Rangers and sovereignty Page: 43 of 188
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46
RANGERS AND SOVEREIGNTY
Major Jones' escort had moved out, with a man to
show them the trail, and were half an hour ahead of
me. As soon as we could saddle our horses we mounted
and struck a gallop, taking a course a little south of
the direction the escort had taken. I had flankers out
on each side, so that we could not run over the trail
without seeing it. We kept this speed for a distance of
about eight miles when we came in sight of men riding
briskly to the south, and near the head of Saline Creek.
I thought we had sighted the Indians, but when I got
nearer I saw that it was the escort, under command
of Lieutenant Best, and on the trail of the Indians.
I thought they were going a little too slow, as the
Indians would soon reach a shelter of thickets and
timber unknown to Lieutenant Best. Since Lieutenant
Best was my superior officer, I put my wits to work
quickly, to master the situation. He had two men
ahead of him trailing the Indians, but I thought them
too slow a "fuse" to fire in time. I rode up to the
side of Lieutenant Best and asked him if I might assist
those men in trailing, to which he replied " Certainly,
do so". Then I had my cue. I lost no time in getting
to them and struck a gallop on the trail. I knew what
would follow and looked back and saw my men coming
after me like stampeded cattle. I have never been
quite able to justify my rude conduct toward a superior
officer, but I knew something had to be done
quickly. The clatter of hoofs was so fast that escort
did not know whether they were on the Indian trail
or not.
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Roberts, Dan W. Rangers and sovereignty, book, 1914; San Antonio, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5833/m1/43/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .