James B. Gillett

James Buchanan Gillett (November 4, 1856 – June 11, 1937) was a lawman of the Old West, mostly known for his service as a Texas Ranger.

Mostly assigned to the west Texas border regions, Gillett fought in numerous skirmishes with Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Indians.

While under the command of Captain Baylor in January 1881, Gillett's company pursued a hostile band of Apache who had attacked a stagecoach.

He took a position as Deputy Marshal for El Paso, Texas, in June, 1882, working briefly under Dallas Stoudenmire.

Purchasing the Barrell Spring Ranch, Gillett then began raising a premium herd of Hereford cattle.

In his book The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier (St. Martin's Press, 2004, pgs.211-212) Scott Zesch records an incident in which Gillett, along with ranger Ed Seiker, fought a running battle with a band of Apaches during which the two nearly killed a 'white Indian' named Herman Lehmann.

They also killed and mutilated a warrior named Nusticeno whom they "butchered terribly": "In their zeal, the novice rangers had shot the Apache countless times, carved the skin off him, and even decapitated him."