History has a funny way of scrubbing out the grit and leaving us with a glossy, technicolor version of the truth. Most people hear the names Frank Hamer and Maney Gault and think of the 2019 Netflix movie The Highwaymen. They see Kevin Costner looking stoic and Woody Harrelson playing the loyal, slightly broken-down sidekick. It’s a good movie. Honestly, it’s better than the 1967 version that made Hamer look like a bumbling fool. But movies aren't history.
The real story of the Texas Rangers Hamer and Gault is darker, messier, and way more complicated than a two-hour script can handle. Especially when you get into the weeds of the investigation and the people involved—like the often-overlooked connection to the Candelario family and the sheer, brutal reality of what went down on that Louisiana highway in 1934.
The Men Behind the Legend
Frank Hamer wasn't just some guy they pulled off a porch. By 1934, he was basically a living relic of the Old West. He’d survived more than 50 gunfights. He carried buckshot in his body from an ambush years prior. He was a man who compared criminals to coyotes and himself to an antelope—curious, fast, and always watching.
Then you have Maney Gault.
Gault is usually portrayed as the "heart" to Hamer’s "hammer." In reality, they were neighbors in Austin who spent their nights playing dominoes and fiddling. Gault was a "Travis County pioneer family" guy, a former furniture maker and moonshine hunter. He was quiet. He was "smooth as satin" with a pistol. When Lee Simmons, the Texas prison boss, asked Hamer to hunt Bonnie and Clyde, Hamer didn't hesitate. He wanted Gault.
The Candelario Connection and the Border Legacy
This is where things get interesting and where most "history buffs" lose the trail. To understand Hamer and Gault, you have to look at where they came from. Long before the Bonnie and Clyde hunt, Hamer and Gault were steeped in the violent culture of the Texas-Mexico border.
The keyword "Candelario" often pops up in these deep dives because of the Candelaria or Candelario region and the families involved in the border conflicts of the 1910s. The Texas Rangers of that era were often referred to by locals as Los Diablos Tejanos—the Texas Devils.
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Hamer had been involved in the "Bandit War" and the La Matanza (The Slaughter), where hundreds of ethnic Mexicans were killed by Rangers and vigilantes. While Hamer is often credited with fighting the KKK and stopping lynchings (which he did, notably in Sherman, Texas), his history with the Mexican-American communities in places like Candelaria was fraught with the kind of extrajudicial violence that would eventually lead to a massive state investigation in 1919.
When people search for Texas Rangers Hamer and Gault Candelario, they are often digging into the "gray areas" of these men. They weren't just simple heroes. They were products of a time when the law was often whatever the man with the badge said it was.
Tracking the "Coyotes"
By 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow weren't just bank robbers; they were cop killers. They had killed at least nine lawmen. The public was starting to turn on them, especially after the Grapevine killings where they allegedly gunned down two young highway patrolmen on Easter Sunday.
Hamer and Gault didn't use high-tech gadgets. They used "wood lore" and cold, hard logic. Hamer realized Clyde Barrow was a creature of habit. Clyde drove in a giant circle—Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri—skirting state lines because he knew the law couldn't follow him across.
Hamer just waited for the circle to close.
He focused on Henry Methvin, a member of the Barrow Gang whose family lived in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Hamer and Gault didn't just stumble onto the duo. They negotiated. They made a deal with Ivy Methvin, Henry's father: help us get Bonnie and Clyde, and we’ll help your son.
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The Ambush: May 23, 1934
The scene on Highway 154 wasn't a "stand and deliver" moment. It was an execution.
Hamer, Gault, and four other lawmen (Bob Alcorn, Ted Hinton, Henderson Jordan, and Prentiss Oakley) hid in the brush. They used Ivy Methvin’s truck as a decoy, pretending it had a flat tire.
When Clyde slowed down the stolen Ford V8 to help, the lawmen didn't shout "Freeze!" or "Hands up!" They opened up with automatic rifles and shotguns.
- 167 bullets. That's how many were pumped into that car.
- The first shot, fired by Prentiss Oakley, likely killed Clyde instantly.
- Bonnie was still screaming when the second volley hit.
It was over in seconds.
The aftermath was a circus. People literally ran from the nearby fields to cut off locks of Bonnie’s hair or pieces of Clyde’s bloody clothes as souvenirs. One guy even tried to cut off Clyde’s ear. Hamer and Gault were disgusted. They refused to attend the "Hero Day" celebrations. They just wanted to go home.
Why It Still Matters (The "So What?")
The story of Hamer, Gault, and the broader context of their careers—including the murky history of the border and names like Candelario—tells us that the line between "lawman" and "outlaw" was incredibly thin.
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Hamer was a man of "personal honor," yet he was also part of a Ranger force that committed atrocities. He was a man who hated the "murder machine" of the Texas Bankers Association but had no problem setting up an ambush that left two people looking like Swiss cheese.
Actionable Insights for History Enthusiasts
If you're looking to dig deeper into the real history of the Texas Rangers and the Bonnie and Clyde era, here is how to find the stuff the movies leave out:
- Check the 1919 Joint Senate-House Investigation: If you want the truth about the Rangers in the Candelaria/border region, read the transcripts of the Canales Investigation. It exposes the "extrajudicial killings" that Hamer's generation was involved in.
- Read "Texas Ranger" by John Boessenecker: This is widely considered the most balanced biography of Frank Hamer. It doesn't shy away from his flaws or his racism, but it also gives him credit for his legitimate bravery.
- Visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame in Waco: But go with a critical eye. Look at the gear Hamer and Gault used. See the weapons. Understand the technology shift from horseback to V8 engines.
- Explore the Bienville Parish Museum: If you’re ever in Louisiana, the local perspective on the ambush is much more grounded than the Hollywood version.
The hunt for Bonnie and Clyde was the end of an era. It was the moment the 19th-century "manhunter" met the 20th-century "gangster." Hamer and Gault were the last of a breed that didn't care about Miranda rights or due process—they cared about stopping the coyote.
Whether they were "good men" is something historians still argue about. But they were definitely the men the world wanted in 1934. Basically, they did the job no one else could, or would, do.
Next time you see a movie about them, remember the buckshot in Hamer's back and the quiet, steely gaze of Maney Gault. They weren't actors. They were the real deal, for better and for worse.
Practical Next Steps: * Verify the source material: Look for the original 1934 FBI files on the Barrow Gang to see the timeline of Hamer's movements.
- Research the "Bandit War": To understand the Candelario/Candelaria context, search for the Porvenir Massacre to see the environment Gault and Hamer operated in prior to 1934.