John Gardner (1845–1926) was a Texas Ranger,

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

, Indian fighter, and noted trail boss who was the subject of a folklore song titled, "John Gardner's Trail Herd". It was often alleged that Gardner was a member of the Sam Bass Gang.Miller, Rick. Sam Bass & Gang. Austin, Tex: State House Press, 1999. He was the father of Joe Gardner, a noted World Roping Champion.

Biography

John E. Gardner was born in 1845 at

Natchitoches Parish Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805. The Natchito ...

, Louisiana. His father removed the family to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The Gardner family were known as cowboys and Indian fighters. The Gardner brothers all worked as cowboys on the Texas frontier. John and his brothers, Alex and Peter Gardner were hired as cowboys in Southwest Texas working ranches and driving cattle to the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

cowtowns. Gardner stated in a short autobiography that he was involved in many fights with Mexicans and Indians, but held back thinking it would "sound fishy these days". Gardner was a friend of the famous

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

Sam Bass and it claimed that Bass recalled his friend Gardner while on his deathbed. Gardner was said to have been a gunman with the Sam Bass Gang during the 1870s robbing stagecoaches in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

. ceGardner was one of the first men to drive cattle into the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

along with the Collins brothers and Sam Bass. It was said that Gardner was involved in the Big Springs train robbery with the gang. Gardner later settled on a ranch in Maverick County, Texas. He married and fathered children. The Texas folk song, "John Gardner's Trail Herd", described Gardner as a man who "would meet you on the square" and that he was the "biggest cow - thief" that ever roamed. Gardner's reputation as an outlaw is controversial, but he had been a Texas Ranger for three years. A neighbor described him as "big" and "hairy", and man who was kind and never allowed anyone to run over him. John Gardner died in 1926 from natural causes in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardener, John (Texas Ranger) Members of the Texas Ranger Division 1926 deaths 1845 births