John Reynolds Hughes (February 11, 1855 – June 3, 1947) was a Texas Ranger and cowboy of the Old West, and later an author.

[1] Hughes conducted a long hunt for the killers of Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones.

In May 1886, his neighbor lost several horses to thieves, and Hughes pursued the band, killing two of the men in the process.

He captured the remaining thieves in New Mexico Territory, and brought back the horses to return to his neighbor.

The pursuit lasted for several months, and brought him to the attention of local Texas Ranger Ira Aten.

At the time of the photo, the Rangers, part of "D Company", "Frontier Battalion", were assigned to protect a silver mine located in Shafter.

Based on a list of names supplied by early Ranger undercover agent Ernest St. Leon, Hughes and his company tracked down 18 suspects in the murder.

What happened next is chronicled in Leon Claire Metz's book, The Shooters: "Nobody in Pecos, of course, wanted to tangle with Hughes, and a few minutes after the ranger hit town Miller was in jail charged with plotting to commit murder.

A close friend of Hughes, Jack Martin, wrote The Border Boss (1942), telling of his exploits while with the Rangers.