“The Intrepid” Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, One of the Reasons Tombstone’s Johnny Ringo Fled Texas The Texas Rangers are one of Texas’ oldest and most legendary institutions. Established almost 175 years ago to defend frontier settlements from Comanche Indian attacks, the Rangers became nationally famous when they fought with such ferocity in the Mexican war that they became known as “Los Diablos Tejanos”—the Texas Devils. REYNOLDS, (N. O.) NELSON ORCELUS (1846–1922) arrived in Texas in 1872. On May 25, 1874, he enlisted in the ranger force of Cicero R. (Rufe) Perry in Blanco County. Although he saw action against Indian raiders, his most famous exploits were in action against White outlaws. He gained fame when,
on July 28, 1877, with a very small force, he arrested the leader of the Horrell faction and ten of its sympathizers and thus brought an end to the Horrell-Higgins feud of Lampasas County. This resulted in his being given the command of the newly formed Company E. He was responsible as commander for transporting and guarding the notorious John Wesley Hardin during his trial and incarceration in the Travis County Jail, while keeping Hardin safe from the mobs who wanted to lynch him after the arrest by J.B. Armstrong. Another well-known fugitive Reynolds had in custody was John P. Ringo, later famous in Tombstone, Arizona. Ringo had enough of Texas lawmen and moved on. Reynolds helped quiet the difficulties in San Saba County in 1878. He retired from the ranger service in 1879. He was elected sheriff of Lampasas County and later engaged in private business. He was married to Irene T. Nevill on September 13, 1882, in Austin. The couple had two children. Reynolds, called the “Intrepid” by James B. Gillett, died on March 1, 1922, and is buried in Center Point, TX. More Texas Rangers are buried in the Center Point cemetery than in any other graveyard in Texas.
