Rufus Perry - Texas Ranger

Cicero Rufus (Old Rufe) Perry, Texas Ranger, was not your ’typical’ image of a Texas Ranger. He participated in the siege of Bexar, served from July 1 to October 1, 1836, in Capt. William W. Hill’s company of Texas Rangers, and was involved in an Indian fight on Yegua Creek. In 1841 he served under Samuel Highsmith and Thomas Green and scouted for Edward Burleson and Mark B. Lewis. He was also a member of the Somervell Expedition. He joined John Coffee Hays’s ranger company in 1844 and participated in many of his Indian fights, including the battle of Walker’s Creek. In August 1844 he was severely wounded in a fight with the Comanches on the Nueces River, and he and Christopher Acklin were left for dead by their two companions. With three wounds, Perry walked 120 miles, from near Uvalde to San Antonio, unarmed and without food or water. In 1873 in the Battle of Deer Creek he came to the assistance of a party led by Dan W. Roberts. In 1874 Perry was appointed captain of Company D of the Frontier Battalion. Perry died at Johnson City on October 7, 1898. Described by John Holland Jenkins as having been 'tall, muscular, erect-a perfect specimen of the strong and brave in young manhood,' Perry had black hair and 'dark eyes, bright with the fires of intelligence and enthusiasm.' It was said that in his career as a volunteer soldier and Texas Ranger he had sustained twenty wounds from bullet, arrow, and lance.