How The Most Famous Texas Ranger Got His Start. Part 6

Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're on a short series about Frank Hamer, who was one of the best Texas Rangers who ever wore the badge, perhaps THE best Ranger.

Recap

In yesterday's post we talked about Frank Hamer and his captain trying to track down a murderer who had killed a local Del Rio, Texas rancher and was suspected to have killed a second rancher as well.

The suspect's name was Ed Putnam and the Sheriff was tipped off that he was occupying himself in the local brothel instead of trying to get out of town.

It made no sense but the boy wasn't known for his smarts.

Well, the Sheriff put 7 deputies and himself in front of the brothel while Captain Rogers, Frank Hamer, and another ranger named Hudson, went around back.

The girls were ordered out and one of them talked to Putnam and said he wasn't giving himself up.

This is Del Rio in about 1910:

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Today's story

Evidently Putnam hadn't seen very many Westerns because at this point in the story, when the bad guy has no way out, he always grabs a girl and puts a gun to her head and demands a fresh horse or else she gets it in the head! lol.

And it's always a girlfriend of the Sheriff or Miss Kitty, or someone like that and that causes the Sheriff to back off until someone figures out how to distract him or make him let his guard down.

And he had a perfect opportunity to grab the brothel owner's daughter who went back in to try to get him to give up. But he didn't so his game was basically up.

Pressure was building

The Sheriff waited for 30 minutes and was getting impatient. Plus by that time about a hundred towns people had gathered and they were highly agitated.

Rumors were flyin that Mexican bandits had killed two local ranchers so they were ready to hang someone.

He needed to end this NOW

Well, not wanting to let the townspeople get out of control, plus being late in the evening and he'd already missed dinner, the Sheriff told his men to open fire. The first barrage of bullets wasn't that many, about 50 shots.

The Rangers waited patiently at the rear of the building, watching to make sure Putnam didn't make a run out the back.

Frank Hamer was behind a Hackberry tree calmly watching for any movement. He saw a curtain flutter in a window, then saw a six shooter appear.

Frank was armed with his trusty Winchester Model 1894 saddle ring carbine:

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He took careful aim at the barrel of the six gun and fired one shot. There was a loud thud. The Sheriff and his men heard the thud but couldn't be sure what it was. So he told 'em to light the place up. You know, just to be sure.

The Rangers stayed quietly in the rear while the deputies turned the building into Swiss Cheese. They fired about 500 rounds into the wooden walls and through the windows, basically destroying the place.

After the dust and smoke settled the brothel was shredded. All the furniture destroyed. Even the legs of the stove were shot off. (no word on who paid for the damages).

I wonder if any of the deputies winced at having their favorite hangout destroyed? lol. Okay okay, that isn't fair. But just thinking of the odds and 7 deputies in that small town. I bet at least one of them liked spending time there.

Most brothels in the Western cowtowns were secretly protected by local law enforcement, even though brothels were illegal. The Sheriff and deputies got special treatment, favors, and discounts! But I don't know that to be the situation in this particular case.

As it turns out, Putnam had been crouching down when Frank fired his rifle, so the bullet entered just under his left eye, killing him instantly. Putnam was still grasping his six shooter when they found his body.

They also found a .32-caliber Winchester rifle and a newfangled German Luger semi-automatic pistol. In Putnam’s pockets the lawmen found 300 cartridges and $3,500 in cash.

Frank earned his spurs

Captain Rogers was so impressed with Frank's composure and dead aim that he gave Putnam's six shooter to him as a momento since this was his first gun battle as a Ranger.

Actually, I don't know how much of a battle it was, none of the accounts I read said anything about Putnam firing his weapons, I think he was just hiding in that back room.

Word came in later that day that the second rancher had been found shot dead, last seen with Putnam, so it was indeed a double homicide and Putnam was one sick dog.

The local photographer was there

His name was Noah Rose and he witnessed the shooting and invited the men to his studio to take photos, probably for the newspapers. Here's Frank Hamer(on the left) and the other Ranger named Hudson, that was guarding the rear of the house:

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And here's a group photo with Captain Rogers seated and holding the Luger pistol that Putnam had, Frank is standing on the left side:

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Back then and in the Old West, the newspapers always ran photos of the dead outlaws and that's what they did in this case, Rose also took a photo of Putnam's body.

Now, I normally don't show these kinds of photos but this is the most ungruesome dead outlaw photo I've ever seen.

So in keeping with the Old West tradition here's Putnam after he was shot:

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Looks very peaceful don't he? Like he's about to break into a smile. In fact, he looks like someone that died in a brothel. lol.

Well, this was the start of a fantastic career for Frank Hamer who went on to become the greatest Texas Ranger in their history, his crowning achievement being the take down of the psycho serial murderers Bonnie and Clyde.

I'm getting ready to do a series on the incredible career of Frank, should be coming soon.

Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas