 The Romance of the Ranchos Rancho La Brea, 1769 Port de la Expedition binds great tar pits Rancho La Brea, 1866 Surveyor wins fight for Rancho in Supreme Court Rancho La Brea, 1922 Ancient relics found in La Brea pits The title insurance and trust company of Los Angles presents the Romance of the Ranchos a weekly dramatization of the historic events which make our southern California so colorful and romantic each week are wandering the carol Frank Graham returns to tell a true story of the days of the Dome we have been fighting the Japanese for less than five months the Chinese have been fighting them for almost five years America is helping the Chinese government the American people must help the Chinese people send your contribution today to United China Relief Los Angles title insurance and trust company Hartle and Dorsey's United China Relief which will appreciate even a small contribution to aid two million war orphans and 50 million refugees in China and to prevent there ever being 50 million refugees in this country by war savings bonds and stamps as often as you can and here to tell us the story is our wandering the carol Frank Graham Buenos noches señoras y señores our story tonight deals with perhaps one of the most interesting of all the southern California Ranchos the Rancho La Brea it is interesting not only for the fascinating things revealed there but for the family who have been most closely identified with it the Hancock family this is a story steeped in the romance of the Ranchos our story tonight is unusual for it has its beginnings in the dim forests of another age long before the first recorded history of our world but the first white men to see the Rancho La Brea knew nothing of that beginning they were the soldiers and missionaries of the party headed by Captain Gaspar de Porto La soldier of Spain and explorer extraordinary he'd set out from Mexico with a small party for the purpose of finding suitable sites for the establishment of missions and the wilderness of Alpha California and as they journeyed through the valleys of southern California marveling at all its wonders they stopped to camp for the spring in a broad marshy valley and no sooner had they dismounted from their horses than Caramba, madre de Dios, there he's again, hola hombres, he's all right, he's finished with just a little while no need to worry let us not stay in this land any longer we can help, I don't like this every few minutes where the very ground begins to heave so and so they don't come yourself they are just little they are quakes they can do no harm maybe no maybe see there's so many of them see but they are little they can do no harm but soon there may be a big one on the earth may open up and swallow us whole Pedro you are dreaming stop thinking of such things nothing is going to happen I'm not so sure no neither are the men they do not like it they say this is a bad land just because of a few little shakes you say there must be something here that causes it the volcanoes or something perhaps there are some in the mountains but that need not worry us here for we are far from the mountains see but now Pedro come you must forget such fears you are neglecting the preparations for our camps see I don't almost forget them come bring your water pail we shall go down and look over these springs see very well make the camp ready hombres you will bring water now Pedro come and forget the earthquake see bad look refreshing hey after a hot dusty trip they could drink of water with this fire yeah and it's for me I'm going to have some right now come stretch out with me captain what is this this water is warm not cool yeah you are right this well no doubt because of the hot sun and it is so shallow well it does not matter we quench our thirst and mother at the house what was that rumba I don't know something like a shot but it came from over that direction I do not like this there must be some explanation from let us go on through the underbrush here and see mother the horse saints preserve us ah look rumba mother suck what do you make of that don't you see it's a tarpid the liquid pigeon bubbles up with the water it comes up out of the earth have you not seen a tarpid no well you see one now the loud report we heard it was the bubble of the pitch bursting there watch there goes another those loud reports of the bursting brayer or pitch bubbles who heard for many years echoing across the plains but as the years passed there were more years to hear them the purple rose anglis was founded and grew and the citizens found a use for the crude brayer which nature furnished so generously after the bubble burst great chunks of the crude asphalt were thrown out these the villagers gathered up and carted to the pueblo there they laid them on the roofs and waited for the hot sun to complete the work later on they were to use the brayer for sidewalks as well as for roofing and so the land on which la brayer pit stood was a valuable asset to the pueblo the city fathers recognized that when in 1828 the town blacksmith the native of portugal by the name of antonio rocha received happy news antonio see what is it's stop that infernal noise and i will tell you is it better be something of importance i am very busy man i'm antonio mario lugo it's waiting for his branding i never mind amigo mil this is important all right you will not care whether you make another branding iron or not after you hear what's the matter with you what could be so important rancho perhaps uh a rancho you you mean you mean the rancho la brayer which i have asked for well perhaps madre dios oh senor donna joke with me come come