The Cavalcade of America, presented by DuPont. One of the most important chapters in the history of America is the thrilling, romantic saga of those hard-bitten men who rode the great rangers along the Texas frontiers. In a land of cane breaks, mountains and prairies, came first the Tejas Indians and finally the Weisman. And as Texas became enriched with lives and progress, greed and outlawry menaced its people, and through necessity, the Texas Rangers were organized over a century ago. The heroic age of the ranger has vanished, but in the development of our largest state, he brought the vital contribution of justice and peace. As our overture, Don Voorhees and the DuPont Cavalcade Orchestra play the Rangers' song from Rio Rita. In these United States of America, the only state once recognized by the powers of the world as of independent sovereignty was the Republic of Texas. For in the year 1837, Texas was a nation. Its president, Sam Houston. To this vast inland territory came the Spanish, the French, and finally the Americans, and the great and colorful civilized nation of Texas. A civilization which led to the admission of Texas into the Union of 1845. A civilization subsequently threatened by lawlessness and terror. The era which saw the coming of the Texas Rangers. Tonight our story is about one of them, Tom Dawson. And in the career of Tom Dawson is presented the story of the Texas Rangers. It begins at 12,000 years old, and the first time it was written, Tom Dawson is presented the story of the Texas Rangers. It begins at twilight at a lonely ranch house in western Texas. Supper! Supper! Supper's ready! Yeah, it'll come right up, Ma. Well, then better hurry up. Supper'll fall if it don't. Leave me to it. Boy, I'm hungry. What's cooking, Ma? Two rabbits. So Tom, what have you got there? Blue bollets. I picked them up for you. Oh, Tom. They're the prettiest I've seen this spring. Where'd you find them? Down by the Crickerway. Oh, Tom, that was real sweet of you. You should have saved them for Betty. No, I picked them up for you. Ma, you like Betty, don't you? Yes, yes, I'm a lot. Well, don't you think that Betty and I could, well... You're riding over to their ranch after supper, ain't you? Yeah, Ma. You're my baby, Tom. I almost lost you. Not afraid to now. You're not going to lose me, Ma. Betty and I built our own house right up there in the North 40. Pa said we could. I'd better put these blue bonnets in water. Ma. Yes? Thanks. Can I help you with supper? No, no, everything's ready. Here's your pa on it now. Say, you two, didn't you hear me ringing that bell? Oh, stop seeing Frank Clayton down the road a piece, Lottie. Says he and Mrs. Clayton can't do a thing with Betty. She's been learning to cook lately. They don't exactly relish her practicing up on meals for them. How's your appetite, Tom? Are you listening to me? Oh, that's Tom alone, Ned. All of you wash up, or you won't get any supper. Yeah, I reckon we're better boys. What did Frank really have to say, Milt? Any gossip I ought to know? Well, he says he heard those cutthroat bandits and rustlers that Joe Fisher heard up north are supposed to be heading for this neighborhood. I sure wish there was some way we could run them clear out of Texas in short order. Believe me, I'd do something about it if I were younger. We'll handle them if they try anything around here, all right. I've heard that before, too. Doesn't seem to stop them, does it? Well, only last month. Come on, come on. Sit down and eat your supper. I've been waiting long enough already. Stop talking about trouble for a change. Let's be happy when we're all together like this. All right, Lottie. O heavenly Father, we thank thee for thy merciful heart. Later that evening, young Tom Dawson mounted his horse and counted away. Underneath lobbed lollipines and scrub oak, the rider passed. Overhead were the glittering stars. Around him, the quiet mystery of the prairie night. One by one, the lights blinked out in the ranch houses along the trail. And while their sun rode silently across the plains, Dilt Dawson and his wife lay sleeping. Nils, Nils, Nils, wake up. Wake up, wake up. It's Tom. He's back. Oh, oh, oh, Tom. All right, buddy. I'll let him in. Tom, what's the matter? Look