Artist's Statement:

When the Texas Rangers were formed around the mid-1800's, Texas was a somewhat lawless country still unprotected from hostile Indians and outlaw gangs. Automobiles didn't come into use until about the 1910's, so their pursuits of wanted outlaws had to be done with horses and pack mules. During the early times, they sometimes employed Indian Trackers from the Tonkawa and Apache tribes to help track down wanted criminals.

Some parts of Texas, particularly in the West and Southwest areas, were so rugged that they yielded very faint tracks, if any at all. There were caves in some of those mountains where outlaws could hide, so the Rangers had to use extreme caution when they approached these hideouts. Having been a Peace Officer myself, I can only imagine how dangerous it was for those men who didn't have radios, patrol vehicles, aircraft or automatic weapons.

Back then, all a man had to do to qualify as a Texas Ranger was to be able to "Ride like an Indian, fight like a badger and shoot like a Kentuckian". It was written on their recruiting posters that "Invalids need not apply".