come tell me if it is so i have been granted permission to live on the rancho la brayer see you have amigo mil the ayuntamiento has decided that you are a worthy citizen and a good catholic and so it is yours in spite of the fact that you are portugal oh don't say how can i ever thank you oh gracias gracias i shall do everything the law requires i i shall build the house stock it with cattle i'll do everything you shall see that i will make a good ranchero i have no doubt don antonio but wait there is one condition to the grant and this land stand the pizza la brayer these you may not own they are reserved for the use of all the citizens of the pueblo you must not restrict their use you and everybody may still take as much bray as is needed for each man's use for what would i want with more of it than i need anyway now i am a ranchero when the ranch was first granted to rocha the valuable tar fits for reserved as communal property but later on the ayuntamiento to give the rights to a private citizen carlos barrick who sold the brayer gave five percent to the pueblo but this practice had been discontinued by the time the americans took over california and when in 1860 an american approached the widow of antonio rocha you have seen the rancho la brayer major hunker gee i have senora rocha in fact i have surveyed all that section of land out there tell me is there any part of this country you have not surveyed senora not very much senora but that's my job how do you survey her uh but tell me you like the rancho la brayer very much enough to want to make it my home see i am glad but i must warn you senora i do not even know whether i can say any of it you see the land commission has not allowed our claim they say our grant was invalid i know that senora they claim that the land was within the limits of the pueblo and therefore your grant could only be provisional that is what they said but uh senora later the land commission decided that the limits of the pueblo were smaller than they had supposed so that changes the rancho too you mean the rancho was not on exactly it was outside by two leagues so that means that your grant should never have been questioned and it is mine to sell to you as soon as the title can be cleared see and uh i'll help you to clear the title i'm prepared to offer my services to you as your counsel but that is so kind of you you are well known as an expert at such matters oh no it's not kind at all senora it's selfish on my part i want to live on this land i want to buy it from you and so it's to my interest to establish your right to sell it when with you as my counsel we cannot fail i sincerely hope not we'll fight it out to the supreme court if we have to and major henry hancock did have to fight the case to the supreme court to establish the rocha claim to rancho lebrea major hancock pleaded the case himself in the district court but when the supreme court brought it up the famous surveyor had to turn the case over to his friend senator cornelius call who appeared before the high court in washington and for his services in upholding the claim call received a reward from major hancock who now owned the rancho well there she is major what senator whoa there whoa whoa you mean this is the property you want yep that's it from that line of trees up to the mountain yeah but senator you ought to know better than that i give you your choice of land on the whole ranch and you pick out some of the most useless land on the property why useless because almost any other part of the ranch is more fertile better farming land better grazing land what about better land for a town a town oh no senator what are you thinking of i'm thinking this land might make a good spot for a new town and you're going to start it maybe might start a little town called cool grow that's my vanity coming to the force senator i won't let you do it why you can make money on the land you buy not throw it on a rat hole now wait a minute major our agreement was if i handle the case before the supreme court you give me a tenth part of this rancho that part to be of my own shoes yeah well this is the part i choose and what i do with it was not in the agreement so i i guess you'll have to let me be foolish and found cool grow and a few years later on the part of rancho labor he chose senator coal started the little village of coal grow a village which is today a large part of hollywood but the rest of the rancho remained in the hands of major hand cock and his family there they made their home a foreshadowing of events to come was enacted one day when the major talked with a friend glad you could come out today george i'll show you around the place as soon as i get rid of this all right henry what in the world is that oh just a bone a bone in the world you find it it's mighty old probably is we're digging out the asphalt from the old tar pits and i found this buried oh yeah i've heard about your tar pits niggas around your column the boneyard yes i know gadlin horses got stuck in the tar that seems to be the explanation and that's what you have there a bone from some old cow maybe but that's what puzzles me i've never seen a cow bone just like this i wish i knew more about them i have a feeling there's something unusual about those tar pits and although henry handcock was right he didn't live to find out just how unusual his tar pits were nor did he live to witness another great discovery on his rancho labrea his widow was living on the land when in 19 one she received a visitor see madam the oil company that i represent has discovered oil east of here toward town we're pretty sure that we'll find