TO MY READERS: HOW TO USE THE BLOG
Click Here"In my comments on the photo in"Chronicles of the Big Bend",I referred to it as Company "B"in 1918,and it is so identified in the caption.I believe this to be an error,as I have the same photo from the Moody Texas ranger library identifying it as a photo of company "A"in 1918.They are all identified with Jerry Gray(Capt.)second from the left and Nathan Fuller fourth from the right.None of the other names are the same as those discharged by the Governor.This is evidently taken after the disbanding of Company "B"in June of that year. I have some enlistment records for N.N.Fuller indicating that he joined the Ranger service in on May 15,1916 in Company "B",J.M.fox,Captain.He was listed as being 27 years and 3 mos.of age.His next period of enlistment began on twe1th of July in 1918,and still in Company "B",but there is no signature on the form for the Captain or any other designation of the company.Next,there is a form signed by James A.Harley,Adjutant General,State of Texas commissioning Nathan N.Fuller as a private in the Texas Ranger Force,dated Sept.10,1918.The next enlistment record is dated June the 20th,1919 and signed Jerry Grey,CaptainCo."A".Captain Gray's remarks were that he was a good ranger.The final record is dated Aug.22,1922also signed by Jerry Grey,Capt;Co."A".I also have some payroll records dated sept.1917 which list Co."B" as consisting of: CaptainJ.M.Fox,Sgt.H.c.Trollinger,Pvts.A.G.Beard,N.N.Fuller,H.G.Holden,Boon Oliphant,and A.H.woelber.Barker,Herman Weaver and Cole must have become members between Sept 1917 and Jan. of 1918,as Oliphant was the only one listed as present then. It is evient that the fact was that Nate Fuller was not actually present during the Porvenir matter,and I have wrongly remembered his comment that the investigator insisted that he was .It is more likely that he insisted that Nate would have known who was given that C."B" was so small during that period.I suspect that his comment to the investigator was a reflection of his usual reticence,and desire not to implicate anyone in matters not personally known to him.I remember one conversation I had with him in which he remarked that he was several times contacted by magazine people(True West,Frontier Times,etc.) to get him to tell his story.He said he always refused,as he knew very well that he wouldn't recognize what actually got printed. The fact that he reenlisted in what was still being referred to as Co."B" in July of 1918,but with no Captain's signature evidently reflects the turmoil following the Porvenir massacre and the Govenor's actions in response."
Gary,
Think you are right, there seems to be no evidence that Fuller personally took part in the massacre but he must have known the details. Harris and Sadler show Fuller's service dates as a regular ranger from May 15, 1916 to Feb. 11, 1920. Gj
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