Starring Brian Dunleavy in the story of the tremendous tribal on the cavalcade of America sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. But first, here is Gaine Whitman. Before our play begins tonight, here's a brief item of interest to you about the poultry industry because it affects the supply of eggs and chickens. It's more important than ever these days to have healthy baby chicks. Limitations on feed due to reduced wheat supplies will necessarily reduce the size of the flocks and make it necessary to become more efficient in raising each chick. DuPont supplies cello glass, plastic coated wire mesh, the ideal material for poultry house windows and other buildings. Cello glass protects chicks from damp, cool spring weather but does not shut out the passage of the health giving ultraviolet rays of the sun. That is why many poultry farmers use cello glass, one of DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. The DuPont Company presents the story of the tremendous tribal starring Brian Dunleavy as Edwin Drake on the Cavalcade of America. Tonight, the Cavalcade of America brings you the story of the beginning of a mighty industry, one which has helped bring America prosperity and greatness. But this is also the story of a man who had faith, who never gave up. His name is Edwin L. Drake. Perhaps you've never heard of him, but the citizens of Titusville, Pennsylvania will never forget him or what he did. Nor will a grateful industry forget Edwin L. Drake. The story begins really in the office of Mr. George H. Bissell, one of the pioneers in the petroleum industry. But it's the year 1857 and there are troubles and worries confronting Mr. Bissell and his associates. Now look here, Evelyn. Kerosene, coal oil as they call it, is catching on with the public. They're using it for an illuminant. I know all that, Bissell, but what can we do about it? Well, Drake should be back any time now with his report. Hey, whatever made you hire him, Bissell? Because he sold himself to me. There was something about him. Well, let's hope his report is favorable. Somehow I've got a hunch, Evelyn, a hunch that tells me to stick with it. Well, we can't do anything until Drake gets back from Pennsylvania. Drake! Drake, come in. Come in. Hello, George. Now, what have you got? George, it's wonderful. I knew it, I knew it. All right, let's have the story. I looked over the property and there's oil there all right, George. Well, we knew that, but can we get it in large enough quantities? How large? Well, large enough to compete with kerosene, coal oil. We can if we dig for it. Dig? But the man alive, you know what happened. Yes, yes, I studied salt well drilling operations near Syracuse in Pittsburgh. George, I'm convinced we can get oil that way. But look, Edwin, every time that's tried... I know, I know. Every time the shaft's pulled up, the hole caves in. That's right. And you still think digging's the only way? Yes. How did you do it before? Well, we... I'll tell you. You dug trenches. You siphoned the oil out when it came to the top, passed it along to the distillers, and well, you can't get it fast enough that way, can you? Well, that's what the trouble is. Well, then there's only one way left. Now, now, wait a minute. I'll admit you have a point when you say we can't get it fast enough the old way. But what do you know about it? You were a railroad conductor. You hired me, didn't you? Well, of course I did. Well, I just told you what I think. George, I want to go back there again. I want you to let me oversee the operation. But you've only seen salt wells, Doug. And we're not in the salt business. No, you're in the oil business. And you're not getting oil fast enough. Look, George, people are ready for a new illuminant. Coal oil smells way all with dirty... Look, I'm not arguing those points with you, Edwin. I admit them. I'm just questioning your qualifications. I like you. Evelyn likes you. But how do you know what you'll run into? Did Columbus know what he was going to run into? Would I... All right, all right. Go ahead. But we've got to have results, or we'll have to dissolve our business. I think, George, you'll stay in business. Hey, you. You said you were in the oil business, straight. Yes, I am. Coal oil? No, just oil. Oh, boy, have you got a surprise coming. Well, maybe you know already. What are you talking about? Well, I know what I'm talking about. I lost every penny I had in that business. Why, uh, why did you lose? Well, because we couldn't get the oil fast enough. Well, I know that, too. You know, and yet you're going to... to wherever you're going, and... I am. Oh, look, give it up. You can't take oil off the surface fast enough. There were days, weeks, when we didn't get a drop. But this oil is better than coal oil. There's a market waiting for it. Oh, listen, Drake. Do you know that 15 out of 16 oil men went broke trying to get the stuff out of the ground fast enough to compete with coal oil? You hear that? Broke, busted flat. And I'm one. Well, you might have gone at it the wrong way. No, we tried every way. Digging, too? Digging? Oh, get