A Lone Star Cowboy

For a number of years prior to 1922, one of Santa Fe, New Mexico's most colorful and famous residents was Charles Angelo Siringo (1855-1928), popularly known as "the cowboy detective." A small, wiry man, he was friends with practically everyone in town. In 1916, Governor William C. McDonald persuaded Siringo to accept a commission as a New Mexico Mounted Ranger for the state Cattle Sanitary Board. The only thing unusual about that was Charlie Siringo's age, a ripe 61. Undaunted, he saddled up and with a packhorse started for his headquarters at Carrizozo in Lincoln County. His duty was to run down outlaws and stock thieves in southern New Mexico. "During my two years as a ranger," Siringo said, "I made many arrests of cattle and horse thieves and had many close calls with death staring me in the face." Obviously, Governor McDonald had made a wise choice, when he tapped this hard-riding, fast-shooting "senior citizen" for the dangerous ranger job. But Siringo was more than a law man. He put in countless nights writing up his experiences. When his book," A Texas Cowboy," appeared, its author achieved fame overnight.