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Ira Aten (September 3, 1862 - August 5, 1953) was a well known Texas Ranger, and a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.
Aten was born in Cairo, Illinois. His father Austin Aten was a Methodist curcuit rider, and moved the family to Texas in 1876, settling near Round Rock, Texas. In 1878, while still a boy, Aten witnessed the death of outlaw Sam Bass. In March of 1883, Aten joined the Texas Rangers, becoming a member of "Company D" serving under Captain L. P. Seiker. Aten was assigned to the counties bordering the Rio Grande River, and due to the rough nature of this area, he became involved in numerous dangerous encounters.
Aten is probably best known for what became known as the Fence Cutting War of 1886, during the period in which many ranchers were fencing off their property, doing away with open range. In July, 1887, Aten was accompanied by future Ranger Hall of Fame member John Hughes in the pursuit of murderer Judd Roberts, with Hughes and Aten killing Roberts in a gunfight. It was Aten who convinced Hughes to join the Rangers. At one point, in 1888, during the Fence Cutting War, Aten placed hidden dynamite charges on certain fence lines, so that when the wire was cut, the dynamite would explode. Although it sounds extreme, it greatly reduced the number of fences cut. The Adjutant General did not approve of the dynamite method, and ordered them removed. However, by that time word had spread that the charges were present, and no one knowing where they were located resulted in a reduction of fence cutting, even after the charges were removed.
Aten also became well known during the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, resulting in prominent citizens approaching him to run for the position of Fort Bend County, Texas Sheriff, in which he was elected. By 1890 Aten had settled in Castro County, Texas, and in 1895 Aten was hired by the Capitol Syndicate Company to help stop cattle rustlers on the "XIT Ranch". Aten organized a Ranch Police Force of twenty cowboys, to include former Texas Rangers Ed Connell and Wood Saunders.
By 1904 Aten had moved with his family to Imperial Valley (California), and in 1923 he served as a member of the Imperial Valley District board, which helped push through legislation for the construction of Boulder Dam and the All-American Canal. In 1945, J. Marvin Hunter published Aten's memoirs in his Frontier Times magazine. Aten died in 1953 of pneumonia, at the age of 91. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro, California.
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