 The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America. Tonight's play, The River Finds a Master. Tonight's star, Robert Young. The year 1814. A time when, on our western rivers, the steamboat was a new unperfected invention, lacking the power to go upstream against the current. The place, the river landing at Louisville, where the newly built steamboat, The Washington Lies Dock, it's late at night and the ship is dark. On the shore, a gentleman strolls up, looks proudly for a moment at the steamboat. Then he frowns suspiciously, hesitates, then walks quickly aboard the boat. Who's there? Anyone in here? It's me, William Henry Shrave. Henry, good heavens. I thought you were home and in bed. I was. Well, I thought of a way to make this confounded valve work proper. So I got up and come here and fixed it. You would. Does Mrs. Shrave know it? No, she didn't wake up. Well, she will, and she'll be down here after you. You need sleep, Henry, for tomorrow. I know, but... It's not every day you take your first steamboat on our maiden voyage. I know, William, and I'm greatly grateful to you for making it possible by putting up the money for this boat. You're grateful. You only designed her and built her, and now you're her captain. And while I sit comfortably in Louisville, you're going to take her all the way down to New Orleans, then try to bring her back up. Pass snags and sandballs. Bring her up, don't you worry. Well, if you can, if you do bring her up, I'll tell you something, Henry. You and I are going into partnership. What's that? And we'll really build steamboats. Whole fleet of them. And, well, I just hope you and Mrs. Shrave have no objections to being rich. Not a one, Mr. Ellis. Not the slightest. Well, where did you come from? Oh, uh, evening, my love. Oh, so you did come after your wandering husband. Yes, I woke up and... Henry. I know, Mary. I know. I need sleep, but not as much as this valve needed fixing. Take him home, Mrs. Shrave, quick, before he finds something else to tinker with. Come to think of it, this join here could stand a little... Henry? I'm coming, my love. I'm coming. What did Mr. Ellis mean about our being rich? All I heard... He said we'll be partners, that we'll build steamboats, the whole fleet of them. Erling, how wonderful. Won't it be nice to be rich? We can have our own big, white house overlooking the river and a carriage with a mixed pair of... Now buy you a Paris gown for every day in the year. Every other day. We mustn't be extravagant. But, Mary, that's just what I want to be. Just to make up for all the years when I was just a flat boatman. For all your scrimping and doing without so, I could buy books and tinker with steam engines. But it was worth it, darling. Every bit of it. And I'll be so proud of you tomorrow when the steamboat pulls away and you're standing on the upper deck and the crowd's cheering. Fifty days, Henry Shrave had said. But fifty, sixty, then seventy days went by with no word from the Washington. Mary Shrave and William Ellis grew more and more anxious, hardly ever left the river lending. And at last, on the seventy third day, late in the afternoon. Listen, listen, Miss Raleigh, listen. It's the Washington. It must be. Yes, see the smoke? And here she comes around the bend. Here she comes. Yes, but wait a minute. Something's wrong. See there? She's backing. She's coming in stern first. She could come in sideways for all I care. She's here and she's floating. Henry's done it, Mr. Ellis. He's brought a steamboat upriver all the way to Louisville. He said he'd do it and he's done it. Henry, congratulations. Oh, darling. Oh, Henry, I'm very moved. There now is a kiss I want, not tears. Yes. And now, Henry, you think you could tell me what happened? Well, let's go into the cabin. It's quieter there. Huh. When did it happen? Four days ago. We hit a snag, sir, and stove in the bow. Only way I could keep her afloat was to back her. She'll have to go back to the shipyard for a new bow. A snag, huh? They're getting worse every year. Regular underwater forests in places. Like going through a maze. Takes a day to go five miles. You know if something isn't done, the bottom steamboats are going to be wrecked as fast as they're built. Well, I've got news for you. Something will be done. Yep, story in the paper here that the army engineers are going to clear them all out. Clear out the snags? Well, that is news. How they, uh, aim to do it? Didn't say, but they'll figure some way. You can be sure. And, uh, now a young man, I've got something here that might interest you. An agreement. Setting up the corporation. Now here, have a look. Mary. Mary, look here. The Shreve River Line. Oh, darling. We'll be equal partners, Henry. And we're going to build and operate steamboats. Dozens of them. The Shreve River Line. That said, right there, Bert. Hold it steady. Hold it steady. Now you men swing the log right across the bow and fasten it exactly like the other logs. Over that place where she hit the snag. Over that. Sounded like a cannon. Must be the army engineers blasting out snags down by the points. Blasting them out? That'd be something to see now. That's right, men. Doesn't matter how it looks, just make the bow strong so we can get her upriver to the shipyard and have her fixed proper. Uh, Bert, take over. Right, sir. I think I'll take a little trip down to the point. Same as before. The snag's right where it was. You see, Captain Shreve, it just won't work. Gunpowder isn't the answer. Well, you tried pulling them out, Colonel, with a block and tackle? Yes, we tried that too. I don't know, Captain. I just don't know. But there must be some way to get them out. There's got to be. Our steamboats will be wrecked as fast as they're built. You mean if they're built at all? But they've got to be built. But a country out here can't grow without the steamboat. No, I suppose not. Well, Captain, maybe you'd like to give the problem some thought. Yes, I will, sir. You can bet I will. Oh, Henry, watch out. Isn't that a snag? No, no, it's just a shadow on the water, isn't it? My, she's fast. Goes upriver just like it was down. She'll have twice the speed after she gets her new bow at the shipyard. Really? Sure. All those logs across the power as slow as I... Henry, what's that? That there ahead where the ribbon narrowed. A snag? This time, Mary, my love, you're right. Stand aside a little now so I can reach the speaking tube. Burke, throttle her down, snag ahead. God, she slows, Henry. Mary, something's wrong with the truffles. Slow her down, Burke. Get to it, Henry. The truffles jammed. You've got to it. We'll crash. Henry! How do I tell you? Take the speed of life. No, no room to get by. Hold on, Bert. We're going to crash. Mary, get away from the window. Hold on. We're going to... Mary, are you all right? Yes, yes. Are we damaged badly? I can't see from up here, but it sounded bad. There's Bert out on the bow. Bert, can you see? What's the damage? I'll leave it in on. She says the snag was damaged. Those big logs across our bow. Mary, we've knocked a snag to pieces. And, you say, Henry, for our next team bone, huh? Yeah, let's see them. No, these are plans for something else, William. Turn along if you'd step a little closer to the table and hold this end down while I unroll it. Certainly. Thank you. There you are, gentlemen. What in the world is this one boat or two, Captain? Well, it's two boats, actually. Two small, but very powerful steam boats. But they're joined together midships. And there's a great, well, ram you'd call it, filled across their bars. What, is it a warship? Yes, Captain. I think it might work. Now, wait a minute. What might work? Have patience with a stupid old man. William, remember I told you that going upriver, we ran head-on into a snag? Yes, and you... what? You mean you're going to crash this contraption into snags? That's right, and batter them to pieces. How do you know it won't be the other way around? Oh, I don't. But the snags just float downriver then and take root somewhere else. No, sir. With these gin poles here, we haul the broken snags onto our decks where we saw them into firewood for our boilers. Remarkable, Captain. Remarkable. Leaves only one question. Will you build this for us at government expense? Henry build it? Well, he won't have time, sir. He's going to build steamboats. Please, William, give me just three months. But Henry... Don't you see, if this works, if we can clear the rivers, it'll mean everything to us. It'll mean fast boats, big boats, and most of all, safe boats. Very well, Henry. But after three months, you understand. If you aren't ready to build steamboats, I'll have to find another partner. I'll be ready, don't you worry about that. Before the three months are up, I'll be ready. Anyway, she floats, Colonel. Even if she does handle like a wash tub. Oddly a thing of beauty, either. What are you taking, Captain? Just down the river a bit to the point. I told Mary and William to watch from the shore there near a certain snag I've got in mind. A big one that's been sending boats to the bottom for as long as anybody remembers. Besides, it's right close to shore in case we have to swim for it. Snag ahead. That is ahead there off the point. That's the one, big and black and twisted. Our first victim. Or it may be, we'll be one of hers. Snagged ahead. Steady on your course. And hit that snag with every bit of speed we've got. Colonel, if you want to say a few prayers, wouldn't be a bad time for it at all. We return to our cavalcade story, The River finds a master. Starring Robert Young, Henry Shree, the pioneer steamboat captain on the western rivers, has invented a strange new craft, a floating battering ram, which he hopes can destroy the snags which clutter the rivers and threaten the future of steamboating. Now, with Shree preparing to crash his boat into a snag for the first time, his wife Mary and his partner Ellis watch apprehensively from the shore. Look, Mr. Ellis, they're burning pitchwood. The smoke's turning black. And look at it pour out. Getting quite ahead of steam. Almost can hear the hissing from here. He's turning her, heading right this way. Oh my, could they have picked a smaller snag to begin with? Just look at that black monster out there. Here he comes, here he comes. Just look at those tide wheels spin. There's so much spray I can't even see. Oh yes, yes, you can see him now at the wheel. Here she comes, here she comes. It's all right, my dear, it's all right. Mrs. Shrieve, Mrs. Shrieve. Oh, good heaven, she's painted. Of course, I feel all right, Henry. The woman's privileged to paint now and again when the occasion calls for it. Some more coffee, Mr. Ellis? Well, Henry, are you ready to go back to the more profitable business of building steamboats? Why, yes, William, of course I am. Good. Henry's going to let me decorate the cabins on his next boat, Mr. Ellis. And I've some marvelous ideas. Oh, more coffee for you, Colonel. No, thank you, ma'am. But perhaps you'd spare your husband for a moment while we take a turn around the deck. Of course. Mr. Ellis can hardly wait, I know, to hear all about my elegant color scheme. Beautiful night, eh, Colonel? Yes, it is. Captain, I'm going to ask you a question even though I'm afraid I think I know what your answer will be. You see, Captain, what you did today was magnificent. But it was only a spectacular beginning. The Army engineers will want to build dozens of your snag boats, whole fleets of them. We want to clear the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, all the rivers, even the Red River of the South, with its 150 miles of impassable log jam. And the great raft they call it, yes, I know it well. We want to do all this, but we can't. Not until we find a man to direct the entire operation, a man who knows machinery, who knows boats, who knows how to handle men, and above all, who knows the rivers mile by mile. Without such a man, a man like you, Shreve, who's willing to spend perhaps a dozen years at it, the rivers will likely never be cleared. Well, sir, I know you want to build steamboats and make a fortune. Don't blame you, not a bit. There won't be any fortunes made in river clearing, I'm sure of that. But you'll be doing a job that needs to be done, that has to be done, for the country's good. I know, sir, I know. But you see, I have obligations. And that is, I, uh... I understand, Captain, perfectly. And I'll see if I can't find someone else. And Henry, each cabin will be completely different, it'll be the most, well, an elegant floating hotel. And people will... Henry, what is it? What's bothering you? Bothering me? What are you, nothing? With whatever the colonel said to you, wasn't it? He, uh, wants me to take on the job of clearing the rivers. All the rivers. Oh no, Henry, you can't. Well, that is, I didn't mean... Clearing the river is a big job, Mary. And an important one. I know, dear, but... Somebody's got to do it. It must be a river man, Mary. You can't take an inland man, expect him to know the channels, the just isn't possible. But, Henry, you've done all you can. No, I haven't. I've filled a snagboat, but that's only... Henry, listen to me. I understand Colonel Long's problem, and I don't blame him for coming to you, but you've done your share. You've shown them how, isn't that enough? But there's not only a matter of showing them how, oh, it's getting it done. And that's something I could do. Oh, please, Henry. Please, darling, let them find someone else now, someone who doesn't have so much to lose. It, uh, means a lot to you, doesn't it, Mary? The three river lines. Well, of course, darling, but, well, it's not only that. I'm thinking about you, too. It's your whole future, all those plans with Mr. Ellis. All right, Mary, maybe you're right. Yes, maybe they'd better find someone else. It was soon decided that St. Louis would be the headquarters of the Shreve River Line. And while Mary boarded a steamboat for St. Louis to establish a home for them, Henry Shreve went upriver to the shipyards and began his new steamboat. Colonel Long went, too, to build a new snagboat in an adjoining shipyard. Captain Shreve, good morning, sir. How are you, Colonel? Been hoping you'd pay us a visit. Going to be quite a steamboat. You must be well ahead of schedule. Well, sooner we finish, sooner I can join Mary and St. Louis. Oh, she like it there? You've, uh, had a letter? No, not yet. Today, I hope. The Bluebell just docked. First boat from St. Louis since we got here. And, uh, tell me now, how's the new snagboat coming? Nothing but problems, Captain. Kind, I'm not too good at solving. And for the life of me, I don't know why the government wants it built anyway. I've told them snagboats are no use, lest we can find the right man to direct the work. You, uh, can't find, uh, anyone? Oh, I found some rivermen who could do it, except none of them will. They'd rather build steamboats and can't say I blame them. It's something that... All right. Oh, over here, Captain. Old friend of mine, Colonel. Captain Porter from the Bluebell. How are you, Porter? Good to... Porter, what is it? What's happened? I just docked, Henry, from St. Louis. Came as fast as I could. I got bad news for you, but it could be a lot worse. Well, what is it? Mary? That's something... Mary's all right. Henry, the boat she was on was snagged about 40 miles out of St. Louis. Whole bottom was ripped off. She sunk in five minutes. No. What happened along? Picked up survivors, and your Mary was among them. But 15 poor souls, they're still missing. Oh, no. Where's Mary now? How is she? She's in the hospital in St. Louis. With a broken ankle, a few bruises is all. Doctor says she'll be fine in a matter of weeks. I saw her before I left. She did tell me not to... Well, to tell you not to come or to worry. Not to come. Of course I'll come. When do you start south? We soon as we're loaded. Early tomorrow. I'm going with you, Porter. I'm going to Mary. Mary, my love, how do you feel? Oh, Henry, I didn't want you to come. I'm fine, really. No, sit on the bed and kiss me again. Really, I'd have been up in a day or two if it hadn't been for my pesky ankle, but it's almost heal now. Oh, darling, I'm so lucky and so grateful to be alive. With horrible Henry... Please, please don't think about it. I can't get it out of my mind. I keep hearing the frightful sound the snag made ripping the bottom of the boat. And then the screams of the passengers and the water poured in. And all those poor creatures struggling. Please, please, dear. Sorry. How, um... How's the new boat, Henry? Oh, come along fine, dear, fine. And the colonel and his new snag boat? Not going too well, I'm afraid. He hasn't found a man to... No. No one seems to, uh, want the job. Henry, give me your hand. You know, I've been thinking here in this bed, and Henry, I know now how selfish I've been lately. I thought only of all the fine, expensive things I wanted. Well, everyone wants those things. Mary, don't blame yourself. But I thought of nothing else, and that was wrong. It was, Henry. When the colonel asked you to take charge of clearing the rivers, I only thought of what we'd lose if you did. Not what others would gain. Not all the lives that would be saved. But, Mary, I don't want the job. That is, I... I know, that's what you've been saying. But you don't really mean it. You said it only to please me. Not entirely, Mary. As it looks now, without you, the rivers will never be cleared. And I... Well, I know you, Henry Shreve. And I know that later on, every time a steamboat is snagged, and lives are lost, you'll feel ashamed inside. And so will I, Henry, in my fine clothes, in my big house. I'll feel ashamed, too. But, uh, Alice and, uh, all our plans, the Shreve River line... He can find another partner, Henry. Yes, that's just it. Of course he can find another partner. They'll build steamboats, big, fast, beautiful steamboats. And while we ram and batter away, clearing the rivers for them, they'll come steaming by us, flags flying, whistles blowing... Blowing a salute, Henry. A salute. A salute? Yes. They're sure, that's right. Blowing a salute. They're sure. And then, then we'll turn and acknowledge him. Take an hour and sweet time about it, you understand? We'll say you'd better salute us, you pretty painted ginger-cracky overgrown wash tub. You'd better salute, but without us, you wouldn't even be on the river. And then we'll turn around and go back to work, Mary. Like in it or not, we'll go back to the work the good Lord must have meant for us to do. And so, Henry Shreve took upon himself a task. Clearing the rivers, making them safe for the steamboats. Even the Red River of the South, blocked by a great raft of tumbled logs, for as long as man could remember. Now, it was open to navigation at last, all the way from Texas to the Louisiana City, to the Louisiana City, which now is called Shreveport, in his honor. And for 14 long years, the work went on. While Henry Shreve and his men slowly turned the cluttered rivers into great water highways, which would soon be crowded with steamboats plying up river and down. Transforming a wilderness into an empire in the heartland of America. Robert Young and the Cavalcade Players for tonight's true story. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was written by Warner Law, based on material from the book Lost Men of American History by Stuart Holbrook, published by Macmillan and Company. Original music was composed by Arden Cornwell, conducted by Donald Boris. The program was directed by John Zuller. And Mrs. I. Harris, reminding you to be with us next week when the DuPont Cavalcade will present, one came through a little-known but fascinating story of the men who spread the alarm on the eve of Lexington and Concord, our star, Wendell Corey. The DuPont Cavalcade of America came to you from the Balasco Theater in New York City and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry.