Ranger Captain Bill McDonald and the San Saba Mob

by Tom Goodman

Before the Texas Rangers became legends on lunch boxes and highway signs, they were often sent into places where local law had either failed or joined the wrong side.

San Saba, Texas, in the 1890s was one of those places. 

Today, San Saba is better known as the birthplace of Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Tommy Lee Jones--and, of course, the Pecan Capital of the World. But in the 1890s, its name carried a darker association.

If you remember a young Michael Douglas in The Star Chamber, the story out of San Saba sounds like a frontier version of the same temptation: secret men deciding who deserved punishment.

For years, a secretive vigilante organization held parts of the county in fear. It was known as the San Saba Murder Society, the San Saba Mob, or, more colorfully, the Buzzard’s Water Hole Gang, after one of its alleged meeting places. 

The group seems to have justified itself as frontier order-keeping, the sort of extralegal force that claimed to deal with thieves, rustlers, and men it defined as threats to the community. But over time, the gang became dominated by men who just had a private grudge against a neighbor, or wanted another's property, or just had a taste for violence under a thin veneer of justification.

The historical marker in San Saba County says the group operated with secrecy, ritual, signs, and gestures, and that by the 1880s it had killed numerous area settlers. Some accounts claim the gang included local officials and even religious leaders. 

In 1896, Texas sent Rangers into the county, and breaking up the San Saba Murder Society eventually fell to Captain William Jesse “Bill” McDonald.

One of the most famous Ranger captains in Texas history, McDonald was not a subtle man in the way he handled conflict. 

Not that he never had his private doubts about his personal safety. In a 1909 biography of McDonald, Albert Bigelow Paine noted that Captain Bill had brought his wife to San Saba while he worked the case, and one morning he appeared before her with an anonymous letter.

"Well, I've got to leave San Saba,"he said.

“Why?” she asked. “Has the governor ordered you away?”

"No, the governor hasn't, but read this."

He handed her the letter which informed him that if he did not leave San Saba in two days he would be filled so full of lead that it would require a freight train to haul him to the graveyard. 

After reading the note, Rhoda McDonald said, "Bill Jess, if you leave here on account of a thing like that, I'll leave you."

"Well," said Captain Bill, "I seem to be in a mighty bad fix. If I stay I'll be filled with bullets, and if I go I'll lose my wife. I s'pose I'll have to stay."

Working with the district attorney, McDonald helped expose the San Saba Mob’s network and push cases beyond the reach of local interference. Some trials were moved to Austin and Llano. 

By 1900, the gang’s grip on San Saba County had been broken, though justice came imperfectly. Few members paid fully for what they had done.

Still, McDonald’s reputation grew from exploits like this. In 1905, when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Texas, the governor appointed McDonald as the president’s special bodyguard through the state.

Captain Bill McDonald gets a cameo in my forthcoming novel. I couldn’t resist letting Texas’s most famous Ranger step into the frame. 

It's inspired by the remarkable true story of a man who faced down a violent bootlegging syndicate and became known as the pistol-packing preacher.

I'm giving away free copies of the ebook to a select team of Advance Readers. Join the Pistol-Packing Preacher's Posse by clicking here!

Lawmen of Texas Part 2:

The Rangers Ambush Outlaws
by Martha Rogers

The legacy of the Texas Rangers ranges from heroic stories in battle, capturing or killing of notorious bandits like Sam Bass or Bonnie and Clyde to legends of the Lone Ranger and T.V. shows like Walker: Texas Ranger. Most of the legends and stories contain some elements of truth even if they are embellished with retelling.

For some reason, many history buffs and western writers have chosen these lawmen to be heroes of their stories and novels. One thing is certain; they are one of the longest running law enforcement agencies in the country still in existence today.

Although today they mainly patrol our highways in Texas and assist other law enforcement agencies, they live up to the legacy of all those who have gone before.

Two of their more famous encounters with outlaws and fugitives were the ones with Sam Bass and Bonnie and Clyde. One took place in the 19th century, the other in the 29th, but they both ended the deaths of the criminals. 

Sam Bass, born in Indiana in 1851, ran away from home in 1859 and ended up in Texas. Then he was on the move again and traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota. There he formed his first gang of six men. As the gang robbed banks and trains, all but Sam either were killed or fled the territory, leaving Sam alone.

Jim Murphy, Sam Bass, Seaborne Barnes

He returned to Texas in 1871 and formed another gang. Sam is pictured above with two of his main gang members. After more robberies, many law groups were then on their tail, including the Rangers. Jim Murphy, one of the gang, cut a deal with the law to save his father. He led the group to Round Rock, Texas where a skirmish took place. Sam was wounded but Frank Jackson, a loyal friend of Bass as well as gang member, rescued Sam and took him out of town. The Rangers later found him propped against a tree.

Sam identified himself, but unsure if it was really him, Frank Murphy gave confirmation and Bass was arrested. Who actually fired the shot that wounded Bass and caused his subsequent death has been argued about, but the official ruling was that the fatal blow came from Ranger Dick Ware. At right is the headstone and memorial set up for Sam at Round Rock Cemetery.

More information can be found at: http://www.forttumbleweed.net/historybass.html

One of the most famous confrontations with known criminals is that of Bonnie and Clyde. Frank Hamer, pictured at right, is the man who led the investigation and subsequent ambush of the couple in 1934.

Clyde Barrow, age 21, met Bonnie Parker in January of 1930 in Texas when she was 19. Barrow was single, but Bonnie was married to a man in prison after a murder conviction. Clyde went to jail for burglary, but Bonnie helped him escape by smuggling a gun to him. He was captured and sent back to prison but was paroled in 1932.

He met up with Bonnie again, and they headed into a two year crime spree that included auto theft, burglaries, robberies and at least thirteen murders. The couple quickly became famous for their crimes which included a suspicion of killing two Joplin, Missouri policemen and the kidnapping of a couple in rural Louisiana. They later released the couple in the small town of Waldo, Texas.

Their crimes spread across Texas and into Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana where they robbed and killed numerous people including law officers.

Picture from:https://www.history.com/news/8-famous-texas-rangers 

The Texas Rangers commissioned Frank Hamer as Highway Patrol officer and then as a special investigator charged with tracking down Bonnie and Clyde. Hamer began a study of Barrow’s movements and found pattern of circling the

state and skirting along state borders to elude the law. Four other men, Manny Gault, Bob Alcorn, Ted Hinton and Prentiss Oakley joined Hamer in the final ambush in Louisiana that ended in the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde.

Here's a picture of the car after the ambush:

For more information about this infamous couple and their deaths, visit the website: https://www.thevintagenews.com 

You can always visit the museum in Waco and see the artifacts, pictures, and stories of these men who protected our state.

Although the Rangers do not participate in confrontations today like that of Bonnie and Clyde, they are instrumental in helping to keep Texas’ roads and highways safer. Their patrol cars can be seen along every highway in Texas whether a State or Interstate, and they don’t hesitate in pulling over those who are exceeding the posted speed-limits.

In celebration of my 83rd birthday this month, I am giving away a copy of my novella: Lasso Around Her Heart. In the comment section, tell me about your best birthday so far. I'll announce the winner by the 15th. 

Allie Logan promised her mother to take care of the family after her death, and she’s kept that promise for over five years, but now Jarrod Wright comes into her life and threatens that promise. When she learns her of her father’s attempts to arrange a marriage between her and Jarrod by offering him land, she shuts herself off from Jarrod only to find he’s already lassoed her heart. But how can she forgive her father for offering to pay a man to marry her and Jarrod for accepting the offer? 

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and multi-published author from Realms Fiction of Charisma Media and Winged Publications. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009. She is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications, Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2015.  Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren