WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.000 Hi ya buckaroos! 00:02.000 --> 00:09.760 That was Tarzan and this is the end-miner saying hello from the tack room of the Diamond 00:09.760 --> 00:10.760 Cave. 00:10.760 --> 00:13.680 Well, I've been digging around for a story to tell you today. 00:13.680 --> 00:15.000 That's why you're here, I know. 00:15.000 --> 00:17.640 And I think I've come up with a yarn you're going to enjoy. 00:17.640 --> 00:20.160 It's one of my favorites. 00:20.160 --> 00:22.440 I've been hearing from a lot of parents too lately. 00:22.440 --> 00:26.800 It seems I've been saving them a lot of work for leaving them in the storytelling department. 00:26.800 --> 00:28.480 Well, I'm glad to help out. 00:28.480 --> 00:32.120 Now, here's my ranch hand Charlie to help out with a word or two for you. 00:32.120 --> 00:33.600 Well, thanks Ken. 00:33.600 --> 00:37.320 And from the tack room of Ken Maynard's Diamond Cave Ranch, we're bringing you stories of 00:37.320 --> 00:38.600 adventure. 00:38.600 --> 00:43.440 Stories of circus life, fascinating transcribed tales of the Old West where cowboys still 00:43.440 --> 00:45.520 follow the cattle trails. 00:45.520 --> 00:51.240 Stories of rodeos and parades, colorful legends of the Red Man, hidden gold, lost mines and 00:51.240 --> 00:52.700 buried treasure. 00:52.700 --> 00:57.640 The exciting tales from the Diamond Cave are told by Hollywood's champion of western stars, 00:57.640 --> 00:59.480 internationally famous Ken Maynard. 00:59.480 --> 01:04.080 Now, while Ken's getting ready to spin today's Wild West yarn, here's something to think 01:04.080 --> 01:05.080 about buckaroos. 01:05.080 --> 01:07.080 And by the way, this is not a yarn. 01:07.080 --> 01:08.400 This is based on real facts. 01:08.400 --> 01:11.280 Do you know what every cowboy's favorite pastime is? 01:11.280 --> 01:14.960 Well, after the chores are done, whether it's watering the horses, pitching hay, rounding 01:14.960 --> 01:19.400 up the cattle or taking care of all the gear, the boys just kind of drift together to chat 01:19.400 --> 01:20.400 a bit. 01:20.400 --> 01:23.560 The first thing you know, one of them is telling a story. 01:23.560 --> 01:25.220 Cowboys just love a good story. 01:25.220 --> 01:29.080 And that's why we think you'll get a big kick out of having a set of real western stories 01:29.080 --> 01:31.880 to hear any time you have your chores done. 01:31.880 --> 01:36.960 Now, I'm talking about the exciting record album of Ken Maynard Wild West Stories. 01:36.960 --> 01:42.800 It's a beautiful album, all in color, with two of Ken's favorite stories inside, on two 01:42.800 --> 01:48.160 big eight inch unbreakable records, with pictures of Ken and Tarson right on the records. 01:48.160 --> 01:54.200 And best of all, these records are personalized, made just for you, with a personal message 01:54.200 --> 01:57.480 from Ken to you right on the record. 01:57.480 --> 02:00.160 When you put the needle down on the record, you'll hear Ken say, 02:00.160 --> 02:01.920 Hello there, Jimmy. 02:01.920 --> 02:04.520 This is Ken Maynard with a story just for you. 02:04.520 --> 02:05.520 Yes. 02:05.520 --> 02:09.360 You'll hear Ken call you by name, whatever your name is. 02:09.360 --> 02:13.600 He'll tell you two complete, exciting stories, while you'll be the talk of your neighborhood 02:13.600 --> 02:14.760 buckaroos. 02:14.760 --> 02:17.760 You know how you can get this Diamond K record album? 02:17.760 --> 02:23.120 Just send your name and address with a dollar to records in care of this radio station. 02:23.120 --> 02:28.600 These records are standard, 78 RPM speed for the regular kind of record player that everybody's 02:28.600 --> 02:30.400 been using for years. 02:30.400 --> 02:34.240 And say you'll play your records over and over again. 02:34.240 --> 02:37.520 Now, here's Ken. 02:37.520 --> 02:42.720 Back in the days of the Pony Express, sometime in the 1850s, one of these mountain expressmen 02:42.720 --> 02:46.400 was hightailing along through Nevada when he was harsher through him, and he landed 02:46.400 --> 02:50.160 smack on the ground with his scraped nose plumb against the richest piece of silver 02:50.160 --> 02:52.240 ore you'd ever want to see. 02:52.240 --> 02:56.000 Just made the Pony Expressman so happy he forgot to cuss out his horse in his haste 02:56.000 --> 02:58.800 to get into Virginia City to get the ore assayed. 