The Boston Evening Transcript (Apr. 15, 1911) prints an interesting adaptation sung by a Union veteran of the siege of Vicksburg, Miss. (1863).

The protagonist is still a "Texas Ranger," but the "station" has become the "river," "lances" have become "bullets," and (illogically) the Ranger "saw the *rebels* coming."

My guess is that the singer heard the song in its usual form and tried to make it more relevant to his own experience, even though the "Texas Ranger" goes to fight "rebels" (who "give the yell") on the "Rio Grande."

Note the spelling "Ryogrand" in Joseph Martin version - the same pronunciation as in the chantey. It was once normal to anglicize foreign pronunciation - partly because the average person had never heard the foreign language spoken!