The Cavalcade of America. Music Most Americans are familiar with the names of those courageous early American explorers, Lewis and Clark, who are two of the characters in tonight's broadcast of The Cavalcade of America, presented by DuPont. Lewis and Clark launched their expedition into the wilds of the Northwest in 1804, but even then the DuPont company had established its first chemical factory in Delaware. The stories of exploration are bright pages in the history of the nation. Important also is another kind of exploration, the kind that takes place in chemical laboratories like those of DuPont, where the exploration results in better things for better living through chemistry. Music Our first story this evening takes place in the early days of the 19th century in the vast wilderness west of the Mississippi. Our cavalcade orchestra sets the stage with Charles Wakefield Catman's song, From the Land of the Sky Blue Water, which is based on an American Indian theme. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music The will to explore has come to us naturally, but the very foundation of our nation was through exploration. From Columbus, Cabot, De Soto, Hudson, John Smith, Coronado, La Salle, from those intrepid adventurers we received this heritage. In the year 1803, Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States, obtained an appropriation from Congress for the exploration of the newly purchased territory lying west of the Mississippi and extending to the Pacific Ocean. As leader of the expedition, he appointed his young secretary, Meriwether Lewis, upon a task with great zeal. He chose as his partner and co-leader William Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark of revolutionary faith. On March 14, 1804, a brave company, 45 in number, started up the Missouri River. We find them at La Charette, the last outpost of civilization, talking with the chief magistrate of that settlement, a brave pioneer himself, Daniel Boone. We're young enough to go with you, Captain Lewis. We're so too, sir. Hey, Clark. Yes, indeed, Mr. Boone. Oh, one of our men was telling us how he fought with you, a fellow by the name of Gordon Cameron. The old Scott. I know him well. Hey there. Hey. Ain't that his voice? Captain Lewis. Captain Lewis. I'm here, Cameron, with Mr. Boone. Hey, not Daniel Boone. It's Daniel. Hey. Oh, an old friend and happy to see you again. The guy says the wind is right, Captain, and we better be starting. We're ready. Who is your guide, Captain Lewis? A Frenchman. Who's for Sabano? Aye, a Frenchman. We're an Indian wife. A wife he insists on taking on the expedition. Sabano says the Secretary of Weir is a better guy than he is himself. A woman for a guide. A woman on the expedition brings bad luck. Don't mind Cameron's growls, Captain Lewis. Come. I'll walk with you to your boat. How fast do you aim to travel? Well, with luck, 15 miles from sun to sun. Luck, indeed. We have a woman on the party. Ah, yes. And here she is with her husband. This is Sabano, Mr. Boone, and his wife. Howdy, Sabano. And what tribe is your wife from, Sabano? This is ours, Monsieur. The Child, the Blackfeet Tribe, the Stiller. I buy her from them. How called you her name? I am called Sacazowilla, a bird woman. Mmm. You are very young to be guiding this expedition, my child. May your eye be clear and your senses keen, for upon you and Sabano, there's a great responsibility. Music Pushing westward, the daring adventurers struggled against curdulent waters and virgin forests, against hostile savages, death-bearing insects, wild animals, heat, rain, cold. As the year went on, a son was born to Charbonneau and Sacazowilla. Over a year passes. It is June, 185. We find Captain Lewis with Cameron, Charbonneau, Sacazowilla, and her papoots standing in a ravine beneath an overhanging rock where they have thought shelter from a torrential rain. When Charbonneau saw this brook, she soon became a raging tyrant. There is no fear. What may happen with a woman on the party and no with a bear? Surely we're safe here. Often I see angry waters carry huge rocks and trees before them, bringing death to all in their path. Even as she comes now. You hear? Aye, I hear it. It is as if a dam had burst. Hold our parts to the Captain, wife. Even now the water covers our feet. Hold tight, Charbonneau, or you'll lose your footing. Cameron, give him a hand. Aye, that's me, m'sieur. I cannot swim. We must get to the higher ground and quickly. Each moment the waters deride. Give me the child, Sacazowilla. I'll hold him. Thank you, Captain. I... Ah! Ah! My wife, she can't just run away. Cameron, hold the child. Aye, aye. Here, Charbonneau, take my gun and sack. They're watered. They're carrying you across this falls, m'sieur. I'll get her. I'm coming, Sacazowilla. Captain Lewis, wait now. Now they'll both be dragged into the rapids. Captain, watch those rocks. Look, he has reached her. Ah, they'll live a friend against the thorns. Here, hold the baby, m'sieur. Get him, Captain. Cameron, he brings her up. Hold back, hurry. I can't hold it much longer. I'm throwing it behind you, Captain. So that it'll lift down to you. Here you are. I have it. He has it. It'll come away. Pull. Slowly. Slowly, the rocks have cut the rope. Once more, m'brah. One more pull. Ah, we'll make it at the same time, Captain. Good. You have it. Here, here now. Up on the bunch. There, sit there. That's right, now. That'll lie here. Here, rock the rope around you. Cameron, you're giving me your cloak. After all the trouble we had to save you, it wouldn't have been sense to let you die out of cold. After weeks of struggles, the party reaches the foothills of the Rockies, what is now part of the state of Montana. For days the expedition searches