Indian Chief "Two Eagles" was asked by a white U.S. Government official, "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done." 
The Chief nodded in agreement.
The official continued, "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"
The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied:
"When white man find land, Indians running it. No taxes. No debt. Plenty of Buffalo . Plenty Beaver. Clean Water. Women did all the work. Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing - all night having sex."
Then the chief leaned back and smiled. "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that!"
The Indian of course was right, everyone knew their place and things went smoothly but with the arrival of the settlers all kinds of shit were about to go down. It was the moral bankruptcy of the white man that ruined everything and its still going on today . The Real Americans on the other hand had a relationship with the land not based on some ridiculous notion of "advancement and blind ambition".War came and the best indian fighters of all the Commanche took the fight to the whites. Panic was all over the plains as the Commanche raided at will, he seemed unstoppable until the advent of the Colt revolver and a small band of men Called the rangers.
In 1822 Stephen Austin established the first legal Anglo-American colony in Texas. Austin hired a band of horsemen to range over the country to scout the movements of hostile Native Americans. In 1835 this band of men became known as the Texas Rangers. They wore no uniform, never drilled or saluted their officers, and accepted a leader only if he proved the best during combat.
Members of the Texas Rangers included Charles Goodnight, John Coffee Hays and William Wallace. In 1840 Hays was promoted to the rank of captain. He arranged for his men to be given colt revolvers.
The Comanches were used to fighting against men armed with single-shot guns and suffered heavy casualties at Plum Creek (1840), he Battle of Plum Creek was a clash between militia and Rangers of the Republic of Texas and a huge Comanche war party under Chief Buffalo Hump, which took place near Lockhart, Texas on August 12, 1840, following the Great Raid of 1840 as theComanche war party returned home to west texas.
Following the Council House Fight of 1840 a group of Comanches led by the Penateka Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump, warriors from his own band plus allies from various other Comanche bands, raided from West Texas all the way to the coast and the sea. These Comanches were angered by the events of the Council House, in which Texans had killed Comanche Chiefs when the Texans had raised a white flag of truce. The Texans killed all unarmed chiefs
[
The Texan officials began the treaty talks with demands that the Comanche considered impossible. Including the Comanche return of all white captives. This included people such as Cynthia Parker. Other white captives were with bands of the Comanche not represented at the talks. As a show of "good faith" the Comanche chiefs brought in one captive, a severely mutilated adolescent girl named Matilda Lockhart.
For their entertainment the Comanches had burned off her nose with hot coals. Going against their word, the Comanche chiefs did not return all of the white captives in their control and in fact held back some of their white captives to guarantee their own safety.
The Texas militiamen told the chiefs it was they that would indeed be held hostage to guarantee the release of their other white captives. The chiefs quickly realized their gross miscalculation. They panicked and drew their weapons. The militia began firing and the Comanches were killed.
For their entertainment the Comanches had burned off her nose with hot coals. Going against their word, the Comanche chiefs did not return all of the white captives in their control and in fact held back some of their white captives to guarantee their own safety. The Texas militiamen told the chiefs it was they that would indeed be held hostage to guarantee the release of their other white captives. The chiefs quickly realized their gross miscalculation. They panicked and drew their weapons. The militia began firing and the Comanches were killed.
The Great Raid of 1840
But Buffalo Hump was determined to do more than merely complain about what the Comanches viewed as a bitter betrayal. Spreading word to the other bands of Comanches that he was raiding the white settlements in revenge, Buffalo Hump led the Great Raid of 1840.
On this raid the Comanches went all the way from beyond the Edwards Plateau in West Texas to the cities of Victoria and Linnville on the Texas coast. In what may have been the largest organized raid by the Comanches to that point on Texas settlements, or an attack by Indians on any white city in the continental United States,
they raided and burned these towns, plundering at will. Linnville was the second largest port in Texas at that time. On the way back from the sea the Comanches were attacked by Texas Rangers and militia at the battle of Plum Creek near Lockhart.
they raided and burned these towns, plundering at will. Linnville was the second largest port in Texas at that time. On the way back from the sea the Comanches were attacked by Texas Rangers and militia at the battle of Plum Creek near Lockhart.The Battle of Plum Creek
The "battle" was really more of a running gun fight, as the Comanche War Party was trying to get back to the Llano Estacado , this strange geological formation is forever enshrined with the commanches.And its worth talking about.
It is commonly known as the Staked Plains, a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle.
It is commonly known as the Staked Plains, a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle.
One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North American continent,[1]the elevation rises from 3,000 feet (900 m) in the southeast to over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in the northwest, sloping almost uniformly at about 10 feet per mile (1.9 m/km).
At such a gradual slope, however, the elevation change is imperceptible to the observer.
The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of the High Plains section of the Great Plains of North America; it is part of what was once called the Great American Desert.
The Canadian River forms the Llano's northern boundary, separating it from the rest of the High Plains. To the east, the Caprock Escarpment, a precipitous cliff about 300 feet (100 m) high, lies between the Llano and the red Permian plains of Texas; while to the west, the Mescalero Escarpment demarcates the edge of the Pecos River valley.
this was a crescent figure i converted into a us cavalryman, hes firing a metal colt that i made him, you could easily do this for a texas ranger
The Llano has no natural southern boundary, instead blending into the Edwards Plateau near Big Spring, Texas. This geographic area stretches about 250 miles (400 km) north to south, and 150 miles (240 km) east to west, a total area of some 37,500 square miles (97,000 km2), larger than Indiana and 12 other states. It covers all or part of thirty-three Texas counties and four New Mexico counties.
At such a gradual slope, however, the elevation change is imperceptible to the observer.
The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of the High Plains section of the Great Plains of North America; it is part of what was once called the Great American Desert.
The Canadian River forms the Llano's northern boundary, separating it from the rest of the High Plains. To the east, the Caprock Escarpment, a precipitous cliff about 300 feet (100 m) high, lies between the Llano and the red Permian plains of Texas; while to the west, the Mescalero Escarpment demarcates the edge of the Pecos River valley.
this was a crescent figure i converted into a us cavalryman, hes firing a metal colt that i made him, you could easily do this for a texas rangerThe Llano has no natural southern boundary, instead blending into the Edwards Plateau near Big Spring, Texas. This geographic area stretches about 250 miles (400 km) north to south, and 150 miles (240 km) east to west, a total area of some 37,500 square miles (97,000 km2), larger than Indiana and 12 other states. It covers all or part of thirty-three Texas counties and four New Mexico counties.
Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado, the first European to traverse this "sea of grass" in 1541, described it as follows: "I reached some plains so vast, that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I travelled over them for more than 300 leagues ... with no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea ... there was not a stone, nor bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.
After his 1852 expedition to explore the headwaters of the Red and Colorado rivers, General Randolph Marcy agreed: "[not] a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the vision... the almost total absence of water causes all animals to shun it: even the Indians do not venture to cross it except at two or three places." The landscape is, however, dotted by numerous small playa lakes, depressions that seasonally fill with water and provide important habitat for waterfowl.
The Llano Estacado has a semiarid climate (Köppen Bsk), characterized by long hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is extremely low; the entire region receives fewer than 23 inches (580 mm) of rainfall annually, and the western part receives as little as 14 inches (360 mm).
High summer temperatures (average July temperature above 85 °F/29 °C) mean that most of the small amount of precipitation is lost to evaporation, making dry-land farming extremely difficult.
High summer temperatures (average July temperature above 85 °F/29 °C) mean that most of the small amount of precipitation is lost to evaporation, making dry-land farming extremely difficult.
The Llano Estacado is one of the largest cotton-producing regions of the United States.
Water used today in agriculture on the Llano today is brought to the surface by electric pumps. Before electricity, large ranches grazed cattle, but that soon destroyed the fragile grasses.
The scanty rainfall simply evaporates or disappears into the porous soil and cannot refill the aquifer at the rate it is being depleted. There are no nearby sources of abundant water. The Pecos runs nearly dry from irrigation diversions.
Monument Spring, a permanent oasis not far from Hobbs, New Mexico, was one of the rare watering places. The "monument" was a pile of caliche raised by Native Americans to guide people to the spot
.Coronado named the region after seeing the cliffs of the Caprock Escarpment from the north on his way east from Cíbola. They appeared to be an impenetrable defense for the land, and he called it Llano Estacado, Spanish for "Palisaded Plains." The name is often mistranslated as "staked plain," giving rise to fanciful stories to explain it. Some allude to yucca stems, others to stakes driven into the ground as landmarks, and still others to similar, even less plausible objects. None of these has been proven the reason for the name.
.Coronado named the region after seeing the cliffs of the Caprock Escarpment from the north on his way east from Cíbola. They appeared to be an impenetrable defense for the land, and he called it Llano Estacado, Spanish for "Palisaded Plains." The name is often mistranslated as "staked plain," giving rise to fanciful stories to explain it. Some allude to yucca stems, others to stakes driven into the ground as landmarks, and still others to similar, even less plausible objects. None of these has been proven the reason for the name.
The conquistadors reintroduced horses to the Great Plains since their extinction in North America eons earlier. Some horses escaped and bred in the wild. The Native American tribes of the Plains captured horses and integrated their use into their cultures in the succeeding centuries. Having horses allowed them to expand their territories and hunting grounds. Before this, the dog was their largest domesticated animal.
In the early 18th century, the Comanches expanded their territory into the Llano Estacado, displacing the Apaches who had previously lived there. The region became part of the Comancheria, a Comanche stronghold until the final defeat of the tribe in the late 19th century.
In the latter part of the 19th century, the Llano was a refuge for the bands of Kiowas and Comanches who did not wish to be cooped up on reservations in Indian Territory in present-dayOklahoma.
