This feature appears in the February ‘17 issue of NRA America’s 1st Freedom, one of the official journals of the National Rifle Association.
On June 30, 1893, Texas Ranger Capt. Frank Jones was scouting to capture a band of rustlers on what was called Boski, or Pirate Island, along the Rio Grande. According to other members of Ranger Co. D, the 37-year-old Jones felt that he and his men were on American soil. But the Olquin family—a father and two sons from the small village of Tresjacales—believed otherwise, and Jones died when they opened fire.
Left behind in the confusion was the blood-stained Winchester Model 1873 rifle that Jones had carried, as well as his pocket watch—a presentation piece from his men in 1882—and his copper and silver Texas Ranger badge. Mexican authorities later returned these items—though they reportedly kept the pistol and horse that had belonged to Jones. Today, the returned historical pieces are on loan to the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum galleries in Springfield, Mo.
The NRA National Firearms Museum at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Va.; the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo.; and the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, N.M.; each have fine selections of historic arms on display. Admission to each is free, and donations are gratefully accepted. For more information, visit NRAmuseums.com, phone (703) 267-1600 or email nfmstaff@NRAhq.org.
