There  was  a  movement  in  the  Townsend  crowd 
and  a  man  crossed  over  and  ascended  the  court-house 
stair.  McDonald  introduced  himself,  as  the  sheriff 
entered,  and  added: 

'''  Now,  Mr.  Burford,  why  don't  you  stop  this  row? 
Looks  as  if  we  're  going  to  have  a  killing  match  here, 
right  away. ' ' 

^^  Captain,  I  can't.  I'm  powerless  to  do  anything 
with  these  men.  If  I  undertake  to  disarm  them,  it 
will  start  a  fight  that  nobody  can  stop. ' ' 

**  Well,  Burford,  if  you'll  do  as  I  tell  you,  I'll  stop 
it  in  thirty  minutes  or  I'll  resign  my  job  as  Eanger. ' ' 

**  All  right.  Captain,  I'll  do  whatever  you  say," 
assented  Burford. 

'  '■  Then  call  your  crowd  over  here.  I  want  to  talk 
to  them." 

Sheriff  Burford  stepped  to  the  window  and  signed 
to  the  Townsend  faction.  They  trooped  over  and 
ascended  the  court-house  stair,  carrying  their  guns. 

*  ^  Mr.  Burford, ' '  said  McDonald, ' '  which  are  your 
regular  deputies  here  ?  ' ' 

The  sheriff  indicated  his  three  deputy  officers. 


Quieting  a  Texas  Feud  247 

Captain  Bill  motioned  them  to  stand  apart  from  the 
others. 

*'  Now,  Sheriff, '*  he  said,  '*  disarm  the  rest  of 
these  men.'' 

The  officer  looked  a  little  bewildered. 

**  I  don't  know  about  that/'  he  began. 

*  *  Didn  't  you  agree  to  do  what  I  ordered  ?  ' '  Then, 
to  Kennon— ^^  Didn't  he,  Judge?  " 

The  judge  nodded.    The  sheriff  still  hesitated. 

**  Never  mind,"  said  McDonald,  ^*  I'll  do  it  my- 
self. Here,  boys,"  he  went  on  in  his  mild  friendly 
drawl,  **  come  in  here  and  stack  your  guns  in 
this  wardrobe.  It's  a  good  safe  place  for  them. 
They  won't  be  likely  to  go  off  and  hurt  anybody, 
in  there." 

What  was  it  about  the  manner  of  the  man  that 
made  men  obey?  Those  aroused,  bloodthirsty 
Texans,  full  of  an  old  deep  hatred  and  the  spirit  of 
revenge,  marched  in  and  put  away  their  guns  at  his 
direction,  with  scarcely  a  word  of  dissent. 

*  *  I  don 't  blame  you-all  for  having  your  guns  until 
now,"  Captain  Bill  went  on,  as  he  locked  the  ward- 
robe and  took  the  key.  **  But  we  want  to  stop  this 
war  if  we  can.  It  ain't  good  for  the  population. 
Now,  I'll  just  go  over  and  look  after  the  other 
crowd. ' ' 

He  went  out  of  the  court-house,  and  crossed  the 
street  to  where  the  Reece  crowd  was  gathered.  He 
carried  his  Winchester  and  the  faction  watched  him 
curiously  as  he  approached. 


248  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  I  guess  you  boys  are  going  to  war,  ain't  you?  '* 
he  said  cheerfully  as  he  came  nearer. 

Nobody  replied,  and  Captain  Bill  came  up  close. 

'*  Boys,''  he  said,  **  your  guns  are  all  right,  up  till 
now,  but  the  Governor  has  sent  me  down  here  to  stop 
this  trouble,  and  I  want  you-all  to  help  me." 

'^  How  can  we  help  you?  "  asked  one  of  the  Eeece 
faction. 

^*  Like  them  boys  did  over  yonder,  just  now — ^by 
giving  up  your  guns.    Then  by  going  quietly  home. ' ' 

There  was  a  little  murmur  of  dissent  and  one  big 
husky  fellow  said : 

'*  Well,  you'll  play  hell  getting  my  gun!  " 

In  less  than  an  instant,  a  Winchester  was  under 
his  nose  and  Captain  Bill  was  crisply  saying : 

**  I  will,  hey?  Well  I'll  just  put  you  in  jail,  any- 
way, to  show  you  how  easy  it  is  to  do  that. ' ' 

The  big  fellow  gave  a  great  jump  and  nearly  fell 
over  with  surprise  and  fright.  His  gun  dropped  as 
if  it  had  been  hot.  The  leader  of  the  Eeece  faction 
spoke  up  quickly. 

*'  Boys,  he  is  right,"  he  said.  **  The  Governor 
sent  him  here,  and  he's  obeying  orders.  He  has  no 
interest  in  one  side  or  the  other." 

McDonald  marched  the  Eeeces  over  to  a  store, 
nearby,  where  they  laid  down  their  guns,  and  the 
clerk  was  ordered  to  take  charge  of  them.  The  big 
man  under  arrest  promised  all  manner  of  things  if 
Captain  Bill  would  let  him  go.  He  was  set  free,  with 
a  warning.    Peace  now  seemed  to  be  restored,  and 


Quieting  a  Texas  Feud  249 

in  the  general  gratitude  of  the  community,  refresh- 
ments and  invitations  were  tendered  to  Captain  Bill 
from  both  sides.  He  decided,  however,  to  remain  on 
duty  during  the  rest  of  the  day  and  night.  His  two 
men  arrived  next  morning,  but  everything  was  still 
quiet,  and  there  appeared  no  sign  of  a  renewal  of 
hostilities.  The  Reece-Townsend  trouble,  for  the 
time,  at  least,  was  over.* 

*  Report  of  Adjutant-General  Thomas  Scurry  of  Texas  (1899): 
"  During  the  month  of  March,  1899,  Captam  McDonald  and  two  men 
were  ordered  to  Columbus,  Colorado  County,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting trouble  between  the  Townsend  and  Reece  factions.  Captain 
McDonald  went  alone,  his  men  not  being  able  to  reach  him  in  time,  and 
his  courage  and  cool  behavior  prevented  a  conflict  between  the  two  fac- 
tions." For  fuller  official  details  of  this  and  other  work  of  that  period, 
see  Appendix  B. 


XXXI 

The  Teans-cedae  Mysteky 

the  lynching  of  the  humpheeys  and  what  hap- 
pened to  the  lynchees 

Captain  McDonald  was  still  at  Columbus  when  he 
received  a  telegram  ordering  him  to  report  at  once 
to  Assistant  Attorney  General  Morris  and  the  local 
officials  at  Athens,  Henderson  County,  Texas,  for 
the  purpose  of  investigating  the  lynching  of  three 
respectable  citizens — a  father  and  two  sons,  named 
Humphrey — in  a  timbered  tract  between  Trinity 
Eiver  and  Cedar  Creek,  known  as  the  Trans-cedar 
Bottoms. 

Henderson  County  is  in  East  Texas,  and  the 
Trans-cedar  Bottoms  constitute  just  the  locality  and 
neighborhood  for  a  murder  of  the  Humphrey  kind. 
Shut-in,  thickly  timbered  and  lonely — ^it  is  a  place 
for  low  morals  to  become  lower  with  each  generation 
— for  scant  intellect  to  become  scantier — for  dark- 
ened minds  to  become  darker  and  more  impervious 
to  pity,  indeed  to  any  human  impulse  except  crime. 

The  Humphreys  had  not  fitted  an  environment 
like  that.  They  were  honest,  sturdy  men — fearless 
and  open  in  their  dealings.  They  were  a  menace  to 
a  gang  who  made  moonshine  whisky,  stole  whatever 


The  Trans-cedar  Mystery  251 

they  could  lay  hands  on  and  would  swear  a  man's 
life  away  for  a  lean  hog.  It  was  necessary  for  the 
welfare  of  the  neighborhood  that  the  Humphreys 
be  disposed  of,  and  they  were  taken  by  a  mob  one 
night  and  hanged — three  of  them  to  one  tree — they 
having  been  placed  upon  horses  and  the  horses 
driven  from  under  them.  Then,  when  the  ropes  had 
proven  too  long,  and  the  feet  of  the  three  Humphreys 
had  touched  the  ground,  the  mob  had  bent  back  the 
legs  of  the  victims  at  the  knee  and  tied  the  feet  up- 
ward to  the  hands,  so  that  the  Humphreys  might 
swing  clear. 

Bill  McDonald  knew  something  of  the  Trans- 
cedar  country,  and  the  character  of  its  settlement, 
for,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter,  he  had 
passed  his  youth  and  his  early  manhood  at  Hender- 
son and  at  Mineola,  both  within  seventy-five  miles 
of  that  very  district.  He  set  out  alone  by  first  train, 
and  arriving  at  Athens,  learned  the  details  of  the 
ghastly  crime  which  already,  through  the  tele- 
graphed reports,  had  stirred  the  entire  State.  He 
learned  that  the  lynching  had  taken  place  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  Athens,  near  a  little  post- 
office  named  Aley,  and  he  hurried  to  that  place,  with- 
out delay,  taking  with  him  one  Guy  Green,  an  Athens 
lawyer,  familiar  with  the  neighborhood.  With 
Green,  the  Ranger  went  straight  to  the  scene  of  the 
murder  and  made  an  examination  of  the  tracks  and 
various  clues  that  remained.  Two  days  had  passed 
since  the  crime,  and  many  of  the  signs  had  been 


252  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

obliterated.  Still  there  were  enough  for  a  man  with 
the  faculties  of  Captain  Bill.  He  identified  no  less 
than  four  trails — one,  as  he  decided,  made  by  five 
horses;  another  by  three;  a  third  by  two,  and  a 
fourth  the  track  of  a  single  horse.  The  trails  wound 
in  and  out,  crossed  and  recrossed,  and  were  evi- 
dently made  with  the  idea  of  balking  pursuit.  Cap- 
tain McDonald  did  not  consider  them  especially 
difficult,  and  having  satisfied  himself  that  they  could 
be  followed,  he  went  on  to  Aley,  for  it  was  near 
night-fall. 

At  Aley  he  joined  Assistant  Attorney  General  Ned 
Morris;  District  Attorney  Jerry  Crook;  Tom  Bell, 
sheriff  of  Bell  County,  and  Ben.  E.  Cabell,  sheriff 
of  Dallas  County,  who  had  come  over  to  aid  the 
investigation.  He  was  assured  that  the  work  was 
going  to  be  hard — that  the  greater  portion  of  the  in- 
habitants were  either  in  sympathy  with  the  lynchers 
or  were  so  much  in  terror  of  them  that  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  get  direct  evidence.  Captain 
Bill  looked  thoughtful  as  he  listened. 

**  Well,''  he  said,  ^^  I'm  going  to  stay  here  till  I 
get  it,  and  I'm  going  after  it  just  like  I  was  going 
for  a  doctor.  You  can  give  it  out  that  I  mean  busi- 
ness and  that  nobody  need  to  be  afraid  to  testify. 
I  '11  take  care  of  them. ' ' 

He  discussed  the  case  with  the  officials  and  learned 
that  one  Joe  Wilkerson  was  suspected  as  having 
been  connected  with  the  murder — it  being  well- 
known  that  Wilkerson  had  pursued  the  Humphreys 


The  Trans-cedar  Mystery  253 

and  bemeaned  them ;  finally  accusing  them  of  steal- 
ing hogs,  and  swearing  to  some  meat  which  the 
Humphreys  had  earned  by  digging  wells.  In  the 
evidence  it  had  developed  that  the  Wilkerson  hogs, 
though  mortgaged  by  him,  had  in  reality  been  sold, 
and  that  he  had  thus  attempted  to  evade  the  con- 
sequences of  this  illegal  act  by  saddling  the  Hum- 
phreys with  a  still  heavier  crime.  The  Humphreys 
had  not  been  convicted,  but  Wilkerson  had  never 
ceased  to  vilify  them.  Later,  one  of  the  Humphrey 
boys,  George,  had  been  set  upon  by  some  of  the  Wil- 
kerson crowd  and  in  defending  himself  had  killed, 
with  a  knife,  one  of  his  assailants.  The  courts — 
there  were  honest  courts  in  Athens — ^had  cleared 
him,  but  in  the  Trans-cedar  tribunal  he  had  been 
doomed.  These  facts  constituted  about  all  the  foun- 
dation of  known  motive  upon  which  McDonald  would 
have  to  build  his  evidence.  It  was  while  he  was  dis- 
cussing these  things  with  the  attorneys  on  the  night 
of  his  arrival  that  a  man  rode  up  to  the  gate  just 
outside  and  called  his  name.  Captain  Bill  rose,  but 
the  others  protested,  declaring  that  it  might  be  a  plot 
to  shoot  him  in  the  dark.  However,  he  went,  six- 
shooter  in  hand,  and  sticking  it  in  the  face  of  the 
caller,  demanded  his  business.  The  man  protested 
that  he  meant  no  harm,  but  had  come  from  one  Buck 
Holley,  who  lived  two. miles  down  the  road  and  said 
he  knew  Captain  McDonald  and  wanted  to  see  him. 
The  Ranger  Captain  reflected  a  minute. 
**  I  don't  know  any  Buck  Holley/'  he  said.    **  I 


254  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

knew  a  scoundrel  by  the  name  of  Bill  Holley  some 
years  ago  up  in  the  Pan-handle,  and  if  that  is  who  it 
is  I  don't  want  to  see  him.  I  judge  you  fellows  have 
got  a  gang  down  the  road  there  to  shoot  me  from 
ambush.    Who  are  you,  anyway?  '' 

The  man  said  his  name  was  Monasco ;  that  he  was 
staying  at  Holley 's  and  that  he  had  a  brother  named 
Bill  Monasco,  in  Amarillo. 

*^  I  know  Bill  Monasco,"  McDonald  said,  ^^  and 
he  has  a  brother  that  was  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 
Is  that  you?  " 

The  visitor  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  man — 
that  he  had  been  recently  released. 

''  Well,''  said  McDonald,  ''  that's  about  the  kind 
of  a  crowd  that  I  would  expect  to  find  Bill  Holley 
running  with,  and  you  can  tell  this  Buck  Holley,  as 
you  call  him,  that  I  suspect  him  of  being  connected 
with  this  mob,  and  that  I  used  to  make  him  stand 
hitched  in  the  Pan-handle,  and  that  I'm  going  to  do 
the  same  here. ' ' 

Monasco  said  '*  good-night,"  and  Captain  Mc- 
Donald never  saw  him  again.  Somewhat  later,  when 
he  met  Bill  Holley  on  the  streets  of  Athens,  he  said : 

**  Look  here.  Bill,  I'm  afraid  your  partner,  Mon- 
asco, didn't  tell  you  the  message  I  sent  the  night  I 
came.  I  said  I  didn't  know  Buck  Holley,  but  that 
I  knew  a  sorry  bulldozing  scoundrel  by  the  name  of 
Bill  Holley,  and  that  1  supposed  he  was  down  the 
road  there  to  take  a  shot  at  me  from  ambush.  You 
weren't  in  this  lynching  mob,  I  reckon,  but  they're 


The  Trans-cedar  Mystery  255 

your  friends,  and  you'd  help  'em  if  you  could.  Now, 
Bill,  youVe  been  courting  a  funeral  a  good  while, 
and  if  you  try  any  of  your  nonsense  here,  you'll  win 
out.'' 

He  searched  Holley  for  weapons  and  relieved  him 
of  a  big  pocket-knife,  the  bully  protesting  that  he 
was  no  longer  a  bad  man.  Captain  Bill  learned, 
however,  that  he  had  recently  whipped  his  wife, 
taken  her  clothes  and  driven  her  away  from  home, 
and  later  had  attempted  to  kill  her  father  for  in- 
terfering in  her  behalf. 

The  Ranger  Captain  was  out  early  the  morning 
after  his  arrival  in  Aley,  and  on  the  trail.  The 
tracks  of  the  five  horses  were  followed  to  the  houses 
of  Joe  Wilkerson  and  his  tenant,  and  to  the  homes 
of  John  and  Arthur  Greenhaw.  In  Wilkerson 's  lot 
the  officers  found  part  of  a  well-rope,  the  remainder 
of  which  had  been  cut  away.  It  matched  precisely 
with  the  rope  used  to  hang  the  Humphreys — the 
freshly  cut  ends  being  the  same  on  both.  The 
Wilkersons  and  one  of  the  Greenhaws  were  taken 
into  custody  forthwith,  and  other  arrests  followed, 
as  the  criminals  were  tracked  home. 

But  it  was  hard  to  get  evidence.  A  few  who  were 
anxious  to  testify,  hesitated  through  fear.  Others, 
subpoenaed  and  examined,  were  evidently  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  mob  and  withheld  their  knowledge 
accordingly.  Captain  Bill  had  been  reinforced  by 
Private  Olds  from  Company  C,  and  now  began  sys- 
tematic investigation.    He  established  his  court  of 


256  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

inquiry  under  a  brush  arbor — a  framework  of  poles, 
with  brush  a-top  to  keep  out  the  sun — and  there  for 
two  months  held  high  inquisition.  It  was  a  curious, 
exclusive  court.  The  Eanger  Captain  gave  it  out 
that  he  would  invite  such  attendance  as  he  needed, 
and  that  mere  spectators  would  kindly  remain  away. 
His  wishes  were  heeded. 

Little  by  little  evidence  collected.  Men  willing 
to  testify  gained  confidence  from  Captain  Bill's 
assurance  of  protection  and  told  what  they  knew. 
Men  unwilling  to  testify  found  themselves  unable  to 
hide  their  facts  where  they  could  not  be  reached 
by  the  keen  persuasive  probing  of  the  man  with 
those  ferret  eyes,  that  quiet  voice  and  those  alert 
extended  ears.  The  testimony  brought  out  the 
facts  the  Humphreys  had  known  of  an  illicit  still 
run  by  two  men — one  Polk  "Weeks  and  a  man  named 
Johns.  Also  that  they  had  known  of  John  Greenhaw 
stealing  cattle  and  hogs,  and  that  John  Greenhaw 
had  once  drawn  a  gun  on  the  elder  Humphrey,  who 
had  taken  it  away  from  him,  unloaded  and  returned 
it,  instead  of  killing  him  with  it  and  rendering  the 
community  a  service.  These  things,  added  to  the 
other  provocations  already  named,  had  made  the 
Humphreys  sufiiciently  unpopular  in  a  neighborhood 
like  the  Trans-cedar  bottoms  to  warrant  their  being 
hung  to  a  limb,  trussed  up  to  swing  clear  of  the 
ground. 

In  the  course  of  time,  practically  every  resident 
of  that  district  had  been  before  the  brush-arbor 


The  Trans-cedar  Mystery  257 

court  of  inquiry,  and  if  a  shorthand  report  had  been 
taken  of  that  testimony  it  would  have  furnished 
material  for  many  a  character  study  and  tale  of 
fiction. 

Guilty  knowledge  of  the  crime  actually  killed  a  man 
named  Eli  Sparks,  whose  conscience  tortured  him  day 
and  night  to  the  point  of  giving  testimony,  yet  whose 
fears  upon  the  witness  stand  caused  him  to  withhold 
the  truth.  He  was  a  large  red-faced  man,  evidently 
greatly  excited  when  questioned,  and  concealing 
more  than  he  told.  Soon  after  his  first  examination 
he  met  Captain  McDonald  and  offered  to  testify 
again,  saying  that  he  had  been  too  frightened  to  tell 
the  truth,  the  first  time,  but  thought  he  could  do 
better,  now.  The  Ranger  Captain  scrutinized  him 
keenly  and  made  the  prophecy  that  Eli  Sparks  would 
not  live  thirty  days,  unless  he  got  rid  of  the  load  on 
his  conscience.  He  died  in  just  half  that  time ;  not, 
however,  until  he  had  fully  confessed  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  preparation  for  the 
crime,  and  how  once  he  had  gone  with  the  mob  when 
they  had  intended  hanging  the  Humphreys,  but  for 
some  reason  had  postponed  the  event.  The  poor 
wretch  did  not  go  the  second  time,  but  his  guilt 
nevertheless  dragged  him  to  the  grave. 

Another  who  came  to  the  brush-arbor  inquiry  was 
a  banker  who  testified  that  the  Humphreys  had  re- 
ceived their  just  deserts  for  the  reason  that  they 
were  thieves  and  should  have  been  hung  long  before. 

"  How  did  you  come  to  escape,  then?  ^'  asked  Mc- 


258  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Donald.  *  *  I  understand  that  you  were  once  indicted 
for  cattle-stealing  yourself,  and  that  you  actually 
got  the  cattle.    Is  that  so  ?  ' ' 

Under  severe  pressure  the  witness  admitted  that 
there  had  been  such  a  charge  and  that  the  cattle  had 
by  some  means  got  into  his  possession.  He  got 
away  at  last  and  disappeared  out  of  the  case  en- 
tirely, though  he  had  been  active  up  to  that  point. 

The  efforts  of  the  men  believed  to  be  concerned 
as  principals  in  the  crime,  to  establish  their  in- 
nocence, were  sometimes  wary,  sometimes  crudely 
absurd,  and  always  fruitless.  The  mesh  of  fact  that 
was  weaving  and  linking  itself  about  them  became 
daily  more  tightly  woven,  more  impossible  to  tear 
away.  Knowing  themselves  closely  watched,  they 
dared  not  attempt  flight.  To  do  so  would  be  to  con- 
fess guilty  and  capture  would  be  well-nigh  certain. 
Like  Ahab,  having  compassed  the  death  of  a  neigh- 
bor, they  ^*  lay  in  sackcloth  and  went  softly.  *' 
Finally  it  came  to  pass  that  three  of  these  ^^  chil- 
dren of  Belial  "  turned  State's  evidence — that  is, 
they  confessed  fully,  sacrificing  their  comrades, 
under  the  law,  to  save  themselves.  Eleven  men,  in- 
eluding  these  three,  were  brought  to  trial. 

Yet,  conviction  was  not  easy,  in  spite  of  the  direct 
character  of  the  evidence.  The  accused  men  em- 
ployed lawyers  who  were  ready  to  balk  at  no  methods 
that  would  save  their  clients,  and  there  were  plenty 
of  witnesses  willing  to  testify  as  instructed.  Efforts 
were  also  made  to  influence  and  coerce  the  State's 


The  Trans-cedar  Mystery  259 

witnesses,  and  McDonald  found  it  necessary  to 
threaten  certain  counsel  for  the  defense  with  subor- 
nation proceedings,  before  he  could  get  the  way 
clear  for  action.  Even  then  it  was  thought  advisable 
to  transfer  the  cases  to  Palestine,  in  the  adjoining 
county,  for  trial — sentiment  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Athens  being  regarded  as  too  favorable  to  the  ac- 
cused. In  the  final  trial  John  and  Arthur  Greenhaw 
and  Polk  Weeks,  who  were  not  only  murderers,  but 
cowardly  traitors,  were  given  their  freedom  in  ex- 
change for  their  evidence  that  sent  their  eight 
associates  to  the  Penitentiary  for  life. 

Polk  Weeks,  in  giving  his  evidence,  appeared  much 
disturbed,  but  confessed  how  he  had  climbed  the  tree 
and  tied  the  ropes,  and  tied  them  too  long,  making 
it  necessary  for  the  legs  of  the  Humphreys  to  be 
bent  upwards,  to  clear  the  ground.  John  Greenhaw 
corroborated  this,  but  grinned  as  he  told  it,  remem- 
bering how  amusing  it  had  been.  He  did  not  live 
to  enjoy  his  freedom,  for  he  was  shot  soon  after  his 
discharge  by  a  son  of  one  of  the  murdered  Hum- 
phreys— young  Willie  Humphrey,  who  was  never 
punished  for  that  righteous  act.* 

*  Extract  from  a  letter  relating  to  the  Humphrey  case,  written  by- 
Assistant  Attorney  General  N.  B.  Morris  to  Adjutant-General  Thos. 
Scurry;  included  in  the  latter's  Annual  Report  for  1899-1900. 

"  You  will  remember  that  at  the  request  of  the  sheriff,  county  attor- 
ney, and  other  local  authorities  of  that  county,  Captain  McDonald  and 
Private  Old  were  sent  to  assist  them  and  myself  in  the  investigation  of 
that  horrible  murder  which  was  then  enshrouded  in  a  mystery  that  it 
seemed  almost  impossible  to  uncover.  Before  the  Rangers  reached  us 
the  people  in  the  neighborhood  seemed  afraid  to  talk.     They  said  they 


XXXII 

Othek  Mobs  and  Eiots 

bangers  at  orange  and  at  port  arthur.    five 
against  four  hundred 

A  RIOT  at  Orange,  Texas,  followed  the  Trans- 
cedar  episode.  Orange  is  a  lumber  town  on  the 
Sabine  River  in  the  extreme  south-east  portion  of 
Texas,  and  many  negroes  are  employed  in  the  saw- 
mills. A  white  mob  composed  of  the  tougher  ele- 
ment in  and  about  the  city  had  organized,  with  the 
purpose  of  driving  the  negroes  away.  The  negroes 
received  anonymous  warnings,  and  as  they  did  not  go 
immediately,  were  assaulted.  Some  twenty  or  more 
of  the  mob,  one  dark  night,  surrounded  a  house 
where  a  number  of  the  colored  men  were  assembled 
and  opened  fire,  killing  one  man  and  wounding  sev- 
eral others.  Ranger  Captain  Rogers  of  Company 
E,  with  his  men,  was  ordered  to  Orange,  but  soon 

would  be  murdered,  too,  if  they  took  a  hand  in  working  up  the  case. 
About  the  first  thing  that  Captain  McDonald  did  was  to  assure  the  people 
that  he  and  his  associates  had  come  to  stay  until  every  murderer  was  ar- 
rested and  convicted,  and  that  those  who  assisted  him  would  be  pro- 
tected. They  beheved  him,  and  in  consequence  thereof,  soon  began  to 
talk  and  feel  that  the  law  would  be  vindicated,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
it  was.  The  work  of  the  Rangers  in  this  one  case  is  worth  more  to  the 
State,  in  my  opinion,  than  your  department  will  cost  during  your  admin- 
istration. In  fact  such  service  cannot  be  valued  in  dollars  and  cents."  * 
*  For  further  official  details  of  this  and  other  work  of  that  period,  see  Appendix  B. 


Other  Mobs  and  Riots  261 

after  his  arrival,  while  making  an  arrest  among  des- 
perate characters,  was  disabled  through  injury  to  an 
old  wound.  Captain  McDonald  then  came  down  from 
Athens  with  Rangers  Fuller,  Jones,  Old,  McCauley, 
Saxon  and  Bell.  They  lost  no  time  in  taking  a  firm 
grip  on  the  situation  and  landed  twenty-one  of  the 
offenders  in  jail,  with  evidence  sufficient  to  convict. 
But  it  was  a  hard  profitless  work.  Whatever  the 
citizens  might  want,  Orange  officially  did  not  care 
for  law  and  order.  A  gang  controlled  the  law  of  the 
community,  and  the  order  took  care  of  itself. 
Private  Fuller  found  it  necessary  to  kill  one  man 
who  interfered  with  an  arrest  and  attempted  to  use 
a  knife.  Later,  Fuller  was  summoned  to  Orange, 
ostensibly  to  answer  to  the  charge  of  illegal  arrest, 
but  in  reality  for  purposes  of  revenge.  Captain 
McDonald  protested  to  the  Governor  that  it  was 
simply  an  excuse  to  get  Fuller  over  there  to  kill 
him. 

It  turned  out  accordingly:  Fuller  was  washing 
his  face  in  a  barber  shop  when  the  dead  man's 
brother  slipped  up  behind  and  shot  him  through  the 
head  with  a  Winchester,  killing  him  instantly.  The 
assassin  was  made  chief  deputy  sheriff,  as  a  reward, 
and  in  due  time  was  himself  killed  by  the  city 
marshal,  who,  in  turn,  was  killed  by  the  dead  man's 
family;  which  process  of  extermination  has  prob- 
ably continued  to  this  day,  and  perhaps  Orange  has 
improved  accordingly.  There  was  room  for  im- 
provement.   The  cases  against  the  twenty-one  men 


262  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

arrested  by  Captain  Bill  and  his  Rangers  were  all 
dismissed,  as  soon  as  the  Rangers  got  out  of  town.* 

Port  Arthur,  also  on  the  Sabine  River,  below 
Orange,  is  a  city  of  oil  refineries,  and  is  a  port  of 
entry,  as  its  name  implies,  its  outlet  being  through 
Sabine  Pass.  In  March,  1902,  trouble  broke  out 
there  between  the  longshoremen  and  the  operators 
of  the  refineries.  As  a  result  the  longshoremen 
struck,  and  when  the  operators  introduced  Mexican 
laborers,  the  strikers,  numbering  about  four  hun- 
dred, drove  them  away  and  issued  a  manifesto,  de- 
claring that  no  more  Mexicans  need  apply. 

It  was  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  that  Cap- 
tain Bill  was  ordered  by  Adjutant-General  Scurry 
to  take  several  men  and  be  on  hand  when  the  next 
Mexicans  arrived.  He  took  four — Privates  Grude 
Brittain,  Jim  Keeton,  John  Blanton  and  Blaze 
Delling — picked  men — and  arrived  on  the  ground  a 
day  in  advance  of  the  next  hundred  Mexicans,  then 
on  the  way. 

The  Rangers  proceeded  immediately  to  the  re- 
fineries, which  are  located  several  miles  from  the 
city,  and  saw  nothing  of  the  longshoremen  that  day. 
It  was  likely  they  would  be  on  hand  next  morning 
when  the  Mexicans  would  arrive.  Threats  had  been 
made  that  these  Mexicans  would  not  be  allowed  to 
leave  the  train  for  the  refineries,  and  that  if  any 
such  attempt  was  made,  blood  would  flow. 

*  For  official  particulars  concerning  this  incident  and  other  work  of 
that  period,  see  Appendix  B. 


Other  Mobs  and  Riots  263 

When  the  train  pulled  in  next  morning  Captain 
Bill  and  his  men  were  on  hand,  fully  expecting 
trouble.  Everything  was  quiet,  and  the  Mexicans 
were  marched  by  the  Rangers  to  the  refineries  and 
went  immediately  to  work.  Then,  there  still  being 
no  sign  of  interference,  Captain  Bill  said : 

**  Well,  boys,  let's  go  down  in  town  now  and  see 
what's  become  of  the  mob." 

The  mob  was  not  hard  to  find.  It  had  assembled 
on  the  street  and  was  a  good  deal  excited.  Men 
were  talking,  and  gesticulating,  and  denouncing,  in 
words  noisy  and  violent.  As  Captain  Bill  and  his 
men  drew  up,  a  voice  loud  enough  for  them  to  hear 
said: 

'^  There  are  them  damned  Eangers,  now.'' 

The  little  company  of  five  continued  to  advance 
until  within  easy  talking  distance;  then  McDonald 
said: 

*  *  What  are  you  men  doing  here,  gathered  in  a 
crowd  this  way,  on  the  street?  " 

A  longshoreman  asked: 

**  Are  you  the  Eangers?  " 

*'  That's  what  we  are,"  said  Captain  Bill. 

**  Come  down  to  protect  the  Mexicans,  I  guess." 

**  That's  what  the  Adjutant-General  sent  us  for," 
returned  Captain  Bill  pleasantly. 

**  Well,  we're  not  going  to  let  them  work." 

'*  They're  already  working,"  smiled  Captain  Bill. 

* '  How  many  men  did  you  bring  with  you  1  ' '  asked 
the  leader  of  the  rioters. 


264  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

''  Enough  to  whip  this  crowd,  if  a  fight  is  what 
you^re  looking  for,"  Captain  Bill  answered — still 
pleasant. 

''  Where  are  they?  '' 

*'  Here,"  said  Captain  Bill,  indicating  his  brigade 
of  four — ^five  with  himself. 

*  *  Hell !  ' '  said  the  leader  of  the  longshoremen, 
*'  there  are  four  hundred  of  us." 

*'  Well,  that  makes  it  just  about  even,"  drawled 
Captain  Bill,  more  pleasant  than  ever,  *  *  if  you  think 
you  want  to  fight,  get  at  it !  " 

The  leader  of  the  strikers  looked  at  the  little  army 
thoughtfully.    Then  he  turned  to  the  others. 

''  Boys,"  he  said,  ^^  I  think  these  Eangers  are  all 
right.    Let's  all  have  a  drink!  " 

The  Eangers  politely  declined  this  invitation,  but 
continued  on  friendly  terms  with  the  strikers.  There 
was  no  further  trouble,  and  a  few  days  later  Cap- 
tain McDonald  and  one  of  his  men  left  Port  Arthur. 
The  remainder  of  his  force  stayed  a  few  weeks 
longer,  but  the  war  was  over. 


xxxin 

Other  Work  in  East  Texas 
districts  which  even  a  ranger  finds  hopeless.    the 

TOUCHSTONE   MURDER.      THE   CONFESSION 
OP  AB   ANGLE 

It  was  only  a  short  distance — as  distances  go  in 
Texas  (only  a  hundred  miles  or  so,  in  a  south- 
easterly direction) — from  the  Trans-cedar  country, 
made  celebrated  by  the  Humphrey  lynching,  to  cer- 
tain sections  of  Walker,  Houston,  Madison  and 
Trinity  counties,  where  similar  social  conditions 
have  developed. 

In  KittrelPs  Cut-off,  for  instance,  and  around 
Groveton,  there  has  developed  a  special  talent  for 
assassination.  Men  walking  along  the  road  in  day- 
light are  sometimes  shot  from  behind.  When  it  is 
night-fall  the  assassin  may  lie  in  wait  by  the  road- 
side. If  he  gets  the  wrong  man  by  mistake,  it  is  no 
difference — it  keeps  him  in  practice.  Sometimes  the 
victim  is  called  to  his  door  at  night  and  shot  down 
from  the  dark.  These  are  a  few  of  the  methods  for 
removing  individuals  not  favorably  regarded  by  the 
active  set,  and  many  other  forms  of  murder  are 
adopted  or  invented  for  particular  cases.  Even 
Captain  Bill  McDonald  found  these  districts  hope- 
less as  fields  for  reform,  he  said. 


266  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  If  a  whole  community  has  no  nse  for  law  and 
order  it's  not  worth  while  to  try  to  enforce  such 
things.  YouVe  got  to  stand  over  a  place  like  that 
with  a  gun  to  make  it  behave,  and  when  you  catch 
a  man,  no  matter  what  the  evidence  is  against  him, 
*  they'll  turn  him  loose.  In  Groveton,  for  instance, 
when  I  was  there  they  had  only  two  law-respecting 
officers — the  district  clerk  and  the  county  attorney, 
*  and  the  county  attorney  they  killed.  Good  citizens 
were  so  completely  in  the  minority  that  they  were 
helpless.  Kittrell  's  Cut-off  was  probably  one  of  the 
most  lawless  places  you  could  find  anywhere,  though 
it  was  named  after  a  judge.  It's  a  strip  cut  off 
of  Houston  and  Trinity  counties  and  added  to 
Walker,  and  its  name  is  the  only  thing  about  it  that 
ever  had  anything  to  do  with  the  law.  Many  mur- 
ders have  been  committed  there  and  no  one  ever 
convicted  for  them,  so  far  as  I  know." 

Captain  Bill  was  ordered  to  investigate  a  Kit- 
trell's  Cut-off  murder  during  December,  1903.  A 
man  had  been  assassinated  from  ambush,  in  the 
fashion  of  that  section,  and  such  attempts  as  had  been 
made  by  the  local  authorities  to  uncover  the  mur- 
derers had  been  without  result.  But  such  murders 
had  become  so  common  there  that  the  few  respect- 
able citizens  of  the  locality  had  decided  to  appeal  to 
Governor  Lanham  for  aid,  and  their  plea  asked  es- 
pecially for  Captain  McDonald. 

McDonald  went  down;  looked  over  the  ground 
and  sent  for  one  of  his  men.  Blaze  Delling,  to  assist 


Other  Work  in  East  Texas  267 

in  handling  the  situation — the  community  being 
simply  infested  with  men  of  low,  desperate  natures. 
Already  the  Ranger  Captain  had  taken  up  the  trail 
and  had  arrested  three  men,  and  these  were  brought 
for  trial. 

What  was  the  use?  Before  the  final  trial,  the 
three  principal  witnesses  suddenly  sickened  and 
died ;  the  District  Attorney  found  himself  without  a 
case ;  the  prisoners  were  discharged. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  County  Attorney  H. 
L.  Robb  (himself  a  victim  later),  asked  that  Captain 
McDonald  be  sent  to  Groveton  in  Trinity  County  to 
unravel  the  mystery  surrounding  the  murder  of  an 
old  lady,  committed  about  a  year  before.  Captain 
Bill  went  reluctantly,  for  he  was  tired  of  that  section 
and  cared  not  much  for  a  **  cold  '^  trail  at  best. 

On  arrival  at  Groveton,  he  learned  the  facts  so 
far  as  known.  A  feeble  old  lady  named  Touchstone, 
living  alone,  had  been  murdered  for  a  stocking  full 
of  money  supposed  to  be  hidden  somewhere  on  the 
premises.  She  had  only  a  life  interest  in  the  money, 
anyway,  but  the  heirs  to  her  trifling  hoard  of  prob- 
ably not  more  than  a  few  hundred  dollars,  had  been 
impatient  and  had  frequently  demanded  their 
shares.  They  were  a  devilish  brood,  but  the  old 
lady  did  not  seem  to  fear  them  and  carried  a  stout 
stick  for  defense.  She  had  been  found  murdered, 
one  afternoon,  her  throat  cut,  and  her  body  left 
lying  in  the  dooryard,  where  it  had  been  mangled 
by  hogs.     Naturally  the  relatives  were  suspected, 


268  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

but  thus  far  no  evidence  had  been  found  against 
them. 

There  was  evidence  enough,  however,  for  a  man 
who  had  eyes  trained  to  follow  clues  and  to  dis- 
tinguish signs.  In  a  comparatively  brief  time,  Cap- 
tain McDonald  felt  warranted  in  causing  the  arrest 
of  one  Ab  Angle,  and  several  others.  Angle  had 
^  married  a  granddaughter  of  the  murdered  woman 
and  all  were  relatives.  In  the  course  of  time,  Angle's 
heart  failed  him  and  he  confessed  the  crime  in  full. 
In  his  sworn  statement,  he  said : 

*^  We  all  talked  the  matter  over  about  going  and 
robbing  Mary  Jane  (Mrs.  Touchstone)  and  Hill 
Hutto  said:  *  Let's  have  an  understanding.'  George 
Angle,  Wash  and  Joe  Tullis,  Hill  Hutto  and  Mrs. 
Tullis  and  myself  (all  relatives)  were  to  meet  over 
at  Mary  Jane's  to  see  where  she  kept  the  money,  and 
to  get  it.  That  was  our  intention — to  get  the  money 
on  Saturday  night.  Hill  Hutto  was  to  be  there  when 
we  got  there.  It  was  just  dark  when  we  got  started, 
and  we  went  through  the  fields  in  an  easterly  direc- 
tion, in  a  trail  through  the  woods. 

^'  The  understanding  was  that  Joe  Tullis  and  I 
were  to  do  the  watching,  and  Joe  was  on  one  end  of 
the  gallery  and  I  was  on  the  other  end — he  being 
told  to  watch  the  east  end  of  the  road,  and  I  to 
watch  the  west  end.  Hill  Hutto  was  to  be  there, 
talking  to  Mary  Jane,  while  George  Angle  and  Mrs. 
Tullis  were  to  go  in  at  the  front,  and  Wash  was  to 
go  in  at  the  back  of  the  house.  She  (Mrs.  Touch- 
stone) had  some  meal  spread  out  on  the  floor  to  dry. 
She  was  sitting  down — I  do  not  know  on  what — talk- 
ing to  Hill. 


other  Work  in  East  Texas  269 

**  Mrs.  Tullis  said,  *  Mary  Jane,  we  have  come  to 
see  whether  you  have  that  money  yet,  or  not. '  Mary 
Jane  started  to  get  up,  but  Hill  Hutto,  George 
Angle,  Wash  Tullis  and  Mrs.  Tullis  grabbed  her 
and  carried  her  out  on  the  gallery  and  told  me  and 
Joe  to  watch  the  road,  good,  and  we  told  her  (Mrs. 
Tullis)  we  would,  as  far  as  we  could  see.  She  (Mrs. 
Touchstone)  started  to  holler,  but  Wash  put  a  hand- 
kerchief over  her  mouth.  He  had  a  white  handker- 
chief in  his  right  coat-pocket.    .    .    /' 

The  confession  then  relates  how  they  put  out  the 
fire  (fearing  its  light)  by  throwing  a  bucket  of  water 
on  it  and  how  they  jerked  off  a  bonnet  which  the  old 
lady  had  on.    It  proceeds : 

'*  They  (her  precious  relatives)  carried  her  to  the 
edge  of  the  gallery  and  asked  her  to  say  where  the 
money  was,  and  she  said  she  did  not  have  any,  and 
they  pushed  her  off,  and  as  they  pushed  her  off,  Hill 
Hutto  struck  her  with  a  stick. ' ' 

It  was  at  this  point  probably  that  they  cut  their 
victim's  throat — a  detail  which  Angle's  confession 
does  not  mention — through  delicacy,  perhaps.  He 
says: 

*  *  They  went  out  and  examined  her,  going  through 
her  clothes  carefully,  in  search  for  her  possessions. 
Hill  Hutto,  Wash  Tullis,  George  Angle  and  Mrs. 
Tullis  did  the  examining,  and  tliey  got  one-half  and 
one-quarter  of  a  dollar.  George  Angle  and  Wash 
Tullis  spent  the  money.  Hill  Hutto,  Wash  Tullis, 
George  Angle  and  Mrs.  Tullis  looked  over  the  house 
and  went  through  the  trunks  and  the  bed.    If  they 


270  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

got  any  money,  I  do  not  know  of  it.  They  came  out 
of  the  house  and  looked  under  the  house  to  see  if 
they  could  find  any  dirt  dug  up,  or  any  fresh  signs, 
but  they  could  not  find  any,  and  we  went  out  at  the 
west  end  of  the  gallery,  and  climbed  over  the  fence 
and  took  the  trail  through  the  fields  and  Hill  went 
the  back  way.     .    .    /' 

Many  half -burnt  matches  were  found  under  the 
*  house  by  Rangers  McDonald  and  Belling  to  confirm 
this  statement.    The  confession  proceeds : 

*'  The  stick  and  the  bucket  were  thrown  out  near 
where  she  was.  The  stick  was  her  walking-stick 
and  the  bucket  the  one  Wash  put  the  fire  out  with. 
Hill  threw  the  stick  out,  and  Wash  threw  out  the 
bucket.  Hill  said  he  would  leave  the  bucket  out 
there  and  the  people  would  think  she  just  went  out 
to  slop  the  hogs  and  fell  out.  It  was  understood  that 
night  by  all  six  of  us  that  Wash  and  George  would 
come  back  and  get  the  hogs  in  there,  and  that  they 
would  dig  a  hole  on  the  left  of  the  gate  as  you  go  in. ' ' 

He  details  how  Wash  Tullis  and  George  Angle 
changed  their  shirts  before  breakfast — for  the  re- 
moval of  ghastly  evidence,  of  course — and  how  after 
breakfast  they  changed  their  trousers.  He  relates 
how  the  hogs  were  to  be  ^  ^  tolled  into  the  yard, '  ^  and 
adds: 

^^  The  understanding  was  that  we  were  to  find  her 
by  the  buzzards,  but  Jim  Ray  found  her  before  the 
time. ' ' 

Now,  it  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  a  con- 
fession like  that  would  hang  the  confessor  and  his 


Other  Work  in  East  Texas  271 

confederates  as  high  as  Haman.  It  did  nothing  of 
the  sort.  Angle's  relatives  prevailed  upon  him  to 
retract  his  confession,  and  under  the  law,  as  ad- 
ministered in  that  district,  they  were  all  discharged 
except  Angle  himself  who  was  sentenced  for  three 
years  for  having  committed  perjury  hy  swearing  to 
a  confession  which  he  subsequently  declared  a  lie! 

It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  men  like  Bill 
McDonald  should  lose  interest  in  a  neighborhood 
where  conditions  like  these  exist.  What  use  is  it 
to  track  and  bring  home  criminals  only  to  see  them 
go  free,  perhaps  vowing  vengeance  against  their 
captors.  A  detective  was  assassinated  in  Groveton, 
and  Eanger  Dunaway,  on  invitation  of  Attorney 
Eobb,  went  over  to  look  into  the  matter.  On  their 
way  to  the  court-house  both  Eobb  and  Dunaway 
were  fired  upon  from  the  window  of  a  law  office. 
Dunaway  was  severely  wounded,  and  Eobb,  fatally 
injured,  lived  but  a  short  time. 

It  would  be  monotonous  to  detail  the  instances  of 
crime  and  of  the  captures  made  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Groveton,  Madisonville  and  neighboring  com- 
munities; to  record  the  careful  and  brave  work  of 
Captain  McDonald  and  his  Eangers  which  led  only 
to  failure  in  the  end,  through  the  lack  of  public  and 
official  co-operation.  When  the  men  who  administer 
the  law,  and  a  controlling  number  of  the  citizens, 
do  not  want  justice,  then  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well 
that  law  abiding  citizens  should  move  away  and  let 
the  rest  murder  one  another  to  their  hearts '  content. 


272  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

A  father  and  son  waylaid  and  killed  an  old  man 
named  Tummins  in  Madison  County,  and  were  ar- 
rested single-handed  by  Captain  Bill.  The  two  were 
discharged  on  the  plea  of  self  defense. 

A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Hunter  Gibbs  was 
entrapped  and  assassinated  near  Madisonville,  and 
his  murderers  were  traced  home  and  arrested  by  Mc- 
Donald and  his  Rangers.  They  were  eventually 
discharged. 

A  man  named  Wright  Terry  (this  was  in  Grove- 
ton)  after  killing  an  officer  and  a  doctor  and  nearly 
killing  a  drummer,  was  brought  to  book  by  Captain 
Bill,  and  might  have  gone  free  like  the  others  if  he 
hadn't  good-naturedly  agreed  to  plead  guilty  and 
take  a  life  sentence  rather  than  discommode  his 
friends.  But  enough,  let  us  turn  to  pleasanter 
things.* 

*  For  certain  details  of  the  Touchstone  episode  and  other  work  of 
this  period,  see  Captain  McDonald's  report  for  two  years  ending  August 
31,  1904,  Appendix  C. 


XXXIV 

A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  Pbesident 

CAPTAIN  BILL  SEES  THE  PRESIDENT  THROUGH  TEXAS  AND 

ACCOMPANIES   HIM   ON    THE    ^'  BEST   TIME   OF    HIS 

LIFE."      QUANAH   PARKER   TELLS   STORIES 

TO    THE    HUNTERS 

It  was  early  in  April,  1905,  that  Governor  Lan- 
ham  summoned  Captain  McDonald  and  informed 
him  that  a  wolf-hunt  had  been  arranged  for  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  by  these  two  big  ranchmen,  Tom 
Waggoner  and  Burke  Burnett,  somewhere  in  their 
pastures  up  in  Comanche  County,  Oklahoma,  and 
that  he,  McDonald,  was  to  accompany  the  President 
as  a  special  body-guard,  particularly  through  the 
State  of  Texas. 

Captain  Bill  looked  unhappy. 

**  Governor,''  he  said,  **  you  know  I'm  a  hell- 
roarin'  democrat,  and  don't  care  much  for  re- 
publican presidents  in  general  and  this  one  in  par- 
ticular. I'd  rather  you  picked  another  man  for  the 
job." 

**  All  the  same.  Captain,  we've  picked  you,  and 
you'll  have  to  serve,  "said  Lanham. 

Captain  Bill  saluted. 

**  Just  as  you  say.  Governor,"  he  said,  **  only  if 


274  '       Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Vd  done  the  picking  I'd  picked  a  man  that  wanted 
the  job.    There's  enough  of  'em." 

Captain  Bill  proceeded  to  Fort  Worth  to  join  the 
President's  party.  Col.  Cecil  Lyon  introduced  the 
Eanger  Captain  to  President  Roosevelt,  and  Burke 
Burnett,  also  present,  said : 

^*  Now,  Captain,  you've  got  a  very  precious  charge 
— the  President  of  the  United  States.  He's  in  your 
hands,  don't  let  anything  happen;  don't  let  anybody 
assassinate  him. ' ' 

Captain  Bill  smiled,  in  his  quaint  fashion. 

*'  Burke,"  he  said,  pleasantly,  '*  if  anybody  gets 
killed  on  this  trip  I'll  be  the  man  charged  with  it, 
and  the  President  of  the  United  States  won't  be  the 
victim,  either." 

Without  delay  the  President  and  party  took  the 
Fort  Worth  and  Denver  train  toward  the  Pan- 
handle. Once  inside,  out  of  the  throng  and  under 
way  President  Roosevelt  with  his  accustomed  good- 
nature and  friendly  fellowship  promptly  struck  up 
a  conversation  with  his  Master  of  Affairs. 

*'  Look  here,"  he  said,  ^^  you  were  introduced  to 
me  as  Captain  McDonald:  you're  not  Captain  Bill 
McDonald  of  the  Rangers,  are  you!  " 

Captain  Bill  nodded. 

'*  That's  my  name,  Mr.  President, "  he  said,  '*  I've 
been  captain  of  a  company  of  Rangers  for  a  long 
time. ' ' 

**  Is  it  possible?  Well,  I've  heard  a  good  deal 
about  you." 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  275 

Theodore  Roosevelt  has  been  accused  of  a  good 
many  things,  but  no  one  ever  accused  him  of  not 
being  able  to  make  friends,  or  to  keep  them. 

Captain  Bill  smiled,  as  who  wouldn't. 

''  Why,  Mr.  President, '^  he  said,  ''  I  didn't  think 
you'd  ever  heard  about  the  Eangers." 

The  President's  teeth  shone  in  an  expansive  ap- 
preciation. 

**  Yes,  indeed  I  have,  and  I've  heard  all  about  you. 
I  remember  very  well  when  you  captured  Kid  Lewis 
and  his  partner,  Crawford,  up  here  at  Wichita  Falls, 
and  kept  the  crowd  from  lynching  them  as  long  as 
you  stayed  there." 

After  that,  conversation  was  easy,  and  Captain 
Bill's  opinion  of  his  distinguished  guest  improved 
steadily.  They  discussed  hunting,  marksmanship, 
the  Rough  Riders,  the  capture  of  bad  men  and  all 
the  subjects  of  the  strenuous  life  of  the  frontier. 

With  the  President  had  come  a  body-guard  of  four 
secret-service  men,  whose  chief  duty  at  this  time 
was  to  protect  him  from  the  crowds  who  pressed 
upon  him  here  and  there  when  the  train  halted  and 
he  went  out,  as  he  did  .when  there  was  time,  to  greet 
the  people  and  perhaps  make  a  brief  address.  Cap- 
tain Bill  noticed  that  the  secret-service  men  did  not 
seem  quite  equal  to  these  occasions.  Perhaps  they 
were  not  accustomed  to  handling  the  range-bred 
enthusiasm  of  that  elemental  region.  When  the 
presidential  party  pulled  into  Wichita  Falls  the  plat- 
form was  thronged.     The  crowds  made  a  rush  as 


276  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  train  came  to  a  standstill — trying  to  climb  over 
one  another,  it  would  seem — to  get  near  the  Presi- 
dent. The  secret-service  men  were  helpless — they 
pushed  and  protested,  but  accomplished  little.  Cap- 
tain Bill  stepped  out  on  the  platform.  Hardly  a 
man  in  that  crowd  but  recognized  that  lean  weather- 
beaten  face,  and  that  white  hat.  A  good  many  re- 
membered that  picture  from  a  night  and  a  morning 
nine  years  before  when,  at  their  jail,  a  lone  Sanger 
Captain  had  risen  up  in  wrath  and  ruled  the  mob. 
Some  there  remembered  Bill  McDonald  a  good  deal 
longer  than  that — for  twenty  years  or  more,  when 
he  had  found  that  place  a  lawless  settlement  on  an 
untamed  frontier  and  brought  order  out  of  human 
chaos  and  put  a  governor  on  the  wheels  of  law. 
When  he  spoke,  now,  they  listened. 

'^  Get  out  of  the  way,  boys!  Stay  down  there, 
you  fellows;  don't  crowd  up  here!  ''  he  said,  and  a 
sudden  impulse  of  order  was  the  result. 

Now  and  then  he  added  a  word  of  caution,  but  it 
was  hardly  needed.  Captain  Bill  knew  his  crowd, 
and  the  crowd  knew  Captain  Bill.  The  President 
observed  and  marveled.  At  Vernon  there  was  an- 
other crowd — rollicking  and  noisy — and  again  the 
Eanger  Captain  held  the  disorder  in  hand.  When 
the  train  started  once  more  President  Eoosevelt  said 
to  his  body-guard  of  four : 

^^  Boys,  you  ought  to  take  a  few  pointers  from 
Captain  McDonald  in  handling  a  crowd,''  and  the 
'*  Boys  "  agreed  to  do  it,  knowing  all  the  time,  as 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  277 

everybody  there  knew,  that  it  would  need  Captain 
Bill's  twenty  years'  special  acquaintance  with  that 
crowd  to  achieve  his  results. 

At  Vernon  they  took  a  train  for  Frederick — a 
little  station  in  Comanche  County,  from  which  place 
they  would  ride  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  to 
the  camping  place,  located  on  a  creek  called  the  Deep 
Red.  At  Frederick  the  President  relieved  his 
special  guard  of  four,  and  sent  them  back  to  Fort 
Worth  to  wait  his  return. 

It  was  on  April  8th  that  they  arrived  at  Frederick 
where  a  good  share  of  the  hunting  party,  and  an 
enthusiastic  crowd  had  gathered  to  welcome  them. 
The  hunting  party  set  out  immediately  for  the  camp, 
arriving  about  nightfall. 

Whoever  chose  the  camping  place  made  a  good 
selection.  The  Deep  Red — a  branch  of  Red  River — 
is  a  fine  running  stream,  with  plenty  of  timber  and 
good  grass.  From  all  about  the  howling  of  their 
game — the  small  gray  wolves,  or  coyotes,  which  in- 
fest that  country.    The  surroundings  were  ideal. 

There  were  about  fifteen  in  the  hunting  party, 
which  included  their  hosts,  Tom  Waggoner  and 
Burke  Burnett;  also  young  Tom  Burnett,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  horses — himself  a  daring  horseman 
— Lieut.-General  S.  M.  B.  Young  (known  to  the  In- 
dians as  **  War  Bonnet  ") ;  Lieutenant  Fortescue 
(formerly  of  the  Rough  Riders) ;  Dr.  Alexander 
Lambert  of  New  York;  Col.  Cecil  Lyon  of  Texas; 
Sloan  Simpson,  Postmaster  of  Dallas ;  John  R.  Aber- 


278  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

nethy  of  Tesca,  Oklahoma  (later,  by  the  President's 
appointment, United  States  Marshal) ;  certain  ranch- 
men and  cowboys — by  no  means  forgetting  Chief 
Qnanah  Parker,  of  whom  we  have  heard  before  in 
these  chapters,  now  specially  invited  by  the  Presi- 
dent's request.  Chief  Quanah  was  then  about  sixty 
— tall,  straight  as  an  arrow  and  a  fine  rider. 

It  was  a  pretty  extensive  camp,  altogether.  There 
were  a  hundred  horses  and  a  *'  chuck  "  wagon — 
a  regular  *'  cow  outfit  "; — a  buggy  for  Burke  Bur- 
nett and  General  Young;  two  hacks,  one  of  which 
belonged  to  Chief  Quanah,  and  other  vehicles.  Then 
there  was  a  pack  of  forty  greyhounds,  some  stag- 
hounds,  and  about  a  half-dozen  long-eared  deer  or 
fox-hounds,  for  special  work. 

The  excitement  and  joy  of  the  tents  and  blazing 
campfires,  and  the  howling  of  the  wolves,  made 
everybody  eager  for  morning  and  an  early  start.  So 
when  supper  was  over  and  the  guard  set  for  the 
night,  the  Great  National  Hunter  and  his  friends 
and  protectors  lay  down  to  rest,  the  campfires  still 
throwing  a  wide  circle  of  light,  on  the  fading  edges 
of  which  the  coyotes  gathered  and  looking  up  howled 
their  anguish  to  the  stars. 

It  was  a  little  more  than  daylight,  next  morning, 
a  bright  cool  morning,  when  the  hunting  party  was 
up  and  away.  The  hunters  were  mounted,  all  except 
General  Young  and  Burke  Burnett,  who  were  in  the 
habit  of  following  the  chase  in  their  buggy.  The 
dogs  to  be  used  for  the  morning  run  mingled  with 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  279 

the  riders,  the  others  being  confined  in  the  chuck 
wagon  in  a  large  cage,  to  be  kept  fresh,  and  used  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  first  detachment  should  be 
run  down.  At  the  head  of  the  party  rode  Tom  Bur- 
nett and  ^*  Bony  '*  Moore  and  behind  these  came 
President  Roosevelt  of  the  United  States,  and  Cap- 
tain Bill  McDonald  of  Texas. 

It  was  no  trouble  to  find  a  wolf  in  that  locality. 
One  was  soon  started  up  and  the  hounds  were  away, 
with  the  party  of  horsemen  and  Burke  Burnett's 
buggy  following  pell-mell  in  a  general  helter-skelter, 
for  which  the  President  set  the  pace.  As  the  Ranger 
Captain  saw  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  nation  go 
careering  over  ditches  and  washouts  and  through 
prairie-dog  cities,  his  admiration  grew  literally  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  He  wished,  however,  he  hadn't 
promised  to  bring  the  President  home  intact.  Bill 
^f  cDonald  was  considered  something  of  a  rider,  him- 
self, but  he  was  not  entirely  happy  in  this  Tam 
O'Shanter  performance.  Still  he  stayed  in  the 
game. 

**  It  looked  mighty  scary  to  me,'*  he  said  after- 
ward, *^  but  I  wouldn't  quit.  The  others  followed, 
but  some  of  them  would  go  slower." 

It  was  great  excitement,  great  sport  and  great 
fun — a  wild  race  across  the  prairie — a  final  bringing 
of  the  wolf  to  bay  with  the  **  worry  "  and  **  death  " 
by  the  dogs,  and  general  rejoicing  by  all. 

But  when  the  next  wolf — or  it  may  have  been  the 
third  one — was  cornered  there  was  a  genuine  ex- 


280  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

hibition.  It  was  not  killed  by  the  dogs,  it  was  taken 
alive,  by  one  man.  John  Abernethy  was  that  man, 
and  he  took  that  wolf  with  his  hands.  This  was  the 
manner  of  it.  Whenever  the  dogs  ran  npon  the 
wolf,  the  wolf  would  turn  and  snap  savagely,  and  if 
those  teeth  of  his  happened  to  touch  any  part  of  the 
dog  they  left. their  mark,  and  sometimes  that  part 
of  the  dog  remained  with  the  wolf.  This  made  the 
dogs  careful — and  shy. 

But  Abernethy  was  not  careful — at  least  he  was 
not  shy.  He  ran  up  close  to  that  cornered  wolf  and 
fell  upon  him,  and  when  the  wolf  snapped  at  him, 
just  as  he  had  snapped  at  those  dogs,  Abernethy 
by  a  quick  movement  of  his  hand  caught  the  wolf 
by  the  lower  jaw  and  held  him  fast,  and  in  such  a 
way,  that  jerk  and  writhe  and  twist  as  he  might  he 
could  not  get  free.  Then  Abernethy,  who  was  about 
thirty  years  old  and  a  muscular  man,  quick  of  move- 
ment and  fearless,  holding  fast  to  the  wolf  ^s  jaw, 
carried  that  wolf  to  his  horse,  mounted  and  rode 
away,  still  carrying  his  captive,  alive. 

Well,  of  course.  President  Roosevelt  admired  that 
beyond  any  feature  of  the  expedition.  He  had 
Abernethy  do  it  again  and  again,  and  Abernethy 
never  made  a  failure.  Sometimes  he  tied  the  wolf  ^s 
jaws  together  with  a  handkerchief;  just  held  him 
and  tied  him  in  a  deft  workman-like  way  and  made 
off  with  him  hanging  on  his  saddle.  It  looked  easy 
enough,  to  see  Abernethy  seize  the  wolf,  and  pres- 
ently a  young  fellow  in  the  group  of  hunters  decided 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  281 

that  it  was  easy.  But  when  he  tried  it,  he  only  got 
a  knife-like  slit  across  his  hand  and  abandoned  the 
contract.  Then  the  President  wanted  to  try  it,  him- 
self, as  of  course  he  would,  but  there  are  some  things 
which  even  a  President  cannot  be  permitted  to  at- 
tempt. 

However,  he  was  not  to  be  kept  altogether  out  of 
danger,  and  in  the  characteristic  incident  which  fol- 
lows, those  who  will,  may,  perhaps,  find  some  alle- 
gorical significance. 

As  the  party  rode  along — this  was  during  a  quiet 
recess  between  wolves — they  came  upon  a  big  rattle- 
snake, about  five  feet  long,  and  thicker  than  a  man 's 
wrist,  coiled  up,  on  a  prairie-dog  hill.  When  the 
President  saw  it,  he  got  down  from  his  horse  and 
taking  his  quirt  (a  small  rawhide  ridingwhip  about 
two  feet  long)  he  went  up  to  the  big  rattler  and 
struck  him.  The  snake  was  coiled,  and  sprang,  but 
Roosevelt  stepped  aside  and  quickly  struck  him  again 
and  again,  then  stamped  his  head  into  the  earth. 
There  were  plenty  of  rattlesnakes  around  there,  for 
the  country  was  one  great  prairie-dog  colony,  and 
when  they  came  upon  another,  the  President,  like 
Abernethy,  repeated  his  special  performance.  The 
others  did  not  like  it — it  looked  too  risky — and  that 
night  when  the  President  was  not  in  the  vicinity, 
Cecil  Lyon  and  Captain  McDonald  quietly  removed 
the  quirt  which  had  been  left  hanging  on  the  Presi- 
dential saddle,  and  said  nothing  of  the  matter  at  all. 
But  the  President  was  a  good  deal  disturbed  when 


282  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

he  wanted  to  use  the  quirt  next  day,  and  wondered 
and  grumbled  about  it,  until  finally  Captain  Bill  con- 
fessed the  fact  and  reasons  of  its  disappearance. 

"  We  were  afraid  you'd  get  snake-bit,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent,''  he  said,  ^^  and  we're  having  too  much  fun 
to  have  it  stopped  by  an  accident  like  that. ' ' 

Theodore  Eoosevelt  saw  the  joke  and  laughed. 
Then  he  led  them  away  on  a  race  that  if  not  as 
dangerous  as  coquetting  with  rattlesnakes  was  at 
least  more  boisterously  exciting. 

They  got  four  or  five  wolves  that  first  day  and 
the  next,  most  of  them  also  taken  alive  by  Aber- 
nethy,  and  these  they  carried  to  camp  and  lariated 
out.  It  was  a  good  start  for  a  menagerie,  and  they 
added  to  it  daily. 

It  was  on  the  second  day  that  Chief  Quanah's 
family  arrived — his  favorite  wife,  Too-nicey,  and 
the  two  others  whose  names  are  not  remembered, 
but  may  have  been  Some-nicey  and  Quite-nice- 
enough,  together  with  a  small  boy  and  a  papoose; 
and  these  in  their  hack  followed  the  hunt  with  the 
others.  It  was  a  genuine  jubilee  when  a  coyote  was 
started  up  and  was  followed  by  that  boisterous  com- 
pany; the  buggy  of  **  War  Bonnet,"  and  Burnett 
hitting  only  the  high  places;  Too-nicey  and  her 
matrimonial  alliance  bouncing  along  in  the  hack, 
with  the  dog- wagon,  wildly  excited — a  regular  canine 
explosion — bringing  up  the  rear.  Then,  what  ex- 
citement when  the  wolf  was  finally  run  down  and 
killed  or  captured;  what  rejoicing  by  everybody — 


IN   CAMP  WITH  THEODORE   ROOSEVELT. 
'They  gathered  about  the  big  fire,  cowboy  fashion." 


A  Wolf-hunt  ivitK  the  President  283 

including  Too-nicey,  Quite-nicey,  and  Pretty-nicey, 
or  whatever  their  names  might  be. 

But  now  it  developed  that  the  three  Nicey's  could 
serve  a  good  purpose  on  a  hunt  like  that  as  well  as 
for  mere  decoration.  They  had  eyes — marvelous 
eyes — that  could  see  a  wolf  far  across  the  prairie 
when  the  eyes  of  white  men  could  not  distinguish 
even  a  sign.  There  was  no  need  of  a  glass  when  the 
wives  of  Quanah  sat  in  their  hack  and  scanned  the 
horizon.  Certainly  that  was  an  unusual  hunting 
party,  and  very  likely  a  unique  experience,  for  all 
concerned. 

But  perhaps  the  best  part  of  the  hunting  was  the 
evening,  after  all.  Then  it  was  that  they  gathered 
about  the  big  fire,  cowboy  fashion,  with  Chief 
Quanah  Parker  in  their  midst,  talking  to  them — 
repeating  the  traditions  of  his  father  and  his  tribe 
— the  tale  of  his  mother's  capture,  the  story  of  his 
own  life  and  battles — his  views  and  his  religion  of 
later  years. 

*  In  a  former  chapter  we  have  told  of  the  massacre 
of  Fort  Parker  and  the  capture  of  the  little  girl, 
Cynthia  Ann  Parker,  who  was  adopted  by  the  tribe, 
married  a  chief,  and  in  time  became  Chief  Quanah 's 
mother.  Gathered  about  the  campfire  on  Deep  Bed 
Creek,  in  a  wide  circle  of  loneliness,  with  **  Tom  " 
Burnett,  who  understands  the  Indian  language 
**  better  than  the  Indians  themselves,''  acting  as  in- 
terpreter and  the  President  of  the  United  States 
listening,  the  son  of  that  little  captured  girl  told 


284  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

that  story,  now,  and  lie  supplemented  it  witli  the 
story  of  his  father — a  sequel  that  will  not  be  out  of 
place  here. 

The  tribe  had  loved  the  little  captive  white  girl, 
the  story  runs,  and  the  little  girl  had  learned  to  love 
her  captors.  She  had  learned  their  speech  and  for- 
got her  own;  then,  by  and  by  when  she  was  no 
^  longer  a  little  girl,  a  great  chief  named  Nacona  had 
wooed  her  and  made  her  his  wife.  Nacona  was  a 
mighty  warrior  and  made  frequent  raids  on  the 
white  settlements  and  carried  off  much  property — 
cattle  and  horses. 

But  finally  his  last  raid  came.  Captain  Sul.  Boss 
(later  Governor  Boss),  stationed  at  Fort  Griffin 
with  a  troup  of  Eangers — sixty  trained  Indian 
fighters — was  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  fall 
upon  Nacona,  unawares.  The  opportunity  came 
when  Nacona,  with  his  braves  and  many  of  their 
squaws  and  children,  were  camped  one  day  at  the 
mouth  of  Talking  John  Creek  in  Hardeman  County. 
There  was  good  hunting  on  Talking  John  Creek,  and 
Nacona  and  his  braves,  fresh  from  a  raid  on  the 
white  settlements  below,  had  stopped  there  for  a 
few  days  to  rest  and  recuperate  before  taking  up 
the  final  homeward  march.  They  felt  secure  and 
had  no  thought  that  Eangers  were  anywhere  in  the 
vicinity. 

Then  suddenly  there  was  a  clatter  of  horses^  feet, 
a  crack  of  carbines,  and  Captain  Boss  with  his  sixty 
fighting  devils  were  upon  them.    There  was  no  time 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  285 

for  preparation.  Most  of  the  Indians  fled  wildly, 
leaving  their  squaws  and  their  captured  plunder. 
Nacona's  wife,  who  had  been  the  little  captured 
Parker  girl,  was  in  the  camp  with  him;  also  their 
two  children,  Quanah,  and  his  little  sister,  Prairie 
Flower. 

With  the  first  charge  of  the  Eangers,  Nacona 
seized  his  rifle,  leaped  upon  his  horse  and  rushed 
after  his  braves,  in  the  hope  of  gathering  them  for 
battle.  That  his  wife  and  children  would  not  be 
harmed  by  the  white  men  he  knew.  He  knew  also, 
that  the  case  was  desperate,  and  he  realized  this 
more  fully  when  he  found  that  his  braves  were  hope- 
lessly scattered,  and  in  full  flight. 

Nacona  prepared  to  meet  his  death.  The  mounted 
Eangers  were  already  close  upon  him  and  he  would 
die  like  the  great  chief  that  he  was.  Beneath  a  large 
mesquite  tree  he  dismounted  and  seating  himself 
began  chanting  the  death  song.  Captain  Ross  and  a 
detachment  of  Rangers  rode  up.  Nacona  still 
chanted  on.  Then  suddenly  it  may  have  occurred 
to  him  that  they  meant  to  take  him  alive.  They 
would  imprison  him,  perhaps  hang  him.  He  would 
die  fighting. 

Rousing  as  from  a  dream,  he  ceased  his  chant  and 
throwing  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  fired.  The  bullet 
missed,  but  it  brought  a  quick  answering  shot  from 
a  Ranger  at  Captain  Ross 's  side,  and  the  chief  drop- 
ped forward,  his  face  in  the  grass. 

So  died  Nacona,  bravely,  as  a  chief  should  die, 


286  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  was  buried  where  he  fell.  In  time  his  grave 
became  a  landmark.  And  Nacona's  wife,  who  had 
been  Cynthia  Ann  Parker — ^no  longer  of  the  white 
race,  but  an  Indian  in  language  and  habits  and  af- 
filiations— was  brought  by  her  new  captors,  once 
more  to  dwell  among  her  own  kind,  bringing  with 
her  the  boy  Quanah,  and  his  little  sister,  Prairie 
Flower.  The  mother  was  never  satisfied  with  civili- 
zation and  always  longed  to  return  to  the  tribe. 
Little  Prairie  Flower — ^homesick  and  delicate — pined 
away  and  soon  followed  Nacona  to  the  Spirit  Land. 
The  boy  Quanah  was  sent  back  to  his  father's 
people,  for  he  was  a  chief  in  his  own  right.  In  time 
he  became  a  great  leader  of  the  Comanche  Tribe, 
and,  unlike  his  father,  a  friend  of  his  mother's  race. 
He  surrounded  himself  with  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  luxuries  of  white  men;  his  home  to-day  is 
truly  a  white  man's  home,  with  handsome  furnish- 
ings, a  piano  and  pictures ;  his  voice  has  been  heard 
in  the  white  man's  councils,  and  a  white  man's  city 
was  named  in  his  honor.  But  the  language  of  white 
men  he  has  never  learned.* 

Altogether  that  wolf  hunt  was  a  great  success. 
Seventeen  wolves  completed  the  result  of  the  five 
days  of  hunting,  most  of  them  taken  alive  and  lari- 
ated out  around  the  camp — a  lively  and  musical  col- 
lection that  delighted  all  parties  concerned,  except 

*The  story  as  told  by  Chief  Quanah  not  having  been  preserved, 
most  of  the  details  here  given  are  drawn  from  an  article  by  Fred. 
Harvey. 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  287 

possibly  the  wolves  themselves.  As  for  President 
Roosevelt  he  enjoyed  this  vigorous  isolated  vaca- 
tion continuously.  But  it  was  not  easy  to  preserve 
the  isolation  of  that  camp.  Every  day  visitors  came 
riding  or  driving  across  the  country,  from  some- 
where, to  seek  an  audience  with  the  nation's  Chief 
Executive.  There  were  men  who  wanted  office  for 
themselves ;  men  who  wanted  office  for  other  people ; 
men  who  wanted  every  sort  of  Presidential  assist- 
ance under  the  sun;  men  who  came  merely  out  of 
curiosity  and  for  the  purpose  of  relating  how  they 
had  visited '  *  Teddy  ' '  in  his  hunting  camp  and  taken 
a  hand  in  the  sport.  A  guard  of  soldiers  from  Fort 
Sill  was  supposed  to  picket  the  reservation,  but 
would-be  visitors  eluded  the  men  and  somehow  got 
through  the  lines.  They  did  not  get  past  Captain 
Bill,  who  met  them  and  serenely  but  surely  turned 
them  back.  If  they  had  business,  Washington  was 
the  place  to  transact  it,  he  said.  The  President  was 
here  only  for  pleasure.  Some  went  willingly  enough 
— others  protested,  but  all  went.  The  President's 
days  in  the  field,  and  those  rare  evenings  about  the 
campfire  were  not  to  be  marred  by  business  or  any 
mere  social  diversions. 

And  when  it  was  all  over  Theodore  Roosevelt,  in 
his  enthusiasm  pronounced  it  all  *^  Bully!  *'  and  re- 
peated it,  and  said  he  had  never  had  a  better  time  in 
his  life,  which  was  probably  a  correct  statement. 

And  when  they  all  rode  back  to  Frederick  he  led 
the  way  again,  and  they  set  out  with  a  whoop  and 


288  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

a  run  and  yell,  regular  cowboy  style,  and  as  they 
came  into  town  where  there  was  a  great  crowd  wait- 
ing, the  people  went  fairly  wild,  as  of  course  they 
would.  Then  the  President  had  to  talk  to  the  crowd 
again — he  had  said  a  few  words  on  his  arrival — and 
tell  them  what  a  good  time  he  had  had,  and  what  a 
great  country  this  was  in  general,  and  that  part  in 
particular,  and  how  much  he  thanked  them  for  letting 
him  come  there,  and  how  he  was  going  on  to 
Colorado  for  a  bear  hunt,  but  how  he  never  expected 
to  have  any  better  time  than  he  had  had  right  there 
in  Comanche,  on  the  Deep  Eed  wolf -hunt  with  Tom 
Waggoner  and  Burke  Burnett,  and  Bill  McDonald 
and  John  Abernethy,  and  Quanah  Parker  and  Too- 
nicey,  Some-nicey  and  Plenty-nice-enough — 

No,  he  didn't  say  all  that  either,  but  he  said  the 
right  thing  for  the  occasion,  just  as  he  always  does, 
and  especially  on  an  occasion  like  that,  where  he  is 
happy  and  full  of  life  and  the  wild  freedom  of  the 
open.  And  every  man  within  sound  of  his  voice  was 
his  friend  forever,  from  that  moment,  regardless  of 
his  politics,  and  no  man  of  all  there,  was  a  warmer 
admirer  and  friend  than  Captain  Bill  McDonald  of 
Texas,  who  was  a  '*  hell-roaring  "  democrat  and 
hadn't  wanted  to  go. 

He  did  not  accompany  the  President  to  Colorado, 
though  the  arrangement  would  have  just  suited  both 
sides.  But  after  all,  he  was  a  Eanger,  and  there 
was  other  kind  of  game — game  on  which  it  is  always 
open  season — waiting  to  be  brought  home.    He  ac- 


A  Wolf-hunt  with  the  President  289 

companied  the  President's  party  a  distance  on  their 
journey;  then  he  said: 

''  Well,  Mr.  President,  I'm  getting  out  of  my 
jurisdiction.    I  guess  I'll  leave  you,  now." 

*  *  But  Captain,  you  are  coming  to  see  me  in  Wash- 
ington, some  day,"  said  the  President  as  he  grasped 
his  hand. 

**  I  don't  know,  Mr.  President.  I  don't  know  how 
to  put  on  a  plug  hat  and  one  of  these  spike-tailed 
coats,  and  pigeon-toed  shoes. ' ' 

**  Well,  don't  try.  Come  exactly  as  you  are,  and 
there  are  a  few  of  those  spike-tailed  fellows  around 
the  Capitol  that  I'll  let  you  take  a  shot  at.  Now 
remember,  you're  coming — just  as  you  are!  " 


XXXV 

The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery 
a  terrible  crime  at  edna,  texas. 

ARREST   AND   ESCAPE.      THE   GREATEST 
MAN-HUNT   IN   HISTORY 

It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  1905  and  the 
spring  of  1906  that  Eanger  Captain  McDonald  was 
engaged  in  unraveling  a  mystery  which  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  the  employment  of  his  natural  talent  for 
detective  work,  combined  with  the  skill  and  ex- 
perience acquired  during  a  long  period  of  following 
criminals  and  uncovering  crime. 

On  September  28th,  1905,  two  miles  from  the  little 
town  of  Edna,  Jackson  County,  Texas,  during  the 
temporary  absence  of  J.  F.  Conditt — employed  in 
rice  harvest,  seven  miles  distant — ^his  wife  and  four 
young  children,  ranging  in  ages  from  a  baby  boy 
of  three  to  a  littl^  girl  of  twelve,  were  murdered  in 
broad  daylight — their  bodies  left  as  they  had  fallen 
in  and  about  the  premises.  The  murders  were  com- 
mitted in  the  most  brutal  and  bloody  way,  with 
knife,  adz,  and  such  household  tool  and  implement 
as  came  to  hand.  Three  of  the  murdered  children 
were  boys.  The  little  girl  of  twelve  had  been  vio- 
lated.   Only  an  infant  of  a  few  months  had  been  left 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  291 

alive.  The  story  of  that  ghastly  crime — its  motive ; 
its  commission;  its  detection  and  the  punishment 
of  its  perpetrators — can  only  be  epitomized  here, 
for  its  details  would  fill  a  volume  and  belong  only 
in  the  official  records ;  neither  are  they  yet  complete. 
We  shall  attempt,  therefore,  no  more  than  the  out- 
lines, with  such  particulars  as  will  show  the  scope 
and  the  importance  of  Captain  McDonald's  work  in 
solving  a  mystery  and  fixing  the  guilt,  not  only  with- 
out the  assistance  of  those  most  interested,  but  in 
the  face  of  their  bitter  opposition. 

The  Conditt  family  had  but  recently  moved  to 
Edna.  They  were  working  people,  respectable  but 
poor,  and  had  taken  a  house  formerly  occupied  by 
negroes.  This  in  itself  was  an  offense  to  their  im- 
mediate neighborhood — a  negro  settlement — and 
when  Mr.  Conditt  repaired  his  fences  and  thereby 
shut  off  from  public  use  a  windmill  where  the 
negroes  had  been  accustomed  to  go  for  water,  his 
offense  in  their  eyes  became  a  crime.  They  did  not 
want  him  there  and  resolved  to  get  rid  of  him.  How 
many  or  how  few  were  concerned,  directly  and  in- 
directly, in  the  conspiracy  to  drive  out  or  destroy 
the  white  family  that  had  settled  among  them,  will 
perhaps  never  be  known.  That  negroes  seldom  be- 
tray one  another,  and  that  a  negro  conspiracy  is  the 
most  difficult  of  all  plots  to  illuminate,  are  facts  only 
too  well  established  by  our  recently  recorded  his- 
tory. The  Conditt  murder  plot  furnishes  an  un- 
usual example  of  this  peculiar  African  phase. 


292  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

The  negroes  were  sullen,  at  first,  in  their  manner 
toward  the  Conditts.  Then  one  of  them — a  certain 
Felix  Powell — spoke  insultingly  to  Mildred  Conditt, 
the  little  girl  of  twelve.  Then  came  September  28th 
— nine  o  'clock  in  the  morning — the  day  and  hour  of 
destruction. 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  the 
crime  became  known.  Monk  Gibson,  a  colored  boy 
of  sixteen  who  had  been  plowing  for  Mr.  Conditt 
in  a  field  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  house, 
carried  the  news.  He  ran  to  the  house  of  a  white 
man  named  John  Gibson,  some  distance  away,  and 
reported  that  he  had  just  seen  Mrs.  Conditt  being 
chased  around  the  house  by  two  men.  John  Gibson 
went  on  a  run  to  the  Conditt  premises;  found  no 
trace  of  the  two  men,  but  did  find  the  murdered 
family,  a  house  like  a  slaughter  pen,  and  in  the  midst 
of  this  horror,  a  wailing  infant.  Gibson,  the  white 
man,  hurried  the  colored  boy  off  to  bring  Mr.  Con- 
ditt from  the  rice  field,  and  set  out  to  spread  the 
alarm.  In  a  brief  time  the  country  was  aflame. 
Monk  Gibson,  returning  with  Mr.  Conditt,  was  put 
under  arrest,  and  it  was  now  found  that  he  was 
smeared  and  splashed  with  blood.  He  explained  the 
stains  by  saying  that  his  nose  had  bled  and  that  he 
had  hurt  himself  creeping  through  a  wire  fence,  but 
there  were  no  indications  of  his  nose  having  bled, 
and  he  could  show  only  the  merest  scratch  of  a 
wound.  That  he  was  concerned  in  the  crime  was 
never  doubted,  but  only  the  unreasoning  then  believed 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  293 

he  had  committed  it  alone.  Questioned,  he  told  con- 
flicting stories,  finally  stating  that  men  whom  he  did 
not  know  had  dragged  him  to  the  house,  compelled 
him  to  view  their  work,  splashed  him  with  blood  and 
set  him  free. 

Of  course  these  statements  were  not  believed. 
The  whole  country  round  about  Edna,  now  terribly 
aroused,  was  determined  to  have  the  truth.  If  Monk 
Gibson  was  alone  in  the  crime,  and  there  were  many 
who  soon  reached  this  conclusion,  his  punishment 
would  not  wait  the  slow  process  of  the  law.  If  he 
were  one  of  several,  he  must  reveal  the  names  of  his 
associates.  He  was  put  through  the  severest  ordeal 
of  examination,  but  he  would  utter  nothing  more 
than  the  confused  contradictory  stories  already  told. 
Every  method  was  tried  to  extort  information,  yet 
he  only  repeated  his  conflicting  stories  and  refused 
to  tell  names. 

It  was  now  pretty  generally  assumed  that  he  had 
nothing  to  tell  and  that  he  alone  had  committed  the 
crime.  A  lynching  mob  was  forming,  and  a  report 
came  from  Bay  City  that  two  hundred  men  had 
chartered  a  special  train  for  Edna  and  were  coming 
to  destroy  the  boy  murderer  that  night.  Sheriff  Egg 
of  Edna  and  his  deputies  resolved  to  remove  the 
prisoner  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  quietly  arranged 
their  plan.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  they  had 
swift  horses  taken  to  the  back  of  the  jail,  one  for 
Gibson  and  others  for  the  officers  who  would  ac- 
company  him.      Then    quietly    they   got   him   out 


294  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

through  a  back  window;  mounted  him,  unfettered, 
between  two  officers,  and  slipped  away  toward 
Hallettsville,  where  it  was  believed  he  would  be 
safe. 

They  never  reached  Hallettsville.  While  gallop- 
ing at  full  speed  along  an  open  road  they  came  to  a 
curve.  The  officers  had  no  thought  that  Gibson 
would  try  to  escape,  and  he  was  riding  free.  But  at 
the  curve,  Gibson  did  not  turn.  He  kept  straight  on, 
drove  his  animal  over  a  fence  and  disappeared  in 
the  thick  darkness.  When  the  officers  recovered 
themselves  and  made  their  way  into  the  field,  they 
found  the  horse  he  had  been  riding,  but  their  pris- 
oner had  vanished.  They  came  back  to  Edna  crest- 
fallen and  discredited.  The  people  at  first  declared 
that  the  deputies  had  put  Gibson  in  hiding.  Then, 
only  half  convinced,  and  fiercely  angry,  they  joined 
in  what  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  man  hunt  ever 
known  in  Texas.  Every  available  horse  and  gun 
was  secured — every  available  man  was  presently  in 
the  saddle. 

But  this  was  only  a  beginning.  Within  a  brief 
time  fresh  car-loads  of  horses  were  shipped  to  Edna ; 
ranchmen  sent  their  cowboys;  every  pack  of  blood- 
hounds in  south  Texas  was  mustered  into  the  ser- 
vice; commissary  camps  were  established;  leaders 
were  appointed  for  the  various  bands;  business 
was  suspended,  the  country  became  one  vast  en- 
campment and  all  for  the  purpose  of  running 
down   a   single   boy   of   sixteen   who   had   slipped 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  295 

away  from  the  deputies  and  was  believed  to  be 
hiding  in  the  swamps.  In  the  midst  of  all  this, 
Governor  Lanham  ordered  Adjutant-General  Hulen 
with  four  companies  of  State  troops  to  invest  the 
place;  whereupon  Edna  became  a  military  camp  in 
fact. 

Captain  McDonald  was  working  in  another  part 
of  the  State  when  he  first  saw  the  reports  of  the 
Conditt  murder.  His  headquarters  being  now  at 
Alice,  the  scene  of  the  crime  was  in  his  territory,  and 
before  many  days  he  was  notified  by  General  Hulen 
to  report  at  Edna  with  men  and  blood-hounds  to 
join  in  the  search.  Arriving  at  the  front  he  found 
such  a  turmoil  of  excitement  and  animosity  and 
trouble  of  many  kinds  as  is  not  often  gathered  in 
any  one  place.  Men  and  groups  of  men,  each  more 
distracted  than  the  other,  were  rushing  hither  and 
yon  on  a  hundred  fruitless  and  mainly  imaginary 
errands.  Nobody  was  really  doing  anything ;  every- 
body was  blaming  everybody  else;  everybody  was 
mad  at  the  soldiers,  mad  at  the  arriving  Rangers, 
mad  at  each  other ;  and  meantime  Monk  Gibson  was 
still  at  large. 

Captain  McDonald  looked  over  the  ground,  as 
quietly  as  they  would  let  him,  and  gave  it  out  as  his 
conclusion  that  no  one  man  could  have  committed 
all  that  crime  in  open  daylight,  let  alone  a  boy  of 
sixteen.  The  sentiment  was  almost  wholly  the  other 
way  by  this  time,  and  the  Eanger  Captain's  opinion 
was  bitterly  opposed  from  the  start.     What  the 


296  Captain  Bill  McDonald  . 

people  wanted  was  a  victim.  If  they  could  capture 
Monk  Gibson  they  would  have  a  victim,  and  they 
did  not  want  any  complication  that  would  interfere 
with  this  elementary  proposition  and  the  summary 
idea  of  justice  which  lay  behind  it.  The  presence 
of  military  and  especially  of  Eangers  was  a  men- 
ace, and  for  Bill  McDonald  to  try  to  confuse  mat- 
ters with  his  detective  theories,  which  might  re- 
sult in  Gibson  going  clear,  even  if  captured,  would 
not  be  lightly  borne.  He  was  given  to  understand 
that  the  people  of  Edna  knew  what  they  wanted, 
and  when  they  wanted  Eangers  they  would  invite 
them. 

Captain  Bill,  however,  followed  his  own  ideas. 
He  felt  sure  that  Gibson  was  only  one  of  several 
that  had  perpetrated  the  crime,  and  was  doubtless 
a  tool  of  older  men.  Moreover  there  were  bloody 
hand-prints,  left  by  one  or  more  of  the  Conditt  mur- 
derers, and  these  he  could  not  believe  had  been  made 
by  the  hand  of  a  boy  of  sixteen,  small  for  his  years 
as  Monk  Gibson  was  declared  to  be.  He  further 
believed  that  Gibson  was  somewhere  in  hiding  near 
his  home,  for  by  long  experience  he  had  learned 
that  the  hunted  negro  will  always  go  home,  regard- 
less of  risk. 

Meantime,  Monk  Gibson's  parents  were  in  jail, 
and  their  premises  had  been  searched  more  than 
once.  Other  negroes  had  been  arrested  on  suspicion, 
only  to  be  discharged  for  lack  of  any  tangible  evi- 
dence.   Captain  McDonald  went  his  own  way,  hold- 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  297 

ing  to  the  theory  that  the  negro  boy  would  be  found 
in  the  neighborhood  of  his  own  home.  His  two 
blood-hounds,  Trouble  and  Rock,  he  took  there  re- 
peatedly to  try  to  pick  up  the  trail,  yet  always  with- 
out success.  He  believed  the  boy  would  come  home 
for  food,  and  to  the  nearby  windmill  for  water. 
The  barn  near  his  father 's  house  was  searched  daily, 
and  while  for  some  reason  Captain  Bill  did  not 
attend  to  this  detail  himself  he  was  assured  each 
time  that  the  search  had  been  thorough. 

Yet  Monk  Gibson  was  hiding  in  that  barn  all  the 
time.  There  were  some  unthreshed  oats  in  the  barn, 
and  he  had  found  a  place  where  he  could  work  him- 
self under  the  straw,  leaving  no  trace  on  the  outside. 
Sometimes  at  night  he  had  crept  out  to  a  pig-pen  for 
water,  and  had  picked  some  ears  of  corn  in  a  nearby 
patch.  One  morning  when  he  could  stand  it  no 
longer  he  came  out  and  called  to  a  negro  named 
Warren  Powell,  whose  brother,  Felix  Powell,  al- 
ready mentioned,  was  to  play  an  important  part  in 
this  tragic  drama.  Warren  Powell  immediately  took 
charge  of  the  boy.  Monk,  tied  him  and  notified  the 
officers.  General  Hulen,  Captain  McDonald,  Sheriff 
Egg  and  others  responded  quickly,  and  putting  the 
boy  in  a  buggy  made  a  wild  gallop  for  the  jail,  by  a 
circuitous  route,  to  avoid  the  crowds.  He  was 
landed  safely  inside,  tossed  from  man  to  man  be- 
tween a  line  of  bayonets,  and  when  the  infuriated 
populace  gathered  they  were  driven  back  by  a  cordon 
of  armed  officials. 


298  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Captain  McDonald  now  got  himself  disliked  in 
more  ways  than  one.  For  one  thing  he  persisted 
in  his  theory  that  Monk  Gibson  alone  could  not  have 
committed  the  crime ;  for  another,  he  urged  that  Gib- 
son be  taken  to  a  safer,  quieter  place  for  protection. 
Furthermore  he  would  not  permit  them  to  obtain 
testimony  from  the  prisoner  by  torture.  Approach- 
ing the  jail  one  night  he  heard  screams  of  agony.  En- 
tering, he  found  an  assembly  of  examiners  in  Monk 
Gibson's  cell,  with  Gibson  tied  up  by  the  thumbs, 
the  boy  screaming,  but  refusing  to  tell  anything 
more  than  the  conflicting  incoherent  stories  told  at 
first. 

**  Take  that  boy  down,''  said  Captain  Bill. 
'*  Don't  you  know  that  anything  you  get  out  of  a 
witness  by  torture  is  not  evidence  enough  for  a  mob, 
let  alone  a  court  of  law!  " 

Meantime,  the  Eanger  Captain  had  been  picking 
up  threads  of  evidence  of  his  own.  For  one  thing 
he  had  observed  that  two  negroes — Felix  Powell,  al- 
ready mentioned,  and  one  Henry  Howard — had 
taken  a  curiously*  intense  interest  in  all  the  inves- 
tigations— seemingly  fascinated  by  every  movement 
of  the  officers,  especially  of  the  Eangers.  He 
noticed,  too,  that  certain  other  negroes  of  the  settle- 
ment were  acting  in  a  manner  which  to  one  with  a 
special  knowledge  of  their  characteristics,  appeared 
suspicious.  He  made  carefully  guarded  inquiries, 
and  learned  that  while  Powell  and  Howard  claimed 
to  have  been  working  for  a  man  named  John  Young 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  299 

all  day  on  the  day  of  the  murder,  they  had  in  reality 
worked  for  Young  only  during  the  afternoon.  When 
he  spoke  to  them  about  it  their  answers  were  con- 
tradictory. Finally  Powell  acknowledged  that  he 
had  not  worked  for  Young  during  the  forenoon,  and 
could  give  no  satisfactory  account  of  his  where- 
abouts for  the  morning.  It  was  generally  believed, 
at  first,  that  the  murder  had  been  committed  about 
one  o  'clock — the  time  of  the  alarm  by  Monk  Gibson 
— but  the  condition  of  the  bodies  when  found  made 
it  evident  that  the  crime  had  occurred  much  earlier — 
Captain  McDonald  believed  as  early  as  nine  o  'clock. 
McDonald  finally  questioned  Powell  directly,  and 
believed  he  detected  guilt  in  his  every  look  and 
word.  Powell  denied  knowing  Monk  Gibson  at 
all,  though  the  two  had  been  raised  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  Gibson  on  the  other  hand  had 
already  acknowledged  that  he  knew  Powell,  and 
had  always  known  him.  Finally  Captain  Bill 
said : 

* '  Well,  Felix,  I  think  I  will  put  you  in  jail  awhile 
to  refresh  your  memory. ' ' 

The  suspected  man  nearly  collapsed  at  this  and 
protested  his  innocence.  Searched,  a  knife  was 
found  on  him,  which  had  a  rusty,  inoffensive  look 
on  the  outside  and  according  to  its  owner  was  very 
dull  and  used  only  for  cutting  tobacco.  But  when 
this  knife  was  opened  it  was  found  to  be  of  razor- 
like sharpness,  and  when  a  match  was  passed 
through  the  jaws  and  blade  recesses,  the  end  of 


300  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  matcli  brouglit  up  blood!  Two  of  the  Con- 
ditt  children  had  died  of  ghastly  knife  wounds. 
Captain  McDonald  believed  that  this  knife  had 
made  them. 

Evidently  he  was  alone  In  that  belief.  The  arrest 
of  Powell  was  condemned  generally  as  a  diversion, 
to  aid  in  clearing  Gibson — it  being  widely  declared 
that  such  was  the  Eanger  Captain's  purpose.  To 
this,  however,  he  paid  not  much  attention — his  one 
desire  being  to  get  as  much  evidence  as  possible  and 
bring  the  guilty  to  justice.  He  did  not  feel  war- 
ranted in  arresting  Howard  and  the  others  at  this 
time,  though  fully  believing  them  concerned  as  ac- 
cessories, if  not  as  principals,  in  the  plot  to  kill.  That 
Monk  Gibson  had  not  been  alone  in  the  crime  he 
was  quite  positive.  The  prints  of  the  bloody  hand- 
mark  sawed  out  of  the  Conditt  house  could  not  be 
made  to  fit  Gibson's  hand  by  any  stretch  or  adjust- 
ment of  that  member.  Neither  did  it  look  as  if  it 
would  fit  Powell's  hand,  though  the  actual  fitting 
was  not  then  tried,  for  Powell  was  wary,  and  must 
be  entrapped  into  a  test  that  would  require  such 
nicety  of  adjustment.  But  there  had  been  one 
more  suspicious  circumstance.  A  shirt  had  been 
found  tucked  away  under  a  bridge  over  a  creek 
where  it  had  been  washed,  though  it  still  bore 
evidence  of  blood  stains.  Captain  McDonald  ap- 
proached Powell  with  the  shirt  in  a  small  bundle 
under  his  arm.    ^  *  That  is  not  my  shirt !  ' '  declared 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  301 

Powell  quickly,  before  a  word  had  been  said,  and 
before  it  was  possible  to  tell  what  the  folded  gar- 
ment was. 

Yet  the  grand  jury  then  in  session  refused  to  listen 
to  McDonald  ^s  evidence,  or  to  indict  any  one  but 
Gibson,  who  was  charged  by  that  body  with  the 
entire  crime. 

By  this  time  the  soldiers  had  gone  back  to  Austin 
and  only  the  Rangers  and  local  officers  were  in 
charge  of  the  jail.  When  the  indictment  was  found. 
Captain  McDonald  demanded  that  the  prisoner  be 
removed  to  San  Antonio  for  safety  and  the  District 
Judge  consented  to  the  removal.  Threats  that  such 
a  removal  would  not  be  permitted  were  plenty 
enough,  but  the  Rangers,  without  announcement  or 
manifestation  of  any  sort,  made  ready,  and  when 
the  train  was  about  due  quietly  and  swiftly  hurried 
him  to  the  station  and  put  him  aboard.  He  landed 
in  San  Antonio  safely  and  for  the  time  the  Conditt 
case  was  quiescent.  Felix  Powell  was  turned  out  of 
jail  as  soon  as  the  Rangers  were  gone,  evidently  as 
an  affront  to  McDonald,  and  to  show  the  com- 
munity's disbelief  in  his  theories  as  well  as  their 
general  disapproval  of  his  efforts.  McDonald  with 
plenty  of  other  work  crying  to  be  done  was  not  eager 
to  continue  a  thankless  task,  though  it  was  work  of 
a  kind  he  loved.  That  winter,  when  Gibson's  trial 
was  coming  on  in  San  Antonio,  he  urged  the  prosecu- 
tors to  try  him  as  one  of  several  and  not  as  the  one 
alone,  who  had  committed  the  crime.     They  would 


302  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

not  listen  to  him,  and  they  would  not  let  him 
testify,  declaring  that  his  theories  and  so-called 
evidence  would  spoil  their  case.  They  tried  Monk 
Gibson  for  the  entire  killing  and  a  rational  jury 
naturally  failed  to  convict,  though  Felix  Powell  and 
Henry  Howard  were  brought  from  Edna  as  wit- 
nesses and  did  their  best  to  aid  the  prosecution. 
The  jury  was  divided  and  Monk  was  taken  back  to 
jail. 

It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1906  that  Captain 
McDonald  was  again  actively  concerned  in  the  Con- 
ditt  case.  Early  in  the  season,  while  attending  the 
Stockmen  ^s  Convention  at  Dallas,  he  met  prominent 
men  from  the  South  Texas  districts  and  reviewed 
with  them  the  story  of  the  crime  and  the  progress 
that  had  been  made,  or  rather  had  not  been  made, 
in  convicting  the  guilty.  He  stated  freely  his 
theories  concerning  Powell,  Howard  and  other 
negroes  and  went  over  the  details  of  his  evi- 
dence. 

The  stockmen  began  by  opposing  Captain  BilPs 
theories  and  ended  by  joining  in  a  movement  to  have 
the  State  continue  the  investigation  at  Edna  under 
his  direction.  They  employed  a  young  lawyer  named 
Crawford  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  Governor, 
who  agreed  to  reopen  the  investigation,  but  sug- 
gested that  it  be  done  by  another  man  than  Mc- 
Donald for  the  reason  that  the  citizens  of  Edna  were 
prejudiced  against  the  Eanger.  The  stockmen's 
answer  to  this  was,  that  unless  McDonald  could  be 


The  Conditt  Murder  Mystery  303 

sent  they  would  have  nothing  further  to  do  with  the 
matter. 

The  Governor  agreed,  then,  and  Captain  Bill 
made  ready  to  go  to  Edna  and  remain  there  until 
he  should  succeed  in  establishing  his  theory  or  be 
ready  to  acknowledge  himself  baffled. 


XXXVI 

The  Death  of  Ehoda  McDonald 
the  end  of  a  noble  woman 's  life.    her  letter  of 

GOOD-BY 

It  is  at  this  point  that  we  must  pause  to  record  a 
circumstance  which  seems  totally  out  of  place  in 
the  midst  of  an  episode  of  this  kind,  but  which,  be- 
cause of  its  association  with  events,  cannot  be  else- 
where set  down.  Yet,  after  all,  why  should  not  the 
end  of  a  noble  life  be  written  here,  when  that  life 
had  been  always  a  part  of  the  active  service  of  him 
whose  career  we  have  been  following — the  life  of  an 
unfaltering  hero  of  the  home  who  never  said 
**  stay  ''  but  *'  go,"  no  matter  what  the  danger; 
who  even  at  the  very  end  sent  him  back  to  his  duty, 
and  died  alone. 

Ehoda  McDonald  had  not  been  a  robust  woman 
for  a  number  of  years.  Those  early  frontier  days 
on  Wanderer's  Creek  had  been  hard,  and  must  have 
told  on  her  in  the  long  run,  as  well  as  all  the  anxious 
nights  and  days  that  had  filled  up  the  years  of  a 
Sanger's  wife. 

At  Alice,  though  manifestly  in  poor  health,  she 
still  maintained  a  home,  doing  such  light  housekeep- 
ing as  her  strength  permitted.    Her  interest  in  her 


The  Death  of  Rhoda  McDonald  305 

husband's  work  was  as  active  as  ever;  she  knew 
every  detail  of  the  situation  at  Edna  as  reported  by 
the  press,  and  when  in  May,  1906,  he  was  ordered 
there  for  further  investigation,  she  bade  him  go, 
despite  reluctance  on  his  part,  for  she  believed  that 
he  alone  could  bring  to  punishment  the  perpetrators 
of  that  terrible  crime.  They  arranged  that  in  his 
absence  she  should  go  to  a  sanatorium  in  San 
Antonio,  and  try  to  regain  strength;  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  plan  she  closed  the  little  house- 
hold at  Alice,  and  at  San  Antonio  went  under  a 
doctor's  care.  When  Captain  McDonald  had  been 
in  Edna  a  short  time,  he  was  notified  that  an  opera- 
tion would  be  necessary  to  save  her  life.  He  hurried 
to  San  Antonio  and  found  her  cheerful,  though  evi- 
dently aware  of  her  danger.  Her  talk,  however,  was 
all  of  his  work  and  the  prospects  of  his  further 
progress.  When  the  ordeal  was  over  and  the  physi- 
cians declared  that  her  chances  for  recovery  were 
very  good,  she  would  not  let  him  stay  to  verify  this 
opinion,  but  hurried  him  back  to  his  work. 

**  I  want  you  to  find  the  men  that  murdered  that 
poor  woman  and  those  little  innocent  children,''  she 
said,  * '  and  you  must  not  waste  your  time  here  with 
me." 

So  he  went  back,  and  for  a  few  days  encouraging 
letters  came  from  doctors  and  attendants.  Then 
came  a  telegram  which  said:  *'  Conditions  not  so 
favorable;  come." 

She  was  dead  when  he  got  there,  but  she  had  left 


306  Captain  BiU  McDonald 

a  letter  of  good-by.  That  letter  is  a  classic.  As  an 
epitome  of  a  simple,  noble,  unselfish  life — calm  and 
fearless  in  the  face  of  the  supreme  mystery — it 
seems  without  a  flaw. 

*  *  My  Dear  Husband : 

**  When  your  eyes  look  on  these  lines  I  will  have 
crossed  the  Great  Divide,  and  these  wishes  of  mine 
I  am  sure  you  will  fulfil.  Enclosed  is  a  note  from 
Lee  (my  brother),  which  matures  next  spring.  I 
managed  to  save  it  from  my  means,  or  some  of  it, 
two  years  ago,  and  Lee  has  been  so  good  to  keep 
it  at  interest,  which  I  have  added  to  the  original 
amount,  until  it  has  reached  the  amount  of  the  note. 

^^  Please  send  Sister,  your  sister,  $25.00  and  give 
Euth  $25.00.  She  has  to  work  very  hard.  Allow 
Lee  this  year's  interest  for  his  kindness  and  trouble. 
I  want  Eula  (your  niece)  to  have  the  brooch  you 
gave  me;  Dot  (your  niece)  my  fur  and  the  small 
diamond  ear-bob.  Give  Mollie  (my  sister)  the  other 
diamond  ear-bob.  Give  Jim  my  books,  which  are 
at  Quanah,  and  my  cameo  ring.  I  want  Euth  to 
have  my  watch  and  the  breast  pin  that  was  our 
mother's.  Give  Helen  White  my  engagement  ring 
— the  little  one  with  the  small  diamonds.  In  the 
little  bag  is  $15.00  that  belongs  to  the  Lord.  Be  sure 
to  give  it  to  the  '  Salvation  Army  People,'  to  feed 
the  poor  and  hungry. 

**  My  clothes,  turn  over  to  Mollie  and  Euth  and 
what  they  don't  want  tell  them  to  give  to  the  poor. 
Of  course,  the  diamond  ring  will  be  yours. 

**  I  want  you  to  keep  my  Bible  and  read  it,  be- 
cause you  will  derive  more  comfort  from  it  than  all 
else  besides.    My  prayers  for  you  have  always  been 


The  Death  of  Rhoda  McDonald  307 

mingled  with  those  for  myself,  and  I  hope  they  have 
not  been  in  vain. 

*  ^  Please  see  that  my  grave  has  plenty  of  trees,  so 
that  the  birds  may  build  their  nests  in  them.  Give 
Ruth  my  black  silk  dress,  which  is  at  Wichita  Falls. 
Get  Ruth  or  Mollie  to  help  you  find  the  things. 

**  I  am  sorry  for  every  cross  word  or  look  that  I 
ever  gave  you,  but  feel  sure  you  will  not  hold  them 
against  me. 

''  With  lots  of  love— Good-by. 

''  Rhoda." 

He  took  her  to  Greenville,  Texas,  for  burial,  for 
they  had  no  settled  home,  while  in  Greenville  there 
were  relatives.  Then  he  returned  to  Edna  to  carry 
out  the  mission  which  in  her  last  spoken  words  to 
him  she  had  bade  him  fulfil. 


XXXVII 

The  Conditt  Mysteky  Solved 

THE  tell-tale  HAND- 
PRINT.    A  eanger  captain's  theoeies 

ESTABLISHED 

Captain  McDonald  realized  that  his  task  in  Edna 
was  to  be  a  hard  one — made  harder  by  the  fact  that 
the  citizens  of  Edna  still  bitterly  opposed  his  in- 
vestigation ;  still  believed  that  his  chief  purpose  was 
to  cheat  them  of  Monk  Gibson's  life.  There  was 
one  important  exception  to  this  opposition.  Sheriff 
Egg  of  Edna,  though  with  little  faith  in  the  Eanger 
Captain 's  theories,  volunteered  to  help  test  them  and 
his  assistance  was  valuable. 

Another  favorable  condition  for  his  work  was, 
that  certain  of  the  suspected  negroes  had  fallen  out 
among  themselves,  and  he  presently  discovereii  that 
there  were  strange  insinuations  and  implied  charges 
drifting  about  the  settlement  which  might  mean 
much,  or  nothing  at  all.  Felix  Powell  had  been  ar- 
rested for  knocking  down  his  sister-in-law,  Warren 
Powell's  wife,  and  was  working  out  his  time  on  the 
road  when  Captain  McDonald  returned  to  Edna. 
The  Eanger  Captain  gave  the  disturbed  elements  a 
little  judicious  stirring  and  they  fomented. 


The  Conditt  Mystery  Solved  309 

*^  If  I  told  all  I  know  about  that  nigger,  he'd 
hang  for  murder, '^  Irene  Powell  blurted  out.  De- 
tective McDonald  smiled  quietly,  but  did  not  use 
undue  haste.  He  had  Felix  Powell  removed  from 
the  public  highways  and  once  more  put  in  jail.  Then 
quietly  he  went  to  the  negroes  and  made  it  easy 
and  even  enticing  for  them  to  talk.  He  knew  the 
negro  character  very  well — its  weaknesses  and  its 
animosities,  and  these  he  played  on — gently,  very 
gently,  at  first,  but  effectively.  Little  by  little  he 
learned  that  Felix  had  already  been  accused  of  the 
crime  by  those  of  his  own  color — some  of  whom 
were  said  to  know  the  facts.  He  learned  that  Felix 
had  been  greatly  exercised  over  the  arrival  of  the 
first  blood-hounds. 

'*  They'll  trail  a  man  to  town,''  he  had  said,  ^^  but 
they  can't  follow  a  man  that  has  oil  on  his  shoes." 

All  night  he  had  lain  awake,  listening  for  the  bay 
of  the  hounds.    Once  he  had  sat  bolt  upright  in  bed. 

""  Here  they  come!  "  he  had  exclaimed  to  a  man 
who  was  staying  with  him.  Soon  after,  he  said :  *  ^  I 
could  put  my  hand  on  the  man  that  committed  that 
murder. ' '  And  again :  ' '  There 's  one  woman  knows, 
and  she  may  tell.  As  for  Monk,  he's  told  so 
many  lies,  the  white  people  won't  believe  him,  any- 
way. ' ' 

Two  little  children  named  Reed,  looking  at  the 
bleeding  legs  of  some  tied  chickens,  said  to  each 
other  that  the  bloody  string  reminded  them  of  the 
clothes  their  mother  had  washed  for  Felix  Powell. 


310  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

This  was  repeated  and  whispered,  and  one  of 
Powell's  acquaintances  charged  him  with  the  crime. 

*^  They'll  hang  you  for  it,  Felix,''  he  said. 

*  *  When  they  do,  a  lot  of  white  folks  will  go  to  hell 
with  me,"  was  the  reply. 

All  these  things  came  in  due  course  to  Captain 
Bill,  and  by  and  by  an  affidavit  for  murder  was  pre- 
♦  pared  and  Powell  was  formally  accused  of  the  crime. 
When  he  knew  of  this  he  became  furious  and  at- 
tacked McDonald  in  his  cell  and  had  to  be  over- 
powered and  chained.  Later,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  he 
snapped  these  chains  and  tore  the  shackles  from  his 
limbs.  Then  a  heavier  chain  was  put  on  him  and  he 
was  padlocked  to  the  floor. 

Besides  Felix  Powell,  charges  were  brought 
against  Henry  Howard  and  four  women  believed  to 
be  concerned  in  the  killing — directly  or  as  acces- 
sories to  it,  either  before  or  after  the  fact.  One  of 
these — Augusta  Diggs — on  the  second  day  of  the  ex- 
amining trial,  confessed  her  knowledge  of  the  crime. 
She  confirmed  Captain  Bill's  belief  that  the  murder 
of  the  Conditts  had  taken  place  in  the  morning  and 
declared  that  Powell  had  come  to  her  with  the  story 
of  how  he  and  Monk  Gibson  had  killed  the  Con- 
ditts, bringing  his  bloody  clothes  for  her  to  wash. 
She  had  refused  and  he  had  taken  them  elsewhere — 
to  Bethel  Reed.  Other  witnesses,  willingly  or  un- 
willingly, gave  further  damaging  evidence.  Listeners 
began  to  wonder  if  there  wasn't  something  in  all 
these  accusations  besides  a  mere  negro  feud — to  sus- 


The  Conditt  Mystery  Solved  311 

pect  that  perhaps  Bill  McDonald  might  be  able  to 
establish  his  theories,  after  all. 

But  it  is  likely  they  would  still  have  doubted  and 
the  case  would  have  come  to  naught,  had  there  not 
been  one  more  link  in  Captain  Bill's  chain  of  cir- 
cumstance. He  had  been  closely  observing  Felix 
Powell's  right  hand  when  he  could  do  so  without 
attracting  the  prisoner's  attention,  and  mentally 
comparing  it  with  the  bloody  print  sawed  from  the 
Conditt  house.  The  print  was  a  peculiar  one;  it 
showed  an  oblong  spot  for  the  thumb ;  a  longer  one 
for  the  forefinger;  then  two  somewhat  shorter  ones 
for  the  middle  and  third  finger,  with  a  mere  dot  for 
the  little  finger.  It  was  as  if  the  hand  had  been 
maimed  by  accident,  and  the  fingers  cut  away.  Cap- 
tain Bill  at  first  had  made  a  sketch  of  the  print, 
which  he  could  surreptitiously  compare  with  the 
hand  of  Powell,  when  opportunity  offered.  The 
comparison  puzzled  him.  Powell's  little  finger 
might  make  the  dot,  for  it  had  been  deformed  by  a 
bone  felon  and  had  a  crooked  bone  at  the  end.  But 
his  other  fingers  were  normal,  and  it  was  hard  to 
imagine  they  had  made  that  bloody  impress.  Still, 
the  Eanger  detective  did  not  give  up.  He  wanted 
to  see  the  hand  and  the  print  together,  or  to  see 
actual  prints  of  the  hand,  by  the  side  of  tell-tale 
evidence  left  on  the  Conditt  walls.  Finally,  one  day, 
he  got  Felix  Powell,  whose  diversions  were  few 
enough,  interested  in  an  experiment  of  camphor- 
smoked  paper  upon  which  almost  photographic  re- 


312  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

productions  of  any  yielding  object  could  be  made. 
The  negro  was  attracted  by  the  results  and  willingly 
enough  made  the  impress  of  his  open  hand.  Cap- 
tain Bill  felt  a  qualm  of  disappointment.  Only  the 
dot  for  the  stub  of  a  little  finger  compared  at  all 
with  the  print  left  by  the  murderer.  Then  suddenly 
he  had  an  inspiration.  He  put  an  object  the  size  of 
a  closed  knife  into  Felix's  hand,  and  told  him  to 
make  a  print  with  his  fingers  closed.  The  shadow 
of  the  gallows  stretched  out  toward  Felix  Powell  in 
that  instant,  but  he  did  not  know  it.  He  pressed  his 
hand  to  the  paper,  and  as  he  lifted  it  Bill  Mc- 
Donald's heart  gave  a  fierce  bound  of  triumph.  The 
likeness  to  the  print  of  blood  was  exact.  As  Cap- 
tain Bill  said  afterward,  ^^  I  saw  that  Felix  PowelPs 
hand  with  a  knife  in  it,  would  fit  the  print  left  on 
the  Conditt  walls,  to  a  gnat 's  heel. ' '  Something  of 
what  was  in  his  captor's  mind  must  have  filtered 
into  the  skull  of  Felix  Powell,  then,  for  he  became 
wary  and  frightened,  and  when  Captain  Bill  urged 
him  to  make  other  prints  he  moved  his  hand  each 
time  and  blurred  them.  He  was  anxious,  too,  to 
know  what  use  was  going  to  be  made  of  the  ones  al- 
ready taken.  When  later  he  learned  what  had  been 
done  with  them,  and  that  his  hand  was  identical  with 
a  bloody  print  found  on  the  Conditt  premises,  he 
broke  out  in  a  rage. 

"  Aren't  there  any  other  hand  like  that  in  the 
world?  "  he  cried. 

There  could  be  none.    The  tests  of  measurement 


The  Conditt  Mystery  Solved  313 

and  the  similarity  of  line  had  been  applied.  They 
tallied  exactly.  They  convinced  Sheriff  Egg  com- 
pletely— they  convinced  the  most  skeptical  in  Edna. 
When  that  examining  trial  ended,  Captain  Bill  Mc- 
Donald, Ranger  and  detective,  from  being  a  man 
whose  presence  was  resented  and  whose  theories 
were  despised,  became  suddenly  to  the  people  of 
Edna  a  mighty  criminal  sleuth ;  a  veritable  Sherlock 
Holmes;  a  hero  whose  name  was  on  every  tongue. 
Outside  of  Edna,  Texas  had  suspected  this  before, 
but  now  Edna  took  the  lead  in  singing  his  praises, 
and  every  paper  in  the  State  joined  in  the  chorus. 

It  is  not  within  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  follow 
here  the  case  of  the  Conditt  murderers  through  the 
courts.  The  evidence  as  finally  accumulated  was 
voluminous  and  damning  so  far  as  Felix  Powell  and 
Monk  Gibson  were  concerned.  That  Monk  Gibson 
was  a  tool  of  Powell  (and  perhaps  of  others)  was 
most  likely,  for  it  was  proven  that  Powell  had  been 
seen  walking  around  and  around  the  field  with  him 
as  he  plowed,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  murder, 
and  the  big  track  and  the  smaller  one  had  been 
found  there,  side  by  side.  That  Powell  had  enticed 
the  negro  boy  to  join  in  the  crime,  we  may  easily 
believe,  and  that  Monk  Gibson  had  joined  in  that 
fearful  tragedy  cannot  be  doubted,  and  he  had 
plowed  on  until  one  o'clock  with  those  dead  bodies 
lying  there  close  by,  thus  giving  his  confederate,  or 
confederates,  a  chance  to  establish  an  alibi,  probably 
in  accordance  with  a  preconcerted  plan. 


314  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Both  Powell  and  Gibson  paid  the  extreme  penalty 
of  their  crime.  Powell  went  to  the  gallows  at 
Victoria,  Texas,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1907.  Monk 
Gibson  was  hanged  at  Cuero,  Texas,  a  year  later,  in 
June.  Neither  made  any  confession  that  was  of  legal 
value,  though  Gibson,  a  few  minutes  before  his  ex- 
ecution, gave  to  Captain  McDonald  a  rambling  state- 
ment in  which  he  involved  others  besides  Powell. 

The  cases  of  Henry  Howard  and  of  the  women  ar- 
rested as  accessories  to  the  plot  and  its  execution, 
had  not  been  disposed  of  when  this  was  written. 
Howard  was  then  under  indictment  as  principal  and 
accessory  on  evidence  supplied  by  McDonald. 
Whether  that  evidence  is  found  sufficient  to  convict 
will  only  be  decided  by  the  juries  of  the  future. 


XXXVIII 

The  Brownsville  Episode 

xn  event  op  national  importance.     the  twenty- 
FIFTH   infantry's   MIDNIGHT   RAID 

The  year  1906  was  Captain  Bill  McDonald's  last 
and  most  important  year  in  the  Ranger  service.  He 
was  still  concerned  in  the  work  at  Edna  when  there 
occurred  not  far  away  an  event  in  which  certain 
negro  characteristics  were  even  more  strikingly 
manifested — an  event  which  was  presently  to  grow 
into  an  episode  of  national  importance. 

On  the  night  of  August  13,  1906,  armed  men,  in 
number  from  ten  to  twenty,  believed  to  be  colored 
soldiers  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  quartered  at 
Brownsville,  Texas,  appeared  about  midnight  upon 
the  streets  and  ^*  shot  up  the  town,''  firing  reck- 
lessly into  many  buildings,  killing  one  man,  severely 
wounding  another  and  endangering  the  lives  of 
many  citizens.  Official  investigation  failed  to 
identify  the  offenders,  and  three  months  later.  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  assuming  that  the  offense  was  never- 
theless committed  by  certain  members  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  with  guilty  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  their  comrades,  dismissed  the  entire  com- 
mand, ^*  without  honor,"  on  the  ground  that  the 
three    companies,    numbering    one    himdred    and 


316  Captain  BUI  McDonald 

seventy  men,  had  banded  in  a  *  *  conspiracy  of  silence 
for  the  purpose  of  shielding  those  who  took  part  in 
the  original  conspiracy  of  murder.'' 

Captain  William  J.  McDonald,  then  of  the  State 
Eangers,  was  prominently  identified  with  the  early 
investigation  of  this  unusual  episode,  and  the  story 
of  his  court  of  inquiry,  with  its  revelations,  and  of 
his  remarkable  experiences  following  the  same,  has 
become  history. 

Brownsville,  Texas,  is  a  city  of  less  than  ten  thou- 
sand population,  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Eio  Grande,  in  the  extreme  southern  portion  of  the 
State.  It  has  long  been  a  military  point — its  gar- 
rison. Fort  Brown,  being  situated  but  a  little  way 
from  the  business  center.  Opposite  Brownsville,  on 
the  Mexican  side  of  the  river,  lies  Matamoras. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1906,  three  negro  com- 
panies— B,  C,  and  D,  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Infantry, 
Major  C.  W.  Penrose  commanding,  were  ordered  to 
Brownsville,  and  quartered  at  Fort  Brown.  They 
arrived  July  28th,  in  bad  humor.  There  was  a 
military  encampment  of  State  troops  at  Austin,  and 
they  had  not  been  permitted  to  participate  in  the 
maneuvers — drills,  sham  battles  and  the  like — in 
progress  there.  They  had  been  told  that  the  Texas 
boys  did  not  care  to  drill  with  them — that  if  they 
went  to  Austin  and  took  part  in  the  sham  battles, 
blank  cartridges  might  be  discarded  for  real  ones 
by  the  white  troops.  Of  course  this  was  idle  talk, 
but  they  repeated  it  and  nursed  their  resentment. 


The  Brownsville  Episode  317 

becoming  noisy  and  braggart,  as  ignorant  men, 
whether  white  or  negro,  will.  On  the  way  they  had 
torn  down  the  signs,  **  For  Negroes,"  placed  by  law, 
in  the  South,  in  the  cars  intended  for  colored  pas- 
sengers, and  had  boasted  to  the  conductor  that  * '  all 
women  in  Brownsville  would  look  alike  to  them, 
whether  white,  negro  or  Mexican.  * ' 

They  were  not  long  in  beginning  their  demon- 
strations. They  set  in  drinking  immediately  upon 
their  arrival,  and  their  anger  grew  when  they  found 
they  were  not  permitted  to  drink  at  the  bar  with 
white  men,  increasing  still  further  in  violence  when 
one  or  more  of  the  saloons  set  up  a  separate  bar 
for  their  accommodation.  They  became  loud  and 
insolent  on  the  street;  crowded  white  women  from 
the  walks,  and  made  themselves  generally  offensive 
and  hateful. 

Brownsville  as  a  community  did  not  openly  resent 
these  indignities,  but  individuals  did.  A  Mr.  Tate, 
an  inspector  of  customs,  whose  wife  was  run  over 
and  rudely  jostled  by  a  negro  soldier,  administered 
summary  correction  with  the  butt  of  his  revolver. 
In  another  case  an  ex-ranger  named  Bates  applied 
like  treatment  for  similar  offense.  A  third  instance 
is  recorded  of  a  negro  soldier  who,  returning  drunk 
from  Matamoras — a  favorite  excursion  point — was 
ordered  to  move  on -by  a  Mr.  Baker,  another  in- 
spector of  customs,  and  upon  becoming  more  ob- 
noxious was  eventually  pushed  into  the  mud.  But 
public  feeling  reached  the  boiling-iDoint  when  a  Mrs. 


318  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Evans — a  lady  of  refinement — upon  dismounting 
from  her  horse  was  seized  by  the  hair  and  dragged 
violently  to  the  ground  by  a  tall  negro  soldier.  She 
clung  to  the  bridle  of  the  frightened  animal,  that 
reared  and  plunged  and  finally  tore  her  free  from 
her  assailant,  who  then  ran  away.  As  a  result  of 
this  assault,  patrols  were  put  on  and  soldiers '  passes 
canceled.  This  doubtless  added  to  the  ire  of  the 
negroes,  and  whatever  purpose  of  retaliation  they 
may  have  had  would  appear  to  have  assumed 
definite  form.     The  catastrophe  was  not  delayed. 

Monday,  August  13,  was  a  rather  quiet  day,  owing 
to  the  new  restrictions,  and  a  majority  of  the  citi- 
zens perhaps  believed  that  their  troubles  with  the 
military  were  over.  But  there  were  others  who 
claimed  to  have  heard  muttered  threats,  and  these, 
as  evening  drew  on,  were  anxious  and  watchful.  It 
was  about  midnight  that  a  bar-keeper  named  Natus 
was  serving  a  final  round  of  drinks  to  a  few  belated 
customers,  white  men,  in  a  saloon  where  a  bar  had 
been  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  negro 
soldiers.  The  men  lingering  about  the  bar  were 
talking  quietly,  and  it  is  certain  that  they  had  been 
discussing  the  possibility  of  an  outbreak  from  the 
garrison.  Suddenly  they  were  startled  by  a  suc- 
cession of  shots,  loud  voices  and  general  commotion 
from  the  direction  of  the  fort.  One  of  the  group 
cried  out : 

*  ^  That  must  be  the  niggers  coming,  now !  ' ' 

A  fusillade  followed,  coming  nearer.     The  bar- 


The  Brownsville  Episode  '319 

keeper,  Natus,  sprang  to  the  front  doors,  flung  them 
shut,  and  fastened  them.  An  instant  later,  he  ran 
into  the  back  yard  to  prevent  entrance  in  that  quar- 
ter. He  was  not  in  time.  Before  he  could  close  the 
gate,  he  received  a  volley,  and  dropped  dead. 

The  mob  of  murderers  passed  on,  pouring  their 
fire  into  houses  where  men,  women  and  little  children 
were  asleep.  Their  course  was  up  an  alley,  leading 
from  the  fort  through  the  town.  Already,  before 
killing  Natus,  they  had  fired  on  a  house  in  which 
were  two  women  and  five  children — one  of  the  shots 
putting  out  a  lamp.  Ten  shots  had  passed  through 
this  house,  all  aimed  about  four  and  a  half  feet  above 
the  floor,  evidently  intended  to  kill.  They  had  next 
met  the  chief  of  the  police,  fired  upon  him,  killing  his 
horse  and  shattering  his  arm.  Next  came  the  Miller 
Hotel,  where  they  fired  at  guests  in  the  windows, 
breaking  the  glass  and  filling  the  casements  with  bul- 
lets. They  shot  at  whatever  they  saw  moving,  and 
wherever  they  saw  a  light.  In  a  house  where  a  wo- 
man and  two  children  were  asleep,  two  bullets  passed 
through  the  mosquito  bar  that  covered  their  bed. 
For  two  blocks  and  a  half  the  assault  on  the  defense- 
less street  continued,  then  suddenly  the  assassins 
disappeared  in  the  direction  of  the  fort — the  mid- 
night raid  was  over.  In  ten  minutes  had  been  writ- 
ten a  unique  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Army — a  chapter  that  would  be  told,  and  retold,  and 
debated  and  deformed  until  its  volumes  would  fill  a 
library. 


320  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

And  now  from  the  garrison  came  shouts  and  the 
sound  of  bugle — a  general  call  to  arms.  The  town, 
already  in  a  turmoil,  fell  into  a  panic  of  fear  and 
disorder.  A  renewal  of  the  attack  was  expected  at 
any  moment.  It  was  believed  that  a  general  mas- 
sacre would  take  place.  Men  armed  themselves  with 
whatever  they  could  lay  hands  on ;  women  and  chil- 
dren hid  themselves  and  waited  in  terror  and  trem- 
bling. 

Morning  came  without  further  assault.  Daylight 
showed  the  shattered  glass,  the  bullet  holes  in  the 
weather-boards  and  window  casings,  and,  on  the 
street,  empty  shells,  cartridges  and  clips — of  govern- 
ment rifles.  At  one  place  in  the  mud  lay  a  soldier 
cap.  The  night  had  been  too  dark  and  the  town  too 
poorly  lighted  to  identify  the  individuals  of  the  mob, 
but  the  evidence  as  to  its  origin  seemed  unmis- 
takable. 

A  citizen  committee  to  deal  with  the  situation  was 
quickly  formed.  Telegraphic  reports  of  the  out- 
break, with  urgent  demands  for  immediate  action 
and  for  the  removal  of  the  negro  troops,  were  sent 
to  Governor  Lanham,  General  Hulen,  Senators 
Bailey  and  Culberson  and  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  No  immediate  relief  seemed  forth- 
coming from  any  source.  Governor  Lanham  waited 
for  Washington,  Washington  waited  for  an  inves- 
tigation. The  public  at  large  took  but  a  small  in- 
terest in  the  whole  affair — the  metropolitan  dailies 
according  it  but   the  barest  mention  in   obscure 


The  Brownsville  Episode  321 

corners.  It  would  be  a  big  matter  to  them  some  day. 
It  was  a  big  matter  to  Brownsville  already. 

**  We  cannot  convince  our  women  and  children 
that  another  outbreak  may  not  occur  at  any  time. 
Their  condition  is  deplorable.  They  will  scarcely 
venture  out  of  their  homes  and  only  feel  secure 
there  by  our  maintaining  a  heavy  guard  and  patrol 
of  armed  citizens  every  night.  We  know  the  ac- 
cidental discharge  of  a  fire-arm,  any  overt  act  of  an 
excited  citizen — and  our  citizens  are  fearfully  ex- 
cited— would  precipitate  upon  us  the  whole  negro 
force  at  Fort  Brown.'*  .  .  .  This  from  a  tele- 
gram sent  to  President  Roosevelt  on  August  18,  five 
days  after  the  raid.  Brownsville  was  in  a  sad  plight 
indeed. 

Three  days  more  brought  no  relief  from  any 
source.  At  the  fort,  the  soldiers  were  kept  under 
arms,  perhaps  fearing  a  general  attack  from  the 
citizens,  while  on  their  part  the  citizens  expected  a 
general  outbreak  of  the  troops,  at  any  moment.  The 
officers  in  command  were  supposed  to  be  conducting 
an  investigation,  and  when  it  was  given  out  that  the 
midnight  attack  could  not  have  come  from  the  gar- 
rison, but  had  probably  been  made  by  a  gang  of 
Mexicans  from  across  the  river;  when  it  was  fur- 
ther stated  that  the  garrison  had  been  attacked,  and 
the  shots  said  to  have  been  fired  from  there  during 
the  raid,  had  been  fired  in  defense ;  such  statements 
only  meant,  to  the  citizens  of  Brownsville,  that 
Major  Penrose  and  his  officers  were  going  to  protect 


322  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

their  troops,  or  had  been  intimidated  by  them. 
Eumors  of  another  outbreak  continued.  Women 
barely  slept.  Men  began  to  move  their  families 
away.  Two  rangers  of  Captain  McDonald  ^s  com- 
mand— Blaze  Delling  and  Sam  McKenzie — came 
over  from  a  subordinate  ranger  camp  at  Harlingen, 
twenty-five  miles  distant,  and  these  undertook  to 
collect  evidence,  and  aided  in  patroling  the  town. 
Other  appeals  for  help  had  brought  no  result.  Tele- 
grams for  relief  were  answered  non-committally,  or 
not  at  all.  When  Captain  McDonald  himself,  with 
the  other  two  members  of  his  little  company — 
Sergeant  W.  J.  McCauley  and  C.  T.  Ryan — arrived 
on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-first,  Brownsville, 
resentful  and  despairing,  hailed  the  veteran  regu- 
lator with  open  arms. 


XXXIX 

Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene 

the  situation  at  brownsville.    rangers  mcdonald 

and  mc  cauley  defy  the  u.  s.  army. 

captain  bill  holds  a  court 

of  inquiry 

Captain  McDonald  had  been  serving  as  Sergeant- 
at-Arms  for  the  Democratic  State  Convention  at  Dal- 
las when  the  Brownsville  attack  occurred.  Browns- 
ville was  in  his  district  and  he  had  expected  to  be  or- 
dered there  at  once,  but  was  counseled  by  Governor 
Lanham  to  remain  in  Dallas  until  Adjutant-General 
Hulen,  of  the  State  troops,  then  maneuvering  at 
Austin,  should  be  advised  to  act.  On  the  morning 
after  the  outbreak.  General  Hulen  had  been  im- 
plored by  the  mayor  and  citizens  of  Brownsville  to 
come  to  their  relief,  and  Captain  McDonald  sup- 
posed that  Hulen  would  promptly  respond,  with 
troops  from  the  Austin  encampment.  A  few  days 
later,  when  the  convention  ended,  the  Eanger  Cap- 
tain hurried  to  Austin  and  found  that  no  action  of 
any  kind  was  in  progress,  or  contemplated.  The 
State  troops  were  still  at  Camp  Mabry,  maneuver- 
ing, and  firing  blank  cartridges.  Captain  Bill  went 
out  there. 


324  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

*^  Give  me  some  of  the  men  that  are  over  there 
bombarding  the  hills,  and  I'll  go  down  and  settle 
that  Brownsville  business/'  he  said. 

General  Hulen  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  to 
investigate  any  action  of  Federal  troops;  to  do  so 
would  be  to  invite  a  charge  to  treason. 

*  *  Treason !  ' '  said  Captain  Bill,  * '  Why,  them 
hellions  have  violated  the  laws  of  the  State,  shoot- 
ing into  people 's  houses  and  committing  murder.  I 
don't  care  what  else  they  are,  they're  criminals. 
It's  my  sworn  duty  to  investigate  such  business  as 
that,  and  I'm  going  to  do  it,  if  I  have  to  go  there 
alone!  "  And  Captain  Bill  might  have  added,  ^'  If 
this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it." 

Certainly  he  did  not  consider  that  he  needed  other 
authority  to  hunt  down  criminals  than  that  invested 
in  him  as  Captain  of  Company  B,  Eanger  Force. 
The  Commonwealth  of  Texas  and  its  laws  had  been 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century — first,  last  and  all  the 
time — ^his  chief  consideration.  To  him,  Texas  was 
the  biggest  thing  under  the  sky.  Without  further 
discussion,  now,  he  proceeded  immediately  to  his 
headquarters  at  Alice,  picked  up  McCauley  and 
Eyan,  and  hurried  to  Brownsville.  At  Corpus 
Christi,  District  Judge  Stanley  Welch,  who  had  an 
office  at  Brownsville,  boarded  the  train.  He  greeted 
Captain  McDonald  and  his  Eangers  with  enthusiasm, 
and  spoke  feelingly  of  the  fact  that  nothing  had 
been  done  by  either  State  or  Federal  authorities. 
He  assured  the  Eangers  that  they  had  full  power 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  325 

to  take  such  steps  and  to  use  such  means  as  were 
necessary  to  identify  and  punish  the  offenders. 

It  was  about  six  o  'clock  in  the  evening  of  Tuesday, 
August  21,  that  Captain  Bill  and  his  little  force  of 
two  reached  Brownsville.  The  Captain  immediately 
paid  a  visit  to  Mayor  Combe,  and  to  Chairman  of 
the  Citizens'  Committee  Kelley.  He  learned  that  a 
Major  Blocksom,  under  orders  from  Washington, 
had  arrived  at  the  fort,  to  join  Major  Penrose  in 
his  investigations,  but  that  neither  these  officers  nor 
the  Citizens'  Committee  had  made  any  progress  to- 
ward the  identification  of  the  criminals.  Members 
of  the  committee  further  informed  the  Captain  that 
in  spite  of  some  existing  prejudice  among  the  towns- 
people. Major  Penrose  was  an  estimable  gentleman, 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  bring  the  offenders  to 
justice.  He  had  stated,  they  said,  that  he  would  get 
to  the  bottom  of  the  mystery  if  it  took  him  ten  years 
to  do  it. 

*  *  Ten  years !  ' '  said  Captain  Bill.  *  *  What  does 
he  need  all  that  time  for?  He  could  do  it  in  ten 
minutes,  if  he  wanted  to  and  tried.  He  knows  his 
men,  and  he  could  find  out  who  was  absent  during 
the  shooting.  And  he  knows  just  about  who  would 
be  likely  to  get  into  a  gang  like  that.  I'll  find  them 
out,  myself,  and  I  won't  be  ten  years  about  it — nor 
ten  days,  neither."  ' 

They  applauded  Captain  Bill,  then,  and  added  him 
to  the  Citizens'  Committee.  They  knew  the  sort  of 
thing  he  had  done,  time  and  again,  and  that  he  was 


326  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

not  given  to  vain  boastings.  Also,  they  denonnced 
their  chief  State  officials  and  the  country  generally 
for  indifference  and  inaction. 

Captain  McDonald  now  looked  up  his  two  men, 
Delling  and  McKenzie,  to  learn  what  they  had  done. 
They  had  done  a  good  deal  in  a  quiet  way.  They 
had  discovered  Mexicans  living  near  the  post  who 
claimed  to  have  seen  shots  fired  from  there,  before 
and  during  the  raid,  and  to  have  followed  the  track 
of  the  raiders  by  the  flash  of  their  guns.  Further, 
the  Rangers  had  learned  that  a  squad  of  soldiers, 
with  Captain  Lyon  of  Company  C,  had  visited  the 
jail  immediately  after  the  shooting-up  of  the  town, 
claiming  that  citizens  had  fired  on  the  post,  and 
making  a  demand  for  Captain  Macklin  (white)  and 
Corporal  Miller  (colored),  of  Company  B.  Captain 
Lyon  had  not  explained  why  he  expected  to  find 
these  officers  in  jail,  perhaps  leaving  it  to  be  as- 
sumed that  they  had  taken  refuge  there  during  the 
attack  mentioned.  Delling  and  McKenzie  also  had 
located  two  ex-soldiers  (negroes)  supposed  to  have 
been  out  with  the  mob — at  least,  it  seemed  certain 
that  they  had  inside  knowledge  of  the  matter.  One 
of  these  ex-soldiers  kept  a  saloon  a  distance  from 
the  center  of  the  town,  and  the  Eangers  had  ascer- 
tained that  on  the  evening  of  the  raid  this  saloon 
had  closed  earlier  than  usual,  a  suspicious  circum- 
stance. McDonald  and  his  men  worked  most  of  the 
night,  continuing  these  investigations.  They  located 
one  of  the  ex-soldiers  and  lodged  him  in  jail,  where 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  327 

Captain  Bill  put  him  through  a  sort  of  *'  third 
degree  "  examination.  Later  he  looked  up  the  pris- 
oner's wife  and  questioned  her.  By  morning  he  had 
learned  enough  to  warrant  him  in  beginning  an  in- 
vestigation in  the  fort  itself. 

With  his  sergeant,  W.  J.  McCauley,  '*  one  of  the 
bravest  and  best/'  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  fort 
next  morning,  when  he  was  stopped  by  members  of 
the  Citizens'  Committee. 

*'  You  can  never  go  into  that  fort  and  come  out 
alive,"  they  said. 

''  Why  not?  " 

**  Because  those  men  are  all  under  arms,  and  ex- 
cited. Unless  you  can  show  an  order  from  Major 
Penrose  they  will  shoot  you  down,  sure." 

**  Well,  I'm  sorry,  but  I'm  not  going  to  get  any 
order  from  Penrose.  Them  niggers  have  violated 
the  laws  of  the  State,  and  it's  my  duty  to  investigate 
the  crime.  I  never  yet  had  to  have  an  order  to  go 
any  place  my  duty  called  me.  I'm  going  into  that 
fort,  and  the  only  pass  I  want  I've  got  right  here." 

The  Captain  carried  an  automatic  shot-gun  that 
would  go  off  about  half  a  dozen  times  a  second,  and 
his  sergeant  bore  a  Winchester  repeating  rifle,  also 
automatic  in  its  action.  These  lay  in  position  for 
easy  and  immediate  use.  The  two  men  had  been 
together  in  many  conflicts,  and  had  faced  death  too 
often  to  waver  now.  McKenzie,  Delling  and  Ryan 
had  been  left  behind  so  that  in  event  of  a  fight  at 
the  entrance,  and  another  outbreak,  the  town  would 


328  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

not  be  without  protection.  The  committee  stepped 
aside,  and  McDonald  and  McCauley  proceeded  to 
the  garrison.  At  the  entrance  they  were  suddenly 
confronted  by  a  file  of  about  twenty  soldiers,  with 
rifles  leveled. 

'^Halt!" 

Captain  Bill  and  his  sergeant  never  even  hesi- 
tated. With  their  own  arms  in  position  for  instant 
action  they  marched  steadily  into  the  muzzles  of  those 
leveled  guns — the  Captain,  meantime,  admonishing 
the  men  behind  them. 

*^  You  niggers,  hold  up  there!  YouVe  already 
got  into  trouble  with  them  old  guns  of  yours.  I'm 
Captain  McDonald,  of  the  State  Rangers,  and  I'm 
down  here  to  investigate  a  foul  murder  you  scoun- 
drels have  committed.  I'll  show  you  niggers  some- 
thing you've  never  been  use'  to.  Put  up  them 
guns!  '' 

And  the  guns  went  up,  with  the  quick,  concerted 
movement  of  a  drill.  There  was  something  in  that 
total  disregard  of  danger — in  that  tone  and  manner 
and  in  those  eyes,  now  gray  and  hard  and  penetrat- 
ing— that  inspired  awe  and  obedience.  Captain  Bill 
gave  them  no  time  to  reflect. 

''  Now,  Where's  Major  Penrose?  "  he  said. 

The  negroes  became  respectful,  even  deferential. 
One  of  them  said:  **  Yes,  suh,  cap'n — ^yes,  suh. 
Major  Penrose  is  right  over  in  his  house — second 
building,  suh." 

**  One  of  you  niggers  come  and  show  him  to  me." 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  329 

Captain  Bill,  it  may  be  remembered,  does  not 
mince  his  words.  A  white  man  who  has  committed 
a  crime  is,  to  him,  always  a  **  scoundrel,'*  or  worse, 
openly.  A  black  offender,  to  him,  is  not  a  negro,  or 
a  colored  man,  but  a  **  nigger,''  usually  with  pic- 
torial adjectives. 

One  of  the  men  now  hastily  escorted  the  Eanger 
Captain  and  his  sergeant  to  Major  Penrose's  head- 
quarters. Major  Blocksom,  who  already,  perhaps, 
had  seen  enough  to  warrant  his  subsequent  char- 
acterization of  Captain  Bill's  willingness  to  **  charge 
hell  with  a  bucket  of  water,"  was  on  hand;  also, 
District  Attorney  Kleiber.  As  the  Captain  entered, 
he  said: 

^  *  I  am  Captain  McDonald,  of  the  State  Eangers. 
I  am  here  to  investigate  a  very  foul  murder,  which 
these  men  of  yours  have  committed." 

Major  Penrose,  rising,  said : 

**  Come  into  my  office." 

They  went  in,  followed  by  the  others.  Captain 
McDonald  seated  himself  at  the  end  of  the  table, 
with  Sergeant  McCauley  at  his  left  and  Major  Pen- 
rose at  his  right.  Attorney  Kleiber  and  Major 
Blocksom  sat  below,  on  either  side.  The  court  of 
inquiry  was  open.    There  were  no  preliminaries. 

**  Major  Penrose,"  Captain  Bill  began,  **  I  have 
come  here  to  see  what  you  can  tell  me  about  this 
murder  that  has  been  committed  in  Brownsville." 

Penrose  replied  readily,  and  with  apparent  frank- 
ness: 


330  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

*  *  I  can  tell  you  absolutely  nothing.  I  cannot  find 
out  a  thing  from  my  men." 

Captain  Bill  faced  him  steadily. 

**  Well,  it  seems  very  strange  to  me,"  he  said, 
*  *  that  you  cannot  find  out  anything  about  your  own 
men.  IVe  been  in  charge  of  men  for  twenty  years, 
and  IVe  never  had  any  that  I  couldn't  find  out  any- 
thing I  wanted  to  know  from,  if  they  knew  it." 

Major  Penrose  looked  a  trifle  depressed. 

'*  Here  in  a  little  camp  of  less  than  two  hundred 
men,"  Captain  Bill  went  on,  ^^  fifteen  or  twenty  of 
them  break  out  and  shoot  into  people's  houses  and 
commit  murder  and  then  come  back  to  quarters. 
And  yet  you  can't  detect  any  of  the  criminals.  How 
about  the  officer  of  the  day  and  the  guard  in  charge 
of  the  guns  and  ammunition?  Don't  they  know 
anything?  " 

Major  Penrose  shifted  a  little. 

**  The  colored  officers  probably  know  whatever 
there  is  to  know  about  this  matter,"  he  said,  ^^  but 
I  have  no  way  of  getting  it  out  of  them. ' ' 

*  *  Well  then,  I  have, ' '  declared  Captain  Bill. 

**  Very  well,"  assented  Penrose,  **  I  wish  you 
would  do  it." 

The  Eanger  Captain  became  suddenly  a  fox — his 
ears  alert,  his  nose  sharp,  his  eyes  needle-pointed. 

**  What  niggers  were  out  that  night?  "  he  asked. 

**  Only  two  were  out  that  night,  and  all  answered 
to  roll-call,  at  eight  and  eleven  o'clock." 

**  You  are  sure  only  two  were  out  that  night?  " 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  331 

**  Perfectly  sure/' 

'*  How  about  Corporal  Miller  and  Sergeant  Jack- 
son? " 

**  Corporal  Miller  was  here,  I  know,  because  I  saw 
him.  Captain  Macklin  also  saw  him  and  talked  with 
him." 

'*  Where  was  Captain  Macklin,  at  the  time?  '' 

**  He  was  officer  of  the  day,  and  in  charge  that 
evening. ' ' 

''  Send  and  get  Captain  Macklin;  I  want  to  talk 
to  him. ' ' 

Captain  Macklin  of  Company  B  arrived,  wearing 
a  sort  of  uneasy  bravado,  which  did  not  improve 
under  Captain  Bill's  keen  scrutiny. 

**  How  many  of  your  men.  Captain  Macklin,  had 
passes  on  the  evening  of  August  13th?  ''  was  the 
first  question. 

**  Only  two,''  replied  Macklin,  giving  two  names 
not  down  on  Captain  McDonald 's  list  of  suspects. 

**  Where  were  the  others?  " 

**  They  were  all  in  the  barracks  and  answered  to 
eight  o'clock  and  eleven  o'clock  roll-call." 

**  What  happened  after  that  time?  " 

'*  I  don't  know.  I  went  to  my  quarters  soon  after 
eleven  o'clock  and  turned  in  a  little  before  twelve. 
I  was  asleep  when  I  heard  somebody  knock  on  my 
door.  I  got  up  and  found  it  was  about  ten  minutes 
after  midnight.  I  didn't  know  what  the  knock  was 
for,  so  I  smoked  a  couple  of  pipes  and  drank  a  bottle 
of  beer  and  went  back  to  bed.    I  got  up  again  at 


332  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

three  o^clock,  when  everything  was  in  commotion." 

**  Now,  Maeklin,  your  quarters  are  just  back  of 
Company  B's  barracks;  it  was  a  hot  night  and  the 
windows  were  open,  and  according  to  your  own 
story  you  were  awake  just  when  all  this  shooting 
and  racket  and  the  call  to  arms  came  off.  How  does 
it  come  you  didn  't  hear  it  ?  ' ' 

Captain  Maeklin  looked  rather  discomposed. 

**  Well,  I  was  only  awake  a  little  while,  and  of 
course  I  was  pretty  sleepy. ' ' 

**  You  were  awake  enough  to  smoke  two  pipes  and 
drink  a  bottle  of  beer?  " 

''  Yes." 

*'  And  you  couldn't  have  done  it  in  a  minute." 

''  Well,  no." 

*'  And  yet  you  say  you  didn't  hear  a  thing  of  what 
was  going  on  outside?  " 

* '  Well,  of  course,  I  suppose  I  did  hear  noises,  but 
I  didn't  think  them  anything  unusual." 

^  *  Nothing  unusual  about  shooting  and  bugle  blow- 
ing and  a  general  call  to  arms?  " 

**  I  didn't  say  that  I  heard  those.  Of  course  I 
didn 't  hear  them. ' ' 

**  How  did  it  happen,  Maeklin,  that  Captain  Lyon 
and  some  men,  after  the  raid  that  night,  went  to  the 
jail  to  find  you?  " 

*^  They  didn't  do  it.    I  never  heard  of  it,  at  all." 

'*  Where  was  Corporal  Miller  that  night?  " 

Captain  Maeklin  was  clearly  relieved  to  get  away 
from  the  story  of  his  own  personal  movements  on 
the  night  of  that  fateful  13th. 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  333 

**  Corporal  Miller  was  in  the  barracks.  He  was 
present  at  both  roll-calls.'' 

**  Very  well,  send  for  Corporal  Miller.  Send  and 
get  that  Miller  nigger  and  let  me  talk  to  him.'' 

Corporal  Miller  came  promptly.  He  carried  his 
gun  and  wore  the  air  of  a  major  general.  His  man- 
ner was  distinctly  defiant  and  insolent.  Nobody 
said  anything  for  a  moment,  but  Captain  Bill's 
X-ray  eyes  were  boring  him  through.  Miller  grew 
uneasy,  shifted  his  feet  and  seemed  to  be  shriveling. 
Major  Blocksom  said : 

**  Corporal,  Captain  McDonald  wants  to  ask  you 
some  questions.    Set  your  gim  down  over  there." 

Miller  obeyed  rather  sullenly,  and  came  to  atten- 
tion. 

