Legendary Texas Ranger H. Joaquin Jackson's latest book:

One Ranger Returns, 2008.

"I trailed him forty miles to Brackettville..."

Snippet from Chapter 2:

By the light of the Rustlers' Moon.


"There were times when tracking and locating animals could simply be fun.

"I got a call early one morning that a rancher near Uvalde was missing a palomino horse, along with its saddle, bridle, blanket, and a pair of chaps.

"It was apparent from the trail that the thief had gone off west down Highway 90, sometimes on one side of the road and sometimes on the other, sometimes in a lope and sometimes in a trot, but he never got the horse into a full run.

"I trailed him forty miles, to Brackettville.

"He was just feeding the horse in a wooden trough and hadn't been there more than thirty minutes when I drove up.

"He saw me and looked as if he were going to pass out.

"I arrested him, but, if I remember correctly, he received probation ..." :)

"Moral" of this story?

Long before they turned - on to pushing dope, Brackettville' s "old time" rustlers seemed to have enjoyed an edge on their peers! :)

Seriously, folks, as we're told, usually when rustled livestock is returned in serviceable condition, the owners simply shrug the whole thing off...