Taming the Nueces Strip: The Story of McNelly's Rangers (Texas Classics)

I enjoyed reading this book. The account of George Durham is as blunt and straight forward as the men he came to know and ride with. That is, he speaks of a life that was hard and brutal. He speaks to how poor he was prior to becoming a Ranger, and what it was like for a young man to become a part of a group of men who, while they were in the business of upholding the law, they were in fact similar in many ways to the lawbreakers they sought. Durham makes no excuses for the things the Rangers did (for instance, the fact that they took no prisoners). The Rangers acted as judge, jury and executioner, and to some, they were as low as the outlaws and badmen they went after. Durham's recollections of King Fisher, a well known rustler, rancher and later a lawman, was fascinating in describing how Fisher dressed, acted, and most importantly, how he consistently outsmarted those that sought to end his days.A main character of the book is Ranger Captain Lee McNelly, who is acclaimed here and elsewhere as a brave and able leader. During his rather short life McNelly participated in some wild and woooly events, and it is our good fortune that Durham was along to witness some of it. It is apparent that Durham had a bit of the hero worship for McNelly, but considering Durham's young age when he joined the Rangers, and his lack of experience in the ways of the West, it is not unusual that Durham would be so inclined.The reason that I didn't rate this book a five star was because of the near total recall by Durham of the conversations and spoken words attributed to others, many years after the actual events. In my own case it is sometimes hard to remember what someone said a mere month ago, so while I attribute a great deal of accuracy to the events described in the book, I have to wonder about the verbatim conversations. However, this does not unduly detract from the overall favorable experience of reading this book.

My favorite book. An excellent account (story) that makes you feel as if you are right there. If you are interested in Texas, or western history, law enforcement, firearms and the human story - this little book has it all. I am from the same area of the book's title - "The Nueces Strip". The Nueces Strip is all the land between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers. This is a story of a very young Texas Ranger (George Durham), and his experiences riding with 35 year old Ranger Captain Leander McNelly. Both men have interesting stories. Clyde Wantland (passed away in 1963) is the author and used to write for the San Antonio express. He has written several other articles and small books that I haven't been able to get ahold of.

There was trouble on the Mexican border. A cartel was pillaging, murdering, and raping. The federal government was hobbled by political correctness and a fear of offending Mexico. The Texans took matters into their own hands and commissioned a frail, but determined war hero to head up his own team. It could be 2016, but this is 1876 and the brave, little leader was the indomitable Captain Leander McNelly, a plain-spoken sufferer of consumption who repeatedly rose from his sick bed to lead his loyal Rangers against well-organized banditos. He once went against direct orders of the Secretary of War and took 49 men on foot across the Rio Grande to assault hundreds of outlaws and return a herd of stolen cattle. When several federal troops assisted in the gunfight and were disciplined later by politicians in Washington, D.C., McNelly took six weeks and traveled at his own expense and the situation was rectified. A very good book with important life lessons. We need a Captain McNelly today.

Great story and a very interesting historical read, especially for someone who grew up in the Nueces strip. The author captures your attention in a manner that makes it difficult to put the book down!

This book is enjoyable and gives a first-hand view of a lively chapter in Texas history. The book has its share of excitement, humor and grim reality. The one jarring note is that somewhere in its production there was a clumsy attempt to dramatise certain events by a writer using the expressions of a modern western novel. Thus we have Captain McNelly checking the loads in his gun and swinging shut the cylinder, as per the TV cowboys of the 1950s, at a time when swing-out cylinders had not been invented . Also there is a reference to a "thutty-thitty" nearly 20 years before the .30/30 cartridge became available. Ranger George Durham would not have made such errors. Fortunately these later additions do not detract from the main narrative and the book represents good value.PJG

After reading Elmer Kelton's "Captain's Rangers" I picked up Durham's book and find it equally enjoyable, as well as a great lesson in how a fine writer of fiction can create a story based on historical fact and keep it true while weaving other characters into the tale. However, I cannot rate this book five-star because it is incredibly full of typos. I wouldn't have believed UTPress would produce a volume so full of typos. Nine errors in the first 83 pages? Some kind of record. I know the original issue in 1962 was not like this (Note: I worked there 1951-56) for in those days the standards were high! I suspect these reissues are created by OCR and nobody is proofing them. Fie on them! Maybe I should apply for my old job back!

I first became aware of Captain McNelly when I visited the King Ranch museum in Kingsville Texas. Then I watched the Hollywood version of this book. I had to know the truth, so I bought the book. Absolutely wonderful!! And absolutely nothing, nothing like that movie. I think only the McNelly name was the same. I recommend this to anyone interested in history or Texas or the Rangers. it reads more like a Louis Lamore novel. All the facts seem to tally and don't read like a school history book. Well worth twice the price

I enjoyed the anecdotes and real life experiences written about.