**  Miller,"  said  Captain  Bill,  **  where  were  you  on 
the  night  this  murder  was  committed?  " 

The  tone  and  directness  of  the  question  dazed  the 
man.  He  did  not  immediately  find  words.  The 
Captain  repeated: 

**  I  want  you  to  tell  me.  Miller,  where  you  were 
when  this  murder  was  committed,  on  the  night  of 
August  the  13th." 

If  Corporal  Miller  had  any  other  story  to  tell, 
he  had  forgotten  it. 

*^  I  was  down  town,"  he  said. 

**  How  long  had  you  been  down  there?  " 

**  All  the  evening,  ever  since  dark." 

**  Where  were  you  before  that?  " 

*  *  I  was  over  in  Matamoras.    I  came  back  to  Mack 


334  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Hamilton's  house  (Hamilton  was  the  ex-soldier 
already  in  jail),  and  sat  talking  to  his  wife.  Then  I 
went  up  town.  When  the  shooting  happened,  I  was 
down  the  other  side  the  beef  market,  at  a  saloon. ' ' 

Captain  BilPs  eyes  gleamed  a  little.  All  of  this 
was  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  testimony  of 
Major  Penrose  and  Captain  Macklin. 

^'  Now,  Miller, ''  he  said,  ^^  you  couldn't  have  been 
anywhere  you  say,  because  you  were  here  at  eight 
o'clock  and  eleven  o'clock,  and  answered  to  roll- 
call." 

It  was  impossible  for  the  man  to  reason,  just  then. 
He  only  realized  that  his  statement  was  being  con- 
tradicted, and  that  he  was  on  the  defensive. 

*  *  I  reckon  I  know  where  I  was !  "  he  said  sullenly. 

Captain  Bill  was  seemingly  aroused. 
**  You  scoundrel,  don't  you  give  me  any  of  your 
back  talk !    You  answer  my  questions,  sir !  " 

At  this  point  Major  Penrose  interposed  a  query 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  Miller  at  some  previous 
time — during  a  shooting  affair  that  had  occurred 
ten  years  before.  Captain  Bill  promptly  checked 
this  diversion.    He  said : 

**  Hold  on  there,  Penrose,  we  don't  care  for  that 
now.  I'm  investigating  what  happened  last  week. 
You-all  failed  to  find  out  anything.  I'm  finding  out 
something.  When  I  get  through  with  Miller  you  can 
ask  him  about  ninety-six  ot  seventy-six,  if  you  want 
to."  Then,  to  Miller:  ''  What  did  you  do  after  the 
shooting?  " 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  335 

The  man's  reply  became  a  mixture  of  incongrui- 
ties. He  had  stayed  at  the  saloon,  he  said,  until  all 
was  quiet,  about  one  o'clock.  Then  he  had  come  up 
to  the  Post,  to  defend  it,  having  heard  that  it  had 
been  attacked  by  citizens.  Captain  Lyon  had  a  squad 
of  forty-five  men  out  looking  for  Captain  Macklin 
at  the  jail.  He,  Miller,  had  taken  a  gun  from  a  gun- 
rack  that  had  been  broken  open,  and  joined  the 
search.  He  didn't  know  why  Captain  Lyon  had  ex- 
pected to  find  Captain  Macklin  in  jail. 

Corporal  Miller  was  excused  and  other  negroes 
summoned  and  examined.  Their  stories  were  con- 
fused, contradictory  and  full  of  guilt.  Finally  a 
soldier  appeared,  whose  name,  C.  W.  Askew,  cor- 
responded with  the  initials  written  in  the  cap,  found 
in  the  street  the  morning  after  the  raid. 

Askew  came  in  with  the  usual  *  *  sassy  ' '  look, 
faced  Captain  Bill,  wilted,  and  lost  his  memory.  He 
had  previously  lost  his  hearing,  it  would  seem,  for 
like  Captain  Macklin,  he  had  heard  nothing  of  the 
shooting,  or  the  confusion,  until  the  call  to  arms, 
when  he  had  hurried  to  a  rack  that  was  broken  open 
and  got  the  first  gun  he  came  to. 

**  Let  me  see  your  cap,"  said  Captain  McDonald. 

Askew  handed  it  over. 

The  cap  was  a  new  one.  Inside  were  the  initials, 
*'  C.  W.  A."  freshly  written  and  corresponding  ex- 
actly with  those  in  the  cap  found  on  the  street. 

Captain  Bill  handed  it  back. 

**  Where  is  your  old  one?  "  he  said. 


336  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  IVe  got  two  or  three  old  ones.'' 

^^  I  want  to  see  them;  get  them  and  bring  them 
here. ' ' 

Askew  started  for  his  caps  and  Captain  Macklin 
went  with  him.  They  returned,  presently,  with  two 
old  caps,  in  size  7%  and  7%,  respectively.  Askew 's 
new  cap  and  the  one  found  in  the  mud  were  both 
number  7's.  Captain  Bill  look  them  over,  then 
turned  to  Askew. 

'^  Don't  you  generally  write  your  name  in  your 
caps?  "  he  asked. 

'*  Yes,  sir,  most  generally.  Anyhow,  I  do  some- 
times." 

*  *  Did  you  write  your  initials  in  this  new  cap  1  Is 
the  handwriting  yours  ?  ' ' 

''  Yes,  sir." 

**  That  will  do.    You  can  go,  now." 

C.  W.  Askew  of  Company  B,  Twenty-seventh  In- 
fantry, withdrew,  and  Captain  Bill  was  alone  with 
his  board  of  inquiry.  For  some  moments  he  re- 
garded the  two  officers  with  silent  scorn.  Then,  to 
Major  Penrose,  he  said : 

*^  When  I  came  here  you  told  me  you  couldn't 
find  out  anything.  I've  been  here  a  half  an  hour 
and  I've  found  out  enough,  with  what  I  got  last 
night,  to  warrant  me  in  charging  a  bunch  of  your 
men  with  murder.    How  do  you  explain  that?  " 

Major  Penrose's  face  showed  that  he  was  un- 
happy.   He  said : 

*'  You  have  had  more  experience  in  such  matters, 
and  understand  better  how  to  go  at  it  than  I  do. " 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  337 

**  Yes,  I  have  only  asked  for  the  facts — that's  all. 
I  didn't  try  to  get  anybody  to  tell  me  a  lie.  I've 
found  that  a  whole  bunch  of  these  niggers  was  out 
that  you  and  your  captain  said  was  in.  You-all  are 
trying  to  cover  up  this  matter,  and  it  makes  you  just 
as  sorry  and  guilty  as  these  niggers,  making  you 
accessories  to  the  crime." 

In  employing  the  word  *^  sorry  "  here.  Captain 
Bill  meant  ^^  mean  "  and  **  paltry,"  but  any  one 
could  see  that  the  word  applied  equally  well  in  its 
other  uses. 

^'  You  are  sorrier  than  these  niggers,"  he  went 
on,  '*  because  you,  as  their  officers,  and  as  men  of 
the  United  States  Army,  ought  to  be  first  to  hunt 
out  the  guilty  ones,  instead  of  trying  to  hide  them. 
As  for  Macklin  there  I  think  he  was  out  with  the 
niggers,  and  when  he  didn  't  come  home  with  them — 
he  having  got  scared  and  hid  out,  I  reckon — they 
thought  he'd  got  caught  and  put  in  jail."  * 

Captain  Bill  turned  to  District  Attorney  Kleiber. 

*  "  Captain  Lyon  claimed  he  could  not  find  Captain  Macklin  any- 
where and  went  to  the  jail  and  other  places  looking  for  him.  .  .  . 
Some  of  Lyon's  men  after  leaving  the  jail  met  five  white  gentlemen  and 
threatened  to  shoot  hell  out  of  them  and  called  them  *  d — d  white  s — 
o — b — .'  I  have  their  names  (meaning  the  names  of  the  gentlemen), 
and  some  of  them  claim  they  could  identify  the  soldiers  that  used  this 
epithet.  .  .  .  Lyon  and  his  crowd  then  went  to  where  the  murder 
was  committed  and  found  a  policeman  with  a  gun,  and  one  of  them 
said:  'There  is  a  s —  of  a  b —  now  with  a  gun.'  The  whole  crowd  of 
forty-five  men  cocked  their  guns  on  him  and  would  have  taken  his  gim, 
but  he  was  one  that  was  not  afraid  of  them  and  talked  back  to  the 
black  devils,  and  of  course  they  let  him  alone." 

From  Captain  McDonald's  report  to  Governor  Lanham  and  Adjutant-' 
General  Hulen. 


338  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

'  *  I  want  to  make  a  complaint, ' '  he  said,  ^ '  against 
these  men  here  for  being  accessories  to  this  murder 
by  trying  to  cover  it  up.  If  this  kind  of  thing  is 
going  on  in  the  army,  it's  time  the  country  found  it 
out'' 

Neither  Major  Penrose  nor  Captain  Macklin 
made  any  coherent  defense  to  these  charges,  and 
Captain  McDonald,  with  his  sergeant,  left  the  Post. 
The  Rangers  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  completing 
the  evidence  against  the  thirteen  suspects — one  ex- 
soldier  and  twelve  privates  of  Company  B.  It  did 
not  appear  that  members  of  the  other  two  com- 
panies had  taken  part  in  the  raid,  though  there  was 
plenty  of  evidence  to  show  that  many  of  them  had 
full  knowledge  of  the  afPair  and  of  the  parties  con- 
cerned. District  Judge  Welch  issued  the  warrants, 
declaring  the  evidence  amply  sufficient,  and  heartily 
approving  Captain  McDonald's  action  throughout 
— District  Attorney  Kleiber  assenting.  They  agreed 
that  the  statutes  clearly  gave  the  Ranger  Captain 
the  right  to  arrest  and  hold  any  offender  against 
the  State  law,  whether  in  federal  or  civil  employ. 
The  cases  of  Officers  Penrose  and  Macklin,  however, 
they  decided  to  leave  to  military  tribunals. 

On  the  following  morning,  Thursday,  August  23d, 
armed  with  the  warrants.  Captain  McDonald  and 
Sergeant  McCauley  again  appeared  at  the  entrance 
of  Fort  Brown.  Evidently  the  garrison  had  re- 
covered its  poise  a  little  over-night,  and  was  again 
defiant,  for  once  more  a  file  of  men  with  guns  stood 


Captain  Bill  on  the  Scene  339 

there  to  bar  admission.  Among  this  guard  were 
Corporal  Miller,  Sergeant  Jackson  and  most  of  the 
other  suspects.  As  the  Rangers  approached,  the  U. 
S.  rifles  once  more  came  to  a  level  accompanied,  as 
before  by  the  peremptory  word, 

''  Halt!  '' 

Captain  Bill,  looking  along  the  barrel  of  his  auto- 
matic shot-gun,  was  inclined  to  be  almost  polite. 

**  What  do  you  damned  niggers  want,  this  time?  '* 
he  said. 

**  You  must  get  an  order  from  Major  Penrose  to 
come  in  here  to-day, ' '  was  the  answer. 

**  You  niggers  put  up  them  guns!  YouVe  al- 
ready committed  one  murder!  ^'  was  Captain  Bill's 
single  comment  as  with  Sergeant  McCauley  he 
pushed  straight  ahead.  Both  Rangers  entered  with 
their  own  guns  leveled,  and  would  have  opened  fire 
instantly  had  there  been  the  slightest  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  guard.  But  whatever  their  orders, 
the  negroes  gave  way  and  made  no  further  resist- 
ance. 

The  Rangers  presently  found  Major  Penrose  and 
showed  him  a  warrant  for  twelve  of  his  men.  The 
officer  appeared  to  have  cheered  up  a  bit.  He  ran 
down  the  list  with  quite  a  business-like  air. 

**  YouVe  got  six  or  eight  of  the  right  men,"  he 
said,  **  but  the  others  were  not  in  if 

**  Oh,  then  you  do  know  that  some  of  your  men 
are  guilty — and  who  they  are,"  commented  Captain 
Bill.    <*  Well,  pick  *em  out.    Which  ones  are  they!  " 


340  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Penrose  hesitated. 

*^  I  mean  that  you  have  six  or  eight  of  the  right 
kind  of  men,''  he  qualified. 

*  '■  All  right,  then  pick  out  the  ones  that  are  not  the 
right  kind  of  men.'' 

But  the  major  would  not  or  could  not  undertake 
to  do  this.    McDonald  then  said : 

**  Now,  I'll  tell  you  what  I  want  you  to  do  with 
these  men.  I  don't  want  to  put  them  in  the  jail;  the 
sheriff  is  no  good,  and  it  would  take  too  many  of  my 
men  to  guard  them.  I  want  you  to  put  them  in  the 
guard-house  here  and  hold  them  on  this  warrant 
until  I  get  through  investigating.  Will  you  do  that 
much!  " 

Penrose  first  refused,  but  Major  Blocksom,  who 
was  present,  said  that  this  was  a  fair  proposition, 
and  the  major  agreed  to  do  it.  The  men  were  placed 
under  guard  and  there  seemed  a  reasonable  chance 
that  the  whole  matter  would  be  sifted  by  the  courts 
and  that  the  guilty  would  be  punished.  The  Eangers 
left  the  garrison  to  continue  their  inquiries  about 
town,  in  the  pursuit  of  further  evidence,  well  satis- 
fied with  their  progress  thus  far,  and  greeted  every- 
where with  the  congratulations  of  thankful  citizens. 


XL 

What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville 

how  state  officers  failed  to  support  the  men  who 
quieted  disorder  and  located  crime 

But,  meantime,  something  was  going  on.  Tele- 
grams were  racing  to  and  fro  between  Fort  Brown 
and  Washington,  and  in  the  course  of  the  day  Cap- 
tain McDonald  noticed  that  Major  Penrose  and  his 
officers  were  paying  visits  to  prominent  Brownsville 
attorneys.  A  whisper  came  to  him  that  the  three 
comijanies  were  to  be  moved — the  prisoners  with  the 
others.  Noticing  that  the  major  and  his  com- 
panions went  into  the  office  of  James  B.  Wells — a 
prominent  lawyer,  formerly  judge  of  the  district — 
the  Eanger  Captain  and  one  of  his  men  followed 
them.  Immediately  upon  the  entrance  of  the 
Eangers,  the  conference,  such  as  it  was  broke  up. 
Evidently  something  was  on  foot,  but  Captain  Mc- 
Donald, strong  in  his  faith  in  the  law  as  expounded 
to  him  by  Judge  Welch  and  Attorney  Kleiber ;  also, 
in  the  co-operation  of  these  officials,  expected  nothing 
more  serious  than  the  removal  of  the  remainder  of 
the  troops.  An  order  for  such  removal  was,  in  fact, 
received  on  that  day — August  23d. 


342  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

It  was  on  Friday,  the  24th,  that  matters  reached 
a  climax.  Early  that  morning  Judge  Wells — 
*^  Jim  '^  Wells,  as  he  was  familiarly  called — ^met 
Captain  McDonald  with  some  news.  (The  two  were 
of  old  acquaintance.)    Wells  said: 

**  They  are  going  to  take  your  prisoners  away, 
Bill,  and  you  can 't  help  yourself. ' ' 

^^  The  hell  I  can't!  I'd  like  to  see  them  take  my 
niggers  away  from  me,  and  me  with  warrants  for 
them,  issued  on  the  authority  of  the  judge  and  at- 
torney of  this  district.  Where 'd  you  get  your  in- 
formation? '' 

Wells  replied  that  it  had  come  through  the  tele- 
graph operator,  and  that  the  order  was  to  move  the 
prisoners  with  the  balance  of  the  troops.  Captain 
Bill  did  not  fully  credit  this  news,  but  he  set  out 
at  once  for  the  office  of  Judge  Welch,  who  had 
issued  the  warrants.  In  front  of  the  clerk's  office 
he  met  Welch;  also.  District  Attorney  Kleiber  and 
Major  Blocksom.  Captain  Bill  suspected  that  Major 
Blocksom  was  in  league  with  Penrose  to  get  the 
prisoners  away,  and  he  did  not  much  like  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  three  there  together.  With  his 
usual  frankness  he  stated  what  was  in  his  mind, 
adding  the  information  just  received  from  Judge 
Wells.  He  was  assured  by  Judge  Welch  that  no 
movement  looking  to  the  removal  of  the  prisoners 
was  in  progress,  and  by  Major  Blocksom  that  Major 
Penrose's  agreement  to  hold  the  prisoners  subject 
to  his  (McDonald's)  orders  would  be  carried  out. 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville     343 

Still,  the  captain  was  not  entirely  satisfied.  For 
some  reason  there  appeared  to  be  a  change  in  the 
official  atmosphere  of  Brownsville  since  his  arrival. 
When  the  city  was  in  despair,  he  had  been  welcomed 
with  open  arms  and  accorded  all  authority.  Now 
that  he  had  entered  the  dreaded  stronghold,  in  de- 
fiance of  loaded  muskets,  and  placed  the  very  crimi- 
nals behind  them  under  arrest ;  now  that  nobody  was 
any  longer  afraid  of  an  outbreak,  and  women  and 
children  could  sleep  at  night,  there  seemed  a  dis- 
position to  ignore  his  work  and  his  authority.  He 
could  not  believe  that  in  their  anxiety  to  be  rid  of 
the  negro  troops,  the  citizens  of  Brownsville  would 
willingly  surrender  men  who  had  committed  murder 
in  the  streets,  and  trust  to  the  meager  chance  of  the 
offenders  getting  justice  in  a  military  investigation, 
a  sample  of  which  the  city  had  already  seen.  It  was 
his  purpose  not  to  allow  the  accused  men  to  leave 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  county  until  a  complete  in- 
vestigation could  be  made.  He  was  satisfied  that 
Major  Penrose  and  his  associates  were  fighting  that 
investigation,  and  he  suspected  that  they  had  by 
some  means  obtained  the  co-operation  of  the  local 
authorities. 

While  considering  what  to  do  next,  Captain  Bill 
became  aware  that  a  company  of  negro  troops  had 
already  left  the  Fort  and  were  marching  to  the  rail- 
way station.  Promptly  mustering  his  Rangers  he 
accompanied  the  soldiers,  making  sure,  meantime, 
that  they  had  none  of  his  prisoners  among  them. 


344  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

As  a  precaution  against  being  taken  unawares,  he 
then  notified  the  railway  officials  that  the  special 
train  made  up  for  the  removal  of  the  troops  would 
not  be  permitted  to  leave  Brownsville  until  he  was 
satisfied  that  it  had  none  of  his  prisoners  aboard. 
It  did  not  occur  to  Captain  Bill  that  there  was  any 
suggestion  of  humor  in  the  fact  that  he  was  ranging 
himself,  with  his  little  company,  against  what  is 
usually  regarded  as  a  strong  combination — a  rail- 
road company  backed  by  the  United  States  Army; 
the  latter  represented  by  three  companies  of  armed 
and  unruly  negroes.  It  may  be  added  that  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty  he  would  without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation  have  opened  fire  on  all  three  com- 
panies. Captain  Bill  has  almost  no  sense  of  humor, 
sometimes. 

Eeturning  from  the  station  he  saw  another  com- 
pany of  soldiers  leaving  Fort  Brown.  Seeing  the 
approach  of  the  Eangers,  this  company  halted,  hesi- 
tated, wheeled  and  once  more  entered  the  fort.  The 
Eangers  now  arrayed  themselves  in  front  of  the 
entrance,  and  stood  guard.  Presently  the  company 
that  had  marched  to  the  station  also  returned  and 
entered  the  enclosure.  Nothing  further  happened. 
Mobody  else  attempted  to  leave  the  Fort.  By  and 
by,  the  Eanger  Captain  left  his  men  on  guard  and 
went  over  to  the  office  of  District  Judge  Welch.  As 
he  entered,  he  noticed  that  Major  Penrose  and  one 
of  his  officers.  Captain  Lyon,  were  in  close  conversa- 
tion with  Welch,  and  he  heard  Welch  say : 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville    345 

''  Well,  that  will  be  all  right!  '' 

Captain  did  not  hesitate. 

**  Judge/'  he  said  earnestly,  **  you  are  not  com- 
promising with  these  people!  '' 

**  No,  Captain,  but  the  Major  here  has  some 
orders  about  these  men.  I've  agreed  to  send  them 
out  of  the  State,  after  we  get  through  with  them, 
so  they  won't  be  bothered,"  and  to  Penrose  he 
added:  **  This  is  the  man  who  will  have  to  escort 
them  out." 

Captain  Bill  regarded  him  sternly.  He  believed 
this  to  be  a  subterfuge. 

**  Judge,"  he  said,  **  those  niggers  are  not  going 
to  be  moved  from  here.  They  are  my  prisoners, 
and  I'm  going  to  hold  them.  I'm  going  to  wire  to 
the  Governor  for  assistance  to  help  me  hold  them." 

*'  And  I  am  going  to  move  them  away,"  said 
Penrose,  **  for  I  have  an  order  from  the  President 
to  do  it." 

Captain  Bill  looked  interested. 

**  I  should  like  to  see  something  from  President 
Roosevelt,"  he  said.  **  I  was  on  a  wolf  hunt  with 
him  once,  and  I  know  him  very  well.  I  should  like 
to  see  something  from  the  President." 

Major  Penrose  replied: 

**  This  is  confidential.  I  have  shown  it  to  the 
judge,  here;  he  can  .tell  you." 

^*  If  it  is  confidential,  how  in  the  devil  can  you 
show  it  to  the  judge,  and  not  to  me,  when  they're  my 
prisoners,  and  I  'm  here  representing  the  State  f  ' ' 


346  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Penrose  qualified: 

**  It  isn't  exactly  from  the  President;  it's  from 
the  Secretary  of  War. ' ' 

''  Well,  I  should  like  to  see  that.'' 

*^  I'm  sorry,  but  I  can't  show  it  to  you.  I'm  going 
to  move  those  men,  however,  at  all  hazards." 

**  And  I'm  going  to  hold  them  at  all  hazards, 
until  I  get  orders  from  Governor  Lanham  to  the 
contrary.  I'm  going  now  to  wire  for  instructions 
and  assistance,  and  with  my  four  men  I  can  hold 
them  niggers,  and  your  whole  command,  if  necessary, 
until  the  Governor  says  to  let  them  go. ' ' 

Captain  McDonald  wired  Governor  Lanham  im- 
mediately, as  follows: 

''To  Gov.  S.  W.  T.  Lanham  and  Gen.  John  A. 
Hulen,  Austin,  Texas. 

*'  The  military  authorities  are  trying  to  take  our 
prisoners  from  here  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
them  and  defeating  justice,  and  will  attempt  to  do 
so  at  once,  over  my  protest.  Please  send  assistance 
to  prevent  this  outrage.  The  officers  are  trying  to 
cover  up  the  diabolical  crime  that  I  am  about  to 
uncover,  and  it  will  be  a  shame  to  allow  this  to  be 
done.  I  turned  warrants  over  to  them  in  due  form, 
with  the  promise  that  they  would  hold  the  prisoners 
in  the  guard-house,  and  turn  them  over  to  me  when 
called  for.  Everything  is  quiet,  but  I  propose  to  do 
my  duty.  ,,  Signed,  W.  J.  McDonald, 

**  Capt.  Co  B,  Eanger  Force. 

No  reply  came  from  the  Governor  after  a  reason- 
able wait,  and  without  further  delay  Captain  Mc- 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville    347 

Donald  sent  to  the  fort  a  formal  demand  for  his 
prisoners,  reviewing  fully  the  nature  of  their  of- 
fence. Major  Penrose  replied  that  he  had  been 
directed  by  higher  authority  to  assure  the  safety  of 
the  said  prisoners,  and  added  that  when  such  safety 
was  assured  they  would  be  delivered  to  the  civil 
authorities  for  trial.    He  added  further, 

''  After  a  most  careful  investigation  I  am  unable 
to  find  anyone,  or  party,  in  any  way  connected  with 
the  crime  of  which  you  speak/' 

The  cat  was  out  of  the  bag,  and  in  full  view,  now. 
Major  Penrose,  regardless  of  the  revelations  made 
in  his  office,  two  days  before  (or,  perhaps,  because  of 
them) ;  regardless  also  of  his  own  confession  that 
Captain  McDonald  had  got  at  least  six  of  the  right 
men,  had  determined  now  to  make  a  general  and 
complete  denial.  He  had  consulted  legal  advice — 
the  best  in  Brownsville — and  the  result  was  a  plea 
of  *  *  not  guilty  ' '  for  the  entire  command. 

The  captain  immediately  repeated  the  demand  for 
his  prisoners,  closing  his  note  by  requesting  Major 
Penrose,  politely  enough,  to  wait  until  he  (Mc- 
Donald) had  received  instructions  from  his  superior 
officers  (the  governor  and  adjutant  general),  before 
attempting  to  move  the  men. 

Major  Penrose  made  no  reply  to  this,  and  the 
eventful  day  wore  on.  Toward  evening  it  was 
noticed  that  a  group  of  officials  was  gathering  in  the 
office  of  Judge  Wells.  Captain  Bill  took  one  of 
his  men  and  went  over  there,  each  carrying  an  auto- 


348  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

matic  gun  across  his  arm,  as  usual.  They  entered 
unnoticed,  and  found  a  group  which  included  Judge 
Welch,  Attorney  Kleiber,  Mayor  Combe,  Congress- 
man Garner,  State  Senator  Willacy  and  others. 
Some  very  earnest  talk  was  in  progress  in  this 
group,  concerning  a  row  and  bloodshed  which  Bill 
McDonald  was  likely  to  bring  down  upon  the  com- 
munity, when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Rangers  had 
brought  to  the  community  the  only  sense  of  security 
it  had  known  since  the  raid.  Judge  Welch,  who  had 
been  first  to  welcome  the  Ranger  Captain  and  to 
accord  him  authority,  was  now  strenuously  con- 
demning that  very  authority  and  advocating  its  re- 
moval. Just  then  he  happened  to  catch  sight  of 
Captain  Bill  and  his  Ranger,  standing  close  by,  their 
guns  across  their  arms.  He  came  near  falling  over 
in  his  surprise  and  there  followed  a  moment  of  gen- 
eral embarrassment  for  the  '^  Anti-Ranger  ''  party. 
Judge  '^  Jim  '^  Wells  was  the  first  to  address  the 
captain. 

**  Bill,"  he  said,  ''  you  won^t  listen  to  us.  You're 
going  against  the  law  and  you're  going  to  start  a 
row  here  that  can't  be  stopped  without  terrible 
sacrifice.  Those  nigger  soldiers  won't  go  away  and 
leave  those  prisoners  behind  without  breaking  out 
again,  and  next  time  it  will  be  a  good  deal  worse. 
They  think  those  prisoners  will  be  lynched,  if  they're 
left  here.  They'll  look  after  them  all  right,  and  turn 
them  over  to  the  proper  authorities.  Don't,  for 
God's  sake,  get  us  into  another  row.  Bill." 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville     349 

The  Ranger  Captain  looked  from  one  to  another. 

**  There  was  a  row  here  before  I  came/'  he  said. 
'*  There's  been  none  since.  I  come  here  when  the 
town  couldn't  get  anybody  else  to  come,  and  you 
fellows  was  all  scared  to  death.  As  for  the  law,  I 
didn't  go  into  that  post  until  Judge  Welch  here  and 
the  district  attorney  told  me  it  was  all  right,  and  I 
arrested  them  niggers  on  warrants  that  Judge  Welch 
issued.  It's  a  strange  thing  to  me  that  the  law  ain't 
all  right  to-day,  when  it  was  all  right  yesterday  and 
day  before.  As  for  the  rest  of  the  niggers  leaving, 
they'll  go  fast  enough  when  they  get  a  chance,  and 
I'm  going  to  keep  my  prisoners  here  till  I  get  orders 
from  Governor  Lanham  to  turn  'em  loose.  Further- 
more, I  don 't  believe  the  people  of  Brownsville  want 
them  taken  away  from  here,  and  I'll  tell  you  right 
now,  that  so  long  as  I  and  my  men  are  here,  them 
niggers  are  in  no  danger,  nor  the  people  neither." 

Judge  Welch  spoke  up.    He  said : 

**  You  haven't  any  sense,  McDonald.  You're  run- 
ning up  against  the  local  authorities  as  well  as  the 
United  States.  I'll  settle  this  thing,  right  here.  I 
want  those  warrants." 

**  Judge,"  said  Captain  Bill,  **  those  warrants 
are  not  returnable  until  the  third  day  of  September, 
and  this  is  the  Twenty-fourth  of  August.  I'm  going 
to  hold  that  bunch  of  niggers  with  those  warrants 
until  I  hear  from  Governor  Lanham.  I've  wired 
the  governor  for  assistance,  and  I'm  waiting  now  to 
hear  from  him." 


350  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Congressman  Garner  spoke  up  at  this  point. 

**  That  is  a  very  reasonable  request  of  Captain 
McDonald's,''  he  said,  **  that  the  prisoners  be  held 
until  he  can  hear  from  the  governor." 

Captain  Bill  parleyed  no  further,  but  leaving  the 
group,  crossed  over  to  the  Miller  Hotel — the  same 
that  had  been  fired  on  by  the  mob. 

Still  no  word  from  the  governor  and  adjutant 
general.  That  they  were  being  bombarded  with  tele- 
grams and  protests,  and  that  every  influence  was 
being  brought  to  bear,  the  Captain  did  not  doubt.  Yet 
he  did  not  wholly  lose  faith.  He  believed  that  in  the 
end  the  governor  would  stand  by  what  had  been 
done  and  support  him  in  the  position  he  had  taken. 
He  left  a  part  of  his  force  to  keep  watch  on  the 
entrance  of  the  fort,  and  went  in  to  supper.  When 
he  had  finished,  he  came  outside  to  take  his  turn  at 
standing  guard.  Presently  he  saw  a  body  of  armed 
men  approaching.  There  appeared  to  be  forty  or 
fifty  of  them,  most  of  them  dressed  in  khaki,  and  in 
the  dusk  he  at  first  took  them  to  be  soldiers.  Then 
as  they  drew  nearer,  he  discovered  that  they  were 
led  by  Judge  Welch,  District  Attorney  Kleiber,  and 
the  Mexican  sheriff,  who  for  the  first  time  was  tak- 
ing an  active  part  in  the  Brownsville  drama — having 
previously  been  safely  locked  up  in  his  own  jail. 
Viewed  at  this  distance  of  time  and  space,  how  silly 
it  seems  that  those  officials,  knowing  Bill  McDonald, 
as  all  Texas  knew  him,  could  have  hoped  to  frighten 
him  with  a  nondescript  muster  like  that.    They  drew 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville     351 

their  posse — Mexican  riff-raff — up  in  front  of  the 
hotel.    Judge  Welch  asked: 

''  Wliere^s  Captain  McDonald?  " 

Captain  Bill  himself  came  forward. 

**  What's  the  trouble,  now,  judge?  ''  he  said. 
*'  Looks  like  you're  going  to  war,  with  all  these 
armed  men.'' 

*'  I've  come  for  those  warrants,"  said  Welch. 
**  I've  got  an  order  for  them." 

*'  All  right,  Judge;  you  don't  need  an  army,  if 
you've  got  an  order  from  the  proper  authorities. 
Come  in  here  by  the  light,  where  I  can  see  it." 

So  they  went  in,  followed  by  the  Mexican  sheriff 
and  his  khaki  muster,  and  all  the  other  crowd  that 
could  get  in — all  the  citizens  and  guests  of  the  hotel ; 
the  drummers  and  ranchmen  and  tourists — they  all 
pushed  and  elbowed  in  until  the  hotel  lobby  was  full 
and  the  balcony  around  the  court  was  crowded 
(and  there  were  ladies  on  the  balcony),  a  fine 
audience  indeed  for  this,  the  closing  scene.  Every- 
body was  inside  that  could  get  in,  now,  and  the 
room  grew  quiet.  In  the  center  of  the  lobby,  in  a 
little  group,  were  the  chief  actors.  The  Ranger 
Captain  and  his  sergeant  stood  together,  their 
automatic  guns,  as  usual,  in  position  for  quick 
and  easy  service.  They  made  a  picturesque  pair, 
with  their  typical  Texas  hats,  and  arms,  and . 
dress,  and  their  determined  faces.  Judge  Welch 
facing  them,  fumbled  a  little  and  produced  his 
order. 


352  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Captain  Bill  held  it  to  the  light.    It  ran  as  follows : 

'  *  To  Captain  William  J.  McDonald,  Company  B, 
Kanger  Force,  Brownsville,  Texas. 

^'  You  are  hereby  directed  and  required  to  im- 
mediately turn  over  the  warrants  for  the  twelve 
soldiers  and  one  ex-soldier,  delivered  to  you  for  the 
arrest  of  these  men,  without  any  further  attempt 
at  execution  of  the  same. 

^'  Signed,  Stanley  Welch,  Dist.  Judge, 

''  39th  Dist.  State  of  Tex.'' 

Captain  Bill  finished  reading  and  regarded  the 
judge  steadily. 

'^  This  is  your  own  order,  Judge,''  he  said. 
'^  What  is  the  meaning  of  it?  " 

Judge  Welch  started  in  to  repeat  some  of  the  argu- 
ments of  the  afternoon. 

' '  You  won 't  take  the  advice  of  your  best  friends, ' ' 
he  said,  ^*  and  are  bound  to  start  something  here 
that  will  cause  the  blood  to  flow  in  these  streets." 

Captain  Bill  looked  at  him  and  let  his  gun  rest  a 
little  more  easily  on  his  arm. 

^^  If  that  is  what  you  brought  this  gang  here  for, 
we'll  start  it  now,"  he  said. 

There  was  a  spontaneous  round  of  applause,  from 
both  the  lobby  and  the  balcony.  The  ladies  in  the 
latter  strained  forward  to  get  a  view  of  the  man 
who  had  defied  a  command  of  soldiers  and  who  now, 
before  their  very  eyes,  was  facing  a  sheriff's  armed 
posse,  undismayed. 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville     353 

**  I'll  tell  you,  Judge,''  Captain  Bill  went  on. 
**  You-all  look  like  fifteen  cents  in  Mexican  money, 
to  me,  when  I'm  doing  my  duty,  you  and  your  ki-ki 
militia  here,  and  your  Mexican  sheriff  that  you  told 
me  yourself  was  no  good,  and  had  done  nothing,  and 
was  locked  up  in  his  own  jail  for  protection  when  I 
come  here." 

There  was  more  applause  at  this  point — also, 
laughter,  the  latter  rather  nervous,  on  the  part  of 
the  ladies.    Captain  Bill  proceeded : 

*  *  Now,  you  bring  him  and  his  gang  down  here  to 
arrest  me  for  contempt  of  court,  I  suppose — you, 
and  your  district  attorney,  after  you  both  told  me 
that  I  had  a  full  right  to  enter  the  post  and  use  such 
means  as  was  necessary  to  bring  those  criminals 
to  justice.  Looks  like  as  soon  as  I  get  things  started 
and  some  of  the  guilty  men  locked  up,  the  law  is  all 
changed  and  you  come  here  demanding  my  war- 
rants, and  expect  to  put  me  in  jail  if  I  don't  give 
them  up — is  that  iti  " 

Judge  Welch  assumed  an  air  of  superior  virtue. 

''I'm  not  afraid  to  do  my  duty,"  he  blustered. 

''  Nor  I,"  said  Captain  Bill,  ^^  so  fly  at  it!  " 

There  was  more  applause  then,  of  course.  It  was 
the  moment  of  the  dramatic  climax — the  instant  for 
a  telegram  from  the  governor,  upholding  the  posi- 
tion of  Captain  Bill  and  putting  his  enemies  to  rout. 
The  stage  machinery  was  perfect,  too,  for  a  telegram 
did  indeed  come  at  that  moment,  only,  instead  of 
sustaining  the  chief  actor  in  the  drama,  it  cut  the 


354  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

ground  from  under  his  feet.  Captain  Bill  took  the 
yellow  envelope  from  the  messenger,  opened  it  and 
read  the  contents.  There  were  just  two  sentences. 
The  first  was  equivocal  and  meant  nothing.  The  last 
meant  surrender  and  humiliation. 

''  Austin,  Texas,  August  24,  1906. 
**  To    Captain    W.    J.    McDonald,    Brownsville, 
Texas. 

**  Have  requested  Gen.  McCaskey  to  prevent  re- 
moval of  soldiers  charged  with  recent  murder. 
Consult  district  judge  and  sheriff  and  act  under 
and  through  them. 

''  Signed, 
''  S.  W.  T.  Lanham,  Governor." 

After  all,  it  requires  defeat  to  reveal  true  great- 
ness. Few  they  are  who  with  the  eyes  of  the  mul- 
titude upon  them  can  stand  with  calm  eye  and 
steady  nerve,  unmoved  and  unfaltering,  when  the 
last  support  is  snatched  away.  It  was  all  at  an  end, 
now;  all  his  effort  had  gone  for  little  or  nothing — 
his  final  hope  had  failed.  But  those  watching  him 
could  not  have  told  that  the  crushing  blow  had  fallen. 
He  folded  the  telegram  with  a  hand  that  betrayed 
not  the  slightest  tremor,  and  with  a  voice  that  was 
entirely  steady,  and  even  pleasant,  he  said : 

**  Well,  Judge,  if  nothing  else  will  do  you,  I  am 
ready,  now,  to  give  you  my  warrant  for  those  pris- 
oners. Major  Penrose  has  the  other  copy  and  is 
holding  them  with  it.  I  can  get  along,  I  guess,  with- 
out a  warrant.     The  train  won't  leave  until  to- 


What  Finally  Happened  at  Brownsville     355 

morrow  morning,  for  the  men  in  charge  are  in- 
structed not  to  leave  until  I  say  so,  and  I  don't 
intend  to  say  so,  to-night." 

The  crowd  that  had  been  still  and  breathless 
during  the  last  few  moments,  gave  a  great  round  of 
applause  at  this,  and  the  drama  was  over. 

Captain  McDonald  still  had  a  very  small  hope 
that  affairs  might  take  a  turn  before  morning,  and 
all  night,  with  his  little  army,  he  patroled  the  en- 
trance of  the  fort  to  see  that  the  prisoners  were  not 
moved.  That  a  battle  would  have  followed  any  such 
attempt  there  is  not  the  least  doubt.  He  withdrew 
all  interference  next  morning,  and  the  train  carry- 
ing the  troops,  including  the  prisoners,  left  about 
six  o'clock,  for  San  Antonio.  The  prisoners  were 
taken  to  Fort  Sam  Houston,  the  remainder  of  the 
command  to  Fort  Eena,  Oklahoma.  When  the  final 
investigations  took  place,  the  man  who,  according  to 
Major  Blocksom,  had  been  willing  to  *^  charge  hell 
with  a  bucket  of  water,"  in  the  cause  af  justice  and 
duty,  was  lying  ill — the  result  of  his  old  wounds  com- 
bined with  the  misery  of  unfair  treatment.  Sergeant 
McCauley,  who  was  ready  with  all  the  evidence,  was 
invited  to  testify,  and  did  so,  but  not  a  single  indict- 
ment was  found  by  officials,  civil  or  military.  The 
*  *  conspiracy  of  silence  was  complete. ' '  * 

But,  perhaps,  after  all,  the  efforts  of  Captain  Bill 

*  Austin,  Texas,  Sept.  5,  1906. 
To  Whom  it  May  Concern: 

This  is  to  certify  that  I  did  on  yesterday  examine  Captain  W.  J. 
McDonald  and  found  him  su£[ering  from  chronic  bronchitis  of  both 


356  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

had  not  been  wholly  without  result;  for  he  made  a 
report  of  the  matter  to  Washington,  and  President 
Eoosevelt,  doubtless  recalling  that  wolf-hunt  and 
knowing  the  integrity  and  courage  of  the  writer, 
viewed  that  report  in  the  light  of  evidence.  When 
the  official  verdict,  **  Not  guilty,"  was  reached,  he 
dismissed,  ^^  without  honor,"  the  entire  command 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  Infantry. 

The  Brownsville  episode  had  become  national  his- 
tory; a  curious  chapter — the  end  of  which  would 
not  soon  be  written."  * 


lungs,  but  worse  on  the  left  side,  having  been  shot  and  these  organs 
having  been  injured. 

He  is  now  suffering  a  great  deal  and  very  much  debilitated.  I  ad- 
vised him  to  suspend  his  active  life  for  a  short  while  and  to  go  to  some 
water-place  for  a  few  weeks  of  rest.  I  think  it  may  take  three  or  four 
weeks  for  him  to  recuperate.  RespectuUy, 

L.  L.  Lacey,  M.D. 

That  Sergeant  McCauley  was  on  hand  and  turned  over  the  cap 
marked  C.  W.  A.  to  the  grand  jury  is  shown  by  the  following  receipt: 

Brownsville,  Texas,  Sept.  12,  1906. 
Received  from  WiUiam  J,  McCauley,  Sergeant  Companj'"  B,  State 
Rangers,  one  United  States  soldier's  cap,  marked  on  sweat-band  with 
name  of  C.  W.  Askew. 

William  Volz, 

.   Foreman  of  Grand  Jury. 

*  During  1908  a  secret  investigation  was  being  conducted  by  the 
War  Department,  with  the  result  that  President  Roosevelt  recom- 
mended the  reinstatement  of  such  men  as  could  establish  their  inno- 
cence and  were  willing  to  help  bring  the  guilty  to  justice.  A  partial 
report  of  this  investigation  will  be  found  in  Appendix  D,  at  the  end  of 
this  volume. 

judge's  Welch's  charge  to  the  grand  jury. 

However  much  we  may  be  inclined  to  criticise  Judge  Welch's  attitude 
during  Capt.  McDonald's  stay  in  Brownsville,  his  charge  to  the  Grand 


XLI 

The  Battle  on  the  Eio  Grande 

assassination  of  judge  stanley  welch.     captain 
bill  ordered  to  the  scene.    an  ambush;  a 
surprise  and  an  inquest 

Within  three  months  from  the  night  of  the 
Brownsville  raid,  there  occurred  another  tragedy 
in  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande.  In  the  hours  of 
earliest  morning  of  Tuesday,  November  6th — Elec- 
tion Day — while  asleep  in  his  office  room  at  Rio 
Grande  City,  District  Judge  Stanley  Welch,  promi- 
nently connected  with  the  Brownsville  episode,  was 
shot  dead  in  his  bed  by  some  unknown  assassin; 

Jury  that  somewhat  later  took  up  the  investigation,  leaves  little  to  be 
desired.     He  said: 

"  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Jury,  among  the  other  responsible 
duties  of  your  position  is  that  of  making  a  full,  thorough,  and  complete 
investigation  of  the  unprovoked,  murderous,  midnight  assault  commit- 
ted by  the  negro  soldiers  of  the  Twenty-fifth  United  States  Infantry 
upon  the  citizens  and  homes  of  Brownsville  on  the  night  of  the  13th  of 
August.  An  inoffensive  citizen  was  shot  down  and  killed  by  them  while 
closing  his  gate.  An  unwarranted  and  cowardly  assault  was  made  on 
the  Lieutenant  of  Police  of  Brownsville,  and  his  arm  shattered  by  their 
bullets,  requiring  its  amputation. 

"Fiendish  malice  and  hate,  showing  blacker  than  their  skins,  was 
evidenced  by  their  firing  of  volley  after  volley  from  deadly  rifles  into 
and  through  the  doors  and  windows  of  family  residences,  clearly  with 
tlie  brutish  hope  on  their  part  of  killing  women  and  children,  and  thus 
make  memorable  their  hatred  for  the  white  race.  Hard  words  these, 
but  strictly  true  and  warranted  by  uncontested  facts. 

"  It  was  my  province  to  come  among  your  patient  people  even  while 
their  terrible  fears  and  horror  of  another  outbreak  were  upon  them,  and 


358  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

this  cowardly  killing  being  doubtless  the  harvest  of 
factional  discord,  widely  sown  and  carefully  tended 
in  that  hotbed  of  political  corruption  and  violence 
along  the  Mexican  border. 

Eio  Grande  City  lies  up  the  river  from  Browns- 
ville a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  miles.  It  is 
the  county  seat  of  Starr  County,  and  has  no  rail- 
road nearer  than  Sam  Fordyce,  the  terminus  of  the 
St.  L.  B.  &  M.,  some  twenty  miles  away.  There  are 
no  railroads  at  all  in  Starr  County — a  big  county, 
full  of  cactus,  hard,  spiny  mesquite  grass,  Mexi- 
cans, and  hot  burning  sand.  Eiot  and  plot  would 
flourish  naturally,  in  a  place  like  that,  as  they  do  in 
all  Latin- American  territory. 

Starr  County,  in  fact,  is  rather  more  Mexican  than 
Mexico  herself,  using  the  word  to  convey  the  less 
fortunate  characteristics  of  .that  hybrid  race.     It 

God  spare  me  in  my  life  the  sorrow  of  ever  again  witnessing  the  faces 
of  agonized  women  and  fear-stricken  children,  tensioned  with  days  and 
nights  of  suffering  and  waiting  for  relief,  with  none  coming  from  either 
Nation  or  State  to  give  them  assurance  that  greater  and  unspeakable 
outrages  were  not  to  follow. 

"Tardy  relief  did  come.  At  the  eleventh  hour  the  fiends,  who  dis- 
graced the  uniforms  they  were  permitted  to  wear  and  shamed  a  nation, 
were  removed.  That  all  of  the  three  companies  were  blamabie  must  be 
conceded,  for  they  knew  who  were  guilty  and  they  shielded  and  sheltered 
them,  and  failed  to  give  them  up.  Hence  it  is  that  it  has  been  left  to 
the  civil  authorities  of  the  State,  and  especially  to  this  District  Court, 
to  apprehend,  if  possible,  those  directly  guilty  of  murder,  assault  to 
murder,  and  the  ruffianly  conspiracies  to  that  end,  as  the  authorities  of 
the  United  States,  in  charge,  have  declared  their  inability  to  discover 
who  were  the  uniformed  thugs  and  murders  that  committed  the  out- 
rages. 

"The  lengthy  investigation  of  a  committee  of  your  leading  citizens, 
made  while  these  outrages  were  fresh,  is  at  your  service.    I  also  present 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  359 

is  not  the  better  class  of  citizens  that  leave  Mexico, 
or  Italy,  or  China,  and  the  United  States  has  suf- 
fered accordingly.  The  border  counties  of  Texas, 
because  of  their  situation  have  been  peculiarly  un- 
fortunate in  this  regard.  In  Starr  County  the  elec- 
tive offices  are  held  almost  entirely  by  Mexicans, 
and  the  struggle  for  place  is  very  fierce  and  bitter. 
Affairs  generally  are  conducted  by  Mexicans,  and 
even  the  schools  are  in  Mexican  hands.  From  a 
statement  concerning  the  school  trustees  and  teach- 
ers, in  Starr  County,  it  appears  that  out  of  twenty- 
four  trustees  only  seven  could  speak  and  write  the 
English  language,  and  out  of  thirty-nine  teachers 
nineteen  of  them  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  our 
national  tongue.  Commenting  on  this  report,  D.  C. 
Rankin  of  Dallas,  in  an  article  in  the  Corpus  Christi 
Crony,  says: 

to  you  three  affidavits  made  before  me  by  W.  J.  McDonald,  Captain  of 
Company  B  of  the  ranger  force  of  Texas,  against  twelve  of  the  negro 
soldiers  and  one  civilian,  a  negro  ex-soldier.  All  these  parties  are  under 
arrest,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  authorities  of  the  State, 
and  to  await  the  action  of  our  courts.  Hence  it  is  that  if  it  has  ever 
been  known  by  committee.  Sheriff,  State  Ranger  or  other  officer  or 
individual  who,  if  any  of  these  men  are  guilty,  that  knowledge  should 
come  to  you  as  the  grand  inquisitorial  body  that  represents,  not  only 
the  County  of  Cameron,  but  the  State  of  Texas. 

"I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  share  in  the  imiversal  belief 
that  among  those  under  arrest  are  many  of  the  murderers,  but  some- 
thing more  than  mere  belief  and  opinion  are  required  to  vindicate  the 
law.  Evidence  must  be  had  upon  which  to  predicate  an  indictment, 
and  warrant  a  trial.  If  you  indict  on  mere  suspicion  or  opinion  and 
without  evidence,  you  leave  our  people  and  community  open  to  the 
charge  of  injustice  and  the  proceedings  will  resolve  themselves  into 
mere  delay,  for  in  the  end  an  indictment  unsustained  by  evidence  must 
be  dismissed." 


360  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

''  The  male  teachers  are  political  heelers  for  the 
party  in  power,  and  the  lady  teachers  are  backed 
by  workers  in  the  ring.  ...  No  wonder  that 
law  and  order  amount  to  nothing  in  that  rotten  sec- 
tion, and  no  wonder  that  District  Judge,  Stanley 
Welch,  was  assassinated  while  asleep  in  his  bed. 
No  wonder  that  when  Eangers  were  sent  there  to 
preserve  the  peace  and  protect  the  citizenship  from 
the  ravages  of  the  so-called  Americanized  Mexicans, 
that  they  were  ambushed  and  fired  upon  by  a  lot  of 
these  desperadoes." 

It  is  this  story  of  crime  and  ambush  that  we  shall 
undertake  to  tell  in  this  chapter.  When  the  assas- 
sination occurred.  District  Attorney  Kleiber,  who 
also  may  be  remembered  as  having  figured  in  the 
Brownsville  story,  was  asleep  in  the  room  adjoining 
the  one  occupied  by  Judge  Welch — the  two  inhabit- 
ing a  small  one-story  brick  building  not  far  from  the 
court-house.  They  had  retired  about  the  same  time 
and  Kleiber  slept  soundly  until  next  morning  at 
seven.  Hearing  no  movement  in  Judge  Welch's 
room,  he  called,  but  received  no  answer.  Thinking 
the  judge  had  overslept,  Kleiber  then  rose,  and 
opening  the  door  between,  called  again.  The  judge 
did  not  stir,  and  going  nearer  the  district  attorney 
saw  blood  coming  from  his  left  side.  Judge  Welch 
was  lying  on  that  side;  the  window  behind  him 
was  up — the  shutter  closed.  He  had  been  shot  in 
the  back,  from  without,  through  a  broken  slat  in 
the  blind.    Attorney  Kleiber  recalled  having  been 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  361 

partially  roused  from  his  sleep  by  some  sudden 
noise,  and  now  supposed  it  to  have  been  the  fatal 
shot. 

Mr.  Kleiber  at  once  notified  the  authorities,  and 
by  eight  o'clock  news  of  the  murder  was  on  the 
street.  It  was  Election  Day,  as  already  stated,  and 
excitement  followed  the  report,  with  demoralization 
among  the  better  element — the  party  to  which  Judge 
Welch  belonged.  It  should  be  explained  here  that 
the  two  parties  in  that  section  are  the  **  Eeds  " 
and  the  *^  Blues  '' — nominally  Democrats  and  Re- 
publicans, though  the  distinction  would  seem  one  of 
patronage  rather  than  of  politics.  In  Rio  Grande 
City  the  party  of  Judge  Welch,  called  the  Reds 
(Democrats) — is  in  the  minority. 

On  this  Tuesday,  November  6th,  1906,  its  fran- 
chise was  even  more  restricted  than  usual.  When 
the  fact  of  the  murder  became  known  about  fifty 
mounted  men,  ^*  Blues,*'  went  through  the  crowds, 
demanding  that  the  polls  be  instantly  opened. 
Local  officers  were  either  unwilling  or  unable  to  deal 
with  this  mob,  and  open  warfare  between  the 
Blues  and  the  Reds  was  imminent.  To  avoid 
bloodshed,  Chairman  Seabury  of  the  Reds  assem- 
bled the  best  men  among  the  leaders  of  the  Blues 
and  persuaded  them  to  agree  with  him  that  no 
armed  men  should  approach  the  court-house,  where 
the  voting  place  had  been  established;  also  that  one 
man  of  each  party  should  be  appointed  as  special 
peace  officer  at  the  polls,  and  that  a  Blue  and  a 


362  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Eed  should  vote  alternately  as  long  as  there  existed 
material  for  such  an  arrangement. 

The  agreement  was  kept  two  hours,  after  which 
the  Blues  took  possession  of  the  court-house;  en- 
tered the  door,  and  held  the  same,  backed  by  armed 
men  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  terrorizing  and  keep- 
ing out  most  of  the  opposition  voters.  When  the 
polls  closed  at  6:30  p.m.,  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  electors  had  not  cast  their  votes.*  There 
had  been  plenty  of  intimidation  and  some  personal 
violence,  but  no  loss  of  life.  The  elements  for  riot 
and  bloodshed,  however,  were  all  there,  and  it  needed 
only  a  little  brisk  stirring  to  precipitate  a  general 
killing. 

Meantime,  news  of  the  murder  of  Judge  Welch, 
with  a  report  of  the  general  situation  at  Rio  Grande 
City,  and  a  request  for  Rangers,  had  traveled  over- 
land to  Sam  Fordyce  and  by  telegraph  to  Austin, 
not  arriving  in  time  for  action  that  day.  Captain 
McDonald's  territory  included  Starr  County — his 
headquarters  having  been  removed  to  Alice  in  1903, f 
and  on  Wednesday  morning  of  November  7th,  1906, 
he  was  called  by  telephone  from  the  governor's 
office  at  Austin.  Governor  Lanham  himself  was  at 
the  Austin  end  and  conveyed  the  news  of  the  as- 
sassination, which  McDonald  had  just  learned  from 
another  source. 

*  For  further  details  of  the  condition  at  Rio  Grande  City  at  this  time, 
see  Appendix  E. 

t  Company  B  had  been  transferred  from  Amarillo  to  Fort  Han- 
cock in  1902  for  a  comparatively  brief  period. 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  363 

'*  How  many  men  have  you  at  Alice?  *'  inquired 
the  governor. 

**  Two,  including  myself.  My  sergeant,  W.  J. 
McCauley,  is  here.  One  of  my  men  is  on  a  scout 
below  Corpus  Christi,  and  the  other  (his  force  had 
by  this  time  been  reduced  to  three)  is  guarding  two 
murderers  at  Edna.'' 

**  Captain,''  was  the  governor's  next  question, 
**  would  the  fact  that  you  have  not  been  favorably 
disposed  toward  Judge  Welch  since  the  Brownsville 
affair  make  any  difference  in  your  undertaking  this 
matter,  now!  " 

'  *  If  you  think  so,  Governor,  you  ought  to  get  an- 
other Eanger  Captain  for  this  company;  a  Ranger 
that  would  let  a  thing  like  that  make  any  difference 
in  a  case  of  this  kind  would  be  no  good  for  any 
purpose  that  I  know  of. ' ' 

**  Well,  then.  Captain,  take  whatever  force  you 
have,  and  proceed  as  soon  as  possible  to  Rio  Grande 
City,  and  I  will  send  additional  men  there,  as  quickly 
as  possible.  I  will  wire  the  authorities  that  you  are 
on  the  way  with  one  Ranger  and  that  more  will 
follow  at  once." 

**  All  right,  Governor,  I'll  start  first  train,  and 
do  the  best  I  can. ' ' 

**  And  Captain  "  (The  governor  had  suddenly  re- 
membered Brownsville)." 

''  Yes,  sir." 

**  Be  conservative,  Captain.  Investigate,  and  try 
to  quiet  matters,  but  be  conservative,  quite  con- 
servative. Captain." 


364  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

'*  Yes,  sir,  Governor,  all  right.  I'll  be  conserva- 
tive— as  conservative  as  the  circumstances  will 
permit.  * ' 

*  *  Now,  .do  that.  Captain.  Just  quiet  matters,  and 
I'll  send  you  reinforcements  at  once.  Only  be  as 
conservative  as  possible  till  they  come." 

Captain  Bill  wasted  no  time  in  his  preparation. 
The  train  would  leave  in  half  and  hour,  and  he 
didn't  stop  to  pack  a  dress  suit.  He  notified  Mc- 
Cauley,  and  gathered  up  a  young  fellow  named 
Marsden,  who  had  Ranger  ambitions,  and  started 
with  such  clothes  and  guns  as  he  had  on. 

It  is  a  slow,  roundabout  way  from  Alice  to  Eio 
Grande  City.  You  have  to  go  from  Alice  over  to 
Corpus  Christi  and  there  wait  for  a  train  that  takes 
you  down  to  Harlingen.  Then  at  Harlingen  you 
must  wait  for  another  train  to  take  you  to  Sam 
Fordyce,  and  at  Sam  Fordyce  you  can  hire  a  hack 
that  will  carry  you  to  Eio  Grande  City,  unless  you 
are  waylaid  and  murdered  along  that  lonely  road 
which  follows  the  river  and  winds  between  a  thick 
growth  of  cactus,  mesquite  and  all  the  thorny  rank 
vegetation  of  that  sandy  semi-tropical  land.  Start- 
ing from  Alice  in  the  forenoon,  one  with  good  luck 
may  reach  Eio  Grande  City  by  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
though  it  will  be  safer  to  wait  at  Sam  Fordyce  until 
next  morning.  Those  who  travel  from  Sam  Fordyce 
to  Eio  Grande  City  after  nightfall,  go  armed,  and 
need  to. 

Captain  Bill  had  good  luck  on  the  way  down. 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  365 

While  waiting  for  the  Harlingen  train  at  Corpus 
Christi  he  fell  in  with  Sam  McKenzie,  his  ranger, 
who  had  been  on  a  scout  in  that  section,  and  at 
Harlingen  he  found  Blaze  Belling,  who  had  resigned 
from  Company  B  to  become  U.  S.  River  Guard.  He 
brought  both  men  along,  and  with  a  force  like  that 
he  felt  able  to  cope  with  a  mob  of  whatever  size  or 
nationality.  Of  course,  nothing  was  known  at  Rio 
Grande  City  of  the  increase  in  the  Ranger  army. 
It  had  been  given  out  there  that  Captain  McDonald 
and  one  man  had  been  ordered  down,  and  that  rein- 
forcements would  follow,  accordingly  as  Governor 
Lanham  had  wired. 

The  day  was  well  along  when  the  little  army 
finally  reached  Sam  Fordyce  and  secured  a  convey- 
ance for  the  final  stage  of  their  journey.  An  old 
frontiersman  by  the  name  of  Inman,  who  owned  a 
hack  and  pair  of  small  mules,  agreed  to  undertake 
the  journey.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  they 
started. 

Night  fell,  clear  and  starlight,  but  there  was  no 
moon,  and  the  narrow  winding  southern  road 
hedged  thickly  with  mesquite  and  yucca  and  cactus 
growth  was  dark  enough,  except  here  and  there 
where  it  opened  to  the  river  or  to  a  hacienda  (Mexi- 
can ranch),  with  its  half  dozen  thatched  huts,  or 
hackles,  surrounded  by  brush  fences. 

The  Rangers  drove  along  quietly,  speaking  in  low 
voices  when  they  spoke  at  all,  peering  into  the 
darkness  ahead,  for  they  had  no  knowledge  of  what 


366  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

conditions  were  awaiting  them,  or  what  they  were 
likely  to  meet  along  the  way.  Besides,  it  is  the 
Eanger  practice  to  go  warily  on  dark  nights  and  not 
traverse  an  unknown  road  with  festivity  and  bois- 
terous mirth. 

It  was  about  8:30  o'clock  and  they  had  covered 
a  little  more  than  half  the  distance  to  Eio  Grande 
City,  when  they  heard  the  noise  of  approaching 
wheels  and  vaguely  distinguished  the  outlines  of 
some  vehicle  in  the  darkness  ahead.  They  were  at 
the  time  about  opposite  Casita  Eanch — a  poor  place 
with  the  usual  brush  fences.  Mr.  Inman  slackened 
down  his  mules  and  pulled  the  Eanger  hack  a  little 
to  one  side  of  the  road,  supposing  it  to  be  only  one 
of  the  traveling  coaches  that  make  daily  trips  be- 
tween Eio  Grande  City  and  the  railway  terminus. 
But  when  the  approaching  vehicle  was  about  thirty 
paces  away,  there  was  a  sudden  flash  in  the  dark,  a 
report,  and  a  bullet  went  singing  over  the  heads  of 
the  Eangers. 

The  Eangers  were  instantly  in  battle  front,  guns 
up  and  ready.  They  did  not  fire  at  once,  however, 
for  there  might  be  some  mistake. 

''  Hold  up  there!  "  called  McDonald.  ''  We  are 
Texas  Eangers!  Stop  that  shooting!  ''  and  this 
admonition  Private  McKenzie  quickly  repeated  in 
the  Mexican  tongue. 

There  was  no  chance  for  mistake,  after  that.  The 
hacks  had  been  moving  right  along  and  were  now 
not  more  than  twelve  feet  apart.     Then  the  ap- 


CAPTAIN   BILL'S   LAST  BATTLH. 
'As  pretty  a  fight  as  ever  took  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande. 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  367 

proacliing  Imck  stopped  and  tliree  figures  with  guns 
were  seen  to  leap  to  the  ground.  Captain  Bill,  who 
was  standing  up  in  the  hack  with  his  Winchester 
leveled  on  them,  thought  at  first  that  they  were 
getting  out  to  surrender  their  arms,  and  three  of 
his  Eangers,  McCauley,  McKenzie  and  Delling 
quickly  jumped  down,  facing  them.  But  at  that  in- 
stant the  epithets  *  *  Cavarones !  ' '  and  * '  Gringoes !  ' ' 
came  from  the  Mexicans,  and  then  ^*  Tetterly! 
Tetterly!  ''  (Shoot!  Shoot!)  with  which  signal  the 
Mexicans,  both  on  the  ground  and  in  the  hack,  let 
go  at  the  Eangers,  point  blank,  while  from  behind 
the  brush  fence  two  guns  in  ambush  opened  an  en- 
filading fire. 

Then  for  the  thirty  seconds  or  so  that  it  lasted, 
there  was  as  pretty  a  fight  as  ever  took  place  on  the 
banks  of  the  Eio  Grande.  With  seven  Mexican  and 
five  Eanger  rapid-fire  guns  going — a  round  dozen  in 
all — there  was  one  continuous  explosion,  and  an  un- 
ceasing glare. 

*  *  From  where  I  stood  in  the  hack,  I  could  see  the 
whites  of  their  eyes,''  Captain  Bill  said  afterward, 
*^  and  I  felt  as  if  I  could  pick  the  buttons  off  their 
coats.  I  let  go  as  fast  as  I  knew  how,  and  at  a 
different  Mexican  every  time." 

But  though  rapid,  the  Eanger  fire  was  cool  and 
accurate,  while  the  Mexican  marksmanship  was  in- 
excusably bad. 

In  less  than  half  a  minute  it  was  all  over.  The 
seven   Mexican   guns   were   silenced,   the   Mexican 


368  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

force  demolished.  In  the  road,  a  man  lay  across 
his  gun,  dead.  Two  were  limping  and  staggering 
away — one  with  a  broken  leg,  the  other  to  die ;  two 
more — the  ambushers — were  hiding  in  the  weeds 
(where  they  were  presently  captured),  while  in  the 
Mexican  hack,  which  was  now  once  more  moving 
slowly  along,  was  a  freight  of  yet  two  more,  both 
dead. 

Sergeant  McCauley,  from  his  position  on  the 
ground,  looked  up  to  where  Captain  McDonald,  still 
standing  in  the  hack,  was  already  reloading. 

*'  Pretty  little  fight,  Uncle  Bill,''  he  said,  casual 
like. 

**  Yes,"  said  Captain  Bill,  thoughtfully  filling  the 
magazine  of  his  Winchester,  ^*  but  do  you  reckon 
the  governor  will  think  we've  been  conservative 
enough?  "^ 

When  the  dead  and  wounded  and  prisoners  were 
gathered  and  a  general  observation  of  the  field  was 
taken,  it  was  found,  from  the  empty  shells,  that  each 
side  had  fired  about  an  equal  number  of  shots — 
some  sixty,  in  all. 

Marvelous  as  it  may  seem,  not  a  Eanger  was 
touched  by  any  of  the  thirty  or  more  shots  fired  at 
them,  though  Mr.  Inman,  the  driver,  got  a  pretty 
hot  bullet  through  the  very  narrow  space  just  under 
his  arm — a  bullet  that  cut  his  undershirt  and 
scorched  his  skin,  and  made  him  think  for  the  mo- 
ment that  he  was  wounded.  Old  veteran  that  he 
was,  he  sat  quietly  holding  his  team — a  silent  ob- 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  369 

server  of  the  spectacle — only  regretting  that,  being 
unarmed,  he  could  not  have  a  more  active  part. 

Captain  Bill  now  took  Delling  and  started  for  Rio 
Grande  City,  leaving  the  remainder  of  his  force  in 
charge  of  the  dead,  wounded  and  prisoners.  They 
kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  new  attacking  parties  as 
they  drove  along,  and  discussed  the  recent  battle  in 
voices  that  were  jubilant,  but  modulated. 

**  Of  course,  from  the  governor's  telegram,  they 
only  expected  to  meet  two  men,''  Captain  Bill  re- 
flected. **  It  must  have  been  a  surprise  when  they 
suddenly  found  five  guns  going. ' '  And  a  little  later, 
speaking  out  of  what  seemed  a  troubled  conscience, 
**  But  I'm  afraid  the  Governor  won't  think  I  was 
conservative. ' ' 

Then  presently  they  met  two  more  vehicles  com- 
ing, this  time  in  a  hurry.  Eeady  for  action,  the 
Rangers  waited  until  they  were  up  close,  then  stop- 
ped them.  They,  also,  had  come  to  meet  the 
Rangers,  but  this  time  with  a  note  from  the  county 
judge,  telling  them  to  hurry,  as  the  town  was  up  in 
arms,  and  an  outbreak  was  momentarily  expected. 

Captain  McDonald  sent  one  of  the  hacks  after  his 
men  and  their  prisoners,  with  orders  to  get  Mexi- 
cans from  the  Casita  Ranch  to  watch  the  dead  men 
until  the  inquest,  next  day.  Then  with  the  other 
hack  he  pushed  on  to  Rio  Grande  City.  From  the 
tone  of  the  judge's  note  he  expected  to  find  matters 
in  a  desperate  condition.  When  he  arrived,  how- 
ever,  there   seemed  to   be   no   special   excitement. 


370  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

Everybody  was  armed  and  there  were  groups  on 
the  street,  but  there  was  little  noise  or  open  disturb- 
ance. The  Eanger  Captain  looked  up  the  judge  and 
sheriff  and  made  a  report  of  his  battle  and  its 
results,  the  news  of  which  was  soon  both  general  and 
effective.  When  he  went  out  among  the  crowds  and 
told  them  to  disarm — to  go  home  and  put  their  guns 
away  and  quit  their  foolishness — ^it  was  like  the  dis- 
missal of  a  State  encampment.  By  the  time  his  men 
arrived  everything  was  peaceable.  It  was  too  late 
that  night  to  make  a  report  to  the  governor,  but 
Captain  Bill  summed  up  the  situation  in  a  telegram 
next  morning.  Governor  Lanham  had  protested  at 
the  length  and  cost  of  a  telegraphic  report  from 
Brownsville ;  this  time  there  was  no  waste  of  words. 

''  Eio  Grande  City,  Nov.  8,  1906. 

"  Gov.  S.  W.  T.  Lanham, 
^*  Austin,  Texas. 
*  *  We  were  ambushed ;  four  Mexicans  dead,  one 
wounded,  two  captured;  preparing  to  hold  inquest. 
Everybody  disarmed;  everything  quiet. 

"  W.  J.  McDonald, 
*'Capt.  Co.  B, 

*^  Eanger  Force." 

That  told  the  story,  adequately,  cheaply  and 
modestly.  The  papers  over  the  State  made  a  good 
deal  to-do  over  it,  and  reviewed  Captain  Bill's 
other  exploits — real  and  imaginary — but  to  him  it 
was  only  in  the  day's  work,  the  work  he  had  been 


The  Battle  on  the  Rio  Grande  371 

carrying  on  for  a  long  time,  now,  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century.* 

The  inquest  was  held  that  morning  according  to 
program,  and  the  verdict  justified  the  Rangers. 
After  which,  the  four  unlucky  Ranger-hunters  were 
buried  in  a  lonely  old  graveyard  near  the  place  where 
they  fell.  The  names  of  the  four  were,  Farias, 
Osuna,  Vincia  and  Perez — all  known  in  Rio  Grande 
City.  Their  comrade  who  was  wounded,  another 
Osuna,  confirmed  the  Rangers '  account  of  the  battle. 
The  original  plan  had  been  for  all  to  lie  in  ambush 
behind  the  fence  and  fire  on  the  Rangers  deliber- 
ately, at  close  range.  Losing  patience,  however,  in 
an  attempt  to  clamber  over  the  thick  barrier,  all  but 
two  decided  to  remain  in  the  hack. 

The  better  element  of  Rio  Grande  City,  though  re- 
joicing over  the  results  of  the  ambush,  were  natu- 
rally apprehensive  as  to  what  might  happen  next. 
Friends  of  the  dead  men  were  numerous,  and  it  was 
believed  that  a  bloody  outbreak  with  reprisals  would 
follow.  Captain  McDonald  assured  the  citizens  that 
he  had  no  such  fears,  and  the  arrival  of  State  troops 
and  Ranger  Company  D,  Captain  Hughes,  helped 
to  restore  confidence. 

Captain  Bill  did  not  remain  long  in  Rio  Grande 

*  "The  Fort  Worth  Record,"  commenting  on  this  report,  compared 
it  to  Perry's  famous  "  We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours." 
The  Record  adds  :  "  Perry  and  McDonald  are  made  of  the  same  stuff. 
If  McDonald  had  been  in  Perry's  place  he  would  have  been  equal  to 
the  emergency.  If  Perry  had  been  in  McDonald's  place  he  couldn't 
have  done  better." 


372  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

City.  He  was  still  engaged  in  solving  the  Conditt 
problem  at  Edna  and  could  not  undertake  to  unravel 
the  mystery  of  Judge  Welch's  assassination.  It  re- 
mains unraveled  to  this  day.  Perhaps  time  will  fur- 
nish a  clue.  Perhaps  the  secret  lies  buried  in  the  old 
graveyard  back  of  the  Casita  Eanch. 

Nothing  was  ever  done  with  the  prisoners  taken 
by  the  Rangers.  That  is,  nothing  was  done  with  the 
two  men  caught  in  ambush.  The  wounded  man  was 
afterward  made  deputy  sheriff,  probably  as  a  re- 
ward of  merit  for  having  engaged  in  a  shooting 
match  with  the  Rangers  and  escaped  alive. 


XLII 

The  End  of  Eangering  and  a  New  Appointment 

state  eevenue  agent  of  texas.    the  **  full  rendi- 
tion '*  bill  enforced.    a  great  battle 

AND   A  BLOODLESS   TRIUMPH 

The  Eio  Grande  affair  was  Captain  BilPs  last 
Eanger  service  of  dramatic  importance.  He  was 
continuously  busy  during  the  two  months  that 
elapsed  between  that  episode  and  his  official  retire- 
ment, but  it  was  only  in  the  usual  line  of  duty,  chas- 
ing murderers,  putting  down  riot  and  disarming  un- 
ruly men — the  things  he  had  done  so  often  that  to 
look  back  on  his  career  now  was  to  gaze  down  a 
kaleidoscopic  vista  of  death  and  disorder — a  whirl- 
ing maze  of  bad  men  and  guns. 

It  was  in  January,  1907,  that  he  went  to  Bellville 
as  a  witness  in  a  murder  case,  and  it  was  while  he 
was  there,  January  16th,  that  Governor  T.  M. 
Campbell,  who  had  just  succeeded  Governor  Lan- 
ham,  appointed  him  State  Revenue  Agent  of  Texas. 
Captain  Bill's  first  knowledge  of  the  matter  came 
to  him  through  the  morning  paper  at  Bellville. 
When  his  duties  were  over  there,  he  set  out  for 
Austin  to  inquire  into  it.  He  knew  that  a  State 
Revenue  Agent  was  appointed  to  keep  a  general 


374  Captain  BiU  McDonald 

supervision  over  the  collection  of  the  State  revenues 
—taxes,  license  money  and  the  like — but  he  had 
only  a  dim  idea  as  to  the  specific  duties  of  the  office. 
He  was  by  no  means  certain  that  he  wanted  to  ex- 
change the  wide  free  life  of  Rangering,  whatever 
might  be  its  drawbacks,  for  the  routine  duties  of  an 
office  in  the  Capitol,  with  a  desk,  a  revolving  chair 
and  a  stenographer,  whatever  might  be  the  comforts 
and  perquisites  of  these  things.  He  was  no  longer 
a  young  man,  and  he  had  been  shot  through  from 
different  directions.  Desperate  wounds,  long  hard 
vigils,  cold  and  exposure,  had  left  him  weather- 
beaten  and  with  shoulders  and  chest  no  longer  as 
full  and  erect  as  in  the  old  days.  Yet  his  eye  was 
just  as  clear,  his  ear  as  alert  and  his  nerve  as  steady 
as  in  the  beginning,  and  if  this  appointment  was 
merely  a  sinecure ;  a  reward  for  deeds  performed — 
a  sort  of  official  manifest  that  he  was  down  and  out 
— ^he  would  have  none  of  it.  He  could  wear  out,  and 
he  might  some  day  stop  a  conclusive  bullet,  but  he 
declined  to  rust  out. 

Perhaps  there  was  a  pretty  general  belief  in 
Texas  that  Captain  McDonald's  appointment  was, 
in  fact,  a  sinecure,  but  if  so  the  idea  was  transient. 
Arriving  at  the  State  Capitol,  he  called  on  Governor 
Campbell,  without  delay. 

*^  How  about  this  appointment.  Governor?  ''  he 
said.    ''  "What  kind  of  a  job  is  it?  '' 

**  Well,  it's  a  better  job  than  you've  got,  Captain. 
The  pay  is  better  and  it's  safer,  too.    You're  going 


End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment    375 

to  die,  or  be  killed,  someday,  going  about  in  all 
kinds  of  weather  and  getting  shot  at,  from  ambush. 
We  can't  afford  to  lose  you,  just  yet.'' 

**  Thank  you,  Governor,  I  don't  want  to  be  lost, 
either,"  Captain  Bill  said  in  his  gentle  drawl,  **  but 
I  don't  know  as  I  can  fill  the  bill.  What  do  I  have 
to  do  as  State  Eevenue  Agent,  anyway.  No  chance 
to  handle  a  gun,  is  there?  I  can  do  that  about  as 
well  as  anything." 

Governor  Campbell  laughed  and  handed  Captain 
Bill  a  copy  of  the  statutes. 

**  There's  the  law,  on  the  subject,"  he  said. 
*^  You'll  find  all  the  information  you  need,  right 
there." 

Captain  Bill  took  the  book  and  spent  several  days 
reading  and  re-reading  whatever  he  could  find  bear- 
ing on  the  matter  of  tax-paying;  also  on  the  duties 
of  tax-assessors  and  tax-gatherers  in  general,  and 
on  those  of  the  State  Eevenue  Agent  in  particular. 
He  found  that  he  knew  a  good  deal  on  the  subject, 
after  all ;  not  in  technical  detail,  perhaps,  but  funda- 
mentally and  vitally.  In  his  wide  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  conditions  prevailing  in  every  portion 
of  the  State  he  knew  that  the  poorest  counties — 
those  least  able  to  bear  the  burden — carried  a  dis- 
proportionate load  of  the  State  expenses.  He  had 
never  given  the  matter  much  consideration  before, 
taking  it  for  granted  that  in  a  new  county,  and  a 
poor  county,  taxes  could  not  help  being  high.  This 
was  true,  no  doubt,  but  he  saw  clearly  enough,  now. 


376  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

that  in  such  counties,  taxes  had  been  by  far  too  high, 
all  along,  and  that  the  *^  Full  Eendition  '^  law 
provided  a  remedy  for  just  that  thing.  Captain 
Bill  had  but  one  idea  about  law,  which  was  that  it 
must  be  enforced.  To  enforce  that  law  would  be 
interesting,  and  righteous.  He  went  back  to  Gov- 
ernor Campbell. 

^^  Governor,'*  he  said,  ^'  I  think  this  job  will  suit 
me  pretty  well,  if  I  can  run  it  my  way.  *  * 

**  Well,  Captain,  that  was  what  you  were  ap- 
pointed for.'' 

^^  Governor,"  Captain  Bill  proceeded,  '^  there's 
some  of  our  counties  and  people  paying  twice  as 
much  tax  as  they  ought  to,  and  some  of  them,  the 
ones  that  ought  to  pay  most,  and  the  railroads  and 
corporations,  are  not  paying  half  enough." 

Governor  Campbell  nodded. 

'^  How  would  you  rectify  that.  Captain?  "  he 
asked. 

''  Well,  you  see,  the  tax  rate  is  the  same  for  all 
counties,  and  the  poor  counties  to  provide  for  their 
own  home  expenses  have  to  assess  on  a  high  valua- 
tion in  order  to  make  the  amount  big  enough  to  go 
around,  while  the  rich  counties  that  are  practically 
out  of  debt  assess  on  a  low  valuation,  sometimes  not 
more  than  a  fourth  the  value  of  the  property.  That 
might  be  all  right  if  it  was  only  the  home  levy  that 
counted,  but  you  see  the  State  levy  is  assessed  on 
the  same  valuation  as  the  home  levy,  and  the  result 
is  that  a  county  that  is  in  debt  is  paying  State  taxes 


End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment    ^11 

on  a  valuation  about  twice  or  three  times  as  big 
as  those  big  rich  counties  that  have  had  the  most 
benefit  from  the  State  and  are  best  able  to  pay  for 
it.  Why  those  old  rich  counties  get  an  allowance 
of  school  money  from  the  State  that  is  actually 
more  than  all  the  taxes  they  turn  in.  Now  the  way 
to  fix  that  is  to  make  all  the  counties  assess  exactly 
alike — on  full  valuation — and  get  the  State  levy 
down  where  it  belongs  and  the  State  expense  fairly 
apportioned.  The  Full  Rendition  bill  provides 
clearly  for  this  case,  and  ought  to  be  enforced.'' 

Governor  Campbell  looked  thoughtful.  He  fore- 
saw the  storm  that  a  man  with  the  convictions  and 
determination  of  Bill  McDonald  could  stir  up  in  a 
State  like  Texas.    Presently  he  said : 

**  Well,  Captain,  that  was  what  the  Full  Rendi- 
tion Bill  was  passed  for,  but  it's  been  considered  a 
dead  letter,  so  far." 

^'  It  won't  be  a  dead  letter  if  I  take  the  job.  Gov- 
ernor. It  will  be  the  livest  letter  in  the  statute  book, 
for  a  while. ' ' 

Campbell  smiled  grimly.  In  imagination  he  al- 
ready heard  the  howl  that  would  go  up,  and  the  im- 
precations that  would  descend  upon  appointer  as 
well  as  appointee.  After  all,  perhaps  a  Ranger 
Captain  in  a  job  like  that  was  not  a  perfect  selection. 
Then  presently  he  turned  to  Captain  Bill. 

^*  Well,  Captain,  you've  got  your  appointment," 
he  said. 

The  State  Revenue  Agent  lost  no  time  in  begin- 


378  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

ning  his  work.  Already  many  of  the  annual  assess- 
ments for  1907  had  been  made,  and  if  any  re-assess- 
ments were  to  be  taken  there  was  no  time  to  lose. 
In  1906  the  assessed  values  of  Texas  properties  had 
aggregated  $1,210,000,000.  State  Agent  McDonald 
resolved  that  they  should  properly  be  more  than 
double  this  amount,  and  he  undertook  at  once  the 
first  step  in  that  direction.  He  did  this  knowing 
full  well  what  would  result.  He  knew  that  a  man's 
purse  is  his  tenderest  point,  and  that  to  lay  a  finger 
on  his  taxes  is  to  touch  a  spot  already  sore.  He 
knew  that  what  he  was  about  to  do  meant  to  antago- 
nize practically  every  corporation  in  the  State,  and 
every  rich  county  as  a  whole.  Also,  perhaps,  a 
majority  of  the  press.  Papers  that  had  lauded  him 
to  the  skies  for  his  achievements  would  be  first  to 
belittle  him,  now,  and  to  cry  him  down.  What  he 
was  undertaking  was  distinctly  a  minority  crusade ; 
a  struggle  for  the  pioneer ;  a  fight  for  the  under  dog. 

Yet  I  think  his  chief  consideration  was  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law.  That  would  be  likely  to  be 
so;  the  law's  enforcement  had  been  his  habit  so 
long.  If  the  other  things  weighed  at  all,  they  prob- 
ably only  added  zest  to  his  resolve. 

He  began  by  issuing  a  general  letter  to  assessors 
throughout  the  State.    In  part  the  letter  ran: 

''Dear  Sir: 

**  As  State  Eevenue  Agent  with  well  defined 
duties  imposed  upon  me,  I  feel  called  upon  to  com- 
municate with  Tax  Assessors  relative  to  the  rendi- 


End  of  Eangering  and  a  New  Appointment    379 

tion  and  assessment  of  real  and  personal  property 
for  Taxation.     .     .     . 

''  An  inspection  of  the  tax  rolls  of  your  county 
for  1906  and  some  years  prior  thereto,  discloses  the 
fact  that  real  and  personal  property  is  assessed 
at  only  a  certain  percentage  of  its  value  instead  of 
*  *  at  its  value  ' '  as  required  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  State.  I  will  take  occasion  during  the 
year  to  visit  such  counties  as  may  be  practicable 
and  examine  into  the  mode  of  rendition  and  assess- 
ment   .    .    .    and  I  hope  to  have  your  assistance.  ^ ' 

The  letter  then  called  attention  to,  and  quoted 
from,  the  law,  setting  forth  the  duties  which  good 
officers  and  citizens  would  perform  in  full,  and  the 
penalties  for  being,  and  doing,  otherwise.  Near  the 
end  of  this  letter  he  said : 

*  *  This  duty  is  imposed  upon  you  by  the  law,  and 
I  suppose  I  am  not  presumptuous  in  asking  you  to 
follow  it  strictly  so  that  there  will  be  no  embarrass- 
ment when  I  call  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  in- 
vestigation,'' etc.,  etc. 

It  was  a  careful  dignified  letter,  entirely  justified 
by  the  conditions.  It  is  true  the  Eevenue  Agent 
did  not  fully  explain  in  that  last  clause  just  what 
would  be  likely  to  cause  the  **  embarrassment  " 
when  he  appeared  upon  the  scene  **  for  the  purpose 
of  making  an  investigation,''  and  the  thoughtful  as- 
sessor who  had  followed  Bill  McDonald's  career 
and  remembered  some  of  his  former  investigations 


380  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

may  have  inferred  that  it  would  have  something  to 
do  with  guns. 

Certainly  that  letter  made  those  assessors  mad. 
Also  it  made  the  people  mad.  And  the  newspapers. 
Even  the  people  and  newspapers  of  the  counties 
that  would  benefit  by  the  Full  Kendition  law — not 
quite  understanding,  at  first — got  mad  as  a  pre- 
paration for  further  enlightenment.  Never,  since 
Joseph  laid  a  twenty  per  cent,  levy  on  the  Egyptians, 
after  first  taking  away  all  of  their  land,  was  there 
such  a  general  madness  over  any  tax  order  under 
the  sun.  In  all  the  history  of  Texas  there  had  been 
no  such  commotion — such  a  cyclone  of  indignation 
as  that  which  had  its  storm  center  in  the  State 
Eevenue  Agent's  office  at  Austin.  Newspapers  that 
only  a  week  before  had  been  praising  Bill  McDonald 
as  the  bravest  man  since  Bowie  and  Travis — a  fit 
successor  to  those  heroes  of  the  Alamo — now  de- 
nounced him  as  a  bloodthirsty  desperado,  who  pro- 
posed to  hold  up  the  people  of  Texas  as  he  had  held 
up  bad  men — at  the  point  of  a  six-shooter.  They 
declared  that  his  sole  purpose  was  to  fill  the  State 
Treasury  to  bursting  with  the  people's  money,  so 
that  it  might  be  an  easy  prey  for  grafters,  already 
lying  in  wait  with  schemes.  Then  they  denounced 
Governor  Campbell  for  appointing  such  a  man,  and 
prophesied  his  political  ruin  and  general  down- 
fall. Some  of  them  could  not,  and  others  would  not, 
see  that  a  full  assessment  for  all  was  the  only  fair 
system,  and  that,  if  the  values  increased,  the  general 


End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment    381 

rate  of  levy  would  lower  accordingly.  None  so 
blind  as  those  who  will  not  see,  and  property 
owners,  public  and  private,  in  counties  where  assess- 
ments had  long  been  far  too  low  to  give  them  a  fair 
share  of  the  Staters  burdens,  were  naturally  blinded 
by  that  self-interest  which  was  stirred  in  with 
Adam's  dust. 

Indignation  meetings  prevailed.  Assessors 
elected  **  by  the  people,"  told  their  constituents 
that  they  would  ^*  obey  the  will  of  the  people,'*  and 
tell  any  petty  Eevenue  Agent  that  he  could  go  to, 
with  his  bluff — that  the  ^*  people  ''  of  Texas  were 
bigger  than  any  individual  in  it  and  knew  what  they 
wanted  in  the  way  of  assessments,  regardless  of  any 
fool  laws  to  the  contrary. 

Perhaps  the  coolest  man  in  the  State  sat  in  the 
State  Eevenue  Agent's  office  at  Austin,  and  smiled 
that  bland  winning  smile  of  his  as  he  greeted  the 
reporters  and  declined  to  get  mad  or  to  recede  from 
his  position,  merely  referring  them  to  the  law  as 
set  down;  dictating,  between  times,  answers  to  ex- 
cited assessors  in  which  he  assured  them  that  his 
first  letter  was  quite  genuine  and  meant  what  it 
said,  and  that  furthermore  if  they  had — as  some  of 
them  stated — already  turned  in  their  assessment 
rolls  for  1907,  they  must  go  back  and  do  it  again, 
observing  the  law  both  in  letter  and  spirit,  in  order 
to  avoid  that  little  '^  embarrassment  "  when  he 
should  call  somewhat  later  in  the  year.  And  this 
kicked  up  the  dust  worse  than  ever. 


382  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

There  was,  however,  a  percentage  of  public  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  the  law  and  justice,  regardless  of 
personal  interest.  There  were  men  in  high  places 
who  stood  boldly  for  the  new  order  of  assessment, 
and  there  were  newspapers,  even  in  the  old  rich 
counties  that  for  a  principle  were  willing  to  lose 
subscribers  and  pay  the  additional  tax,  besides.  The 
names  of  those  men  and  of  those  newspapers  Texas 
should  inscribe  on  a  roll  of  honor  in  her  State 
Capitol,  for  it  was  by  such  as  those  that  some 
seventy  years  ago  her  independence  was  won. 

Governor  Campbell,  assailed  on  every  side, 
breasted  the  storm  and  stood  .firm.  If  his  political 
structure  must  go  down  to  ruin  because  of  an  effort 
to  secure  justice  and  the  enforcement  of  the  statutes 
as  laid  down,  then  perhaps  the  ruin  would  be  better 
than  the  edifice.  He  discussed  the  matter  thought- 
fully and  earnestly,  here  and  there,  when  called  upon, 
and  was  listened  to  with  respect  though  with  un- 
certain approval.  Other  officials  throughout  the 
State  were  inclined  to  be  governed  by  the  temper  of 
their  constituents.  Yet  there  were  notable  excep- 
tions. In  February,  1907,  at  a  convention  of  county 
judges,  in  Dallas,  the  statement  was  made  that  an 
attempt  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  State 
Eevenue  Agent  in  the  matter  of  the  Full  Kendition 
law  would  mean  the  political  death  of  such  county 
judges  or  commissioners  as  engaged  in  that  effort. 
This  statement,  though  wide,  was  not  general. 
Among  others  to  dissent  was  Judge  Hill  of  Eastland 


End  of  Bangering  and  a  New  Appointment    383 

County,  who  declared  that  if  the  people  of  Texas 
did  not  want  a  man  in  office  who  would  carry  out 
the  law  he,  for  one,  would  be  glad  to  resign.  That 
was  a  fine  brave  statement  and  had  its  effect.  A 
resolution  pledging  the  members  of  the  association, 
individually  and  as  a  whole,  to  support  and  main- 
tain the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Full  Rendition  law, 
to  the  end  that  the  taxes  of  the  entire  State  might  be 
equal  and  uniform,  was  unanimously  adopted.  The 
right  word  from  the  right  source  had  been  spoken. 
It  began  to  be  echoed  in  public  places. 

It  was  along  in  March,  1907,  that  the  State 
Revenue  Agent  decided  that  he  would  not  wait  to 
call  on  the  assessors  during  the  year,  but  that  he 
would  gather  them  in  Austin  where  he  could  talk  to 
them,  all  together.  A  meeting  of  the  State  Associa- 
tion of  Assessors,  near  the  end  of  the  month,  was 
the  result. 

The  assessors  came  together  in  many  frames  of 
mind,  but  mainly  belligerent.  Some  of  them  had 
given  it  out  to  their  constituents  before  they  started 
that  they  were  going  down  to  tell  that  old  Ranger 
that  he  might  be  able  to  round-up  cattle-thieves  and 
Mexicans,  but  that  a  bunch  of  county  assessors 
would  be  a  different  matter.  When  these  officials 
began  to  collect  around  the  Capitol  there  was  plenty 
of  talk — not  always  complimentary.  The  State  Reve- 
nue Agent  loafed  around  among  them.  It  was  notice- 
able how  the  criticism  subsided  in  the  various  groups 
as  he  sauntered  in  their  direction.    It  was  rumored 


384  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

that,  though  a  civil  officer,  he  still  wore  a  ''  forty- 
five  "  in  a  holster  and  carried  an  **  automatic  ''  in 
his  hip-pocket.  When  the  members  were  finally 
assembled  in  general  meeting,  and  ^^  Captain  Bill  '' 
rose  to  address  them — they  were  quite  still.  He  did 
not  make  a  long  speech,  but  it  was  to  the  point. 

*  ^  We  have  been  assessing  in  this  go-as-you-please 
sort  of  a  fashion  a  good  while,'*  he  said,  '^  and  now 
we  are  going  to  do  it  the  other  way.  WeVe  been 
assessing  by  custom — now  we're  going  to  do  it  by 
law.  The  present  tax  rate  is  twenty  cents  on  the 
hundred.  We  want  to  get  it  down  to  five  cents  on 
the  hundred  and  adjust  it  so  that  every  man  will 
pay  what  he  should — no  more  and  no  less.  I  don't 
want  to  pay  out  money  any  more  than  the  next  one, 
but  I  want  to  pay  what  is  right,  and  I  know  you 
men  want  to  do  what  is  right,  with  your  people,  when 
you  find  out  what  the  right  thing  is.  This  law  is 
right,  and  just  because  we've  been  going  according 
to  an  old  unjust  custom,  is  no  reason  now,  why  we 
shouldn't  go  according  to  an  old  and  just  law." 

It  was  in  this  strain  that  he  talked  to  them,  using 
the  friendly  familiar  vernacular  which  meant  sin- 
cerity and  a  genuine  interest  in  their  welfare.  They 
saw  that  he  was  in  earnest,  and  he  spoke  to  their 
better  inclination.  Also,  he  had  the  strong  side  of 
the  argument.  A  paper  commenting  on  the  matter 
said: 

''  Thrice  was  the  Captain  armed,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  in  the  right,  and  had  the  laws  of  the 


End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment    385 

State  to  back  him  '* — a  statement  true  in  the  main, 
though  it  leaves  the  reader  to  guess  in  what  third 
way  the  *  *  Captain  ' '  was  thought  to  be  armed. 

At  all  events,  whatever  rebellion  may  have  existed 
must  have  been  pretty  well  quieted  by  the  next  day, 
for  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted : 

''  Resolved,  That  we,  the  Assessors  of  the  State 
of  Texas,  in  convention  assembled,  will  make  what 
improvements  we  possibly  can  to  increase  the  rendi- 
tions of  1907,  and  promise  to  fully  comply  with  the 
law,  in  the  assessments  of  the  future,  and  we  hereby 
authorize  the  secretary  of  this  convention  to  notify 
all  assessors  not  present  to  co-operate  with  us  in  this 
matter. ' '  * 

When  that  association  disbanded,  if  there  was  any 
indignation  and  resentment  existing  for  the  State 
Revenue  Agent  it  made  no  outward  manifestation. 
One  assessor  said: 

^  *  As  to  what  my  duty  was,  I  very  well  knew  that 
before  I  went  to  Austin.  But  like  most  other  asses- 
sors I  followed  a  custom  instead  of  the  law.  When  a 
change  was  demanded  I  though  it  would  cause  a 
great  deal  of  confusion  among  the  people  who  had 
made  an  inventory  of  their  property.    I  find  it  is 

*  The  New  York  " Sun,"  commenting  on  this,  said: 
"  Many  of  the  assessors  came  to  Austin  with  a  feeling  of  animosity 
toward  Captain  McDonald,  but  he  brought  them  all  into  line  and  be- 
fore the  meeting  adjourned  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted 
thanking  him  for  taking  up  the  question  of  assessments  and  promising 
to  assess  property  at  its  full  market  value." 


386  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

not  the  case.  I  have  very  little  trouble,  and  in  my 
judgment  I  will  get  forty  per  cent,  raise,  for  an 
average. " 

And  another  assessor,  writing  to  the  Fort  Worth 
Eecord,  said: 

'*  Well,  I  am  going  to  do  my  duty.  I  am  swear- 
ing every  man  to  the  value  of  his  property,  as  well 
as  to  the  rendering  of  it,  so  when  brother  McDonald 
comes  around,  if  he  ever  does,  there  will  be  no  kick 
coming  my  way.'' 

The  result  came  when  the  inventories  were  all 
gathered  and  the  items  footed.  Between  the  fig- 
ures of  1906  and  1907  there  was  an  actual  difference 
of  $414,137,246  in  favor  of  the  latter  year.  A  part 
of  this  vast  increase  would  come  from  the  natural 
property  growth  of  the  State,  but  in  the  main  it 
was  due  to  the  revised  inventories  and  valuations. 
And  this  was  a  mere  beginning,  undertaken  under 
disturbing  and  adverse  conditions.  The  increase  of 
1908  over  1907  added  another  total  of  $561,297,248 
to  the  property  assessment  values,  aggregating  an 
increase  over  the  year  1906  of  $975,434,494.  Per- 
haps Texas  will  be  a  three  billion  dollar  State  yet, 
as  has  been  prophesied,  and  the  tax  rate  in  the 
pioneer  counties  will  be  such  as  to  encourage  still 
further  settlement  and  progress. 

Not  that  the  system  is  perfect  yet.  There  are 
still  assessors  who  shirk  their  duty,  and  hence 
counties  who  default  in  their  burdens.  No  great 
reform  can  be  immediately  complete,  but  if  State 


End  of  Rangering  and  a  New  Appointment    387 

Eevenue  Agent  McDonald  survives  long  enough,  this 
one  will  be  so,  in  time,  and  already  it  stands  as  his 
greatest  monument  and  victory.* 

[Full  rendition  of  property  values  for  the  purposes  of  taxation  has 
always  been  the  law  in  Texas.  The  Thirtieth  Legislature  provided  for 
the  reestablishmcnt  of  an  old  and  dishonored  system.  For  a  fuller 
understanding  of  the  conditions  before  and  after  the  enforcement  of 
this  and  other  laws  the  reader  may  refer  to  Governor  Campbell's  Mes- 
sage of  Jan.,  1909  (Appendix  F),  and  an  address  by  Hon.  W.  D.  Wil- 
liams (Appendix  G),  at  the  end  of  this  volume.] 

*  In  addition  to  this  work,  State  Revenue  Agent  McDonald  has  very 
largely  increased  the  State  income  by  the  systematic  and  vigorous  en- 
forcing of  the  law,  providing  for  the  licensing  of  various  public  enter- 
tainments and  for  regulating  the  sale  of  liquors.  His  experience  in 
putting  into  effect  the  new  "  Baskin-McGregor "  law  somewhat  re- 
sembled his  adventures  with  the  Full  Rendition  law  and  ended  with  as 
signal  a  victory. 


XLIII 

In  Conclusion 

captain  bill  mc  donald  of  texas what  he  has  been 

and  what  he  is  to-day 

So  now  we  have  arrived  at  the  end  of  our  story — 
the  story  of  **  a  man  who  does  things  '' — who  has 
been  making  history  for  twenty-five  years,  who  is 
still  making  it,  to-day.  It  is  the  story  of  a  life  so 
full  of  incident  and  episode  that  we  have  been  able 
to  give  only  a  chapter  here  and  there — to  touch  the 
high  places  as  it  were ;  for  the  tale  entire  would  fill 
a  library,  and  would  involve  the  chronology  of  a 
State,  which  in  that  quarter  of  a  century  has  in- 
creased its  population  nearly  five  times,  its  wealth 
in  a  like  proportion,  while  its  progress  in  education 
and  morals  has  been  incalculable.  It  is  with  the  im- 
provement last  named  that  Bill  McDonald,  and  the 
little  army  of  State  Eangers  from  which  he  had  been 
selected  as  an  example,  have  been  chiefly  concerned, 
though  advancement  in  other  directions  has  been 
collateral  and  dependent  on  moral  growth.  Order 
is  not  only  the  first  law  of  Heaven,  but  of  the 
frontier,  and  by  the  sturdy  Frontier  Battalion  has 
the  fight  for  order  been  made,  and  won.     For  in 


In  Conclusion  389 

spite  of  plague-spots  here  and  there  (and  in  a 
State  of  so  vast  an  area,  and  so  recent  and  motly  a 
settlement,  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  these  did 
not  exist),  Texas  is  to-day  a  splendid  empire  of 
beautiful  towns  and  cities — of  fair  and  fruitful 
farms,  and  of  handsome,  hardy  law-abiding  men  and 
women. 

The  Pan-handle  has  become  a  garden — ^not  a 
Garden  of  Eden,  exactly,  but  a  garden  of  agriculture 
and  home-culture — a  larger  garden  than  Eden,  and 
happier  and  more  profitable  than  Eden  has  ever 
been,  since  the  fall. 

And  the  best  evidence  of  what  the  Eanger  Force 
has  done  for  Texas  may  be  found  in  the  steady  re- 
duction of  its  numbers.  By  the  very  nature  of  its 
achievements  it  has  each  year  reduced  the  necessity 
of  its  existence.  To-day  it  consists  of  four  little 
companies,  aggregating  about  thirty  men,  all  told. 
They  are  brave,  picked  men — who  face  death  daily 
and  are  not  afraid.  If  from  among  these  Bill  Mc- 
Donald has  been  marked  for  special  distinction,  it 
is  not  because  he  has  been  more  willing  to  do  and 
dare,  or  more  resolute  in  its  purpose  of  reform,  but 
because  he  was  at  his  birth  marked  by  that  special 
genius  which,  whatever  his  environment,  would 
make  episodic  achievement  and  peculiar  distinction 
his  inevitable  portion.  Long  before  he  became  an 
officer  he  was  a  peace-maker.  Wherever  trouble 
occurred,  McDonald  had  a  genius  for  being  there, 
separating  and  disarming  the  combatants,  admon- 


390  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

ishing  them  in  that  convincing  manner  which  few 
men  ever  resented.  No  one  ever  knew  him  to  flinch 
at  a  time  like  that — perhaps  no  one  ever  dreamed 
that  he  would  be  likely  to  do  so. 

He  was  variously  gifted.  His  perceptions  were 
abnormally  keen — his  deductive  conclusions  often 
startling  in  their  exactness.  In  his  detective  work, 
he  was  sometimes  referred  to  as  the  Sherlock 
Holmes  of  Texas,  though  his  processes  would  seem 
to  have  been  more  instinctive,  and  perhaps  less  in- 
tellectual, than  those  of  Dr.  Doyle 's  imaginary  hero. 
For  he  had  the  eyes  of  a  fox,  the  ears  of  a  wolf 
and  he  could  follow  a  scent  like  a  hound. 

*'  Cap,  you  have  eyes  in  the  back  of  your  head 
and  can  smell  a  criminal  in  the  dark,''  was  once 
said  to  him,  and  perhaps  this  statement  was  not  so 
wide  of  the  mark. 

His  understanding  of  character — frontier  char- 
acter— was  likewise  a  gift.  Almost  every  man  has 
a  right  side,  and  Bill  McDonald  always  seemed  to 
know  how  to  reach  that  side.  When  no  right  side 
developed,  he  knew  how  to  handle  the  wrong  one. 
He  seldom  failed  to  win  the  confidence  and  the 
respect — even  the  friendship — of  his  prisoners.  Such 
enemies  as  he  has  to-day  are  not  among  the  men  he 
caused  to  be  punished,  but  among  those  who  feared 
— and  still  fear — capture  and  punishment.  There 
may  be  a  good  many  such.  Time  and  again  his  re- 
moval was  not  only  requested,  but  demanded — some- 
times by  a  whole  community — a  community  which 


In  Conclusion  391 

did  not  want  the  law's  enforcement,  and  such  a 
demand  was  likely  to  be  accompanied  by  the  threat 
of  political  revolt.  But  Texas,  from  the  days  of 
Sam  Houston,  has  had  good  governors — governors 
to  whom  such  a  demand  was  in  the  nature  of  a  com- 
pliment and  the  best  reason  for  retaining  the  **  of- 
fending "  incumbent.  Hence  Bill  McDonald  not 
only  remained  in  service,  but  was  given  an  ever 
widening  usefulness. 

His  *  *  suddenness  ' '  and  determination  was  a  con- 
stant amazement  to  law-breakers.  Once  when  he 
was  in  El  Paso  he  received  a  telegram  stating  that 
some  of  his  horses  had  been  stolen  from  a  ranch 
he  then  owned  on  the  Oklahoma  and  Texas  line. 
That  ranch  was  nearly  five  hundred  miles  away  as 
the  crow  flies,  but  Bill  McDonald  was  on  the  train 
bound  in  that  direction  while  the  telegram  was  still 
damp.  Arriving  at  his  ranch,  he  struck  the  trail 
and  set  out  alone  to  follow  it,  without  rest,  through 
Greer  County,  riding  hot  foot  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  miles ;  overtaking  the  thieves  at  last  some- 
where beyond  Norman,  Oklahoma.  Sid  Woodring, 
a  wary  old  outlaw,  was  in  that  gang,  also  his 
nephew,  Frank  Woodring,  and  a  third  member 
whose  name  is  not  recalled.  It  was  a  genuine  sur- 
prise when  Bill  McDonald,  whom  they  thought  at 
the  other  end  of  Texas,  charged  in  among  them  and 
had  them  disarmed  almost  before  they  realized  what 
was  going  on.  He  marched  them  back  to  the  jail 
at  Norman;  had  them  indicted  in  Greer  County, 


392  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

where  court  was  then  in  session ;  got  them  convicted 
for  terms  ranging  from  five  to  ten  years,  and  re- 
turned with  his  recovered  horses — completing,  in 
the  space  of  a  few  days,  one  of  the  neatest  and  most 
spectacular  bits  of  official  work  on  record. 

The  amount  of  his  work  was  something  enormous. 
In  the  two  years  ending  August  31st,  1904,  Kanger 
Company  B,  which  he  commanded,  traveled  74,537 
miles,  made  205  scouts  and  174  arrests.  Thirty-one 
of  the  arrests  were  for  murder,  and  nearly  all  for 
desperate  crimes.  "When  it  is  remembered  that 
some  of  those  scouts  required  days,  and  some  of  the 
arrests  were  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  and  the  result 
of  long  and  arduous  trailing  and  persistent  detec- 
tive work,  the  labor  and  the  result  can  be  better 
understood.  Nor  is  this  an  unusual  report.  It  has 
been  selected  at  random  and  is  by  no  means  of  the 
busiest  period — the  period  of  the  early  nineties — 
those  riotous  Pan-handle  days.* 

There  was  no  show,  no  fuss  and  feathers  about 
this  work.  Eiot  threatened  or  broke  out  here  and 
there — the  newspapers  carried  a  line  that  Captain 
Bill  was  on  the  way  to  the  scene.  He  arrived — often 
alone — disarmed  a  mob;  made  an  arrest  or  two, 
perhaps;  gave  out  a  few  quiet  admonitions,  and 
it  was  all  over — next  day  to  be  forgotten.  With 
many  another  man  such  cases  would  have  meant 
resistance,  bloodshed,  troops,  and  the  long  animosi- 

*  For  details  of  this  report  with  tabulated  statement  of  all  Ranger 
work  for  that  period  see  Appendix  C. 


In  Conclusion  393 

ties  of  years.  That  was  his  genius:  to  settle  mat- 
ters— to  dispose  of  them — to  get  through  and  to  be  at 
other  work  without  waste  of  time.  Once  when  he  was 
ordered  to  Galveston  to  prevent  a  prize-fight,  he  ar- 
rived at  the  hall  where  it  was  to  take  place,  after  the 
crowd  had  gathered.  He  did  not  bother  to  discuss 
matters  with  the  managers  or  principals,  but  walked 
out  on  the  stage  and  announced  briefly  to  the 
audience  that  the  fight  would  not  take  place,  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  against  the  law  which  he  was 
there  to  enforce.  That  was  a  fair  sample  of  his 
method — to  know  the  law,  and  to  enforce  it,  without 
a  fire-works  and  without  violence.  No  man  has  ever 
been  his  equal,  perhaps,  in  that  field. 

It  was  true  he  was  lucky,  for  bullets  missed  him, 
as  a  rule,  and  he  steered  clear  of  many  dead-falls. 
Among  the  Mexicans,  and  bad  men  generally,  there 
grew  up  a  superstition  that  he  was  bullet-proof,  and 
after  the  Eio  Grande  affair  there  would  seem  to  be 
some  reason  for  such  a  belief,  for  he  stood  up  there 
in  plain  view,  a  tall  and  shining  mark,  blazing  away, 
and  no  bullet  touched  him. 

He  has  been  always  modest  concerning  his 
achievements,  discussing  them  in  the  few  words  of 
an  official  report.  When  he  has  spoken  at  all  it  has 
been  his  habit  to  present  the  general  result,  rather 
than  his  part  in  it.  It  was  this  characteristic  that 
made  difficult  the  securing  of  material  for  these 
chapters.  In  preparing  for  the  Eio  Grande  battle, 
for  instance,  I  said  to  him : 


394  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

**  Of  course  you  hit  some  of  those  Mexicans?  *' 

**  Well,  you  see,  standing  up  as  I  was  I  had  a 
good  place  to  shoot  from.'' 

**  Then  you  did  hit  some  of  them?  " 

'*  Well — of  course,  as  I  say,  I  had  the  best  place 
to  shoot  from,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  could  pick  the  buttons 
off  their  coats." 

**  But,  Captain,  what  I  want  to  know  is,  if  you 
think  you  really  hit  any  of  them. ' ' 

**  Oh,  well,  hell  (very  reluctantly),  I  don't  guess 
I  missed  any  of  'em!  " 

''  Did  you  feel  afraid?  " 

'*  No — I  don't  reckon  I  thought  of  that." 

Yet  every  man  is  afraid  of  something.  It  was 
about  the  time  of  the  conversation  just  noted  (he 
was  then  visiting  New  York  City),  that  he  said 
anxiously  to  a  companion  who  was  steering  him 
through  the  mess  of  traffic  at  one  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Street  crossings : 

**  Look  here,  you'll  get  me  killed,  yet,  in  a  place 
like  this.  I  don't  know  the  game." 
I  The  muzzle  of  a  Colt  45,  or  of  a  Winchester,  had 
no  terrors  for  him,  but  a  phalanx  of  automobiles 
and  traction-cars,  mingled  with  a  medley  of  other 
vehicles,  bearing  down  from  four  different  direc- 
tions— a  perfect  tangle  of  impending  death — proved 
disturbing  to  one  accustomed  to  simpler,  even  if 
more  malignant,  dangers. 

With  conditions  of  his  own  kind,  however,  he  was 
at  home,  even  in  the  metropolis.     Visiting  Coney 


In  Conclusion  395 

Island  one  night  lie  came  upon  two  tough  in- 
dividuals, clutched  in  a  fierce  grip  and  trying  to 
damage  each  other  vitally.  Texas  was  a  long  way 
off,  but  it  did  not  matter.  He  took  hold  of  those 
men  saying: 

**  Look  here,  what  are  you  men  acting  so  sorry 
for?    Stop  this,  now,  and  go  home!  " 

They  were  the  sort  of  men  who  would  have 
resisted  a  policeman — who  might  have  killed  him. 
What  they  did  now  was  to  cease  their  warfare  and 
stare  in  a  dazed  way  at  the  tall  lean  figure,  the 
unusual  features  and  the  large  white  hat  of  Captain 
Bill. 

*'  You  fellows  go  on  home,  now,''  he  admonished, 
in  his  slow,  homely  way,  and  the  two  set  out  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  without  a  word. 

It  was  on  his  way  back  to  Texas  that  he  paid  his 
promised  visit  to  President  Eoosevelt.  He  was  a 
bit  nervous  over  the  prospect,  but  found  himself 
altogether  at  ease  a  moment  after  his  arrival  at  the 
White  House.  For  he  was  given  the  so^t  of  hearty 
welcome  that  goes  with  the  wider  life  he  knew  best, 
and  was  introduced  without  formality  to  men  who 
were  delighted  to  honor  him  for  what  he  was,  and 
had  been.  If  Theodore  Eoosevelt  had  enjoyed  his 
visit  to  the  plains,  so  no  less  did  Captain  Bill  Mc- 
Donald find  delight  amid  the  halls  and  highways  of 
legislation. 

Captain  Bill  McDonald  of  Texas — the  last  of  a 
vanishing  race  and  a  vanished  day;  of  the  race  to 


396  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

which  Crockett  and  Bowie  and  Travis  and  Fannin 
belonged;  of  a  day  when  a  hip  and  a  holster  were 
made  one  for  the  other — when  to  reach  in  that 
direction  meant,  for  somebody,  post-mortem  and 
obsequies.  State  Eevenue  Agent  of  Texas — such  to- 
day is  his  title — and  the  work  he  has  undertaken  in 
his  new  field  goes  bravely  on.  Texas  still  needs  his 
honesty,  his  courage,  and  his  determination.  When 
those  qualities  direct  the  affairs  of  the  body  politic, 
the  prosperity  and  predominance  of  that  common- 
wealth are  assured. 


THE  END 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX   A 

EXTRACTS   FROM   REPORT    OF   ADJUTANT-GENERAL 

W.    H.    MABRY    OF    TEXAS;    1896.     THE   FITZ- 

SIMMONS-MAHER   PRIZE   FIGHT 

Adjutant-General's  Office, 
State  of  Texas. 

Austin,  Feb.  27, 1896. 

Lieutenant-Governor  George  T.  Jester,  Acting  Governor: 

Sir  : — I  heremth  briefly  submit  a  few  facts  connected  with  my 
presence  at  El  Paso. 

Much  of  the  views  sent  over  the  wires  were  all  colored  in  the 
interest  of  the  managers  of  the  prize  fight.  In  fact,  two  reporters 
informed  me  that  Stuart  exercised  a  kind  of  censorship  over  all 
dispatches;  that  he  demanded  they  be  colored  in  his  favor,  with 
the  threat  that  unless  it  was  so  worded  they  could  not  see  the 
fight.  Tlie  dispatches  contained  the  denunciatory  proceedings  of 
a  city  council  against  the  Governor's  order  in  sending  the  rangers, 
and  by  my  action  there,  in  having  close  watch  kept  over  all  that 
was  done  so  far  as  it  pertained  to  the  bringing  off  of  the  fight,  but 
failed,  with  one  exception,  to  contain  the  resolutions  of  the 
Ministers'  Union,  who  represented  a  large  class  among  the  best 
citizens  approving  the  Governor's  action  and  upholding  my 
methods.  I  talked  with  many  of  the  best  citizens,  among  whom 
were  district  officials,  who  stated  they  believed  the  fight  would 
have  been  pulled  off  on  some  adjacent  disputed  territory  about 
El  Paso.  Of  course,  Mr.  Stuart  assured  me  that  he  would  not 
bring  the  fight  off  in  Texas,  but  the  Governor  of  Chihuahua  also 
informed  me  that  Mr.  Stuart  assured  him  that  he  would  not  pull 
off  the  fight  in  Old  Mexico,  •  and  at  the  same  time  he  had  the 
dispatches  to  quote  him  as  saying  he  would  never  violate  the  laws 
of  Texas.  If  he  does  not  do  so  every  day  in  some  of  his  gambling 
establishments,  then  common  report  has  woefully  misrepresented 
him. 


400  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

I  had  a  close  and  constant  espionage  placed,  not  only  on  the 
principals,  but  also  on  the  passenger  depot  and  the  cars  loaded 
with  paraphernalia  of  the  ring,  with  instructions  to  follow  the 
latter  to  wherever  hauled.  Not  only  did  I  do  this,  up  to  the  14th, 
but  kept  it  up  to  the  21st,  notwithstanding  Mr.  Albers'  outburst 
of  virtuous  (?)  indignation,  because  I  kept  a  surveillance  over 
Maher  when  taken  to  Albers'  room,  over  the  latter's  place  of  busi- 
ness, on  the  night  of  the  13th,  the  day  before  the  fight  was  to 
occur.  I  did  this  on  the  night  of  the  20th,  when  Maher  was 
domiciled  in  the  same  room.  By  the  way,  from  the  report  of 
Captains  Hughes  and  Brooks,  I  find  it  hard  to  reconcile  Mr. 
Albers'  high  sounding  document  with  his  action  in  going  on  the 
bond  of  some  bunco  men  whom  Captain  Hughes  arrested  for 
swindling  and  placed  in  jail.  They  were  let  out  of  jail,  and 
Captains  Hughes  and  Brooks  investigated  the  facts,  and  found 
Mr.  Albers  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bums,  a  keeper  of  a 
"  red  light "  joint,  were  the  bondsmen.  Now,  the  surveillance  over 
men  who  were  advertised  to  commit  a  crime  which  was  a  felony 
in  Texas,  made  these  people  very  mad,  and  much  was  said  about 
the  liberty  of  the  citizen,  martial  law,  etc.  The  drippings  from 
such  sanctuaries  should  come  very  seldom,  and  then  in  very  broken 
doses.  I  usurped  no  authority,  nor  interfered  with  local  officers 
in  any  duty  they  saw  fit  to  perform.  I  was  ordered  there  to 
see  that  no  such  crime  as  was  widely  advertised  to  come  off  near 
El  Paso  should  be  perpetrated  upon  any  isolated  Texas  soil,  nor 
even  on  any  so-called  neutral  strip  between  Texas  and  Mexico. 
The  presence  of  the  ranger  force  was  evidently  very  much  appre- 
ciated by  a  certain  business  element  there,  when  these  people 
called  on  me  for  protection  and  to  leave  a  detachment  in  El  Paso 
to  protect  the  banks,  while  most  of  my  force  would  be  out  of  the 
city  on  the  day  of  the  fight.  The  city  was  full  of  desperate 
characters  looking  for  spoils  from  whatever  source. 

From  the  utterance  of  Mr.  Stuart,  and  most  of  his  friends,  as 
expressed  in  press  despatches,  it  would  appear  that  the  rangers 
and  he  were  there  for  the  same  purpose — to  prevent  the  fight  in 
Texas..  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Stuart's  side  kept  up  their  misrepre- 
sentations until  it  became  a  foregone  conclusion  that  no  fight 
could  occur  on  any  disputed  or  neutral  ground  convenient  to  El 
Paso,  notwithstanding  the  press  dispatches  reported  him  as  having 
Mr.  Bat  Masterson  and  100  men  to  protect  his  ring.  I  never 
heard  of  one  cat  squalling  because  another  cat's  tail  got  mashed. 
They  began  looking  for  another  place,  and  Maher's  eyes  became 


Appendix  A  401 

very  sore,  and  apparently  remained  in  that  condition  until  a 
secure  place  was  found  in  Old  Mexico,  some  400  miles  from  El 
Paso.  Then  his  eyes  began  to  improve  every  day.  Still,  they  may 
have  been  sore,  but  Dr.  Yandell,  who  was  reported  in  press  dis- 
patches as  saying  "  Pete  had  acute  ophthalmia,"  informed  me  that 
he  never  diagnosed  his  case,  nor  saw  Maher  at  the  time. 

The  prize  fighters  were  merely  dough  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Stuart  and  the  hundreds  of  others  who  were  present  for  the 
money  they  hoped  to  win,  and  would  have  fought  in  the  ring, 
wherever  located,  if  unmolested  by  officers  at  that  time.  It  is 
hard  to  believe  that  Mr.  Stuart  had  so  much  respect  for  law  he 
regarded  as  wrong,  and  which  he  believed  was  passed  to  affect 
his  interests.  To  illustrate  his  great  respect  for  laws  generally, 
Mr.  Brooks,  manager  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
came  to  me  the  night  before  the  start  was  to  be  made  for  Langtry, 
and  demanded  protection.  He  stated  that  a  representative  of 
Mr.  Stuart  had  come  to  him  and  informed  him  that  unless  his 
company  paid  $10,000  to  Mr.  Stuart,  that  he  (Mr.  B.)  could  not 
use  his  own  office  and  his  own  wires  to  send  off  the  report  of  the 
fight  at  Langtry.  This  same  representative  of  Mr.  Stuart's  in- 
formed Mr.  Brooks  that  said  Mr.  Stuart  would  place  his  (Mr. 
Stuart's)  men  in  the  office  and  keep  him  out  by  force.  I  readily 
granted  him  protection  to  do  his  legitimate  business  and  had  my 
rangers  about  the  office,  with  the  proper  instructions,  and  no  such 
high-handed  measures  were  undertaken. 

The  statement  wired,  that  I  and  the  rangers  crossed  the  river 
to  see  the  fight,  was  palpably  made  to  belittle  the  force.  They 
knew  it  was  false  at  the  time. 

I  desire  to  express  my  approbation  for  the  intelligent  and 
efficient  manner  in  which  Captains  Brooks,  McDonald,  HugheS; 
and  Rogers  executed  every  order  and  performed  every  duty.  The 
rangers  conducted  themselves  in  such  manner  as  to  reflect  addi- 
tional credit  upon  the  name  of  a  ranger — always  a  synonym  for 
courage  and  duty  well  performed.  They  were  active  in  the  execu- 
tion of  every  order,  quiet  and  orderly  in  manner,  determined  in 
mien,  fearless  and  vigilant  on  duty ;  they  thus  naturally  incur  the 
displeasure  of  the  law-breakers  ever\nvhere. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  ydur  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  Mabry,  Adjutant-General. 

Thanks  are  due  Captains  Orsay  and  Owen  for  the  manner  in 
which  they  have  performed  their  respective  duties. 


402  Captain  BUI  McDonald 

I  beg  to  here  express  my  appreciation  for  the  thoughtful  and 
courteous  consideration  always  accorded  to  me  by  Your  Excel- 
lency, and  my  obligations  for  the  cordial  and  able  co-operation 
and  advice  which  you  have  rendered  to  me  in  the  administration 
of  mj'^  department. 

I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 

Verj^  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  Mabry,  Adjutant-General. 


STRENGTH  AND  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRONTIER 
BATTALION 

As  now  organized,  the  frontier  force  consists  of  four  companies, 
commanded  by  Captains  J.  A.  Brooks,  W.  J.  McDonald,  Jno.  R. 
Hughes  and  J.  H.  Rogers. 

Three  are  stationed  along  the  Rio  Grande  and  one  (McDonald) 
in  the  Pan-handle,  with  headquarters  at  Alice,  Cotulla,  Ysleta  and 
Amarillo.  They  scout  over  a  large  section  of  country,  and  detach- 
ments are  sent  to  different  sections  where  needed,  if  it  is  possible 
to  send  them.  Demands  for  rangers  have  been  greater  than  this 
department  could  furnish,  because  of  the  limited  number  of  men 
in  the  service.  But  eveiy  effort  has  been  made  to  cover  as  much 
territory  as  possible. 

The  report  of  operations  for  the  two  years  show  that  they  have 
traveled  in  scouting  173,381  miles;  arrested  676  criminals;  re- 
turned 2,856  head  of  stolen  stock  to  their  owners;  have  assisted 
the  civil  authorities  162  times,  and  guarded  jails  13  times. 

The  duties  of  the  ranger  are  arduous  and  often  dangerous.  The 
most  desperate  criminals  would  naturally  seek  that  isolated  sec- 
tion, and  when  on  the  trail  of  the  bold  desperadoes,  often  life  is 
the  forfeit  in  the  encounter  that  may  follow.  Praise  is  due  the 
commanding  officers  and  their  men  for  the  prompt  and  fearless 
manner  with  which  they  perform  their  duties.  While  the  pay  is 
small,  none  but  young  men  of  character,  standing,  and  good  habits 
are  enlisted,  and  they  so  conduct  themselves  as  to  reflect  credit 
upon  the  State  in  the  efficient  service  they  render. 

Because  of  the  limited  force,  and  the  great  demands  made  upon 
the  service,  there  have  been  enlisted  82  special  rangers,  who  serve 
mthout  pay  from  the  State.  They  are  almost  exclusively  located 
in  the  frontier  sections,  and  are  paid  principally  by  private  in- 
terests, who  claim  the}^  are  compelled  to  stand  the  hardship  of 


Appendix  A  403 

the  extra  burden,  or  tax  it  imposes,  because,  in  conjunction  with 
the  regular  force  as  a  standing  menace  to  criminals,  they  are  thus 
enabled  to  enjoy  some  of  the  protection  which  a  State  really 
guarantees  to  them.  These  "  specials  "  are  always  enlisted  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  sheriff  and  the  district  attorney,  or 
the  sheriff  and  some  other  officer  of  the  county  or  district. 


APPENDIX   B 

PART   OF   TWO   YEARS'   REPORT   OF   ADJUTANT- 
GENERAL   THOS.    SCURRY 

December  1st,  1898 — October  31st,  1900 

the  ranger  service 

The  fact  that  the  State  has  had  for  some  years  past  a  force 
always  ready  to  suppress  disorder,  arrest  criminals  and  aid  the 
civil  authorities  in  the  protection  of  courts  and  jails,  has  been  the 
cause  of  hundreds  of  criminals  taking  refuge  in  the  border  States, 
outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Texas,  and  in  Mexico,  who  would 
return  to  Texas  to  continue  their  depredations  and  murders  were 
it  not  for  the  ranger  force.  Instances  can  be  shown  where  the 
moral  effect  of  having  the  rangers  ready  to  co-operate  with  the 
civil  authorities  anywhere  in  the  State  has  been  a  deterrent  to 
the  commission  of  lawless  acts,  and  numerous  instances  can  be 
shown  where  whole  counties  have  been  purged  of  their  criminal 
element  by  the  presence  of  the  rangers,  who  alone  were  able  to 
restore  peace  and  good  order  in  the  community. 

In  reality,  the  so-called  Frontier  Battalion  is  but  four  small 
detachments.  The  reports  received  at  this  office  indicate  that  these 
men,  while  fearless  and  prompt  in  the  performance  of  their  duty, 
have  always  acted  with  discretion  and  in  the  most  orderly  manner. 
Their  well-known  reputation  for  courage  of  itself  has  had  a  most 
salutary  and  good  moral  effect  on  the  lawless  element  of  the  com- 
munities where  they  have  been  stationed. 

Since  January  1,  1899,  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Frontier 
Battalion  have  been  very  actively  engaged  in  running  down  the 
criminal  element  in  the  west,  and  in  subduing  lawlessness  in  other 
portions  of  the  State.  The  rangers  have  only  been  used  in  other 
portions  of  the  State  when  a  direct  request  on  your  Excellency 
was  made  by  the  civil  authorities  of  cities  or  counties  needing 
them.    That  their  work  has  been  effective  and  to  the  satisfaction 


Appendix  B  405 

of  those  requesting  their  service,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to 
letters  on  file  in  this  office  in  reference  to  their  etiiciency  received 
from  citizens  and  officials  of  the  various  cities  and  towns  to  which 
rangers  have  been  ordered.  It  is  probably  appropriate  to  men- 
tion some  prominent  features  of  the  work  of  the  rangers  during 
the  past  two  yeai-s,  outside  of  the  duties  usually  performed  by 
them  in  the  way  of  scouting  in  the  sparsely  settled  district  of  the 
west,  and  the  work  accomplished  in  recovering  stolen  cattle,  arrest- 
ing thieves,  murderers,  etc. 

During  the  month  of  March,  1899,  Captain  McDonald,  with  two 
men,  was  ordered  to  Columbus,  Colorado  county,  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  trouble  there  between  the  Townsend  and  Reece 
factions.  Captain  McDonald  went  alone,  his  men  not  being  able 
to  reach  him  in  time,  and  his  courage  and  cool  behavior  prevented 
a  conflict  between  the  two  factions.  The  district  judge  and 
district  attorney  both  informed  him  that  it  was  impossible  to 
handle  the  situation,  but  he  told  them  that  he  could  make  the 
effort,  and  he  gave  the  members  of  each  faction  a  limited  time 
in  which  to  get  rid  of  their  weapons,  stating  that  he  would  put 
those  in  jail  who  refused  to  comjoly.  His  order  had  the  desired 
effect. 

Captain  McDonald  was  ordered  by  your  Excellency  to  Hender- 
son county  to  work  on  the  cases  against  the  lynchers  of  the 
Humphreys.  In  reference  to  this  affair,  I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting 
from  a  letter  from  Hon.  N.  B.  Morris,  ex-Assistant  Attorney- 
General  : 

"  You  will  remember  that  at  the  request  of  the  sheriff,  county 
attorney  and  other  local  authorities  of  that  county.  Captain  Mc- 
Donald and  Private  Old  were  sent  there  to  assist  them  and  myself 
in  the  investigation  of  that  horrible  murder  which  was  then  en- 
shrouded in  a  mystery  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  uncover. 
Before  the  rangers  reached  us  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  murder  seemed  afraid  to  talk.  They  said  they  would  be 
murdered,  too,  if  they  took  any  hand  in  working  up  the  case. 
About  the  first  thing  that  Captain  McDonald  did  was  to  assure 
the  people  that  he  and  his  associates  had  come  there  to  stay  until 
every  murderer  was  arrested  and  con\deted,  and  that  he  would  see 
that  all  those  who  assisted  him  would  be  protected.  They  believed 
him,  and  in  consequence  thereof  they  soon  began  to  talk  and  feel 
that  the  law  would  be  vindicated,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  it 
was.  The  work  of  the  rangers  in  this  one  case  is  worth  more  to 
the  State,  in  my  opinion,  than  your  department  will  cost  during 


406  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

your  administration.  In  fact,  such  service  cannot  be  valued  in 
dollars  and  cents.     .     .     . 

"  The  rano^ers  were  at  all  times  sober,  orderly  and  quiet,  and 
left  that  countrj^  on  good  terms  with  all  factions.  They  paid  no 
attention  to  the  criticism  of  the  mob  sympathizers,  but  went 
straight  along,  did  their  duty  and  now  have  the  confidence  not 
only  of  the  good  citizens,  but  of  the  members  of  the  mob  and 
their  friends." 

Three  of  the  lynchers  turned  State's  evidence  and  eight  of  them 
were  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  life. 

In  March,  1899,  Company  E,  Captain  J.  H.  Rogers  command- 
ing, was  ordered  to  Laredo  to  assist  the  State  health  officer  to 
enforce  the  quarantine  laws,  there  being  an  epidemic  of  smallpox 
in  that  city.  The  Mexicans  living  there  objected  to  being  moved 
from  their  homes  to  the  hospital,  and  the  State  health  officer, 
considering  it  absolutelj'^  necessary  for  them  to  be  moved  in  order 
to  stop  the  spread  of  the  disease,  required  force  to  accomplish 
his  object.  The  Mexicans  showed  a  disposition  to  riot  on  the 
19th,  collecting  together  in  hundreds,  some  of  them  being  armed. 
The  city  officials  had  a  fight  with  them,  several  shots  being  fired, 
and  on  the  20th,  Captain  Rogers,  followed  by  one  ranger  and  a 
special  ranger,  went  with  the  sheriff  of  the  county  to  search  for 
arms  secreted  in  the  house  of  an  ex-policeman,  it  is  supposed, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  an  assault  upon  the  State  health 
officer  and  his  force  if  approached.  These  officers  met  resistance 
from  the  inmates  of  the  house.  A  fight  ensued  in  which  Captain 
Rogers  received  a  wound  in  the  right  arm,  and  one  of  the  Mexicans 
was  killed.  The  remaining  detachment  of  Company  E,  having 
been  advised  of  the  fight,  and  having  met  Captain  Rogers  in  a 
disabled  condition,  and  presuming  that  the  lives  of  the  ranger  and 
special  ranger  were  in  jeopardy,  went  to  the  scene  of  action 
without  hesitation,  and  immediately  upon  reaching  the  street  in 
which  the  Mexicans  were  assembled  were  fired  upon  by  the  latter. 
The  six  rangers  proceeded  up  the  street  firing  as  they  went,  being 
under  the  impression  that  a  man  seen  lying  in  the  street,  dead, 
was  one  of  the  rangers  who  accompanied  Captain  Rogers.  Several 
disinterested  citizens  have  said  that  these  rangers  showed  remark- 
able pluck  and  daring  in  coming  down  the  street,  fighting  several 
times  their  number  without  the  slightest  hesitation.  Several 
Mexicans  were  wounded.  After  this  the  work  of  moving  the 
smallpox  patients  to  the  hospital  was  an  easy  task. 

In  April,  1899,  two  rangers  of  this  company  were  sent  into 


Appendix  B  407 

Wharton  County  by  request,  and  were  successful  in  breaking  up 
a  gang  of  cattle  thieves  operating  in  that  locality.  Several  were 
arrested,  including  the  recognized  leader. 

In  September,  1899,  Captain  Rogers  and  several  of  his  men 
were  ordered  to  Orange  by  request  of  the  civil  authorities,  on 
account  of  an  organized  mob  killing  one  negro  and  wounding 
another,  and  sending  anonymous  letters  to  others  directing  them 
to  move  out  of  the  country.  Several  arrests  were  made.  Captain 
Rogers  was  removed  from  Orange  on  account  of  his  wound,  and 
Captain  McDonald  and  several  of  his  men  were  ordered  there  to 
relieve  him.  Captain  McDonald  succeeded  in  arresting  and  having 
indicted  four  men  for  murder  and  a  great  number  of  men  for 
conspiracy  to  murder  in  connection  with  the  above  mob.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  Ranger  T.  L.  Fuller,  while  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty  at  Orange,  Texas,  found  it  necessary  to  shoot  and  kill 
Oscar  Poole  in  self-defense. 

On  the  15th  day  of  October,  1900,  while  Captain  W.  J.  Mc- 
Donald, Lieutenant  T.  L.  Fuller  and  Private  A.  L.  Saxon,  of 
Company  B,  were  attending  court  at  Orange,  Texas,  as  "vvitnesses, 
and  Lieutenant  Fuller  to  answer  the  charge  of  false  imprisonment 
(for  making  an  arrest  while  a  private),*  the  latter  was  shot  and 
killed  by  Tom  Poole,  a  brother  of  Oscar  Poole,  while  in  a  barber 
shop  talking  to  one  of  the  barbers.  From  the  information  received 
it  is  certain  that  Lieutenant  Fuller  did  not  know  of  the  presence 
of  Tom  Poole  when  shot.  While  this  ranger  was  enlisted  on 
account  of  his  previous  good  record  as  a  deputy  sheriff,  he  enlisted 
with  the  hope  of  saving  sufficient  money  to  finish  his  education  in 
the  University  of  Texas,  having  at  that  time  just  completed  his 
freshman  year.  He  was  a  young  man  of  temperate  habits,  quiet 
in  his  manner  and  a  fearless  ranger. 

*  This  tragedy  resulted  in  the  following  recommendation  by  the  Adjutant-General, 
which  recommendation  was  duly  acted  upon. 

RECOMMENDATION 

I  recommend  that  the  law  governing  the  ranger  service  be  so 
ammended  "  that  the  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  pri- 
vates of  the  ranger  force  be  clothed  with  the  powers  of  peace 
officers  to  aid  the  civil  authorities  in  the  execution  of  the  laws 
anywhere  in  the  State;  that  they  be  given  authority  to  make 
arrests,  and  in  such  cases  to  be  governed  by  the  laws  regulating 


408  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

and  defining  the  powers  and  the  duties  of  sheriffs  when  in  dis- 
charge of  similar  duties."  That  this  force  consist  of  not  to  exceed 
four  companies  of  twenty  men  each.  The  commissioned  officers 
to  be  four  company  commanders,  each  with  the  rank  of  captain, 
one  quartermaster  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  four  1st  ser- 
geants. The  pay  of  the  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  to 
be  as  heretofore  prescribed,  and  the  pay  of  privates  to  be  $40.00 
per  month.  By  increasing  the  pay  of  the  privates,  the  State  will 
secure  the  service  of  a  better  class  of  men,  who  will  remain  in 
the  service  a  longer  time  and  do  more  efficient  work. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  number  of  criminal  suits  have  been 
brought  against  privates  in  the  ranger  force  for  false  imprison- 
ment by  reason  of  arrests  made  by  them  prior  to  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  attorney-general's  opinion  advising  that  only  the 
officers  of  the  ranger  force  had  authority  to  execute  criminal 
process  under  the  law  (see  General  Orders  No.  24,  Exhibit  P), 
I  respectfully  recommend  that  an  act  be  passed  by  the  Legislature 
legalizing  the  official  acts  of  the  rangers  as  peace  officers  prior  to 
May  26, 1900. 

Officers  and  privates  have  for  twenty-four  years  been  acting  in 
good  faith  under  the  impression  that  all  rangers  had  the  authority 
of  peace  officers,  and  privates  of  the  Frontier  Battalion  have, 
during  that  time,  received  orders  from  higher  authority  to  exercise 
the  power  of  peace  officers. 


APPENDIX   C 

REPORT  OF  CAPTAIN  W.  J.  McDONALD,  COMMANDING 
COMPANY   B,   RANGER   FORCE 

September  1st,  1902  to  August  31st,  1904 

The  Adjutant-General,  State  of  Texas: 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  to  herewith  inclose  a  report  of  the 
operations  of  Company  B,  Ranger  Force,  for  the  two  years  ending 
August  31,  1904 : 

September,  1902. — Captain  McDonald,  with  Privates  Blanton, 
Ryan  and  Taylor,  scouted  to  Hutchinson  County,  from  Amarillo. 
Private  Taylor  arrested  James  Newlin  for  assault  to  murder  and 
turned  him  over  to  Sheriff  Randal.  Sergeant  McCauley  and 
Private  Delling  were  ordered  to  Newlin  county  on  a  scout,  and 
escorted  a  party  of  surveyors,  who  had  been  run  out  of  pastures 
with  Winchesters,  and  protected  them  from  violence.  Captain  Mc- 
Donald with  Privates  Blanton  and  Taylor  went  to  Columbus  to 
carry  Gregorio  Cortez  to  Karnes  County  district  court.  His  life 
being  threatened  by  a  mob,  it  was  necessary  to  secure  two  men 
from  Company  C  and  guard  the  jail  in  which  he  was  placed.  By 
order  of  the  district  judge  we  carried  him  back  to  Columbus  and 
put  him  in  jail  there.  Captain  McDonald  arrested  S.  Harvard  for 
theft  of  a  bale  of  cotton  valued  at  $25.20  and  put  him  in  jail 
at  Quanah. 

October,  1902. — I  went  to  Norman,  0.  T.,  to  appear  in  cases 
against  horse  thieves  previously  caught  by  me,  for  theft  of  horses. 
Accompanied  by  Privates  Taylor  and  Ryan,  I  went  to  Eagle 
Lake  to  investigate  the  attempted  assassination  of  W.  T.  Eld- 
ridge  and  to  protect  Mr.  Eldridge  from  further  violence,  and 
succeeded  in  finding  out  who  did  the  shooting.  Privates  Blanton, 
Wari'ent  and  Ryan  scouted  Oldham,  Moore,  Hutchinson,  Roberts, 
Hemphill,  Wheeler,  Gray  and  Carson  counties  during  the  month, 
locating  cow  thieves,  reported  to  be  in  that  section.  Sergeant 
McCauley  assisted  Sheriff  Johnson  in  carrying  a  crazy  man  to 


410  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  asylum  at  Austin,  Texas.  During  this  month,  2,600  miles 
were  scouted  and  traveled. 

November,  1902. — Accompanied  by  Privates  Ryan  and  Taylor, 
I  attended  district  court  at  Richmond,  where  trouble  was  antici- 
pated in  connection  vrith  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Eldridge. 
I  went  to  Texline  and  Clayton,  N.  M.,  to  investigate  cattle 
stealing. 

December,  1902. — With  Privates  Blanton  and  Kenton  I  took 
Will  Carr,  who  had  turned  State's  evidence  on  the  county  clerk, 
cattle  inspectors  and  others  in  Hutchinson  County,  to  Lipscomb 
County  to  district  court,  where  one  of  the  cases  had  been  trans- 
ferred. By  order  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  Company  B  was 
ordered  to  Fort  Hancock,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  which  was  made 
headquarters,  instead  of  Amarillo. 

January,  1903. — Private  Smith  scouted  to  Alpine,  to  Santiago 
and  to  Comstoek.  An-ested  Joe  Hammon  for  murder  and 
delivered  him  to  the  sheriff  at  Alpine.  Also  arrested  a  man  for 
theft. 

February,  1903. — Privates  Smith  and  Taylor  arrested  a  man  at 
Sanderson  for  burglarizing  Lockhamden  ranch.  He  recovered 
the  stolen  property  and  turned  it  over  to  the  owner.  He  turned 
the  burglar  over  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county.  Sergeant  McCauley 
and  Private  Ryan  arrested  Joe  Jones,  wanted  at  Pecos  for 
forgerj^,  and  turned  him  over  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county.  The 
money  in  his  possession  was  secured  and  turned  over  to  the 
sheriff  of  the  county,  and  the  defendant  sent  to  the  penitentiary 
at  once.  Privates  Bean  and  Blanton  scouted  to  Shafter  and 
guarded  the  money  for  the  mines.  I  assisted  the  local  officials 
of  El  Paso  several  times  during  the  month,  and  went  to  Man- 
gum,  0.  T.,  as  witness,  and  to  assist  in  the  prosecution  of  Sid 
Woodring,  Frank  Woodring  and  others  for  stealing  my  horses. 
These  men  were  followed  by  me  from  the  line  of  Collingsworth 
County  to  Cleveland  County,  0.  T.,  and  caught  with  the  horses. 
They  were  sent  to  the  penitentiarj'^  for  the  theft. 

March,  1903. — Sergeant  McCauley  and  Privates  Bean  and 
Blanton  scouted  on  two  trips  to  Shafter  and  Marfa,  and  up  the 
Rio  Grande  in  search  for  the  notorious  Bill  Taylor,  the  train 
robber  and  murderer,  and  who  had  broken  jail  on  several  occa- 
sions, but  he  escaped  into  Mexico.  Privates  Taylor  and  Smith 
scouted  to  Sanderson  and  assisted  the  constable  in  preventing 
trouble  at  a  trial  in  court,  where  the  defendant,  a  sheriff,  had 
killed  the  justice  of  the  peace.     Private  Taylor,  at  the  request 


Appendix  C  411 

of  the  sheriff,  went  with  him  to  El  Paso  to  bring  Geo.  Maglovlin, 
who  was  charged  with  rape,  to  Alpine  court.  He  also  assisted 
in  the  arrest  of  a  man  for  rape,  one  for  horse  theft,  and  one  for 
murder,  and  put  them  in  jail.  Many  scouts  were  made  along  the 
river  in  search  of  cow  and  horse  thieves  during  the  month. 

April,  1903. — I  assisted  the  oflicei-s  and  went  with  the  sheriff 
of  Pecos  County  to  locate  a  man,  but  he  escaped  into  Mexico. 
Sergeant  McCauley  and  Private  Bean  arrested  two  men  for  theft 
of  wood,  and  one  for  theft  of  a  horse.  Sergeant  McCauley 
assisted  the  sheriff  in  arresting  a  man  for  threatening  to  take 
life.  Pnvates  Delling  and  Ryan  scouted  to  Valentine  and  as- 
sisted in  following  horse  thieves,  but  the  thieves  escaped  into 
Mexico.  They  recovered  one  stolen  horse  and  returned  it  to 
owner.  Private  Smith  arrested  a  man  for  assault,  and  went  to 
Sanderson  to  investigate  the  attempted  burning  of  a  hotel.  He 
also  went  to  Del  Rio  to  look  after  several  horse-stealing  cases. 
Private  Taylor  went  with  Inspector  Cook  on  a  scout,  looking  for 
stolen  cattle. 

May,  1903. — I  assisted  in  bringing  to  justice  Gil  Brice,  a  Mexi- 
can, charged  with  killing  a  lawyer  named  Tusselman  several 
years  ago,  and  who  had  escaped  at  Fort  Hancock  while  shackled. 
Privates  Ryan  and  Bean  were  sent  to  Sanderson  to  investigate 
the  killing  of  a  justice  of  peace  and  another  man.  Private  Taylor 
arrested  Thos.  Chappis  for  attempt  to  murder,  and  succeeded  in 
getting  him  in  jail.  Arrested  R.  C.  McMahan  for  killing  of  Mr. 
Bob  Smith,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  Chas.  Reed  for  lunacy. 

June,  1903. — Private  Ryan  scouted  down  the  river  and  to 
Sanderson.  Sergeant  McCauley  scouted  with  and  assisted  river 
guards.  Private  Bean  scouted  from  Sanderson  in  pursuit  of  a 
Mexican  wanted  in  Tom  Green  County  for  attempt  to  rape. 
Scouted  to  Sanderson  and  arrested  Tom  Brown  for  killing  Mr. 
Morris,  the  operator.  Private  Delling  scouted  to  Ferlingin  and 
investigated  some  cattle  stealing. 

July,  1903. — Privates  Bean  and  Dunaway  scouted  four  days 
down  the  river  looking  for  stolen  cattle.  They  arrested  three 
Mexicans  for  shooting  at  Fort  Hancock.  Privates  Delling  and 
Ryan  scouted  to  Sanderson  to  prevent  trouble  between  factions, 
and  to  Fort  Stockton  to  be  present  at  the  examining  trial  of 
McMahan,  who  was  charged  with  murder,  as  trouble  was  ex- 
pected.   They  also  arrested  a  man  charged  with  rape. 

August,  1903. — Sergeant  McCauley  and  Private  Bean  scouted 
in  the  northern  part  of  El  Paso  County,  looking  after  cattle  and 


412  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

horse  thieves.  Private  Dunaway  arrested  John  McCain  while  he 
was  in  the  act  of  robbing  a  T.  &  P.  caboose.  Private  Taylor 
scouted  during  the  month.  Various  other  scouts  were  made  during 
the  month. 

September,  1903. — By  order  of  General  Hulen,  I  took  Private 
Dunaway  and  went  to  Marfa  to  investigate  an  attack  made  on 
L.  N.  Holbert,  county  attorney.  Mr.  Holbert  had  been  taken 
from  the  hotel  by  a  mob  and  seriously  beaten.  I  found  who  the 
guilty  parties  were,  and  brought  Mr.  Holbert  to  go  before  the 
grand  jury  to  prosecute  them,  but  through  fear  he  begged  off 
from  the  district  attorney  and  wanted  the  matter  dropped.  I 
made  an  investigation  of  some  whitecappers,  and  furnished  the 
grand  jury  with  evidence  of  same.  One  man  was  indicted.  By 
order  of  General  Hulen,  Sergeant  McCauley  and  Private  Dun- 
away went  to  Eagle  Pass  to  assist  in  the  quarantine  regulations 
and  guarded  the  river  until  the  quarantine  was  raised.  Accom- 
panied by  Sergeant  McCauley,  I  went  with  Deputy  Sheriff 
Kenton  to  capture  a  man,  but  failed  to  get  him  out  of  Mexico. 
Several  scouts  were  made  to  Sanderson  and  Fort  Stockton  to 
assist  the  officers.  Private  Bean  arrested  two  Mexicans  for  carry- 
ing pistols,  and  carried  them  to  jail,  by  order  of  the  justice  of 
the  peace.  Privates  Delling  and  Ryan  arrested  two  Mexicans 
for  disturbing  the  peace.  Private  Taylor  went  to  Columbus  as 
witness  in  the  Cortez  case.  Privates  Delling  and  Smith  went  with 
Sheriff  Walton  to  assist  him  in  his  county  for  several  days. 

October,  1903.-— Sergeant  McCauley  and  Private  Dunaway 
were  still  on  quarantine  service  at  Eagle  Pass.  Private  Dunaway 
arrested  a  Mexican  for  running  a  night  watchman  from  his  duty, 
and  put  him  in  jail.  Privates  Ryan  and  Bean  arrested  a  man  for 
burglarizing  Finley  ranch;  recovered  the  property  stolen,  and 
turned  it  over  to  its  owner.  The  man  was  put  in  jail  at  El  Paso. 
Private  Smith  assisted  the  sheriff  and  scouted  with  him  over  the 
county,  and  then  went  to  Marfa  and  assisted  the  officers  there. 
Sergeant  McCauley  and  Private  Dunaway  returned  from  Eagle 
Pass,  where  they  have  been  on  duty  for  several  months.  Private 
Bean  scouted  after  outlaws  during  the  month.  Private  Ryan 
went  to  Fort  Stockton  to  attend  district  court,  and  went  to 
Sanderson  to  do  some  work  for  the  sheriff  in  serving  some 
papers.  Privates  Taylor,  Smith  and  Delling  carried  prisoners 
from  Fort  Stockton  to  Marfa  for  safe  keeping.  Privates  Smith, 
Taylor  and  Delling  attended  district  court  in  Del  Rio. 