it out here too so i've taken the liberty of poking around your land that's quite all right sir have you found anything interesting very interesting for instance those old tar pits are definite proof that there is oil on this land and lots of it the old tar pits why there's tar there an asphalt but oil too yes because you see madam that tar and asphalt is actually crude oil or much the same thing tar and asphalt are byproducts of oil then you mean there actually is oil on this land millions of barrels a well can be sunk almost anywhere on this ranch and bring up oil unless i miss my guess your rancho will be a forest of oil derricks before long but oil is valuable isn't it valuable that's not the word for it mrs handcock you're going to be a very wealthy woman now the rancor labrea was the scene for more feverish activity and it had seen in all its years of life squads of men worked over the grounds here there and everywhere gaunt wooden scaffolding stretched toward the california sky but after several unsuccessful attempts mrs handcock herself financed a well one day what's that sounds like yeah come on there she is look at it it's your well they brought her in you mean that shower of black water black water mrs handcock that's oil oil they've struck it when you buy a home you're said to acquire title to the property and your right to possess and enjoy it is only as strong as the title itself now that title involves not just yourself and the person from whom you bought it goes back through the years to the time when your particular piece of property was first granted or sold to a private owner in california that generally means back to the days of an early rancho many sales and other transactions involving your property have taken place since then yet if any one of them were faulty or illegal your right to your home may be destroyed and your investment jeopardized to protect that investment and to safeguard yourself against the possibility of expensive litigation you can get a policy of title insurance from the title insurance and trust company of los angles this title insurance is more than a printed document it represents a whole series of services of which the three most important are these first an exhaustive search by trained experts of all public records pertaining to your property from its earliest ownership second an interpretation of the results of this search by men skilled in title examination work for many years third an insurance policy guaranteeing the accuracy of this work and protecting you against loss due to any title effect covered by the policy considering the scope and value of these services you'll be surprised to learn how small is the cost of title insurance on your property with the discovery of oil on rancho labrea the modern development of that area began now the oil derricks have given way to the smart homes and apartments of present day hollywood and the welshire district but now let's go back through the years and learn the secret of rancho labrea the secret we have hinted at a secret which makes it the most fascinating of all the early ranchos a secret which was kept for 50 000 years and revealed only 40 years ago in 1902 it was and in that year professor ww orchid of the union oil company's geological department was conducting an investigation at the targets you know phillips this is immensely interesting surely sir it was bound to be to an oil man no it's more than oil that interests me what do you mean sir i'm speaking strictly as a geologist now phillips there's some exciting indications around these pits promises of historic discoveries oh well i suppose you geologists can find lots of old fossils and things of that sort all around here not like this uh take those bones the workmen dug up oh those old things what are you going to learn from a pile of old cattle bones never mind come on let's take a look oh all right you're the boss but it's all pretty silly if you ask me all right now we'll see how silly it is and here's the latest pile i haven't looked them over yet but uh let's see what you find right now anybody who's lived around los angeles for more than six months can tell you what you'll find a bunch of old cattle bones this probably was a watering place back in the old days and the cattle got stuck in the tar like quicksand so all right now here's a bone obviously not a rib or vertebrae so it must be a leg joint obviously but uh i'm standing up now did you ever see a cow with a leg that big let alone one bone of the leg well no i hadn't noticed that before but maybe they were bigger in those days they were but they weren't called cattle in fact they weren't called anything no why not because there wasn't anybody here to call them anything doctor what are you talking about now explain you see this funny looking bone yeah looks like a small elephants tusk almost you're nearer right than you think it's a tusk or tooth all right but not of an elephant oh i understand now it's a walrus tusk what you mean is that this land was all underwater no that's not what i mean although it may have been at one time nor is this a walrus tusk this is the saber of a saber-tooth tiger oh yes i've heard of them lived some time ago didn't they some time ago my friend the saber-tooth tiger hasn't lived for a good many thousand years you mean you mean these are really fossils of these prehistoric animals not fossils phillips this is even more important than that these are real bones preserved in oil just as we'd preserve them in alcohol these are actual bones of the saber-tooth tiger and the giant bastadon that lived on this land over 50 000 years ago the bones of the great saber-tooth tiger here was a friend of immense importance at last california was to learn something of the life which swarmed over the dank jungles which were the south land of 500 centuries ago from those oil-soaked bones were found in the labrea pits the scene of the Pleistocene age was reconstructed a fascinating barbaric terror-filled scene let us go back through the years for a moment and witness that scene the mists of the time brush away and now i see a great pool submerged in a heavy arch of dense green foliage a shimmering pool of tepid water a few feet deep in the surrounding jungle scores of creeping crawling lizard-like creatures feet on the green leaves from limto limb of the giant clams leap others equipped with bat-like wings everywhere that is like slithering and squirming through the mud and heat suddenly the placid calm is destroyed the small animals duck for cover the ground shakes with the footsteps of a moving mountain of hard-skinned flesh over the curtain of green leaves appears a great head blinking red eyes searching for the water wall then lumberingly the towering figure of the mastadon crashes down the brush and plods to the edge of the water slowly huge animal drinks from the tepid water slowly he moves into the water toward the center of the pool toward his doom there in the center of the waterhole bubbles are rising through the shallow water bubbles which mean that the floor of this pool is a bed of soft sticky pitch a death trap suddenly the giant mastadon feels himself caught caught in a vice-like grip sinking down down into the depths in spite of his desperate efforts the treacherous pitch sucks him down down attracted by his cries the jungle comes alive again suddenly across the valley thunders a terrible cry chilling or striking roar of a saber-toothed tiger the bloodthirsty king of the jungle like a street the yellow monster with his great saber-like tusks there races through the underbrush to the pool and with one flying leaf bounces on the back of the dying animal savagely the tiger tears at the tough flesh all around the jungle arena scores of bdi's appear on the savage spectacle as their owners stand hidden in the foliage poised for instant fright high above the forest pool hover great sharp bill vultures their bat wings spread their talons poised to join in the kill suddenly the tiger slips plunges into the treacherous liquid and now the victor is caught in a deadly grip struggling beside the lifeless body of his victim quickly the vultures dive the wolves leap from the underbrush all fighting for the flesh of the helpless animals but they're not wary enough here a wing is dipped too low a splash the vulture is caught now a wolf tearing too greatly slips into the waiting trap but the others feast until the pool runs red the sun sinks low the evening shadows creep over the weird scene the great twisted masses of lifeless flesh and bone sink down down into the dark depth down out of sight in the hardening tissues of the earth they find a final resting place a resting place to be understood for 500 centuries and now the primeval forest is quiet except for the perpetual bubble of the labrea pits such a savage barbaric tragedy may well have taken place in our southland 50 000 years ago yet there was some degree of immortality in that depth of the monsters whereas the ages passed and the earth underwent many changes their species was wiped out all trace of them obliterated from the earth only these few their bones preserved in the oily braya remain to tell modern science what manner of life roamed our southland so many thousands of years ago you may see those bones today in the museum of art and science at exposition park in Los Angeles and you may visit that lonely jungle pool in Hancock Park at Wilshire Boulevard near Fairfax in the heart of a great modern city it was made a gift to the city by captain Alan Hancock major Henry's son in 1913 and there surrounded by chrome and glass and neon you may still recapture some of the thrilling grandeur of that savage barbaric scene such is the romance of the ranchers Frank Graham will be back in a moment to tell you about next week's story as its name clearly indicates the title insurance and trust company of Los Angles has a trust department as well as a title department in fact title insurance and trust company is the oldest trust company in the pacific southwest having served this community since 1901 a primary function of the trust department is the conservation of accumulated estates the first step in conservation is avoidance of unnecessary shrinkage from taxes probate or other expenses without obligation capable experienced officers of the estate planning division will work with you and your attorney in developing a plan for your estate which may benefit both you and your family you're invited to write or call for information about this and other important services available to you at title insurance and trust company now Frank what's the story for next week next week we're going to trace the fascinating history of our own Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Angeles the early history of the world's most amazing city and know you'll want to hear it so until next week this is your wondering vaquero frank graham saying hasta la vista señoras y señores the romance of the ranchos a presentation of the title insurance and trust company of los angles featuring frank graham is the wandering vaquero is dramatized by john dunkel and produced by ted bliss with special music arranged by gay lord carter bob laman saying good night this is the columbia broadcasting system