Sundog Daze by Ash Lingam & Dave Walton

Author:Ash Lingam & Dave Walton [Lingam, Ash & Walton, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781544165028
Published: 2017-10-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12: Texas Succeeds

Although we usually don’t have much to do with politics, us being Texas Rangers and all we, as a rule, we pay little attention to what the politicians have to say in the big cities. Especially big cities that are not in the state of Texas. Now it would appear we may well be drug into the fray unwillingly. At the moment not knowing how things will pan out for us Texas Rangers. Our questions were, will we continue to do our jobs here on the border or will we be forced into the Army of the Southern States if things come to war as it would appear?

It was now the late winter of 1860 when I picked up the Austin periodical. Here it read that Texan counties sent delegates to a particular convention to debate the merits of secession. The convention adopted an ‘Ordinance of Secession’ by a vote of 166 to 8.

Separately from the Ordinance of Secession, which has been considered a legal document, the Texas government has also issued a declaration of causes, spelling out the rationale for declaring secession. The document specified several reasons for secession, including its solidarity with its sister slave-holding States.

As well as the U.S. government’s inability to prevent Indian attacks, slave-stealing raids and other border-crossing acts of banditry. It accuses northern politicians and abolitionists of committing a variety of outrages upon Texans. The bulk of the document offers justifications for slavery and white supremacy, saying that remaining a part of the United States would jeopardize the security of the two.

I read the newspaper out loud to the men, “Here is a declaration that states; ‘We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various States, and of the Confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity. That the African race had no agency in their establishment, and that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or tolerable’. As stated by Caleb Cutwell, in a letter to the Galveston Tri-Weekly, “Independence without slavery would be valueless… The South without slavery would not be worth a mess of pottage.”

As Bill, Toby, Weston, Cooks and I sat on the Ranger Post porch having our evening coffee, as I finished reading the newspaper.

“How is this going to affect us a Texas Rangers, Captain?” Toby Bees asked.

“I could not rightly say at the moment, Toby, although it is sure as Hell ain’t good news, son. Big changes are headed our way, I reckon,” I replied. “I have spent my entire adult life-fighting outlaws and Comanche, but I don’t feel right fighting against my people for a cause that I don’t condone and hardly understand,” I reflected. “I reckon if I have a choice in the matter I will stay right here on the border and continue to do what I have been doing for nearly a decade now. That is if they let me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.