Ernest "Diamond Dick" St. Leon (died August 31, 1898) was a French-American law enforcement officer and a member of the Texas Rangers, known prominently during the 1880s as one of its finest undercover officers. He received the nickname "Diamond Dick" from his fellow officers due to his habit of wearing diamonds on his uniform.
The son of a French refugee, Ernest St. Leon was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. While still in law school, he left to join the US Cavalry and had a distinguished career participating in the Texas-Indian Wars. According to one account, he reportedly killed three warriors single handed after one of his men had been killed and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant before his discharge from military service.
He later joined the Texas Rangers, serving in Company-D throughout the 1880s and working extensively in undercover operations. St. Leon was eventually dismissed from the force due to his drinking however he did remain in contact with John Hughes and worked with him in an unofficial capacity for a time.[1] In 1889, hired by the Fronteriza Mining Company, he was involved in the capture of a group of silver ore thieves who were traveling with a large mule caravan en route to their hideout where they planned to hide the loot in an abandoned silver mine outside Shafter, Texas. Posing as one of the escorts, he led the robbers into an ambush as Texas Rangers John R. Hughes and Lon Oden, assisted by St. Leon, attempted to take them into custody. Antonio Carrasco and his two brothers were killed in the ensuing gunfight and were later buried next to the abandoned mine.[2]
While living among the Mexican-American peasants along the border, he was able to obtain a list of twenty names of men involved in the murder of Captain Frank Jones who had been killed while attempting to arrest Jesus and Severino Olguin, members of a local bandit gang of thieves and murders in the El Paso-area. This information was later used as a "death list" by members of John Hughes' posse as they either gunned down or lynched between 18 and 20 members of the Olguin family and wiping out the Pirate Island-based gang.[3]
In 1890, he was brought back to the Texas Rangers. In August, 1898, while in Socorro, Texas, he was involved in a gunfight with cowboys Bob Finley, John Collier, and John Ray. John Ray was wounded, as was St. Leon, while Dr. Oscar J. Breaux, was killed. St. Leon had called on Dr. Breaux to assist him in arresting Collier and Finley, who were recklessly discharging their firearms, with both men being wanted on charges of horse theft also. They became involved in a pursuit on horseback, which culminated in a gunbattle near the Lamaire Ranch. Dr. Breaux was hit early in the battle with a bullet to the head, dying immediately. This left St. Leon one facing three. St. Leon was also hit, the bullet entering his left shoulder at such an angle it entered into his lung. The three opposing gunmen then rode away, believing both St. Leon and Dr. Breaux were dead. St. Leon, however, was able to ride to a doctor in Ysleta, Texas, where he was quickly assessed as being in critical condition. Collier, Ray and Finley, with Ray being wounded in the thigh, surrendered themselves to Justice of the Peace R.J. Carr. Finley's horse had also been shot. Ranger John R. Hughes took custody of the three suspects. St. Leon died on August 31. He was buried at Concordia Cemetery in El Paso.[4]
Referencesedit
^. The Spell of the West. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008.
^Tanner, Karen Holliday; John D. Tanner, Jr. (1998). (PDF). TexasRanger.org. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
^Parsons, Chuck (2003). . TexasRanger.org. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
^Concordia Cemetery — El Paso, TX, Historic Houston, 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
ernest, leon, ernest, diamond, dick, leon, died, august, 1898, french, american, enforcement, officer, member, texas, rangers, known, prominently, during, 1880s, finest, undercover, officers, received, nickname, diamond, dick, from, fellow, officers, habit, we. Ernest Diamond Dick St Leon died August 31 1898 was a French American law enforcement officer and a member of the Texas Rangers known prominently during the 1880s as one of its finest undercover officers He received the nickname Diamond Dick from his fellow officers due to his habit of wearing diamonds on his uniform Ernest St LeonBornSan Antonio Texas United StatesDied 1898 08 31 August 31 1898El Paso TexasOther namesDiamond DickPolice careerCountryUnited StatesDepartmentTexas RangersService yearsc 1880 1890 1898Biography editThe son of a French refugee Ernest St Leon was born and raised in San Antonio Texas While still in law school he left to join the US Cavalry and had a distinguished career participating in the Texas Indian Wars According to one account he reportedly killed three warriors single handed after one of his men had been killed and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant before his discharge from military service He later joined the Texas Rangers serving in Company D throughout the 1880s and working extensively in undercover operations St Leon was eventually dismissed from the force due to his drinking however he did remain in contact with John Hughes and worked with him in an unofficial capacity for a time 1 In 1889 hired by the Fronteriza Mining Company he was involved in the capture of a group of silver ore thieves who were traveling with a large mule caravan en route to their hideout where they planned to hide the loot in an abandoned silver mine outside Shafter Texas Posing as one of the escorts he led the robbers into an ambush as Texas Rangers John R Hughes and Lon Oden assisted by St Leon attempted to take them into custody Antonio Carrasco and his two brothers were killed in the ensuing gunfight and were later buried next to the abandoned mine 2 While living among the Mexican American peasants along the border he was able to obtain a list of twenty names of men involved in the murder of Captain Frank Jones who had been killed while attempting to arrest Jesus and Severino Olguin members of a local bandit gang of thieves and murders in the El Paso area This information was later used as a death list by members of John Hughes posse as they either gunned down or lynched between 18 and 20 members of the Olguin family and wiping out the Pirate Island based gang 3 In 1890 he was brought back to the Texas Rangers In August 1898 while in Socorro Texas he was involved in a gunfight with cowboys Bob Finley John Collier and John Ray John Ray was wounded as was St Leon while Dr Oscar J Breaux was killed St Leon had called on Dr Breaux to assist him in arresting Collier and Finley who were recklessly discharging their firearms with both men being wanted on charges of horse theft also They became involved in a pursuit on horseback which culminated in a gunbattle near the Lamaire Ranch Dr Breaux was hit early in the battle with a bullet to the head dying immediately This left St Leon one facing three St Leon was also hit the bullet entering his left shoulder at such an angle it entered into his lung The three opposing gunmen then rode away believing both St Leon and Dr Breaux were dead St Leon however was able to ride to a doctor in Ysleta Texas where he was quickly assessed as being in critical condition Collier Ray and Finley with Ray being wounded in the thigh surrendered themselves to Justice of the Peace R J Carr Finley s horse had also been shot Ranger John R Hughes took custody of the three suspects St Leon died on August 31 He was buried at Concordia Cemetery in El Paso 4 References edit The Gunfighters Ernest St Leon Diamond Dick The Spell of the West Archived from the original on June 8 2008 Tanner Karen Holliday John D Tanner Jr 1998 Lon Oden The Rhymin Ranger PDF TexasRanger org p 32 Archived from the original PDF on June 24 2016 Retrieved July 1 2016 Parsons Chuck 2003 The Border Boss John R Hughes TexasRanger org Archived from the original on June 14 2008 Retrieved July 1 2016 Concordia Cemetery El Paso TX Historic Houston 2012 Retrieved 1 July 2016 External links editTales from the Morgue Diamond Dick Dead Texas Ranger Dispatch Ernest St Leon at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ernest St Leon amp oldid 1195935713, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