One of their last battles against the US Army was fought in bitter cold on 2 December 1874 in Palo Duro Canyon. The waterless region was very difficult for the U.S. Cavalry to function. The Native Americans could disappear into the slight draws of the featureless expanse, or into the labyrinths of canyons such as Palo Duro.
One of their last battles against the US Army was fought in bitter cold on 2 December 1874 in Palo Duro Canyon. The waterless region was very difficult for the U.S. Cavalry to function. The Native Americans could disappear into the slight draws of the featureless expanse, or into the labyrinths of canyons such as Palo Duro.
Because of the lack of surface water, low rainfall, and the harsher climate, the Llano was one of the last areas to be settled and farmed by European Americans in contemporary Texas. Better well-drilling technology by the late 1910s to 1920s was responsible for the maintenance and growth of many oil caprock towns. However, because of overuse of the underground aquifer, since the 1970s, the economy has depended on farmers' returning to dryland crops.
back to our storywith a huge herd of horses they had stolen, a large store of weapons, and other plunder such as mirrors, liquor, and cloth. Volunteers from Gonzales under Mathew Caldwell and from Bastrop under Ed Burleson gathered to attempt to stop the war party and together with all the Ranger companies in central and east Texas, moved to intercept the Indians,
which they did at Good's Crossing at Plum Creek, near the modern town of Lockhart (about 27 miles south of Austin). Texas history says the Rangers won this battle, although the Indians got away with a great many of the stolen horses and most of their plunder. However, 80 Comanches were reported killed in the running gun battle, unusually heavy casualties for the Indians (although the Texans only recovered 12 bodies).The
reality is that greed determined this battle. The Comanches would have never been caught had they not been herding an enormous number of captured, and heavily laden, mules. Equally, the Texas militia discovered stolen bullion on recaptured mules, and subsequently went home. Thomas J. Pilgrim took part in the Battle of Plum Creek.
[Buffalo Hump continued to raid white settlements until 1856, when he led his band into the Brazos River Reservation.
The town of Linnville never recovered from the Great Raid, most of its residents moving to Port Lavaca, the new settlement established on the bay three and one half miles southwest by displaced Linnville residents.
.Enchanted Rock (1841), a granite dome in southwestern Llano County about twenty miles north of Fredericksburg, has long been the center of various legends.
The local Comanche and Tonkawa Indians both feared and revered the rock, and were said to offer sacrifices at its base.
One Indian tradition holds that a band of brave warriors, the last of their tribe, defended themselves on the rock from the attacks of other Indians. The warriors, however, were finally overcome and killed, and since then Enchanted Rock has been haunted by their ghosts. Another legend tells of an Indian princess who threw herself off the rock when she saw her people slaughtered by enemy Indians; now her spirit is said to haunt Enchanted Rock.
Yet another tale tells of the spirit of an Indian chief who was doomed to walk the summit forever as punishment for sacrificing his daughter; the indentations on the rock's summit are his footprints.
Finally, there is the story of a white woman who was kidnapped by Indians but escaped and lived on Enchanted Rock, where her screams were said to be audible at night. The Indian legends of the haunting of Enchanted Rock were probably bolstered by the way the rock glitters on clear nights after rain, and by the creaking noises reported on cool nights after warm days.
Scientists have since theorized that the glittering is caused either by water trapped in indentations in the rock's surface or by the moon reflecting off wet feldspar, and the creaking noises by contraction of the rock's outer surface as it cools.
Cut off by Comanche raiders from his company of Texas Rangersqv on a surveying trip in the fall of 1841, Hays took refuge on Enchanted Rock and singlehandedly held off the Indians in a three-hour battle that ended when the frustrated Indians fled, convinced even more firmly than before that Enchanted Rock was possessed by malevolent spirits. and at Bandera Pass (1842). scene of an important battle of the "more than forty engagements" fought by Jack
Hays and his Texas Rangers during Hays' career as Texas Ranger Captain "when he was
protecting San Antonio and Southwest Texas against robbers and savages," is located about 15 miles south of Kerrville, on the Bandera road.
According to A. J. Sowell, an early Southwest Texas historian, this battle at the Pass occurred in the year 1842 - forty Rangers, under Captain Hays, battling in the engagement a large band of Comanche Indians, variously estimated from 100 to 600 in number.
Bandera Pass is a gorge, cut by Nature, through the range of hills dividing the Guadalupe and Medina River valleys. This passway through the hills doubtless has witnessed many unrecorded battles between Indian tribes or with other warring peoples in the centuries past.
It must have long been a gateway for any people journeying northward or southward through that section of the country. The advance of an enemy through it must of necessity have been protested by defenders. It offered wonderful facilities for ambushing an enemy and was an ideal place for fighting battles of the kind familiar to pioneer settlers.
Bandera Pass is about 500 yards long and 125 yards wide. The hills on each side are about 200 feet in height. Some ravines run down the mountain sides of the pass interior, and a few trees, bushes and rocks are scattered around, once furnishing hiding places for the ambushers of Indian fighting.
