Texas writer/historian Mike Cox explores the inception and rise of the famed Texas Rangers. Starting in 1821 with just a handful of men, the Rangers' first purpose was to keep settlers safe from the feared and gruesome Karankawa Indians, a cannibalistic tribe that wandered the Texas territory. As the influx of settlers grew, the attacks increased and it became clear that a much larger, better trained force was necessary. From their tumultuous beginning to their decades of fighting outlaws, Comanche, Mexican soldados and banditos, as well as Union soldiers, the Texas Rangers became one of the fiercest law enforcement groups in America. In a land as spread-out and sparsely populated as the west itself, the Rangers had unique law-enforcement responsibilities and challenges. The story of the Texas Rangers is as controversial as it is heroic. Often accused of vigilante-style racism and murder, they enforced the law with a heavy hand. But above all they were perhaps the defining force for the stabilization and the creation of Texas. From Stephen Austin in the early days through the Civil War, the first eighty years of the Texas Rangers is nothing less then phenomenal, and the efforts put forth in those days set the foundation for the Texas Rangers that keep Texas safe today. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The story of the Captain Robert H. Kuykendall family in America and the entry of the family with the Anglo Settlement into Mexican/Texas in Stephen F. Austin's Colony in 1821. Includes Allied families - Early, Hardin, Moore, Shannon and Swift Includes the Kuykendalls from Texas in the Civil War Includes the Texas Kuykendall Death Records from 1903-2000 The Kuykendall family roots go deeper in Texas than most oak trees. This book is a family history, but it's also the history of Texas. -MIKE COX Austin, Texas In They Slept Upon Their Rifles, sixth-generation Texan, Marshall Kuykendall, introduces the newcomer to what University of Texas historian Walter Prescott Webb called the "high adventure" of researching the past. To one who knows and loves Texas history, he introduces us to the Kuykendall clan, rooted deeply in Texas (the Old 300) and American history. It is a great and compelling story. -RON TYLER Former Director, Texas State Historical Association Few American families can tell a story that covers ten generations as they moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Hardemans and the Polks come readily to mind, but none have had a chronicler who tells their story with the verve, candor, and humor that characterizes this account. -AL LOWMAN Past president of the Texas State Historical Association"

Originally published: New York: Emily Bestler Books/Atria, 2012.