DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1874, Governor Richard Coke had a problem on his hands — the settlements out on the Texas frontier needed protecting, and he wasn't about to leave them to chance. So he established the Frontier Battalion, six companies of volunteer Rangers, and he put Major John B.
Jones in charge of the whole outfit. Now that's a name worth remembering. Jones stretched his defensive line all the way from the Red River down to the coastal area — a reach that tells you something about just how much territory these men were expected to cover.
Out here in what's now Runnels County, Company E drew the assignment. Captain W. J.
Maltby was their man, and in 1874 he set his Rangers down right here. What did that look like? Tents.
A corral for the horses. And the centerpiece of the whole operation — a hand-dug well. Now somebody put real work into that well.
You don't dig by hand in Texas caliche for the fun of it. They dug, and they dug, and when they finally hit bottom... no water. The well failed to provide a single drop.
So the Rangers of Company E kept their boots on, kept their eyes open, and every day they rode out on scouting duties, including a sentry post up on Ranger Peak, just half a mile to the west. A defensive line stretching hundreds of miles. Six companies of volunteers.
One dry hole in the ground. Some things out here didn't cooperate — but the Rangers stayed anyway.
What the marker says
In an effort to protect area settlements, Governor Richard Coke established the Frontier Battalion in 1874. Comprised of six companies of volunteer Rangers, it was headed by Major John B. Jones. This campsite was part of a defensive line which reached from the Red River to the coastal area. Rangers of Co. E, under the leadership of Captain W. J. Maltby, were stationed here in 1874. The camp consisted of tents, a corral for horses, and this hand-dug well, which failed to provide water. Daily scouting duties included a sentry post on nearby Ranger Peak (0.5 mi. W). (1980)