 The Clyde Beatty Show The world's greatest wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty with an exciting adventure from his brilliant career The circus means thrills, excitements, snarling jungle beasts The circus means fun for young folks and old But under the big top you see only a part of the story The real drama comes behind the scenes where 500 people live as one family Where Clyde Beatty constantly risks death in the most dangerous act on earth This master of the big cats has journeyed to Africa and India Hunting down his beasts in their native jungle All of this is part of the Clyde Beatty story This is the adventure entitled Big Magic in Malaya Lele Peninsula with Singapore at its southern tip Has long been famed for its dense jungles and endless varieties of wild animals So it was only natural that my wife Harriet and I were anxious to see this strange country Much of which was still unexplored by white men at the time of our visit shortly before the war One experience that stands out in our minds began in Palembang on the west coast of the narrow peninsula We had just arrived on a small steamer from Singapore and after some time and trouble Found the home of the man we were seeking This must be the house Clyde 74 Kalaya Road wasn't it? Yeah, this is it alright I just hope he's here We'd be in a fine spot if he's not wouldn't we? I guess so But according to Crutcher he should be here Hello there, what can I do for you? You're Mr. Lindsey the guide That's right and you're Beatty Clyde Beatty and this is my wife Oh yes, yes of course Come in won't you Good trip up Oh we enjoyed every minute of it Good, good please sit down I'll have some tea brought Marto, fix tea Marto Well I wasn't expecting you so soon Beatty You got Crutcher's letter then As a matter of fact it just arrived yesterday Beastly slow postal service up this way How is old Crutcher by the way? He never told me anything except to be on the lookout for you folks Oh he seemed to be in good shape Mad because he couldn't get away and come with us He's been mad ever since he moved his business to Singapore Poor fellow Well now that you're here What can I do for you? Crutcher told us you were the best guide in Malaya Lindsey We'd like to engage you for a trip into the jungle Into Trangano province Trangano? But that's impossible man You can't go into that province without permission from the Sultan himself I know and we have that permission It was all taken care of before we left Singapore Well you're fortunate or unfortunate Depending on which way you choose to look at it What do you mean by that Mr. Lindsey? Well I mean you're lucky to get the Sultan's permission to enter Trangano But on the other hand You may need plenty of luck to get out That's mighty tough jungle country you know So we hear but we also hear it's full of unusual animals What sort of animals are you after Betty? Well we want to get some lions and tigers naturally And anything else that's rare or unusual For instance if it's possible we'd like to capture a rhinoceros A rhino? Good heavens man what for? Believe it or not Lindsey But a lot of people in the states don't know there is such a thing as an Asian rhino They are quite rare I believe They are so rare you might spend weeks looking for one and still not find him I understand there are a few left up in Trangano province though That was our understanding too We'd like to try our luck Lindsey How about it? Please Mr. Lindsey How can I refuse such a charming lady Now if it were you alone Betty But no matter Alright you're on However let me warn you This will be no ice cream social not by a long shot We pause for this message Back to Clyde Betty and Big Magic in Malaya Two days of hurried preparations followed our talk with Lindsey in Palampang Then another three days going up the sluggish Manala river And at last we arrived at a native Kampong Where we were to make our headquarters during our stay in the Trangano province By the time we were unloaded and the native canoes which had brought us headed back downstream It was almost dark The twilight silence characteristic of the jungle was unbroken Even the natives from the Kampong gathered around at a respectful distance They seemed unusually quiet We were in a strange new world Clyde the way they stare at us Don't worry Mrs. Betty They're friendly enough They just don't see many white people Where's that package of needles Betty? Here Is this the one? That's it Now Now watch this Look at them scramble for those needles You'd think they were diamonds Yes they'd rather have a needle than the Kimberley mines Mrs. Betty Fortunately for us What a spot for a five and ten cent story Harriet I husband as part businessman Mr. Lindsay You all have to excuse me I am also hungry and tired Well we'll fix that soon enough But first we must pay our respects to the head man and make Palavo with him Our Palavo with the head man was successful He understood our reasons for being in Trangano And agreed to help in every way he could Lindsay was an old hand when it came to bargaining And for every gift the head man received We in return received extra considerations When the meeting ended Harriet and I were shown to our quarters A crude bamboo basher with thatched roof and bare-dirt floor Well here we are This reminds me of that motel in Albuquerque Oh Clyde what a thing to say I guess we're lucky to have shelter of any kind so I won't complain I'm tired honey I'm exhausted and still hungry Lindsay said they'd bring us some food right away Which would you prefer a barbecued leopard or prime rib of rhinoceros Oh Clyde stop Mr. Lindsay seems to know the ropes though doesn't he Yeah we're lucky he took the job I'm afraid we couldn't do much without him I only hope our luck continues If we get Clyde What's the matter? Clyde there's someone looking in the doorway Huh? Oh well what is it boy? A thousand pardons Twan I am your servant What? Who sent you here? No one sent me Twan It is my own thought Well come on in Much thanks sir What's your name son? I am called Nadu Twan Nadu huh? You speak good English for a native Where'd you learn it? I have learned at missionary school in Palambang Twan Two seasons I have lived there Oh this your woman Twan Yes yes this is my woman She is plenty okay good looker Twan Thank you did you learn that at missionary school? Oh no I also learned some things or two from American sailors men son Oh but how old are you Nadu? Sixteen seasons Twan I am man now And what makes you think you want to be my servant? But Twan all men like yourself must have better I can be helped in many ways you will see okay It is okay Alright it's agreed and I've got a job for you right now Yes Twan Go see if you can hurry up the food We're starved Our first two days at the Kampong went by quickly And we were kept busy supervising the building of nets and cages I soon discovered that I'd acquired an extra shadow As Nadu dogged my heels constantly He was a wiry young fellow with flashing black eyes and a ready smile Eager to help and eager to learn On the afternoon of the third day I'd gone a short way into the jungle for a look around Accompanied of course by my faithful shadow Here Nadu let's sit down on this old log and rest a bit Yes Twan okay From the looks of the vines and creepers I'd say this trail isn't used much No this old trail Twan But look see up ahead Yeah wild boar isn't it? Yes Twan tough costume that one I take it you mean tough customer huh? I know speak so good those big words Twan Oh you're doing fine What's the new word I taught you this morning remember? Nadu you're not paying attention what are you staring at? Oh I was look at your big magic gun Twan You like guns? I have seen only few Twan Well you won't see a better one than this Nadu It's a monarch express best big game rifle made Twan could could maybe hold it Sure why not yeah Oh it's very heavy It has to be here give it here a minute I want to show you something Yes Twan Now see that vine hanging from the tree over there Yes I see Watch what an explosive bullet does to it Yes okay Twan You ever shoot a gun Nadu? Oh no Twan Well you're about to here Now look along the top of the barrel That's it line up the notch in the rear sight with a bead on the front Like this Twan? That's it that's your line of sight where the bullet will go Here swing over and line it up with that vine just above where I hit it Yes Twan it is so Now hold it steady and squeeze the trigger slowly Well I'll be you hit it Nadu Hey what's the matter? The gun it hit at me and shoulder almost knocked me off lock I forgot to tell you it does kick a bit What do you do now? Pull the bolt back all the way That's it that ejects the empty cartridge case Now slam it forward to reload with a new bullet Like so okay Twan Yeah like so okay try it again let's see if that was an accident Yes Twan Hey are you sure you never shot a rifle before? I should Twan I do okay You sure did I'm afraid I couldn't top it Betty Betty are you alright? Oh Lindsay sure I'm alright What's all the shooting about? Oh just having a little target practice Lindsay I was showing Nadu here how to shoot a rifle and darned if he doesn't make two clean hits his first two shots What? You were showing this native boy how to shoot? Why yes what's the matter? Well I'd explain in a minute Boy you go back to Kampong But Twan Wait a minute Lindsay he's done nothing Do as I say boy go back Yes Twan I go Well he's gone Lindsay what's this all about? Yeah just this Betty we don't teach natives how to handle guns in Malaya that's all They can't be trusted the less they know about firearms the better Well that's the way you feel I guess you're the boss That is the way I feel Betty and as long as I am the boss There'll be no educating the natives about guns Let's forget it now and get back to the Kampong You go ahead Lindsay I want to look around a bit more As you wish only I wouldn't go too far Don't worry I won't I'll be back in an hour or two Very well Betty After Lindsay left I continued for a short way up the trail then branched off into what appeared to be a little used game trail I guess I was guilty of daydreaming for suddenly With complete disgust I picked myself up from the floor of a deep pit and realized I'd stumbled into a native animal trap Fortunately only my pride was hurt but the fact that I was daydreaming was no excuse for not noticing the leaves and branches covering my newfound prism In the dim light I could see that the pit was some 12 feet deep and I knew it would be impossible to climb out But I wasn't too worried knowing that I'd be missed at the Kampong in an hour or so and that Lindsay and the natives would find me without trouble But then I noticed something which would strike terror into the heart of any man If a leopard or a tiger had been in the pit with me it would have been bad but this was ten times worse For advancing toward me was an army of death a column of giant soldier ants They were crawling straight toward me thousands of them from the far corner of the pit And then I saw the bones picked clean of what must have been a jackal I knew the same fate was in store for me in a matter of minutes and I was powerless to stop it Clyde Beatty will return in just a moment but first And now back to Clyde Beatty and his story Big Magic in Malaya While walking along a jungle trail in Malaya Clyde failed to notice a brush-covered pit Dugged by the natives to trap animals and crash to the bottom Knowing that he isn't far from the native village and that when he doesn't return His guide Lindsay and the natives will find him Clyde isn't too concerned But when he looks around the pit further he discovers an army of dreaded soldier ants advancing toward him About these giant killer ants and I knew I didn't have much time I looked around for my rifle hoping to fire a distress signal which might be hurt at the Kampong But that hope quickly dimmed when I realized the gun had slipped from my hands as I fell And had stayed on top of the brush covering the pit I knew fear as I'd never known it before as the army of ants advanced steadily toward me Now only about three feet from the corner in which I was standing Suddenly from the jungle I heard something which gave me encouragement It sounded like a voice and I listened intently hoping my ears weren't deceiving me It was a voice, the voice of Nadu Nadu! Nadu! In the trail pit, Nadu! Hurry! Hurry, Nadu! Never mind that, help me get out of here before these ants get me Now hurry up and see if you can find somebody who can help me get out of here Nadu, come back here! My heart almost stopped as I thought Nadu had gone for more help The ants were only a foot away now Good boy! I've got it Hey, Twan It's okay That was close You'd supposed to be for animals, Twan I'll try to remember that And thanks, Nadu If you hadn't come along when you did I'd be furnishing a feast for that army down here It's okay now How come you were out here anyway? I thought Lindsay ordered you back to the compound Yes, Twan, only you might be boss I stay close by you, okay? Fair enough I guess I need a guardian at that I'll get my rifle and we'll get back now It's getting late You've applied how awful Being eaten alive by ants would be a horrible way to die Yeah, I've read about it's happening but I never thought I'd be face to face with such a situation Thank goodness Nadu didn't follow Lindsay's orders Either way, it might be best not to mention to Lindsay what happened I'm afraid he'd be pretty sore at the boy if he knew his orders weren't obeyed I won't read the word You in there, Betty? Yes, come in, Lindsay Got good news I thought you'd be interested in Good or bad news? Perhaps both A native just arrived from up near Rawang He says they've seen signs of rhino up there recently Well, that's wonderful news, Mr. Lindsay Yes, but that's only half of it They're going to have trouble getting the natives to go along after it, I'm afraid I don't understand, Lindsay, they're not afraid of rhinos I know that, but there's something up in that area they are afraid of A pair of sila-dangs Sila-dangs? But what are they? They're probably the meanest animals on the face of the earth, Mrs. Betty A breed of wild cattle, a sort of cross between the Brahma and Water Buffalo Are they really as bad as they say? I'm afraid so They're absolutely without fear We'll charge any living thing they see without warning In fact, they'll stalk a man or another animal just to attack That's almost unbelievable But quite true, Mrs. Betty They have tremendous horns, which they use to toss their victim into the air until he's senseless And then, just to make a thorough job of it, they trample him to a pulp with their sharp hooves I guess you can't blame the natives for not wanting any part of them armed only with knives and spears No indeed, only a well-placed bullet from an express rifle will stop a sila-dang And sometimes it takes several of those to do the job Well, I hate to lose a chance to capture a rhino Well, I've asked the headman to call a meeting of his men If we can convince them they're not in danger as long as they're with us, we'll be all right They have a lot of faith in our rifles, so we'll give it a try Let's go It is so big, headman Our rifles speak with strong voice Is strong enough to kill sila-dang? Yes, strong enough to kill anything Kill tiger, kill elephant Maybe so, kill tiger No kill sila-dang I speak words of truth, big headman Your men will be safe with us We will pay them well I'll not make them go Let them make thinking What's he saying, Lindsey? He's asking the men if any will go with us or are one Galaparetsi, I will go Nado, you not afraid sila-dang? No, headman, the Twan's rifles have big magic I have seen, only all women be afraid Nado, make big talk I'm sure of it, I believe it in luck The rest don't want to lose cast by appearing less brave than the boy Good, I hope it works Dawa, Dawa! Lindsey said, men say they go with you in morning I'll have a finish Well, these prints are rhino all right, but none too fresh Probably made yesterday Looks like we've still got some hunting to do Yes, we'll have to wait till morning It'll be dark soon, so we'll make camp now on the other side of the clearing I'll tell the men to get a move on Suits me, coming Harriet? Right behind you Watch out for this jagged log here, honey Harriet, did you run into it? No, but I turned my ankle trying to keep from it Watch the trouble here Harriet twisted her ankle, Lindsey Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Beatty I'll help her across the clearing, then we'll see what we can do for it Nado! Yes, yes, coming, Twan Take my canteen and rifle, Nado We'll be right along, Beatty If I can get these men to move out of their tracks I'm sorry, Clyde, I should have been more careful Oh, forget it I think a good massage will fix that ankle Okay, Nado, let's go With Harriet in my arms, we started across the clearing Lindsey and the natives followed a few yards to the rear Then, when we were almost in the centre, we were startled by the sound of a large animal crashing through the brush at one side of the jungle clearing As the natives screamed and ran for the trees I saw the object of their terror The Celadon Bull had burst from the brush like a locomotive and was charging straight for us With Harriet unable to walk, I knew we could never make it But when I looked around at Lindsey, I felt better His rifle was at his shoulder as he took deliberate aim I could see that the bullet had found its mark But instead of dropping, the Bull swerved toward the sound of the shot Lindsey's head is going to shoot, man Lindsey threw his rifle to the ground and started to run for it But the Celadon was almost upon him, he'd never make it Starefully able to believe my eyes, I saw the Bull crumple and roll in a heat barely five feet from Lindsey Dropped by two well-placed rifle bullets from my own gun And holding it, as if he'd hunted big game all his life Was the boy who had never fired a gun until the day before Good work, Nado Your big magic work okay good one I'll say it worked okay good, in fact it was okay great Here, Tuan, you take I don't need the rifle now Where? There was a bitch Close side, what? Think heaven you fired when you did, baby Lindsey, I didn't fire those shots You're your thanks to Nado here What? You mean this boy shot that cedar dung? That's exactly what I mean Well, that's, that's rather leaves me speechless But thanks, son I am glad you're okay, Tuan Let's hope we've had our share of cedar dung for a while Come on, we'd better try and persuade the natives to calm down and make camp Harriet's ankle was better the next day and we continued our hunt I must admit, however, that we were unsuccessful in our attempt to capture a rhino And a few days later we were back at the campong ready to return to Palambang Well, I guess everything's in the canoes, all set Yes, we're ready, you better get in the bow, Harriet All right, you know in a way I hate to leave, huh? So do I, the people have been wonderful to us Yes Well Nado, I guess this is where we part company I guess it must be so, Tuan, you come back, okay? I hope so, we'll see Better get aboard, Beatty Yeah, all right Say you've forgotten something here, isn't this your gun case, Lindsey? No, well, no, it was my gun, but now it's Nado's You're serious? I know it must sound strange after what I told you the other day, but Well, maybe I've been wrong, and I guess a good rifle's small enough price to pay for my life Lindsey, put her there Why, Beatty, we'll return in just a moment with a preview of his next adventure But first, our next broadcast is a story from within the very heart of the circus We call it, Never Trust a Ghillie And here is just a brief preview Shows just started, Harriet Wanna go over with me or stay here in the trailer? Oh, I'll go over Good house tonight? Always a good house in this town They're on this drop No, then I will go What was that? Well, it sounded like Jimmy out back somewhere Come on Over this way I think it was Jimmy, you call me? Where are you? Clark, over there on the ground What's that? Come on You'll hear the whole story of the strange attack on Clyde's cage boy Jimmy On our next broadcast This story was based on incidents in the life of Clyde Beatty and the Clyde Beatty Circus The Clyde Beatty show was produced by Shirley Thomas Big Magic in Malaya was written by Robert T. Smith All names used were fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental This is a Commodore production