 the DuPont Cavalcade of America starring Joel McCrae. The Nightly DuPont Company brings you Sheriff Teddy starring Joel McCrae. Now Sheriff Teddy starring Joel McCrae as Teddy Roosevelt on the DuPont Cavalcade of America. Oyster Bay, March 12, 1885. My dear commissioner, when you spoke to me a month ago, I was unable to reply. Even now I cannot give you my answer. My health is poor and the doctor says I must seek quiet and rest. And so today I start my journey for the West. I write this only in token that before long you will hear from me and in full. Faithfully, Theodore Roosevelt. Come. Your luggage is back, sir. Thank you, Sarah. Here's some soup. I thought something hot before you go out. Thank you, but I won't have time for that now. I can just make my train. Mr. Roosevelt, I do hope you'll do all the doctors told you. Do you know yet where you're going? Dakota, the Badlands. The Badlands? How long will you be? A long time. Then you won't be going back to Albany? Sarah, after three terms in the legislature and at the age of 25, the future I hope to make in public life has been closed. Come now, sir. I doubt that. That's the truth. That's what the commissioner was down here last month to tell me. So now you're going to Dakota? That's right. And turn cow puncher and ranch away the rest of my useless days. Goodbye, Sarah. Bless you. Mr. Your ticket reads Madora. That's right. I'm sure you want to get off there. Well, isn't that where the Northern Pacific crosses the Little Missouri? We cross there, yes, sir, but we don't like to stop. Now, if you want to go to the next town... Thank you. I picked Madora because I was in search of an extremely peaceful spot. I've been sick. I have to sit in a rocking chair for a year. That's why I insist on Madora. Lonely and peaceful. Well, it is lonely. Last time we stopped there, then Madora Cowboys was so lonely they shot out all the windows in the train. Time before that, they climbed under the dining car and shot up the first class passengers right through the floor. If you want to ride on to the next station, we won't charge you. Thank you. But I still want to stop at Madora. All right. Come on. But do me a favor. Jump off fast, and we'll toss your bag right after you. All right. Wait, let's slow it down a little more. And don't wear them glasses in that bow or hat. How's that? You've got a fine, honest face, and I wouldn't like to see it all shot in before you get off the train even. Why would anyone shoot at me? In Madora, they don't like glasses. And a bow or hat makes them think of a buffalo way off from the horizon. They say the breakman's throwing your baggage off, so jump now. All right. Goodbye, then. Jump. Mister, please save them glasses off. Without my glasses, I can't see. Well, then at least take off that bow or hat. Goodbye. A man should be allowed to wear the hat. He fancies anywhere. Well, excuse me. Do you men happen to know a good place to stay around here? Depends. Depends? Depends. Wouldn't you say so, dynamite? Yeah. Depends. Depends on what, exactly? Depends on a lot of things, exactly. Wouldn't you say so, Dutch? Yeah. Depends on a lot of things, exactly. Well, come to think of it, I ain't so sure. You see, that depends, too. Yeah, that depends, too. What did you come out here for, stranger? Just a rest and maybe hunt a bit, too. Hunt? Yes. Perhaps you could tell me where I could find a guide. Depends, don't it, dynamite? What was you aiming to hunt? Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Well, wait a minute. Not 10 minutes ago, we seen a buffalo. Huh? Oh, yeah. Right smack with a railroad track. Well, there he is now. Where? Well, where is he? Just above your ears. You're right, Dutch. I can see something black and round. Just above his ears. Now, now, wait a minute. Wait. What are those pistols for? Hold still now, fore-eyes. Hey! Hey, that's my best hat you shop all. Maltese Cross Ranch House. Madara Dakota. Date uncertain. Not only the temperature outside. 34 degrees below zero. My dear commissioner. It must be about nine months since I promised to write you. Time in the bad land stretches as far as space. I was soon at home in this country. I bought some cattle, built a little cabin, bound the partner. A fine old Scotchman with blue eyes and mutton chop whiskers. His name is Lindsay Sutherland. I'm not Ladi. Supers ready. All right, Pop. Boy! The thermometer outside the window says 35 below. Hey! And it makes our cabin snugger and better. And your biscuit's the hotter and better. It smells good, too. You know, Pop, I never felt hungry or stronger in my life. Well, that's what comes from a cow-punching. You can't put in 18 hours a day in the saddle and not feel a mate healthier than if you were running errands for Albany politicians. Yes, sir. That's gone. I'm finished with public life and finished with public responsibility. From now on, I'm looking out for just TR. I wonder who that can be. Open it up, Pop. Hello, Grandpa. Don't you remember me? Dynamite here, Jake Saunders. Well, Grandpa, don't stand there looking at us like we was three ghosts slid down the North Pole. Brush the snow off and come up for the fire boys. We was just passing your fine ranch house. And Jake says, let's go in and thaw out. What is it, a raft, or a Jake Saunders? Well, he told you he wants to thaw out. There's only one place hot enough to thaw him out. Oh, Mr. Roosevelt, as I recollect, you asked me to sit down. That's right. I did. Thank you. You see, I've been watching the way you're building up the Maltese Cross. Put quite a hunk of money into it, eh? Yeah, it takes a good deal to buy cattle and make a decent start. And a fine job you done. Sure did. Except for one little slip. How's that? A little item you overlooked paying for. Jake Saunders, there's not a thing we haven't paid for. Sit down, Grandpa. Not a thing we haven't paid for, or else earned with sweat and all the station. Grandpa, sit down. I always thought the scotch was cool-headed folk. Godfair and debt-paying. What is it we haven't paid for, Jake? Well, I haven't wanted to mention it till you had a chance to get settled a little, but... But what? But this land you built on belongs to me. What? Take it easy, Grandpa. And these logs you built out of was cut from my trees. Nobody owned this land. It was open range, and belonged to him who used it, and those trees belonged to him who made them. And you're the earth-rottenest, murderous, snake-lickin' thief between here and... Shut up. Now, wait a moment. Mr. Roosevelt, I know you want to keep the work you put in here, and I want you to keep it all legal-like with a deed of sale from me. And what would that cost? Why, from a nice polite fella like you, I wouldn't want more than 500. I'll see you Monday night, the music parlor. Of course, Jake didn't own the land or the house. It was an absolute robbery, so we didn't go Monday or send him any money. Tuesday morning, there was a piece of rope hanging on our door and a note. The note said we had one week more, and the rope was tied in a noose. I decided to ride into Midor and have a talk with the editor of the little news sheet there. Come in. Come in. Come in. Come in. Come in. Come in. Come in. Come in. Mr. Packard, glad to see you, Mr. Roosevelt. I have you a moment to talk. Of course, I was only getting my newspaper out early because there was no one to talk to. Sit down. Stretch your legs in front of the fireplace. Thank you. Mr. Packard, some trouble seems to be blowing up. Oh, you have the rocker. Oh, Grandpa says you'll love a rocker. Says you get so excited talking politics that you rock all over the room. Yeah, well, as the editor of this paper for two years, you must know every soul in the county. I certainly do. And I know Jake Saunders. If that's what you're getting at, then what's your advice? If that's quick and that rocker bothers you. Come, Mr. Packard, what's your advice? Well, you have a choice. One, you pay him the money. Two, you leave town. A choice? You call that a choice, Mr. Packard? I came to you because you're honest. You're a University of Michigan graduate. You're 25 years old. How then can you give me the advice of a corrupt old man? You asked me. I told you. I asked you for a plan of action. I asked you to suggest some scheme whereby we could get a little justice. It seems to me that those of us who want law and order around here ought to unite and do something about it. Wait a minute, Mr. Roosevelt, you're rocking right into that fireplace. I know what you're going to say. Here's a county as big as Massachusetts, no government at all, not even a single sheriff and hundreds of miles, so the bad men rule. They have to rule, and there's nothing about it, is that it? All right, Mr. Roosevelt, I hate to admit it, but this county is owned by thieves and run by thieves. And Jake Saunders? Jake is boss of the valley from here to Cannonball Creek. Jake and his machine, always at a new ranch, they get started, then put in their claim as they did with you. And so your advice to me remains the same. Either you walk over to that music parlor and pay him $500, or you take the next train east. What if I don't? You don't do either? And a group of masked men will write up to your cabin and accuse you of horse stealing and hang you from the nearest Cottonwood. Has it happened that way before? Many times, Mr. Roosevelt. Well, sir, you'll excuse me. I'll finish up in my newspaper. Good night, sir. Where are you off to? The music parlor. And if you want to keep the paper open for an hour, I might make some headline. Oh, don't you remember Sweet Betsy from Pike? She crossed a big mountain with her lover, Ike. Two yoke of oxen, a big yellow dog. A tall Shanghai rooster and one spotted hog. Rudolph and Polly died on Rudolph and Polly died. The Shanghai ran off and the cattle all died. The last piece of bacon, the dog wagged his tail and looked wonderfully sad. Hey, Roosevelt, cut it. Well, Mr. Roosevelt, come in, come in. Hey, Dutch, better go tell G. Come out over and sit down. Thank you, I will. Oh, I don't remember I've ever seen you in our music parlor before. Matter of fact, I've never been here before. I reckon he comes just to hear your honey voice, honey. What would you like, Mr. Roosevelt? Well, I... Sing anything you like. All you have to do is tell me what you want. Well, then sing almost anything western. I like almost anything western. So I see. Jake, when do you give me a start? Hello, Mr. Roosevelt. You want to come in the back? We'll have our talk. Thank you, Jake. I'm quite comfortable as I am. That's telling them, Mr. Roosevelt. Surely go tinkle it, too. Oh, why don't you? Are you coming in soon? No. I like it out here. Shirley plays real well. You came here to talk business, didn't you? I came here to listen. Suppose you do the talking. Hey, he's kind of sassy, ain't he, Jake? Yeah. His face calls to mind that fella got off the train last spring. You mean that fella with the bowler hat? Yeah. He's been making trouble ever since he arrived. Too bad we ain't got a sheriff here to handle him. Yeah. You see, Mr. Roosevelt, out here, even if you know the fella that done you out of something, there's no law, no sheriff you can turn to. You just have to take it. Unless, of course, you're willing to shoot him yourself. Take me now, this four-eyed dude Easterners stole some land from me. Really? I can't believe it. And now he won't pay me the $500 he owes. I'm certain that if he owed it, he'd pay it. As it is? As it is, I'm going to have to shoot him almost any minute, unless he's got the $500. Jake Saunders, I don't intend to pay one dollar to you. With my partner, I built the house, and with my partner, I own the house. I hear you use a toothbrush ten to foot. Is that to clean out your lion mouth? Watch out, Jake! Hey, Charlie, he sure got him that time. Hey, hey, Shirley Bell, four-eyed's got Jake. Say, Mr. Roosevelt, you better beat it. You're all right for when Jake comes to, he'll start shooting. When he comes to, Shirley Bell, tell him he can find me at the Maltese Cross. You are listening to Sheriff Teddy, starring Joel McCray as Teddy Roosevelt on The Cavalcade of America, dropped to you by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Ill health and political difficulties caused young Teddy Roosevelt to leave the East and journey to Madura in the Dakota Badlands, to find quiet and rest as a rancher. Well, instead of the peace he sought, he finds himself dangerously involved with the lawless men who control the Badlands. Now he continues writing his experiences to his friend, the Commissioner at Albany. And so, Commissioner, that was my last encounter with Jake for some time. He wasn't seen by anyone, yet his actions were felt by me and the rest of the peaceful ranchers, cattle stealing, pelaging, navery of all kinds. This whole section felt the evil effects of Jake and his gang. Spring came soft and willowy. Grandpa Sutherland and I rode the range as usual and attended to our business. It's a shame, laddie. Beautiful country like this. A man can't ride 20 rods from his house without going armed like a battleship. Can I put my mind to rest for fretting for what Jake's going to do next? Maybe they won't do a thing. They've been quiet for a while. They don't know who could that be. Don't shoot. He's waving. Keep your eye to the opposite direction. Might be a tractor or something. It's me, Packard. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Miss Packard. Didn't mean to come up on you so fast, but this horse has been barned up all winter. Hey, come now. Why the scotch frown in a day like this? Mr. Packard, I canna condone you for a company. No, sir, I canna condone you. Come later, we'll leave him. Paul, let me ride along with you. Wait, I have something to tell you, Mr. Roosevelt. Remember that scheme we talked about? About getting all the honest people in the county together? What about it? You said I could never do it. Now it's different. Things have grown so bad, something must be done. You bet things have grown bad. They were born to. And you're so free with that shoddy, shameful advice you handed Mr. Roosevelt two months ago. What'd you expect me to advise him? To go get himself killed? Naturally, I was hoping you'd do just what he did. No way, sir. You've earned quite a reputation. You mean I've redeemed my Bola hat? Oh, more than that. The ranchers all respect you hereabouts. You ride the range, all the weather, like anybody else. You're a serious cattleman. You knock Jake Saunders senseless. And furthermore, the ranchers know now that this section needs some government. And you're the one to help us unite and bring law and order. Unite, Mr. Roosevelt. If you go from ranch to ranch, calling the honest ones to meetin', they'll trust you and come. There's more honest folks than rascals, but they're sleepy and need to be jabbed awake to danger. You're both right. We can't let them sleep any longer. Of course, a lot of folks live 20, 30, 50 miles apart. It doesn't matter how far they live. Each one is important. We'll make a list and divide them between the three of us. Come on. This meeting has to be held as soon as possible. Take a look. What's the matter? What do you see? There must be more than 40 people I've seen going in there to the meeting. Frank Vines, Joe Ferris, Bill Merrifield, the four Eaton brothers, Hi, what a gem. Jake, I hear your young friends been gettin' folks kinda stirred up. He's been gettin' me kinda stirred up. Are you gonna take his backwash, Jake? Look at him all goin' into that newspaper office like Arctic Owls bringin' on a hard winter. Be a hard winter for us, Jake. We let four eyes keep on like this. Well, and maybe we better start warmin' things up. Such as what? Well, just for a starter, is