December,    1903. — By   order   of   General   Hulen,    I   went   to 


Appendix  C  413 

Walker  County  to  look  after  parties  who  waylaid  and  assas- 
sinated Bob  James  in  KittrelPs  "  Cut-off  "  on  December  4th.  I 
arrived  there  on  the  12th,  and  on  the  13th  and  14th  arrested 
Buck  Shaw,  Henry  Shaw,  P.  Clark  and  Jim  Alston  as  being  im- 
plicated in  the  murder,  carried  them  to  Huntsville,  and  had  them 
put  in  the  penitentiary  for  safe  keeping.  Held  a  court  of  in- 
quiry before  Judge  Cox,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  every  few  days. 
On  the  24th  Buck  Shaw,  the  leader  of  the  gang,  had  an  ex- 
amining trial,  and  was  held  without  bail.  Chas.  Rhoden  was 
tried  on  the  29th  and  held  without  bail.  The  defendants  then 
sued  out  writs  of  habeas  corpus  before  District  Judge  Smithers. 
Alston  was  allowed  bail  in  the  sum  of  $1,500.  Private  Delling 
arrived  in  the  "  Cut-off "  on  the  16th  and  has  been  assisting  me 
since  in  the  cases.  Private  Delling  assisted  in  arresting  two  men 
for  theft  of  cattle.  Private  Bean  killed  a  negro  porter  at  El 
Paso  for  knocking  him  down  with  an  iron  poker,  and  was 
promptly  acquitted  in  district  court  at  El  Paso  in  January. 
Sergeant  McCauley  went  to  Marfa  to  investigate  some  stealing 
there  and  then  went  to  investigate  the  killing  of  William  Johnson. 

January,  1904. — I,  together  with  Private  Delling,  went  to 
Corrigan  and  Livingston  to  look  after  some  witnesses.  I  went 
after  a  bad  negro  for  Sheriff  Brooks.  The  negro  was  armed 
with  a  shotgun,  and  considerable  shooting  occurred.  After  the 
negro  ran  out  he  shot  at  me  and  I  wounded  him  in  the  side. 
Went  to  Huntsville  to  attend  habeas  corpus  trial  of  the  murderers 
of  Bob  James,  which  resulted  in  holding  Shaw,  Roden  and  Clark 
without  bail.  Assisted  Sheriff  Brooks  in  arresting  a  bad  negro, 
wanted  for  robbing.  Scouted  in  Houston,  Trinity  and  Walker 
counties  during  the  month,  continually.  Private  Delling  went 
to  Polk  County  and  arrested  four  men  for  theft  of  hogs  and  put 
them  in  jail  at  Huntsville.  Sergeant  McCauley  arrested  C. 
Marsden  for  murder.  Sergeant  McCauley,  Privates  Ryan  and 
Bean  scouted  to  Love's  ranch  to  stop  an  invasion  of  Mexicans 
who  were  coming  over  after  parties  charged  with  murder  on 
this  side. 

February,  1904. — I  went  to  Crockett  after  attached  witness. 
Private  Delling  arrested  a  man  in  the  "  Cut-off "  for  theft  of 
hogs.  I  was  ordered  to  Groveton  by  Adjutant  General  Hulen 
for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  murder  of  an  old  lady, 
Touchstone,  who  was  murdered  for  her  land  and  money  and 
thrown  out  the  door  for  the  hogs  to  eat.  After  investigation, 
I  found  that  her  throat  had  been  cut  and  that  she  had  been 


414  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

killed  outright.  Assisted  by  Private  Delling  I  arrested  Ab  Angle, 
who  had  run  off,  as  principal,  and  five  others  as  accomplices. 
These  parties  were  indicted  by  the  grand  jury.  I  caught  one  of 
them  over  the  line  of  Arkansas  while  running  away  and  put  him 
in  the  pen  at  Henderson.  Private  Delling  arrested  a  man  in 
the  "  Cut-off  "  for  horse  theft,  and  put  him  in  jail  at  Groveton. 
Private  Dunaway  arrested  a  man  for  robbing  a  camp.  Private 
Bean  arrested  five  Mexicans  for  disturbing  the  peace,  and  one 
man  for  assault  to  murder.  Privates  Taylor  and  Smith  attended 
district  court  at  Marfa.  Privates  Smith  and  Dunaway  were 
ordered  to  Groveton  to  assist  me  in  holding  down  the  toughs 
of  east  Texas.  Private  Ryan  attended  district  court  at  Amarillo ; 
attended  district  court  at  Huntsville;  assisted  the  sheriff  in 
handling  prisoners.  Private  Delling  arrested  three  men  for 
shooting  up  the  town.  He  also  arrested  one  who  was  charged 
with  adultery  in  the  "  Cut-off  "  and  one  for  waylaying  and  shoot- 
ing two  men  at  Phelps  with  a  shotgun.  Private  Dunaway  ar- 
rested a  man  for  carrying  a  pistol  at  Groveton,  and  two  men  for 
conspiring  to  kill  Abe  Hyman,  the  only  eyewitness  to  the  murder 
of  Dr.  Gary,  and  another  man  at  Groveton.  One  of  the  men 
had  fixed  a  plan  to  make  the  other  believe  that  Abe  Hyman  was 
going  to  do  him  some  violence,  and  succeeded  in  getting  him  to 
get  a  shotgun  in  order  to  kill  Abe  Hyman.  Private  Dunaway 
took  the  gun  and  landed  both  men  in  jail.  The  accused  men 
admitted  the  whole  truth.  One  of  these  men  was  made  constable, 
deputy  sheriff  and  jailer  as  soon  as  he  was  released  from  jail. 
The  other  was  run  off  at  once,  but  I  have  his  sworn  statements 
of  the  facts.  Private  Dunaway  arrested  a  man  for  burglary  and 
rape  and  put  him  in  jail.  Private  Taylor  arrested  a  man  at 
Sanderson  for  stealing  cattle.  Private  Taylor  was  ordered  to 
report  to  me  at  Groveton.  Private  Dunaway  arrested  a  man  for 
carrying  a  pistol,  put  him  in  jail,  but  the  sheriff  released  him 
soon  after,  pretending  he  was  an  assistant  of  his. 

April,  1904. — I  carried  two  of  the  accomplices  in  the  Touch- 
stone murder  from  Huntsville  to  Groveton.  By  order  of  the  Ad- 
jutant General  I  went  to  Leon  County  to  investigate  the  mur- 
der of  Tummins,  who  was  waylaid  and  killed.  Two  men  were 
arrested  at  the  house  of  the  murderer  and  put  under  $5,000  bond, 
but  the  grand  jury  failed  to  find  a  bill  against  them.  They  then 
began  shooting  into  houses  and  had  the  people  considerably  dis- 
turbed. With  Private  Delling,  I  arrested  them  and  held  them 
without  bail  at  the  examining  trial  and  also  in  habeas  corpus 


Appendix  C  415 

trial.  I  was  ordered  to  San  Jacinto  County  to  investigate  law- 
lessness there,  especially  wire  cutting,  but  found  some  of  the 
wire  cutters  on  the  grand  jury,  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  the 
district  and  county  attorney  that  we  could  do  no  good  under  ex- 
isting circumstances,  and  notliing  was  accomplished  there.  Pri- 
vate Dunaway  arrested  a  man  for  assault  to  rape.  Assisted  by 
Privates  Dunaway  and  Delling,  I  arrested  four  persons  charged 
with  murder.  They  had  previously  been  arrested  for  being  ac- 
complices to  the  Touchstone  murder.  I  arrested  a  man  for  theft 
of  a  horse.  Sergeant  McCauley  scouted  in  different  counties  on 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  investigated  the  stealing  of  horses.  I  went 
to  Waverly  to  investigate  the  poisoning  of  a  well  and  cistern, 
but  decided  it  was  done  by  the  parties  themselves,  in  order  to 
accuse  others  of  it.  I  went  to  Palestine  to  assist  the  sheriff  in 
hanging  a  negro  charged  with  rai>e.  Private  Delling  went  to 
Leon  County  to  investigate  the  murder  of  Bob  Blackwell,  and 
succeeded  in  securing  the  required  evidence.  He  attended  the  ex- 
amining trial  of  the  two  men  charged  with  the  murder,  who  were 
held  without  bail.  Privates  Smith  and  Dunaway  arrested  a  man 
for  attempting  to  murder  A.  A.  Smith  and  put  him  in  jail.  They 
also  arrested  the  same  man  for  carrying  a  pistol.  Private  Ryan 
arrested  two  Mexicans  for  stealing  sheep  in  El  Paso  County  and 
another  for  stealing  wood. 

June,  1904. — Private  Delling  and  myself  scouted  in  Kittrell's 
"Cut-off,"  Houston  and  Trinity  Counties.  I  went  to  Comstock; 
made  a  scout  on  Deril's  River,  to  El  Paso  and  to  Fort  Hancock. 
Sergeant  McCauley  arrested  a  man  for  embezzlement  and  started 
to  jail  mth  him  at  El  Paso,  but  he  escaped  by  junjping  out  of 
a  window  while  the  train  was  in  motion.  Sergeant  McCauley 
and  Private  Ryan  arrested  two  Mexicans  for  theft  of  horses  and 
saddles,  recovered  the  property  and  returned  the  same  to  its 
owners.  Private  Ryan  attempted  to  arrest  a  man  for  theft  of 
cattle,  and  had  a  running  fight  with  and  wounded  him.  He  es- 
caped across  the  river.  Private  Dunaway  arrested  a  man  and 
put  him  in  jail  for  carrying  a  pistol.  Privates  Delling  and 
Smith  went  to  Centerville  to  court  to  prevent  trouble  between 
citizens  there,  when  a  malicious  prosecution  was  filed  against 
him.  Private  Delling  arrested  a  man  for  carrying  a  pistol  in 
the  "  Cut-off." 

July,  1904. — Accompanied  by  Privates  Delling  and  Wilcox,  I 
went  to  Oakwood  to  investigate  train  robbing  of  the  I.  &  G.  N. 
We  captured  two  of  the  men  without  a  doubt.     They  were  put 


416  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

in  jail  at  Palestine  and  identified  by  the  conductor  as  the  two 
men  that  came  into  the  sleeper,  and  the  only  two  tracks  that  led 
up  to  where  the  express  packages  were  torn  open  fitted  theirs. 
They  afterwards  admitted  them  to  be  their  tracks.  While  we 
made  a  strong  case  against  them,  the  influence  of  the  officers 
and  others  was  too  strong  to  find  any  bills.  I  would  like  to  have 
space  to  add  in  this  report  the  testimony  taken  at  the  examin- 
ing trial. 

August,  1904. — I  went  to  Grove  ton  to  attend  court,  and  car- 
ried Ab  Angle  before  the  grand  jury,  but  he  failed  to  testify, 
as  he  had  been  persuaded  not  to  do  so.  I  arrested  a  man  for 
being  implicated  in  train  robbery,  but  he  proved  an  alibi  and 
was  released.  Private  Delling  went  to  Centerville  to  district 
court.  Sergeant  McCauley  recovered  six  stolen  horses  and 
turned  them  over  to  the  owners.  He  arrested  four  Mexicans  for 
theft  of  cattle. 

Veiy  respectfully, 

W.  J.  McDonald, 
Commanding  Company  B,  Ranger  Force. 


Appendix  C 


417 


Captain  J.  A.  Brooks .... 
Captain  W.  J  McDonald . . 
Captain  J.  H.  Rogers .... 
Captain  Jno.  R.  Hughes . . 

Totals 

si 

Oot33>      1  Letter  of  company.                                  | 

SUnooSiiS      1  Murder.                                                         | 

§  1  o» wo 00      1  Assault  to  murder. 

> 

i 

w  1  :    4^*.c;,      1  Aggravated  assault. 

S  1  «;   "w      1  Horse,  cattle  and  other  theft. 

S 

»(k.  K5  tC  ti 

Swindling,    embezzlement    and 
forgery. 

gl^r,;^ 

1  Robbery  and  burglary. 

•(^    1    •      H-M 

1  Mail  and  train  robbery. 

O*  1   ►-*>>*• 

1  Perjury. 

I^    1     -JH-OS 

1  Rape  and  adultery. 

1  SmuggUng. 

O  1  •   ow^      1  Carrying  concealed  weapons. 

col 

H-:   :    to      1  Seduction. 

K>l 

:   :    **      1  Escaped  convicts  (captured). 

:  1 

:   :   :       |  Rioting. 

CO 

8 

■vJMOOO 

ti  OJ  Cn  © 

Minor  offenses. 

i 

isSI 

Total  arrests. 

is 

hi'i 

Scouts. 

:    1  —    —        1  Attempts  at  arrest. 

o  1  SScSS      1  District  courts  a.ssi«ted. 

g 

g:: 

. 

Number  days  quarantine  guard. 

SI:  55; 

1  Jail  guards. 

gISfSg 

:        1  Other  assistance  to  civil  authority. 

-.1 

!   h-'   CO      1  Engagements  with  criminals. 

col 

:   H-i   h3      1  Persons  killed  in  resisting  arrest. 

••  1 

'.'.'.'.        1  Wounded  in  resisting  arrest. 

0.1 

'    •   cnco      1  Escorts. 

H-l 

'.'.'.   ^      \  Rangers  killed  in  line  of  du*v. 

.-1 

:   :   :   ^      1  Rangers  wounded  in  line  of  duty. 

S3 

CO 

atotcio> 

OOh-OOIO 

Horses  and  cattle  recovered  and  re- 
turned to  owners. 

S 
SJ 

:J5 

Miles  traveled  in  discharge  of  di 

ity. 

C   0 

9 
0) 

2? 


APPENDIX   D 

REPORT  OF  AN  INVESTIGATION  MADE  BY  HERBERT 
J.  BROWN,   EMPLOYED  BY  THE  WAR  DEPART- 
MENT IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  CAPTAIN  W. 
G.  BALDWIN,  WITH  A  VIEW  OF  LEARN- 
ING WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  BROWNS- 
VILLE,  TEX.,  ON  THE  13TH  AND 
14TH   OF  AUGUST,   1906 

Washington,  B.  C,  December  5,  1908. 

Sm:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  relative 
to  the  investigation  of  the  Brownsville  raid : 

Ex-Private  Boj^d  Conyers,  of  Company  B,  Twenty-fifth  In- 
fantry, now  at  Monroe,  Ga.,  told  William  Lawson,  a  detective  in 
the  employ  of  Captain  William  G.  Baldwin,  of  Roanoke,  Va., 
that  he  and  three  [or  four]  other  men  of  the  Twenty-fifth  In- 
fantry were,  the  leaders  in  the  Brownsville  raid.  This  informa- 
tion was  obtained  at  different  dates  during  the  month  of  June, 
1908.     (See  Exhibit  A.) 

I  submit  the  affidavit  as  presented.  There  are  certain  dis- 
crepancies of  a  minor  character,  due  to  the  fact  that  Lawson  is 
illiterate  and  had  to  depend  on  his  memory  for  details.  But  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Lawson  was  unacquainted  with  the 
details  of  the  Brownsville  raid  and  was  given  information  which 
could  have  come  only  from  one  familiar  with  the  secret  history  of 
the  afi!air.  Lawson's  first  report  included  the  names  of  Conyers, 
John  Holloman,  John  Brown,  and  "  another  man."  Subse- 
quently he  supplied  the  name  of  James  Powell,  but  I  think  the 
original  name  given  was  that  of  Robert  L.  Collier,  Company  C, 
one  of  the  relief  guard.  This  information  was  corroborated  in 
the  presence  of  witnesses,  but  before  Lawson  could  finish  his 
work  Conyers  became  suspicious  and  would  give  no  further  evi- 
dence incriminating  himself.  From  then  on  he  furnished  to  A. 
H.  Baldwin,  Captain  W.  G.  Baldwin,  and  to  myself  information 
piecemeal  and  reluctantly.  The  name  of  Carolina  de  Saussure, 
his  bunk  mate,  was  the  last  one  obtained. 


Appendix  D  419 

Conyers  tried  to  commit  suicide  after  he  found  that  he  had 
made  his  statements  to  a  detective,  declaring:  that  the  other  ne- 
groes would  kill  him  when  it  got  out.  He  finallj'  wrote  to  Sena- 
tor Foraker  and  received  a  reply,  a  copy  of  which  is  annexed. 
That  reply  he  construed  to  mean  that  he  should  stick  to  his 
original  stoiy  told  before  the  Senate  committee  at  all  haz- 
ards, and  there  he  stands.  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
his  confession  is  genuine  and  gives  for  the  first  time  the  true 
secret  history  of  the  Browns\ille  raid. 

The  list  of  participants  given  in  this  report  Conyers  furnished 
me  personally.  I  believe  it  is  substantially  correct,  but  with 
the  influences  shown  to  be  backing  Conyers  to  adhere  to  his  false 
testimony  given  before  the  Senate  committee  still  being  exerted 
he  cannot  be  relied  on  to  support  his  own  confession  mitil  it  is 
thoroughly  sustained  from  other  sources. 

Evidences  of  similar  encouragement  to  stick  to  the  lies  told 
at  Brownsville  and  before  the  Senate  committee  were  foimd  in 
many  places,  and  subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  Foraker  letter 
they  became  stronger  and  more  obstructive  than  ever. 

The  investigation  has  been  conducted  with  strict  recognition 
of  the  advisability  of  preserving  secrecy,  and  with  discretion. 
No  promises  of  immunity  were  made.  The  laiowledge  on  the 
part  of  the  ex-soldiers  that  the  Government  could  not  punish 
them  after  their  separation  from  the  service,  coupled  with  the 
belief  that  by  preser\dng  silence  they  would  aid  in  the  passage 
of  the  relief  legislation  now  pending  in  Congress,  has  added  to 
the  difficulty  of  securing  information. 

The  issue  has  evidently  become  racial.  The  colored  detectives 
would  be  confronted  frequently  in  the  smaller  towns  where  these 
men  are  living  with  a  demand  from  colored  men  for  information 
as  to  their  business. 

We  have  located  over  130  of  these  ex-soldiers,  and  have  been 
in  thirty  States  in  quest  of  information.  The  appendices  give 
statements  as  to  the  results  obtained.  They  indicate  a  general 
knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  ex-soldiei's  that  the  raid  came  from 
inside  the  fort,  and  that  the  soldiers  of  Company  B  were  the 
guilty  parties. 

We  earnestly  urge  that  we  be  permitted  to  continue  the  in- 
vestigation. Several  detectives  are  still  in  the  field,  and  within 
the  coming  week  a  number  of  affidavits  will  be  forthcoming. 

With  some  repetition  of  matter  appearing  later  in  the  report, 
Boyd  Conyers's  story  is  given  here  in  narrative  form: 


420  Captain  Bill  McDonald 


REPORT    OF   T.   B.    SKIDMORE. 

"The  rumors  of  trouble  over  the  assignment  of  colored  troops 
to  Brownsville  were  circulated  before  the  troops  left  Fort  Nio- 
brara, and  preparations  were  made  among  the  men  to  *  get  even 
with  the  crackers/  so  the  whites  were  called.  Some  cartridges 
were  held  out  at  range  practice,  but  more  en  route  to  Browns- 
ville. Pretense  was  made  that  they  were  given  away  at  stations 
along  the  road.    Some  were,  but  a  large  number  were  secreted. 

"  At  inspection  in  Brownsville,  Lieutenant  Lawrason,  Company 
B,  threatened  punishment  to  the  men  who  were  short  of  ammu- 
nition, but  nothing  was  done  about  it,  and  the  deficiency  was 
supplied. 

"  The  friction  with  citizens  of  Brownsville  began  at  once.  In 
Boyd  Conyers's  language,  'Whisky  made  all  the  trouble.  If 
we  hadn't  been  drinking  we  wouldn't  have  had  the  nerve  to  shoot 
up  the  town.' 

"  It  was  agreed,  at  a  gathering  of  a  few  men  in  the  saloon  of 
Allison,  the  colored  ex-soldier,  on  the  afternoon  of  August  13, 
1906,  that  the  raid  should  take  place  that  night  at  12  o'clock.  It 
seems  to  have  been  delayed  a  few  minutes  to  let  Tamayo,  the 
Mexican  scavenger,  get  away  from  the  B  barracks. 

"  John  Hdlloman,  the  money  lender  of  Company  B,  was  the 
chief  conspirator  and  leader  in  the  raid  and  custodian  and  dis- 
tributor of  the  cartridges,  but  his  plans  could  not  have  been  car- 
ried out  had  not  Sergeant  George  Jackson,  of  Company  B,  in 
charge  of  the  keys  of  the  gun  racks  in  B  barracks,  and  Sergeant 
Reid,  in  command  of  the  guards,  co-operated  both  before  and 
after  the  raid. 

"  The  four  men  who  led  the  raid  were  John  HoUoman,  John 
Brown,  Boyd  Conyers,  and  Carolina  de  Saussure,  all  of  Com- 
pany B  (and  probably  R.  L.  Collier,  of  Company  C).  Hollo- 
man  was  in  barracks.  Brown  in  the  bake  shop,  Conj^ers  and  De 
Saussure  in  the  guardhouse.  The  two  latter  were  in  the  same 
detail,  and  had  been  relieved  at  about  11  o'clock,  De  Saussure 
on  the  post  at  the  guardhouse,  and  Conyers  on  No.  2,  around 
the  barracks  and  facing  the  town.  Holloman  got  the  party  to- 
gether. Conyers  and  De  Saussure  slept  on  the  same  bunk  in  the 
guardhouse,  claiming  that  they  wanted  to  get  under  the  mosquito 
net,  and  they  had  the  trick  of  taking  their  guns  into  the  bunk 
instead  of  placing  them  in  the  open  rack,  on  the  excuse  that 


Appendix  D  421 

they  didn't  rust  so  badly  under  cover,  but  really  so  (he  absence 
of  the  guns  from  the  open  guardhouse  rack  would  not  attract 
attention,  and  their  owti  absence  would  be  ascribed  to  a  visit  to  the 
closet,  which  was  back  of  the  guardhouse.  These  two  men 
slipped  out  the  rear  door  of  the  guardhouse,  passed  through  the 
sally  port,  and  joined  HoUoman  and  Brown. 

"  The  party  crossed  the  wall  of  the  fort  down  near  the  end  of 
A  barracks,  went  up  the  roadway  to  the  entrance  to  the  Cowen 
alley,  where  the  signal  shots  were  fired.  These  shots  were  im- 
mediately tallied  onto  by  the  alarm  shots  of  Joseph  B.  Howard, 
guard  on  No.  2,  and  formed  the  series  testified  to  by  Mrs.  Katie 
E.  Leahy,  of  Brownsville.  Her  testimony  is  further  borne  out 
by  the  statement  that  not  over  thirty  seconds  elapsed  before  a 
number  of  men  of  Company  B  swarmed  out  on  the  upper  gallery 
and  opened  a  fusillade  on  the  town. 

"  It  is  an  absolute  certainty  that  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  Sergeant  Jackson  to  have  opened  the  gun  racks,  for  the  men 
to  have  assembled,  secured  their  guns,  loaded  them,  gone  out  to 
the  gallery,  and  started  firing,  all  after  the  first  shot  was  fired; 
all  aroused,  as  they  testified  unanimously,  from  sound  slumber, 
in  less  than  two  minutes,  in  the  confusion  of  a  dark  barrack 
room.  Beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  the  racks  had  been 
opened  and  the  inside  conspirators  were  ready  to  pour  out  on 
the  signal  shots.  The  testimony  is  ample  that  there  were  scarcely 
twenty  seconds  between  the  last  of  the  signal  shots  and  the  first 
general  volley  from  B  barracks. 

"  The  number  firing  from  the  barracks  is  unknown,  but  per- 
haps 20  men  were  involved.  A  smaller  number  went  to  the 
ground  and  followed  the  leaders  up  the  alley.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  one  of  the  witnesses  testified  to  hearing  some  one  of 
the  group  of  soldiers  exclaim,  *  There  they  go ! '  Whereupon 
these  men  leaped  over  the  wall  and  ran  up  the  alley. 

"  Boyd  Conyers  is  the  man  whose  gun  jammed  at  the  exit  of 
the  alley  by  the  Cowen  house,  testified  to  by  Herbert  Elkins,  and 
it  was  taken  from  him  by  De  Saussure  and  fixed  in  the  street 
where  the  light  from  the  street  lamp  at  the  corner  of  Elizabeth 
Street  shone  on  them. 

"  Less  than  five  minutes  elapsed  from  the  time  the  first  shot  was 
fired  until  these  men  were  all  back  inside  the  fort. 

"  Conyers  stated  that  Reid  was  told  that  they  were  going  to 
shoot  up  the  town,  and  he  had  laughed  and  said,  '  Don't  go  out 
there  and  let  the  crackers  get  the  best  of  you.' 


422  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

"  When  Conyers  and  De  Saussure  reached  the  guardhouse  they 
ran  in  the  back  way  and  got  into  their  bunks.  Sergeant  Reid 
came  in  and  swore  at  them,  but  Conyers  was  so  excited  and  out 
of  breath  that  he  could  hardly  stand,  so  Reid  stationed  him  at  the 
rear  of  tlie  guardhouse  in  the  dark  where  he  could  not  be  scruti- 
nized so  closely. 

"  Holloman  came  around  with  extra  cartridges  about  daybreak 
and  Reid  passed  them  out.  The  guns  were  all  cleaned  before 
daylight." 

This  day  personally  appeared  before  me  William  Lawson,  who, 
being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says: 

"  On  June  5,  1908,  I  was  sent  to  Monroe,  Ga.,  to  interview 
Boyd  Conyers,  one  of  the  soldiers  who  was  stationed  at  Browns- 
ville, Tex.,  in  August,  1906.  I  was  sent  by  Mr.  Baldwin  to  get 
in  with  Conyers  and  ascertain  if  he  knew  who  did  the  shooting 
at  that  point.  I  was  not  given  the  names  of  any  of  the  members 
of  either  of  the  companies  stationed  at  that  point,  nor  was  I  given 
any  other  information,  except  the  fact  that  a  shooting  occurred 
at  the  time  and  place  above  mentioned,  and  that  Boyd  Conyers 
was  suspected  of  knowing  who  did  same. 

"I  arrived  at  Monroe,  Ga.,  on  June  5,  and  stopped  at  the 
home  of  Esther  Crews,  colored.  I  met  Boyd  Conyers,  who  is 
known  as  '  Buddie '  Conyers,  on  the  morning  of  June  6,  but  had 
very  little  conversation  with  him,  but  was  introduced  to  him  as 
an  old  soldier.  On  the  morning  of  June  8,  between  8  and  9 
o'clock,  I  met  Conyers  about  halfway  between  the  station  house 
and  Main  Street.  We  talked  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes. 
I  broached  the  Brownsville  case,  and  mentioned  the  fact  that  the 
soldiers  had  shown  their  good  sense  by  keeping  their  mouths 
while  at  Washington.  I  then  asked  him  what  the  motive  was  for 
the  shooting.  He  told  me  that  the  ^crackers '  at  Brownsville 
had  made  threats  that  they  would  have  no  negro  soldiers  at 
Brownsville,  and  the  soldiers  had  made  it  up  in  their  minds  that 
if  they  bothered  them  that  they  would  go  in  and  clean  up  the 
ground.  He  also  said  that  they  mentioned  this  to  Sergeant  Reid, 
who  was  commander  of  the  guards,  and  that  Reid  said,  *  All  that 
I  have  to  say  is  to  take  care  of  yourself  and  the  boys  when  you 
go  down  there.'  S.  H.  Parker,  whose  home  is  at  Charleston,  S. 
C,  was  present  and  heard  the  same  conversation. 

"  About  then  a  gentleman  called  Conyers  to  come  and  clean 
some  clothes,  and  Conyers  left,  and  nothing  further  was  said 
about  the  matter  at  this  time.    I  was  with  Conyers  nearly  every 


Appendix  D  423 

day,  and  went  to  Gainesville,  Ga.,  on  an  excursion  with  him  on 
the  15th  of  June.  I  did  not  mention  the  Brownsville  matter  to 
Conyers  again  until  on  the  29th  of  June,  when  I  returned  from 
Atlanta,  ha\dng  gone  there  on  June  27.  On  this  date  I  met  him 
at  Joe  Blassingame's  and  had  a  pint  bottle  of  liquor,  offered  him 
a  drink — he  would  not  drink  in  the  house,  but  we  went  up  the 
street  and  we  stopped  under  a  storehouse  porch,  near  Main 
street.  We  took  a  drink  or  two,  and  I  started  the  Brownsville 
case  again.  He  told  me  that  he  was  doing  guard  duty  at  the  time 
of  the  shooting  at  Brownsville,  and  was  stationed  at  the  outlet 
toward  the  town.  He  said  that  when  the  guard  was  called  the 
night  of  the  shooting  they  mentioned  to  Sergeant  Reid  what  had 
occurred  downtown,  and  he  said,  *  Boys,  if  you  are  not  satisfied, 
you  will  have  to  go  and  get  satisfied,'  and  they  remarked  that 
they  were  going  to  get  satisfaction  that  night.  Reid  then  laughed 
and  said,  ^Boys,  don't  you  go  down  there  and  let  them  get  the 
best  of  you.'    He  then  assigned  the  guard  and  went  away. 

"  In  this  conversation  Conyers  told  me  that  John  Brown,  J.  H. 
HoUoman,  and  a  man  named  Powell,  and  several  others,  came 
down  where  he  was  on  guard,  and  that  they  went  downtown  and 
just  gave  them  hell,  and  after  they  shot  out  all  of  their  cartridges 
they  ran  back  to  the  barracks,  and  when  they  got  back  to  the  bar- 
racks they  found  that  the  alarm  had  been  sounded  and  the  offi- 
cers were  calling  the  roll.  Holloman,  Brown,  and  himself  were 
late  for  roll  call,  but  that  some  one  answered  for  Brown  and  Hol- 
loman, but  that  he  was  late,  and  that  Reid  told  him  that  they  had 
gotten  themselves  and  himself  in  a  hell  of  a  hole,  and  told  him  to 
go  to  the  guardhouse  and  pretend  to  be  asleep,  which  he  did. 

"  He  told  me  that  they  had  slipped  a  few  cartridges  when  at 
target  practice  and  that  before  inspection,  after  the  shooting, 
Reid  gave  him  some  cartridges  to  replace  the  ones  he  had  used. 
He  further  said  that  they  had  all  agreed  before  they  went  out 
that  they  would  keep  their  mouths,  and  that  he  would  have  told 
them  at  the  investigation  at  Washington  all  about  the  shooting, 
but  that  he  was  afraid.  I  had  no  further  talk  with  Conyers,  be- 
cause I  saw  that  I  was  being  suspected  by  the  negroes  around 
Monroe,  Ga. 


Witnesses : 

H.  J.  Browne. 
Geo.  W.  Madert. 


"William  (his  x  mark)  Lawson." 


424  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

District  of  Columbia,  ss.  : 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  a  notary  public  in  and  for 
the  District  aforesaid,  this  16th  day  of  October,  a.d.  1908. 

[seal]  Geo.  W.  Madert, 

Notary  Public. 

This  day  personally  appeared  before  me  Herbert  J.  Browne, 
of  Washington,  D.  C,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says: 

"  I  was  employed  by  the  War  Department  in  May,  1908,  in 
company  with  Captain  William  G.  Baldwin,  of  Roanoke,  Va., 
chief  of  the  Baldwin  Detective  Agency,  to  investigate  the  conduct 
of  the  battalion  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  stationed  at 
Brownsville,  Tex.,  which  conduct  resulted  in  the  Brownsville  raid, 
so  called,  on  the  night  of  August  13-14,  1906,  wherein  one  Frank 
Natus  was  killed.  Lieutenant  of  Police  Dominguez  badly  wounded, 
and  the  houses  of  several  citizens  were  shot  into.  Captain  Bald- 
win has  charge  of  the  secret  work  for  the  Norfolk  and  Western 
Railway,  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railway,  the  Southern  Rail- 
wa3%  and  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  responsible  detectives  in  the  country. 

"In  conjunction  with  him  I  have  been  continuously  employed 
upon  this  work  since  its  inception  in  May. 

"  The  facts  set  forth  in  my  report  addressed  to  General  George 
B.  Davis,  Judge-Advocate-General,  War  Department,  under  date 
of  December  5,  1908,  are  true  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and 
belief. 

"  In  particular  I  visited  Monroe,  Ga.,  to  corroborate  the  in- 
vestigation at  that  point  of  William  Lawson,  a  colored  detective 
in  the  employ  of  Captain  Baldwin,  whose  affidavit  and  reports 
are  annexed  to  and  made  a  part  of  my  report  of  December  5, 
1908,  above  referred  to. 

"  I  had  several  interviews  at  Monroe  with  Boyd  Conyers,  ex- 
private  of  Company  B,  Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  one  of  the  guard 
on  the  night  of  ^the  Brownsville  raid,  and  found  that  William 
Lawson's  statements  regarding  Conyers  were  substantially  and 
essentially  correct.  I  personally  obtained  from  Conyers  further 
information  detailing  how  the  cartridges  used  in  the  raid  were 
surreptitiously  and  illegally  obtained  and  distributed,  how  the 
principal  raiders  proceeded,  when  and  by  whom  the  gun  racks 
in  Company  B  were  unlawfully  and  secretly  opened  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  raid,  how  the  raiders  were  protected  during  and  subse- 
quent to  the  raid  and  given  opportunity  to  clean  their  guns,  and. 


Appendix  D  425 

in  particular,  was  furnished  by  Conyers  with  the  names  of  eight 
participants  in  the  raid  other  than  the  three  named  by  him  in 
his  statements  to  William  Lawson,  a  total  of  eleven,  including 
himself,  the  said  Conyers,  all  members  of  Company  B,  Twenty- 
fifth  Infantiy. 

"  The  leaders  of  the  raid,  as  named  by  Boyd  Conyers,  were 
John  Holloman,  John  Brown,  Carolina  de  Saussure,  and  himself. 
Following  them  were  William  Anderson,  James  Bailey,  Charles 
E.  Cooper,  William  Lemons,  Henry  Jimerson,  James  *Rastus' 
Johnson,  and  Henry  '  Sonny '  Jones.  Sergeant  Reid,  in  charge 
of  the  guard,  was  accused  by  Conyers  of  knowledge  before  and 
after  the  raid.  Sergeant  George  Jackson,  in  charge  of  the  keys 
of  the  gun  racks  of  Company  B,  was  accused  of  opening  the 
racks  for  the  raiders,  and  of  again  opening  them  subsequent  to 
the  raid  in  order  that  the  guns  might  be  removed  and  cleaned. 

"  I  found  Boyd  Conyers  in  a  disturbed  frame  of  mind.  No 
claim  is  made  that  his  original  declarations  to  William  Lawson 
were  other  than  those  of  a  criminal  boasting  to  one  of  his  own 
race  of  his  crime  and  of  his  success  in  escaping  discovery.  His 
subsequent  declarations  to  me  were  given  partly  during  moments 
of  contrition  and  in  a  desire  to  unload  his  conscience  by  a  con- 
fession and  partly  as  the  result  of  careful  and  persistent  ques- 
tioning. 

"  I  found  the  effect  of  the  letter  from  Senator  Foraker  to 
Conyers  extremely  obstructive.  He  seemed  to  regard  it  as  a 
mandate  to  adhere  to  the  false  story  told  by  him  before  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Militaiy  Affairs,  and  as  absolving  him 
from  any  and  all  obligations  to  aid  in  uncovering  the  truth. 
Similar  influences  were  encountered  at  many  points,  adding  largely 
to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  admissions  of  even  the  most  ob^ious 
facts  relative  to  the  raid. 

"  Heribert  J.  Browne." 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  9th  day  of  December, 
1908. 

[seal.]  J.  B.  Randolph,  Notary  Public. 


APPENDIX   E 

REPORT    OF    T.    B.    SKIDMORE, 

Presiding  Judge  of  Election,  Precinct  No.  1,  Rio 
Grande  City,  November,  1906 

Rio  Grande  City,  Texas,  11/12/06. 
Hon.  J  no.  B.  Kulen,  Adj. -Gen., 

City. 
Sir: 

As  the  presiding  judge  for  this  Precinct,  No.  (1)  one  of 
Starr  County,  Texas,  at  the  late  general  election  held  in  this 
city  on  the  6th  day  of  November,  1906,  in  the  upstairs  room  at 
the  court-house,  used  by  the  district  judge  as  the  court-room, 
permit  me  to  make  the  following  report  of  the  proceedings  had 
that  day: 

Ha-sdng  had  no  call  nor  communication  from  the  Republicans 
of  this  place  for  representation  among  the  (4)  four  clerks  of  the 
election  subject  to  appointment  by  the  presiding  officer,  they 
had  already  been  named,  taking  care  that  one  man  who  had 
theretofore  voted  the  Republican  ticket  was  chosen  and  also  one 
man  whom  I  knew  to  favor  Mr.  Gregorio  Duffy,  the  ruling  spirit 
locally  of  the  opposition  to  the  Democrats. 

Also,  ha^dng  heard  ugly  rumors  of  threats  accredited  to  the 
Republicans,  I  had  notified  eighteen  (LS)  law  abiding  citizens  to 
be  present  at  the  polls  as  early  as  half-past  seven  a.m.  on  the 
6th  of  November,  1906,  then  and  there  to  take  the  oath  of  office 
and  act  as  the  peace  officers  during  the  election.  Of  these  only 
12,  I  think,  appeared  and  were  sworn  in. 

As  soon  as  the  election  judges  assembled  they  and  those  of  the 
peace  officers  present  and  the  supervisors  were  sworn  in. 

At  this  point  the  presiding  officer  stepped  to  the  front  door 
and  noting  that  a  body  of  armed  men  on  horseback  and  afoot 
had  assembled  on  the  outside  at  the  100-foot  limit  from  the 
polling  place,  asked  who  had  dared  come  to  the  polls  thus  armed 
and  was  told  they  were  the  Republican  voters. 


Appendix  E  427 

Immediately  Mr.  F.  W.  Seabury  called  me  to  the  foot  of  the 
first  flight  of  steps  and  introduced  me  to  a  Mr.  Creager,  who, 
after  replying  that  the  armed  men  outside  were  Jose  Pina's 
peace  officers,  demanded  representation  among  the  clerks  of 
election.  I  told  him  that  all  parties  had  representation,  but  when 
he  insisted  on  some  of  the  names  he  suggested,  it  being  agreed 
to  by  the  person,  I  put  Domingo  L.  Garza  in  the  place  of  the 
Duffy  representative  I  had  called  to  act  as  clerk. 

From  the  names  Mr.  Creager  suggested  as  inside  officer,  I  also 
chose  Mr.  Jose  Pina,  believing  that  by  having  him  under  my 
direction,  the  agreement  between  Mr.  Seabury  and  the  presiding 
judge  on  the  one  hand  and  Mr.  Creager  on  the  other,  that  the 
voters  should  come  up  stairs  in  pairs — one  Democrat  and  one 
Republican  together — could  best  be  maintained,  for  the  reason 
that  the  said  Jose  Pina  had  been  the  agency  who,  through  his 
magisterial  capacity  incident  to  him  as  county  commissioner  for 
this  Precinct,  had  appointed  the  (40)  forty  peace  officers  that 
Mr.  Creager  said  the  Republicans  had  at  hand  to  preserve  the 
peace  and  insure  a  fair  and  quiet  election. 

Thereupon  Mr.  Garza  and  Mr.  Pina  and  the  balance  of  the 
peace  officers  called  by  the  presiding  judge  were  sworn  in,  and 
word  reaching  me  that  threats  of  breaking  in  the  front  door 
beloAV  were  being  made  by  the  Republican  crowd  outside,  the 
janitor  was  ordered  to  open  it ;  the  polls  were  declared  open  and 
the  timepiece  set  at  eight  o'clock  a.m. 

During  the  coui-se  of  the  first  half  hour — possibly  it  was  that 
long — the  agreement  of  pairing  the  voters  coming  up.  to  the  vote 
was  observed.  Then,  noting  that  for  some  minutes  nearly  all 
the  voters  had  been  Republicans,  inside  peace  officer,  Jose  Pina, 
was  directed  to  see  why  there  were  no  Democrats  coming  in. 

On  his  return  he  told  me  it  would  be  all  right  and  that  there 
were  no  Democrats  at  the  door  just  then,  but  another  of  my 
deputies  from  below  in  response  to  my  call  came  up  and  told 
me  the  Republicans  had  taken  possession  of  the  staircase  and 
lower  door  and  would  only  let  such  Democrats  in  as  forced  their 
way  by  them  at  peril  of  their  lives. 

At  the  end  of  about  (2)  two  hours  the  disorder  became  so  great 
that  repeated  demand  had  to  be  made  on  Mr.  Jose  Pina  and  the 
other  inside  officers  to  regulate  the  people  outside  the  rail.  On 
seeing  that  even  Mr.  Pina  could  not  control  his  Republican 
friends  I  had  to  threaten  the  crowd  with  closing  the  polls  if  they 
did  not  preserve  order,  and  remain  in  line  instead  of  filling  the 


428  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

area  outside  the  railing  to  such  an  extent  as  to  threaten  to  tear 
it  loose  from  the  floor. 

Immediately  after  the  fourth  threat  of  this  kind,  I  was  in- 
formed and  could  see  from  the  faces  of  the  crowd  that  only 
trouble  would  ensue  if  I  tried  that  method  to  handle  them,  so 
I  let  them  have  their  own  way  and  thereafter  they  did  break  the 
railing  supports  loose  from  the  floor.  Thereafter,  I  repeatedly 
called  on  Mr.  Juan  Hinajosa,  the  Rupublican  challenger,  to  en- 
force order  and  refused  to  receive  any  more  votes  until  his  people 
should  get  into  line. 

On  entering  the  polling  place,  my  only  object  was  to  see  that 
a  fair  election  should  take  place,  and  I  do  not  think  that  I 
neglected  any  precaution  to  have  it  so.  I  repeatedly  sent  word 
to  my  peace  officers  below,  after  about  half-past  ten  a.m.,  to 
clear  the  stairs  and  lower  corridor  of  all  who  had  already  voted, 
but  none  of  them  could  be  found  generally,  and  when  one  was 
found  he  would  send  back  word  that  he  could  do  nothing  with 
the  crowd  and  that  Democratic  voters  were  being  turned  away 
from  the  lower  door  and  only  Republican  voters  were  being 
allowed  to  enter. 

I  have  since  been  told  by  the  peace  officers  of  the  election, 
that  fear  for  their  lives  led  them  to  desist  from  trying  to  enforce 
the  entry  of  Democrats  into  the  line  going  to  the  polls. 

I  have  also  since  learned  that  Democratic  voters  who  were 
business  men  of  the  town,  left  their  places  of  business  as  many 
as  three  and  four  times  and  went  to  the  polls  to  vote,  but  were 
denied  entrance  by  Mr.  Pina's  armed  deputies  and  other  Re- 
publicans and  their  sympathizers.  And  also  that  four  desperate 
characters  with  Winchesters  in  their  hands  were  picketed  in  front 
of  the  lower  entrance  to  the  court-house,  and  that  when  asked 
if  they  were  voters  Mr.  Gregorio  Duffy  replied,  "  No,  they  are 
only  some  posts  driven  in  the  ground  there  for  a  rear-guard  to 
keep  out  the  Democrats." 

Also  on  examination  of  the  certified  list  of  poll-tax  payers  of 
this  precinct  after  the  election,  I  find  that  126  of  them  did  not 
vote,  and  nearly  all  were  Democrats.  Why,  I  have  not  had  time 
yet  to  inquire,  but  you  will  note  that  this  failure  to  vote  bears 
out  the  statements  of  the  peace  officers  appointed  by  the  presid- 
ing judge. 

During  the  course  of  the  election  160  out  of  the  367  voters 
who  deposited  their  ballots  were  sworn,  and  I  believe  that  if  the 
legal  voters  only  of  those  160  had  been  permitted  to  vote  and 


Appendix  E  429 

the  Democrats  of  the  126  poll-tax  payers  who  did  not  p:et  to  vote 
had  been  permitted  to  do  so  that  the  majority  would  have  stood 
about  40  in  favor  of  the  Democrats  instead  of  103  against  them, 
as  it  did  result. 

Permit  me  to  explain  in  closinj?  that  I  had  reasons  to  believe 
before  the  election  that  the  Republicans  intended  to  appear  in 
force  and  with  arms  at  the  election,  but,  under  the  ad\4ce  of 
Judge  Welch,  T  had  made  no  arrangements  up  to  the  evening 
before  the  election  for  peace  officers  of  my  appointing,  but  that, 
Avhen  I  told  him  about  five  o'clock  p.m.  on  November  5th  that 
30  or  40  strangers  from  Mexico  were  in  town,  Judge  Welch 
told  me  to  appoint  whatever  number  I  thought  proper  to 
guarantee  a  peaceable  election,  but  especially  admonished  me  not 
to  have  so  many  as  to  give  the  semblance  of  an  armed  force  at 
the  polls. 

Such  being  my  course  beforehand,  I  felt  myself  morally  re- 
sponsible for  the  lives  of  the  men  I  had  appointed  as  peace 
officers,  and  therefore  never  sent  them  any  command  during  the 
day  to  use  force  in  handling  the  crowd,  and  that  they  were  all 
men  of  good  enough  sense  to  see  the  futility  of  such  a  course  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  they  did  not  in  any  instance  act 
arbitrarily. 

In  conclusion  let  me  add  that  I  had  no  interest  to  serve  and 
none  at  stake  in  this  election,  and  that  my  only  interest  now  in 
submitting  this  report  is  to  help,  as  best  I  may,  in  maintaining 
the  majesty  of  American  law  and  the  purity  of  the  ballot  box, 
and  the  sanctity  of  the  elective  franchise  thereunder  to  the  utmost 
confines  of  this  American  Union. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  sincerely, 

T.  B.  Skidmore, 

Late  Pres.  Judge  of  Election  in  Precinct  No.  1  of  Starr  Co., 
Tex.,  on  Nov.  6,  1906. 

Dufify  has  since  been  murdered. 


APPENDIX  F 

PORTION    OF    A   MESSAGE   FROM    GOVERNOR    T.    M. 

CAMPBELL,    REFERRING    TO    RECENTLY 

ENACTED    LAWS    AND    THEIR 

ENFORCEMENT 

Austin,  January  14,  1909. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatives : 

As  members  of  the  Thirty-first  Legislature,  you  have  each 
voluntarily  undertaken  an  important  task.  Your  duties  are 
important  and  your  responsibilities  are  serious.  You  have  as- 
sembled under  favorable  conditions.  The  State  Treasury  is  on 
a  cash  basis.  The  State  is  generally  prosperous,  and  the  people 
are  contented  and  happy.  The  law  is  supreme  in  Texas,  and 
all  the  laws  are  now  very  generally  enforced  and  obeyed. 

There  is  no  substantial  reason  to  doubt  that  the  welfare  of 
the  State  and  the  happiness  of  the  people  will  be  promoted  by 
the  intelligence  of  your  work,  and  by  your  fidelity  to  the  people 
with  whom  you  made  a  covenant  at  the  ballot  box.  You  need 
make  no  serious  mistakes,  as  the  will  of  the  people  has  been 
ascertained  upon  all  important  matters  which  demand  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Legislature  at  this  time. 

Organized  avarice,  though  in  attempted  disguise,  can  hardly 
be  expected  to  oyerride  the  popular  will.  Selfish  interests  and 
those  seeking  special  advantages  and  exclusive  privileges  will 
have  their  ready  advocates  on  every  hand,  and  wholesome  legisla- 
tion heretofore  enacted  for  the  protection  of  the  people  will 
doubtless  be  assailed.  A  word  of  caution  is  therefore  offered  to 
the  end  that  the  chosen  representative  of  a  confiding  constituency 
may  be  on  his  guard.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  designing  forces 
have  organized  and  will  be  maintained  at  the  Capitol  which  will 
test  the  wisdom,  integrity  and  patriotism  of  this  Legislature. 

The  laws  enacted  and  the  reforms  Avrought  under  the  present 
administration  in  behalf  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people  of 
Texas  have  been  under  fire  for  nearly  two  years,   and  have 


i 


Appendix  F  431 

repeatedly  received  the  emphatic  endorsement  of  the  Democratic 
voters  of  our  State,  and  have  been  approved  and  re-affirmed  by 
the  organized  Democracy  in  convention  assembled.  The  platform 
of  the  opposition  party  demanded  the  repeal  or  modification  of 
many  of  these  important  laws,  and  that  party,  its  candidates  and 
its  platform  were  repudiated  and  defeated  by  about  150,000 
majority.  Desperate  efforts  have  been  employed  by  sinister  agencies 
to  discredit  these  laws,  and  to  defeat  the  operation  of  these  reforms, 
but  the  people  have  willed  otherwise,  and  the  laws  have  come  to 
stay.  Such  changes  as  may  be  sought  by  the  friends  of  the  laws  to 
strengthen  them,  and  which  may  be  dictated  by  experience,  may, 
with  propriety,  be  made,  but  these  laws  were  demanded  by  the 
people;  they  were  enacted  by  their  trusted  representatives,  and 
in  spirit  and  substance  they  should  stand. 

They  are  just  and  right  and  ought  to  stand.  The  result  of 
the  recent  political  contests  involving  these  laws  and  reforms 
strikingly  demonstrate  that  the  agencies  of  corrupt  and  sinister 
special  interests  can  not  dominate  and  control  in  Texas.  The 
patriotism  of  our  people  and  the  freedom  of  speech  which  obtains 
in  Texas  make  it  certain  that  her  incorruptible  electorate  can  be 
safely  trusted  to  uphold  the  public  official  who  keeps  the  faith 
and  redeems  his  pledges  made  to  them.  Those  who  have  con- 
tended that  modifications  and  exceptions  in  their  interest  should 
be  made  in  the  laws  enacted  by  the  last  Legislature  might  have 
placed  their  propositions  upon  the  Democratic  primary  election 
ticket,  and  thus  tested  them  at  the  ballot  box,  or  they  could 
have  uncovered  their  schemes  in  the  last  Democratic  convention, 
and  these  plans  were  suggested  time  and  again  as  open  to  them. 
This  course  was  open  under  the  law,  but  they  chose  rather  to 
undertake  the  defeat  of  candidates  who  stood  for  these  laws.  In 
this  they  signally  failed  in  every  instance.  The  State  Democratic 
Convention,  following  the  lead  of  nearly  all  the  county  conven- 
tions, endorsed  the  laws  as  they  stood,  and  placed  the  party 
candidates  upon  a  platform  committed  to  their  perpetuation. 
The  enemies  of  the  legislation  and  reforms  enacted  by  the  last 
Legislature  chose  to  submit  their  demands  for  repeal,  changes 
and  modifications  thereof  in  the  Republican  State  platform, 
which  of  course  binds  all  representatives  of  that  party  faith. 
Democrats  are  bound  by  party  action,  by  the  verdict  rendered 
at  the  polls,  and  by  the  platfonn  made  by  its  convention. 

The  Democratic  platform  declaration  with  respect  to  the  laws 
enacted  during  this  administration  is  as  follows : 


432  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

"  We  heartily  endorse  *  *  *  the  acts  of  the  Thirtieth  Legis- 
lature enacted  in  obedience  to  platform  demands,  and  we  rejoice 
at  the  emphatic  endorsement  given  said  laws  and  administration 
by  the  Democratic  voters  of  Texas  in  the  recent  primary 
election." 

The  measures  of  commanding  importance  enacted  during  the 
present  administration  are  in  the  interest  of  justice,  equality, 
good  government  and  decency.  They  have  resulted  in  no  harm 
or  injustice  to  any  man  or  to  any  legitimate  business  enterprise 
within  this  State.  The  truth  of  this  statement  has  already  been 
demonstrated,  and  any  effort  to  emasculate,  destroy  or  weaken 
them  would  be  a  fraud  upon  the  people  and  a  betrayal  of  the 
Democratic  party.  These  laws  became  effective  in  the  midst  of 
a  great  national  panic,  and  Texas  has  been  and  is  in  a  better 
financial  and  economic  condition  to-day  than  any  State  in  the 
Republic. 

To  effect  needed  reforms  and  to  check  evil  tendencies,  laws 
were  enacted  by  the  last  Legislature  to  the  following  effect: 

1.  The  keeping  of  gambling  houses  and  the  exhibiting  of 
gambling  devices  was  made  a  felony. 

2.  The  practice  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquors  on  railroad 
trains  was  prohibited. 

3.  A  law  passed  requiring  contests  of  local  option  elections  to 
be  promptly  instituted,  and  providing  that  otherwise  the  legality 
of  such  elections  should  be  conclusively  presumed. 

4.  Authority  was  granted  district  judges,  on  proper  showing, 
to  prevent  by  injunction  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  in  pro- 
hibition communities. 

5.  A  tax  of  $5,000  was  le\ded  on  express  companies  shipping 
intoxicating  liquors  into  prohibition  districts,  the  effect  of  which 
was  to  take  the  express  companies  out  of  the  liquor  and  saloon 
business. 

6.  An  effective  bucket  shop  law  which  prohibits  gambling  in 
cotton  and  other  futures,  thereby  guarding  against  depression 
in  the  prices  of  the  farmers'  crops,  as  a  result  of  unnatural 
speculative  or  gambling  transactions. 

7.  To  encourage  and  promote  agricultural  development,  a 
separate  Department  of  Agriculture  was  created,  and  has  been 
organized,  and  is  at  this  time  actively  promoting,  with  the  facili- 
ties at  hand,  our  agricultural  interests. 


Appendix  F  433 

8.  The  occupation  tax  on  useful  occupations  was  repealed. 

9.  A  law  prohibiting?  the  free-pass  evil  was  enacted. 

10.  A  law  ajrainst  nepotism  was  passed. 

11.  Charter  fees  of  corporations  were  increased  in  a  just  and 
fair  amount. 

12.  The  depositoiy  law  enacted  keeps  in  ciiculation  State 
funds  and  the  rates  of  interest  secured  yields  a  return  largely  in 
excess  of  the  entire  expenses  of  the  State  Treasurer's  office,  and 
provides  a  handsome  yield  in  interest  on  county  funds  heretofore 
deposited  in  banks  without  interest. 

13.  Laws  increasing  franchise  taxes,  and  gross-receipts  taxes, 
and  securing  the  listing,  rendition  and  assessment  of  the  railways* 
intangible  values  for  taxation,  were  enacted,  and  their  operation 
has  resulted  in  shifting  a  large  portion  of  the  burden  theretofore 
unjustly  borne  by  the  individual  property  taxpayers  to  those 
who  had  been  evading  and  escaping  taxation. 

14.  A  mine  inspection  law  for  the  protection  of  laborers 
engaged  in  mining  business,  a  law  against  black-listing,  and  a 
law  lightening  the  labors  of  trainmen,  enginemen,  and  telegraph 
operators  and  to  protect  the  public,  and  other  just  laws,  were 
passed  for  the  benefit  and  protection  of  workingmen. 

15.  The  law  known  as  the  '"  Robertson  Insurance  Law  "  having 
for  its  object  the  better  protection  of  the  policy-holders  in  Texas, 
and  to  promote  investments  in  our  State,  was  passed.  The 
practical  operation  of  this  law  is  to  require  the  investment  of 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  Texas  reserve  of  life  insurance  com- 
panies doing  business  in  Texas,  in  Texas  securities,  and  to  require 
the  deposit  of  such  securities  in  the  State  Treasury,  or  other 
depository  designated  by  the  law.  It  is  also  provided  that  the 
deposit  and  investment  features  may  be  waived  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  Insurance  upon  substantial  showing  under  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  the  law. 

16.  The  "  Full  Rendition  Law,"  as  it  is  called,  and  the  "  Auto- 
matic Tax  Law,"  having  for  their  respective  objects  the  rendition 
and  assessment  of  all  taxable  property  at  its  full  value,  greater 
uniformity  and  the  adjustment  of  the  tax  rates  and  tax  burdens 
in  keeping  with  the  absolute  requirements  of  the  government. 

17.  A  uniform  text-book  law,  providing  for  the  adoption  of  a 
uniform  system  of  text-books  for  all  the  public  free  schools  of 
the  State  was  passed. 

18.  A  law  prohibiting  insolvent  corporations  from  doing  busi- 
ness in  Texas  was  enacted. 


434  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

19.  A  law  prohibiting  lobbying,  and  many  otber  useful  laws, 
were  passed  in  the  interest  of  the  people. 

In  the  administration  of  the  State  government  during  the  past 
two  years,  an  earnest  effort  has  been  made  by  the  Executive  and 
all  other  departments  of  the  public  service,  to  give  the  people  a 
clean,  ejfficient,  and  economical  government. 

That  the  full  measure  of  our  success  may  be  ascertained,  and 
the  people  more  fully  informed,  the  most  careful  and  rigid  in- 
vestigation into  the  administration  of  every  department  of 
government  and  into  the  management  of  each  State  institution 
is  invited  and  suggested.  That  the  laws  should  be  properly  en- 
forced upon  all  alike,  no  law-abiding  man  will  deny.  The  Con- 
stitution provides  that  "the  Governor  shall  cause  the  laws  to  be 
faithfully  executed,"  and  every  means  and  power  that  could  be 
appropriately  exercised  has  been  brought  into  requisition  to  meet 
this  mandate  of  the  Constitution.  No  one  should  be  strong 
enough  to  escape  the  power  of  the  law,  and  none  too  weak  to 
receive  its  protection. 

The  mandate  of  the  Constitution  is  clear  and  the  duty  of  the 
Governor,  with  respect  to  enforcing  the  law,  is  plain,  but  the 
Governors  powers  are  not  adequate,  and  adequate  statutory 
powers  as  contemplated  by  the  Constitution  should  be  promptly 
provided  by  legislation  suited  to  present  conditions  as  well  as  for 
future  contingencies. 

Obedience  to  all  criminal  laws  should  be  a  condition  in  liquor 
dealers'  bonds,  and  jurisdiction  for  suits  for  breach  thereof 
should  be  given  to  the  district  courts  of  Travis  County. 

The  transactions  of  the  Treasury  Department  are  set  out  in 
detail  in  the  State  Treasurers  annual  report  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  August  31,  1908.  The  report,  together  with  the  tables 
accompanying  the  same,  contain  much  useful  information,  and  it 
is  suggested  that  an  examination  of  the  same  will  be  useful  and 
profitable  to  the  legislators. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  administration,  the  Comptroller  esti- 
mated the  deficit  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  August  31,  1907,  to 
be  approximately  $300,000,  and  possibly  more.  However,  as  a 
result  of  careful  and,  we  believe,  efficient  administration,  aided 
by  more  effective  revenue  legislation,  the  deficit  was  avoided,  and 
the  State  has  been  able  to  meet  all  of  its  current  obligations  for 
the  past  two  years,  and  at  all  times  to  maintain  an  adequate  work- 
ing surplus  in  the  State  Treasury.    Instead  of  a  deficit,  as  pre- 


Appendix  F  435 

dieted,  on  Au^st  31,  1907,  the  State  had  met  all  of  its  oblig^a- 
tions,  and  had  a  cash  balance  of  $692,612.81  to  the  credit  of  the 
general  revenue,  and  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  August  31, 
1908,  after  paying  all  claims  when  presented,  the  State  had  to 
the  credit  of  the  general  revenue  fund  a  balance  of  $888,985.61. 

This  very  satisfactory  financial  condition  was  secured  and  has 
been  maintained  under  the  operation  of  the  present  tax  system 
without  additional  tax  burdens  upon  the  individual  property-tax 
leavers.  Interests  theretofore  escaping  and  property  theretofore 
unrendered  have  been  required,  imder  the  new  laws,  to  contribute 
more  to  the  support  of  the  government,  thereby  lessening  the 
burden  upon  those  who  were  under  the  old  laws  bearing  more 
than  their  just  share. 

To  illustrate:  Under  the  operation  of  the  intangible  tax  law, 
$173,698,318  of  intangible  values  of  railways  and  bridge  and 
feriy  companies  were  listed  for  State  and  county  taxes  for  the 
year  1908.  The  physical  values  of  the  railways  increased  under 
the  new  rendition  law  from  $100,166,782,  in  1906,  to  $157,822,790, 
in  1908.  The  intangible  tax  law,  and  the  full  rendition  law  has 
added  to  the  tax  rolls  more  than  $250,000,000  of  railway  and 
other  corporate  values  theretofore  escaping  taxation.  The  credits 
af  money  of  banks  and  bankers  and  of  others  than  banks  and 
bankers  are  not  now  being  properly  listed  for  taxation;  still 
there  has  been  a  great  improvement,  as  the  tax  rolls  show  that 
they  were  increased  from  $42,112,424,  in  1906,  to  $80,717,825,  in 
1908;  an  increase  of  more  than  91  per  cent.  These  are  prominent 
illustrations  of  property  values  heretofore  escaping,  which,  under 
the  new  laws,  have  contributed  to  the  reduction  of  the  ad  valorem 
tax  rate  of  20  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars  in  1906,  to 
the  low  rate  of  6l^  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars  in  1908. 
The  average  tax  rate  in  the  counties  throughout  the  State  for 
1906  was  55  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars.  This  average 
rate  of  55  cents  was  reduced  in  1908  to  an  average  rate  of  40 
cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollai-s  for  county  purposes  by  the 
operation  of  the  new  laws.  The  individual  citizens  who  have  been 
pa>4ng  taxes  upon  their  homes  and  farms  at  a  fair  valuation  ^viIl 
pay  less  taxes  in  1908  in  proportion  to  value  than  they  have  paid 
for  the  support  of  the  State  govennnent  in  any  year  since  1860, 
and  as  the  receipts  from  other  sources  to  the  credit  of  general 
revenue  increases,  the  ad  valorem  tax  rate  for  State  purposes 
will  be  reduced  in  proportion. 

Under  the  operation  of  the  tax  laws  of  the  last  Legislature, 


436  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

the  property  values  on  the  tax  rolls  increased  from  $1,221,- 
159,869,  in  1906,  to  $2,174,122,480,  in  1908.  The  amount  of  taxes 
paid  in  1906  on  the  tax  rate  of  20  cents  on  the  one  hundred 
dollars,  amounted  to  $2,435,412.92,  and  in  1908,  with  the  tax  rate 
of  6^/4  cents,  the  total  tax  amounts  to  $1,358,826.55;  an  increase 
in  assessed  values  of  $952,935,411,  and  a  reduction  of  $1,076,- 
586.37  in  the  total  amount  of  ad  valorem  State  taxes  levied  for 
1908  as  compared  with  1906,  and  a  much  more  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  the  taxes  has  been  secured. 

The  valuation  of  property  assessed  for  taxes,  the  rates  and  the 
amounts  of  State  ad  valorem  taxes  for  the  years  1906,  1907,  and 


1906— Valuation,  $1,221,259,869;  rate,  20  cents;  amount  of 
taxes,  $2,435,412.92. 

1907— Valuation,  $1,635,297,115;  rate,  12^/2  cents;  amount  of 
taxes,  $2,040,625.58. 

1908— Valuation,  $2,174,122,480;  rate,  6^4  cents;  amount  of 
taxes,  $1,358,826.55. 

Receipts  to  the  credit  of  the  State's  general  revenue  for  the 
year  1906,  1907,  and  1908,  from  special  corporation  taxes  and 
from  all  other  sources,  not  including  the  ad  valorem  taxes  on 
tangible  and  intangible  values,  is  shown  below;  $375,418.94 
received  from  the  United  States  government  in  1906  not  included : 

1906— Amount  of  receipts $1,826,682.26 

1907— Amount  of  receipts 2,024,434.80 

1908— Amount  of  receipts 2,416,218.46 

.  The  county  tax  rolls  for  1906,  1907,  and  1908  disclose  the 
gross  inequalities  obtaining  throughout  the  State  prior  to  the 
recent  tax  legislation,  and  they  further  show  that  an  earnest 
effort  was  made  in  the  large  majority  of  the  counties  to  comply 
with  the  laws  respecting  rendition,  assessment  and  equalization. 
In  a  few  counties,  however,  the  law  was  ignored,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  tax  officials  of  such  counties  was  little  short  of  unconscion- 
able. These  counties  received  the  full  benefits  of  the  reductions 
in  the  State  ad  valorem  tax  rate  from  20  cents  to  6^/4  cents,  and 
the  State  school  ad  valorem  rate  from  20  cents  to  16^  cents, 
and  received  the  full  benefit  of  the  increase  in  the  apportionment 
of  the  available  school  iund,  but  by  the  dereliction  and  disregard 


Appendix  F  437 

of  duty  on  the  part  of  their  trusted  tax  ofTicials  they  contributed 
practically  nothinj?  to  the  increase  of  values  resultinp:  in  such 
general  good.  This  is  so  manifestly  unfair  and  unjust  that  an 
effective  remedy  should  be  speedily  provided  by  law.  It  is  in- 
conceivable that  the  oath  of  office  prescribed  by  the  Constitution, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  new  statute,  and 
to  which  all  tax  officials  must  solemnly  subscribe,  should  be  so 
lightly  considered  by  some  men  who  have  been  honored  with 
official  station.  Each  county  and  each  citizen  and  corporation 
of  the  State  should  contribute  a  just  share  and  no  more  of  the 
taxes  necessary  to  support  the  State  government  and  to  main- 
tain the  public  free  school  system,  and  no  county,  citizen  or 
corporation  through  the  dereliction  of  tax  officials  should  be 
permitted  to  share  in  the  benefits  of  reduced  rates,  and  the  in- 
crease of  school  funds  when  they  fail  to  do  their  part.  They 
should  not  be  allowed  by  official  dereliction  to  shift  their  just 
share  of  the  taxes  to  the  taxpayers  of  other  counties  and  com- 
munities. It  is  just  to  say  that  the  people  of  some  of  the  counties 
where  the  law  was  disregarded  repudiated  the  derelict  tax  officials 
upon  their  first  opportunity. 

Article  5124e,  of  Chapter  XI,  of  the  Acts  of  the  First  Called 
Session  of  the  Thirtieth  Legislature  should  be  amended  so  that 
suits  for  removal  from  office  may  be  instituted  and  prosecuted 
either  in  the  county  of  such  officer's  residence,  or  in  the  district 
courts  of  Travis  County,  at  the  option  of  the  Attorney-General. 
Laws  should  also  be  enacted  providing  that  resignations  or  ex- 
pirations of  terms  of  office  shall  not  abate  action  for  removal 
from  office,  and  the  law  should  further  pro\'ide  that  county 
officers  who  are  removed  from  office  for  malfeasance  or  mis- 
feasance or  for  any  dereliction  shall  not  thereafter  hold  office  in 
this  State  until  their  eligibility  is  established  and  restored  by  act 
of  the  Legislature. 

In  this  connection,  I  invite  your  attention  to  the  respective 
annual  reports  of  the  State  Tax  Commissioner  and  the  State 
Revenue  Agent.  The  data  and  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the 
laws  enforcement,  and  the  suggestions  made  by  these  faithful 
officials,  will,  I  believe,  be  of  much  value  to  the  Legislature  in 
improving  our  system  of  taxation  and  in  (enacting  legislation  to 
secure  equality  and  more  uniformity  in  the  distribution  of  its 
burdens. 


APPENDIX   a 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  HON.  W.  D.  WILLIAMS  IN  REFER- 
ENCE   TO    THE   FULL   RENDITION   LAWS 

I  am  altogether  sensible,  gentlemen,  of  the  honor  which  you 
have  done  me  by  inviting  me  to  discuss  before  you  that  act  of 
the  Thirtieth  Legislature  of  Texas  commonly  known  as  the  Full 
Rendition  Statute.  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  honor  done  me,  as 
I  have  said,  and  yet  I  am  not  averse  to  accepting  the  invitation. 
I  have  heard  so  much  said  about  this  law;  I  have  heard  it  so 
x\ildly  praised  and  so  extravagantly  denounced;  I  have  heard 
its  promoters  and  all  who  were  concerned  in  the  enactment  so 
severely  condemned  on  the  one  hand  and  so  unreservedly  lauded 
on  the  other;  I  have  read  so  many  editorials  in  favor  of  full 
rendition  and  so  many  more  against  it,  that  the  fever  of  strife 
has  been  set  to  circulating  in  my  own  blood,  and  I  have  come 
at  last  really  to  desire  to  speak  my  own  thoughts  on  this  subject. 
And  especially  is  this  true  when  I  am  afforded  to-day  the  oppor- 
tunity of  addressing  upon  this  issue  the  body  of  distinguished 
citizens  which  is  assembled  here  before  me,  and  which  represents 
the  opinions,  the  aspirations  and  the  sentiments  of  the  com- 
mercial classes  of  my  own  State.  For  this  too  is  true,  gentlemen, 
that  however  much  I  may  in  some  particulars  and  on  some  occa- 
sions dissent  from  the  prevailing  beliefs  of  what  is  called  the 
business  world,  I  am  now  and  always  compelled  to  admit  that 
the  leaders  of  commerce  are  not  only  keen  of  intellect,  but  that 
they  are  full  of  courage,  ready  to  give  weighty  reasons  for  the 
faith  that  is  in  them,  loyal  and  patriotic  citizens,  commanding 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  world,  true  and  sincere  friends 
and  generous  adversaries. 

That  statute,  which  is  generally  called  the  Full  Rendition 
statute,  was  enacted  at  the  Regular  Session  of  the  Thirtieth  Legis- 
lature, and  is  published  by  official  authority  as  Chapter  XI  on 
page  459  of  the  General  Laws  of  1907.  By  provisions  of  this 
act,  assessors  are  required  to  list  the  property  for  taxation  at  its 
reasonable  cash  market  value  or,  if  it  has  no  market  value,  then 
at  its  real  and  intrinsic  value. 


Appendix  G  439 

Practically  this  is  what  is  meant  by  the  words  "  full  value 
rendition,"  that  the  rendition  shall  be  at  the  reasonable  cash 
value  of  the  article  or  thing  which  is  listed.  But  it  is  well  settled 
by  repeated  decisions  of  appellate  courts  that  where  the  word 
"  value  "  is  used  in  a  statute  and  is  not  limited  either  by  qualify- 
ing words  or  by  the  context  of  the  statute,  it  has  the  same 
meaning  as  if  it  had  been  written  "  reasonable  cash  market 
value,"  or  "  real  and  intrinsic  value." 

So  that,  as  respects  its  actual  intent,  the  Full  Rendition 
statute  brings  into  operation  no  new  principle  and  does  nothing 
more  than  to  deprive  our  assessors  of  a  common  excuse,  some- 
times honestly  made  and  sometimes  not,  of  misunderstanding  the 
meaning  of  the  word  "  value,"  as  used  in  former  statutes  upon 
the  same  subject.  The  act  was  not  intended  to  and  did  not 
introduce  a  new  practice  in  the  assessment  of  property  for  taxa- 
tion, but  on  the  contrary,  was  aimed  at  persuading  or  compelling 
obedience  to  methods  already  established  by  law,  but  fallen  into 
partial  or  total  disuse. 

The  Constitution  of  1876,  which  is  now  in  force,  commands 
that  "  all  property  in  this  State  shall  be  taxed  in  proportion  to 
its  value,"  and,  as  already  explained,  the  word  "  value,"  as  used 
in  this  connection,  means  fair  cash  market  value,  or  if  the  article 
has  no  market  value,  then  its  real  and  intrinsic.  The  Constitution 
fixes  the  same  standard  of  compensation  as  does  the  Act  of  1907, 
and  if  the  latter  is  correctly  designated  as  a  full  rendition  law 
then  is  the  Constitution  itself  also  a  full  rendition  Constitution. 

Now,  when  we  are  inclined  to  complain  of  the  trials  and  hard- 
ships of  the  present,  it  is  sometimes  the  part  of  \visdom  for  us 
to  recall  for  a  moment  the  conditions  and  circumstances  which 
surrounded  us  in  the  past.  For  it  is  by  such  a  comparison  alone 
that  we  may  truly  know  whether  our  situation  has  indeed  changed 
for  the  worse,  or  whether  our  complaints  are  justified. 

We  have  had  an  ad  valorem  general  property  tax  in  Texas 
since  the  beginning  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  government  within  our 
boundaiies.  The  Constitution  of  1836  gave  to  the  legislative 
department  of  the  Republic  an  absolutely  free  hand  to  sha]>e 
laws  for  the  raising  of  a  public  revenue  at  its  sole  will  and 
pleasure.  "  Congress,"  so  it  was  wiitten,  "  shall  have  power  to 
levy  and  collect  taxes  and  imposts,  excise  and  tonnage  duties." 
Article  2,  Section  1.  This  authoi-ity  was  sufficiently  broad  to 
enable  the  Legislature  of  an  independent  sovereignty,  such  as 
Texas  then  was,  to  determine  what  persons  and  what  property 


440  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

should  be  burdened  for  the  support  of  the  government  and  what 
persons  and  what  property  should  be  exempted.  There  was  no 
limitation  upon  the  power,  nor  any  restrictions  to  prevent  what- 
ever discriminations  Congress  should  see  fit  to  enact. 

With  this  unlimited  charter  in  its  hands,  the  first  Congress  of 
Texas  met  together  in  October,  1836,  the  founders  of  a  new 
nation,  a  truly  representative  bodj^,  great  in  intellect,  great  in 
character  and  courage,  but  greater  than  all  in  devotion  and 
loyalty  to  the  eternal  principles  of  right  and  justice,  which  are 
now,  always  have  been  and  always  will  be  the  principles  of 
Democracy  also.  And  those  ancient  heroes  in  home-spun,  being 
thus  the  sovereign  legislative  body  of  an  independent  people, 
legislating  as  well  for  the  planter,  with  his  broad  and  fertile 
lands,  tilled  by  his  hundreds  of  slaves,  as  for  the  wandering 
hunter  and  scout,  Avhose  Kentucky  rifle  and  pouch  of  bullets  and 
horn  of  powder  constituted  his  sole  possessions,  passed  that  act, 
entitled  "  An  Act  to  raise  a  public  revenue  by  direct  taxation," 
approved  June  12,  1837.  And,  after  this  manner,  there  came  into 
being  the  first  "  full  rendition  "  statute,  which  was  also  the  first 
statute  for  the  direct  taxation  of  property  enacted  under  Anglo- 
Saxon  domination  in  Texas. 

For,  by  this  act.  Congress  required  all  property  owners  and 
all  agents  and  representatives  of  such  owners,  to  make  out  and 
deliver  to  the  proper  assessing  officers  inventories  showing  the 
value  of  all  their  properties,  and  to  swear  that  same  were  just, 
true  and  faithful  valuations  and  lists.  If  the  assessor  believed 
any  valuation  offered  to  him  was  too  low,  it  was  made  his  duty, 
summarfty  and  without  notice  or  formality,  to  call  to  his  assist- 
ance two  neighboring  citizens,  to  be  selected  by  himself,  and  the 
three  of  them  were  required  to  persuade  and  encourage  the 
reluctant  property  owner  into  those  straight  and  narrow  paths 
where  duty  leads  and  virtue  is  its  own  and  only  reward.  From 
the  assessor  and  his  chosen  helpers  there  was  no  appeal.  That 
which  they  said  was  the  full  value  was  the  full  value,  both  in 
law  and  in  fact,  and  there  was  an  immediate  end  of  the  con- 
troversy.  . 

In  these  modem  days  of  frock  coats  and  silk  stockings  and 
peace  and  comfort,  we  would  incline  to  think  that  the  Act  of 
1837,  which  put  a  "  big  stick  "  in  the  hands  of  the  assessor,  would 
have  been  sufficiently  strenuous  to  have  satisfied  even  that  most 
strenuous  of  officers,  our  worthy  President  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
But  there  were  mighty  men  in  those  old  days,  when  Sam  Houston 


Appendix  G  441 

was  at  the  head  of  the  Lone  Star  Republic,  and  this  problem 
was  as  meat  between  their  teeth.  They  enjoyed  it  to  the  utter- 
most. They  enjoyed  it  so  much  that  they  could  not  keep  their 
minds  occupied  with  other  things,  and,  in  1838,  Congress  amended 
and  strengthened  the  original  "  full  rendition "  bill  so  as  to 
require  every  property  owner  to  swear  a  still  harder  swear,  to  wit, 
that  his  list  was  a  true  and  perfect  inventory  and  account  of  his 
property  and  its  value.  A  true  and  perfect  valuation !  Think  of 
it,  0  ye  who  strain  at  gnats  in  these  meek  and  modern  days! 
A  most  vigorous  oath,  indeed,  was  that.  Strong  and  bitter,  like 
the  medicines  they  took  in  those  good  old  times.  And  yet  I 
must  own  to  it,  gentlemen,  that  I  have  nowhere  heard  or  read 
that  either  the  oaths  or  the  medicines  did  them  any  harm. 

I  have  recalled  to  your  recollection  those  old  days  of  the  golden 
age  of  Texas  for  one  purpose  only,  which  is  that  you  may  be 
reminded  how,  in  the  words  of  Solomon,  "  there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun."  There  is  nothing  new,  not  even  our  troubles, 
and  I  can  imagine  that,  even  in  the  time  of  the  Republic,  our 
citizens  desisted  momentarily  from  the  fighting  of  Mexicans  and 
the  pursuit  of  hostile  Indians  to  hold  indignation  meetings  all 
the  way  from  Nacogdoches  to  Matagorda  Bay,  where  fierce  pro- 
tests were  drawn  and  adopted,  condemning  Houston  and  Lamar 
and  the  members  of  the  First  Congress  for  their  wickedness  in 
procuring  the  enactment  of  a  "  full  rendition  "  statute  with  which 
to  oppress  and  impoverish  the  Lone  Star  people. 

I,  myself,  am  reminded  in  this  connection  of  the  solemn  utter- 
ances of  some  of  the  daily  newspapers,  most  excellent  oracles  of 
Democracy,  warning  us  in  editorial  columns  long  that  this  is  a 
new  country,  where  a  continuous  stream  of  bottoms  is  dropping 
out  of  our  real  estate  booms,  and  that  it  is  a  great  big  mistake 
to  assess  our  new  and  fragile  values  at  anything  approaching 
their  face.  And  in  my  mind's  eye,  I  can  see  right  now  one  of 
those  ancient  and  beloved  heroes,  recently  companion  to  the  im- 
mortal Davy  Crockett,  the  tails  of  his  coonskin  cap  fluttering  in 
the  wind,  addressing  an  indignation  meeting  in  the  days  of  the 
Fii-st  Congress,  arousing  unlimited  enthusiasm  ^vith  the  very 
same  argument  which  is  noiv  so  commonly  used,  founded  upon 
the  newness,  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  of  this  country  of 
ours,  which  some  of  us  profess  to  believe  has  not  yet  grown  suf- 
ficiently old  to  tell  the  truth  for  purposes  of  taxation. 

The  statutes  of  Texas  have  always  been  "  full  rendition " 
statutes,  and  our  Constitutions,  except  for  that  one  which  was 


442  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

adopted  in  1836,  have  always  been  "full  rendition"  Constitu- 
tions. And,  in  my  judgment,  there  can  be  no  honest  attempt  at 
a  fair  adjustment  of  the  burdens  of  a  direct  tax  upon  the 
general  property  of  this  or  any  other  coimtry  which  does  not 
make  a  decent  effort  at  an  equalization  in  proportion  to  the  true 
value  of  each  article  which  is  taxed.  The  true  value  of  an  article 
is  necessarily  its  fair,  full  value,  nothing  more  and  nothing  less. 
If  we  levy  general  property  taxes,  we  are  compelled  to  require 
by  law  that  all  property  subject  to  the  levy  shall  be  taxed  in 
proportion  to  its  value,  and  such  a  rule  is  inevitably  a  law  for  a 
"  full  rendition." 

If  a  government  were  to  command  that  its  taxables  should  be 
listed  at  one-fourth  their  full  value,  and  that  a  tax  of  $1  on  the 
$100  should  be  levied  on  the  values  so  listed,  it  would  in  substance 
have  enacted  a  law  for  the  taxation  of  its  property,  at  full  value, 
at  25  cents  on  each  $100,  and  no  amount  of  figuring  can  make  out 
of  it  anything  less  or  anything  more. 

The  proposition  that  property  shall  be  taxed  at  one-fourth, 
or  at  one-fifth,  or  at  any  other  fractional  part  of  its  true  and 
full  value  is  wholly  inadequate  to  meet  any  of  the  objections 
which  are  urged  against  the  "full  rendition"  bill.  If  a  tract 
of  land  be  assessed  at  $100  an  acre  at  its  full  value,  Januarj^  1, 
1908,  and  by  reason  of  any  change  in  conditions,  the  value  has 
diminished  before  the  arrival  of  the  taxpaying  season,  say 
December  31,  1908,  to  $50  an  acre,  and,  if  it  be  assumed  that  it 
would  be  an  injustice  under  those  circumstances  to  require  the 
owner  to  pay  a  tax  in  December  which  is  based  upon  such  a 
valuation,  still  the  slightest  reflection  will  convince  you  that  this 
injustice  has  not  been  obviated  by  assessing  the  land  at  $25  an 
acre  and,  at  the  same  time,  multiplying  the  tax  rate  by  four. 
In  either  case  precisely  the  same  amount  of  money  is  exacted 
from  the  owner,  and,  in  either  case,  the  tax  is  in  truth  based 
upon  the  full  value  January  1st,  which  we  have  assumed  to  be 
$100  an  acre,  and  no  account  is  taken  of  any  subsequent  de- 
preciation. 

But,  if  it  be  urged  that  the  owner  will  be  better  satisfied  to 
pay  25  cents  an  acre  if  his  land  be  valued  at  $25  an  acre  than 
he  will  be  to  pay  the  same  25  cents  on  the  same  acre  up-^n  a 
valuation  of  $100,  then  I  can  only  answer  by  saying  thai  the 
Texans  with  whom  I  am  acquainted  are  so  well  fixed  with  brains 
that  you  can  not  fool  them  ^^dth  a  trick  so  transparent  as  this. 
If  a  citizen  pays  a  tax  of  $50  on  a  200-acre  farm,  he  knows  that 


Appendix  G  443 

he  is  out  just  $50  in  good,  common,  hard  cash,  and  all  the 
assessors  and  collectors  in  the  State  can  not  fool  him  into  the 
belief  that  he  lias  paid  only  $40  by  showing  him  how  low  his 
land  was  assessed  and  how  high  it  was  taxed.  Having  paid  his 
money,  he  will  feel  neither  better  nor  worse  because  of  the  valua- 
tion put  upon  his  property,  provided  only  that  he  has  had  a 
square  deal  as  compared  with  the  other  taxpayers. 

This  is  the  whole  of  the  tax  question,  as  I  see  it — to  deal 
justly  wdth  every  man  in  the  sight  of  God — to  tax  every  person 
as  nearly  as  possible  in  proportion  to  his  ability  to  pay.  And 
under  any  ad  valorem  system  the  measure  of  the  ability  of  each 
indi\4dual  and  the  only  approximately  fair  measure  which  the 
ingenuity  of  man  has  ever  been  able  to  devise  is  found  in  the 
reasonable,  full  value  of  the  taxable  property  of  every  owner. 

No  revenue  law  is  wholly  bad  which  tends  in  this  direction  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  every  such  law  is  good  and  valuable  in  direct 
proportion  as  it  is  so  drawn  that  it  will  aid  in  bringing  about 
this  all-desirable  equality  in  the  imposition  of  public  burdens. 

Granting  that  taxes  are  apportioned  with  reasonable  fairness, 
there  is  but  one  way  whereby  an  impartial  reduction  can  be  had 
and  the  benefits  of  such  reduction  distributed  proportionately 
and  honestly  among  the  taxpayers,  and  this  way  is  by  cutting 
down  the  expenses  of  the  government.  Every  other  effort  is 
either  the  pursuit  of  a  ghost,  leaving  the  pursuer  empty  handed 
if  he  were  to  succeed  in  catching  it,  or  it  is  an  effort  at  tax 
dodging.  The  average  taxpayer  is  no  shirk,  and  the  very  best 
for  which  he  can  hope  and  the  things  for  which  he  should  always 
be  demanding  are,  first,  an  economical  administration  of  public 
affairs,  and,  second,  the  utmost  fairness  in  the  distribution  of 
public  burdens. 

The  Constitution  of  Texas,  as  I  have  already  shown,  has  al- 
ways commanded  an  equality  in  taxation,  to  be  attained  by  levy- 
ing upon  all  property  in  proportion  to  its  value.  The  laws  of 
Texas  have  been  enacted  in  obedience  to  the  constitutional  man- 
date, as  full  rendition  laws,  but  have  until  the  late  session  of 
the  Thirtieth  Legislature  failed  in  one  respect,  at  least,  for  they 
provided  no  adequate  mean^  by  which  they  might  be  enforced. 
And  under  these  laws,  which  on  the  face  required  a  fair  assess- 
ment, but  did  not  undertake  to  compel  obedience  to  their  provi- 
sions, a  practice  of  evasion  was  begun  and  spread  all  over  the 
State,  until  a  condition  prevailed  which  was  anarchy,  pure  and 
simple.     County   strove   against    county    and    neighbor   against 


444  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

neighbor,  each  one  trying  unjustly  to  shift  some  portion  of  his 
rightful  burden  to  the  shoulders  of  another.  It  was  a  reign  of 
lawlessness,  gentlemen,  when,  as  some  of  you  members  have 
demonstrated,  the  average  assessment  in  one  county  was  only 
24  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  property  assessed,  while  the 
average  in  another  county  was  as  much  as  75  per  cent.  And 
the  remaining  counties  of  the  State  ranged  themselves  anywhere 
you  please  between  these  two  extremes. 

Equality  in  taxation  was  a  thing  dead  and  forgotten,  and 
honorable  people  were  being  taught  to  look  with  contempt  upon 
the  affidavits  which  were  required  to  be  made  before  the  assessors. 
A  strong  and  manly  people  who  throughout  their  history  had 
held  the  vice  of  lying  in  peculiar  detestation,  were  made  accus- 
tomed to  falsehoods,  uttered  for  profit,  under  the  supposed  sanc- 
tion of  an  oath.  A  condition  prevailed  which  would  in  time  have 
compelled  the  moral  deterioration  of  all  citizens. 

Now,  it  is  certain  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
functions  of  government  that  it  shall  secure  justice  and  fair 
dealing  as  between  all  those  who  are  subject  to  its  jurisdiction. 
But  more  than  this,  and  more  than  all  else,  it  is  the  duty  of 
those  who  are  in  control  of  public  affairs  that  they  shall  permit 
no  condition  to  continue  which  threatens  to  undermine  the  moral 
character  of  its  people.  For  I  venture  the  opinion  that  civiliza- 
tion is  not  builded  of  capital  and  labor  alone,  but  that  its  chief 
component  parts  are  the  love  of  virtue  and  the  sense  of  honor 
and  the  devotion  to  truth  and  integrity  which  are  in  the  hearts 
of  all  persons,  and  if  these  good  attributes  are  no  longer  actuated 
by  these  high  ideals,  then  I  predict  that  mankind  will  have  be- 
come from  that  moment  forward  incapable  of  maintaining  social 
order. 

The  practice  of  undervaluing  property  for  purposes  of  taxation, 
which  had  become  common  and  almost  universal  in  Texas,  was 
destructive  of  all  possibility  of  justice  as  between  the  respective 
owners,  and  had  in  addition  thereto  a  distinct  tendency  to  debase 
the  morals  of  an  uncontaminated  and  virtuous  people.  The 
movement  for  what  I  will  venture  to  call  purer  and  better  laws 
did  not  begin  in  the  Thirtieth  Tjegislature,  but  years  and  years 
ago,  and  the  so-called  Full  Rendition  act  of  1907  is  merely  a  mile- 
stone in  the  forward  march  of  a  progress  which  has  continued 
throughout  the  ages,  and  which  will  never  end. 

The  statute  for  the  taxation  of  banks  and  banking  capital  is 
a  "  full  rendition "  statute,   designed  to  enable  and  to  require 


Appendix  G  445 

assessors  to  list  at  full  value  the  stocks  or  property  of  slich 
institutions  and  all  funds  employed  in  that  particular  business. 
The  act  for  the  taxation  of  the  intangible  assets  of  railroads, 
an  act  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  to  pass  in  the 
Twenty-ninth  Legislature,  is  another  "  full  rendition  "  law,  under 
the  operations  of  which  nearly  $174,000,000  of  additional  rail- 
road values  is  exposed  to  view  and  listed  and  taxed.  These  and 
other  statutes  of  the  same  kind,  which  I  have  not  the  time  to 
mention,  are  just  and  fair,  if  all  other  property  is  also  assessed 
approximately  at  its  value,  but  they  become  discriminatory  and 
oppressive  as  soon  as  undervaluations  of  other  taxables  are 
purposely  allowed. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  there  are  certain  vices  which  appear 
to  be  necessarily  inherent  in  any  system  that  can  be  devised  for 
the  direct  taxation  of  both  real  and  personal  property.  And 
while  I  am  not  inclined  to  believe  that  these  vices  render  this 
character  of  tax  more  difEcult  of  fair  apportionment  than  is  any 
other,  yet  I  would  not  for  a  moment  attempt  to  render  blind 
either  myself  or  you  to  those  imperfections  and  weaknesses  of 
human  nature  which  make  it  apparently  impossible  entirely  to 
effect  the  purpose  of  any  law,  no  matter  how  just  or  wise  it  may 
be.  But  I  would  remind  you  that  we  can  not  give  ground  in 
the  face  of  this  argument  without  abandoning  all  effort  at  an 
orderly  rule  of  society  and  plunging  headlong  into  the  deadly 
chaos  of  anarchy.  If  our  inability,  entirely  and  in  all  cases,  to 
enforce  a  full  rendition  law  is  just  cause  for  the  abandonment  of 
the  full  rendition  principle,  then,  in  the  same  way  and  for  the 
same  reason,  we  shall  be  driven  from  any  other  plan  that  we 
may  adopt.  Indeed,  if  we  once  admit  the  force  of  this  objection, 
we  must  abandon  all  law,  for  in  no  case  are  we  able  satisfactorily 
to  enforce  any  statute  which  is  upon  our  books. 

Remember,  gentlemen,  I  make  no  pretense  that  perfection  has 
been  attained  in  the  act  of  the  Thirtieth  Legislature,  or  that  the 
act  is  incapable  of  improvement.  What  I  am  contending  is  that 
it  is  a  step  forward,  and  that  this  body,  standing  as  it  does  for 
the  ideal  aspirations  of  the  business  men  of  Texas,  must 
take  no  step  backward.  To  repeal  this  statute,  setting  up  nothing 
better  in  its  place,  retreating  to  a  condition  of  which  you,  as 
thoughtful  and  patriotic  citizens,  must  have  been  sick  at  heart, 
may  bring  us  to  have  "  fewer  laws,"  but  I  am  not  able  to 
persuade  myself  that  those  laws  which  are  left  will  thereby  have 
become  any  the  better. 


446  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

In  my  judgment,  ex  parte  affidavits,  which  have  the  effect  of 
making  the  truth  cost  money  and  of  rewarding  falsehood  as  if 
it  were  a  virtue  and  not  a  \dce,  ought  not  to  be  exacted  in  any 
but  the  rarest  of  cases,  and  only  where  no  other  source  of  in- 
formation can  reasonably  be  found.  And,  for  this  reason,  I 
have  long  preferred  that  the  visible  property  of  the  State  should 
be  valued  and  assessed  by  the  assessor  rather  than  by  the  owner. 
But  I  am  greatly  in  the  minority  in  my  opinion  of  this  subject, 
and  because  that  opinion  is  of  absolutely  no  consequence,  I 
refrain  from  enlarging  upon  it. 

Proceeding,  then,  along  the  only  road  which  is  open  for  travel, 
and  assuming  that  each  owner  shall  continue  to  fix  the  prima 
facie  value  of  his  own  assets,  it  can  not  be  successfully  denied 
that  the  interests  of  society  demand  that  such  valuation  shall 
be  made  under  oath,  and  that  the  value  stated  in  every  affidavit 
shall  be  the  true,  full  value  and  not  an  arbitrary,  assumed  and 
fictitious  proportion  of  the  same. 

The  "  full  rendition  "  law,  considered  in  connection  with  other 
statutes  in  force  upon  the  same  subject,  provides  an  admirable 
system  of  local  equalization,  and  tends  in  a  very  considerable 
degree  toward  equalization  throughout  the  limits  of  Texas. 

But  this  is  a  State  of  vast  areas  and  of  prodigious  distances, 
and  in  any  such  widely  extended  territory  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  physical  conditions  alone  are  sufficient  to  demand  the  en- 
actment into  law  of  some  method  of  apportionment  which  will 
not  depend  entirely  upon  local  views  and  local  sentiments.  It 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that,  while  the  Attorney-General  may  sue 
to  remove  from  office  any  assessor  or  member  of  a  board  of 
equalization  whom  he  believes  to  be  guilty  of  intentionally  accept- 
ing undervaluations,  yet,  convictions  for  such  offenses  are  always 
difficult  to  secure  and  the  prosecution  of  the  vast  majority  of 
such  cases  would  be  no  better  than  a  farce.  The  State  govern- 
ment is  practically  without  power  to  compel  reasonable  assess- 
ments in  any  county  or  section  where  the  citizens  are  largely 
opposed  to  full  rendition.  The  administration  has  no  legal 
authority  which  it  can  effectually  use,  but  must  confine  itself  to 
moral  suasion  alone,  and  in  controversies  where  interested  parties 
are  arrayed  upon  opposite  sides,  we,  as  a  people,  have  never 
regarded  moral  suasion  and  merely  moral  responsibilities  as  a 
sufficiently  effective  force  to  be  worthy  of  serious  mention.  We 
will  not  permit  a  judge  to  hear  a  case  in  court,  or  a  juror  to 
sit  on  a  jury  where  either  the  plaintiff  or  the  defendant  is  related 


Appendix  G  447 

to  him  within  the  third  de.sjee,  either  by  blood  or  marriage. 
Arbilrators  must  be  without  interest  and  not  related  to  the 
parties,  and,  in  general,  wherever  an  act  is  authorized  which 
may  affect  the  rights  of  others,  the  law  is  vigilant  in  requiring 
that  the  officer  or  pei-son  acting  shall  be  disinterested  and  im- 
partial. Everj'one  will  agree  that  these  precautions  against  in- 
justice are  right  and  necessary,  and  yet  I  can  conceive  of  no 
good  reason  why  interested  parties  or  their  relatives  may  not  be 
permitted  to  adjudge  any  other  disputed  claims  quite  as  well, 
and  with  just  as  large  a  probability  that  justice  will  be  done  as 
when  they  were  asked  to  determine  what  amount  of  State  taxes 
they  will  pay. 

A  compulsory  equalization  of  some  character  seems  to  me  the 
next  step  to  be  taken  in  the  forward  march  toward  fairer  taxa- 
tion in  Texas.  We  have  come  a  long  way  from  that  original 
plan  of  1S37,  by  which  an  assessor  and  two  neighbors  arbitrarily 
determined  what  a  property  owner  should  pay,  but  we  are  still 
very  far  from  home.  Nor  should  this  occasion  surprise,  for  if 
the  law  is  to  be  worthy  of  respect,  if  it  is  to  be  in  any  way 
effective  as  a  force  for  the  right,  it  must  not  be  fixed  and  un- 
changeable, but,  on  the  contrary,  must  be  capable  of  infinite 
varietj"^  and  infinite  development,  growing  with  the  growth  of 
the  people  who  are  its  creators  and  enforcers,  eternal  in  seeking 
justice,  but  flexible  in  adapting  itself  to  the  present. 

In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  call  to  your  attention 
veiy  briefly  a  few  of  the  effects  of  the  new  tax  laws.  For  if  we 
are  to  return,  as  at  least  one  candidate  for  high  office  is  insisting, 
to  the  old  order  of  things,  we  are  abandoning  not  merely  the  so- 
called  Full  Rendition  law,  but  all  other  of  the  recent  enactments 
upon  the  same  subject.  We  are  to  abandon  the  intangible  tax 
law,  the  franchise  tax  law,  the  law  taxing  the  gross  receipts  of 
certain  corporations,  and  all  other  of  the  statutes  of  the  Twenty- 
ninth  and  Thirtieth  Legislatures  by  which  a  fairer  adjustment  of 
the  burdens  of  government  was  sought  to  be  secured.  And  if 
we  abandon  these  laws  we  must  abandon  their  undeniable  benefits 
as  well  as  their  doubtful  disadvantages,  and  pay  taxes  as  we  paid 
them  in  the  good  old  times. 

Now,  in  1906,  when  these  laws  were  either  tied  up  in  court 
or  not  yet  in  force,  the  property  owners  of  Texas  were  called 
upon  to  pay  a  total  ad  valorem  tax  for  the  expense  of  the  State 
government  of  $2,443,637,  but  in  1907  the  ad  valorem  tax  for 
State  expenses  was  reduced  to  $2,044,566.    The  operation  of  the 


448  Captain  Bill  McDonald 

new  tax  laws  reduced  the  burdens  put  upon  property  owners  by 
$400,000,  and  of  the  amount  which  property  was  still  required 
to  pay,  something  near  $214,000  was  levied  upon  railroad  in- 
tangibles. The  saving  upon  the  general  property,  aside  from 
railroad  and  corporation  taxes,  was  $614,000  for  that  single  year, 
for  State  expenses  alone.  In  the  same  way,  the  saving  for  the 
year  11)08  will  not  be  less  than  $900,000  on  State  expenses,  not 
including  the  school  fund. 

It  can  not  be  successfully  denied  that  the  new  tax  laws  have 
tended  largely  toward  an  equitable  distiibution  of  tax  burdens 
and  that  in  doing  this  they  have  diminished  the  amount  paid  by 
the  average  citizen.  The  intangible  assets  tax  alone  brought  in 
a  revenue  for  1907  of  $1,470,000  to  the  State  and  its  counties, 
and  cost  for  its  administration  the  insignificant  sum  of  $2,650, 
a  result  which  can  not  be  surpassed  in  the  history  of  governmental 
finance. 

These  are  the  triumphs  which  we  are  asked  to  abandon  by 
returning  to  that  system  where  "the  assessors  under  the  com- 
missioners courts  made  the  assessments  as  under  fonner  laws." 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  for  one  am  not  disposed  to  retreat.  I  am 
intending  to  go  forward,  not  backward.  And  in  the  course  which 
I  am  determined  to  pursue  I  am  expecting  to  go  arm  in  arm  in 
the  company  of  the  most  of  those  who  are  here  to-day  as  the 
representatives  of  commercial  Texas.