here, boy. What's up? What is it, son? Dan burned the Clayton Ranch. Really? Yeah, Mom. Everybody. The tragedy that struck young Tom Dawson was an isolated expression of the violence and brigandry that present at the development of Texas. Finally, the people who were trying to live decent, useful lives clamored in protest, and their voices were heard in the state capitol at Austin. Then one day at the Dawson Ranch House... Anybody home in there? Sure. Come on in, Jim. Hi, Jim. Hi, Jim. Got great news, Milt. Yeah? The governor's organizing the Texas Rangers again. Well, it's about time. Yeah, we're going to chase these bandits right off the map. Texas Rangers reorganizing, eh? Yep. A fellow named Captain McNally is gathering the force along the border. They're going to need a lot of men. I'm going, Pa. So am I. I can't spare the two of you, but we'll settle that later. You boys help Jim take care of his horse first. You've got to stay for his supper, Jim. We'd love to have you, Jim. Oh, sure will, Milt. Be right back to get my horse. Come on, boys. We can go out the back way. Milt. Yeah, Lottie? You used to be a Texas Ranger in the old days. You going to let our boys go and join up with them? Not both of them, Lottie. Not Ned. Tom's the one. He'll make a great ranger. Well, he's the young Milt. Oh, it isn't just a matter of age, Lottie, being a Texas Ranger. It's having the head to think straight. Being three jumps ahead of danger. Well, and Tom's the one, Milt. We'll miss him, Lottie. Yes, you're right. Well, I'm kind of glad it's getting around springtime again. Saw some jackrabbits today, antelope too. Everything's getting so green and pretty outside, Lottie. And those bluebombs down by the creek, I say, there must be thousands of them. You know, I can't wait to see them. You know, I can remember a wave. I guess I'd better put kettle on. All over Texas, men were joining the new organization, the Texas Rangers. And young Tom Dawson left his father's ranch and set off to find Captain McNally and his Rangers on the border. Late one afternoon, as the glow of sunset drains from a deep valley, he rides into camp. Lottie, stranger, where are you heading for? I'm looking for Captain McNally. Well, you're in the right place. Hey, Captain. Captain McNally. What's up? A fellow here looking for you. Be right over. Well, son, what can I do for you? I'm Tom Dawson, Milt Dawson's son. I'd like to join the Rangers, sir. Got a letter here to you from my father. Yeah, you look like your dad, all right. I guess we can use you. Got a good heart? Yes, sir. Ain't a better one anywhere than my smokey. Just brought me 400 miles since Wednesday. Oh, that's fine. I got my frying pan and blankets and a sack of corn. All fixed up, ain't you? How old are you? I'll be 21, fall off. We won't say how long. Come on over to campfire and meet the boys. I suppose you can use a little food, can't you? I sure can, sir. Well, we've got a worse job right now on our hands than your dad ever faced. Cattle thieves running herds over the border by the hundreds. You'll see some tough fighting. That's what I'm hoping for, Captain. Boys, this is Tom Dawson. Father was a Ranger before him. Make a plate for him around the fire. Sure, sure. Sit down. Make yourself at home, Tom. Big side meat this way, Pete. Boy's hungry. Running to anything exciting riding down? Plenty of signs where folks had some trouble. I didn't stop long in the way. You'll listen. Couple boys, let's get the horses. Wait, wait. Somebody's coming. I didn't see anybody on the way down here. Bill! Captain McNelly? Yeah, what is it? Sam Bass. He's a Russell III hunter, head of Longhorn, across Rio Grande. Sam Bass again. Where's half long estate? It's about time we got him. Go get him, boys. Out of the valley thundered the hard-riding Texas Rangers, scattering to surround Sam Bass and his outlaw band. Gradually darkness falls over the Rio Grande, and on a small knoll crouch young Tom Dawson and one of the other Rangers. Joe, did you hear that? Yes, Kyle. No, I don't mean that. I swear I heard something else. You scared? No, I'm all right. Hey, you're right, kid. That must be the Russells now. Yeah. I'll have to come right through this pass. Look, down there. Somebody's stuck a flint. Yeah, here they come. Ready? I'll get you. Crawl up behind that bush. Be ready in case they shoot. All right, good luck. Quiet now, quiet. Joe! Joe, get up, run! Last got away. I heard him yelling. He's the one that plugged me. You're a good shot, kid. You hurt, Joe? Yeah. I can lift you on your horse. We'll get back to camp. No, no, no, you go along. I'll stay with you, Joe. No, keep going. Get Bass. Joe! Get... Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. Get Bass. All right, Smokey. Get... Come on, get... Tom Dawson galloped off and joined the other rangers in search of Sam Bass. Finally, they succeeded in destroying the cattle thief's stronghold and recovered the stolen herds. But the outlaw, Sam Bass, still eluded them. And as the months passed, Tom Dawson, in his life as a Texas ranger, often rode alone. There were interesting and varied experiences. Like all rangers, Tom kept always before him the ranger ideal to protect the weak and to enforce common justice. He never rode by a lone shack without stopping to see that its owner was all right. One day he dismounted a lonely cabin in the Guadalupe Mountains. Come in. Howdy, ma'am. Everything all right here? Oh, I'm so thankful that you came by. I don't know what to do. What's the matter, ma'am? I can't find my little girl anyplace. She went outside to play with the dog. I can't find her. How long she been gone, ma'am? I don't know. I fell asleep and Katie must have strayed then. She's only three and a half. I'm afraid of rattlers. Oh, I reckon she's all right. You say she had a dog along with her, but she's not here. She's not here. She's not here. She's not here. She's not here. She's not here. She's not here. I'm sure he'd follow her. He's a collie. Well, now you just rest easy here. I'll go hunt him up. Don't you worry. Hey, drink some of that tea there. Do you good. Standard of children. I can't until I know my baby's safe. Oh, what? Listen. No, that's no baby. Come on. Let's go. Come on, Smoky. They're bound to locate her. She hasn't met up with a bear or something. Oh, boy. Maybe this will pet her, huh? You hear that? We'll be on that rock bridge. Must have lost her way in the rain this morning. Come on, boys. Keep going. Come on. Keep. Oh, oh, that boy. Oh. Katie. Katie. Come on. Let's go. All right, boys. Oh. Well, dog got it, honey. Where'd you think you were going? The baby was rescued and returned to her family. And as time went on, the rangers swarmed into every valley, galloped across the prairies, and up into the mountains of Texas in their determination to rid the land of outlaws and violence. Tom Dawson rode with them. While in the little ranch house of his father, they naturally began to wonder at not hearing from him. Then one day... Come on in. Howdy, Milton. Well, old Jim. Got a letter from Tom for you. Yeah. Hi, Lottie. Letter from Tom. Is he all right? Well, I ain't read it yet. Let's see. Yeah. Yeah, sure. He's all right. He's up with Major Jones' frontier outfit, he says. Jones is a fine man. Yeah. Well, I don't see him. He's a fine man. He's a fine man. He's a fine man. He's a fine man. He's a fine man. He's a fine man. Well, I don't suppose he'll be coming home for a while yet, will he? There's plenty of work to be done still up in that end of the state. Don't think Tom can get away yet, Lottie. Say, you heard about the book that Jones has got out. Names over 5,000 outlaws still at large. 1,500 wanted for murder. 2,500 listed for cast cattle rustling. Ain't that a pretty record? Sure is bad. Does Tom say anything about the muffler I knit for him, Mill? Right up here at the top of the ladder he says, tell Mom thanks for the muffler. It sure keeps me warm. I heard him talking today all about Sam Bass, the outlaw. He's the ringleader. Pulled off four big train robbers in less than a month. Yeah, Tom says here he's going with Jones after Sam Bass. Things would be enough fast they'd get rid of that rattlesnake. Yeah, but well, it's mighty dangerous for the boy if he's tangling with Sam Bass. I'll come back later, Mill. What's the matter with Lottie? Talking about danger to Tom, sort of upset her. Oh. Me too, I guess. We ain't seen Tom in over a year. Music Meanwhile in the little prairie town of Round Rock at high noon, some cowboys