02:58.800 --> 03:03.000 And that's what started the great Austin, Nevada rush in the Reef River section. 03:03.000 --> 03:07.880 Now, it didn't take long for the news to get the lost answers, for three fellows, McCloud, 03:07.880 --> 03:10.120 O'Banion, and Breifogel, heard about it. 03:10.120 --> 03:13.960 But they were started down on their luck, couldn't scrape a nickel between them. 03:13.960 --> 03:18.440 The problem of getting that 400 miles to Nevada was one big hurdle to jump. 03:18.440 --> 03:22.200 Even if they did have the price of transportation, the only way in those days to get to Nevada 03:22.200 --> 03:27.200 was by stage some 400 miles north to Sacramento, and then about the same distance east. 03:27.200 --> 03:30.800 But that's measuring miles about the way a crow flies. 03:30.800 --> 03:33.640 That road was likely to tie itself up and not skid in there. 03:33.640 --> 03:37.200 Now, there was a reason folks had to go the long way around. 03:37.200 --> 03:41.240 East of Los Angeles on the way to Nevada is one of the most awful stretches of territory 03:41.240 --> 03:45.880 you could imagine, just one desert after another, with mountains thrown in between to discourage 03:45.880 --> 03:48.240 those who managed to get across the desert. 03:48.240 --> 03:52.600 The worst, Death Valley, they called it, with good cause, was full of the bleached bones 03:52.600 --> 03:55.040 of those who tried to take the shortcut. 03:55.040 --> 03:58.200 But all this didn't discourage McCloud, O'Banion, and Breifogel. 03:58.200 --> 04:02.120 They had to walk, so they were going to save as many steps as possible. 04:02.120 --> 04:06.480 As if things weren't bad enough, they started from Los Angeles in June, with the hottest 04:06.480 --> 04:10.120 days of the year ahead of them to spend time on those deserts. 04:10.120 --> 04:14.640 They weren't burdened down much, just a blanket apiece for the coal knives, a canteen, and 04:14.640 --> 04:18.640 a couple of rifles on which they counted for a nice roasted jackrabbit or something or 04:18.640 --> 04:19.640 other. 04:19.640 --> 04:20.640 They weren't particular. 04:20.640 --> 04:25.160 At the San Fernando mission, the good potteries tried to talk them out of going on. 04:25.160 --> 04:28.600 Those boys had more determination than they had good sense. 04:28.600 --> 04:32.840 They managed somehow to get across the Mojave Desert, though no one knows how, and skirted 04:32.840 --> 04:37.920 around the Argus Range, making the most of the nights to get around the desert stretches, 04:37.920 --> 04:38.920 like the Panamint Valley. 04:38.920 --> 04:41.720 Now, Panamint's a nice-sounding name. 04:41.720 --> 04:46.360 Both Panamint Mountains almost finished them, and ahead was Death Valley and the Funeral 04:46.360 --> 04:48.960 Range, which sounded rather prophetic. 04:48.960 --> 04:52.080 They were starting down the east slope of the Panamints when they came across a spring 04:52.080 --> 04:53.640 that looked so inviting. 04:53.640 --> 04:57.080 They carried too long and decided to spend the night there. 04:57.080 --> 05:00.640 The ground was so rough they had to do some searching to find a smooth place to lie down, 05:00.640 --> 05:05.440 and since they were getting tired hunting, McCloud and Old Banyan decided to bunk together, 05:05.440 --> 05:08.920 while Bifogel had to go off a ways to find a place where a rock wouldn't be sticking 05:08.920 --> 05:10.800 in his back all night. 05:10.800 --> 05:14.160 After most people camping out, they didn't take off their clothes, just their shoes, 05:14.160 --> 05:17.040 and they were so tired it wasn't long before they were snoring. 05:17.040 --> 05:21.400 In the middle of the night, Bifogel was shocked out of a beautiful dream by the loudest yelling 05:21.400 --> 05:22.400 he ever heard. 05:22.400 --> 05:26.080 It came from the direction of where Old Banyan and McCloud were sleeping. 05:26.080 --> 05:29.920 They'd been set on by a bunch of Indians who finished them off in no time. 05:29.920 --> 05:33.320 That's what they got for sleeping so near the spring. 