b'finding only the old blind patriarch of the clan present,As John Boessenecker would note in his classic work on the Rangers spotted in the distance two horsemen whothe men who rode shotgun for Wells-Fargo, Shotguns spurred their horses south, and unbeknownst to Jones,and Stagecoaches, "Jeff Milton was one of the most noted across the international border into Mexico. Joneslawmen of the Old West. For fifty years, he served as a nonetheless gave chase and a brisk firefight ensued.peace officer, first as a Texas Ranger, and then deputy Jones was hit twice in the leg, and as he struggled to getsheriff, city marshal of El Paso, a mounted customs up to return fire, took a bullet to the heart. The mortallyinspector, and finally a U.S. Immigration Service officer. wounded Jones just had time to utter "boys, I amJeff was extremely handsome and a favorite with the killed" before he fell back dead. The other Rangers, nowsenoritas. At the same time, he was a tough-as-nails realizing they were inside Mexico and subject to arrest,border man. His encounters with such deadly gunmen quickly scurried back across the Rio Grande - Mexicanas John Wesley Hardin, John Selman,Martin M\'Rose, authorities returning Captain Jones\'s body with fullMannie Clements, "Bronco Bill" Walters, and "Three-military honors (Utley, Lone Star Justice, pp. 264-65). Fingered Jack Dunlap hold a prominent place in the lore of the Old West" (Boessenecker, John, Shotguns and The death of Frank Jones, tragic as it was, was theStagecoaches, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin\'s Press, impetus that led to two positive improvements forNew York, 2018, p. 169).the Rangers - and as the 20th Century beckoned, a new Golden Age for the Texas Rangers. The firstBut even facing down John Wesley Hardin was child\'s seemed minimal at the time but it did elevate Jones\'play compared to the one singular act that ensured Jeff sergeant, one John B. Hughes to the captaincy of DMilton a prominent place in Old West history and lore. Company, and ultimately, to the top of the tier ofAs a Wells-Fargo express rider he single-handedly put Ranger leadership. As Robert Utley would state in hispaid the February 15, 1900, Fairbank train robbery book, Lone Star Justice, Hughes revealed himself to asorchestrated by the notorious ex-lawman turned the equal of Frank Jones in every measure of a Rangertrain robber Burt Alvord, the town marshal of nearby captain, and in time he emerged as the best of them all. Ira Aten, one of the bravest andWillcox, and led by Alvord\'s stooge, "Three-Fingered Jack Dunlap."A braver or cooler officer has never beencoolest Rangers, who never actually commissioned," observed the editor of a Pecoswanted to be a Ranger. Milton wasn\'t even scheduled to ride the express newspaper. To those expected qualities Hughes broughttrain that evening, but he had been approached by others. He had a sharp mind, a rugged physique,a supervisor that the regular attendant had taken ill, vigor and endurance, and an unquenchable zest forCounty, based in Tombstone, and just five years afterand he had agreed to guard the Wells-Fargo shipment, rangering. He was a skilled outdoorsman, especiallyWyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Clantons had leftriding the rails that night as the Dunlap gang, by ill - or adept at tracking. Of prime importance, Hughestheir mark on the famed town. As a prominent rancherdumb - luck boarded the train, hoping they\'d never selected his recruits with great care and exacted highand citizen of Southern Arizona Slaughter was laterencounter Milton whom they feared. Here he was - standards of performance. Like successful captainsinvolved in the pursuit of both Geronimo and theguarding the shipment, and when a voice yelled out, since Jack Hays, he led by example rather than edict.Apache Kid. Slaughter brought home a little Apache"Throw up your hands and come out of there," Milton, His men accorded him respect, affection, and loyalty,girl alleged to be the Apache Kid\'s daughter - butquickly falling to the floor of the train cabin, picked which he returned in full measure. "Folks trust John,"Apache May Slaughter would sadly die when her dressup a Winchester shotgun and responded, "If there\'s observed one of his men. In short, John Hughes lovedcaught fire as she was playing near an open fire. It isanything here you want, come and get it!" Milton took his job and did it incomparably" (Ibid., pp. 266-267). said that Texas John Slaughter never completely gotthree bullets and began bleeding profusely, but he kept over the death of his adopted little girl, even though hehis wits, and when one of the train robbers stepped John Hughes also brought to Ranger ranks two of thelived an additional 22 years after her demise. out, trying to get out of the express car, Milton took ablest men in Ranger history, Frank Hamer, who wouldcareful aim, and with one great effort fired one blast of become instrumental in bringing down Bonnie andWhile serving as Cochise County Sheriff Slaughterhis Winchester into the abdomen of the robber - then Clyde, and Sergeant Ira Aten, one of the bravest andhired as his deputy a young man who had alreadyMilton collapsed as the robbers, unable to get at the coolest Rangers who never wanted to be a Ranger, andestablished a pretty credible record as both a Texastrain\'s safe, jumped off the train, jumped aboard their wouldn\'t have been one if it weren\'t for John Hughes -Ranger, serving under the bigoted Bryan Marsh -horses, and were off - but they didn\'t get far.and like Hughes, Aten was also an outstanding tracker. and later as town marshal of El Paso after his quick stint with Slaughter - where this young deputy facedThe robber whom Milton emptied his shotgun into The second positive was that with the death of Frankdown John Wesley Hardin and Hardin\'s murderer,was none other than Three-Fingered Dunlap, mortally Jones, who in a sense predicted his demise whenJohn Selman, and lived to tell about it. As Slaughter\'swounded - and subsequently captured by the posse writing, shortly before he was killed, that recent budgetdeputy, this young man helped the former track downthat had caught up with him just outside of Fairbank. cutbacks had led to an uptick in violence, the Texasand capture the Jack Taylor Gang, shooting downBefore dying, Dunlap spilled the beans on Burt Alvord, State Legislature had finally woken up to the realityseveral of its key members and helping Mexicanthe once-respected town marshal of Willcox - and thus that an underfunded law enforcement entity wouldauthorities to track down and capture the Americanthe entire Burt Alvord gang was wrapped up by the only breed an increase in criminal activity and moreleader of the Anglo-Mexican banditos, Jack Taylor. courageous actions of one man - Texas Ranger-turned violence against innocents, and ever since that timeArizona Wells-Fargo express rider. Jeff Milton had the Rangers have almost always gotten whatever theyBut it would be this young deputy - Jeff Milton - who asbegun his starred life in law enforcement as a young have asked for. The death of Frank Jones and the riseaforementioned had already performed credible serviceTexas Ranger who lied about his age - he was 18 - when to leadership of a man arguably regarded as the best ofas a Texas Ranger barely out of his teens, and later as thehe signed up with the Rangers and thus began a career them all, John B. Hughes saw to that. town marshal of El Paso where he took on both Johnthat reached its climax - if not its conclusion, when he Wesley Hardin, who, when confronted with a very iratestopped Three-Fingered Jack on a Wells-Fargo express THE TWO FORMER TEXAS RANGERS WHO LEFTMilton backed down from a claim he hired Hardin to dotrain just outside of Fairbank, Arizona - the Arizona THEIR MARK ON THE HISTORY OF ARIZONA -killing on his behalf - and Hardin\'s eventually murdererhe had come to live in - and love for the rest of his life - TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER AND JEFF MILTON John Selman. Together with his pal and El Paso Deputy,Milton, who inspired many a Louis L\'Amour Western, This story of the early decades of the Texas RangersGeorge Scarborough, Milton returned to Arizonawould die with his boots off at the age of 85 on his would be quite incomplete without the story of theto serve as a Wells-Fargo express rider on the trainsTucson Ranch.* two Rangers who left their mark on the history of ourtraveling throughout Southern Arizona.fair state.For John Horton Slaughter, aka Texas John Slaughter,Texas John Slaughter and Jeff Milton left their mark on the historyhis accomplishments as a Texas Ranger were minimal,of Arizona. The former, not actually serving very long as a Ranger,to say the least as he only served about a month or two in Ranger service, mainly fighting Comanche beforeand the latter joining the Rangers barely out of his teens.enlisting in the Confederate Army. But upon moving to Arizona, Slaughter became the sheriff of Cochise ArizonaRealCountry.com March 2022 19'