are sitting around the local barber shop. It was in 1864, but at the age of 17, Sam Bass began to roam the town. Yes, sir, I like that song of hell. Well, I'll tell you boys, it won't none of them ever get Sam Bass. They say he's up around this country somewhere. Worse luck, I say. It's all right, they'll never get him. He's too smart. How do you want this beard trimmed, Buck? Leave it as it is. He's had a hard enough time getting it back for him. You trim it faster, Charlie. Don't let them shears slip. Who's riding in, Slim? Looks like one of them kid rangers. I wonder what he's doing in town. Maybe he's looking for you, Charlie. Right. Sam Bass was born in Indiana. It was his native home. And at the age of 17, Sam Bass began to roam. Well, that finishes you, cowboy. You're next, Ranger. Shave or haircut? Shave. Make it fast. If you might have done a pile of riding today. Yeah, I did a little. Stranger in Round Rock? Just passing through. You heard anything new on Sam Bass? No, I ain't. They say you rangers are up here after him. So? Think we'll get him? Well, you rangers are smart, but I figure Sam Bass is smarter. Yeah, maybe you're right. There's a couple of tough customers. All right, you hombres. Out of my way. Wait a minute, I might have cut you. Let me out of here. Come on, get out of my way. Duck boys, you're gonna be shooting. Holy smoke. That ranger sure quick on the trigger. Come on, let's work it out. Well, hey. Well, how's that? Say, who was that hombre? Sam Bass. Sam Bass? All right, all right. Let's have the rest of that shaved. Why, sure, sure. Say, how about making up the last verse of that song about Sam Bass you was just singing? Now Sam is a decaying folk down in the round rock clay, and Jackson's on the border, but trying to get away. Sure got the hand to do you, Ranger. Oh, pray for the ranger, you kind-hearted stranger. He hasn't been home for a year. But he's chased the Comanches from all Puckill Ranches and run all the outlaws clean off the frontier. Eventually the rangers rounded up the whole Sam Bass band, and a great blow for law and order was struck in Texas. One by one, outlaw gangs were brought to justice or disappeared. And when peace and order were again restored in Texas, many of the rangers were given leave to visit their homes. Tom Dawson was one. Naturally, there was great anticipation in his family. Tom should have been home here two weeks ago from the time he said he was starting. Oh, honey, you've been smelling trouble for two weeks. I tell you, he's all right. You just have to settle your mind and peace. Anybody home in there? Tom. Tom! Howdy, ma. Oh. Howdy there, Pa. Hello, son. Tom. What's the matter with your arm, son? Oh, that's all right, ma. Run into a couple of horse thieves near Pa Bluma's place up country. One of them winged me a bit. Delayed me considerably. You get him? One of them. I'll warm up some supper for you, do you? Oh, great, ma. Where's Ned? He's studying to be a lawyer down in Dallas. Yeah? Yeah. Always said he never had the makings of a ranger. Say, what you got on the stove, ma? Just rabbit. Makes the way you like it. Your ma's been cooking dinner for you for two weeks. Oh, set myself to death on rabbits. Yeah, we sure glad to see you, son. Believe me, Pa, it's great to be home. You know, I guess I really been heading back here ever since I went away. The years passed. The outlaws vanished. Law and order were established, and Texas built the great civilization that it deserves today. About 1935, the Texas Rangers became a thing of the past by an official act of the legislature. And a group of old Rangers gathered to live over bygone days. We used to say a Texas Ranger had to ride like a Mexican, trail like an Indian, shoot like a Tennessean, and fight like the devil. Oh, Phil McDonnell had it right when he said a Ranger could charge the inferno with a bomb. He said, you know, you're not going to get away with this. You're going to get away with this. You're going to get away with this. You're going to get away with this. You're going to get away with this. You're going to get away with this. As youふ trrod mar these rulling blew slightly of the nine, 10- dont have diagnostic test say missed mark continued at 자기 know fliers both atactory I'd sure hate to find myself in one of them and one of those old trails you all know about. Give me my old horse Smokey anytime. I only wish with all my heart tonight, right while we're all sitting here, that Colonel Jack Hayes could walk right in here with us and old Bill McCullough. And Major Jones and Captain McNally. Can't you just hear the little captain say, go get them boys. How about all the others, huh? Lee Hall, Baylor, Neville and Bigfoot Waffle. Boys, you know, when folks talk about the Texas Rangers in years to come, you know they're not going to tell about how many bandits they hung or anything like that. They're going to tell about how the sight of one of you boys to a settler or a cattleman in trouble was like rain in the desert. You rode faster than the prairie wind. You rode through dust storms and blizzards. And at night you slept under a million stars. Yes, sir, boys, the Texas Rangers. Every man his own captain. There were hundreds of Tom Dawson's, all Texas Rangers, and the Lone Star State will always be proud of them. Men of fearless courage and heroic purpose who represent the very best traditions of the Southwest. The countless trails their horses rode will be covered but never forgotten. The Texas Rangers will live on in legend, in song, and in the great memory of America. And now we have a story which is told by Basil Rysdale speaking to the DuPont Company. The story from the wonder world of chemistry. Here's a headline that commands attention. Home sweet home is the most dangerous place in America and the story behind this headline is one to astound everyone. Figures show that out of all fatal accidents about one third of them happen in that haven of peace called home. Even more than the automobile total. All this may sound gloomy but there's a cheerful side to it too because most of these home accidents can be prevented if you're willing to give the matter your attention. Let me tell you what chemists are doing to increase safety in the home. Perhaps the most obvious example is the fire extinguisher that should hang in every home. DuPont does not make fire extinguishers. It is only one of many chemical companies that supply chemicals for them. But DuPont chemists start even farther back than that in dealing with the menace of fire. Because they also make fire retarding chemicals for treating wood and fabrics so as to make them flame proof. After chemical treatment such things will char but won't support a flame and therefore won't spread fire. Another important protection against fire is the precaution of using TriClean, non-inflammable fabric cleaner made by DuPont chemists. Of all the fatal home accidents more than one third are caused by falls. Men informed in accident prevention say guard against falls in the home. They say use safe stepladders. Keep stairways clear. I'm told that around 16 percent of these falls take place on stairs and a lot of them on stair landings. Or at the bottom of stairs where you're likely to step on a skiddy rug that slides out from under your feet. DuPont chemists have devised rug anchor, non-skid rug underlay especially designed to make small rugs stay put. And speaking of stairs, have you ever seen porch steps that have sagged and broken down due to rotting of the timber? What an easy place to take a serious tumble. But chemistry is ready to protect you again by means of a product that makes wood rot-proof. Yes, all this is about safety in your home. But I've also heard an unusual story of safety in the DuPont company home in the plants and laboratories that employ thousands of people. By careful attention to accident prevention, the DuPont company has kept down the frequency rate of major injuries to a remarkably low point. 86 percent less than American industry as a whole according to latest available figures of the National Safety Council. Safety first, a good slogan and a good companion to the DuPont pledge, better things for better living through chemistry. Music Next week, the cavalcade of America will present the story of a great American actress, the beloved Marie Dressler. So until next week then at the same time, Mrs. Thomas Chalmers saying good night and best wishes from DuPont. Music This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.