there any reason why a little prairie fire can't catch over the Maltese cross? And while he's here talkin' against us, ain't it too bad, but the whole gull-dang ranch house burns down. Folks, now that we've spent this day together, talking our hopes and troubles over, as well as having a fine sociable box lunch, and I must say Mrs. Merrill, that jellied tongue of yours in the wild plum conserve was such a... Well, folks, after we've had this long congress and confab, what do you figure's the next step? Let's share it! I wait your nomination. Packard! Any other nominations? Any others? Or is it unanimous? All right, Packard's elected unanimously. Sheriff Packard, come up here and take the floor. Folks! Folks, I thank you for electing me the first sheriff this county ever had. Back as soon as I leave here, I'm going over to my office and get out a special edition telling all about myself. I'm sure Mr. Packard will make us a good sheriff. Now until the regular county organization is set up, we're on our own. Sheriff Packard has only as much authority as we the honest citizens give him. Question, Mr. Packard? Right at this point, I'd like to ask if you folks will give me authority to name his my deputy sheriff. The young fellow that started all this, Teddy Roosevelt. I'm sorry my partner Mr. Sutherland couldn't be here. This is a dream of his too. But he's getting old and figured he'd done all the writing he could when he called on you folks. Well, what I want to say is this. The first step is for each one of us to be awfully careful never to buy any stolen cattle. And the second step is that when an act of violence occurs we support our sheriff with all the confidence. What's up, Frankie? Jake Saunders has been out to the Maltese Cross. What's that? The ranch house and all the buildings is burnt flat in a burnt pancake. What do you think of that? Grandpa Sutherland. I reckon that old Scotsman tried to stop him because they finished him off for good and all. For good and all they did. As it turned out they didn't burn my ranch but they did kill Grandpa Sutherland. Every honest person in the county rose to hunt Jake Saunders and his men, combing the Cooleys and craters and pock marks of the Badlands. After a week I tracked him down to the Little Missouri. He'd taken the only boat and gone downstream. My companion, a young cop on chair built a raft and we set off to follow. After two weeks of miserable hungry weather we spotted this camp. All day we lay in the sharp cold grass waiting for him to come back. Towards evening he came strolling along. Don't move boy. He must have been after game. He certainly feels safe. Oh look at him coming so careless like. Oh Mr. Roosevelt I won't shoot till you do. But if you don't mind then I'd like the honor. Oh golly golly how pretty he's walking straight at us. What are you talking about? I'm not going to shoot and neither are you. You mean you ain't going to kill him? Of course not. Well boy he killed your partner and he'd sure kill you. That's different. Why are you sitting straight? What have we been out of here freezing for if we ain't going to kill him? Oh look he stopped now. I got a bead on him. Let me shoot. Put that rifle down Frankie. Ah dog gone it. If he was you would it be die dog or eat the hatchet. He's going to jail and he'll have a trial. A fair trial with a judge and jury. That's what we guarantee a man in this country. That's what the meeting was for. There now he's turned his back. Jake's honors don't move you're under arrest. What the. Don't move your hands Jake. Frankie wants to tie him. All right Frankie go get him. Oh my dear commissioner when I came out here I meant to follow your advice and leave public life. But after a while I began to realize how important justice is in this big country. Like all Americans I like big things. Big prairies, big forests and mountains, big wheat fields, railroads, herds of cattle. Big factories, big steamboats and everything else. But if we're to grow bigger and stay great we must keep steadily in mind that no people were ever benefited by prosperity if they corrupted their virtue. For it's not what we have that will make us a great nation. It is the way in which we use it. And so let this letter serve as something of a notice. Tomorrow I'm leaving for the East to return to public life. Hopefully Sheriff Teddy. Thank you Joel McCrae. This week Cavalcade presents the popular Hollywood star Robert Taylor in Perfect Union. A romantic story of young John Marshall and his bride Mary in the days when the future Chief Justice's legal career was just beginning. And the following week on February 2nd our star will be Helen Hayes. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade, Sheriff Teddy was written by Halstead Wells. Joel McCrae will soon be seen in the Harry Sherman Enterprise production They Pass This Way. Featured in tonight's play with Joel McCrae were Grace Albert as Shirley Bell Charles Penman as Jake and Charles Eggleston as Sutherland. The music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Brian. And this is Ted Pearson inviting you to listen next week to the romantic story Perfect Union starring Robert Taylor on the Cavalcade of America brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.