Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers

From Reboil


Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers is a 2020 non-fiction book by Doug J. Swanson describing the history of the Texas Rangers with the thesis that the Rangers were brutal enforcers of white land-owning Texan colonists.

Stats

Content

People

Colt, Samuel
Weapons manufacturer whose revolving pistol was famously used by the Texas Rangers.
Hayes, Jack
A Texas Ranger and surveyer who became famous for their leadership skills in battles against Native Americans and Mexicans.
Karankowas, The
A native people massacred by white Texans.
Taylor, Zachary
A commander for the US Army that won the Battle of Palo Alto in 1846. Would later be elected the 12th President of the United States and begin office on 1849-03-04.
Texas Rangers, The
Private mercenaries who enforced white colonial power in Texas by killing or threatening native Americans and criminals. Eventually occupied a respected position in the US zeitgeist for being honorable valiant peacekeepers.
Walker, Samuel Hamilton
A Texas Ranger with Jack Hayes. Became famous for their role in the Battle of Palo Alto.

Places

Louisiana
Matamoros
Oklahoma
Rio Grande
A river near Texas and northern Mexico. By the 20th century would become the official border between the United States and Mexico.
Texas
United States

Things

Narrative

Prologue: The Real Ranger

00:01:00

Part 1: Conquest (1821—1870)

00:15:35

Chapter 1: The Guns of Eden

“Rangers for the Common Defense”

00:15:43

00:16:17: Sec: Steven F. Austin, 27-year-old land speculator of the banking industry, rides on horseback with a dozen others from Louisiana to Texas. Austin writes that the land appears fertile and appropriate for colonization. On 1821-09-17, his party is met by Karankowa natives.

00:20:30: Sec: A summary of the history of Texas before and up to the arrival of the first white immigrants, invited by the Mexican Government via failed lead-mine operator Moses Austin and his son Stephen F. Austin.

00:23:28: Sec:

00:29:16: Sec:

00:36:20: Sec:

Chapter 2: The Long War

“The Very Jaws of Death”

00:48:22

00:48:54: Sec:

01:00:10: Sec:

01:10:53: Sec:

01:21:37: Sec:

Chapter 3: Butcheries

“What a Day of Horrors”

01:30:07

01:30:35: Sec:

01:39:33: Sec:

01:44:06: Sec: On 1840-03-19, the Penateka band of Comanches were invited for peace talks. Misunderstandings over prisoner releases (the band only possessed a single prisoner, Mary Maverick) resulted in the Council House Fight which left 33 Indians dead, including three of the women and children. Seven whites were killed.

01:49:30: Sec: In retaliation, other bands of Comanches holding the remaining prisoners executed them.

01:55:21: Sec: Texas Rangers raid a Comanche camp at Plum Creek, killing between 20 and 100 mounted warriors with minimal losses. Prisoners given to Tonkawa tribe for cannibalistic rituals.

02:06:00: Sec:

Various Comanche losses.

Chapter 4: Arms and the Man

“The Most Perfect Weapon in the World”

02:14:20: A description of a pocket and short belt pistol manufactured by Colt.

02:14:52: Sec: A background of Samuel Colt (a.k.a. Dr. Coult of New York, London, and Calcutta) who sold nitrous oxide in 1832 to build funds for a weapon manufacturing business. A violent bad trip of a man in Pittsburgh who took Coltʼs nitrous oxide is described.

02:17:15: Sec: A background of John Coffee “Jack” Hayes who was born in Tennessee in 1817, and would later a famous Texas Ranger leader. Hayes was born to a Harmon Hayes, a veteran of wars against the Creek Indians and the British under General Andrew Jackson. Jack is raised near Hermitage, a plantation owned by Andrew Jackson.

Hayes gains experience killing native americans by being a land surveyor for white colonists claiming native's lands.
02:19:45: 1840: Jack Hayes is captain of a Ranger company out of San Antonio.

02:33:00: Credibility is criticized of a legend of a stranded Jack Hayes singlehandedly fighting off hundreds of warriors at Enchanted Rock (WGS84: 30.506667° -98.818889°) for 3 hours until his Ranger backup arrived. No contemporary evidence in newspapers or diaries exist.

Enchanted Rock in 2006. Image is by Claygate and is in the public domain.

02:34:20: Hayes provides surveying expertise to European nobleman Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels who sought to establish a German colony in Texas in 1844.

02:41:21: A contemporary of Hayes is described: Samuel Hamilton Walker (born in Maryland in 1817). A war-seeking man who failed to find fame in building railroads. Joined Hayes's Rangers by 1844.

02:43:50: A history of the Patterson-Colt revolving pistol, wielded by Walker and Hayes.

Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1814. Colt is expelled from Amherst University for setting fire to a building. Colt's father sends Colt abroad. Colt raises capital by becoming a street vendor of nitrous oxide.
Colt patents his revolving chamber pistol in 1832. Begins manufacturing in Patterson, New Jersey. Initial prototypes prone to explosive failures and accidental discharges. Initial cost is 25 USD per unit. Factory closes in 1842. Researches sea mines.

02:46:36: In 1839, the Texas Navy ordered 180 Colt pistols.

In the 1840s, the Colt revolving pistols granted the Rangers overwhelming firepower. An example is given with a battle on a creek that Jack Hayes would name Walker Creek in honor of Samuel Hamilton Walker who sustained and survived a lance injury.

Chapter 5: “An Insolent and Savage Race”

Rage, Revenge, Statehood, and War

02:55:53

03:11:56: A description of dishonorably discharged US Army (?) soldier, anti-Mormon militiaman, Missouri judge, political terrorist, fugitive, and (eventually) Texas Ranger captain, Samuel Bogart.

03:22:04: Rangers and Texan soldiers led by Hayes and Bogart sack Laredo, TX, which was abandoned by Mexican troops. Rangers and soldiers loot supplies of the unresisting townfolk despite not having an immediate excuse of revenge to exact punishment for their war crimes.

03:24:30: Hayes and Bogart demand money from Guerrero on threat of sacking the town and taking supplies by force.

General Summervale (?) orders retreat. Hayes complies. Several hundred Texans disobey and attack the Mexican army and are captured. They are marched and decimated by black bean lottery.

03:33:55: In 1844-09, Mexico releases Texas prisoners of war.

03:42:50: Sometime shortly before 1846-04-26, the crossing of 1600 Mexican cavalry across the Rio Grande river and subsequent failed attack by 68 mounted Texans (see Thornton Affair) triggered the start of the Mexican-American War.

Chapter 6: Cry Vengeance

The Warʼs First Hero

03:44:58

03:47:46: Samuel Walker desires revenge against Mexicans for losing comrades on the Black Bean Lottery.

03:48:10: A short bio of Zachary Taylor.

03:57:36: The Battle of Palo Alto between Arista and Taylor. Taylor has superior artillery.

04:01:07: On 1846-05-18 (Baltakatei note: Audiobook reader said 1846-03-18, likely an error), Taylor crosses a river and captures Matamoros. An army captain and minister named Are Stewart gives a Sunday sermon preaching the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race and it's divine destiny to occupy all of the North American continent.

A description of a martyr named Page who suffered a grave cannonball wound, becoming a patriotic celebrity in newspapers until his death two weeks later.
A description of political propaganda and praise elevating public image of Zachary Taylor as commander and Texas Ranger Samuel Walker for their roles in winning the Battle of Palo Alto.

04:08:30 In the fall of 1846, Samuel Walker is sent to Washington, D.C. to aid recruitment drives for the war with Mexico.

Samuel Walker visits Samuel Colt, the manufacturer of the famous revolving pistols used by the Rangers.

04:10:10 Samuel Walker asks the US War Department to purchase 1000 revolving pistols from Samuel Colt. On 1846-12-07, the War Department agrees and begins ordering pistols from Colt, permitting Colt to resume his failed weapons manufacturing business by opening a factory in Hartford, Connecticut. The new pistol model, known as the “Walker Pistol” and the “Colt Peacemaker 6-shooter”, carries improvements suggested by Walker.

A description of Walker training troops and being on a steamboat on the Ohio River.

04:21:20: The death of Samuel Walker on 1847-10-09 during a cavalry charge during the Battle of Huamantla incites US soldiers to rape and murder Mexican civilians, according to various written first person accounts.

04:24:45: Mexican accounts of Walker and his men slaughtering civilians during patrols.

04:25:50: Prior to major fighting, Jack Hayes, Ben McCullough, and other Texas Rangers recruit volunteers in Austin, San Antonio, and Goliad for fighting against Mexico. Ranger numbers grow to about 500 in early 1846.

04:27:50: Rangers publicly murder various Mexican civilians unconnected to Mexican military actions, according to lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant.[1]

“About all of the Texans seem to think it perfectly right to impose upon the people of a conquered City to any extent, and even to murder them where the act can be covered by the dark. And how much they seem to enjoy acts of violence too!”

04:28:20: The Mexicans call the Texas Rangers “Los Diablos Tejanos” for their savage acts.

Chapter 7: Los Diablos

From the Halls of Montezuma”

04:28:35

A description of US soldiers and Texas Rangers, among them Jack Hayes, (absorbed into the US Army for their fighting skills but kept distinct due to refusal to use standard uniforms) marching into Mexico towards Monterrey.

04:48:35: Rangers are outraged at the signing of a truce with Mexican forces over Monterrey.

04:53:30: The war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on 1848-02-02. The southern boundary of Texas is established as the Rio Grande.

04:55:00: Arkansas Rack and Sackers rape women. Mexicans get revenge by murdering the rapists.

Various military officer accounts of Texas Rangers mass murdering civilians.

04:15:00: General Santa Ana rides past the Texas Rangers in a carriage and is remarkably not killed on site by Jack Hayes and company despite records of agitation. A Ford acted as diplomat to appeal to Texan honor to not murder Santa Ana.

Chapter 8: Crossing the River

“Men of the Frontier, Come Then and Help Us”

05:22:15

05:32:00 Texas Rangers lack funding yet are charged with fighting Native Americans. Texas Ranger Callahan murders Mexicans and captures slaves to sell.

05:34:10: 1804 federal law forbade slave importation to US. Texas plantation owners circumvented via Nicaragua. William Walker of Nashville invades Nicaragua in 1855 with Texas Rangers (Baltakatei: See Filibuster War, 1855/1856) but ultimately fails; Walker is executed by firing squad. (Baltakatei: In 1857 after returning to the region in Honduras.).

Texas slaves escape to Mexico.

05:41:50: Rangers Ford and Captain Callahan belonged to a group called the Knights of the Golden Circle who dreamed of invading Mexico and establishing an independent slave-holding nation with a capital in Havana, Cuba.

Accounts of Rangers capturing, injuring, and selling runaway slaves.

Captain Callahan and Texas Rangers form a raiding party to capture runaway slaves who had fled to Mexico (Baltakatei note: See Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, Mexico (pluscode: 275F+PM Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, Mexico)[2]). Callahan violates orders by commander of Fort Duncan to not invade Mexico and invades Mexico. Callahan's Rangers are repelled by locals. Callahan retreats to Piedras Negras, the Mexican town on the opposite side of the Rio Grande from Fort Duncan. The rangers set Piedras Negras ablaze in order to distract locals so the Rangers could make their escape.

Callahan's return to Mexico and deeds killing Mexicans and Native Americans is lauded by Texans. Callahan rides to confront a critic and is shot dead approaching the critic's home. The critic's family is murdered by Callahan's friends and family who ride out as soon as they learned of Callahan's death.

A summary of history rewriting is given in which Texas Ranger Captain Callahan's international slave raid is excused with bigotry then omitted from historical records.

Chapter 9: Heathen Land

“The Crack of Texas Rifles”

06:09:30

Ford conspires with rebel Mexicans wishing independence from central Mexico in order to secure slaves from northern Mexico.

06:19:45: Ford invokes Bible as justifying slavery, saying Jesus never spoke against it.

06:20:07: Ford becomes member of a secretive group called the Order of the Lone Star of the West.

06:25:45: Ford forms a group of Rangers to fight Comanches.

A description of various atrocities against civilians committed by former Texas Rangers.

06:30:57: The Battle of Antelope Hills[3]

06:31:59: Murder (?)

06:46:40: A description of tejano vigilante named Juan Nepomuceno Cortina who became famous for fighting against injustices committed by white Texans abusing Mexicans of Texas after the Mexican-American War.

06:47:50: An event involving Cortina on 1859-07-13 at Market Plaza in Brownsville, Texas. Cortina, then 35 years old, confronts City Marshal Robert Shears, a former Ranger known for violently handling Mexican and Tejano suspects, for beating an old vaquero named Tomás Cabrera who worked on the ranch of Corrina's mother. Shears fired at Cortina; Cortina shot back and rescued Tomás.

On 1859-09-28, Cortina and friends release Brownsville prisoners and kill a prison guard. After some fighting, they killed 5. Later, Cortina becomes a Robin Hood figure of Mexicans and Tejanos, known for fighting only Texans who stole land. Population of Brownsville was about 3000 and a majority were of Mexican heritage.

06:59:50 In mid 1859-11, Approximately 100 Rangers led by Captain William Tobin (?) (a San Antonio businessman) approach Brownsville to confront Cortina.

Rangers disappoint locals for becoming drunk after arriving. Some rangers are captured and killed. Rangers burn down nearby Santa Rita in retaliation.

07:02:10: In response to requests by Texas officials, the US Federal government sends federal troops under Major Samuel Peter Heintzelman, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican-American war to assist Brownsville; the troops arrive in early 1859-12. Heinselman is appalled, finding the racist Rangers raiding and murdering Mexicans indiscriminately instead of scouting the area.

Captain John “Rip” Ford arrives with about a dozen more experienced Rangers to serve as reinforcements.

07:12:40: Heintzelman and Ford lead forces to defeat Cortina during the Battle of Rio Grande City on 1859-12-28 at a settlement about 100 miles north of Brownsville called Rio Grande City.

Chapter 10: On the Bleeding Frontier

Two Battles and the Making of a Political Career

07:13:30

Rangers continue fighting Native Americans.

Commanche attack white settlements. Rangers are sent to fight them.

07:16:45: 1860-11-26: Commanche raiders attack farm of James Landman 5 miles north of Jacksborough (?). Jane Masterson (12 years old) (?) and Catherine Masterson (15 years old). Commanches proceed to raid and murder other white colonists.

A scalped pregnant survivor woman named Marsha recounts the attacks.
23 people were killed over two days.

07:22:50: The story of Ranger Jim Tackett (?) who suffered a head wound from a metal arrowhead in 1860.

07:24:50: In 1860, Sam Houston (after losing his Senate seat), authorized the creation of a Ranger force to be led by Middleton Tate Johnson ([4] to kill Native Americans raiding settlements. These Rangers became headquartered at Fort Belknap.

07:29:40: In 1860-12, Ranger Ross left Fort Belknap with 40 rangers, 20 Army soldiers, and 90 volunteers northwest to fight native Americans in response to the recent murder of white settlers. (e.g. on 1860-11-26) Ross finds a Commanche camp on Mule (?) Creek which empties into the Peas (?) River. They camp stealthily nearby without campfires. The next day they launch a surpris attack. A white woman on horseback raised in the tribe and holding a child surrenders during the battle by shouting "Americano!". Ross's forces identify the woman as a prisoner, but she was a captured blue-eyed white colonist's child who was adopted into the Native American society.

07:33:00: A description of the life of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white colonist child abducted when she was 9-years-old.

Parker and her child would die some years later. Parker refused to stop speaking her native language and repeatedly attempted to escape.
Ross would use the public attention of the novelty of freeing Parker, a "white squaw", to become a celebrity and eventually become a governor of Texas. Various streets, parks, and other municipal structures were named after him, including a State university. Ross and others preached a rhetoric that inflated the impact of the Battle of Peas (?) River beyond plausibility; Ross claimed to have killed a notable Indian chief which the chief's son later asserted was false; Ross's propaganda claimed the battle halted Commanche attacks when attacks continued for more than a decade.

07:43:48: A description of the Battle of Dove Creek which did not achieve notoriety as the Battle of Peas (?) River did. A white force led by a Tatten (?) was assigned border protection during the United States Civil War; the force was known by several names, including the “State Troops”. Native attacks increased as most Texas military forces (part of the Southern States, were assigned to the war against the Northern States.

Tatten scouts discovered a path of hundreds of apparently Native travelers. Tatten and his men followed; they found an abandoned camp and looted a Native grave. Tatten caught up with the travelers at Dove Creek and planned a stealthy morning attack. Arrival of reinforcements brought Tatten's forces to number about 380. Tatten did not collect intelligence identifying the tribe. Tatten underestimated the Native military strength since later accounts say the Natives had hidden their forces.

07:51:25: The Natives were a group of peaceful Kikapus migrating 1000 miles from their Kansas reservation to a settlement in Mexico; the group was a caravan that consisted of not just warriors but women, old people, children, and livestock. 07:51:32: In early 1865-01, upon reaching Dove Creek, about 50 of the Kikapu had already asked local white settler Richard F. Tankersly (?) for permission to resupply and pass through and had helped find lost horses.

07:52:28: At some point, a Kikapu named Aski (?) approached Tatten's militia in order to communicate the Kikapus came in peace. The man was immediately executed, according to Kikapu Chief Nokowat (?) at a later date.

07:43:04: On 1865-01-08, Tatten's militia charged across Dove Creek toward the Natives. The creek was “knee to waist deep”. Kikapu warriors, armed with Enfield rifles, had hidden themselves in river bank vegetation. Some militia officers are killed.

Ranger accounts criticizing Tatten and other Confederate commanders of the battle.
Various accounts by a member of the miltia named Ferguson.

07:55:30: At about 3pm on the same day of 1865-01-08, the militia learns the identity of the Natives as Kikapu's following the capture of a young Native boy. The remaining militia leadership decides to retreat.

07:56:30: The milita retreats to a hill for a last stand. By nightfall, the Kikapu end their surrounding manuever. Militia losses are tallied to 26 dead, 23 wounded.

07:57:50: Captain Faucet filed a report to his commander Lieutenant Colonel Barry (?) on the battle three weeks after the battle.

08:00:08: Kikapu's of Mexico start a series of raids for the next 20 years following the attack at Dove Creek.

08:01:00: I. D. Ferguson goes on to become a lawyer and judge.

Part 2: Dark Ages (1871—1930)

08:04:20

Chapter 11: The Stange Career of Leander McNelly

A Coney Island Fabulist Tells the Tale

08:04:29

Famous Texas Ranger Leander McNelly gains fame for his brutal executions thanks for propaganda of a Ranger friend and writer.

08:08:10: A short biography of Leander McNelly. His family moved to Texas from West Virginia. McNelly fought for the Confederate Army until the Confederacy lost the US Civil War. McNelly returned to Texas to hunt confederate deserters. McNelly joined the “Reconstruction Era” Texas State Police (a partially black disbanded in 1873 when Confederate Democrats gained power in the Texas legislature).

08:09:30: In 1870, the Texas Legislature revives the Texas Rangers by authorizing the creation of Ranger groups numbering 25 to 75 men for each county containing criminal “infeststions”.

08:10:52: In 1864, the Texas Legislature authorized formation of the Frontier Batalion. 6 ranger companies of 75 each. Privates got 40 USD per month. Horse and 6-shooter require but not provided.

08:22:15: Amid white Texan vigilantes murdering Tejanos and looting their farms, McNelly sides with the Tejanos, saying Tejano farm owners are very unlikely to be criminals. McNelly orders vigilantes to disband but does not arrest white Texans.

08:35:00: An account of McNelly invading México to recover cattle for a wealthy Texan named King.

Nelly wished to invade Mexico but was held back by tuberculosis.

08:42:50: McNelly died on 1877-09-04 at age 33.

08:44:00: Background of Napoleon Augustus Jennings, born in 1866. Educated in New England. Sought fortune at age 19 on the frontier in Texas.

Chapter 12: Salt War

“All Was Silent as Death”

08:59:30

An account of the Salt War. A man named Howard claimed salt flats traditionally used by locals in order to charge fees. A local leader opposed Howard. Howard murdered the leader. Local trejanos organized a force to capture and execute Howard due to lack of faith in the local justice system. Howard called upon Texas Rangers to protect him.

The Rangers barricaded themselves and Howard on a barracks while tejano insurgents besieged them. The besieged sent messages requesting assistance from the US Army which was eventually received.
Some reinforcements arrived but did not choose to engage the more than 100 armed insurgents.
After over a week of siege, Howard agreed to give himself up. Howard and a local merchant acting as translator and negotiator attempting to arrange a monetary ransom for Howard were publicly executed by the insurgents. Insurgent leaders called off a wholesale massacre of the Rangers, allowing them to flee without their weapons.
After the insurgents dispersed, Texas Rangers indiscriminately murdered, raped, and looted various tejano communities.
The US Army performed an investigation and found the Texas Rangers were at fault for a large number of atrocities against civilians. Recommendations to arrest murderers among the Rangers went unheeded by local law enforcement.
The salt flat fees that triggered the Salt War remained.
Chapter 13: The Fading Frontier

Buffalo Soldiers, Gunslingers, and the Last Indian Fight

09:31:22

1870s

Railroad tracks are laid across Texas. 1870/1880 1.6 million population. Rangers continue to attack Indians and others identified as criminals. Plantations suffer economically due to the ending of slavery. White gangs hunt blacks. A study found 1524 white attacks against black; 43 blacks against whites.

09:36:08: On a Sunday in 1875-02: Armed men in Houston slaughtered black churchgoers in Friedman's town (?). Victims were disemboweled.

09:36:35: In the early spring of 1878, the Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion also had encounters. An Ida Miller wrote a Fritz Tegener (A Travis County justice). Ida claimed her husband and a young daughter were killed by 5 Texas Rangers. The incident took place 3 months ago at Fort McAbbot (?), Menard County (?) (150 miles northwest of Austin, Texas).

Background information not directly related to the incident but describing Menard County as a place of violent conflict between black US soldiers (specifically, the Buffalo soldiers, black scouts) and white locals / Rangers is given.

09:38:41: A continuation of Ida Miller's account of the incident from 1877-12-31 (New Years Eve).

The 5 Rangers arrived at Fort McAbbot (?). A black cook of their group wished to join a dance event in the local town. The group went to the event armed as usual.
The black cook was ejected from the party and lost possession of a firearm borrowed from a Ranger in his group. The Rangers confronted the owner of the premise of the house for the event, the retired Buffalo Soldier husband of Ida Miller. In the racially charged confrontation the firearm was nearly peacefully handed over but the Rangers opened fire and a gunfight ensued. Miller's husband was shot and killed as was her 4-year-old daughter. Ida Miller survived despite suffering a gun shot wound.
Miller wrote to the Travis County justice, Fritz Tegener (?), recounting the incident and how the Rangers caused her to be physically beaten and her possessions and ownership of her house to be lost in order to intimidate her from bringing the Rangers to justice. The Rangers were not prosecuted.

09:43:34: An account of the Texas Ranger legendary capture of John Wesley Hardin.

Hardin murders various people. After killing a black police officer, Hardin is pursued by the Rangers who capture him alive.

09:49:30: An account of the criminal Sam Bass (?).

09:53:00: Ranger George W. Baylor is sent to oversee the region affected by unrested from the Salt War.

09:58:30: 1874: The US Army fights Commanches in the Red River War.

09:59:04: Apaches put into an Arizona reservation.

09:59:17: A summary of the life of Victorio, an Apache chief who fought in several battles since the 1850s.

10:00:07: 1800 summer: Baylor pursues Victorio. An account of the Battle of Tres Castillos in which Victorio is killed.

10:04:20: 1881-01: Baylor catches up with the remnants of Victorioʼs group.

10:07:29: An account by Baylor in which he regrets lacking more powerful weapons to kill the Apaches more quickly so as to lessen the gruesomeness surrounding an otherwise scenic breakfast on the Apacheʼs venison following the battle.

10:08:40: 1874: Barbed wire is patented in the US. Texas ranchers initially doubt ffficacy at controlling livestock movement.

10:08:54: 1876: Salesman John Warne Gates successfully promoted the sale of barbed wire with a famous live demonstration in San Antonio involving provoking cattle to charge at a barbed wire fence. The subsequent popularity of barbed wire quickly ended traditional Texas open range grazing practices.

10:11:26: The origin of the largest Texas ranch, the XIT Ranch.

10:11:50: Local stockmen protest against monied international investor ranchers.

10:13:23: 1883: Texas protests against/for fence cutting. Violent intimidation and death threats are issued against land owners and businesses that erect fences.

10:15:04: Private eyes of the Pinkerton Agency, hired by fence owners to investigate fence cutters, fail to identify fence cutters due to their communities being tight-knit and difficult to infiltrate.

10:16:25: “Knights of the Nippers”.

10:17:40: Investigator Ben Warren is shot and killed in his hotel room (?) after collecting intel on fence cutters.

10:19:25: Texas Ranger Atten infiltrates a Brown County community as a manual laborer in order to identify fence cutters. When Atten learns of a fence cutting operation, Atten calls the Texas Rangers who arrive and murder the fence cutters on-site; this was known contemporaneously as a “Ranger conviction”.

10:19:54: Atten moves from Brown County to Navarro County. Atten grows bored with infiltrating the community as a cotton picker. Atten decides to booby trap fences with explosives.

10:21:50: Atten ordered to remove traps by Texas governor who strongly disapproves Attenʼs tactics. ATten detonates his traps early instead of defusing them. Explosions terrorize locals into thinking that more fences are booby trapped.

10:23:34: 1901: The Frontier Battalion is disbanded, replaced with the Ranger Force.

10:23:40: The original law that created the Frontier Battalion had not given privates authority to arrest; decades of Ranger activity had been illegal.

Chapter 14: Captain Bill to the Rescue

“I Think Iʼm a Dead Rabbit”

10:24:39

10:25:07: 1906-08: Bill travels by train to Brownsville, Texas, to fight black US soldiers blamed for shooting of white man.

10:25:30: Full name of Bill: William J McDonald.

10:26:50: 167 black soldiers of the US Armyʼs 25th infantry division are stationed in Brownsville, Texas.

10:27:00: 1906-08-13: Date of shooting of police officer and several civilians in Brownsville, Texas. Racist locals suspect black soldiers stationed nearby.

10:28:40: A summary of Billʼs life history starting with his birth in 1852 in Mississippi to a father who fought and died for the Confederacy.

10:29:05: Bill helps lynch black suspects jailed for murder case; fires at US military that arrive to pacify area; is acquitted of treason.

10:32:00: 1893: Bill shoots a West Texas sheriff in the back; is injured but recovers.

Black soldiers stationed at Brownsville, Texas are mistreated by local white settlers.

10:34:40: 1906-08-13: Around midnight, about a dozen figures dressed as soldiers shoot stores, houses, and a hotel.

10:35:32: Ranger Captain William “Bill” J. McDonald and four other Texas Rangers confront local officials of Brownsville and military leaders of Fort Brown over the 1906-08-13 shooting. Major Charles Penrose insisted that black soldiers had been confined to barracks. Brigadier General William S. McCaskey agreed, warning the US War Department of extremely racist citizens of Brownsville.

McDonald is unable to convince local authorities to prosecute any black soldiers.
McDonald is an unapologetic racist.

10:40:20: McDonald appealed to Governor Samuel W. Lanham and US senator Joseph W. Bailey of Texas; McDonald failed to get action taken against the soldiers.

10:43:00: McDonald appeals to President Theodore Roosevelt for whom he served as a bodyguard and went on hunting trips with. 1906-11: Roosevelt ordered that all 167 men be discharged without honor. None stood trial.