in vain for a way through or across the huge mountains. Lewis, Cameron, and Sacagawea gaze toward the snow-tipped peaks that bar their path. Mountains. Mountains in all directions. Impassively baddy as yet, what they are. Somewhere on the other side of those mountains lies the great Columbia River, leads to the Pacific. Unless we reach it, our whole expedition is a failure. Hey, yet a woman's guide has failed you. Lewis, look, Indians coming to the ravine. Blacksmiths, enemies of my people. They outnumber us. Let's face them, Captain. Daniel Boone and I were a match for the favorite skinnies. Let me speak with them. No, no. They are cut here and carried back into slavery again. Let's face them, Captain. Sacagawea. Wait, Sacagawea, come back here. We've played to their dear, Monsieur. Already she is too far away. Someone must follow her. They are blacksmiths, Monsieur. They make friends with no one. Every man ready now. The people are approaching us. Greetings, friendlies. It may be treacherous if we have to rescue that woman again. Quiet, gentlemen. Be on guard. We took her on a stimp with her pain. Captain Lewis, these are my own people. This is my brother. He did you welcome. He thanked you for saving my life. The blacksmiths drove them from their old hunting town. Tell the chief that we are his friends and that we bring gifts and food. Ask if he knows a path through the Great Mountain. Perhaps he plans to trick us, Captain. You can guess which way a man will jump, but a woman or a red-skinned man. Well, Sacagawea. The young Great Mountain lies in a mighty river, a river that leads to the sea. There is a path by which it may be reached. The Great River. The river we seek. He never shows the way. It is only defense against the blacksmiths. He knows white men are true friends. He will lead white warriors through mountains. A goal is won. Well, come on. Were we wrong now to bring the woman? That would be a mean man who couldn't admit he was wrong. On the 15th of November, Lewis and Clark finally sighted the Pacific Ocean. Eighteen months had it taken them to traverse 4,000 miles of wilderness from the mouth of the Missouri to the western shore of the continent. No braver exploiters recorded in the cavalcade of America. This evening's second story concerns Greeley's Arctic Expedition in 1881. Much of the music of Greeley expresses the composer's impressions of his own Northland. Our cavalcade orchestra will set the scene with morning mood from Grieg's sweet Pyrgyen. Let's have a closer look. The American Cavalcade moves onward. The will to explore is still a characteristic trait among Americans. It is July 7, 1881. Adolphus W. Greeley, 37 years old, lieutenant in the United States Signal Corps, sets off for the Arctic regions with a party of 25 men. The good ship Proteus, designed as a stealing vessel, is almost ready to sail. On the dock, Lieutenant Greeley is bidding a last farewell to his wife. For three years, dear. It's a long time. It won't be three years, Henrietta. At the end of the year, a ship is scheduled to bring us supplies. If we've accomplished our mission, we'll return then. But you told the newspapers you were taking supplies for three years. Well, of course. We must always be on the safe side. Oh, it all seems so terribly far away. Why must my husband go? Why was he chosen? This is a big opportunity for me, darling. There's never been an expedition so well equipped, so sure of reaching its goal. I know, dear. Smile, dear. Smile and wish me good luck. Oh, man, they're quite sentimental, Lieutenant. They're ready to cast off. Thank you, Sergeant. Well, dear, time to go. Where's that smile? Ah, that's better. Oh, just come back to me safely. That's all that matters here. Goodbye, dear. Goodbye. Give the baby to me. I will. Remember, keep smiling. I will. Goodbye. Goodbye, dear. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. On August 12th, Lieutenant Greeley established headquarters on Discovery Bay Greenland. The work of surveying and scientific research went on rapidly. Greeley's courageous leadership helped them pass that first long arctic winter. On May 13th, 1882, a sub-expedition under Lieutenant Lockwood landed the stars and strikes farther north than man had ever been before. They returned to Greeley's camp only to find that no relief ship had arrived. One had been sent out and six times it had tried to pass through the ice and pained seas, only to be battled by the flow. The second winter was worse than the first, and the spring brought no promise of better times. They wait for the relief ship that never comes. Trying to keep up their courage, Greeley goes among them. Captain Greeley. Captain Greeley. Yes, Sergeant. The ice and jams of the Estimals have returned. Yes. They report nothing but open sea on every side. No surprise was found. The last hope. Captain Greeley. Yes, Doctor. Lockwood is asking for you. I'll go with you at once. Rainers, see that the flag of distress is firmly planted on the highest ground. There might still be a chance. Yes, Captain. Well, Doctor, how is Lockwood today? Very weak, Captain. He's in this tent here. Captain, Captain Greeley. Yes, Lockwood? That last trip of mine, I...I missed it. What aim will I ever find? We can only hope, my friend. I'm sorry, but I need to work. It is easy to die. Very easy. But it's hard to struggle to live. I expected privation. Death, perhaps. But not abandonment. The thoughts of abandonment frayed on their minds. And while they waited, the proteates, Greeley's original chips, were sent with supplies, but were crushed in the ice pack. Almost three years after the start of the expedition, through the insistence of Mrs. Greeley, President Arthur sent three vessels, the Thetis, the Bear, and the Alert, the