Under Captain Leander H. McNelly, the Special Force of Rangers moved into the Nueces Strip (between Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande) to combat lawlessness in that region. Meanwhile, the Frontier Battalion, a force of some 450 Rangers under Major John B. Jones, participated in over fifteen Indian battles, and effectively neutralized the once powerful Comanches and Kiowas. But perhaps more importantly, this group also "thinned out" more than 3,000 Texas desperados. Today the "Texas Rangers"are an investigative division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. There are currently 116 Rangers and are posted across Texas in six companies. They have been called one of the most effective investigative law enforcement agencies in the world.
Many stories have been told , books have been written, and movies have been made about the Texas Rangers. Much glorified the outlaws and created events that were incorrect for ratings and entertainment. In real life the outlaws were murders and thieves. John Wesley Hardin was reputed to have killed 31 men. Ranger John B. Armstrong boarded a train Hardin and four companions were on. When it was over Hardin was knocked out, one was dead, and the three remaining were staring down the barrel of Armstrong's gun. A neat hole pierced Armstrong's hat, but he was uninjured.
Sam Bass was often referred to as "Texas" Beloved Bandit" or "Robin Hood on a Fast Horse". In fact , he was probably more inept than brave or noble. Robbing banks and trains for him was a mere sport, the reality that people often were injured, either physically or financially, appears to have never surfaced on his shallow conscience. He died during a shoot out with four Texas Rangers at Round Rock, Texas, after being betrayed by one of his own gang members. .
The most famous criminal duo ever was Bonnie and Clyde. A 1960 movie portrayed them as part "Romero & Juliet" and part "Robin Hood" when in fact they were cold blooded killers.