that out of your head, Drake. While you punch a hole in the ground, pull up the shaft, and before you know what's happened, the whole cave's in. Yeah, I know. And you're still willing to take a chance. Mister, there's nothing in this world that amounts to a hill of beans if you don't have to work for it. I don't expect anyone to come to me and hand me barrels and barrels of oil. I know what to expect. And you know how to lick it, I suppose. No, not yet. Well, there you are. Well, I guess I'll catch a nap. Got to hunt for a job tomorrow. I only hope you're not tying everything you got up in oil, Drake. Good night. Edmund, is that you? Uh-huh. Well, is there any news, dear? Sure. Letter from Bissell. Oh, bad news? Laura, maybe I shouldn't have come. Maybe everyone's right... Edmund, don't say that. You will find a way. Laura, I love you. Not because you're my wife, and not because you married a man who's still half a kid, but because you fill up the gaps in my faith. Edmund, now sit down, dear, and tell me all about it. Laura, I've been working day and night. Yes, dear, I know you have. But what does Mr. Bissell say? He wonders if we're getting results. He wants oil, Laura, oil and lots of it. Coal oil's outselling us now 20 to 1. It's killing our business. But mind you, Laura, only because I can't get enough oil to compete. I can't get oil enough to the distillers. But the digging. Ah, you're right about that, too, Laura. The soil is spongy. Every time we drive a shaft, it goes down all right. But pull up the shaft to see what we've got in the hole closes in like, like sawdust. Yes, but there must be solid ground that won't do that. Sure, sure, there is. We've driven shafts in solid ground. And then we hit salt water about 65 feet, and that finishes us. Then no matter what you do, you're beaten. It looks like it. Should I give up, Laura? You know what you always say, Edmund. Remember what they said about Columbus. Columbus just kept saying he was bound to hit something. Look, darling, why don't you get some rest first? Think about it in the morning. That's all I've been doing, thinking about it, dreaming, eating, sleeping oil. I can taste the stuff when anyone mentions it. Well, then what are you going to do? There must be a way. Look, drive a shaft in the spongy ground in the hole cave. Drive in solid ground and you get salt water. Now how can I lick both those problems? Please come to bed. You've got to get some rest. Laura, I'm going out tomorrow and find the best well digger in this part of the country. I'm going to lick this thing. Lick it to a standstill. Yep. I'm looking for a man named Uncle Billy Smith. Are you? I wonder if you could tell me where to find him. What might you be wanting with him? Can I come in? Yep. All right, you're in. Would you be Uncle Billy Smith? Could be. Well, if you are, I've got a proposition that might interest you. Yeah? I've been in Titusville five weeks now and everywhere I go, I hear that Uncle Billy Smith never brought in a tainted salt well. Always brings in clear salt water. Yep. Are you Uncle Billy? Sit down. Thanks. Now, what is the share proposition, Colonel? Oh, you know me. Well, folks in little places like the share don't pass up strangers without finding out who they are and what they're doing. Now you are looking for oil. Right. Have you been looking for oil, Uncle Billy Smith? Have been for almost 75 years. You reckon that's my name. Good. Now we can talk business. Yep. All right. Uncle Billy, I want you to help me find oil. Oh, but Colonel, and my job for fifty years has been digging and bringing in salt wells. I know, I know. And you never had one tainted with oil. Nope. That's why I want you to help me find oil. Now, wait a minute. You're looking for oil and you come to me because I ain't never hit none? That does sound crazy, doesn't it? Well, I don't know. I had an uncle once, touched in the head he was, but he ended up better than any of us. Well, I figured you never hit oil because you weren't looking for it. Yep. But you knew where it was and you stayed away from it. You're right, smart, Colonel. Yep. Huh? Oh. Well, Colonel, I... Hey, wait a minute. What's the matter? Everybody calls you Colonel. That's right. What do you Colonel love? Uncle Billy, between you and me and the lamp post, the closest I ever got to a uniform was being a conductor on the New York-New Haven Railroad. Then why is everybody calling you Colonel? Well, maybe because it sounds impressive. Well, it ain't impressed me none, but I'll tell you what did. You being smart. Now, what about the proposition, Colonel? Interested? Depends, Colonel, depends. Go ahead, talk. All right. Now, I've come down here to get oil. Oh, I know men have failed one after another. Yep. Failed because they couldn't get enough oil. Now, I'm convinced there's only one way to get it in big enough quantities. Big for it? That's it. Mm-hmm. How about the hole caving in? That's what we'll have to lick. Well, can you? I can try. How? Well, I want you to dig for me. Dig in the place you wouldn't dig to find a salt well. Then what? Well, if we can