Trackers, Trailers and Bounty Hunters in America's Past
State Rangers:
Some of the best and most regarded trailers and gunmen came from the ranksof these citizen-based patrols, riding the hooves off their horses protecting a state's borders from criminal activities. These guys really put in the miles and often assisted deputy marshals in manhunts, being eligible forrewards even after marshals weren't.
Most notable of these border protection were the Texas Rangers, established as Texas gained her Independence. Texas Rangers became famous for their toughness and diligence, able to stay on the trail of fugitives across county, state and international boundaries.
"...(the Ranger) wants a good horse, strong saddle, double-girded,a good carbine, pistol, and plenty of ammunition. A genuine Texas Rangerwill endure cold, hunger, fatigue, almost without a murmur, and will standby a friend and comrade in the hour of danger, and divide anything he has got, from a blanket to his last crumb of tobacco...he is not so bad after all...."AJ Sowell, Rangers and Pioneers of Texas
Some of these Rangers were more honorable than others, and not all Texans welcomed or appreciated their services. In particular, George Arrington and John Barclay Armstrong were exceptionally successful in their exploits and endeavors with the Rangers, tracking down such legendary bandits as John Wesley Hardin and Bill Dalton.
Texas was soon emulated by other states. California'slegislature commissioned Harry Love, an ex-Texas Ranger to end the terror wreaked by the vicious Juaquin Murieta and the 5 Juaquins. Murieta and his band of five who shared his first name, had raped, murdered and robbed their way into the displeasure of every Sierra Foothill citezen. Love's California Rangers did more than just search for the Juaquins, they wrote weekly updates on their activities which were printed in all the major newspapers. The public followed these stories with a ferver. Within three months Harry and his Rangers rode back to Sacramento heros, with the preserved head of Murieta and the preserved finger of his partner, 3 finger Jack - items soon the focus of county fairs and roadside attractions.
$$ Love's posse received the promised $1500 reward plusa $4000 bonus compliments of the State Legislature, and were promptly disbandedforever.
In Arizona, Rangers had even greater success than their Texas counterparts in extraditing fugitives from south of the border. By 1904, Arizona's Rangers had reached a peak of prestige and activity. According to the records of Thomas H. Ryanning, Arizona Ranger captain in 1904, his 26 men rode an average of 10,140 miles per month! No pollution either. That year they made 1052 total arrests, 264 of them for felonies.
!!So successful were they, the resultant migration of frightened and tired bandits spurred the formation of Rangers in New Mexico.
Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon and others also saw their borders patrolled by such hard men. But of all these groups it is the Texas Rangers which still persist today, aiding in criminal investigations and serving rural protective functions under the Texas Department of Public Safety.