The line between Kerr and Bandera Counties touches the extreme north end of the Pass. At or near that point the waters of rainfalls divide, and run each way; to the north into the head draws of Mico Creek, a tributary of Verde Creek and on towards the Guadalupe River; to the south the water soon reaches the ravines, just south of the Pass, which are part of the Medina river watershed and then on to the creek tributaries of that Bandera County stream. This location, just roughly described, is the setting of the celebrated Battle of Bandera Pass which dates back more than a century into the past.
The young Tennessean surveyor, Jack Hays, during the later years of the decade of the 1830s began to attract attention as an Indian fighter. He was cool and collected under fire, brave, determined and resourceful.
At Plum Creek, Hays' battle record was so outstanding, he came into the notice of Texan leaders and was moved into the field of frontier protection.
President Lamar commissioned Hays Captain and authorized him to enlist a company of Rangers, which was stationed at San Antonio. A wide area to the west and southwest of San Antonio was to be patrolled by Hays and his Rangers, and protected as far possible from Indians and border bandits.
While this company of Rangers was camped near San Antonio, Hays started out with forty Rangers intending to proceed up the Medina River Valley and on through Bandera Pass for a scout up the Guadalupe River Valley. A band of Comanche Indians under command of a chief was at the same time coming south on a raiding expedition. The Indians reached the Pass ahead of the Rangers and, spying their approach several miles away, laid a well-concealed ambush on each side of the gorge already described. Into this ambush Hays and his Rangers rode, the only time the Captain was so trapped.
The Ranger company, unsuspecting danger, had penetrated to one-third of the distance through the Pass when they were set upon by the Indians, giving their warhoops and firing rifle balls and arrows from all sides.
Momentarily there was some confusion in the ranks of the Rangers, some of them having been shot from their saddles, and the horses were rearing and plunging in fright.
Captain Jack Hays never lost his coolness and presence of mind in such emergencies. His commanding voice rang out strong and clear: "Steady there, boys; we can whip them, no doubt about that. Dismount, tie your horses, fight them afoot."
Soon, a semblance of order was restored and the rangers were taking toll of the Indian warriors, with their rifles and Colt's pistols, the latter something new and scarey to the savages. (Many old-timers say this Colt pistol, just out, greatly aided Hays and his men in their battles with Indians. One old Indian was reported to have commented: "The Rangers had a shot for every finger on the hand.")
The battle soon developed into hand to hand struggles between the Rangers and Indians. Finally, one of the Rangers and the Comanche Chief grappled and a deadly knife contest ensued in which the Chief was slain. This broke the morale of the Indians, who withdrew to the northern end of the Pass, the Rangers falling back to the south entrance.
The Indians kept up a wailing until late at night, meantime burying the chief and other slain warriors. When morning came, the Indians had disappeared. Hays and his men buried their dead and began the trip back to San Antonio where the wounded received medical attention.
The town of Linnville never recovered from the Great Raid, most of its residents moving to Port Lavaca, the new settlement established on the bay three and one half miles southwest by displaced Linnville residents.
.Enchanted Rock (1841), a granite dome in southwestern Llano County about twenty miles north of Fredericksburg, has long been the center of various legends.
The local Comanche and Tonkawa Indians both feared and revered the rock, and were said to offer sacrifices at its base.
One Indian tradition holds that a band of brave warriors, the last of their tribe, defended themselves on the rock from the attacks of other Indians. The warriors, however, were finally overcome and killed, and since then Enchanted Rock has been haunted by their ghosts. Another legend tells of an Indian princess who threw herself off the rock when she saw her people slaughtered by enemy Indians; now her spirit is said to haunt Enchanted Rock.
Yet another tale tells of the spirit of an Indian chief who was doomed to walk the summit forever as punishment for sacrificing his daughter; the indentations on the rock's summit are his footprints.
Finally, there is the story of a white woman who was kidnapped by Indians but escaped and lived on Enchanted Rock, where her screams were said to be audible at night. The Indian legends of the haunting of Enchanted Rock were probably bolstered by the way the rock glitters on clear nights after rain, and by the creaking noises reported on cool nights after warm days.
Scientists have since theorized that the glittering is caused either by water trapped in indentations in the rock's surface or by the moon reflecting off wet feldspar, and the creaking noises by contraction of the rock's outer surface as it cools.A number of stories involve rumors of great mineral wealth to be found at Enchanted Rock. Spanish explorers believed it was one large chunk of silver or iron.
They also sought legendary gold and silver mines nearby, and some early Texans believed that the lost "Bowie Mines" were in the vicinity west of Enchanted Rock.
Some gold has in fact been mined near Enchanted Rock, but not enough to be commercially profitable. According to an account written in 1834 the rock was once supposed to be of platinum.
They also sought legendary gold and silver mines nearby, and some early Texans believed that the lost "Bowie Mines" were in the vicinity west of Enchanted Rock.
Some gold has in fact been mined near Enchanted Rock, but not enough to be commercially profitable. According to an account written in 1834 the rock was once supposed to be of platinum.
One of the most enduring and romantic stories involving Enchanted Rock is that of a young Spanish soldier, Don Jesús Navarro, and his rescue of the Indian maiden Rosa. Navarro supposedly came from Monterrey to San José y San Miguel de Aguayo Mission in San Antonio in 1750. At the mission he met and fell in love with Rosa, the Christian daughter of the Indian chief Tehuan. But Rosa was kidnapped by a band of Comanches bent on sacrificing her to the spirits of Enchanted Rock. Her daring lover followed them there and managed to rescue her as she was about to be burned at the stake.
Another tale, given official credence when the state of Texas commemorated it with a plaque near the summit of Enchanted Rock in 1936, relates a heroic episode in the life of Capt. John Coffee Hays. Cut off by Comanche raiders from his company of Texas Rangersqv on a surveying trip in the fall of 1841, Hays took refuge on Enchanted Rock and singlehandedly held off the Indians in a three-hour battle that ended when the frustrated Indians fled, convinced even more firmly than before that Enchanted Rock was possessed by malevolent spirits. and at Bandera Pass (1842). scene of an important battle of the "more than forty engagements" fought by Jack
Hays and his Texas Rangers during Hays' career as Texas Ranger Captain "when he was
protecting San Antonio and Southwest Texas against robbers and savages," is located about 15 miles south of Kerrville, on the Bandera road.
According to A. J. Sowell, an early Southwest Texas historian, this battle at the Pass occurred in the year 1842 - forty Rangers, under Captain Hays, battling in the engagement a large band of Comanche Indians, variously estimated from 100 to 600 in number.
Bandera Pass is a gorge, cut by Nature, through the range of hills dividing the Guadalupe and Medina River valleys. This passway through the hills doubtless has witnessed many unrecorded battles between Indian tribes or with other warring peoples in the centuries past.
It must have long been a gateway for any people journeying northward or southward through that section of the country. The advance of an enemy through it must of necessity have been protested by defenders. It offered wonderful facilities for ambushing an enemy and was an ideal place for fighting battles of the kind familiar to pioneer settlers.Bandera Pass is about 500 yards long and 125 yards wide. The hills on each side are about 200 feet in height. Some ravines run down the mountain sides of the pass interior, and a few trees, bushes and rocks are scattered around, once furnishing hiding places for the ambushers of Indian fighting.
The line between Kerr and Bandera Counties touches the extreme north end of the Pass. At or near that point the waters of rainfalls divide, and run each way; to the north into the head draws of Mico Creek, a tributary of Verde Creek and on towards the Guadalupe River; to the south the water soon reaches the ravines, just south of the Pass, which are part of the Medina river watershed and then on to the creek tributaries of that Bandera County stream. This location, just roughly described, is the setting of the celebrated Battle of Bandera Pass which dates back more than a century into the past.
The young Tennessean surveyor, Jack Hays, during the later years of the decade of the 1830s began to attract attention as an Indian fighter. He was cool and collected under fire, brave, determined and resourceful.
At Plum Creek, Hays' battle record was so outstanding, he came into the notice of Texan leaders and was moved into the field of frontier protection.
President Lamar commissioned Hays Captain and authorized him to enlist a company of Rangers, which was stationed at San Antonio. A wide area to the west and southwest of San Antonio was to be patrolled by Hays and his Rangers, and protected as far possible from Indians and border bandits.
While this company of Rangers was camped near San Antonio, Hays started out with forty Rangers intending to proceed up the Medina River Valley and on through Bandera Pass for a scout up the Guadalupe River Valley. A band of Comanche Indians under command of a chief was at the same time coming south on a raiding expedition. The Indians reached the Pass ahead of the Rangers and, spying their approach several miles away, laid a well-concealed ambush on each side of the gorge already described. Into this ambush Hays and his Rangers rode, the only time the Captain was so trapped.
The Ranger company, unsuspecting danger, had penetrated to one-third of the distance through the Pass when they were set upon by the Indians, giving their warhoops and firing rifle balls and arrows from all sides.
Momentarily there was some confusion in the ranks of the Rangers, some of them having been shot from their saddles, and the horses were rearing and plunging in fright.
Captain Jack Hays never lost his coolness and presence of mind in such emergencies. His commanding voice rang out strong and clear: "Steady there, boys; we can whip them, no doubt about that. Dismount, tie your horses, fight them afoot."
Soon, a semblance of order was restored and the rangers were taking toll of the Indian warriors, with their rifles and Colt's pistols, the latter something new and scarey to the savages. (Many old-timers say this Colt pistol, just out, greatly aided Hays and his men in their battles with Indians. One old Indian was reported to have commented: "The Rangers had a shot for every finger on the hand.")
The battle soon developed into hand to hand struggles between the Rangers and Indians. Finally, one of the Rangers and the Comanche Chief grappled and a deadly knife contest ensued in which the Chief was slain. This broke the morale of the Indians, who withdrew to the northern end of the Pass, the Rangers falling back to the south entrance.
The Indians kept up a wailing until late at night, meantime burying the chief and other slain warriors. When morning came, the Indians had disappeared. Hays and his men buried their dead and began the trip back to San Antonio where the wounded received medical attention.
A fellow ranger, Nelson Lee, described Hays as "a slim, slight, smooth-faced boy, not over twenty years of age, and looking younger than he was in fact. In his manners he was unassuming in the extreme, a stripling of few words, whose quiet demeanor stretched quite to the verge of modesty.
Nevertheless, it was this youngster whom the tall, huge-framed brawny-armed campaigners hailed unanimously as their chief and leader."
In 1850 William Wallace, who had fought under Hays during the Mexican War, was given command of his own company of theTexas Rangers and over the next few years fought against Native Americans and Mexican bandits.
He was also active in protecting Texans from war parties and soldiers from the Union Army during the American Civil War.
He was also active in protecting Texans from war parties and soldiers from the Union Army during the American Civil War.
In 1874 the Texas Rangers were divided into two units. The Frontier Battalion were used against Native Americans attacking settlers, whereas the Special Force attempted to deal with rustlers and robbers in Texas.
The Special Force was disbanded in 1881. Later the Texas Rangers became the Texas Department of Public Safety.
CAPTURED BY THE COMMANCHES
James Dunn thought his time had come, that this mild day in early 1841 would be his last. Hands bound and body lashed to the saddle of a Comanche pony,
he glanced warily about him as his captors chivvied a herd of stolen mounts across the shallow ford of the Guadalupe River at the Pinta Trail Crossing, 45 miles north of San Antonio, in the Republic of Texas. Only the day before, Comanche Chief Yellow Wolf and 80 warriors had struck the western fringes of town, killing two Hispanic citizens and a black sheepherder before happening upon the Irish emigrant as he herded his own flock of woolies.
Only his lush mane of coppery red hair had saved him from a quick lance thrust. The Comanches had not seen such hair before and were awed by the sight of a man presumably favored by the Great Spirit and possessing strong medicine. But Dunn expected to lose his favored status at any moment.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to."
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barrelled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.
The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... but... I've always wanted to.
CAPTURED BY THE COMMANCHES
James Dunn thought his time had come, that this mild day in early 1841 would be his last. Hands bound and body lashed to the saddle of a Comanche pony,
he glanced warily about him as his captors chivvied a herd of stolen mounts across the shallow ford of the Guadalupe River at the Pinta Trail Crossing, 45 miles north of San Antonio, in the Republic of Texas. Only the day before, Comanche Chief Yellow Wolf and 80 warriors had struck the western fringes of town, killing two Hispanic citizens and a black sheepherder before happening upon the Irish emigrant as he herded his own flock of woolies.
Only his lush mane of coppery red hair had saved him from a quick lance thrust. The Comanches had not seen such hair before and were awed by the sight of a man presumably favored by the Great Spirit and possessing strong medicine. But Dunn expected to lose his favored status at any moment.
James Dunn had arrived in San Antonio by March 1840 and was on hand at the Council House Fight, Dunn shot to death a warrior who was attempting to kill John James, a prominent local surveyor and rancher. 
By 1841 Dunn was herding sheep, which ordinarily would be a peaceful occupation. But on the Texas frontier, the Comanches pledged peace to no man.
Yellow Wolf's raiding party was moving north from San Antonio along the ancient trace of the Pinta Trail, which had long served as a route through the Hill Country for Indians, Spanish and Mexicans. The warriors were driving the horses and mules toward their home village in the hills well above the Guadalupe and Colorado rivers. 
Several warriors had ridden close alongside Dunn and stroked his head in wonder, but that didn't keep the captive from worrying about his scalp.
The raiding party paused at the river to allow its mounts and plundered herd to drink, and then, in late afternoon, the band started up the north bank. Suddenly, a thunderous volley of gunshots filled the cleft of the river channel, and rifle balls knocked several Comanches to the ground.
Dunn peered up to the crest of the south bank to a glorious sight—a dozen or more Texas Rangers, wreathed in powder smoke, their ramrods flashing in the sun as they sought new targets. Maybe he wasn't done after all; James Dunn felt the thrill of hope. That's what the very sight of Rangers could do for pioneers who braved the Texas frontier.
The raiding party paused at the river to allow its mounts and plundered herd to drink, and then, in late afternoon, the band started up the north bank. Suddenly, a thunderous volley of gunshots filled the cleft of the river channel, and rifle balls knocked several Comanches to the ground.
Dunn peered up to the crest of the south bank to a glorious sight—a dozen or more Texas Rangers, wreathed in powder smoke, their ramrods flashing in the sun as they sought new targets. Maybe he wasn't done after all; James Dunn felt the thrill of hope. That's what the very sight of Rangers could do for pioneers who braved the Texas frontier.
The officer who led the troop of Texas Rangers at Pinta Trail Crossing—much to Dunn's delight—was John Coffee "Jack" Hays. The 24-year-old Tennessee native had lived in Texas since 1836, periodically following his profession as a surveyor, but spending more and more of his time in service with the Rangers.
He had started as a gentleman private but was now captain of his own company. Hays was a veteran of fights with hostile Indians, Santa Anna's invading soldados and borderbandidos. On this winter day in 1841, Hays meant to see more Comanche blood darken the crystal flow of the Guadalupe.
He had started as a gentleman private but was now captain of his own company. Hays was a veteran of fights with hostile Indians, Santa Anna's invading soldados and borderbandidos. On this winter day in 1841, Hays meant to see more Comanche blood darken the crystal flow of the Guadalupe.
With bullets whizzing everywhere, Dunn's thrill of hope was replaced by the bleak realization that a Ranger bullet could just as easily strike him as one of the warriors who milled about him in momentary panic. Chief Yellow Wolf shouted for his braves to hold position in the ford long enough to retrieve their dead and wounded comrades. Finally, the Comanches quirted their ponies out of the shallows and up the gentle slope of the Guadalupe's north bank. Cresting the rise, they thundered free of the river's cypress-lined channel onto the open plains.Dawn was just bleeding into the eastern horizon that morning in March 1846 when a Comanche raiding party drove a herd of stolen stock across a dry ford to the north bank of the drought-parched Concho River. 
The raiders then swung their horses eastward to reach a deeper portion of the channel, where steep, brush-lined banks held ample water. Dust-grimed and trail-weary, the braves squinted directly into the blaze of the rising sun as they gazed up at a cliff face covered in rock paintings that variously summoned the gods' favors or boasted of warrior exploits. At a spot on the bluff, they might mix paints and depict their recent raid on the outskirts of the Tejano settlement of San Antonio, 200 miles to the south, where they had taken scalps and stolen horses from their hated enemy
The raiders then swung their horses eastward to reach a deeper portion of the channel, where steep, brush-lined banks held ample water. Dust-grimed and trail-weary, the braves squinted directly into the blaze of the rising sun as they gazed up at a cliff face covered in rock paintings that variously summoned the gods' favors or boasted of warrior exploits. At a spot on the bluff, they might mix paints and depict their recent raid on the outskirts of the Tejano settlement of San Antonio, 200 miles to the south, where they had taken scalps and stolen horses from their hated enemyThe Comanches and their thirsty mounts neared the grove of willows and candleberry trees that shaded the deep stretch of river channel. Out of the gloom came a sudden volley of rifle shots, knocking some from their horses and causing the others to bolt. The usually wary Comanches were stunned and confused; they had been taken by surprise. The man behind the ambush was Major Jack Hays, supported by 40 Texas Rangers, and it must have given him no small pleasure. Five years earlier, Comanches had ambushed him and his company of Rangers in the thorny maw of Bandera Pass.
Now he had turned the tables, and the payback that blossomed from the muzzles of his men's weapons held a rare sweetness for the veteran fighting man.
Now he had turned the tables, and the payback that blossomed from the muzzles of his men's weapons held a rare sweetness for the veteran fighting man.The epic fight that ensued on the north bank of the Concho at this ancient gathering place known as Paint Rock (or Painted Rocks) brought death to many Comanches and marked the close of one phase of Hays' already legendary career. Frontiersman William A.A. "Bigfoot" Wallace later dubbed it the fiercest battle with Comanches he had seen in four decades on the ever-dangerous Texas frontier.
The Comanches had descended upon the San Antonio area a week before, at a time when all of Texas was distracted by events to the south.
A war with Mexico was brewing in the disputed border territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Texas had joined the American union in December 1845, and Mexico regarded that move as an act of war.
Mexican troops marched into the area near Brownsville, south of the Rio Grande, and tensions mounted. American General Zachary Taylor and his "Army of Observation" encamped on the Gulf Coast at Corpus Christi in preparation for a move southward into the contested area.
A war with Mexico was brewing in the disputed border territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Texas had joined the American union in December 1845, and Mexico regarded that move as an act of war.
Mexican troops marched into the area near Brownsville, south of the Rio Grande, and tensions mounted. American General Zachary Taylor and his "Army of Observation" encamped on the Gulf Coast at Corpus Christi in preparation for a move southward into the contested area.
Hays was in Corpus Christi to offer Taylor the services of the Texas Rangers as scouts in the event of war. When word reached him of the Comanche raid on settlements southwest of San Antonio, the major made a few days' hard ride west to Captain Richard A. Gillespie's camp on the Medina River. Upon arrival, Hays ordered Gillespie to have his 40-man company ready to march the next morning.
The Rangers were on the move at first light, led by trackers Chief Placido of the Tonkawas and the mixed-blood Cherokee Bill Chisholm. The Indian scouts soon picked up the trail of the raiders, who were heading north for their homes on the high plains above the Colorado River. 
In May of 1844, Captain John Coffee "Jack" Hays acquired Colt Paterson five-shot revolvers and revolving rifles from the stores of the decommis-sioned Republic of Texas Navy. In June of 1844, the Texas Rangers and the Comanche fought a pivotal battle that forever changed the history of Indian warfare in the West.
In May of 1844, Captain John Coffee "Jack" Hays acquired Colt Paterson five-shot revolvers and revolving rifles from the stores of the decommis-sioned Republic of Texas Navy. In June of 1844, the Texas Rangers and the Comanche fought a pivotal battle that forever changed the history of Indian warfare in the West.Colt had envisioned his revolver as a military sidearm for officers and a gentleman's pocket pistol. Aside from the Republic of Texas Navy, and some officers who used them in the Seminole War, there were few buyers for the delicate .36 caliber pistol and Colt went bankrupt.
These scouts, according to a Ranger's account a decade later, "could trail them Comanches like a dog-eared hound" and "would put their head down and look like they was smelling their tracks." Placido's presence guaranteed that any meeting with the raiders would soon turn nasty, because the Comanches and Tonkawas had been bitter enemies long before the Texians arrived on the scene (during the colonial Spanish period in Mexico and the Southwest).
The Comanche people particularly hated the Tonkawas for their practice of eating portions of their slain foemen's bodies in acts of ritual cannibalism.
FREE TIME
The Rangers are not just great fighting men but enjoy their free time , they have had an A,G,M. at Laredo,They like this place cos it talks of the Ranger origins, This is what one said."
These scouts, according to a Ranger's account a decade later, "could trail them Comanches like a dog-eared hound" and "would put their head down and look like they was smelling their tracks." Placido's presence guaranteed that any meeting with the raiders would soon turn nasty, because the Comanches and Tonkawas had been bitter enemies long before the Texians arrived on the scene (during the colonial Spanish period in Mexico and the Southwest).
The Comanche people particularly hated the Tonkawas for their practice of eating portions of their slain foemen's bodies in acts of ritual cannibalism.
FREE TIME
The Rangers are not just great fighting men but enjoy their free time , they have had an A,G,M. at Laredo,They like this place cos it talks of the Ranger origins, This is what one said."
When you get out of your car , and leave the 21st , century behind, and walk across the field into the 19th , century, and into Laredo, were you will meet friends that you have not seen for some time, and were you get, good company , good conversation, and great food and drink.
At 2’O’clock, Capt J, E, Pentecost, open‘s the meeting. and we discuss about things we have done and what we will do in the coming year,, after the meeting, we say good bye to some of the Ranger that do not stay over night, as they walk back into the 21st, century .The rest have a dinner of great chilli, and some more to drink, then our Captain, go’s for a lay down,
While the rest of us go to the Hotel, for the rest of the evening,” A good time was had by all”.
The next day after a good breakfast we all go back across the field back into the 21st, century.
Heres some of their food. I think you'll agree you'd have a better meal with these blokes than some bunch of fuckin snobs in a Parisian eatery!
Heres some of their food. I think you'll agree you'd have a better meal with these blokes than some bunch of fuckin snobs in a Parisian eatery!
Frontier Camp fire Cooking."
Beef Jerky
salt and seasoning salt
pepper
several pounds of flank steak
Instructions
Trim fat and slice steak with the grain into l/4- to l/2-inch (1 cm) strips. Lightly salt strips or soak them overnight in a solution of water and 2 table-spoons salt. Arrange strips on skewers, season with seasoning salt and pep-per and hang in the smoker (see Project 4) or lay them on oven racks in an oven set to its lowest temperature (175 to 200F or 75C), with door slightly ajar to permit moisture to escape. (If you are using an oven, place a shallow pan under the meat to catch drippings.) Drying time varies. In an oven, 8 to 10 hours is usually sufficient. Dried meat should be tough and leathery, not quite brittle. Store in plastic or cloth bags in a cool, dry place.
Pemmican
equal quantities jerky and animal fat
dried berries (optional)
InstructionsPound jerky to break up fibers. In a skillet, melt fat, making sure it does not boil or smoke. Stir pounded jerky into fat, along with dried berries, if desired. Let fat cool and cut pemmican into candy-bar-sized chunks. Store in plastic, cloth or rawhide bags in cool, dry place.
Note: This is an extremely high-energy food. A little goes a long way.
Dingus.
From Dave King.
, Chuck wagon beans
4 cups pinto beans
1 lb salt pork or ham hocks
2 medium onions, chooped
2tablespoons sugar
3teaspoons chilli powder
6 ounces tomato paste
Salt to taste.
Wash beans and soak overnite.drain place in large pan ,cover with water. Add remaining ingredients except salt. Simmer 3-4hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste and more water if needed. Cook another hour ,or until beans are tender.n old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
Ranger Anecdotes
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to."
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barrelled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.
The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... but... I've always wanted to.
