Texas Almanac, 1941-1942 Page: 93
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STATE SEAL.-TEXAS RANGERS
** u?
og- o 'o
The Seal of the State of Texas is the Lone
Star encircled by wreath of live oak and
olive (strength and peace). Except the sub-
stitution of "state" for "Republic," it is the
same as the Seal of the Republic.
STATE SEAL.
The seal of the State of Texas consists of
"a star of five points, encircled by olie and
live oak branches, and the words. 'The State
of Texas.' " (State Constitution. Art. IV, Sec
19.) The State Seal is a slight modification
of the Great Seal of the Republic of Texas,
first adopted by the Congress of the Re-
public, Dec. 10, 1836, and readopted with
modifications in 1839. It is said that, when
the need of a seal first arose, Provisional
Governor Henry Smith made the Imprint
xith a large brass button cut from his over-
coat, the button having a five-point star and
wreath of oak leaves Latet the olive branch
was added to signify "peace" as well as
"strength "
TEXAS WEEK.
The week in which Texas Independence
Day. March 2, falls each year is designated
Texas Week, and by legislative resolution
the Governor of Texas "is vested with the
power and besought to issue . . . his procla-
mation . . . urging every citizen of this state
to exalt and extol the highest and the best
cultural and spiritual values of Texas " How-
ever, it is specifically provided that it is not
to be a week of holiday observances but
"quite the contrary . . . every citizen is en-
couraged to work . . . and to do his work a
bit better than he does it during other weeks
of the year." There are extended sugges-
tions as to proper observance of Texas Week
in the resolution providing it. (Acts of 1932.
Forty-Second Legislature, third called ses-
sion, p. 131.)
TEXAS HOLIDAYS.
Texas has two holidays and several "special
observance days" peculiarly its own. Holidays
are Texas Independence Day, March 2, and
San Jacinto Day, April 21 See lists, "Anni-
versaries and Festivals," and "Texas Special
Observance Days" on p. 31.The Texas Rangers.
Note -This article is mainly a brief summary
of "THE TEXAS RANGERS," the latest and
most comprehensive book on the subject, written
by Professor Walter Prescott Webb of the Uni-
%ersity of Texas, and published by Houghton Mif-
flin Company, Boston, in 1935
For moi e than a century, the Texas Rangers
engaged in taming the Southwestern frontier
They put an end to scalping raids, pacified
the Rio Grande border and brought to jus-
tice a large assortment of cattle thieves,
fence-cutters, train robbers and murderers
'They combined the fighting qualities of
three races they could ride like Mexicans,
trail like Indians, shoot like Tennesseeans
and fight like the devil."
Stephen F. Austin employed a small body
of Rangers as early as 1823 to protect the
frontier colonies against bloodthirsty Karan-
kawas and other tribes. On Oct 17, 1835, on
the eve of the Texas War of Independence,
the council of the revolutionists formally au-
thorized the employment of a corps of Rang-
ers to guard the frontiers. The Rangers
protected the settlements against the incur-
sions of Indians while Sam Houston and his
ragged army defeated the troops of Santa
Anna
In the period of the Republic, the Ranger
organization was enlarged and was used to
patrol the frontier and to punish Indian raid-
ers. Depredations by freebooters on the Rio
Grande and threats of invasion by Mexican
troops also kept them busy on the border.
Each Ranger provided himself with a good
horse, a rifle and a brace of pistols.
After Annexation.
When Texas was annexed by the United
States, the Federal Government assumed re-
sponsibility for protecting the frontier and
the Ranger organization virtually was
dropped. However, the Federal troops, large-
ly infantry, were so unaccustomed to border
and Indian warfare that the Rangers were
reorganized. In the Mexican War, which
followed soon after annexation. Texas Rang-
ers served as scouts for the invading Amer-
ican armies and took Important parts in the
fighting They "were not only the eyes and
ears of General Taylor's army, but its right
and left arms as well." In Mexico City they
were called Los Diablos TeJanos-the Texas
Devils.
The period between the Mexican War and
the Civil War was marked by a number of
bloody conflicts with Indians which ended
with the removal of most of the red men to
Federal reservations outside Texas. Rangers
were required also to end the depredations
of cattle thieves and other outlaws along the
Rio Grande. The most formidable band of
raiders was that led by Juan N. Cortinas.
Many South Texas ranchers suffered from
the depredations of Cortinas and his men in
the early part of 1860, In 1859, he and 100
of his men took possession of Brownsville
for a short time, terrorizing the citizens and
killing three Americans. Texas Rangers in-
vaded Mexican soil and put the Cortinas army
to flight.
During Civil War.
During the Civil War, the Ranger organiza-
tion was neglected Many members and for-
mer members of this frontier fighting outfit
enlisted in Terry's Texas Rangers, whicn
made an admirable record In the ConfederateFIRST NATIONAL BANK
MEMBER F. D. I. C.
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Texas Almanac, 1941-1942, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117164/m1/95/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.