10:44:25: McDonaldʼs reputation suffers.

10:46:50: 1909: Albert Bigelow Paine publishes Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger, a 396-page biography with assistant of Edward M. House, a wealthy politically-connected Texan. The biography is propaganda promoting McDonald.
10:50:36: 1972: 66 years later, the Pentagon reïnvestigated the case and awarded all the black soldiers honorable discharges.

10:51:23: The quote by Major Augustus Blocksom used to promote McDonald in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame lacks context. The partial quote says Captain Bill was “so brave he would charge hell with a bucket of water.”. However, that phrase is preceded by: “It is possible McDonald might have fought the entire battalion with his four or five rangers were their obedience as blind as his obstinancy.”.

Chapter 15: The Politics of Massacre

“A Lousy, Rotten, Goulish Business”

10:52:38

10:53:10:

An account of Jim Wells Jr. of finding many dead bodies in 1915 or 1916 near a railraod depot known as Ebenezer. Samson suggests Texas Rangers were the most likely suspects due to their propensity for shooting or lynching Mexicans and Tejanos without involving the US justice system. Samson claims Rangers worked to intimidate and oust land-owning Tejanos in order to continue their tradition of making land safe and exclusively available for colonization by wealthy white men.
1910: The Mexican government becomes unstable when President Francisco madero was assassinated, allowing General Victoriano Huerta to seize power and become a dictator. Huerta would later be driven out of power by 1914 by US-backed rebels led by Venustiano Carranza, governor of Coahuila.
10:58:23: Texas Rangers are underfunded. Their membership decreases at one point to 13 men.
10:58:45: 1910: Rangers placed under direct control of the governor.
11:00:45: The Plan of San Diego.
Chapter 16: Booger Town

“Iʼm Frank Hamer”

Chapter 17: One Riot

The Rangers Make a Phone Call

Part 3: The Professionals (1931— )

Chapter 18: The Singing Ranger

A Badge for the Pea Curer'

Chapter 19: “What God Has Made”

Upholding the Will of the Mob

Chapter 20: “Billie Sol Who?”

The Captain and the Con Man

Chapter 21: The Melon Harvest

“This Damn Era We Live in Now”

Chapter 22: Celebrity

The Killer Drives to Japan

Chapter 23: Todayʼs Ranger

Bible on the Dashboard, Bushmaster in the Back

History

Baltakatei history

  • 2023-06-16: I began listening to this audiobook when going onna walk to take a photograph of a cemetery near Malaika's parents new home in Spokane, WA. I felt it appropriate to listen to since I felt the people of Spokane traced their roots to and deeply respected white colonists such as those who wished to eradicate the native inhabitants of land of Texas. The book seems to be an academic approach that doesn't spare the honor of the Texan explorers, soldiers, militiamen, and politicians who worked to eventually dislocate Native Americans to Oklahoma.
  • 2023-07-10: I purchased a paperback copy of Cult of Glory from a Barnes & Noble near Winhill. It is nice to confirm spellings from the audiobook version.

Errata

Cite this

  • General citation[7]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ “Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs & Selected Letters (LOA #50)”. ISBN 9781598531190. OCLC: 904441354. Page 918
  2. ↑ Diakite, Parker. (2021-06-22). “Nacimiento De Los Negros: The Afro-Mexican Town That Celebrates Juneteenth”. travelnoire.com. Accessed 2023-07-12. Archived on 2023-05-30.
  3. ↑ Baltakatei: 2023-09-16: a.k.a. the Battle of Little Robe Creek.
  4. ↑ https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/johnson-middleton-tate
  5. ↑ Davies, Dave. (2020-06-08). “'Cult Of Glory' Reveals The Dark History Of The Texas Rangers”. npr.org. Accessed 2023-07-01.
  6. ↑ Brinkley, Douglas. (2020-06-09). “The True Story of the Texas Rangers”. New York Times. Accessed 2023-07-12. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.
  7. ↑ Doug J. Swanson. (2020). “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers”. Penguin Random House. Accessed 2023-07. OCLC: 1127065109. ISBN: 978-1101979877.
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