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019 - Some Undesirable Recruits · Six Years with the Texas Rangers, 1875 to 1881

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  Speaker 1: Chapter number sixteen of Six Years with the Texas Rangers
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  Speaker 1: eighteen seventy five to eighteen eighty one. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Six Years with the Texas Rangers eighteen seventy five to
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  Speaker 1: eighteen eighty one by James B. Gillette some undesirable recruits.
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  Speaker 1: In the early fall of eighteen eighty two, well mounted
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  Speaker 1: and well armed men appeared at the Ranger camp at
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  Speaker 1: Isletta and applied to Captain Baylor for enlistment in his company.
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  Speaker 1: After questioning the applicants at some length, the Captain accepted
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  Speaker 1: them and swore them into service. One gave his name
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  Speaker 1: as John Red Holcombe and the other as James Stallings.
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  Speaker 1: Unknown to us, both these men were outlaws and joined
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  Speaker 1: the Rangers solely to learn of their strength and their
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  Speaker 1: methods of operations. Holcombe was a San Simon Valley, Arizona
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  Speaker 1: rustler and was living under an assumed name Stallings, though
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  Speaker 1: he went by his true name. Had shot a man
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  Speaker 1: in Hamilton County, Texas, and was under indictment for assault
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  Speaker 1: to kill These two recruits came into the service just
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  Speaker 1: before we started on our fall campaign into Mexico after
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  Speaker 1: Old Victorio and were with us on that long scout.
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  Speaker 1: Although one was from Texas and the other from Arizona,
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  Speaker 1: the two chomped together and were evidently in each other's confidence.
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  Speaker 1: Stallings had not been long in the company before he
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  Speaker 1: showed himself a troublemaker. As orderly sergeant, it was my
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  Speaker 1: duty to keep a roster of the company. Beginning at
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  Speaker 1: the top of the list and reading off the names
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  Speaker 1: in rotation, I called out each morning the guard for
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  Speaker 1: the day. We had in the company a Mexican, Juan Garcia,
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  Speaker 1: who had always lived in the Rio Grande country, and
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  Speaker 1: Captain Baylor had enlisted him as a ranger that he
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  Speaker 1: might use him as a guide for Garcia was familiar
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  Speaker 1: with much of the country over which we were called
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  Speaker 1: upon to scout. It so happened that Jim Stallings and
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  Speaker 1: Garcia were detailed on the same guard one day. This
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  Speaker 1: greatly offended Stallings, and he declared to some of the
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  Speaker 1: boys that I had detailed him on guard with a
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  Speaker 1: Mexican just to humiliate him, and he was going to
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  Speaker 1: give me a damn good whipping. The boys advised him
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  Speaker 1: he had better not attempted. I could see that Stallings
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  Speaker 1: was sullen, but it was not until months afterward that
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  Speaker 1: I learned the cause. After our return from our months
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  Speaker 1: scout in Mexico, Captain Baylor received a new fugitive list
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  Speaker 1: from the adjunct General, and in looking over its pages,
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  Speaker 1: my eyes fell on the list of fugitives from Howmton County, Texas.
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  Speaker 1: Almost the first name thereon was that of James Stallings,
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  Speaker 1: with his age and description. I notified Captain Baylor that
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  Speaker 1: Stallings was a fugitive from justice. Baylor asked me what
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  Speaker 1: Stallings had been indicted for, and I replied, for assault
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  Speaker 1: to kill. Well, maybe the darned fellow needed killing, replied
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  Speaker 1: the Captain, Stallings looks like a good ranger and I
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  Speaker 1: need him. Not many days after, I heard this loud
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  Speaker 1: cursing in our quarters and went to investigate. I found
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  Speaker 1: Stallings with a cocked pistol in his hand, standing over
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  Speaker 1: the bed of a ranger named Tom Landers, cursing him out.
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  Speaker 1: I could see Stallings had been drinking, and finally persuaded
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  Speaker 1: him to put up his pistol and go to bed.
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  Speaker 1: The next morning, I informed Captain Baylor of the incident
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  Speaker 1: and suggested that if we did not do something with Stallings,
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  Speaker 1: he would probably kill someone. The Captain did not seem
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  Speaker 1: inclined to take that view. In fact, I rather believe
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  Speaker 1: Captain Baylor liked a man that was somewhat on the prod,
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  Speaker 1: as the cowboys are wont to say of a fellow
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  Speaker 1: or a cow that wants to fight. John Holcombe soon
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  Speaker 1: found out as much about the Rangers as he desired, and,
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  Speaker 1: fearing he might be discovered, asked Captain Baylor for a discharge.
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  Speaker 1: After obtaining it, he took up his abode in El Paso.
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  Speaker 1: Not long afterwards. One morning, at breakfast, while the twenty
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  Speaker 1: Rangers were seated at one long dining table, Jim Stallings
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  Speaker 1: had a dispute with John Thomas, who was seated on
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  Speaker 1: the opposite side of the table, and quick as a flash,
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  Speaker 1: struck Thomas in the face with a tin cup of
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  Speaker 1: boiling coffee. Both men rose to their feet and pulled
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  Speaker 1: their pistols, but before they could stage a shooting match
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  Speaker 1: in the place, the boys on either side grabbed them.
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  Speaker 1: I at once went to Captain Baylor and told him
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  Speaker 1: that something had to be done. He seemed to be
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  Speaker 1: thir roused now and said, Sergeant, you arrest Stallings, disarm
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  Speaker 1: and shackle him. I'll send him back where he belongs.
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  Speaker 1: I carried out the order promptly, and Captain Baylor at
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  Speaker 1: once wrote to the Sheriff of Hamilton County to come
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  Speaker 1: for the prisoner. Hamilton County is seven hundred miles by
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  Speaker 1: stage from El Paso, and it took a week to
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  Speaker 1: get a letter through. There was no jail at Islada
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  Speaker 1: at that time, so we were compelled to hold this
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  Speaker 1: dangerous man in our camp. Stallings was shrewd and a
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  Speaker 1: keen judge of human nature. We would sometimes remove the
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  Speaker 1: shackles from him that he might get a little exercise. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: it came the turn of a ranger named Potter to
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  Speaker 1: guard the prisoner. Potter had drifted into the country from
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  Speaker 1: somewhere up north, and Captain Baylor had enlisted him. He
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  Speaker 1: knew very little about riding and much less about handling firearms.
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  Speaker 1: Stallings asked Potter to go with him out into the
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  Speaker 1: This enclosure was built of adobe and about five feet high.
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  Speaker 1: It was nearly dark, and the prisoner walked leisurely up
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  Speaker 1: to the fence, with Potter following close behind with Winchester
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  Speaker 1: in hand. All of a sudden, Stallings turned a handspring
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  Speaker 1: over the fence and hit the ground on the other side.
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  Speaker 1: In a run. Potter began firing at the fugitive, which
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  Speaker 1: brought out all the boys in the camp. Stallings had
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  Speaker 1: only about one hundred yards to run to reach the
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  Speaker 1: Rio Grande, and before anything could be done, he was
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  Speaker 1: safe in Mexico. He yelled at goodbye to the boys
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  Speaker 1: as he struck the bank on the opposite side of
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  Speaker 1: the river. Captain Baylor was furious over the prisoner's escape
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  Speaker 1: and promptly fired Potter from the service and reprimanded me
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  Speaker 1: for not keeping Stalling shackled all the time. Though we
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  Speaker 1: had lost the man, we had his horse, saddle, bridle
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  Speaker 1: and Armsllllings at once went to Warez and John Holcombe
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  Speaker 1: met him there. The fugity gave his pile an order
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  Speaker 1: on Captain Baylor for his horse, saddle and pistol, and
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  Speaker 1: Holcombe had the gall to come to Isletta and present
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  Speaker 1: this order. He reached our camp at noon while the
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  Speaker 1: horses were all in the corral. At the moment of
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  Speaker 1: his arrival, I happened to be at Captain Baylor's home.
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  Speaker 1: Private George Lloyd stepped over to the Captain's and said
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  Speaker 1: to me, Sergeant John Holcombe is over in camp with
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  Speaker 1: an order from Jim Stallings for his horse and outfit Gellette.
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  Speaker 1: You go and arrest Holcombe and put him in irons,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll see if I can find where he is wanted,
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  Speaker 1: ordered Captain Baylor, who heard what Lloyd said. Holcombe, seeing
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  Speaker 1: Lloyd go into Captain Baylor's, got suspicious, jumped on his
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  Speaker 1: horse and left for a passo in a gallop. I
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  Speaker 1: detailed three men to accompany me to capture Holcombe, but
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  Speaker 1: by the time we saddled our horses and armed ourselves,
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  Speaker 1: the fugitive was out of sight. We hit the road running,
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  Speaker 1: and after traveling two or three miles and acquiring of
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  Speaker 1: people we met in the road, I became convinced that
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  Speaker 1: Holcombe had quit the road soon after leaving our camp
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  Speaker 1: and was striking from Mexico. I turned back in the
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  Speaker 1: direction of camp and followed the bank of the river.
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  Speaker 1: We had probably traveled a mile on our way home
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  Speaker 1: when we discovered Holcombe coming up the river towards us.
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  Speaker 1: He was about four hundred yards away and discovered us
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  Speaker 1: about the same time. Turning his horse quickly, he made
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  Speaker 1: a dash for the river, where he struck at the
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  Speaker 1: bank was ten feet high, but he never hesitated, and
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  Speaker 1: both man and horse went head first into the Rio Grande.
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  Speaker 1: The three men I had with me outran me, and
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  Speaker 1: when they reached a point where the fugitive had entered
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  Speaker 1: the water, they saw him swimming rapidly to the Mexican
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  Speaker 1: side and began firing at him. I ran up and
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  Speaker 1: ordered them to cease, telling them not to kill Holcombe
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  Speaker 1: as he was in swimming water and helpless. Just at
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  Speaker 1: this moment, the swimmer struck shallow water, and I ordered
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  Speaker 1: him to come back or I would shoot him. I'll
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  Speaker 1: come if you won't let the boys kill me. He
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  Speaker 1: called back. I told him to hit swimming water quickly,
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  Speaker 1: which he did and swam back to the American side.
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  Speaker 1: He was in his shirt sleeves and with his hat gone.
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  Speaker 1: His horse, meantime, had swam back to our side of
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  Speaker 1: the river. We all mounted and started back to camp,
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  Speaker 1: two of the rangers riding in front with Holcombe. I
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  Speaker 1: had not searched the prisoner because he was in his
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  Speaker 1: shirt sleeves. As we rode along, Holcombe reached into his
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  Speaker 1: shirt bosom and pulled out an old forty five pistol
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  Speaker 1: and handed it to one of the boys, saying, don't
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  Speaker 1: tell the sergeant I had this. The rangers at camp
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  Speaker 1: gave the prisoner some dry clothes and dinner, then put
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  Speaker 1: him in chains and underguard. Captain Baylor went on to
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  Speaker 1: El Paso, crossed the river to Warez and had Stallings arrested.
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  Speaker 1: In two days, we had him back in camp and
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  Speaker 1: chain to Holcombe. The captain then wrote to Bell County, Texas,
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  Speaker 1: as he had heard John Holcombe was wanted there for murder.
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  Speaker 1: Holcombe had a good horse, and he gave it to
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  Speaker 1: a lawyer in El Paso to get him out of
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  Speaker 1: his trouble. Of course, we had no warrant for Holcombe's arrest,
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  Speaker 1: and Judge Blacker ordered our prisoner brought before him. The
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  Speaker 1: county attorney made every effort to have Holcombe held, while
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  Speaker 1: his lawyer tried his best to have the suspect released.
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  Speaker 1: The judge finally said he would hold Holcombe for one week,
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  Speaker 1: and unless the officers found some evidence against him during
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  Speaker 1: the time, he would order the prisoner freed. It was
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  Speaker 1: nearly dark before we left Alpasso. On our return to
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  Speaker 1: isleda twelve miles distance. Holcombe had, in some manner, got
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  Speaker 1: in two or three drinks of whiskey and was filling
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  Speaker 1: the liquor. I had one ranger with me leading the
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  Speaker 1: prisoner's horse. The road back to camp followed the river
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  Speaker 1: rather closely, and the country was very brushy all the way.
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  Speaker 1: As soon as we had gotten out of El Paso,
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  Speaker 1: Holcombe sat sideways on his horse, holding the pommel of
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  Speaker 1: his saddle with one hand and the candle with the other,
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  Speaker 1: all the while facing toward Mexico. I ordered him to
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  Speaker 1: sit straight on his saddle, but he refused. We were
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  Speaker 1: riding in a gallop, and I believe he intended to
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  Speaker 1: jump from the horse and try to escape in the brush.
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  Speaker 1: I drew my pistol and hid it behind my leg.
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  Speaker 1: Although Holcombe had the cape of his overcoat thrown over
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  Speaker 1: his head. He discovered I had a pistol in my
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  Speaker 1: hand and began a tirade of abuse, declaring I had
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  Speaker 1: a cocked gun in my hand and was aching for
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  Speaker 1: a chance to kill him. I told him I believed
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  Speaker 1: from his actions he was watching for a chance to
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  Speaker 1: quit his horse and escape, and that I was prepared
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  Speaker 1: to prevent such a move. We reached camp safely and
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  Speaker 1: chained Holcombe to Stallings. These boys, although prisoners, were full
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  Speaker 1: of life and laughed and talked all the time. Holkumb
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  Speaker 1: played the violin quite well. We held the two suspects
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  Speaker 1: several days, and finally one night one of the rangers
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  Speaker 1: came to my room and said, Sergeant, I believe there
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  Speaker 1: was something wrong with those prisoners. They are hollowing, singing
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  Speaker 1: and playing the fiddle. I was busy on my monthly
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  Speaker 1: reports and told him to keep a sharp lookout. Before
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  Speaker 1: I retired, I would come and examine the prisoners. On examination,
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  Speaker 1: I found that while Holcumb played the violin, Stallings had
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  Speaker 1: sewn their shackles loose. They laughed when I discovered this,
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  Speaker 1: and said that when the boys had all gone to bed,
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  Speaker 1: they intended to throw the pack saddle which they used
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  Speaker 1: for seat, on the guards head and escape. We could
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  Speaker 1: get no evidence against John Holcombe, and the judge ordered
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  Speaker 1: his release. While a prisoner, Holcomb swore vengeance against myself
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  Speaker 1: and Prosecutor Neil. Mister Neil heard of this threat, met
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  Speaker 1: Holcombe on the streets of El Paso. Afterward, and jerking
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  Speaker 1: a small darringer pistol from his pocket, shot Holcomb in
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  Speaker 1: the belly. Holcomb fell and begged for his life. He
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  Speaker 1: was not badly hurt, and as soon as he was
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  Speaker 1: well he quit. Al Passo went to Dimming, New Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: where he stole a bunch of cattle. He drove the
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  Speaker 1: stolen herd to the mining camp of Lake Valley and
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  Speaker 1: there sold them. While he was in a saloon drinking
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  Speaker 1: and playing his fiddle, the owner of the cattle appeared
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  Speaker 1: with a shotgun and filled the thief full of buckshot.
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  Speaker 1: As he fell, Hocombe was heard to exclaim, oh, boys,
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  Speaker 1: they have got me at last. Jim Stallings was sent
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  Speaker 1: to Fort Davis and placed in jail there, from which
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  Speaker 1: he and half a dozen of the criminals made their escape.
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  Speaker 1: A man named John Scott came to Captain Baylor, told
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  Speaker 1: a hard luck story, and asked to be taken into
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  Speaker 1: the service. Captain Baylor enlisted the applicant and fitted him
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  Speaker 1: out with horse saddle bridle, and armed him with gun
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  Speaker 1: and pistol, himself standing good for the entire equipment. Scott
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  Speaker 1: had not been in the service two months before he deserted.
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  Speaker 1: I was ordered to take two men follow him and
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  Speaker 1: bring him back. I overtook Scott up in the Canutillo
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  Speaker 1: near the line of New Mexico, and before I even
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  Speaker 1: ordered him to halt, he jumped down, sought refuge behind
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  Speaker 1: his horse, and opened fire on us with his winchester.
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  Speaker 1: We returned the fire and killed his horse. He then
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  Speaker 1: threw down his gun and surrendered. We found the deserter
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  Speaker 1: had stopped in El Paso and gotten a bottle of whiskey.
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  Speaker 1: He was rather drunk when overtaken, Otherwise he probably would
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  Speaker 1: not have made fight against three rangers. Captain Baylor took
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  Speaker 1: Scott's saddle gun and six shooter away from him and
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  Speaker 1: kicked him out of camp, but was compelled to pay
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  Speaker 1: seventy five dollars for the horse that was killed. Another man, Chipman,
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  Speaker 1: deserted our company and stole a bunch of horses from
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  Speaker 1: some Mexicans down at SoCoRo. The Mexicans followed the trail
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  Speaker 1: out in the direction of Hueco Tanks, where it turned
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  Speaker 1: west and crossed a high range of mountains west of
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  Speaker 1: El Paso. The pursuers overtook Chipman with the stolen horses,
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  Speaker 1: just on the line of New Mexico. The thief put
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  Speaker 1: up a fierce fight and killed two Mexicans, but was
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  Speaker 1: himself killed. Captain Baylor had a scout following the deserter,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: but the Mexicans got to him first and had to
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  Speaker 1: fight before our men arrived. Heiver. The ranger boys buried
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  Speaker 1: the body of Chipman where it fell. This chap had
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  Speaker 1: made a very good ranger, and we all felt shocked
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  Speaker 1: when we learned he had stolen seven ponies and tried
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  Speaker 1: to get away with them single handed. Yet another San
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  Speaker 1: Simon Valley rustler, Jack Bond, enlisted in the company. A
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  Speaker 1: band of rustlers and Kathie's were operating up in the Canutillo,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen miles above El Paso about the time he joined
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  Speaker 1: the command. I did my best to break up this
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: band and made scout after scout up the river, but
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  Speaker 1: without success. Finally Captain Baylor learned that Bond and another ranger,
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  Speaker 1: Lynn Peterson, were keeping the thieves posted as to the
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  Speaker 1: ranger's movements. The Captain fired these two men out of
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  Speaker 1: the company, and within ten days I had captured Frank Stevenson,
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  Speaker 1: the leader of the Canutillo gang and broke up the
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  Speaker 1: nest of thieves. Stevenson was later sent to the penitentiary
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  Speaker 1: for fifteen years. Bond and Peterson went to Alpasso, stole
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  Speaker 1: Mayor mc goffin's fine pair of carriage horses, and fled
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  Speaker 1: to New Mexico. Subsequently, Bond was killed at Deming by
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Deputy Sheriff Dan Tucker in an attempted arrest. Captain Roberts
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Coldwell or Lieutenant Reynolds would never have let such a
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  Speaker 1: bunch of crooks get into their companies, for they had
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: to know something about a man before they would enlist him. However,
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: there was some excuse for Baylor. At the time he
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: was on the Rio Grande. It was a long way
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  Speaker 1: from the center of population and good men were hard
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  Speaker 1: to find. Then too, it looked as if all the
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  Speaker 1: criminals in Texas had fled to New Mexico and Arizona,
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  Speaker 1: from which states they would ease back into the edge
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: of Texas and join the Rangers. Captain Baylor was liberal
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: in his views of men. They don't look good to
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: him until proven Otherwise, if there was a vacancy in
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: the company, any man could get in if they lacked equipment,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: the captain would buy the newcomer horse, saddle, and arms,
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  Speaker 1: and then deduct the costs thereof from the man's first
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: three months pay. However, Baylor had generally to pay the
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: bill himself. The Captain also liked to keep his company
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: recruited to the limit, and this made enlistment in his
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: command easy. In all the years I was with Captain Baylor,
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: I never knew him to send a non commissioned officer
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: on a scout after Indians. He always commanded in person
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: and always took with him every man in camp, saved
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  Speaker 1: one who was left to guard it, for he liked
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  Speaker 1: to be as strong as possible on the battlefield. Captain
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Baylor never took much interest personally in following cattle thieves,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: horse thieves, murderers, and fugitives from justice. He left that
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  Speaker 1: almost entirely to me. Sometimes we would have as many
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: had six or eight criminals chained up in camp at
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  Speaker 1: one time, but the Captain would never come about them,
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  Speaker 1: for he could not bear to see anyone in trouble.
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  Speaker 1: His open, friendly personality endeared Baylor to the Mexicans from
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  Speaker 1: Elpaso down the valley. As far as quipment They were
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  Speaker 1: all his compadres, and would frequently bring him venison, goat meat,
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  Speaker 1: and mooton. Always they showed him every courtesy in their power.
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  Speaker 1: Now having freed the Company of its undesirable recruits, we
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: were once more a homogeneous force, ready and anxious to
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: perform our duty in protecting the frontier and bringing criminals
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  Speaker 1: to justice. Almost as soon as the last undesirable had
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: been fired from Company A, we started on the scalp
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  Speaker 1: that was to culminate in our last fight with the Apaches.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter number sixteen, read by Kevin Waters, spring Hill, Florida,
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: August of twenty third, twenty twenty one.