Bumpy Ride!

09 Nov 08

"Civilian Security Force?"

In a frightening display of personal dishonesty, the very day after the election, BHO radically changed his Web Page to reflect a chilling anti-gun stance, a position kept carefully hidden during the campaign. Imagine that!

He has also restated his call for the formation of his heavily-armed, but ill-defined "Civilian Security Force," loyal, apparently, only to him personally.

Roman Emperor Tiberius (14BC-37AD), infinitely more interested in coercing political opponents than in public service, imposed onerous anti-arms edicts upon Roman citizens, in order to make them less outwardly resistant to his tyranny. He had his Legions, but he raised another, separate armed force, the Praetorian Guard, which was always quartered in the City. The cover-storywas that Praetorians served as body-guards for the Emperor, but their real purpose was to harass and terrorize (disarmed) citizens. "Hitler Youth," centuries later in Nazi Germany, would serve the same purpose.

Economic and political calamity are never a result of free citizens being armed. Disaster is the predictable result of weak and corrupt political authorities. While the State is well and righteously governed, officials have nothing to fear from armed citizens.

With BHO's already demonstrated duplicity, significant personal risk will attach to all political activity. The Party currently in power will have scant tolerance for those who speak out against them.

We're in for a bumpy ride!

/John

Enchanted Rock

09 Nov 08

Jack Hays at Enchanted Rock, near San Antonio, Texas, fall of 1841:

In stories of Texas Rangers, few names are mentioned more often, and with more reverence, than that of John (Jack) C Hays. Jack, unlike Davie Crockett, Daniel Boone, Wyatt Earp, Bill Hickok, et al, has been mostly spared modern-day media exploitation, but his mighty and gallant deeds are the stuff of genuine heroism and deserve recognition and study by us, his spiritual descendants.

Growing up in Tennessee in the early Nineteenth Century, Jack, orphaned at the age of fifteen, quickly took charge of his young life and trained for a career as a surveyor. However, news of the heroic stand by stalwart settlers at the Alamo inspired Hays to immigrate to the new and wild Republic of Texas.

His plans for a career as a modest rancher were continuously punctuated by violent encounters with local Indians and disenfranchised Mexicans. In the process, Hays became a hard-bitten and savvy frontiersman, a crack shot, a surefooted, fearsome fighter, and an inspired small-unit leader. In fact, he gradually waxed into something of a local legend. As with all legendary figures, some of his exploits were doubtless embellished and exaggerated. Still, his reputation was eminently deserved, and his humble attempts to settle down and stave off destiny were doomed to failure!

Unable to resist the call to adventure, Hays soon enlisted in a company of Texas Rangers near San Antonio, a profession known for its high casualty rate! His trenchant fascination with Indian culture and military tactics slowly elevated him to the status of resident-expert on effective Indian-fighting, particularly against the dreaded Comanches! In the wake of the stunningly-successful Battle of Plum Creek on 12 Aug 1840, in which Hays' knowledge of Indian Tactics provided the winning edge, Hays was promoted to the rank ofCaptain.

Local Comanches, organized into loosely-adhesive, far-roaming, offence-oriented bands, specialized in stealing horses and raiding isolated settlements. They were cunning, audacious, deadly warriors and, always mounted, not afraid to charge en-masse, even while suffering heavy casualties, when there was even a small chance of overwhelming their foe. They were preeminent in Texas, having driven out just about all other Indian tribes.

In the 1840s, most Texas Indians were armed with traditional weapons (bows, tomahawks, and blades), having little interest in muzzle-loading, mostly flint-lock, rifles used by white settlers. Rifles outdistanced bows, of course, but their rate of fire was slow (relative to a bow), and reloading was awkward and tedious.

The introduction of Colt revolvers into the mix tilted odds in favor of settlers, and revolutionized tactics. A repeating firearm, even a five-shooter, represented a vast reserve of firepower for the revolver-armed individual. The obvious advantage this represented was not lost on Rangers! Hays and nearly all of his contemporaries, routinely carried two. At close range, astonished Indians now ran into a literal buzz-saw of bullets, and many otherwise-successful Indian charges were thus effectively repulsed, with crippling casualties. A despondent Comanche chief was quoted as saying , "Every Ranger now has as many shots as I have fingers on my two hands. I've alreadylost half my warriors..."

Hays, and his Company of Rangers, became extraordinarily successful, vengeful Indian fighters, relentlessly pursuing bands of Comanche, fearlessly counterattacking when assaulted, and routinely besting Comanches at their own game. Residents of San Antonio considered him the consummate hero/protector.

In the fall of 1841, Hays, escorting a party of surveyors, was camped at Crabtree Creek at the foot of "Enchanted Rock," so named by local Indians, because alternating heating and cooling with the coming of night and day caused strange, creaking sounds to episodically emanate from the pink-granite monolith. On a whim, Hays decided to climb, by himself, to the top of theRock in order to experience the view. He was armed, as always, with his rifle and two revolvers, along with a large Bowie Knife.

Hays made it all the way to the top, but, on the way back down, he spotted a party of Comanche who were actively stalking him. He returned to the summit and ensconced himself between two ledges, the best defensive position available. To his dismay, Hays discovered that he had lost his powder horn, making it impossible for him to reload his rifle or his pistols. He realized he was thus limited to eleven shots!

Hays determined from chatter that the Indians knew whom he was. They were thus inordinately cautious, and that was their undoing! Instead of charging all at once, which would have probably been successful, individual Comanche warriors crept toward Jack slowly. When they finally got up the nerve to assa ult Jack's position, they did so individually, and were then individually gunned down, one by one. The military term is: "defeat-in-detail."

When his ammunition supply was exhausted, Hays took on what remained of the war party with his deadly Bowie. By then, the balance of Indians were demoralized and disorganized. They fell victim to Jack's knife-fighting artistry! More Comanche would doubtless have joined in and finished Jack off, but his shooting had alerted his comrades, and they came to his rescue, driving off what remained of the war party.

Jack had, once more, escaped certain death by keeping his head and finding a way to win.

During the subsequent War with Mexico, Hays was every bit as much of a hero as he had been fighting Indians, and his charmed life continued. Sometime during all this adventure, Hays found time to get married and father six children. In the great tragedy of his life, Hays' children all died in infancy, with the exception of two.

In his forties, Hays migrated, with his family, to California, became Sheriff in San Francisco, made some smart land deals, and became wealthy! He died of natural causes at the age of sixty-six in California in 1883.

Back in Texas, "Hays County" was named in his honor.

Comment: Most of our brave and mighty antecedents died young, and with few material possessions to show for their lives. Hays was an exception.

"A man who rides all alone ... and all that he'll ever own, is just a badge and a gun, and he's known as, The Lawman"

Rest in peace, Partner. Rest in peace.

/John