get deep enough, we should hit oil. Well, digging salt wells is a good business. I don't know if such a proposition suits me. Why not call it having faith? Huh? Faith in the country, faith in a new industry. Uncle Billy, if we succeed where others failed, we'll be the pioneers. How about it? Doesn't that appeal to you? Let me see. Cuddle, you've got yourself a man. When do we start? You doing anything this afternoon? Nope. I ain't. Yep, you are. How about this place, Uncle Billy? Man of the North. Let me sniff around a bit. Again? But we've cramped all... Yeah, kind of. You asked me to find oil for you. Ain't that it? That's it. Well, you said something about having faith. Now, you've got to start off by having faith in me and what I know. All right. I guess I am a little impatient, George. Now, let me see. Colonel? Yes? Look down there where you're standing. What? Right here? Yeah. There's oil right under your feet. Uncle Billy, are you sure about it? Can you be certain? This is a good place to dig. For fifty years I've been sinking salt wells in the cherry part of the country. For fifty years I dug more holes than a crazy gopher on a tire. And this, Colonel, this is the kind of land I shied away from, because I noted it had oil in it. I'm sure that it would have tainted my salt wells. We've got to be right, Uncle Billy. Colonel, when I young fell into business, I hit my share of tainted wells because I didn't know oil for my year. But I learned this is oil land. That's what I wanted to hear. We'll start digging. You know any good men to help us? Well, I got two boys, both of them good. That's good enough for me. You go get them. Get all the equipment you need and bring it here and I'll wait. Eh, it's going to take a lot of time before I get back in town. Well, that's all right with me. We'll start as soon as you get back here. Eh, it's going to be dark by that time, Colonel. No light or dark, Uncle Billy, we start as soon as you get back with the men and the equipment and we'll keep on until we hit oil. You are listening to Brian Dunleavy as Edwin L. Drake in the story of the tremendous trifle on the Capricade of America, sponsored by the Yupont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. As the second part of our story opens, Edwin L. Drake has hired Uncle Billy Smith to help him dig for oil. Drake has two problems to solve. First, he must sink a shaft deep enough to hit oil. Second, he must prevent the hole from caving in when the shaft is removed. Just now the second problem is the most pressing. How's she going, Uncle Billy? Eh, I'll come. We're going to see in a minute. We've got about 20 feet down. Shave's out now and we'll have to hook on another section to go deeper. How about the hole? This ground looks loose and spongy. We might get a cave in. Could be, but stand to reason we've got to get another section hooked on. Ah, you're the boss on that. Oh, there she goes, the hole's caving in. Doggone it! And we didn't even get the water. Now ain't that the con-saur-dice thing? Oh, it's all right. We'll just have to start all over again now. Three days would have been a digging down and for what? Uncle Billy, isn't there some way to stop the hole from caving in when the shaft's pulled out? Don't know of any, Conner. All right, let's start again. You ain't going to give up? Give up? Look, that shaft is going right back in. We're going to keep punching holes in this sawdust until we get one that stays. I came here to hit oil, lots of it, and I'm going to hit it if I have to drive that shaft clear through the other side of the world. Now let's go, boys. Ready on the engine. We're going again. Keep it going. Keep it going. Oh, it'll take no use, Conner. She'll cave in again like she did the other twelve times. I said we're going to keep going. But dear, you're driving yourself too hard. Night and day rain and shine for two months and for what? For oil. It's there, Laura. I'm going to hit it. Not if you don't take care of that cough. Conner, three months is a long time to be punching holes, a cave in, as soon as we get them down. Uncle Billy, I'm going to stay with it if I have to do it by myself. No, Edwin, no. The doctor says you can't go out. I don't care what the doctor says. I'm too close to what I came here for, and I don't care if I never make a nickel. I'm not going to let it lick me. Hey, hey, hey, we hit that rock. Stop the engines. Rock? All the way down to sixty-nine feet and we hit rock. And now we are finished. Yeah, I guess that does it. No, look, have you got a shaft that'll punch through that rock? Sure, but we're going to have to pull that shaft out to get a different one down. And when we do, she'll cave in again. Yeah, that's the side of it, General. Well, it looks like we've done perfect for sure now. Hell, but we've got to... I... Hey. Hmm? Billy. What's the matter? Look, I'm an idiot. Those cast iron pipes over there, what are they for? Piping off salt water when we hit it. How much have they got? I reckon more than a hundred feet. But why? Listen, we've got a chance. We'll sink that pipe in the ground down to bedrock. Then we'll put the drill through the pipe. But you see, the pipe will be a casing to keep the walls of the hole from caving in. Well, I never heard of that before. Neither did anyone else. Come on, get it done. It worked, Dr. Billy. It worked. It sure did. The pipe sure held the walls up. All these months it took me to think of a trifle like that. It looks like it might be a tremendous trifle, Colonel. And we... We're through. Through the rock. Yeah, and if I ate it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And if I didn't eat it, I'd be dead. And I propose that in gratitude and deep appreciation for what he did for the nation, for what he did for a new and grateful industry, that we of the Pennsylvania State Legislature grant a substantial annuity for the rest of his life to Edwin L. Drake. There won't be any doubt about it, Edwin. I don't know what to say. You don't have to say a word, Edwin. It's what you did in August 1859 that counts, and we remembered it. The industry remembers. Edwin, we'd better go now. You look tired. Tired? Oh, oh, oh, oh, nonsense, Laura. You know what they said about Columbus. No, dear. What did they say about Columbus? They said, they said, I don't know. I guess they never did now. Our star, Brian Dunleavy, will return in a moment. But now here is Gaine Whitman. The first production of kerosene, which is still called coal oil in some parts of the country, was a great triumph. And so was the first production of gasoline. But you wouldn't think so if you had to use that early gas in your car today. A motorist in the early 1900s usually had to strain his gas through a chamois skin to filter out the water and dirt. And while he was doing it, the neighbors could smell the stuff a block away. The engine in a modern automobile can be better, and is better, because of better gasoline. We say the gas today has a higher octane rating and better volatility characteristics. Today's gasoline is improved by never-ending chemical research. DuPont antioxidants, for instance, are chemical compounds added to gasoline in extremely small quantities, not much more than a couple of thimbles full of a thousand gallons, to prevent the formation of gum, gum that would do exactly what its name implies, and gum up your motor. Modern gasoline may also contain compounds known as metal deactivators to eliminate the harmful effects of metals, especially copper, which speeds up the formation of gum. Lubricating oils, too, are highly refined products nowadays, far removed from the black oil that is pumped from the ground. A great deal of the efficiency of modern lubricating oils depends upon the chemicals added to it. When oil gets hot and reacts with the oxygen of the air, it may become corrosive. Without the addition of compounds, such as DuPont or Tholium-202, it would attack the copper-lead alloy bearings widely used in automobile and truck motors. Tholium-202 adds a protection to check the corrosion. All told, the DuPont company manufactures more than 20 compounds which improve the qualities of gasoline and other petroleum products, as well as the colored dyes, which enable you to identify your favorite brand. The colors you can see, the other compounds you can't. But they're there, unseen, doing important work, like so many other products of chemical science, that are DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. Now our star, Brian Dunleavy. Thank you. Brian, just about this time we thank our staff for being with us. So please accept our sincere congratulations on doing such a swell job tonight. That's very nice of you, Gaine, and may I return the compliment by saying it's always a pleasure to do a cavalcade show. The next best thing to me is listening to one. Well, you'll enjoy next week's then, Brian. We're going to star Edward G. Robinson in a tense, exciting story of surgery called The Doctor with Hope in his hands. Sounds like a great show, Gaine, and it's a title that fits right in with something that's on my mind, hope in his hands. You know, all of us today have hope in our hands for the hundreds of thousands in our military hospitals for whom the war is still going on. There is a way that each of us can help them through our own Red Cross. We can guarantee our hospitalized veterans skilled and sympathetic care by a staff of trained medical workers. We can make sure that needed loans or grants of money are available for them or their families. This month, the Red Cross is asking for at least $100 million to carry on its vital services during 1946. It's up to each of us to help meet that need. Won't you all give and give generously. Brian Donlevy will be seen shortly in the forthcoming Paramount Technicolor production of The Virginian. The music for tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster. In tonight's cast with Mr. Donlevy were Betty Arnold as Laura and Horace Murphy as Uncle Billy. This is Tom Collins inviting you to listen next week to Edward G. Robinson in The Doctor with Hope in his Hands on the Cavalcade of America, brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company. Thank you.
