Whiskey River Ranger: The Old West Life of Baz Outlaw

Frances B. Vick Series, Book 16

By: Bob Alexander

Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt

Captain Frank Jones, a famed nineteenth-century Texas Ranger, said of his company's top sergeant, Baz Outlaw (1854-1894), "A man of unusual courage and coolness and in a close place is worth two or three ordinary men." Another old-time Texas Ranger declared that Baz Outlaw "was one of the worst and most dangerous" because "he never knew what fear was."

In Whiskey River Ranger, Bob Alexander tells for the first time the full story of this troubled Texas Ranger and his losing battle with alcoholism. In his career Baz Outlaw wore a badge as a Texas Ranger and also as a Deputy U.S. Marshal. He could be a fearless and crackerjack lawman, as well as an unmanageable manic. Although Baz Outlaw's badge-wearing career was sometimes heroically creditable, at other times his self-induced nightmarish imbroglios teased and tested Texas Ranger management's resoluteness.

Baz Outlaw's true-life story is jam-packed with fellows owning well-known names, including Texas Rangers, city marshals, sheriffs, and steely-eyed mean-spirited miscreants. Baz Outlaw's tale is complete with horseback chases, explosive train robberies, vigilante justice (or injustice), nighttime ambushes and bushwhacking, and episodes of scorching six-shooter finality. Baz met his end in a brothel brawl at the hands of John Selman, the same gunfighter who killed John Wesley Hardin.

The book is published by University of North Texas Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2016 Bob Alexander (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A fascinating, warts-and-all study of a man who literally walked the line between the best and worst of human nature." (Wild West)

"The definitive biography of this lawman born with an ironic surname. . . . Saddle up with Whiskey River Ranger for a fine read." (True West)

"Readers will enjoy the story of Baz Outlaw if they are fans of Westerns, the Texas Rangers, or adventure stories in general." (Chronicles of Oklahoma)