Rangers and Sovereignty

D. W. Roberts was born in the State of Mississippi, in Winston County, October 10th, 1841. His father, Alexander Roberts, came to Texas in 1836, and helped the Texans fight the battles of the Republic for nearly four years, being in many engagements with the enemy, the most noted of which was the Plum Creek fight, which has gone into the history of Texas. Soon after the Plum Creek fight, my mother prevailed on father to take his family to some place of safety, firmly believing that wholesale murder would be their fate: (Father's judgment was waived) and her love of family won her cause, and they went back to Mississippi in 1839. During their stay in Mississippi, I was born, making that State my native soil, but father's love for Texas had never subsided, and his turn came to persuade mother back to Texas, where he joined his old comrades again in 1843. I was about two years old when they returned to Texas. My father followed up the frontier, and I was reared, and almost rocked in the cradle of Texas warfare. When I was a small boy, I developed some very peculiar traits of character, not peculiarly good, but rather strangely peculiar. We were fond of dwelling alone, to commune with Nature's beautiful work. I had my favorite pecan trees, and would conceal myself under them, to hear the crows murmur to each other, while they were gathering the splendid nuts. My father's recital of early Texas battles had imbued me with the spirit, that those old Texans were the rightful lords of that grand and new republic, and that their heroism should be sustained, and when I grew to be a man, that I would devote my life to the cause that my father so loved. In my boyish dreams I was always in command of men. My education was limited to the common English branches. As I grew to manhood, I could see that war should not be our occupation, but the constant raids of savage foes upon Texas, gave us the field that our more youthful days had pictured for us. We were "put in command of men," and our stewardship will follow. Our work was more preparatory for civil government, consequently we were never a politician, but always adhered to democratic principles.