Richard King by William R. Sanford

Author:William R. Sanford [Sanford, William R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4645-0995-7
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Image Credit: The Granger Collection, NYC

Masked cattle rustlers pose for a photo during the 1880s. Cattle rustlers and bandits, led by the Mexican general Juan Cortina, became a serious problem for Richard King and other ranchers.

The raid marked the outbreak of the First Cortina War. Cortina urged his men to attack all Texans. Along with burning and looting, his bands indulged in an orgy of killing. A government report noted: “Old and young were … dragged at the hooves of horses, burned and flayed alive, shot to death or cut to pieces with knives.”

The reign of terror brought help at last. Army troops arrived in December, along with a unit of Texas Rangers. The small force drove Cortina away from Brownsville. The bandit chief then turned to new targets. His raids brought in a second Ranger force under John S. “Rip” Ford. Richard King supplied Ford with provisions and information. In a series of bloody clashes, Ford drove Cortina’s raiders back into Mexico.

The fighting hurt Richard’s businesses. On the river, traffic stopped for five months. Out on the ranch, rustlers drove off thousands of longhorns. It is unclear where Richard was at this time, but he hurried back to the ranch to strengthen its defenses.

By June 1860, Richard was filing claims against the government. He argued that the army had been lax in leaving the border open to attack. His lawyer asked for more than $250,000 in damages. Washington turned a deaf ear to the claims.

By this time, the nation stood at the brink of civil war. Richard hurried to prepare for the conflict. He and Kenedy placed orders for new steamboats. They knew that freight traffic would boom during a war. To raise capital, Richard took Kenedy in as a partner in his ranch. They named the new firm R. King & Company. The Civil War was only four months away.

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