latter a gift from Queen Victoria and the British nation. In August, the Thetis floats amid the ice near Brevoort Island off the Greenland coast. The commander of the relief expedition, Winfield Scott Sly, is on deck as Lieutenant Caldwell returns to the ship with a searching party. Well, Caldwell, report a searching party on Brevoort Island, sir. Fog heavy, bad visibility, no sign of the Greeley party. But we did find this paper buried in a spot which was undoubtedly the remains of a supply cache. Give it to me. October 21, 1883. My party now permanently encamped on west side of small neck of land distant about equally from Cape Sabine and Cockhead Island. Rations for 40 days, A.W. Greeley. Hmm, written almost a year ago and rations for only 40 days. Norman. Yes, sir. Full speed as the ice will permit. Make for Cape Sabine. Aye, aye, sir. Full speed ahead, bossy. Order the whistle to keep blowing. One man is alive. He may hear it. Aye, aye, sir. June 21, 1884. The outpost of the law. Sergeant Long and Brainard huddled together beside the one tent, weakened by hunger and exposure. Brainard. Yes. Don't you hear something? Only the sound of the ice. I mean that whistle. Listen. The wind. It's always with me. I know the wind when I hear it. That's the ship's whistle. Oh, Long, you're a fool. You're going crazy. Crazy I'm not. I'm going to crawl to the top of a hill with the little strength that's left me. Go ahead if you want. I'll take you to the top. Go ahead if you want. I couldn't make it. What if it matters? Can't you hear that? Oh, I hear a voice. Brainard. Brainard. I hear a voice. It's a monster. I've heard it too. In your own brain. Oh, go home, Barrett. I hear it now. Long, can you see? I've almost reached the edge of the hill. Brainard, look at the boat. Brainard, look at the boat. Get it, get it, old man. Get it. Oh, yes. You're real, aren't you? I've seen you so many times, only to have you disappear. We're real, right, aren't we, Colo? Yes, we sure are. How many of you left? Seven, sir. Where are they? In the tent. There, behind the bank. Come on, Norman, hurry. Help this man. Is Mr. Greeley alive? Yes. Any other officers? No, sir. And you are? I'm Long. Long? I'm Norman, who came up with you and the protea. You remember me? Oh, yes, sir. This is Brainard. Brainard? Sir. Man, man, don't try to salute. Where's Mr. Greeley? Norman. Norman. Here he is. On the lee side of the tent. Oh, what an excitement. Greeley. Greeley, we've... we've come for you. Seven. Seven of us left. Dying. Did what we came to do. Seeked the best record. Of course you did, sir. And now we've... we've come to take you home. Home? Home, yes, sir. You'll rest, sir. Don't you see the ship? Lift me a little. I want to see the flag. Greeley, old man, it's Norman. I brought you a message from your wife. She said that when you came home, you'd find her smiling. Tenderly they carried the survivors back to their country. Greeley lived to receive the praise of his government, and later became chief signal officer in the army. His diary and his own published description of his exploits were typical of a man's modesty and courage. No credit was claimed by him. All was given to the men who followed him to the outpost of the law. Heroes like these gallant explorers, Lewis, Clark, Greeley, Brainard, make us proud to be their countrymen, proud of their leadership in the cavalcade of America. The urge to explore founded our nation, and this same trait today spurs on the research chemists to discover and create useful things. One of the most fascinating examples of exploration in the field of chemistry is the story of man-made rubber. For many years, scientists tried to find a substitute for rubber, but all attempts fell short of their goal until recently when DuPont chemists successfully completed the development of the first successful man-made rubber. DuPont's name for this product is Duprine. Duprine is actually superior to the natural product for many purposes. Products made of Duprine resist heat, sunlight, oils, and various chemicals better than those made with natural rubber, and they do not break down with ages rapidly. We take pride at this time in telling our listeners of an award made last Friday by a special committee of leading figures in the chemical world sponsored by the publication Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. In making this award, the committee said, DuPont's slogan, Better Things for Better Living through chemistry, is a creed that molds and guides the work of thousands of chemists and engineers. The outstanding chemical engineering achievement during the past two years has been DuPont's successful industrial development of the synthetic rubber Duprine, of synthetic camphor, and of certain other important organic chemicals and dikesides. We know that many of you would like to see and handle this man-made rubber, so we have had a few erasers made up of samples. They look like, feel like, and do the work of ordinary erasers, but they contain Duprine instead of natural rubber. We should be glad to send you one of these erasers free of charge. Simply write to DuPont, Wilmington, Delaware, or to your radio station. Now remember, if you would like to see and handle a product made from this man-made rubber, just ask for the eraser made from Duprine by writing DuPont, D-U-P-O-N-T, Wilmington, Delaware, or your radio station. Engineers and businessmen interested in industrial uses for Duprine may secure a special technical sample by writing on their company letterhead, describing the problem to be met. Music Next Wednesday at this time, DuPont will again present the Cavalcade of America. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System. Music Welcome to W-A-B-C. Here we are.