05:33.320 --> 05:36.720 Well, Buckaroo's Bifogel decided not to give those fellows an argument. 05:36.720 --> 05:40.080 All he had time to do was to grab his shoes and hide him down the mountain in his bare 05:40.080 --> 05:44.880 feet, which took a bit of going, even for an armory as tough as Bifogel. 05:44.880 --> 05:49.240 When he got into the desert, Death Valley it was, he hid and rested awhile before starting 05:49.240 --> 05:50.240 across. 05:50.240 --> 05:54.520 The heat was terrific, and the only thing he could find to drink was alkali water. 05:54.520 --> 05:58.000 He was too thirsty to care, so he drank this stuff and filled his shoes. 05:58.000 --> 05:59.440 They were big ones, too. 05:59.440 --> 06:03.600 They held more than a canteen, which you remember he'd left near the spring along with everything 06:03.600 --> 06:05.640 else in getting away from those Indians. 06:05.640 --> 06:09.680 Well, of course the alkali water made him deathly sick, but he limped on. 06:09.680 --> 06:12.480 He must have been hobbling on a set of blisters. 06:12.480 --> 06:16.240 He reached the funeral range, and staring clear of water holes for a good reason, he 06:16.240 --> 06:19.600 spent the night behind a heap of rocks he piled up for a little protection. 06:19.600 --> 06:24.000 He was on his way again at daybreak, estimating the distance to the top of the hills as about 06:24.000 --> 06:25.520 eight miles. 06:25.520 --> 06:30.680 He was dog-thirsty, still sick from the alkali water, which was worse than none at all, the 06:30.680 --> 06:34.600 way it burned his insides and made him all the more thirsty. 06:34.600 --> 06:38.480 He must have been half way up when he saw beautiful patches of green a couple of miles 06:38.480 --> 06:42.560 out of the way, but it looked so inviting and gave the promise of the spring, so he 06:42.560 --> 06:44.040 headed for it. 06:44.040 --> 06:47.800 On the way he happened to pass some grayish rock that caught his eye because of the free 06:47.800 --> 06:52.320 gold that was obviously in it, but he was too tired and thirsty to care much. 06:52.320 --> 06:56.840 Anyway, he did grab a few samples and put them in his bandana, already soaked from mopping 06:56.840 --> 06:57.840 his brow. 06:57.840 --> 07:02.840 He'd only gone a few steps farther when he came across the main vein, really valuable 07:02.840 --> 07:07.720 pink ore, so he threw away the samples he already had and took some of the new ones. 07:07.720 --> 07:12.080 When he got to the green spot it turned out to be a mesquite tree full of green beans. 07:12.080 --> 07:14.480 That he proceeded to stuff himself with. 07:14.480 --> 07:16.000 All this made him go start a loco. 07:16.000 --> 07:20.560 He was about finished anyway and he began stumbling around like a crazy man. 07:20.560 --> 07:24.680 Well folks, you'll have to excuse me for my story for a minute, because I want to sit 07:24.680 --> 07:28.320 back and get comfortable and tell you about another favorite subject of mine. 07:28.320 --> 07:32.120 Speaking of comforts, you know, if a man doesn't feel comfortable, he just can't do his best 07:32.120 --> 07:36.680 at work or play, and just for your information I feel my best when I'm dressed comfortably. 07:36.680 --> 07:41.000 And you know, my favorite outfit, whether I'm working or just loafing around, is my K-shirt 07:41.000 --> 07:42.560 and a pair of jeans. 07:42.560 --> 07:46.080 And you'd be surprised how many buckaroos are agreeing with me. 07:46.080 --> 07:49.840 Kids all across the country are riding in asking me for a K-shirt like mine. 07:49.840 --> 07:51.760 I've told you about it before. 07:51.760 --> 07:56.160 It's a comfortable cotton shirt made like a T-shirt in the color of desert sand, with 07:56.160 --> 08:00.720 my own diamond K-brand in bright red on the front and tarsening me looking right at you. 08:00.720 --> 08:04.280 If you want to join the fellows and girls that are wearing my own private K-shirt, all 08:04.280 --> 08:06.840 you've got to do is send me your name and address. 08:06.840 --> 08:13.480 Tell me what size you wear, a size 2 or 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12, and enclose a $1 bill for 08:13.480 --> 08:15.000 the fellow that makes them. 08:15.000 --> 08:16.800 Pretty fancy shirt for just a dollar. 08:16.800 --> 08:21.600 And you'll get a lot of wear out of your K-shirt, too, because it's fine quality cotton, and 08:21.600 --> 08:25.480 the blazing colors are put on by the special hand-screen process. 08:25.480 --> 08:26.640 So send a day. 08:26.640 --> 08:31.360 Be sure to send your name, your address, and your size to K-shirt care of this station, 08:31.360 --> 08:33.640 and slip in that $1 bill. 08:33.640 --> 08:35.880 Your shirt will be sent post-it prepaid from Hollywood. 08:35.880 --> 08:39.440 Now let's get back to the story. 08:39.440 --> 08:43.440 Well for days Bifogle staggled around the mountains and the desert in a complete mental 08:43.440 --> 08:45.600 fault with no sense of direction. 08:45.600 --> 08:50.000 He must have found water somewhere and had sense enough to eat roots, but his mind was 08:50.000 --> 08:51.800 absolutely blank. 08:51.800 --> 08:55.880 He managed to get across the funeral range, and the armagosa desert, and it wasn't until 08:55.880 --> 09:00.800 he reached Baxter Springs, 250 miles from where he blacked out that his thinking became 09:00.800 --> 09:02.380 clear again. 09:02.380 --> 09:06.440 He spent some time resting up, bathing his feet that were now puffed out like balloons, 09:06.440 --> 09:09.080 before striking out again for Nevada. 09:09.080 --> 09:13.400 He dropped down to Smoky Valley, and it was there that he saw the first human being since 09:13.400 --> 09:15.200 his partners had been killed by the Indians. 09:15.200 --> 09:17.120 It was a fellow by the name of Wilson. 09:17.120 --> 09:21.120 Wilson was tracking down something or other when he came across the strangest tracks he'd 09:21.120 --> 09:22.120 ever seen. 09:22.120 --> 09:24.880 They were like human feet, but much too big. 09:24.880 --> 09:29.200 He followed him on horseback and then caught up with Bifogle, still barefoot and all but 09:29.200 --> 09:32.360 naked and his beard and hair hopelessly matted. 09:32.360 --> 09:36.960 He sure was a sight, said Wilson, with the carcass of a big man, but not much hanging 09:36.960 --> 09:37.960 on to it. 09:37.960 --> 09:42.200 He was carrying his shoes around his neck, and in one were their oar samples wrapped 09:42.200 --> 09:44.040 up in a bandana. 09:44.040 --> 09:47.440 Wilson took him home with him, and he and his good wife gave him food and plenty of 09:47.440 --> 09:48.440 care. 09:48.440 --> 09:52.840 Later, when he had recovered some, they found him a job at Austin in the Quartz Mill, working 09:52.840 --> 09:54.440 for Jake Gooding. 09:54.440 --> 09:58.800 Bifogle told Jake about finding his oar, but he didn't need to say another word after showing 09:58.800 --> 09:59.920 him the samples. 09:59.920 --> 10:04.000 It was almost pure gold, and gold speaks for itself. 10:04.000 --> 10:07.360 Gooding was all for starting out for the place at once, but it took another couple of months 10:07.360 --> 10:12.520 before he could outfit a train and get the necessary five or six men and the extra mules. 10:12.520 --> 10:15.760 When they reached the Panamans, they ran into Indians, who beat them off, and they had to 10:15.760 --> 10:17.560 return to Austin. 10:17.560 --> 10:20.520 Next time they started in from the west with a party of twelve men. 10:20.520 --> 10:24.960 They got through all right, and Bifogle led them straight to the Alkali Spring, but he 10:24.960 --> 10:26.600 couldn't find the gold. 10:26.600 --> 10:30.640 He did find an old mesquite tree, which he swore was the one which had provided him with 10:30.640 --> 10:33.240 that meal of beans his last before he went local. 10:33.240 --> 10:37.760 But there was lots of mesquite thereabouts, and after hunting around a while, Bifogle 10:37.760 --> 10:39.840 became less and less sure. 10:39.840 --> 10:42.360 So did the others, who had come all that distance with him. 10:42.360 --> 10:47.260 They began to curse the fight among themselves, and got so angry with Bifogle, he was afraid 10:47.260 --> 10:48.440 they might kill him. 10:48.440 --> 10:52.720 Anyway, they packed up and left, and Bifogle dropped out of sight, too. 10:52.720 --> 10:56.880 The buckaroos, that didn't stop the hunting, not by a long sight. 10:56.880 --> 11:00.400 George Hurst was one of the most successful miners in the district. 11:00.400 --> 11:04.400 He found a piece of Bifogle's ore, and kept a bunch of miners looking for two winners 11:04.400 --> 11:05.880 before he decided to quit. 11:05.880 --> 11:09.640 Now, your guess is as good as mine as to what happened. 11:09.640 --> 11:14.000 I've been all through that area myself, and know almost as much about it as the next fellow. 11:14.000 --> 11:18.680 It's my opinion, for what it's worth, that cloudburst dislodged some of the dirt, and 11:18.680 --> 11:23.120 covered up that vein of ore, and there's just a chance, someday, another downpour will wash 11:23.120 --> 11:24.120 it clear again. 11:24.120 --> 11:28.040 I just hope the Tarzan are passing by when that happens. 11:28.040 --> 11:32.040 And as a second choice, I hope that some of you buckaroos are on hand. 11:32.040 --> 11:34.680 It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of saddle pals. 11:34.680 --> 11:36.920 Oh, hell say can. 11:36.920 --> 11:41.240 I just keep wishing when you get to the end of a story that there was more, especially 11:41.240 --> 11:44.740 like this one, because I really go for a real western story. 11:44.740 --> 11:48.000 And I'll bet the young buckaroos listening feel a lot like I do. 11:48.000 --> 11:51.000 I'll bet they never get enough of hearing good stories. 11:51.000 --> 11:55.360 Now that's why I think if you buckaroos haven't already ordered your Diamond K. record album 11:55.360 --> 11:57.840 of exciting Ken Maynard stories, you're losing time. 11:57.840 --> 11:58.840 You could be enjoying them. 11:58.840 --> 12:03.320 You know, this beautiful colored album contains two stories. 12:03.320 --> 12:08.080 They're two complete, big, eight-inch, pure vinyl-like, absolutely unbreakable records 12:08.080 --> 12:10.960 of regular 78 RPM standard speed. 12:10.960 --> 12:15.840 And don't forget, they're made just for you, with a personal message from Ken Maynard, 12:15.840 --> 12:18.120 Hollywood's champion of western stars. 12:18.120 --> 12:20.680 Why just wait till you hear Ken call you by name. 12:20.680 --> 12:25.080 He'll say, hello Sammy, this is Ken Maynard with a story just for you. 12:25.080 --> 12:29.960 Yes, sir, Ken will call you by name no matter what your name is, right on the record. 12:29.960 --> 12:31.640 That's how they're personalized for you. 12:31.640 --> 12:34.800 Why it's the biggest value I know of for just a dollar. 12:34.800 --> 12:40.820 Two records in a beautiful album, two complete Wild West stories, pictures of Ken and Tarzan 12:40.820 --> 12:43.700 inside and out for just a dollar. 12:43.700 --> 12:48.480 So send your name and address and a dollar bill to Records and Care of this Station, 12:48.480 --> 12:52.920 and your album will be mailed, postage prepaid, right from Hollywood. 12:52.920 --> 12:57.600 Be sure your name is in the letter so Ken can say hello to you. 12:57.600 --> 13:00.920 Don't wait any longer to get in on all this fun. 13:00.920 --> 13:03.560 Here's Ken to tell you about his next exciting story. 13:03.560 --> 13:08.400 Well, that's the story of the bryphogal mine, one of the most told tales in the West. 13:08.400 --> 13:13.640 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I know you'll enjoy wearing those K shirts of mine. 13:13.640 --> 13:16.240 And playing those personalized records. 13:16.240 --> 13:19.480 And if you see anybody wearing that brand of mine, the Diamond K, together with the 13:19.480 --> 13:23.920 picture of Tarzan and me, be sure you say, howdy, saddlemate. 13:23.920 --> 13:28.200 You'll pick yourself up a fine new batch of friends that way, huh, Tarzan? 13:28.200 --> 13:33.880 Well, it's along about that time. 13:33.880 --> 13:38.240 So guess we'll be mowing along the next time when I tell you a story about the seven cities 13:38.240 --> 13:39.240 of Cibola. 13:39.240 --> 13:42.000 This is Ken Maynard and Tarzan saying so long. 13:42.000 --> 13:44.680 Come along, Tarzan. 13:44.680 --> 13:48.920 You've been listening to Tales from the Diamond K, stories of adventure told by Ken Maynard, 13:48.920 --> 13:53.360 internationally famous cowboy and Hollywood's champion of western stars. 13:53.360 --> 14:13.400 Tales from the Diamond K was produced and transcribed in Hollywood.