Image - Frederic Remington, "The Roundup"
Law of the Gun (Boot Hill 3rd Edition)
Texas, 1873. The Civil War ended six years. Former soldiers from the south returned home-- and found not much waiting for them there. Faced with no opportunities at home, many of them came west to the open lands of the frontier. Too many of them, maybe. They're all trained in using firearms, and they're toughened by years of hardship and violence. Some, not interested in the hard work of a sod busting farmer or a cattle-herding cowboy, have turned to banditry. And Texas has insufficient lawmen to police all of the lands of the vast prairie state. Governments have resorted to posting bounties, and citizens and enterprises have resorted to hiring hired guns.
The state is relatively settled in the east. Farms surround towns, roads and railroads connect settlements. Beyond the farms, cattlemen graze herds on the open prairie and drive them overland over a thousand miles to Kansas, for transport by train to the markets in the East. Grazing on the plentiful grass of the prairie is free, which makes cattle into cash dollars on the hoof. But at least one cowboy is needed for every 300 head of cattle, just to work the herd and protect it from predators, storms, and rustlers. Not to mention defending themselves from-- the Comanche. There just aren't enough hands available for all the herds. The cattlemen need cowboys now, and they're willing (and forced) to pay top dollar.
The Comanche. To the west, outside of the towns, they remain the lords of the prairie. They and their allies the Kiowas have driven out the other tribes and rule an empire. Throughout parts of Texas, Indian Territory [Oklahoma], Kansas Territory, New Mexico, and Colorado Territory, no bullet, arrow or lance touches a buffalo's hide unless it's Kiowa or Comanche.
The U.S. Army maintains forts to protect the cattlemen and settlers boldly-- perhaps recklessly and foolishly-- operating in the Comanches' territory. But they are too few, and the garrisons too small. The life of a Texas fort U.S. Army soldier is fairly miserable. Military discipline, poor pay, isolation from towns and nice things like whiskey and pretty girls, and the constant danger of getting cut off and slaughtered by Comanche or Kiowa. But for some veterans, it's a life that feels satisfying. The organized firepower, the smarts of tactical considerations and decisions, the honor of doing your best for your buddies. But most are just draftees trying to get by and survive until their enlistment period ends.
The rich railroad barons in Austin and the ports of Galveston and Houston fret about the money being lost every minute around the clock, every day. “If they could only connect their lines to the ones leading to Santa Fe and Denver...! But robbing a train moving between Texas towns is all too easy. Why won't the Governor do anything? What are the Texas Rangers and local sheriff's office paid for? And why won't Washington get rid of the Comanches once and for all? I'd pay a good dime on the dollar for someone who could make sure a routine train run would go through! For protecting a line expansion crew-- 25 cents on the dollar! Even 30 cents on the dollar!” He paces and reconsiders. “No, 28.5 cents on the dollar, and no meals or horse feed included. The ignorant louts can barely read and understand an envelope addressed to their own name, much less a legal contract.”
And to the south, on the other side of the Rio Grande, there is Mexico. Which looks exactly like the prairie on the other side. But it's a very different place. Land is privately owned. Elite rancheros own vast ranches and live in elegant haciendas, and subsidize private schools and churches on them. Their proud and silver-ornamented vaqueros are the equivalent of Texas cowboys-- and equally as tough. They deal with an fear the cunning Apaches, rather than the proud Comanches (their hated enemies). Sometimes the Texans do a rustling raid on the herds over the river, and sometimes the vaqueros do the same to the Texans. But always, there is the threat of the bandido gangs to all. Quick, mounted groups of heavily armed renegade campesinos [farm worker peasants], they strike hard and fast and try to quickly disappear.
Trying to deal with all of this are the Texas Rangers. They're not really a formal, organized group. The Governor has promised them a dollar a day wage, but it's rare that he can raise it from Congress. The rangers wear no uniform, follow no rules of discipline, and elect their own captains. All horsemen, and they tend to be the most heavily armed people at this time on the Lord's good Earth (a rifle for long range work, two loaded pistols for close work from horseback, and a Bowie knife.). They fight raiding Comanches, track down murderous outlaws and deliver them to trial or the undertaker, break up barroom fights, etc., etc.
Overall, Texas has many opportunities for a fellow skilled with a gun. Of course, a little drawback is that you're also a target for other fellows skilled with a gun.
