Frank Astounds With His Shooting And Finds A Girlfriend

Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're in a series about one of the top Texas Ranger lawmen to ever wear the badge, the great Frank Hamer, who was brought out of retirement to take down Bonnie and Clyde.

Recap

In the last post Frank shot a dangerous bulldog and continued to be tough on lawbreakers in Navasota, many of whom were foolish enough to challenge him or resist arrest.

Frank was a marvel of contradictions. On one hand he was quiet, soft-spoken, walked with a relaxed, easy going gait. He was very gentlemanly in his manners, especially toward women.

But on the other hand, this nice, clean cut, quiet, polite young man would suddenly explode in a flury of violence that left most men on the ground before they realized what happened!

I think one reason he got into so many fights is because of his youthful looks and easy going demeaner so he wasn't taken seriously until it was too late. He DID have an explosive temper. I think he learned to control it as he got older.

Today's story

After he shot that dog he had more enemies so it was more important than ever to be tough on lawbreakers and impeccable in his work. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

He and his young Black friend Mance would have target practice and Frank would have those sessions on the edge of town where the townspeople would come and watch.

All about sending a subtle message

He was a humble man but he wanted to send a message. He was an amazing shot, very gifted. So he would basically give shooting exhibitions. And word got around about his phenomenal gun play. It was subtle intimidation.

I love what Mance said about those outings and how he said it!

"I set up somp'n right here, an git back, an let him shoot that off. Sticks or bottle...an sometime he git a crowd of white folk. I'd git them tawgits set up and every time his gun popped, one of 'em bust open. One of 'em say, 'Well, I ain't seed nobody take a dead aim like this man done. '

Cuz he could shoot a gun better'n inybody ever been in this county. An they figgered that he's the best mawksman they ever saw in dare life. When he shot at you...he hit you...where he shot at, he knowed its going where it hit you at."

lol..I can just hear Mance talkin, I love the way he talked. AND sang!

Frank's marksmanship is the reason he was so disgusted with himself at the beginning of the Netflix movie, The Highwaymen, starring Kevin Costner.

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In the movie he went out to practice with his six shooter when he knew he was going back to work, but he couldn't hit a darn thing. lol.

A lady gets Frank's attention

While he made lots of enemies in his job, he also made lots of friends. One family he got to know was named Cameron and they'd invite him to dinner on Sundays.

They had a daughter who was 22 years old with long brown hair and an hourglass figure. But what impressed Frank was her riding and shooting ability!

She was like a West Texas cowgirl and loved being a tomboy even though she was a schoolteacher. She wore a classic Stetson cowboy hat and was a crack shot.

This was Frank's kind of girl!

Frank had heard that she was down at the river practicing with her rifle when she spotted a 6 foot alligator on a log and killed it with a single shot. He was mighty impressed.

The family lived in another town and with his schedule it was hard to get together but she would send him postcards and photos of herself. Here's one of the photos she sent him:

This photo is from the book, The Epic Life Of Frank Hamer.

Frank's career and romantic life continues on the next post.

Thanks for stopping by folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas

PS- Check out these fascinating sculptures, at least they are to me. I have no idea how in the world these things stay balanced on that line.

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