Texas always has been a rowdy place. In 1822, the original Anglo settlers began trickling into what was then Mexico at the invitation of the Mexican government, which hoped American immigrants would do away with the out-of-control Comanches. Texans dispensed with the Comanches in the 1870s by foisting them off on Oklahoma, but long before that, the Texans ran off the Mexican government.
From 1836 to 1845, Texas looked something like the map at right. The green parts became the Republic of Texas as a result of treaties signed by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana after Sam Houston and his ragtag-but-zealous army caught the general napping at San Jacinto. The treaties set the boundary between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande.
This caused a bit of a fuss in the Mexican capital. No matter how embarrassing his situation, Santa Ana did not possess the authority to dispose of large chunks of land with the swipe of a pen. Mexico eventually conceded Texas could have the dark-green part of the map—bounded to the south by the Nueces River, which lies about one hundred fifty miles north of the Rio Grande—but the light-green part still belonged to Mexico.
Arguments ensued.
While Texas and Mexico were studiously avoiding one another in the disputed territory, outlaws, rustlers, and other lawless types moved into the patch between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. After all, no respectable outlaw ever lets a perfectly good blind spot on the law-enforcement radar go to waste. The area, 150 miles wide by about 400 miles long, came to be known as the Nueces Strip.
In 1845, the United States annexed all of the land claimed by Texas, including the disputed territory, and came to military blows with Mexico over the insult. By the time the two countries signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 to settle once and for all (sort of) who owned what, the lawless element was firmly entrenched in the strip of cactus and scrub between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. For nearly thirty years, brigands raised havoc—robbing, looting, raping, rustling, and killing—on both sides of the border before retreating to ranchos and other hideouts in the Strip’s no-man’s land.
That began to change in 1875 when Texas Ranger Captain Leander McNelly was charged with bringing order to the southern part of Texas. Newly re-formed after being disbanded for about ten years during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Rangers were determined to clean up the cesspool harboring notorious toughs like King Fisher and Juan Cortina. With a company of forty handpicked men known as the Special Force, McNelly accomplished his task in two years…in some cases by behaving at least as badly as the outlaws. McNelly was known for brutal—sometimes downright illegal—tactics, including torturing information out of some prisoners and hanging others. He and his men also made a number of unauthorized border crossings in pursuit of rustlers, nearly provoking international incidents.
Nevertheless, the “Little McNellys” got the job done. By the time McNelly was relieved of command and subsequently retired in 1876, the Nueces Strip was a safer place.
McNelly died of consumption in September 1877. Though he remains controversial in some circles, the residents of South Texas raised funds and erected a monument in his honor.
A Texan to the bone, award-winning author Kathleen Rice Adams spends her days chasing news stories and her nights and weekends shooting it out with Wild West desperados. Leave the upstanding, law-abiding heroes to other folks. In Kathleen's tales, even the good guys wear black hats.
Her short story “The Second-Best Ranger in Texas” won the Peacemaker Award for Best Western Short Fiction. Her novel Prodigal Gun won the EPIC Award for Historical Romance and is the only western historical romance ever to final for a Peacemaker in a book-length category.
Visit her at the Hole in the Web Gang's hideout, KathleenRiceAdams.com. Or, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Her Amazon author page is here.
Very interesting post today
Thanks, Janine! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Love reading Texas history. Of course their history is also a part of American history and that makes up my favorite types of books, Historical romance! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by, Connie! Historical romance is my favorite reading material, too. 😉
Interesting history post, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Quilt Lady! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Kathleen, thanks so much for a very interesting and educational read. There’s so much history about Texas and other western states that I’ve never even dreamed of. I relish any info like you just offered. So keep those delightful stories and facts comin’ for all us easterners who are still in the dark but tryin’ hard to learn.
Bev, don’t sell yourself short. I learn new things from you all the time! That’s one of the great things about the web: so much to learn and so many helpful people. How did we human information sponges ever manage before the internet?
Thanks for your kind words, sister Prairie Rose! HUGS! 🙂
I hadn’t realized the territory that became Texas went through as many changes as it did. Such a large “no man’s land” could and did become a threat. I can’t say I approve of Capt. Mcnelly’s tactics, but I double much else would have worked, especially in such a relatively short time.
We will be visiting part of that area later this year. . We will be going from Dallas down to Big Bend National Park, through the park, then up to Fort Davis, and on to New Mexico and Arizona before going home. We look forward to it. We haven’t been to that part of Texas yet.
Thanks for the interesting post.
Patricia, a whole lot of people didn’t appreciate Capt. McNelly’s tactics, including his superiors. The Rangers always have been tough, do-whatever-it-takes sorts. Their tactics usually were effective, if not always legal.
You’ll drive through several of Texas’s geographic and climate zones during your trip. (The state has seven zones altogether.) Big Bend National Park is striking, and you can feel the history at Ft. Davis. Enjoy the adventure! 🙂