Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger: A Story of Frontier Reform
Albert Bigelow Paine
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
"William Jesse "Bill" McDonald (1852 - 1918) in the 1880s served as a deputy sheriff in Wood County. After moving to Hardeman County, he served as deputy sheriff, special Ranger, and U. S. Deputy Marshal of the Northern District of Texas and the Southern District of Kansas.. . . .In 1891 McDonald was selected to replace S. A. McMurry as Captain of Company B, Frontier Battalion. He served as a Ranger captain until 1907. Capt. McDonald and his company took part in a number of celebrated cases including the Fitzsimmons-Maher prize fight, the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the Reese-Townsend feud, and the Brownsville Raid of 1906. His handling of the troops of the 25th U.S. Infantry during this last incident made him known as "a man who would charge hell with a bucket of water." He had a reputation as a gunman that rested upon his his marksmanship, and his ability to use his weapons to intimidate his opponents. … In 1905, McDonald served as bodyguard to President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1907, Governor Campbell made him a state revenue agent. He again fulfilled the role of bodyguard in 1912 for a visit by Woodrow Wilson. Later Wilson appointed him U. S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas." -- from Chapter 1
Note: This book racially offensive words which were part of the vocabulary of the time. It is LibriVox policy to read texts as written. (0 hr 33 min)
Chapters
Forward: A letter from Theodore Roosevelt | 1:38 | Read by Larry Wilson |
Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger | 4:23 | Read by Larry Wilson |
An Old-Time Mississippi Childhood | 10:00 | Read by Tom Marcotte |
Emigration and Adventure | 9:10 | Read by John |
The Making of a Texan | 12:49 | Read by John |
The Beginning of Reform | 13:56 | Read by Sean Hatfield |
Into the Wilderness | 7:21 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Commercial Ventures and Adventures | 11:11 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Reforming the Wilderness | 16:07 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Getting Even with the Brooken Gang | 6:45 | Read by John |
New Tactics in No-Man's Land | 11:57 | Read by Sean Hatfield |
Redeeming No-Man's Land | 14:19 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Some of the Difficulties of Reform | 12:24 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Captain Bill as a Tree-Man | 17:11 | Read by Paul Rothenberg |
The Day for "Deliveries" | 16:20 | Read by Tom Marcotte |
Cleaning Up the Strip | 19:25 | Read by Tom Marcotte |
Texas Ranger Service and Its Origin | 13:45 | Read by DanielMaddux |
Captain of Company B, Ranger Force | 12:53 | Read by Steve Nuns |
An Exciting Indian Campaign | 6:42 | Read by Roger Melin |
A Bit of Farming and Politics | 8:29 | Read by TriciaG |
Taming the Pan-handle | 21:34 | Read by Daniel Grant Peterson |
The Battle with Matthews | 17:28 | Read by Daniel Grant Peterson |
What Happened to Beckham | 4:44 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
A Medal for Speed | 4:42 | Read by Roger Melin |
Captain Bill in Mexico | 12:26 | Read by Bill Mosley |
A New Style in the Pan-handle | 8:38 | Read by Kerry Adams |
Preventing a Prize-Fight | 9:02 | Read by John |
The Wichita Falls Bank Robbery and Murder | 21:31 | Read by fred |
Captain Bill as a Peace-maker | 9:37 | Read by fred |
The Buzzard's Water-Hole Gang | 33:18 | Read by fred |
Quieting a Texas Feud | 10:55 | Read by Margaret Herbers |
The Trans-Cedar Mystery | 16:14 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Other Mobs and Riots | 7:26 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Other Work in East Texas | 13:37 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
A Wolf-Hunt with the President | 27:20 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
The Conditt Murder Mystery | 24:11 | Read by Daniel Grant Peterson |
The Death of Rhoda McDonald | 7:11 | Read by John |
The Conditt Mystery Solved | 11:15 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
The Brownsville Episode: An Event of National Importance | 13:08 | Read by Nancy Gorgen |
Captain Bill on the Scene | 28:16 | Read by Margaret Herbers |
What Finally Happened at Brownsville | 34:27 | Read by Daniel Grant Peterson |
The Battle on the Rio Grande | 22:57 | Read by Bill Mosley |
The End of Rangering and a New Appointment | 30:08 | Read by Daniel Grant Peterson |
Conclusion | 15:35 | Read by MarilynC |
Appendix A | 10:35 | Read by Steve Nuns |
Appendix B | 10:36 | Read by Grey Pickett |
Appendix C | 22:54 | Read by Grey Pickett |
Appendix D | 17:49 | Read by Grey Pickett |
Appendix E | 8:56 | Read by Grey Pickett |
Appendix F | 21:06 | Read by Grey Pickett |
Appendix G | 28:40 | Read by Grey Pickett |