Opening material

[Illustration: _W. J. McDonald_]

CAPTAIN BILL McDONALD TEXAS RANGER

_A Story of Frontier Reform_

BY ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE

Author of "Th: Nast--His Period and His Pictures," etc., etc.

With Introductory Letter by Theodore Roosevelt

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

Bill McDonald's Creed.

To

EDWARD M. HOUSE

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

CONTENTS

Page

Foreword: A letter from Theodore Roosevelt 11

I.--Introducing "Captain Bill" 13

II.--An Old-Time Mississippi Childhood

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

III.--Emigration and Adventure

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

IV.--The Making of a Texan

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

V.--The Beginning of Reform

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

VI.--Into the Wilderness

A New Business in a New Land. A "Sand-lapper" shows his "sand" 43

VII.--Commercial Ventures and Adventures

Bill McDonald's method of collecting a bill; and his method of handling bad men 48

VIII.--Reforming the Wilderness

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

IX.--Getting Even with the Brooken Gang

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

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

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

XI.--Redeeming No-Man's Land

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

XII.--Some of the Difficulties of Reform

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

XIII.--Captain Bill as a Tree-Man

The lost drove of Lazarus. A pilgrim on a "paint-hoss." A new way of getting information in the "Strip" 95

XIV.--The Day for "Deliveries"

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

XV.--Cleaning Up the Strip

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

XVI.--Texas Ranger Service and Its Origin

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

XVII.--Captain of Company B, Ranger Force

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

XVIII.--An Exciting Indian Campaign

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

XIX.--A Bit of Farming and Politics

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

XX.--Taming the Pan-handle

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

XXI.--The Battle with Matthews

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

XXII.--What Happened to Beckham

An outlaw raid and a Ranger battle. Joe Beckham ends his career 176

XXIII.--A Medal for Speed

Captain Bill outruns a criminal and wins a gold medal 179

XXIV.--Captain Bill in Mexico

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

XXV.--A New Style in the Pan-handle

Charles A. Culberson pays a tribute to Ranger marksmanship. Captain Bill in a "plug" hat 189

XXVI.--Preventing a Prize-Fight

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

XXVII.--The Wichita Falls Bank Robbery and Murder

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

XXVIII.--Captain Bill as a Peace-maker

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

XXIX.--The Buzzard's Water-Hole Gang

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

XXX.--Quieting a Texas Feud

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

XXXI.--The Trans-Cedar Mystery

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

XXXII.--Other Mobs and Riots

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

XXXIII.--Other Work in East Texas

Districts which even a Ranger finds hopeless. The Touchstone murder. The confession of Ab Angle 265

XXXIV.--A Wolf-Hunt with the President

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

XXXV.--The Conditt Murder Mystery

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

XXXVI.--The Death of Rhoda McDonald

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

XXXVII.--The Conditt Mystery Solved

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

XXXVIII.--The Brownsville Episode: An Event of National Importance

The Twenty-fifth Infantry's midnight raid 315

XXXIX.--Captain Bill on the Scene

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

XL.--What Finally Happened at Brownsville

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

XLI.--The Battle on the Rio Grande

Assassination of Judge Stanley Welch. A Rio Grande election. Captain Bill ordered to the scene. An ambush; a surprise, and an inquest. Captain Bill's last battle. 357

XLII.--The End of Rangering and a New Appointment

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

XLIII.--Conclusion

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

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Portrait of Capt. Bill McDonald _Frontispiece_

Facsimile of Letter from Theodore Roosevelt 11

Introducing Reform in the Wilderness 46

Beginning a Campaign in No-man's Land 75

The Capture of Dan and Bob Campbell 138

The Battle with Matthews at Quanah 173

Quelling a Lynching Mob at Wichita Falls 211

In Camp with Theodore Roosevelt 283

Captain Bill's Last Battle 367

[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S LETTER TO CAPTAIN McDONALD

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON

December 19, 1908.

My dear Captain:

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

With all good wishes, believe me,

Sincerely yours,

Theodore Roosevelt

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

FOREWORD

_A Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Captain McDonald_

The White House, Washington.

December 19, 1908.

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

With all good wishes, believe me,

Sincerely yours,

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

CAPTAIN BILL McDONALD, TEXAS RANGER