The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: the Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920.

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.
• Position: Book Review

The TEXAS RANGERS AND THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION THE Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920 BY CHARLES H. HARRIS III AND LOUIS R. SADLER UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS 2004, 673 PAGES, $37.50

A certain amount of courage--and strength--is needed to pick up and start reading this nearly 700-page tome. In the understatement of the year, the authors call it a monograph! Yet, it is a fascinating book giving a new and refreshing reappraisal of the Texas Rangers (no, not the major league baseball team formerly owned by George W. Bush).

Presented is a brief history of the Rangers, but especially focusing on their activities during the period of 1910-20, when the Mexican Revolution was in full swing. This work is not so much a revisionist history as it is the demythologization of a law enforcement group as famed as Scotland Yard or the Canadian Mounties. At one time, even China inquired as to how the Rangers operated as it was having border problems with Mongolia. Originally, they were called into service as the governor's body guard, but also battled raiding Indians, protected ranchers from smuggling, guarded the Mexican border, and even kept peace during elections. The virtues and warts of the Texas Rangers are given full exposure in what probably is a definitive work. Their boasts such as "one ranger, one riot" are taken to task, although there is plenty of heroism to go around.

Until 1935, when they came under the jurisdiction of a new department, they were the personal police force of the Texas governor. Their fame and capabilities waxed and waned, depending on who was the state's highest official. They numbered only around 100, except in times of crisis, such as World War I, when their ranks swelled to about 1,300.

Their budget always was tight. A Ranger had to furnish his own weapons, horse, and saddle. His pay was poor, but his prestige...